Romney: freeloader playing the game

A Republican friend of mine has this statement in her email signature:


"Apparently, I'm supposed to be more angry about what Mitt Romney does with his money than what barack obama does with mine."


Let me make this clear right up front:  Romney's multiple offshore accounts are legal!  They are absolutely legal, no doubt about it.


So, just why are people like me concerned about all his offshore accounts?  There are two reasons:


1) Romney wants tax cuts for the wealthy.  He says those folks - because of their money - create jobs, thus grow the economy.  He says this all the time when explaining his opposition to increasing taxes on on the wealthy.  Well ... please tell me ... how does his offshore money help grow the economy?   That money isn't HERE so it's not doing a damn thing for the American economy, now is it?  Hmmm ... it appears that other wealthy people can grow the economy, but he's exempt from that.


2) While legal, his offshore accounts set him apart from most other Americans.  I have to account for every dime of my teacher's salary, so why doesn't he?  I have to pay taxes on all my money, so why doesn't he?  I realize that our tax code allows this, but there's something wrong with this picture ... it's inherently unfair.  And it makes him a freeloader - the kind of person he recently denigated at a Republican rally.

Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-S.C.) defends Romney:  “It’s really American to avoid paying taxes, legally." He even explained that it's a "game" we all play.  


I don't see this as a "game" at all!  I see taxes as a way to pay for the services we want and need.  If we want schools, we pay for them.  If we want protection from the military, we pay for it.  If we want garbage collection or libraries or decent roads or safe bridges ... we pay for it!


So, to my friend with the political statement in her email signature:  I'm not angry about Romney's money.  I AM disgusted that he is a freeloader who certainly doesn't need to be.  I AM disgusted that he expects everyone else to grow the economy but he won't.


And I believe that truly speaks to his character ... or lack thereof.

Scare tactics ... they WORK!

This past week on Fox News Sunday , Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus said that Mitt Romney must be elected in November in order to "save America."  He also said that if President Barack Obama gets re-elected, "our way of life" is at stake.  WHAT? 


Oh, but Priebus wasn't finished: "Mitt Romney has to win for the sake of the very idea of America. Mitt Romney has to win for liberty and freedom."

 Omigawd ... grab the kids and dogs ... and head to Costa Rica with Limbaugh!

Keep in mind that the Fox News "journalists" didn't question Priebus; they didn't ask for specifics or explanations.   No big surprise there, right?  In other words, those "journalists" didn't do their job!

Priebus is very good at using the campaign scare tactic. He uses this tactic because he knows that many times straight facts simply aren't enough to motivate the masses to take a certain action.  It's much more effective to scare the crap out of them!

People who hear a frightening statistic or an alarming fact often take that information at face value ... and then act out of fear. That is the purpose of using scare tactics:  create a sense of fear or shock in the recipients. These fears, rational or irrational as they may be, are often enough to force people into making uninformed decisions or taking rash actions.

So, how effective was Priebus' statements on Sunday?  That afternoon I took my dogs to a fun match and heard two women talking about it:

Woman #1: "You HAVE to vote for Romney because if Obama gets back in there, we're going to lose our freedoms and our liberty!"

Woman #2:  "What makes you think that?"

Woman #1: "A very important man said it on TV this morning!"

It's clear that Woman #1 doesn't question what she heard - and she won't, either, because now she sees her liberty and freedom being yanked from her.  Why?  Because some man said it on TV.  Her vote in November will be cast out of a fear that has no factual basis whatsoever.

Karl Rove is the master when it comes to scare tactics.  He guided George W. Bush through all his campaigns, starting with the one for governor against Ann Richards.  One TV ad showed a woman being grabbed at gunpoint in a parking garage and then police draping a sheet over a young boy's body.  Bush, in a voice over, declared that Texas was the third most dangerous state in the nation and that HE would take action to change that.  


Factual?  No.  The crime rate had actually declined during Richards' term in office.


Effective? Yes.  People didn't check the crime stats ... they acted out of fear because they didn't want to be grabbed at gunpoint in a parking garage.


Rove used scare tactics in both Bush presidential campaigns, too.  And, it appears, the current GOP presidential campaign will continue the practice with Rove's guidance.


Now, before you get your knickers in a bunch, BOTH political parties have used scare tactics.  A great example is a TV ad that ran only once during the Johnson-Goldwater campaign in 1964 ...  but it sure got attention - and it resulted in a lot of Johnson votes.  It is STILL being referenced as one of the most effective TV campaign ads ever. Watch it!


Lyndon Johnson campaign ad


Scare tactic?  You bet! The message was clear:  if you vote for Barry Goldwater, we'll end up in a huge war with a giant mushroom cloud and there won't be any daisies left to pick.  That ad scared the livin' daylights out of people!  It's rather ironic, then, that Johnson proceeded to escalate the war in Vietnam after he was elected.


You can either become a victim of the scare tactic ... or you can make your voting decisions based on facts and evidence.  By the way, there is NO evidence that President Obama's re-election will result in a tyrannical government with no freedom or liberty for Americans.  None.  Remember ... we still have the U.S. Constitution in place and the three branches of government serve as a check and balance system to make sure that doesn't happen.

Why not be a responsible voter?  Why not ask questions and take a bit of time to check the facts before you vote out of fear?  Think about it:  decisions made out of fear aren't usually the best.

Tax? Penalty? Who gives a rat's patoot?

A friend of mine - Larry Ferguson - posted some of his thoughts about the health care controversy on his Facebook wall.  I asked his permission to share it with you.  Here it is:

"Obamacare, aka. Affordable Care Act...is it a tax or is it a penality...let me think about it......nope, couldn't care less. My health insurance costs are up because some asshole goes into the emergency room at the hospital, then walks out without paying and the costs for that asshole's care are shifted to people with insurance like me. What I do care about is that insurance companies will not cap what they pay for health care for me. I care that the insurance company will not be able to drop me if I get sick. I care that my grandkids with pre-existing health problems will be able to get insurance. I care that the CEO of insurance companies will not be paid outrageous salaries because the insurance company has to pay out 80%-85% in taking care of people or refund money to me. You can call it Obamacare or Larrycare, I really don't give a shit."

When I thanked Larry for allowing me to use his thoughts on this blog, he gave me some more to share:

"This country has a mandate that anyone walking into an emergency room has to get care. I have no problem with this. Many people cannot afford insurance or have lost insurance with loss of their job. The cost for care shifted to me is my problem. Concern for my grand kids with pre-existing problems is a worry for me. The fact that the mandate was a conservative idea and now they hate it because the President of the United States got it passed -  this is a problem. A mandate that if you can afford insurance you are required to get it or pay a penalty makes sense. I had hoped for either single payer or at least buy in to Medicare at 55 would have been the law...but ACA is a start. But, what do I know..."

Well, it's obvious Larry knows a whole lot more about the actual workings of health insurance - and the state of our health care system -  than most people in this country!  He understands that we are ALL paying for the uninsured and that's one of the main  reasons health insurance premiums are so high!  He understands that insurance - any insurance - is a risk pool.  You pay your premiums and that money goes into one huge pot, along with the premiums paid by everyone else.  When and if you submit a claim, the bill is paid from that huge pot.  When someone else submits a claim, her bills are paid from the same huge pot.  Uninsured patients get treatment, but never paid into anything.  Hospitals have to recoup that loss somehow, so those of us with insurance have higher bills. 

The anti-Obama folks (and, yes, that's exactly what they are) are yelling and screaming about being forced to buy health insurance.  GET A GRIP!  You are forced to help fund public schools even if you don't have children!  You are forced to fund public parks even if you never set foot in one!  Medicare taxes are taken out of your paycheck even if you aren't on Medicare! 

It's all a part of being a member of this society ... so grow up and deal with it. If you can afford insurance - but don't get it - you will pay a small penalty.  And that's how it ought to be because I shouldn't have to pay for your broken leg or your burst appendix.  If you can't afford insurance, you will NOT pay a penalty and there will be a variety of ways that you'll end up with health coverage - through Medicaid or the insurance exchanges.


So, yeah ... grow up.  You want to hate Obama?  Fine.  But find some other reason because the ACA is a win-win for everyone ... including you.


And to Larry ... thanks!  I suspect many, many people feel exactly like you do. 

Come visit my classroom, McConnell!

Senator Mitch McConnell said that 30 million uninsured Americans is "not the issue" when asked how Republicans would provide health care coverage to those people.


NOT THE ISSUE?


It most certainly IS the issue!  And I challenge Sen. McConnell to come visit my classroom once school starts.  Here's what he will see (and I have seen this as a high school teacher).  I changed the names,  but these young people were students in my classes over the past few years:


1) Becky - she is in constant pain from something.  She is doubled over as she sits at her desk.  The nurse and I try to get her family to take her to a doctor but the family has no insurance.  Dad makes too much money to get on AHCCS (Arizona's version of Medicaid), but can't afford insurance for the family.  Finally Becky stops coming to school.  Becky was in my class several years ago and I haven't been able to find out what happened to her.


2) Jose - he doesn't pay attention in class, holds his face in his hands.  I find out he is in constant pain because his teeth are so rotten and infected.  We get him to a dentist who provides free services to our students, but the infection has run so deep that now it affects his entire jaw and sinuses.  His family has no insurance and as of the end of that school year, he hadn't seen a doctor.


3) Daniel - he missed several days of school and when I called home, he answered.  His mother was sick and he was staying home to care for her.  She lost her job and then her health insurance.  She couldn't afford COBRA because that premium cost is atronomical.  He informed me that his mother has cancer.  She died during the winter break that year.  Daniel was put into foster care and I don't know where he is now.


4) Yolanda - she missed several days of school and I found out she went to her dad's funeral in Kansas.  He died of complications from diabetes.  His health insurance company dropped him after a diabetic coma and no other company would take him because of his "pre-existing condition."  Make no mistake about it: our health care system killed Yolanda's father.


5) Myra - her dad lost his job and his health insurance for the family.  Right before this happened, Myra was diagnosed with a cyst on her ovary.  The family couldn't pay for the surgery even after selling furniture out of their home.  She was in constant pain until we found a gynecologist who would do the surgery at no cost.  It took this doctor weeks to talk the hospital into providing the outpatient surgery on a payment schedule.  In the meantime, Myra missed several weeks of school ... she dropped out. I just hope she's okay because ovarian cysts tend to come back.


Please keep in mind, these are REAL people.  McConnell says they "aren't the issue."  They ARE the issue and it's time we let the Republicans on Capitol Hill know that.  I would love for McConnell to come to my classroom and tell my students they "aren't the issue."  Face to face, McConnell!!  Do you have the guts to look these young people in the eyes and tell them they don't matter?


If REAL PEOPLE aren't the issue, then what is?  Well ... I have the answer to that:  the issue is President Obama.  The Republicans on Capitol Hill will do anything to get him out of office.The president built the ACA on the REPUBLICAN plan that Mitt Romney put into effect in Massachusetts ... a plan that works!  And now they are criticizing it and promising to repeal the law if Romney is elected? 


So, you tell me ... what's the issue?  Pretty obvious, don't you think?

Affordable Care Act - why all the angst?

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that most of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) IS constitutional.  That paves the way for major changes in the health care system in this country.  Actually, we don't have a "system" at all; we have a series of band-aids that were implemented to meet the health care needs of specific groups of people ... Medicaid, Medicare, VA, CHIPS, COBRA, etc.  But make no mistake about it: this country does NOT have a health care "system."


The United States is the ONLY industrialized country in the world that does NOT have universal health care!  And we call ourselves a progressive, compassionate country with moral authority?  Hogwash!  


Part of the problem now is that SCOTUS labeled the mandatory insurance provision a tax.  Of course the Republicans on Capitol Hill are now yelling and screaming "TAX, TAX, TAX!"  But let's look at this, shall we?


There is NO massive tax hike! Very few people will ever pay the penalty tax.  If you can afford insurance, you'll have it, therefore ... no tax.  If you can't afford insurance, there won't be a penalty tax at all!  The only way you'll have to pay a penalty tax is if you CAN afford insurance, but don't get it. People who are assessed the tax will pay less than the amount of the payroll tax increase that Republicans nearly allowed to occur. 


In addition, a new report from Families USA shows that 28.6 Americans (most in the middle class) will actually get tax cuts:


"We found that an estimated 28.6 million Americans will be eligible for the tax credits in 2014, and that the total value of the tax credits that year will be $110.1 billion. The new tax credits will provide much-needed assistance to insured individuals and families who struggle harder each year to pay rising premiums, as well as to uninsured individuals and families who need help purchasing coverage that otherwise would be completely out of reach financially. Most of the families who will be eligible for the tax credits will be employed, many for small businesses, and will have incomes between two and four times poverty (between $44,100 and $88,200 for a family of four based on 2010 poverty guidelines)."



So, what is the big deal?  We have in this "compassionate, progressive" nation over 30 million people who do not have access to health care.  That's shameful!  And here's why including them in the insurance pot is good for everyone:


Uninsured people typically wait to see a health care professional until they are really ill.  By that time, the illness has progressed to the point where it is more serious and requires more involved and more costly treatment and, perhaps, hospitalization.  Who do you think pays for that care now?  WE DO!  If, however, they have access to health care, they will see doctors for checkups, health screenings, and treatment that could be less extensive (and less costly).  They will be in the insurance pool and that makes a huge difference in the overall picture.


It's clear many people only hear the "you'll be forced to get health insurance" argument.  They haven't taken the time to see what the Affordable Care Act really does - and really means to them.  A woman I work with is outraged that she should be forced to get insurance.  Uh ... she's on Medicare right now and that paid for her knee surgery!  Perhaps she doesn't know that the Affordable Care Act has already reduced the amount of money she pays for prescriptions!  Or, maybe she doesn't care ... this law was passed by Democrats and, well, she's not a Democrat.


If you want to see what the Affordable Care Act means for YOU, check out this interactive website:


Affordable Care Act - for YOU


After you check it out, ask yourself if you will benefit in any way from the Affordable Care Act.  If you do, then get on board and support it.  It's time to take politics out of health care!

A step in the right direction - immigration reform

The Obama Administration announced today that it will stop deporting and begin granting work permits to younger undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children and have since led law-abiding lives.


Right on, Mr. President!


Details of the plan haven't fully been announced, but here's what we know right now (and this comes from the Huffington Post):  "Undocumented immigrants will be immune from deportation if they were brought to the United States before they turned 16 and are younger than 30, have been in the country for at least five continuous years, have no criminal history, graduated from a U.S. high school or earned a GED, or served in the military. They also can apply for a work permit that will be good for two years with no limits on how many times it can be renewed."


Yes, yes, I know ... the GOP will be gnashing its teeth.  And many people will disagree with me when I say this is good for our country!


These young people did NOT make the decision to cross the border illegally, yet they are being punished for it. Many of them graduated from high schools here - honors classes!  Now they can come out of the shadows and become productive, contributing members of our society.  


Several weeks ago, I ended up in a conversation about this with an associate .  I couldn't believe the venom that spewed from her mouth when this topic came up.  She had absolutely no understanding of the issue, only hatred - hatred that she couldn't even explain!  


I agree with her that border security should be enhanced, but we also need to consider the people already here.


I have my flame-retardant undies on, so take your best shot.  Congress could have passed the DREAM Act, but Republicans blocked it.  Now President Obama has made a move that's good for these young people and good for our country:  if these undocumented men and women get an education, work and pay taxes, we all win.  


Yeppers ... I'd say this is a win-win situation.  Won't that be nice for a change?

I remember ...

I read.  I read whatever I get my hands on.  I read news - especially news that affects me as a person living in the United States of America.


And I'm disheartened.


I feel as though the boat has sailed and I'm still standing on the dock.


I grew up in a time when FEMALES took a back seat.  I remember being told in high school that I couldn't be a member of (or take classes) in the FFA - Future Farmers of America.  I could be nominated for FFA Queen, but I couldn't be a part of it ... even though my background was animal science and I was planning on a career in the industry.


I remember meeting with my advisor at Colorado State University the first time.  He told me he "didn't like female vets" and didn't like "female vet students" and told me flat out that he didn't want to ever see me in his office again.  For four years, I forged his signature on registration papers.


I remember being denied admittance to veterinary school because "it would be waste of resources to train a woman who might get married and have children."


I remember watching the total destruction of a family of four when the 12-year-old daughter was denied a legal abortion after being sexually assaulted.  TWELVE years old!  And ... I was in the damn delivery room and watched that child deliver a "thing" that wasn't even close to being a human being.  That girl's body was NOT ready for pregnancy or childbirth.  But there were no options for her - or her parents - before Roe V. Wade.  And because of that ... ALL members of that family were destroyed ... dead or in prison.  I'll tell you the story if you ask.


I remember being told that "women can't be news people on radio because nobody trusts them."  And then I stormed my way through a 22-year career in radio broadcasting.  And it wasn't easy.  I thank Bob Crites for giving me a chance ... and I ended up in the positions of DJ, News Anchor, News Reporter, News Director, Public Affairs Director, Talk Show Host.  And all the way to the end, I was someone who stood out because I was a woman.


I remember being told that I couldn't get a raise ... the same raise as my male counterpart who was doing the SAME job as I was ... because "Joe had a family."  Uh ... what in the hell were my two sons?


I remember the days when contraception was NOT available to all women in the United States.


I remember when male doctors treated female patients as "things."  When I saw my first obstetrician, I started asking questions and he said, "Don't worry your little head about this."  Uh ... WHAT?  This is MY pregnancy, MY baby, MY life!"  I fired him and found a female OB/GYN.


Well ... things have changed ... right?  Uh ... not so much.  Since the Republican Party became the "in crowd" in Congress and state legislatures around the country, women have been shoved to the back of the bus.  What I (and others in my generation) worked so hard for, has been destroyed.  


A doctor in Oklahoma recently denied a rape victim the early emergency contraception medication.  Why?  Because it was against the doctor's "beliefs."


In Virginia, women - even those who are dealing with a life-threatening pregnancy - must undergo an ultrasound and a waiting period before terminating her pregnancy.  How many lives will be lost because of this law?


In Arizona, doctors can now LIE to women about the state of their pregnancy.  Doctors do NOT have to tell women in that state about any medical issues that might warrant an abortion.


In Arizona, women are classified as pregnant two weeks BEFORE they had the sex that could have resulted in a pregnancy!


Congress turned down a re-authorization of the Violence Against Women Act.  Why?  Because it included Native-American women, undocumented immigrant women, and gay/lesbian women.  Hmmm ... it's okay to commit violence against a certain group of females?  I find that unacceptable!  Just read the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and see if YOU can excuse the congressional action.


Now do you see why I'm disheartened?  Women's rights have been moved back to the 1950s!  And I don't hear the young women of America fighting back.  They grew up in a time when they didn't have to fight and they don't understand that THEY are now the targets of the people who want to keep them down.


I wish ... oh, how I wish ... that our young women would fight.  FIGHT!  Fight to keep the rights and protections that were won for you!  FIGHT for your dignity and your privacy!  


Just FIGHT!


And I'll fight with you.