Argue With All the Facts

Posted on 25/02/2010 by Grumpa Joe

My Flag Flies Everyday

Dear Senator Durbin;

I tried to call your Washington office today but the call volume was too high and the system shut me out. Therefore, I write this e-mail.

I listened to your argument today during the Health Care Summit. I have to admit that you are very eloquent in your speaking ability. Your argument about the cost savings related to Tort Reform however, is flawed. I am sure the statistics you quoted on the amount of money awarded and the savings are correct. I do not refute you on that point. I do, however want to argue that you have left out the invisible cost of defensive medicine that the medical profession practices every day, in every office and every hospital in the country. Medical staffs are loaded with highly paid people whose sole function it is to document everything a doctor does, prescribes, and orders. Hospitals are loaded with staff sitting at terminals documenting everything that occurs with a patient. Why? They document in order to defend themselves against a possible lawsuit.  None of this documentation comes cheap.

I do not argue that a doctor who operates on me and removes my right arm instead of my left should be punished and the patient compensated. I do argue that I should not have to be tested four times a year when, statistically, once would be enough.  As for documentation needed for payment, why should I have to pay a premium for a failure on the part of government run Medicare and Medicaid’s inability to maintain a fraud free system?

It is my opinion that the hidden cost of Tort reform is a thousand times greater than the actual awards granted for real mistakes.   

Do not support the Health Care Reform Bill for the following reasons:

  1. The cost of one trillion dollars will bankrupt the country. The accounting trick you are proposing to collect money for six years and to offer services for four years is bogus. If a bank wanted to collect your mortgage payment for six years before it let you into the new house you just bought, you would be writing a law to prevent them from doing it. Why be a hypocrite on this matter to sell me the idea. It is morally wrong.  I expect better from you. Do not support this bill.
  2.      I am positive that the Supreme Court will find the requirement that I purchase insurance by law is unconstitutional.  Why do you insist on supporting legislation that is so obviously flawed? Do not support this bill
  3. Say no, to a government takeover of the Health Care system. Why do you support a system that will give mediocre care to everyone in the country after openly admitting that we currently have the best system in the world? I also wish I could believe what I heard about this bill, giving me the same plan as the one you and Congress enjoy. What a dolt you must think I am. In addition, I did not hear anything in the discussion today that explained why federal funding for abortion is a basic right. Are you kidding me? Abortion is murder. If I came into your office and shot you dead, I would be arrested prosecuted and sentenced.  Yet the bill insists that it is the basic right of a grammar school girl to have the federal government (me) pay for the murder of her unborn child. I would sooner pay for the prosecution of the abortionist. Do not support this bill.

 Respectfully yours,

 Grumpa Joe

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The Arrogance of Congress

Posted on 18/11/2009 by Grumpa Joe

Imagine every page of the House Bill H.R. 3962 loaded with doublespeak, and references to prior bills, and paragraphs. Each branch leading to a new trap for the American consumer. Each one leading toward a take-over of our liberties. How can our Representatives be so delusional as to think that the contents of this bill are good for their constituents. All they know is what their leadership is telling them, VOTE FOR THE BILL.

My guess is that H.R. 3962 is loaded with perks for congressional leaders, and new ways for Congress to become wealthier off the tax payer. Health Care? There may be a hint of that in there too.

Will the bill create jobs? You bet it will, but they won’t be doctors or nurses, they will be highly paid government  clerks who will interpret the law and decide if you get treatment. I’m positive the law will be loaded with ambiguity, thus giving those clerks more control over you and me with their interpretations. In the meantime, salaries for doctors will be frozen. Their ability to make more money by treating more patients will be removed from their control. They will be given a quota of patients to see. Once they have seen them, they will go fishing.  In the European system, the doctors meet their yearly quotas by hustling in the early part of the year, then they go on vacation for the remainder of the year.

The Democrats invented Medicare back in the nineteen sixties. Since then it has become the standard for health care. A crummy one at that. What amazes me, is that Medicare must be something that only the wealthy get. Otherwise why would it be stripped of five hundred billion dollars from its budget to help pay for HR 3962?  This is clearly another example of the redistribution of wealth. The government is going crazy thinking about how  it will pay for the healthcare of all the baby-boomers coming into the system.  Their answer, redistribute the wealth of the senior health care system  to pay for an even larger system, and ration health care for seniors. Who cares  if seniors die early? Liberals encourage seniors to die early, just as they encourage controlling the population by murdering unborn babies. Medicare has put a monkey wrench into that philosophy by extending life. Therefore, kill Medicare to kill seniors. 

If you are wise, you will get sick in the first six months of the year, and die just before you are ready to retire.

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Dear Senator Durbin: Do You Get It?

Posted on 10/09/2009 by Grumpa Joe

My Flag Cries Everyday

Dear Senator Durbin;
Thank you for responding to my letter regarding your inability to hold town hall meetings with the people of Illinois. I appreciate that you are a busy man and prefer to receive input from the select few who will support your own views.
It takes courage to stand before a group of angry voters who are disappointed in their representative’s performance. I see by your actions that your character is not what I had always thought it to  be. I thought you were a strong leader who was concerned for all the people of Illinois. I see by your actions that I was wrong to assume that.
I am an American who believes that his country is sacred because it was founded on the principles of personal liberty. I see big government taking those liberties away from us faster than it takes a toilet to flush. I believe you and President Obama do not get it. It, being the fact that I am not alone. How can you possibly legislate when you do not know the mood of your constituents? By not hearing us out face to face at town hall meetings you cannot possibly know how we feel. Sure an angry constituency can become unruly, but only if their Senator gives them a standard line created by the bureaucracy in Washington. Tell the town hall people you understand their needs. Tell them that you will go back to Washington to stop wreckless spending, become fiscally responsible, and not vote for bills that are so long and impossible to understand, that a bevy of lawyers would have trouble doing so.
Here are some of the points I wanted to talk to you about:
1. Health Care Reform is needed, but not what is spelled out in HR3200. I do not want you to support HR3200.
   Come back with something that will not take money from Medicare to fund it. The President so eloquently told us that he will only eliminate waste from Medicare; some five hundred billion dollars worth. Yet, when he asked the entire government to eliminate waste from their budgets they could only come up with one hundred million dollars. Do you really expect me to believe that you and President Obama are capable of finding, and eliminating that much waste? That kind of reasoning is exactly why town hall meetings get noisy.
Take out the part about setting up every school with Planned Parenthood centers.
Add wordage that is specific to not funding abortions. Specify the word abortion, and not sneak it in under the radar as a medical procedure.
Add words that ban government operated public option health care system.
 In other words, HR 3200 is not worth the paper it is written on. Do not vote for HR 3200.
2. Legislate tort reform now, don’t wait for a reform bill.
3. Eliminate the barriers to private sector competition by allowing insurance companies to cross state lines with their plans.
4. Pass legislation that requires the president to obtain congressional vetting and approval on his “czars.”

Need I go on some more, or do you get it? If you can address these issues in a rational logical way, and not in a party controlled response, I will regain my faith in your ability to serve as my Senator.

Respectfully yours,
Grumpa Joe

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Conditions For Health Care Reform

Posted on 23/08/2009 by Grumpa Joe
My Flag Flies Everyday

My Flag Flies Everyday

 Earlier in the month of August, Nancy Pelosi was ranting about the health care protests as manufactured “Astro Turf” stunts.  I kinda  think she meant they were artificial like Astro Turf.  Whatever, she meant it to be derogatory, as Nancy does not show love for protesters who are rejecting her ideas.  After she made her comment, Robert Gibbs, Presidential Press Secretary, referred to the protesters as the Brooks Brothers Brigade. I had no clue as to what this meant. I filed it for later.

Yesterday, I received some advertising from my credit card company.  Part of it was a brochure dedicated to Brooks Brothers. Evidently, they make men’s suits. They have been in business since 1818, and have a very impressive list of customers. One of the articles featured in this magazine is titled  “Dressing the Presidents.” Guess who their current poster boy is? You guessed it, none other than himself  “The One.” Now I’m really confused. Is he protesting health care reform too?

The Speaker of the House called me a Nazi, and the presidential press secretary said I belonged to the Brooks Brothers Brigade.  Judging by the quality of the 50 page ad that I received that is dedicated to Brooks Brothers products, I would guess they sell expensive items. There are no prices shown on anything, only very detailed descriptions about the quality of the materials and the workmanship that go into making their suits, shirts, ties, etc.  You know the old adage, if you have to ask, you can’t afford it. Well I have to ask, and I surely cannot afford anything in this catalog. In fact, I’ll go out on a limb and say that no one who protested with me spent as much on their entire wardrobe as a single Brooks Brothers suit costs. Get the picture about why I am confused?

I’ve attended a few protest meetings since April 15, 2009. I didn’t see anyone dressed in a suit, much less a Brooks Brothers Suit. Most of us wore denim jeans and message tee shirts. I think the elitist Nancy Pelosi, Robert Gibbs, and Barack Obama, who all seem to know about Brooks Brothers, are the ones who are way out of touch with reality. Like I said many times before, “they just don’t get it, or maybe they don’t want to.” 

Here are some conditions I have for accepting the health care reform  bill:

1. Nancy Pelosi, Robert Gibbs, and Barack Obama and families all fall into the high salary group who POTUS says will be taxed to pay the bill. I want them to pay 100 percent of their income for life into the plan.  Let them live on their socialist programs.

2. All elected government officials and bureaucrats must be cited and named in the bill as recipients of the same service they want us to have.

3.  Remove all the functions and references to “The National Health Care Board ” from the bill. We know this more by the endearing term “Death Panel.”

4. Remove all the functions and references to ” The Federal Coordinating Council For Comparative Effectiveness Research,”  from the bill. (This one slows progress in the field of pharmacology and medicine so as to reduce costs.)

5. Add the words “This Bill Does Not Cover Abortion,” either early or late term.

6. Add the definition, “Life Begins at the Moment of Conception.”

7. Add the definition: “Abortion is not a medical procedure, but an act of murder.”

8. Add the following: Neither the Constitution nor The Bill of Rights Guarantees the Right To Government Health Care.”

9. Add this: “In the event the cost of the services defined by this bill exceed original  estimates by twenty-five percent, the bill becomes null and void.

10. Add this: ” This bill is the product of a joint effort by all representatives of the people of the United States of America, and they are in complete agreement with its content.”

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Can I Fire Medicare?

Posted on 15/08/2009 by Grumpa Joe
My Flag Flies Everyday

My Flag Flies Everyday

What choice do I have? Can I fire Medicare?  Will the government give me a rebate so I can buy private insurance? Don’t give me the argument that the seniors are all fired up because they are protecting their beloved government health care program. Most of us would dump Medicare in a New York minute if we were allowed to do so. It won’t happen. Uncle would have to give up too much control. They give a shit about our welfare. All uncle and his congressmen care about is taking  our liberty, and building their own personal wealth. If SSA were eliminated it would save 229 billion dollars a year. If that wealth were to be redistributed to the 39 million Medicare insured, each would receive $5600.00. I think I could find a comparable or better  private health care policy for that premium.  

I  protest the new Obamacare, not because I don’t want people to have health care, but because Obamacare is evil. Read the bill.  There is nothing in the words to say that it will fund abortion, but abortion is a medical procedure and babies will be aborted as a medical procedure, and paid for by you and me. No, there is nothing in the words to say there is a ‘Death Panel,’ but there is something called ” The National Health Care Board.  This illustrious Board will approve or reject treatment for patients based on the cost per treatment divided by the number of years the patient will benefit from the treatment.” Obama continues to demonize private insurance companies for giving the insured a hard time on claims, but he fails to explain what role this Health Care Board will be doing about our claims.  Why doesn’t Obama just eliminate health care for everyone?  He’ll save a bundle. He doesn’t belong in the business anyway.

How about another great liberal idea, it’s called “The Federal Coordinating Council For Comparative Effectiveness Research, the purpose of which is “to slow the development of new medications and technologies in order to reduce costs.” An admirable effort to destroy drug companies and medical research facilities. More jobs lost, more brains willl leave the country. Where is all this going?

Get me the hell out of all government run or mandated programs ASAP. 

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