Friday, July 31, 2009

Fascist My Ascist

Some of this stuff I picture being said by a person dressed from coiffe to shod in drool and spittle. The sad truth is its being spewed by perfectly good, nice, and otherwise 'normal' people. I like some of these people. But some of what is being said is at least nonsense and at the far end, hateful. Read my response to a chain email I received, along with the original note below, to understand why I feel this way.

From Webster's online dictionery - fas·cism Pronunciation: \ˈfa-ˌshi-zəm also ˈfa-ˌsi-\ Function: noun Etymology: Italian fascismo, from fascio bundle, fasces, group, from Latin fascis bundle & fasces fasces Date: 1921 1often capitalized : a political philosophy, movement, or regime (as that of the Fascisti) that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition2: a tendency toward or actual exercise of strong autocratic or dictatorial control
So the president's plan is fascist, is it? He exalts nation and often race above the individual, through his healthcare plan; he stands for a centralized autocratic government according to the health plan; he seeks to lead the government as a dictator, as far as the healthcare plan is concerened; the plan includes severe economic and social regimentation; and there will be forcible suppresion of opposition both about and within the president's health care proposal. Huh. I didn't get that part.
The short title is so misleading, then: ‘‘America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009’’. Choices. Clearly a fascist lie. The dictator Obama shows himself to be a real clown offering this kind of language in a fascist proposal: "Protecting the choice to keep current coverage." Aha!! And this Communist quote directly from the plan "A qualified health benefits plan may not impose any pre-existing condition exclusion..." offers plenty of insight into how he plans to handle the race issue. Race is, after all, pre-existing for most of us.
Then, the autocratic maniac has the nerve to insert this little tidbit? "The requirements... relating to guaranteed availability and renewability of health insurance coverage, shall apply to individuals and employers in all individual and group health insurance coverage, whether offered to individuals or employers through the Health Insurance Exchange, through any employment-based health plan, or otherwise, in the same manner as such sections apply to employers and health insurance coverage offered in the small group market, except that such section... shall apply only if, before nonrenewal or discontinuation of coverage, the issuer has provided the enrollee with notice of non payment of premiums and there is a grace period during which the enrollees has an opportunity to correct such nonpayment. Rescissions of such coverage shall be prohibited except in cases of fraud..."
I could go on and on. From my point of view, the writer of the analysis below is not particularly bright and shows his bias more clearly than he does his point. All the great men and women that have gone before Obama, and I say that with tongue firmly planted in cheek, have done nothing to address this horrible, embarrassing, in some cases criminal, problem in our country. I'm glad beyond glad that Obama is addressing it, whether the plan is perfect or not. The brilliance of our form of government does not come in each individual step. It comes in the way of the indomitable spirit of the individual joining hands with the collective to move forward; the incredible strength of our self-correction through government of the people, by the people and for the people; the struggle to do, to climb, to pursue, to fly and to provide the opportunity for all of us to have the chances we would not have anywhere else.


Fascist? Hardly.

THE ONE WORD TO DESCRIBE OBAMACARE



Written by Dr. Dave Janda
Thursday, 23 July 2009
As a physician who has authored books on preventative health care, I was given the opportunity to be the keynote speaker at a Congressional Dinner at The Capitol Building in Washington last Friday (7/17). The presentation was entitled Health Care Reform, The Power & Profit of Prevention, and I was gratified that it was well received. In preparation for the presentation, I read the latest version of "reform" as authored by The Obama Administration and supported by Speaker Pelosi and Senator Reid. Here is the link to the 1,018 page document:
http://edlabor.house.gov/documents/111/pdf/publications/AAHCA-BillText-071409.pdf Let me summarize just a few salient points of the above plan. First, however, it should be clear that the same warning notice must be placed on The ObamaCare Plan as on a pack of cigarettes: Consuming this product will be hazardous to your health. The underlying method of cutting costs throughout the plan is based on rationing and denying care. There is no focus on preventing health care need whatever. The plan's method is the most inhumane and unethical approach to cutting costs I can imagine as a physician. The rationing of care is implemented through The National Health Care Board, according to the plan. 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." Translation.....if you are over 65 or have been recently diagnosed as having an advanced form of cardiac disease or aggressive cancer.....dream on if you think you will get treated.....pick out your coffin. Oh, you say this could never happen? Sorry.... this is the same model they use in Britain .The plan mandates that there will be little or no advanced treatments to be available in the future. It creates 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." Yes, this is to be the law. The plan also outlines that doctors and hospitals will be overseen and reviewed by The National Coordinator For Health Information and Technology. This " coordinator" will "monitor treatments being delivered to make sure doctors and hospitals are strictly following government guidelines that are deemed appropriate." It goes on to say....."Doctors and hospitals not adhering to guidelines will face penalties." According to those in Congress, penalties could include large six figure financial fines and possible imprisonment. So according to The ObamaCare Plan....if your doctor saves your life you might have to go to the prison to see your doctor for follow -up appointments. I believe this is the same model Stalin used in the former Soviet Union . Section 102 has the Orwellian title, "Protecting the Choice to Keep Current Coverage." What this section really mandates is that it is illegal to keep your private insurance if your status changes - e.g., if you lose or change your job, retire from your job and become a senior, graduate from college and get your first job. Yes, illegal.When Mr. Obama hosted a conference call with bloggers urging them to pressure Congress to pass his health plan as soon as possible, a blogger from Maine referenced an Investors Business Daily article that claimed Section 102 of the House health legislation would outlaw private insurance. He asked: "Is this true? Will people be able to keep their insurance and will insurers be able to write new policies even though H.R. 3200 is passed?" Mr. Obama replied: "You know, I have to say that I am not familiar with the provision you are talking about." Then there is Section 1233 of The ObamaCare Plan, devoted to "Advanced Care Planning." After each American turns 65 years of age they have to go to a mandated counseling program that is designed to end life sooner. This session is to occur every 5 years unless the person has developed a chronic illness then it must be done every year. The topics in this session will include, "how to decline hydration, nutrition and how to initiate hospice care." It is no wonder The Obama Administration does not like my emphasis on Prevention. For Mr. Obama, prevention is the "enemy" as people would live longer.I rest my case. The ObamaCare Plan is hazardous to the health of every American.After I finished my Capitol Hill presentation, I was asked by a Congressman in the question-answer session: "I'll be doing a number of network interviews on the Obama Health Care Plan. If I am asked what is the one word to describe the plan what should I answer." The answer is simple, honest, direct, analytical, sad but truthful. I told him that one word is FASCIST.Then I added, "I hope you'll have the courage to use that word, Congressman. No other word is more appropriate."Dr. Dave Janda, MD, is an orthopedic surgeon, and a world-recognized expert on the prevention of sports injuries, particularly in children. His website is noinjury.com.

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Oh brother... I wish I had one

Did you ever have a day when you wish you had someone to lean on? It doesn't even have to be a tragic day. Just one of those days. When you need someone who's a little bit taller than you, stronger and kind? It can't be someone you're married to because that person is the someone you always lean on. And if your spouse is like my honey, he or she already has a permanent dent where your head usually rests.
So it has to be someone who doesn't often hold you up. Just someone who knows you, loves you, and wants to comfort you for no better reason than because you need comfort. And don't say 'God', because much as I love the Lord, some days it is necessary to feel the palpable strength He provides in the way of a human touch. (I believe this is why God invented massage therapy too.) So it has to be a big, strong person with some vested interest in your peace of mind and not enough day-to-day mingling with your problems to find you annoying. And it has to be someone accessible. And not someone too nurturing or soft. You need someone more stiff and non-maternal. So it has to be a brother.
I always tell my girls "Don't torture your brother. Some day, you'll need him." I wish my mother had thought of that because today, I need mine. I need to tell him I'm worried and have him smile at me and tell me it'll all be alright. I need to whine about my problems and have him give me some smartass response so I forget to be self-indulgent. I need him to smell like cotton and man and faintly like my childhood. I need him to look a little bit like me and have my laugh or something like that. I need my big brother to let me lean on his shoulder while he just sits there waiting for me to get over it all, even if he's holding a remote and not really paying attention. I just need my brother. But I don't have one of those.
So, onward, with my head slightly tilted in anticipation of a place to rest where none exists, with my problems firmly planted on my own two shoulders, and my thanks to that benevolent God for granting me the blessing of giving my girls the brother I never had. I could receive no greater comfort than that.

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Wondering, Wonder and Shame

Ever wonder what it'd be like to go on a cross-country road trip with your husband and small children? Imagine it with full-color and smell-o-vision. You might get a waft of the relative freshness of gas-station restrooms across the miles, as compared to the human-fume-infused, infrared-nostril-searing scent in your car. Perhaps you would feel every fiber of your comfort-cushion seats screeching across your body as you struggle to rest with 40 mind-numbing hours listening to bad crackle and worse country music on the pleading-for-silence radio behind you. Or maybe you would envision the roadside discourse with an oversealous tan-clad state trooper who feels morally compelled to tell you that he's doing you a favor as he writes you a $255 ticket instead of jailing you for fleeing his state at top-gun speeds in your minivan. You could picture all those things and you'd have a good idea what'd be like.

But if those visions kept you from taking the trip, you might miss so much more.

You'd fail to see your husband huff and puff his way to the top of a rest-station background hill with seven kids in tow, just to show them what the mountain ranges beyond look like. Even better is watching them all come back down, flushed and excited because the road ahead looks so spectacular.

You'd miss supervising your children as they carefully select the three rocks you're permitting them to take in the car. You can't imagine the depth of emotion invested in choosing one for color, one for texture and one 'just because I have a good feeling about it'.

You would lose the chance to lean back on the massive rock-walls of the grand canyon with the heat of your children pressing upon you as you all gaze up at the milky way. It's one of those magic-on-Earth moments to see your child reach out with a wide grasp, convinced he can touch a star, smiling to himself, twinkling in his own right as he reflects the shimmer of the glistening sky beyond.

And then you might also miss having your baby, er big girl, who usually spends most of her time barrelling down on teen years like the rock that famously chased Indiana Jones, take on the countenance of a babe-in-arms as she delights in simple pool-splashing and ice-cream devouring afternoons. So delish!

If you allowed the worries to overcome the wonder, you might miss the chance of a lifetime to be with your family and love them all the way across the plains, through the mountains, into the desert, over the hills, past the storms, beyond the farms, and back into the familiar lights of your city home, completely spent and thoroughly thrilled, in a good-tired kind of way.

Now wouldn't that be a shame?