Anthony Weiner Resigns, My Warning to Republicans

New York Representative Anthony Weiner is reportedly resigning at 2PM today. I have called for Mr. Weiner's (I'm sorry but his name with what he did is a comics dream) resignation soon after this happened. I have also stated my admiration for the stances he took and the Progressive issues he supported. This being said, he caused a distraction that the Progressive movement can ill afford and I am glad that he has taken the correct step to resign. Now my warning to the Republican Party and it's leaders. We have sat back and watched as you failed to push your party members to resign, even though their offenses were as offensive as Mr. Weiners' or worse. We will not accept a person who committed a felon by soliciting prostitution, as Senator Vitter did. We will not let it slip by if a Senator,( John Ensign) pays off his staff member, to cover up the fact that he is intimate with that staff members wife. Don't forget that several Republican leaders were helping him in the cover up. We will not be idle as we were when Republican Governor Mark Sanford, states he is walking the Appalachian Trail while he was boinking his mistress in Argentina. These all happened recently and the Democrats looked the other way. The Republicans became attack dogs on Mr. Weiner and even attacked the Democratic leadership. My clear and loud warning to Republican leaders. I will be very loud and vocal about any hint of scandal from the Republican Party. If a Republican spits on the sidewalk and lies about it I will encourage other Progressive and Democrats to attack long and hard, until that individual is forced from office. The Democrats have set the bar. They persuaded Mr. Weiner to resign, before the Republicans did. I saw John Boehner, the man who always looks like he just sucked on a lemon, talk about the distraction, Weiner was from the important issues, facing the American people, but he never mentioned that it was the Republicans,who kept the distraction to the forefront. So if any Republicans have something you would like to get off your chest, now is the time. If you don't or lie about your involvement, your only recourse is to resign in disgrace. I will work very hard , to assure that happens. The American people will work very hard to make that happen. We deserve nothing less.

Lies Politicians Tell Us. How to Solve Health Care.

I have found a way to appease the Libertarians and Conservatives, who want to use the Federal mandate as an excuse to repel the Health Care Law. It is quite simple. If you want health care, with a single payer, so we can eliminate the greed from the insurance companies, you sign up for it and when you need it, you can go to your doctor or hospital or clinic and the amount will be sent to the government, similar to Medicare and Medicaid. If you decline to accept this and participate, then when you go to the doctor's office, or hospital or clinic, you will be refused care. Here is how this would work. Say you are driving to work and have a serious accident, the paramedics, would not know if you have insurance, so they would transport you to the nearest Emergency Room. Before you could see a physician, an administrator would determine if your had insurance. If you did not, they would wheel you back out into the parking lot. You would live or die, based upon your injuries and maybe a little luck. The doctors and nurses would not break their oath because they would not even know if you were there. Now lets say you have a trunk full of cash just for this situation, this becomes your lucky day. They will gladly take cash , credit cards, of course you would not be eligible for rewards points, or letters of credit from your bank. Those of us that have insurance would have a bar code tattooed on our legs. This would be very small and in an inconspicuous place. A few other points to make about the Lambert Health Care Plan. The torte reform would work here because if you have no insurance, you cannot sue the hospital for not treating you. You and your family have no recourse, thus our mal-practice insurance rates would go down for health care workers and providers. Minors under the age of 18 would have to be covered. I can see a law suite here to protect every ones right to die, but recent history shows that the courts should side with this. Our emergency rooms would no longer be filled by people using them as a doctor's office with colds and minor ailments. People with insurance would go to the clinic, and those without insurance would be turned away. People that have insurance would no longer pay for the uninsured through higher premiums and our taxes.So to review, my plan is very simple have insurance and receive treatment, don't have insurance and die. We could stop the states that are suing over the mandate. It is no longer a mandate. The federal government will not have to pay for the people that do not have insurance. Average Americans, who choose to be covered will no longer pay for the people, who feel their personal liberties are being stepped on by mandates, so we will have more money in our pockets. The insurance companies will stop stealing from us, with their big profits and bonuses. Tell me the down side. O.K. I admit there is one. People will die. So what, this is their choice. they want the freedom to do so. Unemployment will go down. Fewer people to apply for the available jobs. I mean the plus side keeps getting longer. Now I want to hear back from all of those people that think the new health care law is so terrible. Here is a great alternative that we all can live, or should I say die, with.

More Lies Our Politicians Tell Us! Health Care.

We cannot afford Universal or Single Payer Health Care. This is a big one. During the health care debates, Republicans hit on this one very hard. Why do I consider this to be untrue? What happens when someone without health care insurance goes to a hospital. Care is given. The cost is then written off  by the hospital and we indirectly pay the cost through our taxes. We also pay indirectly through higher insurance costs, when we pay our premiums. My point is this. I already pay for health insurance. When I go to the doctor's office or the hospital, I pay a deductible. When I get a prescription filled I pay a co-payment. All along the way I pay my fair share of the cost. The person who pays nothing, then goes to the hospital and gets service for free. No premium, no deductible and no co-payment. I then pay higher premium costs and taxes to offset this. Again if we all pay our fair share, through premiums, the cost for everyone would go down. Medicare and Medicaid have an administration cost of around 5%, while insurance companies have administration costs around 15% to 25%. Their costs have a profit built into it. You pay your premium and if or when you need it, they determine, not you and your doctor, what they will pay or if they will pay. We have to control costs in other ways, such as getting the best price for prescription, through negotiations. Start preventive care at birth and continue through out our lives. Help children, through parents, schools and doctors to learn and develop healthy lifestyles, that will cost us less. Look at end of life care and when to help a patient and family, again with their doctor, to make a good decision, both medically and financially. This is some of the ways to control costs and make health care affordable. When we all pay a premium to a single payer system, we build funds to the point that it covers everyone. This could be done at a state and local level, through exchanges, to offset the argument of federal involvement. However there has to be minimal oversight and a nationwide standard, so states could not water down the system. The end decisions would be left to the patient and their families, with direction from their physicians. We are always and I mean always able to afford a war. We are always able to afford foreign aid. We are always able to afford everything except what is in the best interest of our population. It will cost us in the beginning, but in a relatively short time the costs savings will add up to huge savings. This is maybe the most egregious lie that the various politicians have fed to the average American. We could all have the best medical care in the world. We just have to have the vision and will to make it this way.

The Lies Our Politicians Want You To Believe, Number Two!

The next great lie we have heard frequently is, cutting taxes will create jobs. The proof that this one is wrong is to look at the last 40 years. We have cut taxes over and over again and what do we have to show for this? A huge national debt and an unemployment rate of over 9%. As the tax rate went down the corporations and elite have just stockpiled the additional money. There was a study finished last week, where they asked people who made more then a million dollars what they did with their tax breaks, and the answers ranged from buying new cars and houses to, the most common answer, which was they did nothing with it. The extra money was just placed in investments and savings. No one started a new company or created more jobs. The corporations, and please note I am talking about corporations not small companies, are sitting on huge amounts of capital. They are not creating jobs. When the push was on to extend the "Bush" tax cuts, we were told that the uncertainty over this issue was keeping companies from hiring. Well, they received the cuts and we received the shaft. Jobs are created by people developing new and better products. Jobs are created by building new, or repairing old infrastructure. Jobs are created when CEO's stop worrying about their enormous bonuses and move their companies forward, instead of just gathering more cash. Jobs are created in private sector and by governments. Jobs are created when people start to realize that their future is tied directly to other people doing well. Jobs are created when we educate our population to the highest standard in the world. Jobs are not created by reducing our revenue, while we increase our debt. Now is the time to let our leaders know we understand the truth and they need to face the truth. Cutting taxes never has and never will create one single job.

The Lies Our Politicians Want You To Believe, Number One!

1. Social Security is Broke. The social security system is NOT broke. There is a 3.5 trillion dollar surplus. The problem is that our fearless leaders have been borrowing from us. The money is placed in Treasury Notes, which is just an IOU from the federal government. The government had their fun with our money and we want them to fulfill their promise. I have, for example, paid into Social Security for over 40 years. My employers have also paid into this on my behave for over 40 years. This is my money and the money of everyone that has contributed to this. Now the promises made by our politicians is coming due and they are starting to really sweat. Have you noticed they try to keep this issue from being personal? They talk about Social Security by placing it in the entitlement category and make it sound like this is free money. It is not. We have all worked for years and contributed these funds. Their has already been adjustments to the retirement age and if we need to make additional adjustments, do so, but keep in mind that people are affected by each move. I understand that we live longer, so to adjust the age that we start to receive funds can and should be pushed back. We have to take into consideration what the individual does leading up to retirement. A coal miner or laborer, for example, should have a lower retirement age then a banker, to start receiving Social Security. This should not be pitting the young against the elderly. We should work together to make this work now and for future generations. Some people will say that this should be privatized. Absolutely not. Just look at the recession we are in now and realize, how much the, "Baby Boomer", generation has lost in 401K and real estate money. Social Security is meant to be a safety net, to guard against such economic collapses. There are solutions for S.S. without hurting the average American. We need to start listening to some of the solutions and accept the ones that will solve the problem now and in the future. We also have to start listening to the lies that are thrust upon us by our leaders and call them out on those lies. Make them tell us not just the truth, but the whole truth, untwisted and unvarnished. If they can't we need to replace them with people who will.

Republicans are Hypocrits and Fools.

Earlier today I wrote and called for Congressman Anthony Weiner of New York to resign. This makes sense for Mr. Weiner, the Democratic Party and for his constituents. We all need to be able to move beyond the circus surrounding this event and get to the problems facing America. Listening to the different news and talk shows that I usually watch, one thing became abundantly clear. Republican leaders are the most hypocritical people around. Eric Cantor, the number two Republican in the House of Representatives, stated that Mr. Weiner should resign now. This is the same Eric Cantor, that when asked about Senator David Vitter, his response was we should pray for his family, and the choice for him to leave should be made by the people he represents. Vitter is the Louisiana Senator, who solicited prostitution from the D.C. Madam. This is a crime in both D.C. and his home state. When Senator John Ensign of Nevada, was caught having an affair with one of his employees wife, Cantor gave the same advice about prayer and the voters. When Governor Mark Sanford of South Carolina was caught slipping off to Argentina to meet his mistress, guess what Mr. Cantor's response was? Yes, again the prayers for his family and let the voters decide. What is the difference between Mr. Weiner and the others mentioned above? They are Republicans and Mr. Weiner is a Democrat. Mr. Cantor has been joined by the head of the Republican party, as well as a whole group of Republican lawmakers. All I can say, is the Republicans, have two sets of standards. One for their people and another for non Republicans. I happened to believe that we need to start and do what is in the best interest of the country, not what is best for the Republicans or Democrats to get elected. We need to set a high standard for ourselves and for our leaders. When we stop accepting the bad decisions and behavior of everyone, ourselves included, we can start to solve the problems facing America.  

Congressman Weiner should resign!

My first reaction when Rep. Weiner had his news conference yesterday was, no way should he leave office. Thinking about this last night and today I have changed my opinion. Let me say, I really like and respect Mr. Weiner. He was a strong voice for all of the same issues I support. He was there during the health care debate. His voice has been quite loud during the discussion on Social Security. He is vocal about the need for quality education for all of our children. Rep. Weiner was a leader on every social issue that is important for the average American. So with all of this said, why would I say Mr. Weiner should resign? Quite simply, he lied to the people he was elected to represent. He is not the first, and I would bet my life that he is not the last, but I feel the time has come for our representatives to step up to a high moral standard, of being able to tell the truth. How are we supposed to believe people once they start down that path of untruths? His deed really is a violation of the trust between him and his wife, however once he started to hide the facts it became a violation between him and his constituents. That has to become unacceptable. Politicians lie and tell half truths about everything. That is how they get elected. The time has come for us to demand the full truth from our leaders and make them accountable. The more we let them go down this route, we will continue to have this type of behavior. I will repeat this I like and respect Mr. Weiner. The Progressives will lose a valuable voice, but the voices we need to hear going forward, has to start with the truth. We have to make ourselves and the people who lead us, responsible. Do the right thing Representative Weiner. Start to make our system clean again.