ReElectNoOne's Comments (393)

“Ahhh Thanks for reminding me...I had almost been able to flush the hard drive of my own mind ! Proves that no news is worth overlooking !”

“I made an addition to my list of Amendments I would like to see in the Constitution.

http://thingsithinkabout.info/home/newamendments.html

No elected official shall switch parties while in office.

You [ Griffith ] were elected by Democrats who wanted you to represent their Democratic political views. Switching to the very party your voters chose NOT to represent them makes you a turn-coat and dishonest with your constituents. You do not deserve to be elected to any public office again because you have proven yourself to be untrustworthy.”

“His switch won't matter. He would not have voted for the bill anyway. Better he comes out of the closet and at least be honest about being a "republican" than pretend while back-stabbing his constituents.

Now they know what he is they can go about replacing him with someone they might be able to trust.”

“This one line, if it comes to pass, is the key:

"Make health care a RIGHT for every American."

Once established, rights tend to stay.

Once it is a "right" you cannot leave access to any right to a private corporation. Companies do not confer rights, they only sell products and services.

Once it is a "right" you cannot be denied that right based on your financial status.

Once it is an accepted "right" the only means to assure access is via a single payer tax supported universal health system.

Let's push for a right then drag the rest along kicking and screaming if we must.

Our foot is in the door.”

“When "turncoat Joe said, "The agreement we reached reflects the best thinking of both sides," you will note he did not identify those two sides. One side is Congress and the other was the health care insurance lobby.

We citizens had no side in this debate. I think it is time we bought our own congressmen back. You can by going here.... funny! Wish it would really work.

http://www.thingsithinkabout.info/buypoliticians.html”

“What happened to equal protection under the law...won't all the other states demand to be exempt as well and can they be refused? Can Congress single out a single state for preferential treatment like this? Some how I doubt it.”

“The mandate can't work legally!

Yes some in Congress say they can do this but no one has asked them how it can work legally. We as citizens have a protected right under law when it comes to contracts. The very definition says a contract constitutes a "meeting of the minds" and an exchange of something of value mutually agreed upon by the parties. If you can't negotiate these you can refuse to sign a contract.

What if I try to negotiate terms or price with all of the insurance carriers and they refuse my attempt so I refuse to sign as is my right. Can government take away my right to negotiate a contract then fine me for exercising that right?

Can they fine me and in the process place the burden of proof to show I cannot afford the insurance back on me? The law of the land has always been that if government wants to deprive you of property, you are entitled to due process and the burden of proof falls upon the government.

This is the time for Obama to take a page from the Bush play book and issue a signing statement stating he will not enforce any penalties for failure to purchase insurance when the carrier refuses to negotiate a contract with a buyer.”

“The main roadblock to creating a health care system in America is and always will be greed. Private insurance companies own congress so don't expect anything to happen that will really help America citizens when it comes to health care. It has been tried for decades with out any progress.

The problem is everyone always turns to financial arguments so they can side step the real need for reform. Saving lives and keeping Americans healthy. Cost should not be an issue because with control over a run-away system the price can only go down, provided you can keep the sticky fingers of big insurance companies out of the pie. Why else is it we pay more for less than any other nation on the planet for health care? Why are we rated no better than 37th place with a higher infant mortality rate and shorter life span than many other developed nations who take care of their citizens?

Remember the government is not "them" it is "us" and we need to insist that the tax dollars we pay actually do some good for all of us, not just for a wealthy few. It is not our job to insure profits for private insurance companies.

In a word...greed.”

“A "general fund" would need to be funded from taxes everyone pays. If government levies a fine on you for not entering into a contract, you are being deprived of property and are entitled to due process.”

“"I signed no contract with the state obligating me to buy health insurance or to maintain my health according to Democrats' arbitrary standards."

Yes you did, when you signed your license tags, being insured is part of your legal agreement with the state in exchange for that license. That said I also don't believe a mandate will hold water in court because it involves a fine for not buying a private commercial product that does involve a contract, one you (a) cannot require the company to negotiate with you and (b) you cannot refuse to accept even if the terms don't meet your needs or wants. Today you at least have the option to refuse to sign any health care agreement if you don't like the terms and they won't alter them to suit.”

“Minority party?

Were you asleep all through the last 3 years?”

“"A mandate... There is an exemption for folks who can prove they can't afford to buy insurance."

Since there is a fine or penalty for NOT buying insurance the burden of proof MUST lie on the government to prove you can't afford to pay, not on the consumer to prove it. This would go along with our constitutional right to due process when the government tries to levy a fine or other penalty. Just another can of worms such as has become typical of Congress these days.

"No person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law."

This "mandate" will also run afoul of our legal rights in contracts or agreements. What if I were to propose an amendment to a health plan contract and the insurance company refuses? Today I have the right to refuse to sign if we don't reach a mutual agreement. That is the basis of contract law. This "mandate" would seem to cripple citizens rights to negotiate contracts or refuse to sign one that does not meet their desires or needs. Forcing anyone to sign a contract to pay for services when the right to negotiate that contract is prohibited faces some interesting court challenges.

I suspect they just don't care because they have been bought and paid for by big insurance. Want to buy your own politician just for laughs? http://thingsithinkabout.info/buypoliticians.html”

“These plays on words, fact v fiction always avoid the real problem reform should tackle. How to save lives and secure the health of all American citizens.

There is talk about a raise in taxes. So what!

There are greedy companies who will keep the savings that are supposed to go to their employees if costs go down. Corporations are known to be greedy. That is why so many sent our jobs overseas completely eliminating paying salaries, health care and income taxes for their workers. Greed, after all, is the major reason we are in this mess both health and economy wise.

Health care reform can only work if you can unplug the greed. We need a universal health care system similar to the VA. Raise income taxes to pay for it. I have yet to see anyone study the cost of the extra taxes compared to the elimination of insurance premiums. These businesses would save by not having to buy insurance so they would be happier. If they don't offer better wages that is something their employees need to take up with them.

As in Switzerland, there need to be annual meetings to set prices for care. It works and there are still over 200 insurance companies vying for business even though the prices are fixed. No one does without care. No one dies because they don't have cash. No one goes bankrupt trying to save the life of a loved one.

What is wrong with Congress ??”

“What happened to "reaching across the aisle"

***

Do you recall all the talk about bi-partisanship? Do you remember Baucus in the Senate trying to win over Republicans?

It is clear it can't happen if those on the right simply refuse to play the game and obstruct anything and everything.

Reaching across the isle works only if someone on the other side is willing to take your hand. Republicans will never cooperate so don't blame the Democrats because they faced with sore losers who don't want to play.

It was obvious at the start that Republicans want nothing to do with health care reform. They remain too busy shoveling cash donations from big insurance to care what happens to the middle class. Were it otherwise they had 6 of the past eight years to do something. How has that worked out for us?

//”

“The defining attribute of all politicians it is their ability to talk...not make sense mind you, but to blow hot air.

Occasionally something of value is uttered and just as quickly ignored by the press so we don't get used to hearing sense come from politicians.

The Senate has proven this over and over as they fight over this issue as American's die for lack of care. They have their health care. For them there is no sense of urgency unless it directly affects them.

For all the arguments the only ones that are valid is the argument for saving lives and protecting our health. All the rest, who gets how much money, is not about health care, it is about preserving private profits with little regard for the actual health of our citizens. The problems have been ignored for decades because not one member of Congress ever died for lack of a doctor.

That points to the second thing politicians are well noted for...making sure they take care of themselves first, using our tax dollars.

Just a short bill, universal health care. Yes...it will cost some tax dollars but you won't be paying an insurance premium. It 's time the American people no longer need to fear the loss of loved ones or bankruptcy because they can't get medical care.

It is a disgrace Congress could and should fix it they had a smidgen of regard for the people they swore to server.”

“OOP's Correcion - 100 Senators. Can I blame my keyboard ??”

“For better or worse we are saddled with a system that can produce no better than sub-par results.

When you place 200 Senators and 400+ House members in a room and ask them to design anything, let alone health reform, the best you can expect is compromises and plans that are never as good as they should be.

Compromise always means giving up something good in exchange for something not so good just to get people to vote on it. On one hand compromise is good, but on the other hand, a law that is a compromise leaves one to wonder how much better it could have been.”

“I want to add an additional comment on the posting of some of these graphic images. I think sometimes these can serve to inflame people of good conscience to positive action. They are proof of an outrage that cannot find adequate force in mere words.

For the rest, as you accurately point out, they serve only as sadistic entertainment.

"A single picture is worth a thousand words" but what those words are remains to the beholder to determine.”

“I have less and less faith in our ability to change this. For one thing we have given away our ability for independent thought to mass media.

We listen to their drivel and accept anything said as truth when it is so often very far from the truth.

It is these sources that feed us the blood and gore. They subscribe to the mantra, "If it bleeds it leads", turning news into entertainment. They have made the masses numb to the pain of others and created "pain and mayhem" as a method of selling us their products and services.

The very people who have the power to effect change chose to use that power to infect us for their own profit.

We seem to have become too dumb to care or to turn the channel. I predict TVs in the future will no longer even have an off button !

www.thingsithinkabout.info”

“You have to hand it to some politicians. They are good at finding ways to screw Americans and at the same time support the wealthy who paid for their seats in office. Just one more trick.

So some Republicans like the idea. It does not matter because they won't vote for the reform bill anyway so the bottom line is they only want to propose this to delay reform, not to offer anything of benefit to citizens. Even with this amendment they will vote against reform, and their own amendment as a consequence.

Do they really think we are that dumb not to see what kind of foul trick they are playing on Americans.

Republicans, and some Democrats as well, are not about the best interests of their constituents, rather they are in office for three other reasons:

(a) personal agrandizement and
(b) to serve the masters who paid for their elections.
(c) secure themselves a future in big business when they leave Congress

Our interests are only of concern when seeking re-election. We need to think twice...then a third time before we send these same people back to Congress. They have proven not to be for the American middle class. Why do we think they will repent if we send them to serve another term?

//”

“Quoted: "We know the stimulus failed..."

Do all of these jokers speak out of both sides of their mouths! At the outset he says to use the unspent stimulus funds, then, after having admitted they have not yet used that money, claims the stimulus has failed?

Typical of the "do-nothing" party response to claim something still in its infant stage to be a failure then point blame and try to redirect those funds to pay for war, thus terminating our stimulus to buy bombs.

What is he trying to stimulate? Violence? War? Haliburton? ( Does Cheney have his stocks back yet? )

His party dug these holes now he complains that the new administration and his own congress have not yet fixed those problems Republicans spent the better part of eight years creating.

Bush started his term with a record surplus...He spent like a college kid with a gold card. Our card.

//”

“I can't help but get a chuckle ( and a shiver ) when I read the conservative counterparts to this site.

Case in point linked below...this site claims the same CBO says premiums will rise. But what is most un-nerving is the lack of intelligent posts by their readers. It saddens me the level of ignorance that pervades so many conservative blogs.

I think one of the primary problems in the US today is this ignorance. People are not just dumb...they seem proud of the fact that they won't allow truth to get in the way of their beliefs.

It is obvious why Corporate America loves to target these people...they are soooo easy !

http://www.cnsnews.com/public/content/article.aspx?rsrcid=57820

We need to start exposing this ignorance by re-posting some of the stupidest things people say over there. LOL !”

“I have a question.

Was Sen. Mark Warner one of those in Congress who voted to pass a bill that failed to place conditions on the lending of the cash to the banks...for instance a REQUIREMENT that they start loaning money again??

These spending bills are written by and passed by Congress. So why were provisions not included to make sure no bank got money without agreeing to loan it back out to business? Better omit the important then blame the president I guess.

Stop passing the buck Congress...if you anticipated banks doing the right thing on their own, you are too dumb to hold that office. You should have written strict mandatory guidelines into the bill that loaned the money in the first place.

Now stop complaining and amend the law to REQUIRE banks use the cash in ways that help the economy of someone other than themselves.”

“Won't happen because it would stand in the way of their "power" but I believe that with the internet is should be mandated that EVERY bill be posted and open for public comments before it can be voted on in Congress.

Each voter should be able to post a comment using their voter registration number so they get one comment only. Those comments would be sent to their representatives based on their voting districts so those reps know what their own constituents think. Those comments should also be available for other viewers to see minus personal identifying information.

After the comment period is over the individual reps should then be required to post their response to their own constituents with regards to their intended vote and why.

Let the world know what Congress is proposing and what the people really think about it.

I see a future where an elected representative becomes pointless and where, because of technology, "We the People" can actually propose and vote on the laws we must live under.

( We need to fix a sad education system first of course )”

“You hit the nail on the head re. Republicans these days.

They really DO want it both ways as long as both of those ways are THEIR ways.

Republicans simply cannot be satisfied with anything unless they are in total control...then they make war and trample civil rights circa "Bush" years. Heaven forbid they actually DO anything positive for America other than whine how patriotic they are as they slash and burn the middle class and pass the spoils to the wealthy class.”