Jon Kyl

Sen. Jon Kyl, Republican of Arizona, said the following on the floor of the U.S. Senate (WebMD):

"The health insurance industry is one of the most regulated industries in America," said Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) this week. "They don't need to be 'kept honest' by the government."

Obviously, Kyl has never had to fight with an insurance company about why they won't approve surgery, chemotherapy, or medical treatment. Kyl and other legislators have phenomenal, top of the line medical insurance. Just ask a regular person who has health insurance coverage:

- Women being cut off from medical insurance because they had a previous high risk pregnancy.
- Insurance companies denying chemotherapy because it is too expensive.
- Patients being refused insurance coverage because insurance office clerks call the surgery "experimental."

What happens when a patient or a doctor's office calls a health insurance company about the denial of medical treatment? They are left on hold for an hour, or two hours, in hopes that they'll just give up.

When Republicans try to defend their pro-insurance, anti-health care bill stance, they usually refer to some quote by the "Lewen Group." Who? The Star-Press tells all:

"Generally left unsaid amid all the citations is that the Lewin Group is wholly owned by UnitedHealth Group, one of the nation's largest insurers. More specifically, the Lewin Group is part of Ingenix, a UnitedHealth subsidiary that was accused by the New York attorney general and the American Medical Association ... of helping insurers shift medical expenses to consumers by distributing skewed data (July 22, The Washington Post). UnitedHealth settled last January paying $50 million to New York and $340 million to the AMA.Republican talking points will be heard verbatim and ad nauseum in the coming weeks from elected GOPers, conservative pundits and in million dollar ads paid for by insurance companies. In the meantime, people die and some go bankrupt all for lack of insurance or having their insurer deny coverage for needed procedures.....

Those for health reform are doctors, nurses, the AMA, and people. Those against it are the Republicans and the Insurance Companies. At the end of a fiscal year, insurance company executives get bonuses for all the money they've saved the company. That "saved money" is from all the medical treatment they've denied.

According to Open Secrets, John Kyl's campaign has received $46,626 from Blue Cross/Blue Shield in contributions. Need I say more????? Why not call Sen. Kyl's office and share your horror story about your health insurance company? Phone: (202) 224-4521 / Fax: (202) 224-2207

Busy, Busy, Busy

* Yesterday I visited the "dark side" when I did a GOOGLE search for the so-called birther leader, Orly Taitz. Taitz, who is a dentist and online diploma mill law school graduate (she can only practice law in California!), has quite a following of loons, racists, and fringe groups. I read through the ignorant rants in the comment sections of the websites associated with Taitz. Orly Taitz and her followers are racists. Period. (Note: Taitz's online California diploma mill law school is NOT accredited by the American Bar Association.)

* Are you interested in getting involved in a boycott of Glenn Beck's advertisers? After Beck's recent racist attacks on President Obama, people wanted to do something to stop these horrible, verbal, anti-American rants from Glenn Beck. DailyKos has the complete information. MSNBC's Donnie Deutsch, a marketing and public relations genius, suggested a boycott of those advertisers who support Glenn Beck's racism. For the advertising list and contact info, visit the DailyKos link. I've already sent off my emails. Here is an excerpt from DailyKos:

...This was during Deutsch's new MSNBC show (filling in for David Schuster) that he co-hosts with Tamron Hall. He then listed some of the advertisers and asked that people contact them to complain about their support for Beck's appearances on Fox:

• General Motors
• Campbell Soup
• Chrysler
• Proctor & Gamble
• Pfizer
• Kellogg
• Walmart
• Kraft Foods
• Nestle

Get busy letting these advertisers know how you feel!

* If you are looking for a new car and want to take advantage of the "cash for clunkers" federal program, check out the official government website, CARS.gov. You'll find the most accurate information.

Today

* There is a great bumper sticker at Cafepress:



Here in central Ohio, there are still a few nutcases with Bush-Cheney
stickers on their cars. I'm not sure about their reasons for displaying such an unattractive sign.

* What is it with CNN's Lou Dobbs? Has he gone off the deep end or is he trying to improve his ratings?

* The "Cash for Clunkers" is a big success at local car dealerships.
Dispatch:
The back lot at Dennis Hyundai is a jalopy graveyard, tangible evidence that the public has responded in droves to the federal government's "Cash for Clunkers" program....
....Dealers across central Ohio report strong turnout for the incentive, which began in earnest on Friday. Customers can get up to $4,500 for trading in a gas guzzler for a more fuel-efficient new car....
....The effect was particularly notable at Dennis Hyundai on the North Side, which sold 131 vehicles under the program from Friday to Monday....

Awesome! What a stroke of genius!

Check out Stahler comic about the Republican "clunker."

Showing Their True Colors

Now we know the truth.
Washington Post:

The Senate Judiciary Committee this morning endorsed Sonia Sotomayor to become an associate justice of the Supreme Court on a largely partisan vote that sends her historic nomination to the full Senate for a final decision on her confirmation.

The 13 to 6 vote came nearly two weeks after the committee's members grilled Sotomayor for 2 ½ days, eliciting answers that betrayed little indication of how the nominee, an appellate judge for the past 11 years, would rule on the most significant issues that come before the nation's highest court.....

The Hill:

....Sotomayor was not present Tuesday — she went through four days of questioning two weeks ago — and was opposed by the other six Republicans on the panel: ranking member Jeff Sessions (Ala.), John Cornyn (Texas), Tom Coburn (Okla.), Jon Kyl (Ariz.), Chuck Grassley (Iowa) and Orrin Hatch (Utah)....

Only Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina voted to support her nomination.

We will remember the names of those Republicans who voted against the first Latino woman's nomination for the Supreme Court------Sessions, Cornyn, Coburn, Kyl, Grassley, and Hatch. Six old white men voted against her. Were they anti-female, anti-Latino, or anti-Obama nomination? I hope that Latino voters mark their names down and remember them on election day.

Of Note

* The LA Times is reporting that the Senate Judiciary Committee will be voting on the appointment of Sonia Sotomayor:

The Senate Judiciary Committee will gather at 10 a.m. today to vote on Sonia Sotomayor, with President Obama's first Supreme Court nominee likely to win approval by a comfortable margin.

The majority Democrats have been strongly in favor of the Bronx-born judge, who would be the first Latina to serve on the high court. They say her record as a New York prosecutor and her 17 years of experience on the bench shows she would be in the mainstream of American law.....

The vote should follow party lines.

*** Republican Sen. Jim DeMint doesn't want you to see this You Tube ad from the DNC:
(I found the ad at Huffington Post.)



It looks like DeMint got some of the stations in South Carolina to pull the ads (Politico). Why? Is DeMint afraid to let the people in South Carolina hear the truth?

By the way, a closer inspection of Sen. Jim DeMint's political contributions show that the insurance companies and their PACs are continuing to show their love. IF President Obama's health care plan passes, Jim DeMint's pals in insurance companies would lose big, big bucks.

Here is a look at the FEC report on Jim DeMint (from Jan. to present 2009):

AFLAC PAC---3/24/09---$500
ALLSTATE INSURANCE CO. PAC---3/3/2009---$1,000
AMERICAN INSURANCE ASSOC. PAC----4/24/09---$1,000
HUMANA INC. PAC-5/6/2009--$2,500
INDEPENDENT INSURANCE AGENTS & BROKERS PAC-3/30/2009--$2,000
METLIFE PAC--5/7/2009---$1,500
NATIONAL ASSOC. HEALTH UNDERWRITERS PAC--1/28/2009-$1,000
NATIONAL ASSOC. HEALTH UNDERWRITERS PAC--1/28/2009-$1500

For even more of the ugly truth about DeMint's political contributions, check out the Federal
Elections Commission reports here and here (individuals).

Here and Now

* I don't care what Sarah Palin does. Why is the media focusing on her and her brood? I don't care!

* Why are we continuing to see stories about Michael Jackson? Let him rest in peace. PLEASE!

* Democratic members of Congress need to step up and support President Obama's healthcare legislation. If they are reluctant, we need to let them know that their vote is necessary.

* Republican members of Congress are talking about delaying any legislation for healthcare. Of course, the Republicans would like to delay healthcare legislation for another fifty years. They don't want Democrats winning on the issue, and the GOPers don't want to lose the contributions from the deep pockets of insurance companies and their PACs.

* Sen. DeMint, Republican of South Carolina, is a dangerous loon. Huffington Post has this:

....Appearing on "This Week," the South Carolina Republican said the president was "out of control" and offering false promises and panic in an effort to get health care legislation passed.

"This is not personal against the president," said DeMint. "I like the president. But he is out of control and he is leading a stampede of more spending and debt and taxes and government takeovers. He has taken a bad economy and made it worse. He used a lot of false promises, and bogus numbers and panic to push through the stimulus. And the promises have not panned out. And now he is using the same strategy on health care......"

I wonder why DeMint didn't question President George W. Bush's rush into war and Vice President Cheney's secrecy? Why did DeMint keep quiet about the torture and the warrantless wiretaps? Weren't these things dangerous to our freedoms or did DeMint just look the other way?

Jim DeMint seems to be against everything that President Obama proposes. Could it be that DeMint is a.........racist? Philosophically, DeMint is to the right of Attila the Hun. He has spoken in support of privatizing Social Security and he is against a federal minimum wage. Now, DeMint seems to be trying to be trying to incite his far right supporters. I think we need to view DeMint as some sort of extremist with views that are clearly racist.

Friday, Friday, Friday!!!!

While we were in Florence (Firenze), Italy, I saw some more little cars that I found very interesting. One of them was a three-wheeled car called a Pasquali. The Pasquali is a two-seater---one seat in the front and one seat in the back. Here is a picture that I found at Carspace:


See more Car Pictures at CarSpace.com

* I believe that Sen. Reid is wrong to delay the Senate's work on health care reform. Raw Story is reporting that Reid has put off health care legislation until the fall. You can e-mail Sen. Reid at this link or call his Washington DC office at 202-224-3542.


**In a new poll, The Washington Post is reporting that only 40% of those polled have a favorable opinion of Sarah Palin. I'm surprise that it is that high!!!!

* Why is Jon Husted always referred to as being from "Kettering" when everyone knows he lives in Upper Arlington? What ever happened to the residency question?

The Stupidity of "Birthers"

I don't know which individual started it, but there are people who believe that President Barack Obama is not an American citizen. These so called "birthers" are vocal, but thank goodness, small in number. The "birthers" believe that President Obama was born in Kenya, not in Hawaii, and they ask for proof of his birth certificate. The "birthers" obviously have not checked the factcheck.org link that has the birth certificate and the corresponding proof of his birth. The "birthers" probably don't realize that President Obama has been cleared by the FBI and CIA well before he became President.

Why would these incredibly stupid people believe that Obama is not a natural born citizen of the U.S.A.? What do they gain by pushing their wildly, idiotic ideas? They are trying to somehow question his authority and legitimacy as President.

It may not be a surprise to you, but the "birthers" are all members of the Republican Party. Why is it that the GOP seems to attract all these fringe, stupid people? I have no idea. My suggestion is to continue to label the "birthers" as stupid, uneducated people with nothing but wild imaginations and too much time on their hands. They need to channel their energies into something good.

DeMint + the GOP = Against Progress

I saw Sen. Jim DeMint (SC-R) on the Today Show this morning. What a strange man! Now DeMint is quoted as saying this, as reported in the Christian Science Monitor:

“If we’re able to stop Obama on this, it will be his Waterloo. It will break him.”

Why does Jim DeMinst want to "break" or destroy President Obama? I find the quote by DeMint bizarre.

Here is more from the Christian Science Monitor article:

...Both Monday and Tuesday, Obama has riffed on DeMint’s comments, turning the debate into an argument about “opponents of reform.”

On Monday, Obama said, “This isn’t about me. This isn’t about politics. This is about a healthcare system that is breaking America’s families, breaking America’s businesses, and breaking America’s economy.”

On Tuesday, he kept going: “I know that there are those in this town who openly declare their intention to block reform. It’s a familiar Washington script that we’ve seen many times before. These opponents of reform would rather score political points than offer relief to Americans who’ve seen premiums double and costs grow three times faster than wages.”

According to an article in Salon from 2004, DeMint had some tax problems in the past. The article describes DeMint as being against a federal minimum wage and for privatizing Social Security. If the American worker doesn't have the protection of a federal minimum wage, that is horrible. DeMint's support of privatizing Social Security would have put senior citizens in the streets if Bush's proposals would have passed with what we know about the failures of the stock market. In my humble opinion, that makes DeMint out of the mainstream and into the extreme, extreme right. DeMint is a dangerous man. Is he really working for the people in his state or for something else?

Home At Last

To celebrate our 35th wedding anniversary, we spent the last two weeks in beautiful Italy. After visiting Assisi, Florence, Milan, chianti country, and Rome, we are thankful to be back in the USA.

I think we visited nearly every art gallery and famous location in each city. We enjoyed cappuccino and espresso, ate wonderful food, but still yearned for some American culture. My husband and I agree that no one does cappuccino like the Italians (Starbucks comes close) and the regular Italian coffee leaves a lot to be desired. We were happy this morning to enjoy our great American Maxwell House coffee from our own coffee maker in our kitchen.

Our last night in Rome we went to a Bruce Springsteen concert at the Olympic Stadium. Because another event was going on at near the stadium, the concert started at 10:30pm. Bruce played until just after 1:30am. Bruce and the E Street Band played an extraordinary concert and the crowd was fantastic in their appreciation.

The only problem happened after the concert when 40-60,000 fans spilled onto the street and the taxi drivers started to arrive with their usual speed (s-l-o-w-l-y). We should have had an indication of what would happen after the concert when a woman sitting next to us hinted that there might be problems with transportation after the concert. She said that "...taxi drivers in Rome don't like to come down to big events because of the traffic jams...."

After trying to flag down the few taxis that came in front of the stadium with hundreds of others, we were left tired and frustrated. For nearly two hours after the concert, we stood outside the stadium trying to catch a taxi. Finally, with the help of an American living and working in Italy, we were able to share a taxi back to our hotel. Our American "guardian angel" negotiated and yelled at a Roman taxi driver and got us the ride.

(Note to New York taxi drivers: Taxi drivers in Rome need your help on how to hustle, make more money, and be nice to passengers. I'd suggest that Roman taxi drivers attend New York taxi driving school to learn courtesy and business skills. I can also understand why there are so many Italian race car drivers. They must have all had experience driving the streets of Rome, where red lights, speed limits, parking spaces, and street directions are viewed as small suggestions.)

It is good to be back home in the USA!

Updates

We are still visiting Italy. We will be seeing Bruce Springsteen in concert in Rome over the weekend.

There is something very special about the Italian way of life. Shopkeepers close their stores at noon in order to go home for lunch for 2 to 3 hours. People seem to take time to enjoy their families and spending time with friends. And of course, every Italian must enjoy a little wine. It is no wonder that Italians have a longer lifespan than other people.

Ciao! More later......

Waiting and Watching

What will the Republicans in the Senate do when Judge Sotomayor's name comes up for nomination? Will they vote for her? Let me assure you that people will be watching and writing down the names of those Senators who vote AGAINST Sotomayor. Women, Latinos, and good people will remember the names of those Senators who say "No!" and we'll do whatever we can to publicize their vote against her.

What will Sen. George Voinovich do? Will he vote against her? Watch those Senators who live in states with Hispanic and Latino voters. If they vote against Sotomayor, they'll insure their own loss at the voting booth.

I Hope....

.... that more people go kiss each other in front of the Mormon Church in Salt Lake City. What is wrong with kissing someone in front of a church? Does the Mormon Church control the entire sidewalk, road, and air in front of their church.

.... that the people in North Korea will rise up against the dear leader. Why would anyone continue to follow a leader who deprives them of food and freedom, while he boosts his own lifestyle????

.... that the Republicans realize that if they disrespect Judge Sotomayor that American citizens, especially those with Hispanic and Latino family ties, will not forget this injustice. The Republicans only respect WASPs and their intolerance is disturbing. It is no wonder that the Republicans are becoming extinct.

..... that Americans realize that we have a President today who is respected by our allies in the world. When President Obama was in Italy, everyone had wonderful things to say about him. He has helped our country in our relationship with others.

What is it.....

....with Republicans in South Carolina????

According to the Huffington Post, Sen. Jim DeMint, said that the U.S. is in the same situation that Germany was before Hitler came to power. Seriously. Does DeMint even know anything about history or is he just talking out of his you know what? DeMint's somewhat daily proclamations about President Obama are getting a little old. If DeMint has nothing new to present to the citizens of South Carolina and to all of our nation, he should just shut up. What does DeMint have to offer? Does he have a plan to get people back to work? Can he solve the problems with North Korea, Iran, or fix the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan? DeMint couldn't offer any new ideas or solutions if his life depended on it. However, he certainly seems to be successful to trying to lie about President Obama.

Sen. DeMint and his pal, Gov. Mark Sanford need to read, stop invoking false stories, and create some innovative ways to re-employ people and bring peace to various regions. If DeMint and Sanford, and the rest of the "family values" GOPers can't do that, then they need to shut up. That is pure and simple. Obviously, DeMint is an example of an empty tin making the most noise.

I'd like to nominate DeMint as one of Olbermann's "Worst People In the World." Don't you agree?

Moving to an Undisclosed Location...

We will be traveling and my posting will be from an undisclosed location. We were fortunate enough to go to Chicago over the weekend. It was beautiful.

In the meantime.......

* I sincerely wish the media would stop discussing Sarah Palin, her resignation, and her plans. I simply do not care!!!!!

* When will Joe Scarborough stop acting like such an arrogant fool? Probably never.

* With the President overseas meeting world leaders, it makes me proud to have such a wonderful, intelligent person as our President.

Later.....

The 4th of July

I'm blogging from an undisclosed location, but you might be able to figure out where we are.....

Last night we watched fireworks from our hotel window. We saw fireworks in the city with the tallest building in the U.S., and the fireworks celebrations in the surrounding communities. It was beautiful.

* Sarah Palin is going to resign as the Governor of Alaska. Ho, hum. In my view, this is just part of the soap opera that is her life. Is there some other scandal that is going to break? Is this her way to prepare for a run for President? Frankly, my dear, I don't care.

* The other soap opera that continues in the Republican Party is the saga of the Gov. Mark Sanford. How is this guy able to govern with all of this mess surrounding him? It is just really sad that Sanford would rather feed his ego and his sexual urges than take care of his family and the state he was elected to govern. How can Sanford's staff and other members of the SC government trust him since he appears to be completely untrustworthy and a slimeball in his personal life?????

Happy 4th of July!

Posting will be sporadic over the next few days. In the meantime, enjoy the holiday weekend!

I've Had Enough

* It might be a generational thing, but I've had enough of the media coverage of the passing of Michael Jackson. As a faithful viewer of the Today Show, I've had to change the channel because of their overabundance of coverage of his death, his family, etc., etc., etc. Enough already.

* Here it is July 2nd, and Mark Sanford is still the Governor of South Carolina. If I lived in South Carolina, I'd be very embarrassed about that. Sanford's continuing talk about his mistress and other women, is just plain disgusting. He is acting like a seventh grade boy instead of a grown man. Sanford is a so called "family values" Republican. Is Sanford an example of what the GOP means by "family values?"


* In central Ohio, very slowly, companies are starting to hire again. Businesses, grocery stores, insurance companies, offices, and other companies are putting out hiring notices. New restaurants are opening in the Polaris area, and ads are appearing online and in the papers. It may not be a mammoth hiring move, but it is a beginning.

Al Franken!!!

Congratulations to Senator-elect Al Franken!!!!

> Vanity Fair has an interesting article about Gov. Sarah Palin. My favorite quote from the article is this:

....One longtime McCain friend and frequent companion on the trail was heard to refer to Palin as “Little Shop of Horrors.”.....

It appears that things were very, very tense between Palin, McCain, and the McCain staff. Could you imagine the disaster that they would have brought on the country if the GOP had won the White House???????

***** Ohioans are keeping their fingers crossed that some new jobs come through with the manufacture of railway cars.

Dispatch:

Eyeing federal stimulus money set aside for transportation projects, a Columbus company has purchased a defunct manufacturer of diesel-powered passenger railcars and is talking to the state about basing manufacturing operations in Ohio.

U.S. Railcar LLC would employ between 100 and 200 workers once a manufacturing site is established, said Barry Fromm, CEO of financial-services firm Value Recovery Group, lead investor in U.S. Railcar....