"February 25, 2010 6:48 pm ET by Solange Uwimana

Never one to miss an opportunity to attack President Obama, the first lady, or health care reform on his radio show (not necessarily in that order), Rush Limbaugh managed to hit all three in the span of a few seconds today while mocking Obama’s health care summit. Limbaugh, referring to Obama’s anecdote about having to rush his daughters to the emergency room, stated:

LIMBAUGH: Any person in America, from the richest guy in the country to the cheapest, poorest illegal immigrant can do exactly the same thing Obama just described and that’s go to the emergency room. And Tom Coburn made that point. Everybody gets treated in this country. That’s not what we’re here talking about. We’re talking about fraud, waste — we just need to get it out of there.

Now, why, since Obama just described this wonderful system where his two daughters — two fat daughters, according to his wife — his two fat daughters came down with some sort of a disease and had to rush them to the emergency room, why design a system that destroys the very best private health care that he says he’s so thankful for?…"

  The above is from MediaMatters for America and they say that Michelle Obama never called her daughters fat.
  What I would add is how in the hell can a fat pig like Rush Limbaugh call anyone fat?

 
  The other thing that I want to add is that this show just how fucking stupid Rush Limbaugh is and how he lies to his listeners.
  I think he knows the truth and I think you even understand it .. But let me try and lay it out to with a made up example…
  OK you work for a company that has health insurance and you pay $150.00 a month for the health insurance and the company pays $200.00 a month for you.  OK you have a family doctor and lots of little things get seen in his office and you can call his office if you a question or need something simple.
  OK stick with me here.. You have something happen that you have to go to the emergency room at the hospital.  What do you find when you get to the ER?  It is full.  All the carts are full of patients.  You are going to have to wait hours in the waiting room to be seen (unless you have a real emergency).  The ER and the halls and the waiting rooms are filled with people that want to be seen in the ER and this is important because they do NOT have health care insurance…They are not seeing a family doctor.  They do not have a family doctor. They can not call a doctor’s office and ask a simple question.  The only way they can get health care is to go the the EMERGENCY room of a HOSPITAL. 
  OK hang in here a bit with me… Now the reason are system is fucked is because the people have no access to health care so they go to the ER.  NOW.. it cost a lot to be seen in an ER. 
  Now so they see you in the ER and treat you and tell you to follow up with your family doctor and you do.  The other people, who  do not have a family doctor, will be told the same thing but most of them will end up coming back to the ER. Some the next day and some the next week. 
  Now the hospital bills your insurance company for $900.00 because you were seen in the ER. Since you were not admitted to the hospital you have to pay $100.00 on the bill. 
  Now all those other people get billed, the ones with no insurance, and of course they can not pay.
  So who is paying for them.. YOU ARE.. YOU ARE.. That is why your bill was $900.00 and not $400.00 and that is why you are paying $100.00 of the bill and not $25.00 of the bill. 
  If we had national health care… When you went to the ER there would not be a wait to be seen for hours and hours.  I have gone to work and seen people waiting to be seen in the ER and I have worked my 8 hour shift and gone home and those people are still waiting to be seen.
  I have be on duty in the ER and seen a patient come into the ER to be seen and wait hours and hours and say "FUCK THIS PLACE" and say they were going to another hospital and leave and come back hours later and say "I am sorry. The other hospital had a wait for hours also and I want to be seen here."
  Now again.. Since we do not have national health care insurance you and your insurance company are paying for all those people being seen in the ER.  If we had national health care insurance you would not have to pay $150.00 a month for health care insurance.  The company you work for would not have to pay $200.00 a month for you. They might pay $100.00 a month for you and give you an increase in pay.
  Here is the good part buddy… If we do not get a national health care plan … It is only going to get worst.  Your wait at the ER will be longer and you will have to pay more for health care insurance and your company will have to pay more for you.  Then after that it will get worst because your company will not be willing to or able to pay those costs.  They will do away with health care insurance or make you pay so much that you can not pay your other bills or the company you work for will have to cut the number of employees because of health care costs.
  Listen to me and believe me YOU ARE PAYING RIGHT NOW for all those people that Rush says go to the ER and get "free" treatment.  It is not free.  You and I are paying for it.  We have been paying for it for a long time.
  Rush is a stupid fat mother fucker and does not know what he is talking about.
  The Republicans are fucking you and they know what they are doing.  They do not care about you.

Popularity: 1% [?]

  I saw a little bit of the Chris Wallace interview with Sarah Palin.  I am not sure why I watched it… I guess I wanted to see if he got an erection during the interview.  He was so excited the other day on Imas and on Fox “news” talking about how hard he had be going after her to get an interview with her and how excited he was that now he was going to get to get to interview her.  He even talked about how he would like for her to sit on his lap!
  I guess that is why I attempted to watch the interview.
  Well I did not see an erection.  I think you have to be male to get an erection and that would leave Chris Wallace out.
  I also did not expect to see her sitting on his lap.. I was sort of thinking that he might sit on her lap.. I think that is where the bitch sits.
 
  Chris Wallace is the son of Mike Wallace now he was one hell of an interviewer.  Man I would love to see what an interview by Mike Wallace was like of Sarah Palin and others.  His son is no Mike Wallace.

  True is I did not see enough of the interview to know how well Chris Wallace did at asking questions of Sarah Palin but given the fact that he has the hots for her.. I do not see how we could expect him to do a good job.

Continue reading »

Popularity: 4% [?]

  I just picked up two of my medications.  This is the first time I have used my new Medicare insurance plan.  This year I have AARP MedicareComplete from SecureHorizons.
  One medication was a “Tier 1” prescription and one was a “Tier 2” prescription.  I should pay $5.00 for a Tier 1 medication.  I should pay $39.00 for a Tier 2 medication.
  I only had to pay $1.24 for the Tier 1.  I only had to pay $18.46 for the Tier 2 medication.
  Back a few years ago the state or the federal government sent me a form for me to fill out listing how much my income is each year.  They may have asked a few other questions.  They informed me that they would pay part of any medication cost because I was just a bit under a certain amount.  Since I never had to pay for medications because my insurance was paying the full amount they never had to pay anything.

Now that I have to pay out of pocket for my medications some money it looks like they are kicking in and paying part of the cost.
  So am I getting welfare now? 
  I never got any welfare in my life.  I just wonder if at age 68 I am starting to get a little welfare. 
  Am I one of those poor people that the Lt. Gov of SC (Andre Bauer) was taking about … the people that he said were like animals and that the government should not be giving them aid because they would breed?

  I think you might call this welfare but I just want Andre Bauer to know that I am not going to run out and start breeding.
  I also want him to know that I am NOT an animal.  I am a man.

Popularity: 1% [?]

“Dear Supporter,

The headlines are ominous. "Large scale health care reform is dead," reads one newspaper. "Time for Democrats to cut their losses?" asks another. But now is not the time for scaling back reform. That’s why we need your help to whip votes for comprehensive health reform.

A comprehensive bill is the only way to fix the health care system – from expanding Medicare benefits and lowering health care costs, to improving rural care and home care services.^[*]A piecemeal approach will not address the vast, systemic problems in our health care system.

In the next 72 hours – before President Obama delivers his State of the Union address – we have a real opportunity to rescue health reform. Will you do your part, and find out where your member of Congress stands on passing a comprehensive bill?

Click here to whip a vote for health reform.

Call your members in Congress, and ask them, "Do you plan to support the passage of a comprehensive health reform bill that guarantees affordability and holds insurers accountable?"

I’ve talked to some folks who say, "Oh, I know my Congresswoman supports reform. She voted for it last year, so I don’t need to call." But that’s incorrect. Some elected officials, including House members who voted for health reform last year, are considering backing away from comprehensive reform. That’s why everyone needs to call Congress today.

Click-to-call your member of Congress for comprehensive reform. 

I can’t stress enough how important your call is today. Let’s finish the job, and finish it right.

Thanks for whipping a vote,

Jessica Kutch
Online Campaign Manager
SEIU Healthcare”

^[*] "What We’ll Lose With Market-Only Reform," SEIU.org, January 21, 2009.

Popularity: 2% [?]

  It seems every study done show risks for eating out or getting take home…At least it seems that way.   CNN reports on “Soda fountains contained fecal bacteria, study found.” 
  I guess it should not come as a surprise to us.  We got kids working fast food and not making much money and the same with the supervisors.  You would think they would have a check list and would be on top of matters like that. 
  You would think that the chains would have someone that goes from place to place checking on things like that…
  I know the health department does not have a lot of man power and there are a lot of places.. But on the other hand.. When you have a problem in one area like this..  You would only need one fucking inspector working on that one problem.  Just give him the tools to check and the power to fine the place on the spot and shut them down right then.  The word would get out to every place in town and they would all be on top of the problem and they would fix the problem.  Believe me if one inspector in one town was going to eating places and had the power to fine them x amount of dollars and plus would shut them down for one week.  That problem would be fixed at almost all of the places right now.
  I suspect that the health department fines are not very high. I also bet it is rare for them to shut down any chain fast food place right on the spot and I bet it is rare that the shut down is for very long.  Just think how much money a McDonald’s would lose if they were shut down for one week.  Not just money but customers that would never come back. 
  In that CNN story almost half of 90 beverages from soda fountain machines tested positive for coliform bacteria.

Popularity: 7% [?]

  I guess it is not so funny.  Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab had PETN (Pentaerythritol Tetranitrate) and I never heard of it and had to look it up.  It is a very powerful explosive chemical and hard to detect.  This is the same stuff that the shoe bomber had in his shoe.
  It looks to me like we need to worry, here in the United States, about the lone nutcase.  The guy that has mental problems but contacts terrorist organization.  It is an organization that would never want the guy as a member but they are willing to give the guy something like PETN and tell him how to use it.  Then they wash their hands of the fool.
  We got a lot of people like that right here in the United States.  With the Internet I am sure it is easy for them to make contact with terrorists.
  Of course I would bet dollars to donuts that the CIA and FBI have websites set up calling for death to the United States and they are in fact FBI/CIA sites.  I bet it is that way with web sites, blogs and message boards.  If you are a want to be terrorist I bet you are communiating with Homeland Security.
  But it just takes one mental subject to make the right contact with a real terrorist and we got problems.
  Every President of the United States that has been killed was always by some nutcase that everyone knew was nuts. 
  We need better education in the United States.  We need heath care for everyone in the United States.  We need improved mental health services. We have to many people with mental problems running around that can not get treatment and medication. 
  We need better gun control in the United States and I am NOT talking about taking guns away from Americans.  We just need some better controls.  We need back ground investigations done before a person can buy a hand gun.  The instant checks suck.  We need records to be on file and the ability to access those files.  I am not sure how we handle the matter of privacy with regards to mental problems.  From reading the news it seems to me that we have people that clearly have mental problems but they can still go out and buy a gun. 
  I think right now the biggest "terrorist" problem we have is the lone nut case running around with a gun and now I guess PETN. 

Popularity: 6% [?]

  This story from WTHITV.Com in Terre Haute (IN) will break your heart and bring tears to your eyes but it may insprie you at the same time.

Popularity: 8% [?]

    OK I worked for 30 years as a hospital security officer so I do know that young people do die of natural causes.  I have seen it happen.  I have helped them come into the hospital and I have even been in the treatment room helping and seen young people die.
  But I just find it hard to accept that Brittany Murphy, 32 years of age, could die of natural causes.
  I can see poor people with out health care not being able to afford to see a doctor and having it end up killing them.  (I am not even sure that is “natural causes”  my feeling it is murder and Republicans in congress are guilty of murder for fighting health care for Americans.)
  But back to Brittany Murphy ….  Someone 32 should not die.
  I know there are medical conditions that can cause a young person to die and I know sometimes we have conditions we do not even know about until pop something happens. 
  I am not saying that a crime was committed.  I am not saying that someone killed her but I just feel that there has to be drugs or ETOH or something that was the cause of it.
  I do not want to accept that someone at age 32 can die of “natural causes.”

Popularity: 7% [?]

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Popularity: 5% [?]

Washington (CNN) — "Dashing the hopes of Democratic lawmakers Sunday, Sen. Joseph Lieberman signaled he would oppose a health care bill that includes a proposal to expand Medicare to people as young as 55.

The independent Connecticut senator has told Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, that he would vote against the Medicare at 55 proposal. He also said he would oppose cloture and work with the GOP if it ends up in the final version of the bill, two Democratic sources told CNN Sunday.

Unanimous Republican opposition so far means Senate Democrats need all 60 votes in their caucus, which includes Lieberman, to pass the sweeping bill…"

  God I hate Sen. Joseph Lieberman.  I have never liked him.  I did not like him when he ran as a Democrat for vice president.  I never liked him but it has turned to true hate.  I hate the cock sucker.
  I pray to God that there will be a pay back for Lieberman.  I hope we (Democrats) use him as much as we can and then when we do not need him any  more we kick him out and we take away his chairmanships and take away anything that we can from him.
  Let Sen. Joseph Lieberman see what the Republicans will do for him. 
  Keen in mind that Sen. Joseph Lieberman was born in 1942.  He was elected to the United States Senate in 1988.  If my math is correct HE HAS HAD free government run national health care since he was 46 years old! 
  He objects to Americans getting national health insurance.  He objects to Americans as young as 55 getting national health care.  He has had it since he was 46 years old. 
  Plus if we did open up Medicare to people at age 55 it would not be free.  I am 68 years old and I pay $100.00 a month for it.  I will bet that Sen. Lieberman and the everyone of the Republicans in the Senate do not pay one dollar for their national health care. I am going to be spending $50.00 a month, at least, for my medications in 2010.  I bet Sen. Lieberman and the Republicans in the Senate do not pay one cent for their medications. 
  We want to keep medical information private but I bet you and I spent a lot of money to pay for Sen. Lieberman's viagra. 

  ^{In case you are wondering I do not and never have taken Viagra.  My medications are Flomax, Carvedilol and Lisinopril.} 

Popularity: 7% [?]

  Here is the video without the CNN talk and the complete video.

Popularity: 8% [?]

"Congressman Dan Lipinski's Town Hall Meeting on November 14th, and the attempt by the Chicago Tea Party Patriots to disrupt the proceedings, including heckling Midge Hough. They don't seem to realize they are merely tools of the Insurance industry, helping the CEOs of Blue Cross/Blue Shield, WellPoint and Humana maintain their Lear Jet lifestyles."

  They laugh and make fun of a woman (Midge Hough) that just had a daughter and grandchild die.  This shows you what sort of people they right wing teabaggers are and that they are just tools of the insurance industry.  Plus they do not come to a meeting to get information or discuss a subject… They come to break up the meeting and create PR showing that people object to health care for all Americans.

Popularity: 22% [?]

"THREE MILE ISLAND – November 21, 2009 (WPVI) — A radiation leak at Three Mile Island contaminated about 100 employees Saturday afternoon, according to a TMI official…"   6ABC.COM 

  How many of you were alive in 1979?  How many of you remember the event at Three Mile Island in 1979? 

  Nuclear power sounds like a good idea but the truth is it is not…It is a major accident waiting to happen.  The event yesterday is just 200 or so workers…My guess is most of them were boilermakers or pipe fitters. 
  The 1979 event could have been death for thousands and could have ended up with an area in Pennsylvania that no one could live in for thousands of years.
  The problem with nuclear power is accidents like this but the real problem is getting rid of the waste from nuclear power stations. 
  I hope all of the workers are going to be OK.  I hope the truth comes out about the accident and about any harm that could have taken place to people.

Popularity: 26% [?]

  In will be moving in about two weeks to Texas so I will need a new Medicare insurance plan for Texas.  I looked a little bit on line and it looks like I will be paying out more money this year.  I have not done a complete check of all the plans yet.
  Today I got information from AvMed.  They are the plan I been using here in FL.  They are not in Texas so I can not use them next year.  I took a look at the AvMed plan for next year just to get an idea of what is going on with insurance.
  The good news…Next year they will cover one Colonoscopy each year and the same with a Mammogram. 
  Then you get to the bad news…last year a impatient hospital stay cost 0.  In 2010 days 4 to 23 will cost $100.00 each day….A visit to a Outpatient Rehab Facility last year was 0 and it is $5 per visit in 2010….To see a Specialist last year, well this year, was zero and next year it will be $5 per visit.
  God forbid you need Kidney Dialysis because this year it is 0 per visit but next year you will have to pay 20% of the cost. 
  Outpatient Diagnostic Testing 0/$50 and next year $25/$100 plus 20% of a PET scan. 
  Then you get into the Medications.  This year I been paying zero for my three medications.  Next year I would be paying $20.00 for one of them and my guess is any doctor I see is going to want to add a couple of medications and my guess is that under this plan next year I would be paying $60.00 for medications each month.

  It looks to me like Medicare health care plans are going to cost each of us more money next year.
  Insurance corporations are allowed to fix prices …  They can get with each other and decide what to do to make more money! 
  I did not know that.  I was watching MSNBC and the woman, forget her name, said that the only two industries exempt from government oversight were insurance companies and major league baseball.
  This is crazy…Insurance companies are exempt from price fixing oversight and laws.  
  Why have we not heard about this?  Why has this not been corrected?

  You and I know what why… Money… We need to fix our election laws.  We need public funding of elections.  The NRA, insurance companies and unions should not be allowed to buy elections.   OK OK… I do not think any unions have that sort of money.. But you got to include them and others to get a law passed.  We need to put an end to corporations or organizations buying elections. 

Popularity: 34% [?]

Have you heard of Peggy Robertson? After having her second child, her insurance company required that she get sterilized if she wanted to receive health insurance. Peggy fought back, and testifed before Sen. Barbara Mikulski’s committee hearing this month on how insurance companies discriminate against women.¹

Members of Congress heard about it. The media reported on it. But we wondered, do our friends, family and neighbors realize how insurance companies have turned being a woman into a pre-existing condition?

Take your ticket for gender equity. Get in line here: seiu.org/ticket

Women want equal coverage for the equal premiums they pay – plain and simple. Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) is leading the charge, but we’ve got to get the word out. We built a tool to do just that – to demonstrate that any bill passed by Congress needs to end gender discrimination by insurers.

When you take your "deli counter ticket," you’ll receive a unique number. Post the number, along with this automatically-generated status update to Twitter, Facebook, and elsewhere: I’m [your number] against discrimination by health insurers. Women deserve equal coverage for equal premiums. http://seiu.org/ticket #hc09

Your ticket is waiting. Take it, here: seiu.org/ticket

Right now, millions of American women aren’t involved in the health care debate. They haven’t called or written Congress. They haven’t thought about health insurance reform much at all. But they’re dealing with the health insurance system every day – paying more and getting less.

Women pay 30-40% more than men on the private insurance market. Common pregnancy and c-sections are considered "pre-existing conditions." And in some states, insurers can even deny coverage to victims of domestic violence. The bills before Congress will guarantee, once and for all, that women are treated fairly by insurers.

Already, more than 6,500 tickets have been taken. Let’s demonstrate that women (and men!) across the country are calling for an end to discrimination against women by health insurers. Take your ticket now.

Thanks for speaking out,

Jessica Kutch
Online Campaign Manager
SEIU Healthcare

P.S. Yesterday’s announcement by Senate Majority Leader Reid that the Senate bill will include a public option is great news – but there’s still much work ahead. We must keep up the drumbeat for reform by spreading awareness on key issues like this one. I hope you’ll join us by taking your ticket for health care equality.

Popularity: 13% [?]

  Microsoft has a site that will tell you if you have the H1N1 flu or not. Their site is the H1N1 Swine Flu Response Center. 

“Use the Flu Self-Assessment, based on material from Emory University, to:

• Learn whether you have the symptoms of H1N1 flu (swine flu)
• Help you decide what to do next ..”

  I have been sick but I do not even think I have the flu but I took the test.  Here is what the site said:

“You probably don’t have the flu, but you may be sick from something else.

• If you are worried about your health, call your doctor.
• If you do not have a doctor, go to a walk-in clinic.
• If you think you have an emergency, call 9-1-1.”

  Then they tell you that you can go to a CDC site for more information on the flu.

Popularity: 4% [?]

  Microsoft has a site that will tell you if you have the H1N1 flu or not. Their site is the H1N1 Swine Flu Response Center. 

“Use the Flu Self-Assessment, based on material from Emory University, to:

• Learn whether you have the symptoms of H1N1 flu (swine flu)
• Help you decide what to do next ..”

  I have been sick but I do not even think I have the flu but I took the test.  Here is what the site said:

“You probably don’t have the flu, but you may be sick from something else.

• If you are worried about your health, call your doctor.
• If you do not have a doctor, go to a walk-in clinic.
• If you think you have an emergency, call 9-1-1.”

  Then they tell you that you can go to a CDC site for more information on the flu.

Popularity: 3% [?]

  My insurance company had a machine call my phone number to tell me to hurry and get the flu shots.  They said the supply was running out fast and there would be no more until next year.  I live in FL.
  CNN and others are reporting that the vaccines are running out.  There is a lot of demand for the H1N1 vaccine this year.  

  If it has not already started I think there is going to be a lot of political blame aimed at government because of the short supply of flu vaccines this year.
  

Popularity: 6% [?]

  My ex-wife just sent me an email.  She says that Jimmy and her are both sick.  She thinks they both have the flu.
  She just had her last chemo treatment about three weeks ago. 
  She is a high risk person for the flu and that  is before they found cancer and before she had all those chemo treatments.
  I guess there is no way to know at this point if they have the flu.  It could be cold but she thinks it is the flu.  If it is the flu we do not know which flu it is.
  
  Influenza is at a high level in Texas.  
  I did a search for flu and Fort Worth.  I did not find out much information…Well a lot of information about how to keep from getting the flu and where to get shots…I could not find any information that was of much help.
  I guess the city has a 211 number that people can call to answer questions and get help.  My ex-wife loves to call help lines…I think they know her by first name… My guess is that the help line is just going to give her phone numbers …. They are not a medical line and any medical line she would call if they hear her medical conditions are tell her to call her doctor or go to the emergency room.  
  Darlene had an appointment with her cancer doctor on Monday but he had to cancel the appointment because he has the flu.
 

Continue reading »

Popularity: 2% [?]

By DONALD G. McNEIL Jr.

Published: September 27, 2009

“As soon as swine flu vaccinations start next month, some people getting them will drop dead of heart attacks or strokes, some children will have seizures and some pregnant women will miscarry.

But those events will not necessarily have anything to do with the vaccine. That poses a public relations challenge for federal officials, who remember how sensational reports of deaths and illnesses derailed the large-scale flu vaccine drive of 1976.

This time they are making plans to respond rapidly to such events and to try to reassure a nervous public — and headline-hunting journalists — that the vaccine is not responsible.

Every year, there are 1.1 million heart attacks in the United States, 795,000 strokes and 876,000 miscarriages, and 200,000 Americans have their first seizure. Inevitably, officials say, some of these will happen within hours or days of a flu shot…”  The New York Times

It sounds like they know what the TV and blogs are going to say as soon as something happens.  Think of all the stories they are going to have every time someone gets sick or dies.  Plus we got about 10% of the people that will believe any wild and strange story.  I would hate to be the CDC and other people when they start giving out the swine flu shots.

Popularity: 4% [?]