The rhetoric that is coming out of Washington DC is so loud that the Republicans in House of Representatives and Senate cannot hear the American people. It seems there is nothing more important than stopping President Barack Obama from accomplishing anything. This, of course, comes at a time in American history when ideology is more important than jobs, unnecessary gun deaths and poverty, all of which affect the American economy.… [Read more]
This article was originally published in the Blue Street Journal. Since then the questions and misinformation about Obamacare haven’t faded and, in fact, there will be some changes as the law is implemented across the nation. Here’s an introductory primer:
There’s a lot of hype going around about ObamaCare, and by now you are probably getting mixed information about what the law actually is and how it will affect you. … [Read more]
The attention-grabbing title, “I am very disappointed in Governor Rick Scott” was enough to let me know that I would soon have something to smile about. Red State’s Eric Erickson’s morning e-newsletter said the following:
I was one of the few national conservatives to support Governor Scott in 2010 during his primary. He is a fundamentally great person.… [Read more]
With the eyes of the nation focused on the steps of the U.S. Capitol, Barack H. Obama will be sworn in for his second term as the 44th President of the United States.
Whether we agree with his politics or policies there is one thing about which we should all agree: we are bearing witness to a powerful, historic event – one which is a significant reminder of the greatness of a democracy.… [Read more]
There’s no such thing as a bad time for reflection. Taking a look back at the activities of the first week of this new year should enable us to see what went wrong, what we’re up against and, hopefully, what can be done differently in the future.
The 113th Congress – the most diverse ever – was sworn in this past Thursday.… [Read more]
With Christmas behind us and a new year about to begin, we are drawn to reflect on the events of the year just passed. Overwhelmingly, we have been accosted with news of more tragedies than we should have to endure, and some days it has been difficult to find the bright spots in it all. I wanted to wrap up the year here with a list to remind us that 2012 was more than just a year of rapidly escalating protests, political upheaval, and tragic gun violence.… [Read more]
So there, take that, said John Metz, who’s a Denny’s franchise owner and owner of RREMC Restaurants (which runs 35 Denny’s and several Dairy Queen locations), as well as the franchisor of Hurricane Grill & Wings. If you make me provide healthcare to my employees under Obamacare, I’ll add a 5 percent surcharge to customers’ bills to punish you.… [Read more]
The Romney campaign has shown us a super rich candidate who has said anything he felt might coax votes out of any given audience. The annoying question remains: Which Mitt will We the “You People” get if Romney is elected? Can we settle for luck of the G.O.P. draw? Therein lies the perils of a candidate who has stood for practically everything (or nothing) in his quest for political office.When’s the Mitt vs.… [Read more]
The day I was told I might have breast cancer, and needed surgery to determine whether I did, was one of the scariest things I have faced as an adult. With two small children, and a full lifetime of living ahead of me, it wasn’t what I wanted to hear at the age of 39.
One month later, I was faced with another scary reality.… [Read more]
We loyal lefties have had to endure some hits this go around. From the ACA (“ObamaCare”) without a public option, to necessary bank bailouts with no strings attached, to continued wholesale tax giveaways for the rich and corporate welfare for Exxon/Mobil and the like, to watered down legislation of all varieties, it hasn’t been a perfect ride.… [Read more]
Hello. I’m Mitt Romney. I am a Temple Mormon, a High Priest, and as such I have sworn blood oaths of sacrifice, obedience and consecration to the church and the “Kingdom of God.” My perfect obedience to these laws will allow me to become a god in the next life, the literal father of the peoples of a new and different earth.… [Read more]
SOCIALISM!!! For the Tea Party loonies, it is the maple leaf-shaped shadow, the dark spectre of Johnny Canuck that looms larger and ever southward to scare the living bejeezus out of the red staters, a foul-faced harbinger of American healthcare doom. Yer near and yet so far obedient scribe is certain the sad charade masquerading as contemporary US health care debate is driven by the eye-popping ability of the supposed pundits to twist and torture a simple concept beyond any sensible meaning.… [Read more]
The 2012 presidential election is just around the corner, and it appears the two contending parties are gearing up for a knife fight. With Democrats now treading down a slightly more dirty route with privacy-breaching campaign tracking of Republicans (a tactic that would strangely seem right out of the Republican playbook), and the Romney camp out-fundraising Obama, its obvious that someone’s blood will be spilt.… [Read more]
Right-wing nature abhors a vacuum – so they fill it with the most outlandish junk ever. Any old thing will do – and here’s the latest. Apparently, President Obama has some “missing years” in his history (there really aren’t, but let’s humor ‘em and not confuse ‘em with facts). So, yeah, it stands to reason that, according to those who take pride in being first in the battle to the bottom, those years were spent as a CIA spy in Pakistan.… [Read more]
This week we celebrated the nation’s independence day so that brought us to thinking about where the nation was, how far it has to go and who holds the power in charting the course for the future. We talk about the politicians all the time but what about the voters? Though not monolithic, we generally know where Democrats and Republicans stand on the issues, but what about the Independents? … [Read more]
The torrent of Obamacare emotion that cascaded northwards across the border last Thursday is an intriguing phenomenon for this Canadian observer. We embraced the benefits of universal health care long ago, and in a series of occasional articles on what is now cast as the crucial U.S. election issue for 2012, I will attempt to assist the citizens of the Great Republic in their better understanding of the Canadian medical health insurance system.… [Read more]
We started the week with a simple question: “Where’s the humanity?” What made us think about this was an article from an overseas newspaper that reported a man died because of the lack of access to health care — caused, in part, by policy. We found ourselves understanding that processes and procedures allow organisations to run more efficiently, but when those same means of operational effectiveness result in loss of life, all for the sake of following codes, then those procedures should be re-evaluated.… [Read more]
It seems the GOP has been counting Democrats and the Obama campaign as down and out. Mitt Romney has spent much of his time talking up his “business outsourcing experience” since he can’t talk up his track record as the governor of Massachusetts – that time during which he put the Romneycare healthcare plan in place.… [Read more]
Change is defined as to make or become different: “a proposal to change the law” and to alter, convert and transform. It also means to chart a new course.
With this week’s announcement by the Supreme Court that “Obamacare” is officially the law of the land, we think that this David Bowie song about change is quite appropriate.… [Read more]
Today the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in favour of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as “Obamacare”. Surprisingly, Chief Justice John Roberts sided with the more liberal justices when he provided the fifth vote in this 5-4 decision that argues the federal government can require citizens to buy health insurance or face a fine. Chief Justice Roberts said in the decision:
“Our precedent demonstrates that Congress had the power to impose the exaction in Section 5000A (the individual mandate) under the taxing power, and that Section 5000A need not be read to do more than impose a tax.… [Read more]
