Our Elected Officials Still Don’t Get It

From Barbara Boxer, (“I worked hard for my position and I’d appreciate you calling me Senator, General”) to Nancy Pelosi (“We won and will do as we please.”) to Eric Massa of New York (“I will vote against the interests of my district”), to other representatives who will not give public town hall meetings out of fear this month, just goes to show that they have become so elitist and holier than thou that they forget that it us, the people whom they work for and who pays their salaries. They forget that the United States IS NOT a democracy, but is a representative republic and they are to vote on the wishes of their constituents regardless of their own feelings. They ARE SUPPOSED TO REPRESENT THE PEOPLE. Thus the word “representative”. Duuuh!

Since they keep on getting elected over and over again they have no fear anymore of not getting re-elected and therefore vote themselves raises in a recession, work three days a week, never read the bills they sign and espouse (who writes them anyway?), and care not one iota for the wishes of their constituents or the average Joe, but do as they please regardless of our wishes and, we the people, the average Joe, keep on allowing them to do so due to ignorance and apathy. The average Joe does not even realize that our elected officials are now working for lobbyists and special interest groups and not the average Joe who put them into office in the first place. They know it is the lobbyists who contribute to their campaign coffers and who grease their palms when they vote as they are told to do. They depend on the average Joe remaining ignorant and voting along party lines as they have always done and believing their lies and campaign promises which are always broken.

I say it’s high time the sheeple woke up and vote them all out of office or vote independent in the next election. A message is being sent this month, but the Democrats in power and their cronies in the media convince the sheeple that it is right wing extremists who are disrupting town hall meetings and it is not really the voice of the people when the fact is that the sheeple are beginning to awaken and recognize them as the wolves that they truly are and that they are only wolves in sheeple clothing telling the sheeple whatever they want to hear while going about doing what they want to do.

If anybody out there honestly believes that their representative, whether they be democrat or republican, honestly have their (the voters) interests in mind they are truly ignorant and dumb and they better wake up as their country is slowly, but surely, systematically being dismantled before their very eyes with their taxes being raised, their jobs being outsourced overseas, and their wages declining and their country slowly slipping into corporate facism and becoming a socialist state.

Eric Massa (D- NY) at least had the balls to be honest and give the finger to his constituency and tell them that he cares not what they think as he tells them to grab their ankles. He is telling his voters that he answers to a higher power like the lobbyists and those that donate to him for if he, like all representatives, does not do as he told by those that keep him in power he knows he will not be re-elected as his funding will dry up and be given to someone who will do as he is told. We all know that he who has the most money wins regardless of his popularity unless they have the moral fortitude and honesty of a Ron Paul.

As Benedict Arlen Specter was told recently by a female voter during a town hall meeting, “A sleeping giant has awakened” and they better take notice or they will find themselves without a job next year. They better start to “get it” or the average Joe will vote them out of office regardless of their empty promises. As the old saying goes, you can fool all the people some of the time, but you can’t fool all the people all of the time.” The average Joe is not going to idly sit by anymore, I hope, and watch his country slowly slip away as there may still be time to save it.

Unsolicited White House E-mails AND Republican E-mails

I too am one who has received unsolicited e-mails from David Axelrod at the White House and wondered how they got my e-mail address. I figured they bought it or someone gave it to them. Since the e-mails espoused the Presidents’ and the Democrats’ views concerning health care and the recent debate I just deleted them as “propaganda” and didn’t give it much thought until the recent flap in the news.

The “right”, particularly FOX News, has been spewing off at the mouth on just how unethical the White House is in sending these e-mails and scaring us by saying that The White House was gathering a “hit list”, or “enemies  list” of those who were against the health care bill. I didn’t think this at all.

Today, we hear from the mountain tops of the right wing news outlets that the White House has “closed down the e-mail address and will be no longer using it” like they won some sort of victory or something in convincing us that Axelrod and the Democrats were unethical and spamming us who were against the health care bill.

Well, if the White House and the Democrats are unethical than I say the Republicans are unethical also and use the same exact tactic in championing their views AGAINST the health care bill because I have been receiving unsolicited, spam e-mail from Dick Army and FreedomWorks.org which I never heard about before and never wrote them.

Again, like the e-mails from the White House, they are nothing more than harmless propaganda as they say the complete opposite of the White House in trying to convince me that their views are correct. But does the right wing news organizations and pundits talk about this? Not yet. Nor has CNN and other left wing pundits and news outlets.

Major Garrett of FOX News is now considered a hero now for breaking this story. Well, if he is such a hero he would break the the news about FreedomWorks and Dick Army and their spam e-mails. “We report, you decide” they say. However, it seems they are only reporting one side of the news and not both as they claim.

However, how did both get my name and e-mail address? I put two and two together and figured it had to be my Senator, who is a republican who must have given my e-mail to FreedomWorks and my Representative, who is democrat who gave my e-mail to the White House as I have e-mailed both in the past expressing my opposition to the bailouts and the health care plan.

Coincidence? I don’t think so. Both the Republicans and the Democrats are using the same unethical standards and spamming their constituents to convince them that their views are the correct ones and our representatives are giving our names, or at least their office is. There can be no other answer in my opinion. Both are wrong if it is unethical.

Japan’s Health Care System and A Personal Experience

I just received notice that Lou Dobbs will be covering Japan’s national health insurance system tonite on his TV show, but I will blog this story anyway as it is already written.

With all the debate and town hall meetings recently on the reformation of the US health care industry and the introduction of a national health care insurance system run by the government, I still wonder why no one in the major media mentions the Japanese national health care system and how successful it is or, if they do, why they do not go into full detail on it? Why? Is it because Japan’s system is far better than that of England and Canada which US politicians and pundits in the media knock each other over point to as being disasters? “Do we want a system like the UK and Canada where people wait months for elective surgery or CAT scans,” they say.

Why do they not use the example of Japan’s single tier system where each and every person pays 4% of their salary with companies and the government (in the case of those self-employed or  those out of work) picking up the remainder? Therefore, regardless of ones salary, from $500 per week to $50,000 per week, everyone pays the same percentage. Why do they not mention the Japanese compulsory system where no one waits for anything, can visit any doctor, hospital, specialist, or clinic they desire, and where no one ever goes into bankruptcy due to catastrophic illnesses like cancer as per month costs are capped with the government picking up the remainder? Why do they not point out that even death is covered under insurance to help defray the costs for the family? Why do they not point to Japan’s system where prices of everything from major surgeries to the price of prescription drugs to the cost of a stitch or a filling is set and reviewed by the Japanese government every two years and where all hospitals must be not for profit?

Why do the pundits, so critical of other countries’ national health care systems, not point to Japan’s system where the average cost per family of health insurance is $250 per month in a system where no one is denied insurance due to pre-existing conditions and where everyone must be covered and participate and the cost per capita to the government is around US$2,500 per year whereas in the US, even with no national health insurance the cost is well over $7,000 per capita? Could it be the greed of big pharma, the insurance companies, and the hospitals and doctors here in the US and hospitals for profit whereas in Japan, although many hospitals are private, they must be non-profit? Could it be because there is no tort reform and a doctor has to pay tens of thousands in malpractice insurance eating into his/her own salary and increasing our costs where Japan does not have these problems? I don’t know. All I know is that Japan’s system is second only to France’s and that it is a huge success. I should know as I lived under it for more than 11 years.

Today, one rarely pays more than a couple of dollars to visit a doctor or about $10 – $20 to visit a specialist including x-rays and blood tests. When I lived there the cost of root canal was about $30 and it is probably near that today if not the same. Here is one example I had when I visited Japan recently and needed emergency medical care:

I have Diverticulitis which sometimes becomes inflamed (like once every few years) and I have to go to the doctor to receive antibiotics. The pain subsides within 24 hrs and disappears after about three days.

Well, while I was visiting Japan with my Japanese wife a while back it became inflamed and within 24 hrs I developed a slight fever and knew I would have to go see a doctor or go to the hospital. I was a little concerned as I had no national health insurance, but it had to be done regardless of the cost.

My wife called a clinic in the neighborhood and an appointment was made for an hour later. It was a Saturday morning and I figured it would probably be crowded. I had not received medical care in Japan since the late 80’s when I was living there full time and, not knowing the cost today, we took 60,000 yen with us (approx US$600) as, in the US, with no health insurance the cost would probably be at least $200 if not more.

We walked the 10 minutes to the small clinic and upon entering, after removing our shoes and using the slippers (pink for females, blue for males) I was amazed that there were only two patients there, an elderly gentleman and a woman with a baby. Surprising for a Saturday morning as in the US on a Saturday the offices are booked solid and one must wait at least an hour over ones scheduled ”appointment”.  The nurse behind the counter took my basic information and asked that I take a seat and said the doctor would see me shortly. Unlike the US there were no pages and pages of info to fill out for a first time visit.

Within 10 minutes the doctor called us in and I noticed his diploma on the wall from Tokyo University. I explained my situation to him in Japanese with help from my wife and what kind of penicillin I usually take for the symptoms. He understood what I was talking about, checked his computer for reference and asked that I lie down. Locating the pain on the left side of my abdomen he asked that I take a urine test. I left the cup on the counter in the restroom and no longer than 5 minutes after I returned to the room the nurse came in with the results and he said that my urine was ok. Now that was fast!

He said that he would give me a 5 day prescription for antibiotics and pain killers and that if the pain did not subside within 24 hrs that I was to return. We went to the counter and we were given the medicine right there! No pharmacy to go to! Our bill was calculated and it was presented to us.

To my astonishment the total bill for the visit, urine test and two prescriptions was 4,610 yen!! Approximately US$38 at the then current exchange rate and about $48 at today’s exchange rate! And that was with no National Health Insurance! My wife and I looked at each other with wide open eyes. I asked her if this was the normal cost and she asked the nurse. Yes it was and they apologized for the “high” cost with my having no health insurance! Unbelievably reasonable in my opinion and there was no need for them to apologize if they knew the cost of such a visit in the US. It was way lower than either of us expected.

I calculated the cost of what this would have cost me in the US WITH insurance. The co-pays for the doctor, urine test, and two prescriptions at a pharmacy would have come out to about $60 and, with no insurance the cost would have been at least $200! This just goes to show how unreasonable medical costs are in the US.

Anyway, within a couple of days I was fine and my visit to Japan was not interrupted at all as I was still able to function thanks to the pain killers and had a wonderful time  for the remainder of my visit. I am very grateful that in Japan you are not ripped off for emergency medical care even if you have no health insurance!

Now is that reasonable or what for having to pay full price for a medical emergency? This average Joe says yes and it should be mandatory here in the US also!

Therefore, if you are visiting Japan and become ill, don’t fear that it will cost you an arm and a leg if you have to receive care as the costs are very reasonable to one without insurance. For the average Joe it will not cost an arm and a leg to repair an arm or a leg or both!

If you don’t believe me at how reasonable medical costs are in Japan, check out this video from an American woman living in Japan under Japan’s health insurance program where someone called her a liar about her costs for care:  Health Care Costs in Japan

Unfortunately, with the greed here in the US and our ruling elite under the thumb of the lobbyists, I doubt we ever have a system as successful, affordable and reasonable as Japan’s. Besides, with so many people receiving welfare and the vast number of illegal immigrants here, I cannot see how it would ever work and be affordable to not only the taxpayers and the working average Joe, but the government also, unless the congress gets some C O Jones’ and cracks down for the good of the whole rather than kowtowing to special interests and lobbyists.

Sadly, whenever the government runs anything in this country it is a disaster. Just look at your local DMV office or try and get some information from the government or try and get something done by the government. Hell, anyone who pays $6,000 for a toilet seat cannot possibly run a national health care system. Any average Joe knows that!

Read The Health Care Bill On The Air!

If anyone in the major media today wants ratings and new viewers all they have to do is set aside the time to read the entire Health Care Bill, all 1,000 plus pages, on the air for an entire week or weekend. This way the average Joe would see that the pundits are really concerned about the views of the people and that they have no biases. Maybe Bill O’Reilly could do it or Sean Hannity or Keith Olberman, or Larry King, or Anderson Cooper, Lou Dobbs, Mark Levin, or Michael Savage or SOMEBODY!. It would be a ratings bonanza in my opinion and show that they really care for their viewers/listeners.

However, this average Joe believes it will never happen, because, although they proclaim to be looking out for us, or giving us the news and we decide, or giving us a useless countdown with tingles running up their legs and having orgasms, or proclaiming from the mountaintops how they beat other cable networks, it will never happen because they care not for the average Joe although they claim to. They care only about themselves and their ratings although they do nada for the average Joe.

If they did care they would take this suggestion and read the entire bill, along with all future bills, on the TV for the average Joe to understand. I mean, if a congressman gets on the air and proclaims that he hasn’t read the bill and needs a couple of lawyers to translate it for him, how in hell are we, the average Joe, to understand it and accept it especially if they are voting on something they have never read, and probably never will read! It just isn’t right!

As we all know the average Joe today does not have the time (as he’s probably working two jobs or looking for one after being laid off) nor the intellect (as they rarely read), nor the know-how to look up the bill and understand it. The people in power know this so they use legalize and make the bill too difficult for the average Joe to understand it and add pork and amendments so that the sheeple may not see the wool being pulled over their eyes. Our ruling elite in Washington are under the mistaken impression that we, the average Joe, will go along with anything they vote for, but average Joe is awakening from his deep stupor and taking back this country and the flash point will be the impossible to understand Health Care Bill.

Therefore, I believe that the media should take the time to read to the American people the entire bill live and on the air in prime time with lawyers to explain the legalize if they really care about the average Joe and have no other agenda other than reporting on the news. However, I feel it will never happen in my lifetime as their agenda does not include the American people. They are concerned with only themselves and their ratings and nothing more. At least that is the impression this average Joe is getting.

Hilliary Goes Off The Deep End

Listening to the news and talk shows last night I couldn’t help but hear all about Secretary of State Clinton’s meltdown when asked a question that related to her husband and what he thought about a certain situation in Africa concerning the World Bank and its role. I was surprised at how pissed she was at the questioner and that he would dare mention her “husband” and  it was way too evident in her voice just how upset and angry she was.

Although it is now being explained that it was mistranslation and that the questioner really said President Obama and the translator misinterpreted it (yeah, right!), it still says much about her attitude. Maybe she was still pissed off that her husband got all the glory last week in the freeing of two American “journalists” while she was galavanting around in Africa performing African dances. I don’t know. But what I do know and feel is that she severely hurt herself and maybe her future chances of running for President in losing her cool and going off on an innocent person who asked a simple question. She should be ashamed of herself as she really showed her true colors and feelings and those of the “ruling elite” and showed the world exactly what her temper is like. In my opinion this is not how a Secretary of State should act regardless of the circumstances and questions. Someone representing the Unites States should have more tact, diplomacy and cool and Secretary of State Clinton shows neither.

Her tirade just shows how uppity and “above all” she is along with other members of both political parties in Washington, DC as there is not one iota of compassion or feeling for the working man or the average Joe in the streets or even an innocent questioner in Africa, except when it comes to election time. It also adds credence to the elitist viewpoints of Senators Barbara Boxer and Nancy Pelosi when Senator Boxer dressed down a military general saying something to the effect that, “I worked hard for my title and position and I would appreciate you addressing me as senator.” What nerve and gall! and Senator Boxer saying time and time again that, paraphrasing here, “We won the election and we’ll do what we like”, without absolutely no regard to the feeling of the average Joe who puts her into office time and time again for reasons beyond my understanding.

Did they forget that it is the average Joe who is paying their salaries and putting them into office? Did they forget that, according to the constitution, they work for us? If you ask this average Joe, yes they did and it is so out of hand these days that they feel that they are above it all and are beholden not to their constituents, but to the money machines and lobbyists that put and keep them in office if they do their bidding.

Secretary of State Clinton had her chance to show her mettle and that she was worthy of being a future President and she blew it plain and simple. She does not have the temper or state of mind to run this country as she will probably go off the handle on some head of state and may harm our relations with other countries or, heaven forbid, lead us into war with one of uncontrolled outbursts!