Did I really need that ambulance on the September night in question?

Most Americans, it seems, have been following the hunt for the murderer of United Healthcare exec Brian Thompson. But it’s not the manhunt that has received most of the attention. Instead, it’s the deeply flawed American healthcare system which, to most people, represents the American Healthcare Denial System beholden to Wall Street. Valid medical claims are turned down because they hurt Healthcare United’s bottom line. I shall throw my insurer in there, too, as my family has been denied payment by CIGNA for medical claims. Much of that is related to mental healthcare for my children. I could write a book on our experiences with various insurers as we worked to save our children. I will not write a book -- what’s the point? Inequalities of our system have been going on for decades and will continue.

My experiences with my healthcare claims and those of my wife have been great. Heart attacks, it seems, ring a bell with insurers. Near-death experiences with septicemia also resonate in the corridors of both CIGNA and Medicare. Those were claims made by me, the Widowmaker in 2014 and the septicemia in 2024. Seems as if I have a major malfunction every ten years.

The latest issue took me by surprise. I got a bill from Volusia County Emergency Medical Services for an ambulance transport to Advent Health Hospital in Daytona. They write that Medicare has turned me down for the $894.80 ride and said it was a “ ‘non-covered service’ because it does not meet Medicare’s medical necessity requirements.”

This seems quite odd to me as Medicare has partially covered at least one ambulance ride. In January in Cheyenne, Wyoming, I caught Covid and one cold January night I couldn’t breathe from the congestion and an ambulance took me to the local hospital where they got me breathing again and sent me home five hours later. That met Medicare’s medical necessity requirements.

At the ER on the night of Sept. 9, the Code Blue team was called out as my heart stopped twice  after I had two seizures. Chris said it was quite a sight to see as medical personnel rushed into the room and saved me. My vitals were wacko (medical term) and staff guessed I had a massive infection of some kind and they placed me in a coma for four days.

Pause here to let readers know that my dear wife took a photo of the comatose me and I will share it if you ask nicely and agree to publish my next novel. 

When I came to in ICU, I didn’t know where I was and what had happened. To read the full experience, go to my previous posts here and here. Turns out I had septicemia from an unknown source and it blasted my bodily functions such as walking and talking, eating and defecating. I was moved from ICU to a medical floor and then the twelfth floor which Advent devotes to physical therapy for stroke victims, the partially paralyzed, and mystery cases like me. I made enough progress by Oct. 4 that Advent released me back into the Florida Wilds and that’s where I’ve been ever since.

I am a lucky man. I am blessed more than I should be blessed. There is one thing I will not be and that is almost $900 poorer because I didn’t meet Medicare’s requirements for sick people. Twenty-five days in the hospital? A quick survey of my hospital history: I spent five days after my heart attack, three days after knee-replacement surgery, and two days following a spinal fusion. I am so glad I wasn’t sick enough in September and decided to take an Advent Health cruise.

Volusia County Emergency Medical Services sent me a list of items I must file for an appeal. They include all of my medical records from the hospital (“you may be required to pay a fee") and “a letter from any physicians you may have followed up with in regards to your ambulance transport.” I can see how daunting this might be for someone, possibly a retired someone recovering at home from a near-death experience.

There is some irony here. It wasn’t the bad guys at CIGNA that turned me down. That mega-insurer is my secondary and they haven’t had a crack at me yet. I pay too much of my pension for that coverage. I also paid for Medicare which is a government program. I should be railing against the stinkin’ gubment, right. Old Joe Biden let me down.

But during my recovery, I’ve noticed that Medicare is concerned about higher costs and wants all of us to use its new reporting system. This addresses higher costs and the millions, maybe billions, of fraud claims by people who should be strung up on the highest yardarm (archaic Navy term). One of the highest costs for patients and Medicare is the abuse/overuse of ambulance services.

Trump’s Project 2025 may be behind Medicare’s new cost-saving initiative. But wait – Trump is busy enlisting nincompoops to head government agencies and getting his ass kissed at Paris’s Notre Dame Cathedral and hasn’t yet assumed the mantles of power.

The only thing left to blame is the USA’s antiquated and rapacious healthcare system. The death of a healthcare executive is a tragedy. And it is tragic that some find humor in it.

Delighting in the suffering of others is a MAGA trait, is it not? What in the hell are we doing?

"The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things" -- what will it be for Trump?

"The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things", painting by "Hieronymus Bosch" (disputed), Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8829283

How many days has Trump been in office? Only 100-something. It seems like a thousand. If it was a thousand -- we hope that day never comes -- we will all be dead or living on the streets. The policies put forth by Trump and his Republican minions amount to cruel and unusual punishment, which would be unconstitutional if we were imprisoned. How did we put our precious country into the hands of a madman? That's not entirely accurate -- and unkind toward those with mental illness. Trump may indeed be mentally ill. Or he might be one of those twisted leaders thrown up regularly by history.

Trump has many SM nicknames. Tweeter in Chief. Twitler, The Orange One. Twitler is a handy one as it evokes images of Herr Hitler. But then we are back to madmen again. Hitler was human, after all. My father's black and white photos showed him and his Signal Corps pals at Berchtesgaden in 1945. He also had photos of newly-liberated death camps. He knew what Hitler wrought. But, as he liked to say on occasion, "Even Hitler loved his dogs." Great quote from an accountant who loved to read actual books. It was too easy to label Hitler as a monster. He loved his dogs. Humans? Not so much.  Also, the quote is a cautionary tale for us kids. Sure, that person may love his/her dogs, but notice how they treat people. Is it with the same kind of affection? Or would they like to throw you into an oven?

My parents were kind. I've inherited their attitude toward people. I also like dogs and cats. I also am a fallible human being. I hate Trump as president because I believe he is unqualified. Would I like to toss him in an oven? No. Would I like to toss him out of office? Yes. I hate Trump because he favors inhuman policies toward me and my family. He is fallible in the way that all humans are fallible. They are born with original sin, as the catechism says. They also are subject to the failings of the Seven Deadly Sins:  Lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, and pride.

Trump is a greedy bastard. He admits his lustful thoughts, or at least he admitted he did before Inauguration Day. Sloth -- too much golf? His political style shows much wrath. He envies Hillary Clinton's victory in the popular vote. Pride? Just look at his photos. And his figure exhibits gluttony, as do all of the photos showing him surrounded by gilded stuff, food included. His bloated body also shows signs of too much, too much.

Does this make Trump a monster? No, just human. Extravagantly human. Exorbitantly human. Does it make him president? Well, it did, according to the rules of the Electoral College.

Above is an illustration of the Seven Deadly Sins by artist Hieronymus Bosch.

Recently, Hieronymus Bosch became a script line in "Bosch" the Amazon Prime series. Actually, Bosch is always alive on the show and in Michael Connelly's Bosch detective novels. LAPD Detective Harry Bosch is known for taking shortcuts on the way to convicting the bad guys. The bad guys have failings in one or more of the Seven Deadly Sins. But so does Bosch. Is he a bad guy or good guy? When confronted by his partner, Bosch answers: "We do what we have to do."

The struggle is at the heart of most memorable detective novels and movies. Most novels, period. Sam Spade is having an affair with his partner's wife. His partner gets killed following up one of Spade's leads. Spade has to step in and find the killer which opens up "The Maltese Falcon," which contains most of the deadly sins. They are personified by the characters who show up in search of the falcon. Spade falls in love with Brigid O'Shaughnessy, the one who killed his partner -- Spade discovers this along the way. He turns in O'Shaughnessy and makes this confession:

"When a man's partner is killed, he's supposed to do something about it. It doesn't make any difference what you thought of him. He was your partner and you're supposed to do something about it. And it happens we're in the detective business. Well, when one of your organization gets killed, it's-it's bad business to let the killer get away with it, bad all around, bad for every detective everywhere." 

Bad for business. Nothing to do with right or wrong. We know it's just an excuse. Sam Spade is a cad. But he's also the avenging angel. He's somewhere in that Bosch illustration. As is Trump. As am I.

I have to sound a spoiler alert for the following.

I just finished watching the final episode of season three of "Bosch." It ends with Bosch sitting in the dark in an auditorium. At the podium, Mayor Ramos and Police Commission President Bradley Walker have just pinned the captain's bars on Irvin Irving. Walker, we have discovered through hours of binge watching, is guilty of the murder of Bosch's call-girl mother 30 years earlier. Bosch, we know from the look on his face and from reading many of Michael Connelly's novels, will get his revenge. He is the avenging angel. In the process, he may be cast into the fiery pit. By Captain Irving. By Walker. By L.A.'s notoriously fickle justice system. By Satan himself.

How will it end for Trump? Could it be one of "The Four Last Things?" They are

1. Death of the sinner
2. Judgment
3. Hell
4. Glory

Any one is possible.

God only knows.

"Punish the poor" bill advances in Wyoming House

Rev. Joe Bair of Douglas has a fine letter in today’s Casper Star-Tribune. It addresses the “punish the poor” bill advanced by the Wyoming House last week. HB 82 stipulates drug-testing for state welfare recipients.

These laws are not really about drug use. Let's call it what it is: picking on the disempowered for the sake of garnering a couple of votes. It's bad public policy, it's cruel, and it's beneath the people of Wyoming.

Right on, Reverend!

Read more: http://trib.com/opinion/letters/poor-are-an-easy-target/article_8c5cc867-d07f-55c6-8bcf-f38c0b45117c.html#ixzz1mwYxYcpY


FYI: All of the bill's sponsors are Republicans: Representatives David Miller (Fremont County), Donald Burkhart (Carbon), Kathy Davison (Lincoln/Sublette/Sweetwater), Amy Edmonds (Laramie), Gerald Gay (Natrona), Allen Jaggi (Uinta/Sweetwater), Frank Peasley (Converse/Platte), Lorraine Quarberg (Big Horn/Hot Springs/Park) and Matt Teeters (Goshen/Platte); Senators Kit Jennings (Natrona) and Ray Peterson (Big Horn/Park).


Call hem. Ask them why they want to punish the poor. Get contact info at http://legisweb.state.wy.us 

Birth control debate provokes sixties' flashback

Catholics of a certain age will recognize Foster Friess’s recent “aspirin solution” comment as a joke from an earlier age.

In case you hadn’t heard, Rick Santorum’s premier contributor, Foster Friess of Jackson, joked last week that back in his day, aspirin was the perfect birth control pill. Women were told (only half-jokingly): “Take an aspirin, and hold it between your knees.”

LOL.

Although we didn’t say LOL then. We said hardy-har-har, or something similar.

In America’s pre-pill era, women, especially Catholic women, were screwed. They were sexual beings who were told by the men in their lives – boyfriends, husbands, priests, politicians – that birth control was not an option. It was their womanly duty to have sex and their bear the consequences – children. It was God’s will. Barefoot and pregnant and in the kitchen was the reality of this “every sperm is sacred” mentality.

The guys were in charge.

That changed with the advent of safe birth control. And the women moved out of the kitchen and went to work and here we are today, debating this subject all over again.

But men, especially older white men, are being threatened as never before by smart and successful women. Minorities, too -- we have a black president! Technology and rapidly changing world events are scary. All hell is breaking loose! Women back to kitchen!

I grew up Catholic and am still, nominally, a Catholic. My coming-of-age was in the sixties. My parents were devout Catholics and they practiced the rhythm method.

LOL.

This was the only birth control method available to church-going Catholics. Abstinence, too – can’t forget that. Thus, most Catholic families engendered multiple offspring. In the case of the Shay family, that was nine children (with two miscarriages). My mother used to joke, “I was pregnant for 15 years.” That would have been longer had she not had twins. In the end, she had a hysterectomy and that was that. She died at the young age of 59, two years younger than I am now. She lasted only 18 months after an ovarian cancer diagnosis.

My parents urged their children to be careful and judicious when it came to sex. My mother, a nurse, urged birth control upon her offspring. In the emergency room, she regularly saw the depredations of unwanted pregnancy. She cast a jaundiced eye on church fathers that urged sex-for-procreation-only and then turned their backs on the results. On the other hand, she was mightily offended whenever people would look down their noses at her brood. “Nine kids – heavens to Betsy!” It usually wasn’t elitist secularists and liberals making these remarks. In the South, it tended to be our Protestant brethren and sistren. They tended to have smaller families, whether the result of birth control or abstinence or sheer cussedness I cannot say. As I look back, I remember that we were a large family even among my Catholic high school friends. Three kids tended to be the norm, with a few in the five-seven range and some of us with whopping big numbers. But we were rare.

What kind of birth control did I practice in high school? Fear and guilt kept me from toiling in the devil’s workshop. We joked about the rhythm method or the aspirin-between-the-legs or chastity belts or whatever. Meanwhile, we only had lust in our hearts. Nothing could be done for it. In our senior year, the blonde-haired, blue-eyed head cheerleader got in trouble, courtesy of the football star. She was sent away to live with her aunt in Ohio, and she missed graduation. The football star did not. Both of these people were my friends. From what I hear, both have had more than their share of life’s struggles. But their fate could have easily been ours. Just say no! And that’s what I did until I was 21.

Catholics of a certain age know the tragedies behind the church’s procreation policies. There are tragedies repeated today, in a time when science has given us an array of dependable birth control, a time in which college students can purchase morning-after pills along with Twinkies in student union vending machines. Birth control has given us all more freedom. Women, especially. And they should have all possible means available to them.

What has happened to my brothers and sisters? Surviving members (we lost a brother in 2010) all seem to be leading useful and productive lives. Among the nine of us, we have 19 children. My two kids have plenty of first cousins, although they live far away in Florida. None of my siblings are devout Catholics, although some go to church. When my brother Patrick Kevin Shay (my son’s godfather) died in 2010, he had a secular ceremony in a park. I officiated. Good ol’ secular liberal me. There were remembrances and even a few prayers. We partied later and remembered the dead. We even argued politics, which we consider a contact sport.

Even when I was a practicing adult Catholic, I paid no attention to the church’s pronouncements of matters that were none of its business. The church cannot tell me whom I can sleep with, appropriate procreation methods, which candidate to vote for, what books to read, etc. Church fathers make it their business but they are regularly ignored, if recent polls can be believed. It’s interesting to note that most Catholics who have to live in the real world regularly ignore those who don’t.

Mr. Friess can joke about the aspirin solution all he wants. We know that it’s not a joke to most women. Women who vote, women like my wife Chris of 30 years, do not consider Foster Friess a comedian. They see him as a tired old man living in an imagined golden age. That’s the way she sees Rick Santorum, too, and all of his fellow travelers. They are throwbacks to another age. This is their last hurrah and they are being as loud and as obnoxious as possible. It’s up to us to ignore them, and then go to the ballot box to vote for people who believe in a future filled with intelligence and empathy and choice.

God says: Keep those hands out of your pockets or risk an eternity in hell!

I am assuming that this is one of those fake photoshopped church signs (I pulled it off of Facebook). I do remember a seventh grade "sex ed" class in which the priests at St. Francis Catholic School in Wichita told us boys that it was a mortal sin to put our hands in our pockets. I still get illicit chills when I put my hands in my pockets, especially on a cold day.

Bachmann’s Husband Calls Homosexuals ‘Barbarians’ Who ‘Need To Be Educated And Disciplined’

Bachmann’s Husband Calls Homosexuals ‘Barbarians’ Who ‘Need To Be Educated And Disciplined’

When trying to figure out where presidential candidate Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) gets her stringent, anti-gay views, you only have to look as far as her husband. Dr. Marcus Bachmann, who has described himself as his wife’s “strategist,” runs a Christian-based counseling center in Minnesota that has been rumored to offer reparative treatment for those looking to “ungay” themselves.

Made in the USA? Good idea 'til greed got in the way

This is a 1983 song by Bob Dylan but it's even more relevant today. It reflects what's happening in Wisconsin and what Republicans are trying to do to all working people in the USA -- bring our wages down to the levels conglomerates pay labor in Indonesia and Latin America:

Union Sundown (excerpt)
Bob Dylan

Well, my shoes, they come from Singapore,
My flashlight's from Taiwan,
My tablecloth's from Malaysia,
My belt buckle's from the Amazon.
You know, this shirt I wear comes from the Philippines
And the car I drive is a Chevrolet,
It was put together down in Argentina
By a guy makin' thirty cents a day

Well, it's sundown on the union
And what's made in the USA
Sure was a good idea
'Til greed got in the way.

From Working Words: Punching the Clock and Kicking Out the Jams, edited by M.L. Liebler and published by Coffee House Press.

Wyoming Sen. Kit Jennings: Guns before people!

Republican Sen. Kit Jennings of Casper on Wyoming Legislature's concealed carry bill: "We kind of drew the line in the sand and said we're going to start here and start working back toward everybody having constitutional rights." He also said that Wyoming citizens and lawmakers sent this message with the passage of the bill: "Quit taking away our constitutional rights."

So why did he vote to strip constitutional rights from Wyoming LGBT citizens? Guns before people? Does he have a list of people he is going to eventually endow with constitutional rights? If so, gays and lesbians and teachers and immigrants must be way down at the bottom.

Check out his contradictory votes at http://legisweb.state.wy.us/

Seems to be a plague of "narrow-minded rubes" in the West's state legislatures

As I read Bob Wire's column in today's New West blog, I kept wondering if he'd been hanging out at the Wyoming State Capitol and not the one in Helena, Mont. Seems as if The Gem State The Treasure State is having its own troubles with right-wing knuckleheads.

“You’d better get your head wired to your ass or you’ll be standing tall before the Man.” That line, barked by a field general to Private Joker in the film Full Metal Jacket, needs to be whispered into the ear of every Republican Representative currently darkening the halls of the State Capitol in Helena. For we, the voters of Montana, are the Man. And if you narrow-minded rubes don’t acquire a measure of humanity and start doing what’s right by the people of this state, not by the special interests and GOP bosses and Tea Party hypocrites who hold your leashes, you will be out on your arrogant, clueless asses in twenty months.

Read Bob Wire's scorching "House GOP: Out There Where the Buses Don’t Run" in the New West Blog

Here we go again -- Republican legislators seek to deny equality in The Equality State

It's the day after Christmas. That means it's time to take stock of the year and engage in prognostications for 2011.

I can sum up 2010 in two words -- it stunk.

Especially the November election in Wyoming.

Republicans now control all of the state’s five elected offices and have a commanding majority in the legislature. Veto-proof, as if that was necessary.

Matt Mead is a moderate and I would have voted for him if I weren’t such a dedicated Liberal, and stubborn to boot. Leslie Petersen is a great person but not such a great candidate. It didn’t help that voters were wildly indignant about nearly everything (real and imaginary) and wanted to vote the rascals out but just ended up putting inexperienced people in important positions.

Just 22 percent of us voted for Ms. Petersen. The rest for Mr. Mead and various and sundry, including Taylor Haynes, Laramie County’s own Tea Party favorite. He got more than 13,000 write-in votes.

As I said earlier, Mr. Mead is a moderate and he’ll get grief from the Know Nothings in his own party. They plan some mischief in the upcoming 90-day legislative session. We’ve already been privy to some of their plans.

First, it’s time once again to demonize homosexuals. A resolution will be introduced called The Defense of Marriage Act. A similar bill was defeated in 2009. It has once again reared its ugly head.

The bill’s goal, say supporters, is to allow voters to close the loophole in state law. Wyoming has proclaimed that marriage is between a man and a woman. The legislature already decided that. However, Wyoming also guarantees that marriages performed in other states must be recognized here.

You can see the dilemma. Marriages between same-sex partners performed in such liberal hotbeds as Iowa and New Hampshire must be acknowledged by The Equality State. If we don’t act quickly, these people will flood into Wyoming and openly establish businesses, teach our children, create fine art, run for office and cause many traditional marriages to be threatened. And I almost forget – they will openly serve as missileers at Warren AFB, train combat troops at Camp Guernsey and fly those lumbering C-130s over my house in Cheyenne.

We don’t want that.

Who are the sponsors and co-sponsors of this bill? All Republicans, of course. Here are some quotes on the issue from an article in today’s Wyoming Tribune-Eagle:

"It's about the right of Wyoming voters to vote," said Sen. Curt Meier, R-LaGrange, who plans on co-sponsoring an updated resolution. "We're setting a community standard for Wyoming."

A community standard for Wyoming? How a senator from the charming Goshen County hamlet of LaGrange (pop. 334) feels he needs to establish a standard for the rest of Wyoming (pop. 563,626 – 2010 census) is beyond me. He has ally from across the state in a Uinta County metropolis. Rep. Owen Petersen of Mountain View (pop. 1,153) plans to sign on as a co-sponsor.

Both of these Republican candidates ran unopposed in the general election. They come from very conservative rural communities. Tea Party Land. Uinta County is home to unsuccessful Tea Party gubernatorial candidate Ron Micheli. I will have to look up the names of the other co-sponsors. My bet is that they all hail from the far rural reaches of The Equality State. You would think they would have better things to do than demonize their fellow citizens. What about the state’s education crisis, energy regulations, rising poverty rate, sky-high teen suicide rate, Medicaid funding shortfall and infrastructure problems, such as the disintegration of I-80? Minor issues that will determine the future of the state.

Here’s what Cheyenne Rep. Ken Esquibel (Democrat) had to say about the DOMA resolution:

Rep. Ken Esquibel, D-Cheyenne, said he believes it's a proposal that does more to make social conservatives feel good than to protect traditional marriage. And while he personally believes that marriage should be between a man and a woman, he doesn't think the argument of tradition should be used to tell others how to live.

"I don't see how we can call ourselves the Equality State when we are singling out a group of people," he said.

Esquibel said a better way to preserve traditional marriage would be to bring forth legislation requiring heterosexual couples to get counseling before divorcing.

Well said, Ken.

The upcoming legislature also plans to revamp the state’s primary election procedures. This is due to the fact that many Democrats switched parties during the August primary to vote against ultra-conservative Ron Micheli. Republicans thought this was dirty pool and that Democrats shouldn’t be allowed to keep right-wing kooks out of the governor’s office. We’ll see what happens with that.

I suppose there will be several bills related to state’s rights and nullification and the scourge that is “Obamacare” and the labeling of wolves as terrorists. While entertaining, all these add up to a huge embarrassment for Wyoming. Let’s hope cooler and more moderate heads prevail.

See you in Cheyenne in January.

Follow the fun on the legislature's web site.

Republican Legislators worried about immigration tidal wave inundating The Equality State

So much for our designation as The Equality State. And I'm sure that anti-gay legislation can't be far behind.

From Wyoming Public Radio:

A number of Wyoming legislators are planning to introduce a bill that would bring Arizona's immigration law to this state. Wyoming Public Radio's Renny MacKay reports.

Arizona's law requires police to check immigration status, if they suspect any person they have detained is in the U-S illegally. The law has been controversial, because many people say it will encourage racial profiling. Representative Pat Childers will co-sponsor the bill in this state. He says he believes the bill is written to avoid racial profiling.

"Sometimes it is difficult to prevent a certain amount of that, but the intent of the law is not to do that."

The primary sponsor of the bill is Representative Pete Illoway, from Cheyenne. He says Wyoming does have an illegal immigration problem, and lawmakers should at least debate the legislation. In a statement to WPR, Governor-elect Matt Mead says he could support a bill similar to Arizona's if it is tailored to Wyoming's specific needs, like restricting employers from hiring illegal immigrants.

Attention America: RepubliCorp will own you!

Thomas Lux: "Times are hard"

From "The Deadhouse at the Workhouse" by Thomas Lux, included in the new Coffee House Press anthology, "Working Words: Punching the Clock and Kicking Out the Jams," edited by M.L.Liebler:

You get sent to the workhouse because you worked
and worked
yourself so deep in debt
you took a loan to pay the debt,
then another to pay the interest on the loan
(all the while working, day labor,
night labor, and thumping
a bowl of porridge on the table each noon
for the kids and wife) and then
you make a deal with the local loanshark
who's happy to help you out
but breaks your knees the following week
when the bank won't remortgage your house
so you can pay his vig. Times
are hard.....

Colorado billboard comes down, but hatred remains

Free speech is one thing. Flat-out hatred is another. This billboard (Grand Junction Sentinel photo) was along I-70 in Grand Junction, Colo. On Friday, it was taken down by the sign company. It shows the president as (from left to right) terrorist, gangster, Mexican bandit and a gay man. Vultures perch overhead and rats scramble underneath. Are those bullet holes in the sign? Or were they placed there by the “artist” to implant bad ideas into right-wing nitwits?

Seemingly rational people hate Barack Obama, the duly-elected 44th president of the United States of America. Only on the surface are these people normal. Within them beat hearts of hate. That sounds like a contradiction, doesn’t it – a heart that hates? If you “have a heart,” you feel something positive about someone or something. Supposed to, anyway. All these people seem to have is a “hearty” hatred for our president. So many of them are well-off, too. You can’t rule our racism. But you know that they are bummed that Pres. Obama wants to end the sweetheart tax cuts doled out by their Repub pal George W. Bush. “Have a heart,” Pres. Obama, “and don’t take my tax cut away?” They would never beg. They think they own the country and it should all be their way of the highway.

Republicans in Wyoming think they own the state -- which they do. In public gatherings, they utter coded hate-filled things about “ObamaLand” or “ObamaCare,” and they expect everyone in attendance to nod like bobble-head dolls. “Wait until Nov. 2” they say gleefully. To them, 11/02/10 has taken on some magic glow, as did 11/04/08 did for Dems lo these many years ago. Now that I think of it, these really aren't coded messages. There are just some ultra-conservatives who have an irrational hatred of our president. For more on his topic, see Frank Rich's column in today's New York Times.

These people think that Republicans and their Corporate Overlords should rule the roost. No room for Dems or non-believers. Sick.

Even on Labor Day, corporations busily creating fewer jobs

As always, bona fide populist Jim Hightower is angry and is making sense when it comes to corporate greed. Great reading for Labor Day (or even the day after Labor Day):

America's corporate chieftains must love poor people, for they're doing all they can to create millions more of them.

They're knocking down wages, offshoring everything from manufacturing jobs to high tech, reducing full-time work to part-time, downsizing our workplaces, busting unions, cutting health care coverage and canceling pensions -- while also lobbying in Washington to privatize Social Security, eliminate job safety protections, restrict unemployment benefits, kill job-creating programs and increase corporate control of our elections.

It's said that the poor and the rich will always be among us. But nowhere is it written that the middle-class will always be there. In fact, it is a very recent creation in our society (and an unavailable dream for most people in the world). America's great middle class literally arose with the rise of labor unions and populist political movements in the 1800s, finally culminating in democratic economic reforms implemented from the 1930s into the 1960s.

Read the rest at truthout.

Day 2 of Wyoming Repub Senators siding with their Wall Street Overlords

From a WyoDems press release:

Yesterday and today, Senate Republicans voted to block critical Wall Street reforms. In response, Wyoming Democratic Party Chair Leslie Petersen issued the following statement:

“Yesterday and today, Senators Barrasso and Enzi and the Republican Party voted to block Wall Street reforms that will protect American taxpayers by holding Wall Street accountable. President Obama and Senate Democrats are working hard to pass this critical legislation that will restrict Wall Street’s risky practices and protects consumers. This is disappointing, but it’s no surprise. Once again the Republican Party is playing the role of obstructionist to meaningful change.

“For too long, lax regulations and free-wheeling Wall Street practices fattened bankers’ wallets. And when their house of cards fell apart, American taxpayers were stuck with the fallout. More than 8 million Americans lost their jobs, and American families lost trillions of dollars in savings and assets. It’s time for Republicans to stop playing political games, join Democrats, and pass this critical Wall Street reform that will bring an end to taxpayer-funded bailouts, protect consumers, and help rein in Wall Street’s risky practices”

Specifically, the reform plan before Congress would:

Ensure that Americans have the information they need to make the right financial choices for their families by putting an end to unfair and abusive lending policies and requiring banks and credit card companies to provide clear and complete information about their products.

Hold Wall Street accountable by giving shareholders and investors greater control over company decisions, like the choice of company leaders or the amount of bonuses to be awarded.

Introduce new transparency by requiring that complicated financial transactions occur out in the open – steps that will help to prevent future economic disasters.

Close the legal loopholes that allowed big banks to take big risks – endangering not only their own companies, but also the whole American economy.

Enforce tough new rules that will make sure Wall Street banks pay for their own bad decisions and take taxpayers off the hook for expensive bailouts for institutions some say are ‘too big to fail’.

Enzi & Barrasso abandon Main Streets in Gillette and Casper to vote for Wall Street

Sen. Mike Enzi today joined his Wyoming Republican colleague, Sen. John Barrasso, to vote against debating financial reform in the U.S. Senate.

Not surprising that Senators Enzi and Barrasso vote with the Repub pack. They do that with everything. Like toddlers, they just love to say "NO!"

Ironic to see that Sen. Enzi was one of the backers of this piece of legislation (from his web site):

Washington, D.C. - The U.S. Senate passed a resolution (S. Res. 485) sponsored by Senators Daniel K. Akaka (D-Hawaii) and Michael B. Enzi (R-Wyoming) designating April as Financial Literacy Month. The resolution raises awareness about the importance of personal financial education and the serious consequences that may result from a lack of understanding about personal finances. It passed last night by a unanimous voice vote.

"Americans held $13.6 trillion in household debt last year according to the Federal Reserve," said Senator Akaka. "Increased financial and economic literacy can empower people to more effectively navigate the marketplace and make smart decisions for their families. Financial education helps people save for their homes, their children's education, and deal with financial challenges."

"In the 21st century it is essential for individuals to be financially literate. Financial literacy isn’t just about balancing a check book, it is about having all the resources and information to plan your own financial future with full understanding of the risks and rewards. The more importance financial literacy is given-- the better off this country will be," said Senator Enzi.

The bipartisan resolution is cosponsored by Senators Dodd, Crapo, Johnson, Corker, Schumer, Cochran, Menendez, Wicker, Kohl, Merkley, Inouye, Durbin, Baucus, Murray, Lincoln, Begich, Gillibrand, Feingold, Levin, Carper, Cardin, Stabenow, and Hagan.

If he thinks that rapacious Big Banks and Wall Street corporations are models of responsible finance, Sen. Enzi needs to brush up on his own financial literacy.

Setting Sen. Enzi straight on the facts

On Friday, the Cowboy State Free Press ran a piece about the response of the Wyoming Democratic Party to some of Sen. Enzi's scarifying non-facts on health care reform and student loan legislation.

Here are some excerpts:

In a statement on Mar. 31, Sen. Enzi suggested a list of bold numbers in relation to health reform, but there are a few numbers Sen. Enzi forgot to mention, according to Wyoming Democratic Party Communications Director Brianna Jones, some of which are:

128.8% – Increase in health insurance premiums for working families in Wyoming from 2000-2007.

27.9% – Increase in Wyoming worker’s wages between 2000-2007, a difference of almost 100% from the previous figure

71,000 – The number of uninsured in Wyoming as of 2008

$40 billion – Under reform, amount of tax credits available to small businesses to help them offer coverage beginning in 2010

$40 billion – The investment which will be invested in Pell grants to help low income students attend college under the reconciliation legislation.

$2 billion – Investment in community colleges in the next four years, which today serve more than 6 million students.

Sen. Enzi’s rhetoric does not fit with reality and we see that time and time again, She said. For example:

RHETORIC: Wyoming residents will pay higher taxes.

REALITY: It is agreed by economists that by taxing the highest cost plans this provision will lead insurance companies to be more efficient and provide quality care to consumers at lower prices. [White House blog, 12/16/09; PWC, 2009; CBO 2009]

RHETORIC: Wyoming residents who have insurance will see their premiums rise.

REALITY: For a vast majority premiums would go down 14-20 percent as estimated by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). Subsidies will lower costs for as much as 59 percent for 18 million people buying their own insurance, said the CBO. [Wall Street Journal Washington Wire, 2/25/10; New York Times, 12/4/09; Bloomberg, 12/1/09]

RHETORIC: Medicare enrollees will see decreased access to care because of cuts.

REALITY: Health reform strengthens Medicare by cutting wasteful spending. The doughnut hole is closed and affordable coverage will be more attainable, says AARP. [AARP letter to Sen. Harry Reid, 12/15/09; FactCheck.org, 11/3/09; CMS Report, 12/10/09]

RHETORIC: Health insurance premiums for Wyoming’s small businesses will rise.

REALITY: $40 billion worth of tax credits will be available to small businesses to help them offer coverage starting in 2010. According to a study by The Third Way Economic Program, “Over the next 15 years, American businesses would collectively spend $637 billion less on their share of health insurance premiums, and their workers would save a collective $177 billion. [Time Magazine, 2/22/10, Bending the Curve: 12 Ways Health Reform Will Tackle Runaway Costs, 1/12/10]

RHETORIC: Medicare Advantage enrollees will see their benefits reduced by half.

REALITY: Reforms to Medicare Advantage will end wasteful subsidies to health insurance companies without affecting benefits and would reduce or eliminate the difference in part by introducing a competitive bidding system to pay the plans [AP, 9/22/09; Boston Globe, 9/24/09]

RHETORIC: Wyoming will be burdened by Medicaid expansions.

REALITY: Health insurance reform will pay for 100% of Medicaid expansion for states through 2017, then 95% for 2018-2019, and then 90% for 2020 and beyond. [White House, 2/22/10]

RHETORIC: Wyoming college students will pay more on student loans to fund health care.

REALITY: Student lending reform will make higher education more achievable and will increase Pell grants, cap repayments, and invest in community colleges. Before students payed 6.8 percent on their unsubsidized federal loans and will continue to pay the same rate. [Politifact, 3/30/10; New York Times, 3/30/10; New York Times, 3/30/10; New York Times, 3/30/10]

HCR Summit clip: "Would your healthcare platform be the same if you made $40K?"

Video clip of the day from Health Care Reform Summit (via a TPM post): POTUS vs. The Colossus of Casper. No contest!

Artist dies due to lack of health insurance

Artist Tom Fowler "died because he didn't go to the dentist and didn't go to the doctor because he was trying to be an artist and didn't have health insurance and didn't think it would kill him."

But it did. Writer Cary Tennis wrote about his artist friend's death yesterday in Salon. Read the full story (reposted on Michael Moore's site) at http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/must-read/how-lack-health-insurance-kills-artists

Tennis's main point is that artists need to create. Most of us artists and writers and performers work full-time jobs to support our habits. Those jobs have health insurance. Everyone should have health insurance but if you're a self-employed artist, it's too expensive -- even if you can qualify. Many artists live on the margins where health insurance doesn't exist.

"Get a job." That's what we used to yell out car windows at street people. I was a kid then and stupid, not realizing that that disheveled guy walking down the street could be a schizophrenic off his meds or a war veteran with PTSD or any number of things, including an itinerant artist. It can have been me or one of my rowdy friends. We could have been looking at our futures.

We appreciate the artist's work when it's hanging on our wall or playing on the iPod. But we don't appreciate the artist's struggle. Sure, on every Grammy telecast there's a millionaire performer telling the sad story about growing up on the streets but now he owns the street and all the houses on it. Great story. The artist struggled and made millions.

But the majority of artists in the U.S. don't even make minimum wage. They don't have health insurance. It might not matter when they're young, but youth fades into the infirmities of age. And then, in this country, you die.

Tennis continues:

A just and wise society would care for its artists. A just and wise society would recognize that on the margins of its norm live its geniuses, and though they are strange and sometimes difficult, they must be cared for, for they are the treasures of our time, and they produce the treasures of our time.

But our society is not just and wise. Still, the artists in our society choose to do their work and find a way to survive somehow, sacrificing things such as health insurance and paid time off. That is what my friend Tom Fowler did. He admitted that he was an artist and the only true thing to do was to paint and see how he could get along. So he painted and saw how he could get along.

"A just and wise society would care for its artists."

In a just and wise society, everyone would have health insurance. Even artists.