Steve1 Political Rants

[rbhudelson]

The short version then. Why do some states only have one carrier? There has to be a reason more than they choose not to operate there. Car insurance, and home owners insurance, operate in almost every state.

which states? and are you referring to individual or group? Again it gets back to them negotiating networks.

[fund razor]

That would have to be their union contract. Pay is not required.

Gotcha. Thanks. That would be the difference.

[VtSteve]

So ,we have an 87 year-old man, who is in the final stages of Parkinson's. He's been in rehab for two months, following bouts with pneumonia and another viral infections. His wife cannot care for him alone, and now Health First has just denied long term care effective end of January. Rehab has stopped, and the $100 a day care bills have started. I need to see the contract and find out what it is, although many before have involved lengthy court battles and/or state AG attacks.

The wife has screamed that Obama is the culprit and all should have been left alone. Fact is, nothing's changed, it has been left alone. This is the furture, same as the past, but worse.

[LotoSteve]

So ,we have an 87 year-old man, who is in the final stages of Parkinson's. He's been in rehab for two months, following bouts with pneumonia and another viral infections. His wife cannot care for him alone, and now Health First has just denied long term care effective end of January. Rehab has stopped, and the $100 a day care bills have started. I need to see the contract and find out what it is, although many before have involved lengthy court battles and/or state AG attacks.

The wife has screamed that Obama is the culprit and all should have been left alone. Fact is, nothing's changed, it has been left alone. This is the furture, same as the past, but worse.

At the risk of sounding insensitive. He IS 87 after all. Has anyone aked him what he wants?

[VtSteve]

Of course, he'd love to be home, play golf, but he's at very high risk of falling now. My father is only a year younger, healthier, and has a fantastic plan from the company he retired from. Two entirely different worlds.

[LaughingCat]

One of the major problems with reforming health care/health insurance lies in the human factor. Everyone is debating a financial aspect, but the entire program is about helping our family members. And when it's our 87 year old, or 99 year old family member, we want everything done to delay the inevitable.

I'm not saying we should have death panels, which we ALL know were never a part of the health care reform bill. But there has to be some level of reality applied. When someone is 90 y/o plus, the program pays for pain relief, etc. But not new hips, knees, Viagra, etc.

Of course, I say all of this, and I will eventually be dealing with the exact scenario which will have me conflicted.

Just my 2 cents.

[LaughingCat]

Who here will admit they watch Bill Maher?

[VtSteve]

One of the major problems with reforming health care/health insurance lies in the human factor. Everyone is debating a financial aspect, but the entire program is about helping our family members. And when it's our 87 year old, or 99 year old family member, we want everything done to delay the inevitable.

I'm not saying we should have death panels, which we ALL know were never a part of the health care reform bill. But there has to be some level of reality applied. When someone is 90 y/o plus, the program pays for pain relief, etc. But not new hips, knees, Viagra, etc.

Of course, I say all of this, and I will eventually be dealing with the exact scenario which will have me conflicted.

Just my 2 cents.

As the 80 million or more Boomers retire, knowledge is everything. I think people "assume" from everything they hear, that everything's just peachy. But many elderly people that bought into the rhetoric, are (or have already), found out how important it is to have a lawyer, or anyone that is familiar with all the hoops and loopholes built into the geriatric care system. It's not an easy navigation.

The people that snickered quietly when hearing of death panels and all that nonsense know full well that real life is quite different are the health professionals. For those familiar with morphine drips you'd understand fully what I'm talking about.

We're looking into the VA, since he is a WWII AF veteran, and also trying to get up to speed on where they stand in general. Trouble being most elderly people tend to be very independent, and you don't find out these things until too late. He'd still be in pretty good shape if not for the staff infection he picked up at a routine overnight at a hospital, things like that are very hard for a PD patient to recover from. But this great old guy is still in pretty good shape, coherent and communicative, and is able to get around with a walker . He's not on his death bed yet.

At any rate, it's good experience for us all to get to know the system everybody thinks they know so much about. My SIL went through this sort of thing with cancer at age 50, so it's not just about the elderly.

[LaughingCat]

Surprise no one is jumping for joy over the obvious implosion of the Democratic party. We all suspected Reid and Pelosi were incompetent. They can't even keep their party in line. At least the Republicans, whether you agree with the direction or not, follow their marching order in lock step.

I sure hope the Republicans bring moderates up in November and not more radical nut-jobs from the lunatic right.

[LotoSteve]

Surprise no one is jumping for joy over the obvious implosion of the Democratic party. We all suspected Reid and Pelosi were incompetent. They can't even keep their party in line. At least the Republicans, whether you agree with the direction or not, follow their marching order in lock step.

I sure hope the Republicans bring moderates up in November and not more radical nut-jobs from the lunatic right.

I have a feeling your definition of "radical nut-jobs" = Conservatives. If thats the case, your going to get a bunch of us in November and beyond. The country is sick and tired of failed liberal policies, ignorant job killing legislation (cap & tax), and reckless spending.

[clayinaustin]

[cigdaze]

Surprise no one is jumping for joy over the obvious implosion of the Democratic party. We all suspected Reid and Pelosi were incompetent. They can't even keep their party in line. At least the Republicans, whether you agree with the direction or not, follow their marching order in lock step.

I sure hope the Republicans bring moderates up in November and not more radical nut-jobs from the lunatic right.

Although it may not be jumping for joy, there is a certainly a perceivable sense of restrained jubilation about the nation, as we watch America awaken from our sleep behind the wheel as many of us come to recognize the great mistakes we made in 2008 and prior in electing this incompetent liberal super-majority. This sentimental shift is apparent through the most recent polls and network news ratings.

And I agree with you in that we don't need anymore radical nutjobs - neither from the far religious right, nor the far ultra-liberal camp. A new group of moderate, reasonable conservatives would in my opinion be what is required to curb this outrageous, oblivious spending binge, reign in the slew of ridiculous, out-dated government programs and once again promote personal and corporate responsibility.

[LaughingCat]

I have a feeling your definition of "radical nut-jobs" = Conservatives. If thats the case, your going to get a bunch of us in November and beyond. The country is sick and tired of failed liberal policies, ignorant job killing legislation (cap & tax), and reckless spending.

I don't consider myself, a traditional fiscal conservative to be a nut job, so your assumption is not correct.

It has become obvious that both parties seem more effective when they are not in power. My only hope is that we do get a viable third party option that actually practices more of America's fiscally conservative, socially moderate ideals; not polarized stand-still tactics that do nothing but waste time and opportunity.

[LaughingCat]

Although it may not be jumping for joy, there is a certainly a perceivable sense of restrained jubilation about the nation, as we watch America awaken from our sleep behind the wheel as many of us come to recognize the great mistakes we made in 2008 and prior in electing this incompetent liberal super-majority. This sentimental shift is apparent through the most recent polls and network news ratings.

And I agree with you in that we don't need anymore radical nutjobs - neither from the far religious right, nor the far ultra-liberal camp. A new group of moderate, reasonable conservatives would in my opinion be what is required to curb this outrageous, oblivious spending binge, reign in the slew of ridiculous, out-dated government programs and once again promote personal and corporate responsibility.

It dawned on my today, that while Democrats may claim to have "brought us back from the brink", if you think of the US economy like a private business, merely avoiding collapse is not emough. You have to redesign the product and marketing models to compete in the new world.

I have yet to see a single idea from either party that lends hope to the idea we can build our way out of this whole. Fortunately, we can invest money overseas and reap benefit from others who are getting it right, like (gulp) the Chinese, Japanese. . . . dirty knees. . . . you know the rest.

[LotoSteve]

I don't consider myself, a traditional fiscal conservative to be a nut job, so your assumption is not correct.

It has become obvious that both parties seem more effective when they are not in power. My only hope is that we do get a viable third party option that actually practices more of America's fiscally conservative, socially moderate ideals; not polarized stand-still tactics that do nothing but waste time and opportunity.

I stand corrected. Glad we are somewhat one the same page.

[LaughingCat]

Although it may not be jumping for joy, there is a certainly a perceivable sense of restrained jubilation about the nation, as we watch America awaken from our sleep behind the wheel as many of us come to recognize the great mistakes we made in 2008 and prior in electing this incompetent liberal super-majority. This sentimental shift is apparent through the most recent polls and network news ratings.

And I agree with you in that we don't need anymore radical nutjobs - neither from the far religious right, nor the far ultra-liberal camp. A new group of moderate, reasonable conservatives would in my opinion be what is required to curb this outrageous, oblivious spending binge, reign in the slew of ridiculous, out-dated government programs and once again promote personal and corporate responsibility.

Our political pipeline is so devoid of talent I worry about who will get elected if everyone simply votes anti-incumbent. We cannot assume anti-incumbent simply means replace each Dem with Rep and vice versa. It also means that in primaries, we can get more radicalized Dems and Reps.

[LaughingCat]

The last time Congress got things done on a bi-partisan level, we had moderates and centrists who compromised and then explained to their people why we were better off. Political power was second to successful governing.

Now we have demons and devils fighting over who gets to hold the flames to our feet.

[Trim'd Up]

A REAL third party would be wonderful, but I can't imagine it happening anytime soon. The only way we are going to get out of this financial mess is by actually producing something. This service based economy can't work in the long term (obviously).

[BBB725]

Our political pipeline is so devoid of talent I worry about who will get elected if everyone simply votes anti-incumbent. We cannot assume anti-incumbent simply means replace each Dem with Rep and vice versa. It also means that in primaries, we can get more radicalized Dems and Reps.

Anyone that has the talent can make more money in the private sector without putting their entire family thru the media circus

[LotoSteve]

Our political pipeline is so devoid of talent I worry about who will get elected if everyone simply votes anti-incumbent. We cannot assume anti-incumbent simply means replace each Dem with Rep and vice versa. It also means that in primaries, we can get more radicalized Dems and Reps.

Hell, I would vote for anyone that ran on the platform of "I wont do anything". At least they couldnt f_ck anything up that way.