KeenEyedTruthSeeker's Blog

In the search for the truth, and in the hopes that some sanity is restored to the urgent and much-needed debate about the pros and cons of health care reform, I'm going to share something that President Obama needs to disseminate to reject some incredible lies that include stupid Sarah Palin's assertion about "death panels." Here's what Senior Presidential Adviser David Axelrod has to say: "Across the country we are seeing vigorous debate about health insurance reform. Unfortunately, some of the old tactics we know so well are back — even the viral emails that fly unchecked and under the radar, spreading all sorts of lies and distortions. As President Obama said at the town hall in New Hampshire, “where we do disagree, let's disagree over things that are real, not these wild misrepresentations that bear no resemblance to anything that's actually been proposed.” So let’s start a chain email of our own. At the end of my email, you’ll find a lot of information about health insurance reform, distilled into 8 ways reform provides security and stability to those with or without coverage, 8 common myths about reform and 8 reasons we need health insurance reform now. Right now, someone you know probably has a question about reform that could be answered by what’s below. So what are you waiting for? Forward this email. Thanks, David David Axelrod Senior Adviser to the President P.S. We launched www.WhiteHouse.gov/realitycheck this week to knock down the rumors and lies that are floating around the internet. You can find the information below, and much more, there. For example, we've just added a video of Nancy-Ann DeParle from our Health Reform Office tackling a viral email head on. Check it out: 8 ways reform provides security and stability to those with or without coverage 1. Ends Discrimination for Pre-Existing Conditions: Insurance companies will be prohibited from refusing you coverage because of your medical history. 2. Ends Exorbitant Out-of-Pocket Expenses, Deductibles or Co-Pays: Insurance companies will have to abide by yearly caps on how much they can charge for out-of-pocket expenses. 3. Ends Cost-Sharing for Preventive Care: Insurance companies must fully cover, without charge, regular checkups and tests that help you prevent illness, such as mammograms or eye and foot exams for diabetics. 4. Ends Dropping of Coverage for Seriously Ill: Insurance companies will be prohibited from dropping or watering down insurance coverage for those who become seriously ill. 5. Ends Gender Discrimination: Insurance companies will be prohibited from charging you more because of your gender. 6. Ends Annual or Lifetime Caps on Coverage: Insurance companies will be prevented from placing annual or lifetime caps on the coverage you receive. 7. Extends Coverage for Young Adults: Children would continue to be eligible for family coverage through the age of 26. 8. Guarantees Insurance Renewal: Insurance companies will be required to renew any policy as long as the policyholder pays their premium in full. Insurance companies won't be allowed to refuse renewal because someone became sick. Learn more and get details: http://www.WhiteHouse.gov/hea... 8 common myths about health insurance reform 1. Reform will stop "rationing" - not increase it: It’s a myth that reform will mean a "government takeover" of health care or lead to "rationing." To the contrary, reform will forbid many forms of rationing that are currently being used by insurance companies. 2. We can’t afford reform: It's the status quo we can't afford. It’s a myth that reform will bust the budget. To the contrary, the President has identified ways to pay for the vast majority of the up-front costs by cutting waste, fraud, and abuse within existing government health programs; ending big subsidies to insurance companies; and increasing efficiency with such steps as coordinating care and streamlining paperwork. In the long term, reform can help bring down costs that will otherwise lead to a fiscal crisis. 3. Reform would encourage "euthanasia": It does not. It’s a malicious myth that reform would encourage or even require euthanasia for seniors. For seniors who want to consult with their family and physicians about end-of life decisions, reform will help to cover these voluntary, private consultations for those who want help with these personal and difficult family decisions. 4. Vets' health care is safe and sound: It’s a myth that health insurance reform will affect veterans' access to the care they get now. To the contrary, the President's budget significantly expands coverage under the VA, extending care to 500,000 more veterans who were previously excluded. The VA Healthcare system will continue to be available for all eligible veterans. 5. Reform will benefit small business - not burden it: It’s a myth that health insurance reform will hurt small businesses. To the contrary, reform will ease the burdens on small businesses, provide tax credits to help them pay for employee coverage and help level the playing field with big firms who pay much less to cover their employees on average. 6. Your Medicare is safe, and stronger with reform: It’s myth that Health Insurance Reform would be financed by cutting Medicare benefits. To the contrary, reform will improve the long-term financial health of Medicare, ensure better coordination, eliminate waste and unnecessary subsidies to insurance companies, and help to close the Medicare "doughnut" hole to make prescription drugs more affordable for seniors. 7. You can keep your own insurance: It’s myth that reform will force you out of your current insurance plan or force you to change doctors. To the contrary, reform will expand your choices, not eliminate them. 8. No, government will not do anything with your bank account: It is an absurd myth that government will be in charge of your bank accounts. Health insurance reform will simplify administration, making it easier and more convenient for you to pay bills in a method that you choose. Just like paying a phone bill or a utility bill, you can pay by traditional check, or by a direct electronic payment. And forms will be standardized so they will be easier to understand. The choice is up to you – and the same rules of privacy will apply as they do for all other electronic payments that people make. Learn more and get details: http://www.WhiteHouse.gov/rea... http://www.WhiteHouse.gov/rea... 8 Reasons We Need Health Insurance Reform Now 1. Coverage Denied to Millions: A recent national survey estimated that 12.6 million non-elderly adults – 36 percent of those who tried to purchase health insurance directly from an insurance company in the individual insurance market – were in fact discriminated against because of a pre-existing condition in the previous three years or dropped from coverage when they became seriously ill. Learn more: http://www.healthreform.gov/r... 2. Less Care for More Costs: With each passing year, Americans are paying more for health care coverage. Employer-sponsored health insurance premiums have nearly doubled since 2000, a rate three times faster than wages. In 2008, the average premium for a family plan purchased through an employer was $12,680, nearly the annual earnings of a full-time minimum wage job. Americans pay more than ever for health insurance, but get less coverage. Learn more: http://www.healthreform.gov/r... 3. Roadblocks to Care for Women: Women’s reproductive health requires more regular contact with health care providers, including yearly pap smears, mammograms, and obstetric care. Women are also more likely to report fair or poor health than men (9.5% versus 9.0%). While rates of chronic conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure are similar to men, women are twice as likely to suffer from headaches and are more likely to experience joint, back or neck pain. These chronic conditions often require regular and frequent treatment and follow-up care. Learn more: http://www.healthreform.gov/r... 4. Hard Times in the Heartland: Throughout rural America, there are nearly 50 million people who face challenges in accessing health care. The past several decades have consistently shown higher rates of poverty, mortality, uninsurance, and limited access to a primary health care provider in rural areas. With the recent economic downturn, there is potential for an increase in many of the health disparities and access concerns that are already elevated in rural communities. Learn more: http://www.healthreform.gov/r... 5. Small Businesses Struggle to Provide Health Coverage: Nearly one-third of the uninsured – 13 million people – are employees of firms with less than 100 workers. From 2000 to 2007, the proportion of non-elderly Americans covered by employer-based health insurance fell from 66% to 61%. Much of this decline stems from small business. The percentage of small businesses offering coverage dropped from 68% to 59%, while large firms held stable at 99%. About a third of such workers in firms with fewer than 50 employees obtain insurance through a spouse. Learn more: http://www.healthreform.gov/r... 6. The Tragedies are Personal: Half of all personal bankruptcies are at least partly the result of medical expenses. The typical elderly couple may have to save nearly $300,000 to pay for health costs not covered by Medicare alone. Learn more: http://www.healthreform.gov/r... 7. Diminishing Access to Care: From 2000 to 2007, the proportion of non-elderly Americans covered by employer-based health insurance fell from 66% to 61%. An estimated 87 million people - one in every three Americans under the age of 65 - were uninsured at some point in 2007 and 2008. More than 80% of the uninsured are in working families. Learn more: http://www.healthreform.gov/r... 8. The Trends are Troubling: Without reform, health care costs will continue to skyrocket unabated, putting unbearable strain on families, businesses, and state and federal government budgets. Perhaps the most visible sign of the need for health care reform is the 46 million Americans currently without health insurance - projections suggest that this number will rise to about 72 million in 2040 in the absence of reform. Learn more: http://www.WhiteHouse.gov/ass... " Hopefully, with this information in the mix, we'll all be able to compare what each side has to say and focus on what is fact and not fiction. I'm the KeenEyedTruth Seeker.

Missing in Inaction Republicans

Well, the battle lines are firmly drawn now that the first vote on the stimulus package has passed the U.S. Senate, and most of the Republicans formed a cinder block wall-- emphasis on 'block.' In fact, the proverbial line is the sand looks more like a moat, and all but three, brave, responsible Republicans are holed up in their ivory tower remote and somewhat recalcitrant.

While they're up in that tower, missing in inaction as America teeters on the brink of total financial collapse, they see themselves adopting the tactics of the Taliban to undermine the Obama administration's best efforts to rectify problems created by the Bush administration.

When did the Republicans come up with their ill-conceived plan to equate their inaction on the stimulus package to a Taliban insurgency? Why would anyone associate their political party with Afghanis who gave Osama bin Laden a base to plot against the USA and to launch the deadly and despicable 9/11 attacks?

It's proof those Republicans have lost touch with reality and lost touch with the real problems of the American people.

I'm the KeenEyedTruthSeeker, and this is my perspective.

Great Unreasonable Expectations for Obama

The president has been in office less than a month, and already people are talking about failure. Get a grip. Already echo chambers are talking about their great, unreasonable expectations. The only perfect person was crucified by the people he tried to help and, although President Obama isn't even close to being the true Messiah, it's not lost on me that some people are expecting miracles. No human can clean up the mess the president has inherited in a few short weeks, if ever.

Former president George Bush (W) and his sidekicks in the Republican Party left innumerable disasters and crises in progress, and before they departed, they presided over the greatest robberies of all time. They looted public funds, incurred the wrath of most Americans, and set the stage for everyone to doubt the veracity of anything President Obama says or suggests. Yes, the first installment of the TARP was stolen from right under our noses by the Republican president and his appointed chiefs in crime, and it's obvious that those who got bonuses and perks got breaks tantamount to whopping tax cuts. Surely they understand that the first wave of stimulus funds is sitting in their bank and investment accounts thanks to unwitting taxpayer generosity. Are they starting new businesses or hiring new employees? Are they spending their ill-gotten gains in shops and businesses that need the to stay in business? Where is the Republican outrage at this form of welfare?

Even as the USA hemorrhaged money to fight ill-conceived wars, narrow-minded Republicans were busy calling for tax cuts so they could cause our national debt to balloon even higher and make their rich cohorts even richer.

And now, even in these dire times, they want even more tax cuts despite President Obama's generosity in including tax cuts in the stimulus package being kicked around in the Senate right now. If most Republicans and their supporters don't want to spend stimulus funds, don't accept the money or stimulus plan benefits in any form.

Work out some sort of formula where the money and jobs generated by the Democrats only go to those who support the stimulus. Go it alone. Show the rest of us how self-sufficiency really works. Lead by example. Practice what you preach. Show how your ideas about deregulation really work, even though we think they are as bankrupt as your cronies have forced us to be. Show how you can persuade or force mismanaged banks to get credit flowing again, and then lead the way out of this depression. Yes, the depression your ill-conceived ideas have caused under short-sighted leadership.

Why are there still people in this nation who think that taking care of our fellow human beings in times of crisis is SOCIALISM, and that the government shouldn't provide a safety net for those who have fallen on hard times? It's all well and good to sit on high horses when you've got a job, health care, a roof over your head, food in the cupboards and fridge and/or some savings in some FDIC-insured account. But what if you don't and, despite searching like mad and taking any job you're offered, you still can't keep your family from being thrown out on the streets? Should you still keep waving the flag of republicanism and of divisiveness instead over unity, selfishness over selflessness, dissonance over discourse and harmony?

If you're a poor or middle class Republican and even if you believe in the free market, understand that if you fall on hard times, most Republican congress men and women will not be rushing to your door to keep the wolves away. You're going to be on your own wishing that President Obama's compassionate liberalism would save your bacon.

I'm the KeenEyedTruthSeeker, and that's my perspective.

U.S. Senator Barack Obama did a stupendous job today in a speech addressing the touchy issue of what someone else said in a country that lauds free speech and goes around the world shouting how it is a champion of freedom. Today he has shown America and the world that he can condemn the sin and still love the man who sinned and offended. Isn't that a cornerstone of Christianity? Why isn't Obama's very public demonstration of what he has learned from Christ's teachings held up as an example of virtue. Why isn't this Christian and statesman-like display lauded more after all the fuss and bother about his religion? Not only has he shown us how to be both a Christian and a statesman, he has also shown us that he is a man of honour and principle. Why should he throw away a friend just because they don't see eye to eye on everything? America is a country of contradictions after all. Life is full of contradictions and so are people. If I threw away all my friends when we disagree, I would be a lonely person unless, of course, I viewed life through rose-coloured glasses. Obama was never going to get an overwhelming amount of votes from working class white males anyway. This is America after all, and colour is ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS a factor-- the proverbial pink elephant in the room that lots of people don't want to acknowledge. Ohio proved it, right? Some people want to pretend that Rev. Wright's comments are an aberration in a country where black people have suffered the brunt of white bigotry for years and continue to suffer from it despite significant gains. Has anyone watched any films about the fight for civil rights lately, or the images and aftermath of Katrina's onslaught? I have had white friends tell me that I was overreacting about bigotry, and then retract what they said after they heard other white colleagues in unguarded moments who spewed things that rival or surpass anything Wright has said. Provocateurs exist on all sides of this debate about an American problem that some people would prefer to have closeted. We live in a culture where a person with one white parent is still called black and treated poorly oftentimes because his/her white heritage is ignored and discounted. The focus on Obama's colour is proof that America still has a long, long way to go, but it's heartening to see that some Americans support real "Change" epitomized through Obama's quest for the Democratic nomination and the presidency of the United States. Blessed are the peacemakers . . . I'm the KeenEyedTruthSeeker telling it like it is.

The Keen-Eyed Truth Seeker

So, the mother of all scapegoats is dead. Saddam Hussein's execution was such an unbelievable debacle that I bet the Bush and al-Maliki governments would like to bring him back from the dead so that the hanging can be done again. No matter how much the Bush administration and the U.S. military try to distance themselves from the shameful execution process, they can't. The al-Maliki government is seen as a U.S. puppet with visible strings.

Well now that the 9/11 scapegoat Hussein is gone, is the USA any safer from terrorism? Also, what about Afghanistan, the Taliban, Al Qaeda, and Osama Bin Laden? Wasn't the war in Iraq a very costly detour in the sand? Let's hope the Democrats can correct course and stop the sacrificing of more U.S. military and Iraqi civilian lives.

We've lost too many bright souls; we've lost the battle for Middle-East hearts and minds; we've lost face; we've lost the moral high ground; we've lost international respect; we've lost zillions of dollars that would be better spent on U.S. soil and, yes, we HAVE lost the war in Iraq. So isn't it high time we lost our stubborn arrogance and our destructive pride?