Republican Congressional Support And Encouragement Of The Lunatic Fringe

by Ron Powell

Some Republican lead town hall meetings are taking on the aura of KKK meetings or White Supremicist, or Militia Movement meetings. Where's the discussion or debate about health care or anything else for that matter?

Town Hall Meetings, like the two shown here, are becoming witches
kitchens where ignorance, stupidity, and fear are being stirred in with overtly racist language and not-so-veiled threats of violence, insurrection, and sedition.

Congressman Wally Herger (R-California) praises self-proclaimed birther and right-wing terrorist, Burt Stead, as a good American.

Newly elected Kansas congresswoman, Lynne Jenkins, said that her remark about fellow Republicans struggling to find a "great white hope", was not a reference to someone who could challenge President Barack Obama or his political agenda.

YEAH, RIGHT!

Edward M. Kennedy, The Lion Of The Senate, Dies At 77

(February 22, 1932 – August 25, 2009)

AP- HYANNIS PORT, Mass. – Massachusetts Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, the liberal lion of the Senate, has died after battling a brain tumor. He was 77.

Kennedy's family announced his death in a brief statement released early Wednesday.

For nearly a half-century in the Senate, Kennedy was a dominant voice on health care, civil rights, war and peace, and more. To the American public, though, he was best known as the last surviving brother of a storied political family.

Kennedy was elected to the Senate in 1962, when his brother John was president, and served longer than all but two senators in history.

Over the decades, Kennedy put his imprint on every major piece of social legislation to clear the Congress.

The youngest of the Kennedy brothers, considered the least likely to have an impact, and in many ways the most consequential. So closely after the death of his sister, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, the Kennedy family must grieve again and again the nation must grieve with them....

After the death of President John Kennedy, LBJ picked up the banner of justice and equality and so it was that a Southerner from Texas was able to get The Civil Rights Act and The Voting Rights Act through congress. In many ways this was done in memory of his predecessor in office JFK....

This congress has the opportunity to pass the Edward M. Kennedy Health Care and Insurance Reform Act ( with a public option, not as a sliver, but as the center piece) in honor of the Lion, now gone, who spent a significant portion of his career on trying to repair the broken system for the benefit of the common person.........

The Cost Of Profit In Health Care

by Ron Powell

On several occasions I have written about the matter of health care reform and have indicated in posts and comments that there can't be true reform of the healthcare system without removing profit and the profit motive from the equation. At the moment the debate and discussions center around reduction of costs and the notion of a "public option" being the primary element in any proposal that purports to reduce the costs involved in the delivery of health care services.

It has been my contention that "costs" are the euphamism or code for profits. In other words, I believe that if we can reduce or eliminate profits we can reduce or eliminate costs. This is what the insurers and providers are acutely aware of and are fighting against. They know that when the government gets involved the gravy train will come to a screeching halt.

Over the past several years the insurance companies have reaped record profits without any improvements to the system of health care. How does this happen? It happens in any number of ways: increase of premiums, increase of deductibles, increase of co-payments, denial of coverage, cancellation of coverage and the denial of claims. All of this is designed to enhance revenue streams while reducing or eliminating risk by reducing or eliminating the obligation to make payments within the context of the language of health insurance contracts.

If you have health insurance my suggestion is to read it, all of it, especially the fine print. You may discover why many of the people who have been driven into financial ruin as a result of a catastrophic illness, are people who have health care insurance.

Having a health care insurance policy is not the equivalent of having health care coverage and that is where the mother load of profits are for health care insurers. I am a veteran so I'm covered with a government financed/controlled option and in a couple of years I will qualify for medicare as well, so I'm good to go.

However, there are a vast number of people between the ages of 25 and 65 who are paying for health care insurance, either directly or through employer group plans, for whom the insurance companies do not intend provide coverage i.e. payment on claims.

Banks and credit card companies have been loan sharking for years. The health care insurance companies have been engaged in a protection racket also designed to cheat and gouge the public. When all is said and done, reform of the way in which business is done in this country will require revisiting the notion of what is legal and what is not.

The conservative element has had decades to undo what had been done to ensure that the public was protected from unscrupulous business practices. The process of the systematic deregulation and removal of controls from profit-driven free market enterprises that are built on public trust and confidence must be reversed. In order to restore sanity to the debates and discussions the 900 pound profit gorilla has to be removed from the room or it will continue to wreak havoc and nothing will get done, nothing will change and we all know we can't afford that.

Is Newt Gingrich The Reason Why The Right Is Ahead In The War Of Words?

by Ron Powell

One of the key elements of Republican success in controlling the current discussion/debate about health care is their use and manipulation of the languagae of the discourse. The Republicans distribute talking points with the intention of controlling what is said. In addition they are adept at providing instruction and insight as to how to say it.....

Newt Gingrich's 1996 GOPAC memo:

Language: A Key Mechanism of Control

In the GOP training video "We are a Majority," Language is listed as a key mechanism of control used by a majority party, along with Agenda, Rules, Attitude and Learning. The video has been used in training sessions and mailed to Republican candidates and operatives across the country. Speaking like Newt Gingrich takes years of practice. But, the belief was/is that doing so could have a significant impact on a campaign and the way candidates and operatives communicate with a little help . That is why we have created this list of words and phrases.

This list is prepared so that you might have a directory of words to use in writing literature and mail, in preparing speeches, and in producing electronic media. The words and phrases are powerful. Read them. Memorize as many as possible. And remember that like any tool, these words will not help if they are not used.

While the list could be the size of the latest "College Edition" dictionary, we have attempted to keep it small enough to be readily useful yet large enough to be broadly functional. The list is divided into two sections: Optimistic Positive Governing words and phrases to help describe your vision for the future of your community (your message) and Contrasting words to help you clearly define the policies and record of your opponent and the Democratic party.

Please let us know if you have any other suggestions or additions. We would also like to know how you use the list. Call us at GOPAC or write with your suggestions and comments. We may include them in the next tape mailing so that others can benefit from your knowledge and experience.

Optimistic Positive Governing Words

Use the list below to help define your campaign and your vision of public service. These words can help give extra power to your message. In addition, these words help develop the positive side of the contrast you should create with your opponent, giving your community something to vote for!

active(ly), activist, building, candid(ly), care(ing), challenge, change, children, choice/choose, citizen, commitment, common sense, compete, confident, conflict, control, courage, crusade, debate, dream, duty, eliminate good-time in prison, empower(ment), fair, family,freedom, hard work , help, humane, incentive, initiative, lead learn, legacy, liberty, light, listen, mobilize, moral, movement, opportunity, passionate, peace, pioneer, precious, premise, preserve, principle(d), pristine, pro- (issue): flag, children, environment, reform, prosperity, protect, proud/pride, provide, reform, rights, share, strength, success, tough, truth, unique,vision, we/us/our

Contrasting Words

Often we search hard for words to define our opponents. Sometimes we are hesitant to use contrast. Remember that creating a difference helps you. These are powerful words that can create a clear and easily understood contrast. Apply these to the opponent, their record, proposals and their party:

abuse of power, anti- (issue): flag, family, child, jobs, betray, bizarre, bosses, bureaucracy, cheat, coercion, "compassion" is not enough, collapse(ing), consequences, corrupt, corruption, criminal rights, crisis, cynicism, decay, deeper, destroy, destructive, devour, disgrace, endanger, excuses, failure (fail), greed, hypocrisy, ideological, impose, incompetent, insecure, insensitive, intolerant, liberal, lie, limit(s), machine, mandate(s), obsolete, pathetic, patronage, permissive attitude, pessimistic, punish (poor ...), radical, red tape, self-serving, selfish, sensationalists, shallow, shame, sick, spend(ing), stagnation, status quo, steal, taxes, they/them, threaten, traitors, unionized, urgent (cy), waste, welfare

What Do You Know About The History Of Health Care Insurance?

by Ron Powell

There have been a number of blogs about healthcare reform proposals recently, and there will no doubt be more before it comes to a vote in congress. Most bloggers, including me, are not old enough to have first hand memories of the major events and forces that shaped the system as we know it today. Health care insurance in America has an interesting history.

The first insurance plans weren't for "health" insurance at all. In the 1900s some Americans began buying "sickness insurance". Around 1900, workers wanted insurance that covered paid sick days and were not as interested in more expensive medical benefit insurance. They purchased industrial "sickness insurance" through employers. Since medical treatments were relatively ineffective then, the insurance was meant to cover wages lost while a person was too sick to work. Imitating benevolent societies, industrial sickness (sick day) insurance companies raised money from entertainments as well as membership dues and held social events for members. They sold beer.

In 1908, the average "establishment" (employer) insurance plan had 730 members in workplaces of 1,652 workers, so approximately 44 percent of potentially covered workers were actually covered. A 1909 audit of early life and "sickness" insurance plans showed that fewer than 5 percent had actuarial data. During the depression, hospitals were suffering from a lack of patients, so they began offering prepaid hospital care as a way to get a steady stream of income.

The first modern employee group benefit plan was an agreement between Dallas County public school teachers and Baylor Hospital in 1929. The Baylor Plan was organized by a hospital administrator who had previously been a school superintendent.

The American Hospital Association was afraid that hospitals would begin competing with each other for patients, thus reducing revenues for everybody. So they formed Blue Cross, with the help of legislation that enabled them to avoid the requirements of reserve requirements that true insurance companies had to have to guaranty solvency. Physicians, who were largely unaffiliated at that time, became concerned that Blue Cross would lead to hospitals insuring for, and providing, physician services in competition with them, causing their fees and income to drop. So the AMA preempted this by forming its own "insurance" plan for physician services, called Blue Shield.

The biggest boost to these private health insurance plans came from World War II. The Wage Stabilization Act of 1942 was enacted to prevent rapid wage escalation due to the shortage of available labor during wartime. But that act also allowed companies to use other incentives to attract workers, and gave favorable tax treatment to employer paid health insurance. In 1944, the Baylor Plan merged into Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas. By that time, more than 3 million Americans were covered by Blue Cross Blue Shield policies.

As part of the deal that enabled Blue Cross and Blue Shield to avoid the restrictions insurance companies faced, they were required to charge premiums based on a "community rating" system. That is, they had to charge the same premium to healthy people as they charged sicker ones. This opened the door for other companies to enter the increasingly lucrative health insurance market. Since most large companies tended to employ workforces that were younger and more healthy than society as a whole, they could cherry pick those companies and either avoid insuring people who would likely incur profit draining claims, or charge higher premiums to those groups.

When Medicare was first adopted in 1965, legislators feared that doctors would refuse to treat patients covered by that plan. So they agreed to reimburse doctors for their services at their "usual, customary and reasonable rate", and allowed them to bill their patients directly. In this way, doctors were able to charge patients more than Medicare would pay, forcing them to pay the difference. Medicare payments began spiraling out of control, reimbursement policy underwent major change in 1983. From then on, providers were reimbursed according to a set fee schedule based on diagnosis.

Today, the labor market is very different from the days when employer provided insurance became popular. Currently, there is no legal obligation for an employer to provide it, as long as they don't discriminate by offering it to some employees and not others. Just as many employers abandoned defined benefit pension plans when they became too costly, it is likely some will want to drop health insurance benefits as costs continue to rise.

Due to a combination of factors, such as an aging population, introduction of expensive diagnostic technology, skyrocketing malpractice awards and so on, health care expenditures in the US account for one of every six dollars of our gross domestic product (GDP). We spend 50% more per capita on health care than any other major country, and that gap is increasing every year.

With that as background, many Americans are reaching the conclusion that the status quo cannot be sustained. Yet any attempt to change it is met with hysterical opposition and demagoguery. The insurance companies, doctors, hospitals and pharmaceutical companies that are benefiting from the current system are pulling out all the stops to prevent changes to it.

There are no market forces that will keep the cost of healthcare from continuing to climb. Private industry practices which have resulted in their reaping obscene profits by discriminating against the very people they purport to cover and denying coverage to people who need it most or can’t afford to pay exorbitant premiums or deductibles are at the root of a process of economic erosion that is bankrupting American families at an alarming rate. They will eventually bankrupt the entire country if something is not done to alter the course we are on with things as they are.

Obama Must Learn To Play Hardball

by Ron Powell

It is time for President Obama to learn to play hardball and stop acting as though there is a legitimate basis upon which to build or develop bipartisanhip or compromise.

1. He ought to have learned by now, that there is no bipartisanhip or compromise to be had with people who have decided to be uncooperative regardless of the nature of ANY proposal that he puts forward on health care or anything else for that matter.

2. He should know by now, that if he and the Democrats remove any significant element from the health care reform measures being considered, it will be the Republicans who will claim victory even as they continue to refuse to participate in the legislative process that brings a bill to the President's desk to be signed into law.

3. Any measure that is signed into law that does not include a public option that will signal a reduction of the runaway profits the insurers now enjoy, will be a capitulation to the insurance industry and other special interests that stand to gain from maintaining the status quo.

4. At this moment the Republicans have nothing to fear by resisting efforts at bi-partisanship and feel that they have nothing to gain from cooperating with the President.

5. It reqiures an entirely different set of skills to govern....The skills needed to get elected are quite different and not easily transferred....

6. Playing in the big leagues you have to learn and be willing to take bases with your spikes up. The people around him have to step up and give him the kind of advice he needs or his administration will be in the toilet before his first year is up.......

7. President Obama needs to be reminded the if LBJ and Dr. King had compromised and capitulated when the Dixiecratats and conservative Republicans were determined to derail Civil Rights and Voting Rights legislation he would not be in office today....

8. It's time to step up and stand up, have some guts and show some backbone. Many of the people who are being frightened into resisting change wouldn't be frightened if the President showed that he was indeed ready, willing, and able to fight with everything he has at his disposal to ensure that the health care system and health care insurance were reformed or changed for the benefit and good of the entire nation.

6th Grade Reporter Scores Interview With President Obama

Damon Weaver has chosen a great way to begin building his resume.

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