Sen. Franken shows guts in confronting "Swift Boat" lie financier

Speaking of speaking truth to power, here's one who did-- our nation's newest U.S. senator, Al Franken (D-Minn.)

President's Popularity Still Strong Despite GOP, Media Spin

Let's see the Republicans spin their way through this survey. Contrary to the drivel peddled by Republicans and their news media agents, President Obama is doing quite well in maintaining a high popularity rating.
Now that the GOP has a healthcare solution that sounds more like a pitch for snake oil than real reform, I wonder when the American people will see through the smoke generated by Republicans and their insurance company donors and press Congress to pass strong legislation with a robust public option.

TX-32:More of "Taliban Pete's" Problems

The further adventures of my area's congressman, Pete Sessions (R-32nd district). When will anyone give him a challenge that will prove too large for him to survive?

Can You Believe These Texas (St)Rangers? They Beat M's, 7-1

When my wife and I first moved to the Dallas-Fort Worth area 14 years ago, I never envisioned us attending a Texas Rangers game.
Sure, we lived only a few blocks from the Rangers' ballpark, but as I walked from our home to work and back all those years ago, I never envisioned that we'd find ourselves INSIDE the ballpark watching a game.
That happened last month as we watched the Rangers (who I call (St)Rangers) defeat the San Diego Padres in what turned out to be their only win in the series.
That got me hooked on following the (St)Rangers who are contending for a playoff berth after their 7-1 win today over the Seattle Mariners.
Having heard about the team's struggles the last few years, I never envisioned seeing the team three games back of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the AL West and only 1-1/2 games back of the Boston Red Sox in the wild card chase (the (St)Rangers are only one game back of the BoSox in the loss column).
But guess what? That's where this team is, and I sure like what I'm seeing.
Their pitching has definitely improved over the past few years, and their hitting is producing as well.
Are they going to get a postseason berth or even win the AL West? I don't know, but I definitely think Nolan Ryan deserves consideration as Major League Baseball's Executive of the Year.
In the just over one year Ryan has been a (St)Rangers executive, he has brought a new attitude to the pitching staff-- one in which the pitchers haven't been afraid to challenge opposing hitters by throwing inside to keep them honest (among other things).
Others have played their roles, but I like the work Ryan has done best. And I hope the (St)Rangers win the AL West.

TX-Sen: Bill White Campaigns, But Where Does He Stand On Foreign Policy, Public Option?

Now that we may have a special election for a vacant U.S. Senate seat (that of Kay Bailey Hutchison, who's announced she will step down in order to spend her full time running for governor against fellow Republican and incumbent Rick Perry), it's time to look at who may be running to gain her seat.
The other day, I received a post card from supporters of Houston Mayor Bill White seeking my presence at one of his functions. While my schedule may prevent me from going, I'm curious about why White on his website fails to disclose what office he is running for.
In fact, the only way you'd know that White was seeking the Hutchison senate seat would be if you saw this page.
The White web site is has positions he has taken on matters such as energy and health care, but where does he stand on foreign policy issues?
Or, more specifically on health care, does he support the sort of public option that President Obama and others have supported?
Putting it mildly, I'd like to hear more before I commit.

Poll: People Support Health Insurance Reform

Those who think our current bad system of health care is fine and dandy may try to cherry pick the thing in this poll that suits them but leave out the critical evidence that doesn't suit them, but the fact is, folks really want something done to fix the system.
That's the only conclusion that can be drawn from the latest New York Times/CBS News poll. While our president's poll numbers may be down for now, the thirst amongst the public for something big to get done remains strong.
Here's part of what the New York Times reported:

Still, Mr. Obama remains the dominant figure in the debate, both because he continues to enjoy relatively high levels of public support even after seeing his approval ratings dip, and because there appears to be a strong desire to get something done: 49 percent said they supported fundamental changes, and 33 percent said the health care system needed to be completely rebuilt.
The poll found 66 percent of respondents were concerned that they might eventually lose their insurance if the government did not create a new health care system, and 80 percent said they were concerned that the percentage of Americans without health care would continue to rise if Congress did not act.
By 55 percent to 26 percent, respondents said Mr. Obama had better ideas about how to change health care than Republicans in Congress did.
There is overwhelming support for a bipartisan agreement on health care, and here again, Mr. Obama appears in the stronger position: 59 percent said that he was making an effort to work with Congressional Republicans, while just 33 percent said Republicans were trying to work with him on the issue.

Bottom line: the American people want the bickering and stalling to end and for real health insurance reform to pass. It's not a message that Republicans and their media lapdogs want to share with the American people, and from these numbers, I understand why.

GOP Throws "Bipartisanship" Right Into Max Baucu$' Face

I have never seen a politician get played as bad as Sen. Max Baucu$ (D-Montana) was by Republicans in his bid for so-called "bi-partisan" health care legislation. It reminded me of the Ralph Cramden character on the old "Honeymooners" TV series in which he was constantly played by schemers and then gets forced into buyer's remorse afterwards.
For more, check out this.

TX-Sen: Kay Bailey Hutchison To Quit Senate

She said it! Kay Bailey Hutchison will quit the U.S. Senate so she can devote her full time toward her candidacy for governor in the GOP primary against incumbent Rick Perry.
According to the Huffington Post report:

In an interview Wednesday on WBAP-AM of Fort Worth and Dallas, Hutchison said she wants to stay in the Senate long enough to fight President Barack Obama's healthcare plan. She said her departure will be some time in "October, November, in that time frame."
She again said that she'll officially launch her gubernatorial campaign in August.
The Republican senior senator from Texas said that, in effect, she gave Perry a free pass four years ago when she decided not to run against him. She said he's now trying to stay in the job too long.

Let the battle begin.

Should Pete Rose Be Inducted Into Baseball's HOF? It's Long Overdue

While last night's "Countdown with Keith Olbermann" dealt for the most part with the battle for meaningful health insurance reform, I couldn't help but notice that the final story of the day was about the increased possibility that Pete Rose will be reinstated into baseball and inducted into the sport's Hall of Fame.
I'm not a fan of gambling, and baseball has had a huge prohibition against the activity that dates back to the 1919 Black Sox scandal. Rose was suspended for life decades ago for the activity, and that suspended eliminated his chances of getting into the Hall earlier.
Now, 20 years after he first applied to be reinstated into the game, the issue has come up again. Here's the "Countdown" segment that dealt with it:

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Like it or not, gambling is legal in many more states now than it was back in the days of the Black Sox scandal. And as much as some may not want to mention it, the Baseball Hall of Fame is far from being a Hall of Saints.
Babe Ruth, for example, was anything but saintly in his carousing. That didn't stop him from getting into the Hall.
Juan Marichal belted John Roseboro with a baseball bat during a Dodgers-Giants game at Candlestick Park, but did that prevent Marichal from getting into the Hall? It may have delayed it, but eventually, Marichal was inducted.
Gaylord Perry was accused of throwing illegal pitches, namely spitters, during his long major league career, but did that prevent him from getting into the Hall? It didn't.
Pete Rose paid a price no member of the Black Sox ever had to pay-- he did time in prison. He has more than paid his debt to society, and baseball should recognize that he has done more time than he should have for his misdeeds.
Take a look at football. Before the start of the 1963 season, Paul Hornung of the Green Bay Packers and Alex Karras of the Detroit Lions were both suspended for betting on their teams. But their suspensions were for just one year, not the lifetime sentence baseball doled out to Rose.
Pete Rose has more than done his time and more than paid his debts to both society and the game he played. His lifetime suspension from baseball must end and soon thereafter he MUST take his place among baseball's other on-the-field greats as a Hall of Fame inductee.

The Doctor Was DEFINITELY In When It Came To Healthcare on "Countdown"

I never thought I could have seen a better case for real national healthcare reform that that which was presented tonight by guest host Dr. Howard Dean on "Countdown with Keith Olbermann."
In his show, the doctor talked with a Democratic House member. Chris Van Hollen, on prospects for passage along with a former insurance company executive on the need for a real public option.
He also had an author show why the VA (yes, a public entity) offers far better medical coverage than even private insurers and a clip of Jon Stewart taking apart a right-wing critic of the current progressive proposals.
Here's Dr. Dean talking with Van Hollen:

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...and with the former insurance official:

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...and now on VA health care:

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...and finally, Jon Stewart taking apart a right-winger:

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Powerful

TX-32: Imagine if we had someone like Maxine Waters (D-Calif) representing us instead of Pete Sessions

I remember when my wife and I first came to Irving, our area's congresswoman was Eddie Bernice Johnson. Now, after Tom DeLay's morally irresponsible gerrymandering of some years back, we have been subjected to the public-be-damned, let them eat cake representation of Pete Sessions (R-TX-32).
I wish we had representation like we had when Johnson represented us. Clearly, Pete Sessions doesn't speak for either me or my wife.
Here's the type of congress representative we need, not some out-of-touch Republican, but a representative who truly represents us.
Imagine if we had a representative like Maxine Waters representing us instead of this nitwit Sessions. I dare say things would be happier in our district.
Well, she's in California, and we're stuck here with Sessions...unless someone comes forward fast to challenge him. And I pray and hope someone challenges him seriously and forces him to explain his morally bankrupt positions on things like health care.

Was Prof. Gates Victimized By Racial Profiling? I Say He Was!

This is a story that really strikes close to home for me, and I'm glad that Lawrence O'Donnell presented it the way he did tonight as guest host on "Countdown with Keith Olbermann on MSNBC.
Here's what O'Donnell reported tonight:

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And here is the statement President Obama made that drew excessive fire from right-wing fear mongers who lack any sort of sensitivity toward the unjust sufferings minorities have endured from law enforcement officials through the years:

As one who was excessively questioned and searched by border agents during the 1990's in Southern California (perhaps because I had a foreign look and they suspected that I wasn't a citizen because of it), I am appalled that these Republicans who should have better things to do than demand apologies from our president would rather stoke the fires of this so-called controversy for political purposes instead of really rectify the issues raised about relations between minorities and law enforcement officials.
After hearing O'Donnell's excellent account, there can only be one conclusion-- that Prof. Gates was the victim of racial profiling.
I didn't like it when border agents kept asking the same old questions about my citizenship and even searched by car during two of those incidents (they found nothing both times), and I sure don't like what Prof. Gates went through.
And I DEFINITELY detest the despicable race baiting Republicans continue to wage not only against Prof. Gates, but against President Obama as well. All that must stop.

Why Isn't Maury Wills In Baseball's Hall of Fame?

As I was watching clips of this year's inductees into baseball's Hall of Fame, I kept wondering one thing-- why hasn't Maury Wills been inducted.
When I was growing up, I often snuck into the bathroom of our Southern California home listening to Dodger games. One of the players that kept my attention was Wills, the Dodgers' leadoff hitter.
During those years, Wills was often the table-setter for Dodger rallies as he terrified opposing pitchers with his base-stealing exploits. So prominent were his exploits that not only were they a subject of a popular song about the team sung by Danny Kaye in the early '60s.
In addition, his 104 stolen bases in 1962 broke the many-year-standing record of 96 steals set by Ty Cobb, and his work was instrumental in three Dodger world championship triumphs (1959, 1963, and 1965).
With a record like that, I wonder why those who select Hall of Famers haven't given him more consideration. For more about Wills, go here.

More On The Fight for Real Health Insurance Reform

Slinkerwink at Daily Kos wrote an excellent diary today about how we must not give up in the face of hard odds when it comes to the battle for meaningful health care reform.
What slinkerwink had to say at the top of her diary summed up a lot of what I have been thinking about the attitude of some that the battle has been lost.

I was absolutely disgusted to read the defeatism going on through the diaries over this weekend. Because that kind of defeatism is what the murder-by-spreadsheet industry wants the most right now. They want us to give up in the middle of the fight. They're happy right now when they see that kind of defeatism on the left.
I know we've had setbacks in this congressional fight for health care reform--but listen to me, if we don't fight the Blue Dogs, and get people to call their progressive members and the Tri-Caucus members to fight back against the Blue Dogs, we WILL never get a public option, and we won't certainly be on the road to single-payer.
Let me tell you this--it was never going to be this easy to pass health care reform with a strong public option. It's going to be an incredibly hard fight every single step of the way for it.

It's a great exhortation, but let me add a few things.
It wasn't easy for Martin Luther King Jr. and his followers to win the fight for civil rights and against segregation in the 1950's and 196o's. It wasn't easy for Mohandas K. Gandhi in his many-year fight for India's independence from the British empire.
It's not going to be easy to force passage of real health insurance reform in this country either. Presidents Harry S Truman and Bill Clinton both tried and failed in the face of intense campaigns of misinformation and fear from health insurance concerns and right-wing personalities both in politics and in the media.
Unlike in previous years, where there was never an effective response to these right-wing attacks, we now have very effective media means to counter the right-wing assaults.
First, there are widely-read blogs like Daily Kos and Firedoglake that have presented very well-written posts on healthcare issues and the current battle in Congress. Second, there is YouTube, where all it takes is a computer and a digital video camera to present a viewpoint that be seen and heard by many.
And third, there are those new social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook where you can have an even bigger impact.
I'm not saying the fight is going to be easy. President Obama has said many times that if this were an easy task, it would have been done years ago.
I'm not saying that the bill that reaches the president's desk will be a perfect one.
But this is a battle we can't afford to lose, both for us and for those struggling without health insurance (as well as those whose inferior plans don't allow them to get the care they need).
It's time to win the fight, and the pressure must continue on those who obstruct our way and who spread lies in the media.

Want More Sessionsese?

Check out this blog.

Here's the approach we MUST take to pass Healthcare Reform

More on Pete Sessions (this time on video)

TX-32: My Area's Congressman Makes Things Up About Healthcare Plan

My area's congressman, Pete Sessions (TX-32) lives in an alternative universe from residents like myself who live in his district and struggle to make a living.
Instead of facing reality and supporting President Obama's realistic health care proposal, Sessions has chosen to support the current bankrupt system that keeps folks uninsured by announcing his opposition to the plans.
In doing so, he stuck to a script of well-rehearsed lies inventing things about the president's proposal that really aren't.
Here's what :Sessions is claiming on his taxpayer-supported web site:

"Yet the Majority has produced a job-killing, government-mandated health care plan financed on the backs of every American family, senior citizen, small business and employer. With a price tag of over $1 Trillion dollars, the Democrats’ plan would cut Medicare options for seniors and raise taxes on any employer or individual who does not embrace a government-run health care program. The result: an additional 4.7 million Americans could lose their jobs.
“More than 100 million Americans will lose their current private health insurance under a government-run health care system. Unsurprisingly, when the government competes with the private sector, patients lose and the government wins. By diminishing patient-choice, government-run health care empowers Washington to decide the access and care patients receive from their doctors.
“This is not change that Americans families and small businesses can afford.

It's clear with no real arguments to present against the president's proposal, Sessions is forced to resort to making things up to justify his morally and financially irresponsible position.
So much for Sessions being a conservative. When it comes to protecting insurance company's rights to deny coverage of pre-existing conditions and ending the practice of insurance companies denying care using the power of "recission," Sessions is as ultra-liberal as they get.
What is the reality about the legislation that Sessions is against? Here's some facts
one House committee came up with:

America’s Affordable Health Choices Act would provide significant benefits in the 32nd Congressional District of Texas: up to 15,500 small businesses could receive tax credits to provide coverage to their employees; 7,300 seniors would avoid the donut hole in Medicare Part D; 700 families could escape bankruptcy each year due to unaffordable health care costs; health care providers would receive payment for $159 million in uncompensated care each year; and 140,000 uninsured individuals would gain access to high-quality, affordable health insurance.
• Help for small businesses. Under the legislation, small businesses with 25 employees or less and average wages of less than $40,000 qualify for tax credits of up to 50% of the costs of providing health insurance. There are up to 15,500 small businesses in the district that could qualify for these credits.
• Help for seniors with drug costs in the Part D donut hole. Each year, 7,300 seniors in the district hit the donut hole and are forced to pay their full drug costs, despite having Part D drug coverage. The legislation would provide them with immediate relief, cutting brand name drug costs in the donut hole by 50%, and ultimately eliminate the donut hole.
• Health care and financial security. There were 700 health care-related bankruptcies in the district in 2008, caused primarily by the health care costs not covered by insurance. The bill provides health insurance for almost every American and caps annual out-of-pocket costs at $10,000 per year, ensuring that no citizen will have to face financial ruin because of high health care costs.
• Relieving the burden of uncompensated care for hospitals and health care providers. In 2008, health care providers in the district provided $159 million worth of uncompensated care, care that was provided to individuals who lacked insurance coverage and were unable to pay their bills. Under the legislation, these costs of uncompensated care would be virtually eliminated.
• Coverage of the uninsured. There are 160,000 uninsured individuals in the district, 24% of the district. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that nationwide, 97% of all Americans will have insurance coverage when the bill takes effect. If this benchmark is reached in the district, 140,000 people who currently do not have health insurance will receive coverage.
• No deficit spending. The cost of health care reform under the legislation is fully paid for: half through making the Medicare and Medicaid program more efficient and half through a surtax on the income of the wealthiest individuals. This surtax would affect only 10,320 households in the district. The surtax would not affect 96.3% of taxpayers in the district.

At least where I live, the proposal isn't even close to what Sessions described with the effects that Sessions claimed. In fact, this report raises serious questions (as if they didn't exist already) about whether Sessions is in turn with not only the needs of his district but the facts.
Instead of making things up and inventing facts to suit his reality, Sessions should apologize to folks like me in his district who he has dishonestly represented ever since Tom DeLay gerrymandered my area into his district.
Pete Sessions is a disgrace to this area and state and I pray a strong reality-based opponent can be found who can send this scumbag down to a well-deserved defeat next year.

Our President Speaks Again On Health Care

I admire this guy. He's not afraid to fight for us. Those who want no reform must be sent into electoral defeat.

God Bless Henry Waxman! He Defies "Blue Dogs" And Forces House Healthcare Vote

Thank God we have congressmen like Henry Waxman who stand up to monied interests who fight against us. He's DEFINITELY my kind of congressman!
For more, check this out.

President Speaks on Gates Matter (Isn't it refreshing that an adult is president?)

Check Out This Video on President Obama's latest remarks on Professor Gates case:

Reports about President's slumping poll numbers greatly exaggerated

So much for the media mime about the President's free-falling poll numbers. Check this out.

Let's March on Washington For The Healthcare Reform We Seek

It's time we seriously considered a March on Washington to demand that Congress pass real health insurance reform legislation with a robust public option.
While BIG majorities in this country believe that our health system badly needs a BIG-TIME fix, some Washington politicians seem bent on preserving the status quo at whatever cost.
The status quo is totally unacceptable. It burdens those who need care but can afford it the least while lining the pockets of insurance companies whose only purpose seems to be denying care because of how much treatments cost or because of pre-existing conditions.
Republicans in Congress and Democratic "blue dogs" may think the current system is fine, but it isn't so if you find yourself having to wait five hours if not more in an emergency room awaiting urgent care.
Republicans in Congress and their Democratic allies may think the current system is the greatest in the world, but to property taxpayers like myself who support the public hospital in my area, the system is a burden because when uninsured folks can't pay for the treatment they get in my area's public hospital, folks like me who pay property taxes wind up paying the bill.
Is this satisfactory? It isn't, and it's time we send a loud and clear message that we will refuse to be quiet while insurance companies line politicians' pockets in their efforts to sidetrack real healthcare reform.
It's time to stand up and be counted, not just when Congress is in session, but during the August recess. It's time to demand that Congress answer to us and not to insurance companies that have gamed the current health care system against our best interests.
It's time real healthcare reform legislation with a robust public option get passed this year and signed for by President Obama, and if we really want our voices heard not just by the politicians, but by the lapdog mainstream media, let's march on Washington to really demand the change we seek in this area.
Let's show these politicians and media types that we won't go away while politicians screw us. Let's take the fight to these folks by marching on Washington and exercising our constitutional rights.

Sheer Disgusting

These are the things opponents of President Obama's health insurance are willing to resort to. Instead of dealing with the merits of the proposal, these opponents, including the one cited in this piece, are willing to resort to racism to defeat the measure.
It's time the news media lapdogs who are so anxious to push the healthcare opponent's falsehoods and present them as facts get forced to renounce the blatent racism these opponents are now resorting to.

Can't Believe It! (St)Rangers Complete BoSox Sweep

Just a few weeks after I took my family to the (St)Rangers Ballpark in Arlington to see our local team win, the area team completed something I thought they could never do-- sweep the Boston Red Sox (a task they completed tonight by winning, 3-1).
I'm never going to give up my love for the Cubbies, but the (St)Rangers sure have been impressive throughout the season. Even if they fall short in the AL West, I think Nolan Ryan deserves huge consideration as baseball's executive of the year.
In just his second year as a (St)Rangers executive, "The Express" has transformed the pitching staff from a bunch of namby-pambies who did nothing but give up ones into one that kept the team competitive and wasn't afraid to challenge even the opponents' best hitters.
Another improbable note: Ian Kinsler, who didn't exactly strike me as a power hitter during my trip to the (St)Rangers ballpark last month, now has 23 homers this year with his blast tonight. It isn't the kind of thing you'd expect from one with Kinsler's slight build.

I Couldn't Have Said It Better Than Obama Did: His Press Conference

I couldn't have said things better than President Obama did in discussing health care during today's press conference.
A lot of things the president said have been said before, but they are well worth repeating. I liked how the president spoke about the concerns some have about how to finance what he is proposing, and I really liked how he framed the do-nothing Republican approach.
I would have liked to have seen some more individual examples of how the current system has screwed ordinary folks like me, but overall, he was excellent.
In case you missed it, here is the Obama press conference on tape:

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Blue Dogs Party While Americans Suffer Without Health Insurance

Cross-posted at Daily Kos
The so-called "Blue Dog" Democrats have become totally and completely despicable.
How could these guys ever throw a party over their seemingly efforts to stall meaningful health insurance legislation in the face of some sobering news that came from a Gallup poll?
Here's what the Gallup organization found:

A survey of more than 29,000 individuals in June by Gallup shows that 16 percent of Americans over the age of 18 are currently without health insurance. That number reflects what the survey's authors describe as a "small but measurable uptick in the percentage of uninsured adults."
Indeed, the average number of uninsured adults recorded by Gallup in 2008 was 14.8 percent. In September 2008, the monthly total recorded was at a yearly low of 13.9 percent.

That is very, very troubling. And it should be troubling for anyone even thinking of opposing President Obama's health insurance legislation that includes a strong public option.
And what do the "Blue Dog" Democrats in name only really think about serving American interests over those of private insurers. Check out this passage from the Huffington Post:

The House Committee on Energy and Commerce was supposed to be the third leg supporting health care reform legislation already approved by two other House committees. Instead, this week it's become more of a fifth wheel. The committee's markup sessions for Tuesday and Wednesday have been canceled in the face of opposition to the bill from the panel's conservative "Blue Dog" Democrats.
So Monday's markup may have lasted past midnight, but on Tuesday evening the committee's Blue Dogs were free to party, and party they did! Reps. Mike Ross (D-Ark.) and Jim Matheson (D-Utah) feted fellow Blue Dog Rep. John Barrow (D-Ga.) at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse in Northwest Washington from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Ross is the lead Blue Dog on health care reform.

If you needed any more evidence that these Blue Dogs don't give a rat's a-- about folks like me, how do they even justify their partying over their stalling of health insurance legislation?
These Blue Dogs may feel well at home dealing with Republicans and their health insurance company allies, but when it comes to serving folks like me, they didn't even come close. In fact, their conduct strikes me as sheer gutter.
It's time we stopped playing nice with these Blue Dogs and contest them in every way possible. Partying while Americans suffer without decent health care is as tasteless and boorish as it gets, and these Blue Dog boors must be so badly shamed that they are actually forced to allow the passage of meaningful health insurance legislation WITH a meaningful public option.

Putting Those Polls In Perspective

This is a great story. It's too bad it doesn't get play from the lapdog mainstream media.

Is There Hope For Folks Like Me Who Want To Unseat "Taliban Pete"?

Will "Taliban Pete" Sessions finally meet his match next year? Read this item.

Will Getting Rid Of Private Insurers Solve Health Care Mess?

I just ran into this interesting post on Daily Kos. Here's part of it:

One of the biggest, most profitable and unnecessary component in the current system is a highly profitable middle man, the health insurance industry. This industry IS NOT needed and is the single biggest cause of skyrocketing costs and immoral denials of coverage. The billions save annually, along with other proposals, would likely be enough to provide basic coverage for all Americans.

I don't know if anyone wants to complete the private insurers, but this statement brings out one BIG point-- there are ALREADY bureaucrats making decisions about what healthcare we get, and these bureaucrats aren't government ones.
They are from insurance companies, and these are the folks empowered to deny coverage because of pre-existing conditions or some other undefined as emphasized in a company's power to deny coverage under the classy name of "recissions."
I sure hope the rest of the media is more thorough in discrediting the lies and other manipulations of Republicans and their big business allies as this health care debate moves forward.

Amazing these (St)Rangers

I still can't believe these local baseball critters called the Texas (St)Rangers.
Just when many baseball options predict a second-half swoon that could eliminate the (St)Rangers from the AL West race, these guys just keep hanging in with wins like last night's over the mighty Boston Red Sox.
The team's pitching is a lot better than it was the last few seasons, and the hitting seems to be coming back after weathering a slump a few weeks back.
Is this enough to overtake the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim or (even) Ichiro and the Mariners in the AL West? I don't know, but at the base, Nolan Ryan deserves consideration as major league baseball's executive of the year for his work in bringing a new attitude to these (St)Rangers.
We'll just wait to see, and I'll have a few more words about the (St)Rangers as the season draws closer to its end.

Will The Lapdog Media Ever Cover Health Care Debate honestly?

The news media sure does a great job at displaying negligence when it comes to covering the debate over health insurance.
While these news media lapdogs keep emphasizing Republican talking points that attack President Obama's efforts to bring meaningful health care reform, they are failing badly when it comes to covering the desires of many to bring about change in this area.
One such report I heard pointed out polls that showed the president's ratings virtually tanking in this area, but failed to mention that these same polls show great support for robust health care reform that includes a strong public option that keeps private insurers honest.
The latter is the President's proposal, and why these media nutcases don't mention that is beyond me (unless these media lapdogs are really bent on keeping 47 million Americans uninsured and many others being forced to rot and die without decent health care).
Why these media outlets and their representative fail to closely question the critics of the President's plan more closely is beyond me. Do they really want to peddle the case of undue costs without mentioning that taxpayers like me already bear the high cost of supporting health care when folks without health insurance are forced to use hospital emergency rooms to obtain routine care (when it would be a lot cheaper if they went to doctor's offices to get the same treatments).
Do these media folks who'd rather ask softball question of Obama plan critics ever press these critics about who pays when those without health insurance can't pay the bills associated with their care at public hospitals.
If they ever did, they may be so shocked that their reporting would thoroughly discredit Republicans and others who have been peddling all this nonsense about Obama's plan.
Let's end the pain and suffering of many and vote for real health care reform that includes a real public option that helps reduce costs.

GOP Heartlessness In Forefront Of Healthcare Debate

I sometimes wonder whether Republicans realize that we exist.
I wonder whether Republicans really believe that folks like us with not the greatest of means have needs that need to be addressed.
After watching how Republicans are fighting so hard to see that any efforts to achieve meaningful health insurance are defeated, one must wonder whether this party cares about us at all.
This is a part that barks so loud about being pro-life, but while they fight so hard for folks before they are born, they wind up throwing these same folks down the tubes through their callous and heartless opposition to meaningful health insurance legislation and efforts to make working conditions better for average folks like me.
This is also the same party that cries tons about deficit spending while failing to admit their roles in railroading the budget-busting Bush tax cuts for the richest 1 percent down our throats.
These are heartless hypocrites, and it's time that those who cover them in the media stop giving them velvet glove treatment and confront them with the issues that matter most to folks like me.

Finding A Church Where No Good One Is Found

"not abandoning our own meetings, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and even more so because you see the day."
--Hebrews 10:25
I wish I could say that my wife and I have found a church we can be comfortable in while getting strong teaching, but after more than 10 years of living in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, we still haven't found one.
It's not because of a lack of effort. We have checked into a number of churches in the area, but more often than not, those churches have been far short in their attempts to make us feel welcome without resorting to efforts to control us.
As much as a church I attended for many years during my Southern California residency, The Church On The Way in Van Nuys, strongly encourages believers like my wife and myself to find local congregations to participate in, we have found that the lack of good church choices even in an area as large as our Metroplex has forced us to receive our weekly teachings and encouragement from the on-line service broadcasts COTW (as I have long abbreviated that church) has offered.
The teachings we have gotten from Pastor Jim Tolle have been excellent. His latest teaching, which included a brief denounciation of the murder of a Kansas abortion doctor, was most profound.
Will we ever find a Dallas-Fort Worth church that meets our needs, or will God lead us elsewhere to gain the live fellowship that's so badly needed? I don't know, but I sure hope answers come soon.

My Video On Health Insurance Legislation

I never saw myself making a video about my health insurance legislation views, but after seeing the deceptive attacks disseminated by Republicans and their allies, I felt I had to do this.

Obama Official Thinks Health Care Legislation Can Pass By August

Check out this video:

My Health Insurance Diary Sparks Some Debate On Daily Kos

I notice my posting on Daily Kos about health care is drumming up some debate, with one even claiming the right to scrutinize the Obama proposal. No one is arguing against scrutiny, but I have a problem with the obstructionist tactics of Republicans and others who would rather see nothing pass at all.

Amazing These Cubs...Just Two Back Despite Subpar Play

As badly as my dear Cubbies have played this season, they're still two games behind in the NL Central and (believe it or not) tied with division-leading St. Louis in the loss column (both have lost 43 games going into today's play). Will it be my dear Cubs back in the playoffs, and will the Cubs finally make it into the World Series? I sure hope so.

Wanna Make Money While Owning A Website?

Ever imagined owning a website that could also bring you money? Check out http://www.website.ws/txcubsfan40and watch the 5-minute presentation.

Stop The Game Playing, Pass Real Health Insurance Reform WITH A Public Option!

It's a crime that 47 million folks in the United States have no health insurance.
Republicans in Congress and their Democratic allies can throw canard and canard at how expensive a national health insurance endeavor can be, but if these folks could spend even a little time at the emergency room of the taxpayer-supported Parkland Hospital in Dallas, they may think twice about the current system they seem to want to preserve.
If they were to go to that hospital, they may see folks who are forced to wait as long as five hours (if not more) for treatment. And if the emergency room closes down for even a few hours with folks still waiting for care, those folks are forced to find a nearby non-taxpayer-supported hospital to wait even more hours just to see if they're going to get the care they need.
Many of those folks don't have any kind of health insurance, and when they can't pay the bill for their treatment at Parkland, taxpayers like myself have to share the load.
So much for taxpayers not having to support the current health care system. No wonder Republicans and their "Blue Dog" Democratic allies fail to mention this when they try to con the American people into thinking that the current system is fine while that proposed by President Obama will cost tons while bringing untold hardships to patients.
I heard one Republican congressman throw a chart during one speech in which he decried the Obama proposal, saying that it would "bureaucrats" in the middle between patients and their doctors. What the congressman didn't mention is that there are already bureaucrats making decisions between patients and their doctors-- namely representatives of for-profit insurance companies with the power to deny coverage of patients either because of pre-existing conditions or simply because the insurance company doesn't want to cover it even in the face of medical necessity (that's the power of "recission" that we've been hearing about a lot).
Contrary to the misinformation Republicans, their Democratic allies, and their mouthpieces in the mainstream media, the Obama proposal DOESN'T impose an overbearing public plan down our throats, nor does it put bureaucrats between patients and their doctors.
Instead, the Obama plan emphasizes some simple principles-- if you like your current health insurance plan and your current doctor, you can keep it. The only difference is with the Obama plan, you will wind up paying less in premiums in part because of competition from a public plan that will keep private insurers honest.
And if you don't like your plan, you will be given a choice of other plans, including a public one. This is not socialized medicine, and this is not a plan that puts bureaucrats in betwen patients and their doctors.
It's time the false and misleading campaign being waged by Republcans and their allies in the media and elsewhere come to an end. It's time they stopped throwing up smokescreens about how much the Obama plan could cost and face the reality of how much we, as taxpayers, are already paying because of the millions of Americans still uninsured.
Congressional footdragging must end and real healthcare reform with a robust public option must pass. It's that simple.

When You Have No Local Church That Strengthens You...

It's sad that in a metroplex as big as Dallas-Fort Worth, there isn't a single church that ministers to our needs.
For the third straight week, my wife and I have "attended" church online at a church I attended years ago when I was in Southern California.
I like the teacher (I did when he was singles pastor there long before I met my wife) and I like the practicality of his teaching. I like how practical his church's outreach is (I always did), and I wish I could take the area where my wife and I live and move it far closer to Van Nuys where the church is located.
I wish I could find a church in the DFW area where my wife and I could attend, but sadly, we still haven't. So here we are, getting ministered effectively from Van Nuys, California, and loving it.
Here's the link to the church: http://www.tcotw.org.