the truth about obamacare

I can't believe they totally figured us out. You all know who 'they' is. 'They' are the brave citizens showing up at the town hall meetings, screaming about how their America is being flushed down the toilet with the feces of socialism. I guess they're just too smart for the President and the rest of the Dems (Not those Blue Dogs though. They know what's up).

First off, these death panels. I mean, how did they figure those out from the text of the 1000+ page plan which I'm sure they read? Yes, Obama totally wants to knock off all of those who are a complete strain on our economy. It's all part of the stimulus, you see. Come on! Old people? Who wants 'em? Their eating up my (future) social security and they're increasing the cost of Medicare with all of those illnesses they keep getting! Sure, Medicare only makes up about 2% of the federal budget (far less than our defense spending or those wars we've been fighting), but that's 2% that can be going to something else. Like the cost of these death squads. They're going to be meeting on a regular basis, I hope. That way we can eliminate the old people as quickly as possible.

And you know what? Even Sarah Palin gets it right every once in a while. Trig better watch out! Children with disabilities are totally on that list. Nevermind that the Democrats are the ones responsible for getting them a special education and all back in the day. Well, we're taking it back! No cushy life for you, disabled kids!

One of my favorite parts of the plan is the mandate for free sex-change surgeries. I heart transgender people. In fact, more people should change their sex. Personally, I've always wanted to know what it was like to be a man (particularly, what it is like to earn a man's wage and using the world as a giant toilet). With Obamacare, you now have that chance!

Another one of my favorites is the mandate for school based clinics. What I like about this is that now we can force abortions upon pregnant teens. Come on! How convenient is that? The clinics can totally replace those day cares that some high schools have. Find yourself inconveniently pregnant at 16? Well, then ditch homeroom and head over to the school clinic. In about an hour, you'll be totally de-pregnified. I wish I had that at my conservative, Catholic high school. I totally would've had promiscuous sex back then!

Speaking of abortions, under Obamacare, they are totally free, paid for by tax payer dollars!  Isn't that awesome?  Despite never having been pregnant, I've always wanted to have one so I plan to take advantage of this benefit.  Nevermind the countless federal laws that prohibit public funding from being used to fund abortions.  Obamacare is totally going to take care of that.  He is, after all, the most pro-abortion president ever.

My favorite part of Obamacare is that you will no longer have to think about what medical procedures you need. The Obama-approved Health Choices commissioner is going to do that for you. Granted, we already have that now. They are commonly known as Kaiser and United and Blue Cross. You know them. They're the same people who denied you that mammogram because of your pre-existing condition (pre-existing condition = being female), remember? Under Obama's plan, only one person will be making those decisions for everyone. Which is great for me because I can be so indecisive sometimes.

And you all know how the economy is crap right now. Well, there's a cost savings measure in the plan too. Basically, any medical procedure costing more than $22000 will not be covered by Obamacare. That's simply too much money for one person. It doesn't matter if that $25000 surgery will save your life. It's still too much money for government rationed health care. What? You think the government is made of money?

Personally, I'm all for this plan. There will be far less annoying old people in the world and abortions for everyone! What a perfect world.

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*SIGH* I guess I can take my tongue out of my cheek now. How ridiculous does this post sound? Well, that's what conservatives think about Obama's plan for health care reform. The hilarious thing is that people are eating the lies that the insurance industry is feeding them and screaming it back to their representatives at these town halls.

So, you can be a sheep for the insurance industry and fight for the status quo which leaves 1/3 of the US population without health insurance, OR you can make up your own mind by doing the research. In fact, I've started the search for you. Here are some non-partisan sites that are dissecting the many health care reform plans that are out there:

politifact.com
factcheck.org
ABC News
AARP

Personally, I think politifact.com is awesome and comprehensive and it has even won a Pulitzer.

about to lose faith in all humanity

I'm officially depressed.  Things have been down for me emotionally and, while I choose to not discuss them in this blog for personal reasons, just know that I've been upset about things for several days now and I've yet to see the light at the end of this tunnel.  And from that perspective, I write this post.

Because Fate likes to kick me while I'm down, yesterday morning I got the most interesting email at my blog email address.  Presumably in response to my post on my reaction to Dr. George Tiller's murder, the email sender wrote nothing but an incomprehensible string of curse words.  Buried among those curse words were the words "I hope you die like Tiller." 

Yup.  I guess that's the "pro-life" movement for ya.

I have long been a vocal opinionated blogger (well, except for my boring early stuff--please don't look at anything written in 2006) and I'm certainly not going to stop voicing my opinion just because some nut job terrorist sympathizer decided to email me his death wish.  But I have long hoped that some of my posts, some of my soapbox moments actually reach some people.  And maybe I don't change opinions, but maybe I encourage people to consider a view that is different from their own, encourage them to walk in someone else's shoes to see why someone would feel differently than they do.

I have received emails from strangers who read my blog thanking me for shedding light on a topic that is important to them, or a topic that helped them realize something or learn something new.  I get choked up sometimes just reading them.  It feels so good to help people, it really does (so much so that I've made a career out of it).  And then there are emails from people who don't like what I write.  And sometimes I write them back.  And occasionally, we get into an email debate and that person finally accepts a differing view (notice I said accept not agree--hey, change is change, no matter how small).

Yesterday, upon reading that email, I realized that there are some people that will never change.  That will never be open to another view.  That would threaten someone with a different view in the name of their god.  That would rather wish death upon someone to silence that view. 

I'm not in the least bit threatened by this anonymous coward person.  But I am saddened that there are people who have no qualms sending such an email to an opinionated blogger who has never performed an abortion and has never worked in a family planning clinic but who passionately supports people who do and the women who seek these (legal) services.

Yeah, I am totally one of those idealist do-good-er types.  I work to open minds and change hearts, not just through this blog but in my community.  I've always felt that nothing is impossible.  But today, I feel like I've been slapped in the face by reality. 

Try as I might, there are just some people who will never change.

Meghan McCain is making waves in the GOP yet again

Meghan McCain is making waves in the GOP yet again, this time with a speech to the Log Cabin Republicans at their recent annual convention. Meghan continued on her "GOP must change" campaign and repeated her socially progressive ideas. I certainly don't need any new reasons to like Meghan McCain. As a liberal, I love how she's leaning left socially and I especially love how she's stirring sh*t up in the Republican Party.

Meghan is to the GOP what Obama was to voters in the 2008 presidential campaign--CHANGE. However, this post isn't about that. I'm confused about something. At some point in her speech, she declared herself a 'pro-life, pro-gay marriage Republican'. But is she really pro-life?

In her Larry King interview (shortly after Laura Ingraham called Meghan 'fat'), she stated, "I personally am pro-life, but I'm not going to judge someone that's pro-choice. It is not my place to judge other people and what they do with their body." Hmmm.

In her speech to the LCR, she said, "I think government is best when it stays out of people's lives and business as much as possible."

I hate to break it to you, Meghan, but you're really pro-choice.

Pro-choice doesn't not mean pro-abortion. A LOT of us want to reduce the number of abortions. In fact, some of us would probably never elect to undergo an abortion (like me). While we may choose not to abort, we do not judge those who do. We believe that the government has no place in our private lives. We believe that when a woman finds herself pregnant, she has the RIGHT TO CHOOSE to keep the baby, give it up for adoption, or get an abortion.

People who get abortions are not baby-killers. Some elect to abort in the event of a rape. Some abort because their child has no chance of living more than a few days because of a degenerative condition. Others abort because they cannot afford to feed the children they already have. Still others abort when they are 9 years old and pregnant with twins because of a step-father's sexual abuse (I'm referring to that case in Brazil).

Meghan says that government needs to stay out of our private lives and she wouldn't judge people and what they decide to do with their bodies. That's basically standard pro-choice speak for defending our positions.

So, Meghan, it's ok to admit it. "Pro-choice" is not a dirty word. So what if you piss off a bunch of Republicans?

Clearly, you've already done plenty of that.

another day, another reason to hate sarah palin

Feminism has become such a subjective term recently.  According to Websters, feminism is the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes.  Back in the day, I didn’t consider myself a feminist because I always thought women were better than men so why should we be equal when we should get more?  Despite probably being alone in my just-stated theory, I began to realize that women are so far from being considered a man’s equal that perhaps I should focus on equality first before going for ‘more.’  And thus, a feminist was born.

Since the nomination of Sarah Palin as GOP VP candidate (BTW, has anyone heard from McCain lately?  Seems to be all Palin, all the time lately), the Republicans have usurped the word ‘feminist’ for their own purpose to promote Palin as a woman for all women (for the GOP, a feminist is someone with a vagina).  Except she’s not.  A feminist, that is.

Some people out there think that feminism, as the liberals define it, is about abortion rights.  I say to those people who feel that way that your view is short sighted.  It’s not about securing a safe abortion for all women who want one.  Feminism, if it relates to abortion, is about choice.  Women have the right to decide what to do with their own bodies, make their own choices over how often to reproduce and how to plan a family (if they want one).  NO ONE questions a man’s control over his penis.  NO ONE.  How is it fair that a woman’s control over her reproductive organs is fair game for criticism and control?  Sarah Palin is against all abortions, even in the case of rape or incest.  How is this woman a feminist when she is denying victims of rape and incest control over their own bodies (thus allowing the rapist to win)?

Feminists are fighters.  It’s about standing up for what you believe in (in this case, equality) and promoting equal rights for women.  Yet, there is Palin, standing next to John McCain as his VP candidate and staunch supporter.  John McCain is the same man who called his wife a ‘cunt’ in public and opposed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act , a law that is supposed to protect women and racial minorities from pay discrimination.  McCain’s rationale for his opposition?  Women just ‘need more training’.  Right, McCain.  Just like your VP candidate, maybe?

Speaking of fighting (and training), where has Palin been lately?  She came out swinging with her acceptance speech, criticizing community organizers (if Martin Luther King, Jr. were alive, I’m sure he’d be offended by her remarks) and Democrats in general.  Yet she didn’t offer one constructive solution to the nation’s problems (except DRILL, DRILL, DRILL).  And since then, she’s been in seclusion.  No interviews at all except with the hard hitting journalists of People magazine.  The McCain campaign said she would talk to the media when the media was ready to show Palin some respect.  HA!  If all the candidates felt that way, we’d have no interviews.  So it’s ok for the male candidates to take the hard hitting questions with no respect, but Palin can’t take the heat?  Her avoidance of the press is kinda wussy and very antifeminist.  Can you imagine if Hillary had gone into hiding when she cried during the primaries, facing all that criticism?  Despite all the sexism Hillary faced during her campaign, she never avoided the media.

Speaking of sexism, feminists fight it every day.  Instead of denouncing it, Palin is going with it.  According to the right wing media, being a working mother, being beautiful, wearing skirt suits instead of pant suits all qualify you for office.  I’m sure Condi Rice might have something to say about that. 

Right now, Palin is all appearances and no substance.  Palin may appear to be the GOP definition of a feminist.  But she certainly doesn’t act like one.