Healthcare & Hypocrisy II - Couldn't resist.

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This is what I was talking about when I was saying Hypocrisy. Conservatives mouthpieces are only sure of thing when it comes to where they stand on this issue - its wherever the opposition to prevailing Liberal views are.

With all of the rumors being spread and what not. This video proves the point that the real goal here is to simply defeat Pres. Obama's and his administration on this issue. Because they know there is no coming back from this - they know this will put them in huge minority in the political future. Once people get a taste of "no-worry about how I am going to pay for it" - health care - it's a wrap. They will know who they have to thank for it - and it will be a sad day for standing on the wrong side of this issue - simply because you wanted to get in the way.

Healthcare & Hypocrisy...

I kinda kicked this off in a status message this morning. But after seeing another slew of protests that rudely interrupted healthy debates on this issue - I can no longer hold my tongue (or rather fingers).

After watching days and days of news coverage on this issue. I feel I can sum up where everyone can agree on for this topic.

1) By and large most people agree that the health care system needs to be reform.
2) Any changes that are undertaken need to be set-up in way that they are paid for and do not increase the national deficit.
3) People should have the option to keep what they currently have in place for care whether a change happens or not.

Here is where people don't agree

1) Who or what should pay for these changes or reform.
2) Introducing any government option will effectively erase the private insurance industry (removing your option to choose).
3) How much control you have over whom, what, or where your medical treatment is provided.

Where Attorney General Holder called a nation of cowards on race - it would appear that terminology applies here as well - I just think hypocrites fits better.

Let's keep it simple and just work on the money part shall we?

1) First off - if you are worried about increasing the national deficit you by default already acknowledge that we are in DEBT. The only way to counter DEBT is to pay it off or remove it via some other form of positive credit toward your balance (whatever that may be). I keep hearing people say that "WE" shouldn't have to shoulder the costs of all of this deficit - that's true. However if its "OUR" debt who else should pay for it? The government? (yeah that comes back to you in a tax). Private industry (yeah that comes back to you in price hikes). Foreign countries (uh..we already tried this - hence our current position). So who does that leave?

(insert any Michael Jackson (RIP) Man in the Mirror joke here).

Thats right us. When WE are in debt and in need of services. There is really no way of US getting around it. That means somebody if not everybody is going to have to pay probably taxes to address this issue. Its the ugly truth - and I don't even like to say it (who does really?) - but there is NO way around this issue. We all are going to feel the costs of this economy/deficit/reforms for at least the next few years so here is a clue - GET OVER IT - WHETHER YOU LIKE OR NOT - WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER.

2) We already pay for ALL KINDS of PUBLIC services so this is not a new concept - and I'll let you in a little secret (sssshhhh - don't tell anybody. THE PRIVATE VERSIONS OF THEM ARE DOING JUST OK - who knew?). We have PUBLIC SCHOOLS and PRIVATE SCHOOLS. I haven't heard about any private schools going out of business lately. Have you? We already have PUBLIC DEFENDERS and PRIVATE DEFENSE ATTORNEYS - man when is the last time you heard about an Defense attorney that was getting blown out by those friggin Public Defenders downtown? Don't like how the local Police - "protect and serve"? - Guess what - you can buy or rent your own cops - via security details, private investigators, etc. We even have PUBLIC RESTROOMS and somehow yours seems to still get PLENTY OF BUSINESS. Last time I checked in the battle of PUBLIC vs. PRIVATE - Private side was doing pretty good.. Don't believe me? When is the last time you used one of these?



Imagine that.

My point is that creating a public OPTION - in no way puts in jeopardy whatever businesses are already in place. Having options ALWAYS is a good thing.

3) With regard to this whole "rationing" of treatment or long wait list for getting care. Are you serious? Forgive me - but is it not common for you to have to make an appointment in advance of seeing a doctor or other provider? Do you not make your next appointment MONTHS out in advance when you are on way out the door of your last appointment? Why is waiting to see a doctor all of a sudden the bogeyman? You do this already.. You don't want to wait? You go to an EMERGENCY ROOM - they triage you into the "people who really don't have an emergency but can't wait" category and you get seen that day. They charge you and or your insurance out the roof for coming in there unannounced and then your insurance companies goes back behind your back and cuts that bill in half (or more than that). My point is that this is not a new issue either. You already deal with this.

I haven't seen one part of this bill or anything that people are saying that suggest that you can be made to go see a certain provider without any choice in the matter. Who would agree to that? But what does happen is there are networks (HMO, PPO, O mother hubbard, etc.) - where your insurance is Bishop Don Juan - and because it cost less out of your pocket - you are more "inclined" to go there. This my friends is what we call "steering". Actually its almost illegal but I guess you have your neighborhood lobbyists to thank for that a pass on that one.

Will there be more wait time? Possibly. Its logical to think that if more people have access to care there will be more patients. But God forbid that the hospitals do something insane like- hire more staff - to deal with the higher demand (is that jobs created or jobs saved? I think its both - score 2 for me).

Do I have all the answers - no. But I do know that all this fear mongering is counterproductive and holding us back from our true greatness. People need to get up off their high horse and realize that you can't have it both ways. You can't ignore the problem and expect it to go away. You can't want change for the problem and do nothing to change it. It just doesn't work that way. At all.

Here endeth the lesson.

MJ Tributes: Pass and Fail (F+)

With so many so quick to trash the man before his body is even cold - its good to see that the legacy lives on - despite the HATERS. Glad to see how this young man defends Mike so well. Good to know that we don't have to call on Rev. Al and Rev. Jackson all of the time. I love how the guy called him out on hypocrisy.



You all already know how I feel about that so-called BET Tribute (I might not ever get over that trash). So in my free time that I have now added to my schedule by boycotting watching anything BET - I have found these really cool and TRUE tributes. I say that they are true because they are coming from real fans. Not just celebrities (who I am sure are fans as well) - but people who the only real connection they had to MJ was the music and that dance. They - or rather we- really did have a lot of love for him.

You know what - Bill O'Reilly - want to make this a solely black/white issue. Black people are the only one protecting MJ or lifting him up? To that I offer this.


Hmmmm..looked like a pretty diverse crowd to me - and a global one to boot. These are coming in from all over the world. Once again the likes of Limbaugh and O'Reilly can do themselves some service and stop being such jackasses. I wonder what people will say when they are gone? Hmmm.. I am guessing that media coverage last about 15 seconds.

But I move on to the funny.

Now the next guy. Aside from being under the water in debt and unable to pay some bills - he has nothing in coming with MJ. However, after watching this video I am almost certain that there is no way to tell him that. This is what we classify a certified grade F- FAIL FAIL FAIL.. Enjoy.



I am so sorry but that was FUNNY. Wrong..but funny. Underneath it all though - it still speaks to how deep this man was rooted into our culture.

RIP MJ!

Passong time.

So I have a meeting downtown about my next event (tomorrow - gonna be massive) and I am seeing how the city is getting all spruced up for the all star game weekend. New pavement on streets...buildings get cleaned...even a new park downtown (a nice new park). It made me think - when everyone is crying deficits and recession - where did all the $$$$$ for this come from? I am not mad but I am just saying.. Things that make you go hmmm... And if they were gonna build something why not something that generates more jobs and revenue? I mean a park just sits here. Maybe a staff of 10, 20 maybe? IDK maybe I am off. Anyway money pit or not. Its still a nice day and its good to see them spicing up downtown.

Where my next party is...

BET Awards - seems like I am not the only one who has cut off BET

I hadn't even realized until I watched this video - that I haven't even watched BET since the airing of the 2009 BET Awards last Sunday. Apparently my level of disgust has gone subconscious and I am protesting even when I don't realize it - AND when I do. Combat of ignorance is a full time job what can I say.

Anyway I saw this video and while my twitter and facebook rants during the awards show telecast has become the stuff of legend (humble much?) - I have to defer to this guy who is spot on and took it to the cyber-airwaves. I think he is hilarious and also speaking what oh so many of us we were thinking while sitting on our couch. With a collective look of



Enjoy the video.

Reverse Racism?? I think not..

I know that I am late people. But this one took a little while to boil over in me so here we go.

Shortly after President Obama picked his Supreme Court nominee Judge Sotomayor- all of these charges of "reverse racism" popped up. Some in reference to her now infamous quote:

“I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion [as a judge] than a white male who hasn’t lived that life.”

And now more recently the New Haven 20 case (which she rendered a decision on) has been overturned - and supporters of this are doing so in the name of the war against "reverse discrimination or reverse racism".

Before I start - let me say 2 things.

#1 Props to Judge Sotomayor for her nomination - I have no doubt that she will do a good job. Stop tip-toeing around her nomination.

#2 - I actually agree with the Supreme Courts decision to overturn the ruling regarding the New Haven 20 and let those firefighters have their promotions. But that's where its stops.

There is NO SUCH THING AS REVERSE DISCRIMINATION. Discrimination is discrimination period. It can be projected and reciprocated but the term reverse discrimination is just plain stupid. But that is not what even makes me mad....What gets me going is the "super desperate for any kind of win right wing conservatives" who are twisting this term and the situations its referring to - and that is not right.

The New Haven 20 were not discriminated against. They were cheated out of promotion they deserved but not specifically because they were white (all of those that passed were not white either) - but rather because the city had problem with the outcome of the scores. There were petitioned to try and address it before these men took this test and the city didn't move to do anything about it until AFTER they took the test. Now again, that was wrong on the part of the city - there was standard test - the men passed it - they should get what they deserve. But an error on policy alone doesn't constitute racism or discrimination. At least not in my opinion.

Had the city of New Haven promoted ONLY minority officers and excluded white ones (when both groups were qualified). That would be racism. If they were qualified as a group but REPEATEDLY looked over for promotions in the face of consistent appointments of members of other minority groups - that would be discrimination as well. But this case, this case was not about racism it was about policy and whether or not a city government acted in accordance with the law. Period.

I find it very disturbing that these guys can cry the ultimate foul - when what I described in the paragraph above was (and still is in many fire departments) - how things were done in protection of "white" interests.

You see that's the difference. Discrimination is systematic. Its not random and it doesn't all of a sudden change course. Its bred and perpetuated through hateful thoughts and acts. That is not what happened here. That's not the spirit of Judge Sotomayor comments either. She was simply saying that a person who has had the experience of dealing with a more diverse upbringing for whatever reasons (or whatever race for that matter) - has a qualification that someone who hasn't does not. Did she phrase it poorly? Yes. So what..we'll call her the Joe Biden of the Supreme Court. But you can't get me to believe for one second that all of you college educated experts, pundits, activist, etc. - REALLY believe that. The very fact that you are smart enough to call it out as inappropriate shows me that you can interpret in either direction.

Let's be clear. The charges of "reverse racism" are comparable to "little boy who cried wolf". If you are screaming foul just because the for first time in your life you don't get something you want - doing it in the name of "reverse racism" - cheapens the term. Try marching up some city street or town road with a sign for a cause in the face of those who REALLY hate you. Then tell me about racism. Take up a cause that you KNOW will almost never see the light of day in any court in your lifetime (much less the supreme court) - and then tell me about discrimination.

This...this was nothing. This is a tad uncomfortable. Its cool- the system of white entitlement is in jeopardy - and its a new space for you. Kind of like being the boss of a company one day and then being the new guy at another company the next. Its all good. Fight for your spot and your respect. That's natural - that's survival of the fittest.

But PLEASE stop throwing around that word so freely. Too many people have sacrificed - even the ultimate sacrifice - for you to reduce it to the equivalent of a two-bit curse word or insult. Its not the same. It means so much more.

There is still so much work to do and this is a waste of time.