If you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours

December 20, 2009 Rant 3 Comments

Bribery seems to be the word of the day in Washington. As snow fell on the nation’s capital, senators from Nebraska, Vermont, Massachusetts, and Michigan to name a few were getting a sweetheart deal.  Ben Nelson (D-Nebraska) made a big stink this week about wording in the bill about federally funded abortions. He said he could not vote for a health care bill that would allow this.  Well, now he is on board.  Apparently the wording has been reworked and Nebraska will never, that’s right never, pay for the additional people added to the Medicaid rolls. You the American taxpayer will be paying for those folks in Nebraska.  Nice deal.  This means that all the other states will be paying more.  But Ben Nelson isn’t the only one voting for this bill because he got an early Christmas present.  Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) wasn’t thrilled with the bill either, but his state will now get $10  billion dollars in new funding for community health centers.   Ben Nelson and Carl Levin (D-Michigan) also worked out an exemption for non-profit insurers in their states from a hefty excise tax.  Similar insurers in the other states will pay the tax.  In addition to the $10 billion going to Vermont, the state along with Massachusetts were given additional Medicaid funding.  I am sure there is more, but this makes my blood boil.  Here I thought Ben Nelson might really stand up for something, but all he did was fall down.  If I was a senator from another state, I would be knocking on Harry Reid’s door asking for the same type of deals.  Dirty Harry says that all states are treated differently and that it’s all about compromise.  This health care bill has nothing to do with compromise.  An overwhelming majority of Americans (56%) are against the health care bill.  They are happy with their health care.  President Obama comes out and says 31 million people are without health insurance.  Well guess what, the 10.2% of people who are unemployed have no health insurance because they lost their jobs.  What about that, Mr. President?  Instead of taking care of the economy, he is worried about passing health care reform.   There are things that can always be done better and things that can be improved, but ramming a health care reform bill down the throats of the American people is not the way to improve the health care system.  I wonder what our founding fathers would think of this “compromise”.  It’s plain and simple bribery and it makes me sick.

Check out this web site.  Put your senators and representatives on notice.

http://www.moveoutcongress.com/

Our Brother’s Keeper

December 2, 2009 Musing 3 Comments

You may not see him walking down the street.  His head is cast down and he is packing all of his belongings on his back.  If you happen to walk by, he probably won’t make eye contact.  You may even cross the street to avoid him.  He is homeless.  The day before Thanksgiving, Bill and I had the opportunity to volunteer at the Joy Junction /City of Albuquerque Annual Thanksgiving Dinner for the homeless.  We were greeters. We stood at the doors and greeted everyone that walked in.  There were many that didn’t smile, but more that did.  We got handshakes and thank yous.  We weren’t doing anything special just saying hi.  But as I thought about this on the way home, our smiles could have been the first smiles they have seen in days.  Albuquerque, unfortunately, has a high homeless rate.  Joy Junction is the largest emergency homeless shelter in the state.  We saw a man with six or seven sweaters on and a bag that held his possessions. We saw families with small children, couples and singles.  I don’t know why the people that were enjoying the warmth and the Thanksgiving dinner were there or how they got to the point of homelessness. There is always someone out there that needs our help.  We can offer a smile or a word of encouragement or we can do more.  We can donate our time.  We are living in hard times particularly now with the economy the way it is.  If you have something you can spare, donate it.  Sleeping bags, blankets, food, socks, gloves, hats,  whatever you may have to help someone that needs it.  The  simple acting of smiling to welcome someone to a dinner has changed me.  I hope during this holiday season and beyond you will seek out ways to serve those in your community. After all, we are our brother’s keepers.