No Spoonful of Sugar with THIS Medicine!

Everyday I hear about the health care plan and the public option and it makes me want to shout and grind my teeth. The reason I hold these sentiments is because I have had a taste of what socialized medicine has to offer, and let me say, it was a very bitter pill to swallow.

If one wants to get a glimpse of what socialized medicine has to offer, they need look no further than the VA Health System. As a veteran, I have personal and first hand experience with this institution. As much as the system is touted, it leaves MUCH to be desired.

The only time I ever utilized the system was in a pinch, when I was unemployed and had no other option. Believe me, if I had any other option, like private insurance through my employer, I would never set foot in a VA Hospital.

The environment of a VA Hospital is similar to that of a corral, where all the veterans are herded about like cattle. An appointment is almost like a full day field trip. Instead of being able to choose your doctors, you are broken into “teams” according to the last four numbers of your Social Security number. However, if you are a female veteran, like myself, you are lumped into one team, regardless of your number. Getting an appointment seems easy enough, until you realize you will have to wait three weeks to months in order to be seen.

If you want to go in for a physical or a checkup, you may as well clear your schedule, because you’re going to be there ALL DAY. You are actually given a check list of departments to go to and you basically follow lines on the floor through a confusing maze.

The dispensary (pharmacy) is basically like the counter at a crowded deli. You pick a number, and you wait. And you wait. And you wait. Finally your number flashes on the display, and you’re given a bunch of medications for whatever your ailment. It’s not uncommon to see some people come out with grocery bags full of drugs and medical devices.

Another wonderful cost cutting measure is that nice rationing of care. You will damn near have to be on your knees or flat on your back before you get surgery or any kind of corrective procedure. I have a friend who is only 40 years old with herniated disks which are so painful that he can barely function. Instead of giving him the surgery that could correct it all, he’s been furnished with a cane, some pain medication, and a handicap car tag. He was told that his condition wasn’t bad enough to warrant surgery just yet. Forty years old.

Don’t forget that you can be dropped at their discretion, and at times, without your knowledge. Despite having served your country and allowed your body to be battered and bruised in the process, and being promised this wonderful benefit upon separation, you can in fact be dropped from the system based on income. I found that out the hard way. And not only that, but if you do work and you have private insurance but opt to go to the VA for care they will STILL file an insurance claim and send you a bill for the remainder. Learned that the hard way too. But back to being dropped.

Apparently I’d made too much the previous year and didn’t realize that it had any effect on my VA benefits. I was unemployed and had been for about 9 months. I was sick and needed to be seen. Well, I missed my appointment trying to brave DC traffic and it was too late to be squeezed in. Well, I figured while I was there I’d take advantage of the free flu shots. I went to have my information put in the system so I could be put in queue, but lo and behold, I was not there. They asked to see my Vet ID card. I asked, oh, you mean the one I’d requested about 4 years ago and never got? Well, I go into the eligibility office to find out why I had never received it and found out that I’d been dropped from the system. I pleaded my case, saying that what I made last year was irrelevant and that I was unemployed and needed care NOW, but they’d hear none of it.

Let me not forget to tell you about how they can, and most probably will, deny you treatment for anything THEY deem unnecessary. So for someone like me with bad acne and post inflammatory hyperpigmentation, really can hope to get no better a course of treatment than a tube of hydroquinone, which actually makes it worse for me. Not even a consideration for an acid peel or anything else new. So just imagine how much they’d try to stiff you on receiving any kind of revolutionary or state of the art surgery which may surely prolong your life or increase your functionality. Not saying it doesn’t happen (sometimes), but not enough to make a difference.

I DREAD the thought of so many war veterans returning home, only for the system to be overwhelmed and ill equipped, or maybe just downright disinclined, to properly treat them. They won’t even acknowledge the validity and prevalence of PTSD, imagine what else they may ignore?

Oh, and the emergency room? Forget it! I went to the emergency room one night in excruciating pain and signed in. There were perhaps 4 people in the waiting room with me. Some came and went. I sat there for THREE HOURS before I got up to tell the receptionist that it doesn’t take 3 hours to triage someone and that I’ve been waiting to give samples that I know they would need. Gotta tell you, it did warm my heart to hear a nurse in the back talking about how she was about to retire and really didn’t give a damn. Needless to say, that after being triaged and providing samples (which weren’t even tested), I was ushered into the back to wait another hour and eventually given medicine. Well, the next day things had worsened dramatically, prompting another visit to the ER, but this time at a private hospital. I was given the proper testing and asked the right questions. Eventually the doctor came in and told me that the pills I was given the night before I may as well throw out because they were useless. I firmly believed that if things had gotten any worse, I would have lost my child, whom I’d just begun to carry. To add insult to injury, I received a bill from the VA!

Be careful what you ask for. The VA so often boasts having some of the best care and state of the art equipment in some of its facilities, but I really have yet to see any of that. Honestly, do you really want any of this?

Regime Drops Mother, Sentences Her To Death

Trust me, there's more where this came from too! There is no depths to which this administration will stoop to save a quick buck and rub out as many citizens as possible. It happens all the time with the VA.

I think this is scarier than finding a massacred body

Ever watched a wannabe magician pour milk into a funnel-shaped sheet of paper and expect it to hold, only to have it spill out the bottom? Well, that's kinda the way I feel about any of my dollars going into paying for "everyone" (still only about 97%) in the country to have health care insurance. Pile in your money only to have it fall out the bottom all over the place, never to be seen again. Even moreso after watching this flick:

Alright, ENOUGH Already!

The audacity of the left no longer astonishes me but it certainly knows how to set my blood to boiling every time. This latest insult to intelligence and logic comes from Frank Rich in an op-ed column with the New York Times (that should tell you something right there) on March 27, 2010.

In true fashion, Mr. Rich proceeds to insult conservative figures such as Karl Rove and Sarah Palin while dismissing all the foibles of liberal figures. He laid the foundations of the health care monstrosity, Obamacare at the feet of the Republicans, stating that the roots could be found in RomneyCare in Massachusetts. Ok, first off, we ALL know what a disaster RomneyCare is and the hell it's reaping on the state's economy, why would any one in their right mind want to replicate it on a national level? It was taken for a test drive in Massachusetts and even in Hawai'i, where it bombed big time and was discontinued after about seven months (oh, but you don't hear about that much, do you?). It's called learning your lesson. You CANNOT blame this Goliath on the Republicans.

Mr. Rich then goes on to attack citizens who are clearly and understandably infuriated by the travesty of a vote and who spoke out against it. I'm sorry, Mr. Rich, but in a case such as this, silence invariably equals consent, and the people DO NOT consent to this. I personally would like to think that for the money that members of the House are being paid that their skins should be a tad bit thicker and they should be impervious to any kind of harsh words. And as for the so-called spitting incident, I would encourage Rep. Lewis to produce said suit as evidence (blue dress, anyone?)

As if he can't help himself, Mr. Rich then links the battle for health care with the Civil Rights struggle, which culminated with the passage of the Civil Rights Act in 1964. For reasons wholly unknown by yours truly, he mentions the assassination of the Freedom Riders in Philadelphia, MS in 1964. From where I sit, this appears to be another attempt of the left to paint this as an issue of race inequality rather than what it really is, a unconstitutional usurpation of states rights and a monumental power grab for the sole purpose of permeating every aspect of our lives.

At almost every turn, Mr. Rich seeks to infuse the matter of race in his opinion. Why, I was under the impression that the left was color blind (Chris Matthews, anyone?) and that the right wing extremists were motivated by color. Mr. Rich also dared to say that those in opposition were a minority, which could not be further from the truth. When all else fails, when (accurate) numbers don't defend your cause, and when the polls you so love are overwhelmingly against you, what else do you have to fall back on to shut down an argument but race? Well, I'm sorry, Mr. Rich, you've come to the WRONG place, and what I have to say next, you most probably will not like.

First, conservatives DO NOT care that the president is black. Quite honestly, it was for this very reason that he WAS elected, it certainly wasn't due to merit, because he has none. I still firmly believe that there were many white people who voted for him because they felt it was "time" and that they would be viewed as "un-progressive" or feared the stigma of being the one in their intellectual circles who did not vote for him.

Second, blacks tend to vote based on emotion and not logic (hate to say it, really). Do you know how many times I've gotten "how can you not be proud of the first black president"? But ask them what his policies are and his background is, and you can literally see the question marks in the dialogue bubble above their heads. If more blacks voted according to their values instead of by color, we wouldn't even be having this conversation. I gave quite a few friends and family a "diagnostic" test of their values and beliefs and their bent was almost always more conservative than liberal, many of which did not remotely coincide with Obama's values. But heaven forbid you call it by name!

I went on to say that in the military, you certainly couldn't gauge the caliber of a commander by their race, it's not like they could go to the enemy and say "but I'm Black/Asian/Native American" and expect that to make a difference, so why should it make a difference here? Obama certainly can't go up to Dmitry Medvedev or Nicolas Sarkozy and expect his color to resolve any issues.

Third, so what if you don't see that many black Tea Partiers or Republicans? That doesn't mean we don't exist! There are actually a hell of a lot more than you're willing to give credit for, Mr. Rich. Didn't it ever occur to you that the backlash for actually being an outward black conservative is especially harsh? And not even from whites, but our very own people. There are many who are hiding in the shadows, afraid to come out, so the ones who actually do come out and are vocal bear the extra burden of being the voice for those who maintain silence. The ostracizing from the black community can ill be afforded in some cases. Also, don't expect the Mainstream Media to shed much light on this subject either, because it would negate so many of the ridiculous claims they set forth. I have lost friends and even had some very heated arguments with family members over this matter, so there is a lot to lose in become embroiled in this argument.

Fourth, Mr. Rich, you are hardly strengthening your argument by calling out some of the weakest of the Republicans like Olympia Snowe and Lindsey Graham. And why should we challenge Sarah Palin, Rick Perry or John Boehner when they send such a powerful message? Are you basically telling us that we should be keeping our "dogs" on a short leash? Mr. Rich, we conservatives are NOT like your average liberal followers, we do not need to be poked and prodded or have our fires "stoked" as you put it in order to go out and do things. We do not need to be deceived, cajoled or bribed to do our civic and patriotic duties. Palin, Perry and Boehner are JOINING us in the fight, not pushing or "organizing" us.

This is NOT a Civil Rights/race issue, but in my view quite the opposite. Pulling the race card is a cheap shot, totally uncreative, and quite frankly VERY old. Turning everything into a race issue has never fared well places like Detroit or New Orleans well and it never will. If you are too blind and/or deluded to see that, Mr. Rich, then you're really not worth your salary.

Is a thumbs up from Castro really what we want?

"Socialized medicine is the keystone to the arch of the Communist State." Vladimir Lenin

I personally don't find it a good thing that any thing the United States does is something to be congratulated by the Cuban Communist regime. But that day has come. By way of his essays, called Reflections, Fidel Castro has praised Obama for finally passing socialized health care, something he stated "Cuba was able to do half a century ago".

I mean, passing such a monumental legislation is laudable, that is if you like diminished quality of care, long lines, high premiums and overwhelmed physicians (well, the physicians who stay in practice anyway). BUT, I think what we all must strive for is the Cuba way of health care. That would mean toilet paper shortages and electricity cut off in medical facilities in order to save money. Can you imagine what that would do to a person in the operating room (presuming you even qualify for such a procedure) or a refrigerator full of specimens or vaccinations (presuming they bother taking tests or giving you shots)?

But, Castro's praise was not without its chastisement. It seems the former Commandante en Jefe is not so pleased with Obama's weak stance on climate change (what the hell has that got to do with him? Oh, that's right, more of a power grab) and for sending more troops to Afghanistan (how dare we try to fight those who are violent and wish to do the US harm).

But even more chilling is when he described Obama as a "fanatic believer in capitalist imperialism" yet gave him a stern warning. I wonder if Obama will take this as an admonishment from a mentor that perhaps he must to do more to push us over the brink to Communism? Either way, an (almost) shining endorsement from Castro is something with which we should all be ill at ease.

My little thought on the "racism" issue at Tea Parties

I attended the July 4th Tea Party, the 9/12 Tea Party, and now the 3/20 Tea Party. I walked up, down and all around. I snapped pictures. I met old friends. I met new friends. But one thing I did not encounter was RACISM. I won't say I got a few looks of astonishment, which is totally understandable, but those bewildered looks went as quickly as they came and became welcoming. I witnessed absolutely NO violence. No spitting, no harassment, no vandalism or willful destruction of property. When we left, we left peacefully and the grounds were CLEAN. Cleaner than they were after Obama's inauguration, which took a week if not more to clean up. We are respectful, we are peaceful, and we seek to leave things in the same condition not better than we received it. We are protesting but we do not feel the need to be destructive and violent about it.

As far as the Congressional Black Caucus' assertions of racism go. I think it's a total crock and I firmly believe they were attempting to bait the Tea Partiers. I know this because members of the House and staff usually take the underground tunnels to get back and forth. This group intentionally walked above ground in the midst of the protest in hopes that something would happen. It is malicious and cowardly. When they found nothing actually happened that they could use they chose to fabricate something, which serves to show how low in caliber they are.

I will end by saying that something happened during the 9/12 protest that I will never forget. As I was walking deep into the crowd on the lawn, I spotted a black woman sitting. She was somewhere between 55 and 65. When I met her eye she gave me a warm smile and mouthed the words "thank you". I smiled back and walked on.

Rep. Dingell: "It's taken a long time to control the people"

The Freudian slips are becoming more and more prevalent. Or is it just that they are becoming more and more emboldened to actually state their intent?

http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2010/03/rep_dingell_its_taken_a_long_t.html

Here is the audio: http://wjrpodcasts.com/podcasts/paulwsmith/Dingell-032310.mp3