Ted Kennedy

Senator Ted Kennedy was the last of the Kennedy brothers whose power, challenges and triumphs dominated a generation of politics. He was eulogized as an inspiration to his family and to those in public service. His body of work toward progressive causes in the U.S. Senate was proof that he understood how policies affected people. Caring passionately about the people he served, he worked tirelessly on their behalf.


Yet his life was marred by tragedy and scandal – from the assassination of brothers John and Robert and the earlier death of his brother Joseph in World War II, to the deadly Chappaquiddick crash. Despite his personal losses and failings, Teddy Kennedy persevered. He served alongside 10 United States presidents and was well known for his political insight. Another significant role he played was as patriarch to his brothers’ children and grandchildren.


Perhaps Senator Kennedy’s life situation was more complicated than yours. And you may not have to live up to that kind of a legacy. But as Sandwiched Boomers you must have your share of crises and challenges. What follows are practical tips to help you face them:


1. Evaluate the situation without overreacting or putting your head in the sand. Pay attention to what’s going on around you. Yet avoid getting caught up in a pessimistic mindset that can result in higher levels of anxiety and poor decision making. Remain calm and stay focused on what you need to do.


2. Realize that support is valuable. Reaching out to others when you need encouragement helps you make it through what seems like an impossible situation. Confide in friends and family as you work through the difficulties. A second and objective opinion from a spiritual advisor or therapist can provide you with further insight and direction.


3. History is prologue. As you look back in review, consider how you have dealt with other major trials and tribulations in your life. Think about what has worked for you in the past. Take the specific strategies that you learned from those experiences and, once again, apply the most effective ones.


4. Recognize how you deal with tension. Avoid unhealthy activities like smoking, drinking, gambling or emotional eating. Pressure and stress can bring about more conflict and arguments in relationships. If any of these behaviors are causing problems for you, find healthier approaches to deal with your negative feelings.


5. Difficult times can offer opportunities for needed change. Discover the many ways you can continue to build on your internal assets. Are you fiercely curious and determined to find a solution, no matter what? How can your strength of character and generosity of spirit benefit you in the present circumstances?


6. Set some long-range goals about what you want to accomplish as well as short-term objectives that will get you there. These concrete plans will provide the basic foundation for change. As you successfully move forward step by step, your self-confidence will grow. And incremental action, as well as a positive attitude, will motivate you to stay on track and ultimately reach your goals.


7. Gain perspective, whether you’re hit in the face with a crisis or making a slow transition into the next chapter of your life. Expect a cascade of feelings- anxiety, the desire to hold on, resentment, sadness, fear, even a sense of freedom. The emotional roller coaster ride is normal. If you have the fortitude to step back, take a deep breath and face the situation squarely, you can’t help but grow from the challenges.


Kennedy had personal failings but he worked hard to right his path. And over his lifetime he became a better man. Presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin said that he will be remembered for his strengths and his weaknesses: “There’s a great quote by Ernest Hemingway who said, everyone is broken by life but afterwards some are stronger in the broken places.”


Senator Kennedy was a study in strength sustained through struggle. You too can overcome adversity. If you’ve made mistakes, be prepared to acknowledge them and act responsibly. Don’t surrender to self pity and regret. As Kennedy often told his young son who lost his leg to cancer – keep fighting, you can do it. Tap into your spirit of resilience. And focus on your vision and the possibilities – you owe it to yourself.


© 2009, Her Mentor Center

CHIPRA: Chip Off the Old SCHIP Block

Fresh off the defeat of health care reform part umpteen, Bill Clinton joined with Ted Kennedy to attempt a sort of salvation, or redemption (call it what you will), with a bill to provide health care for America’s neediest children. Big problem: When Hillarycare crashed and burned, the Republicans rose from the ashes and took control of Congress. Therefore, the bill had to be bipartisan if it ever wanted to see the light of day.

Come 1997, the result was a piece of legislation that created the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). Then, as with health reform now, it was a health care experiment in Massachusetts that became the springboard for SCHIP, which is not surprising given that Senator Kennedy was both a staunch advocate for health care and a Massachusetts native. That first Massachusetts initiative was aimed at helping the children of the working poor, and the one being studied and copied now for nationwide health care reform is Commonwealth Care, an effort at insuring all Massachusetts residents that is nearing its three-year anniversary.

To get SCHIP through a Republican Congress, Clinton and Kennedy—with the aid of Kennedy chum Senator Orrin Hatch, Republican of Utah—fashioned a vehicle that was largely funded by the federal government (up to 70 percent of the states’ cost, with a cap) but pretty much designed and managed by the states. In a holy (say would say unholy) barter, Democrats got Republicans to agree to raise the qualifying income level far above the federal poverty rate—in some states now reaching 300 percent, or about $66,000 a year for a family of four—and Republicans got Democrats to agree not to crowd out private insurers, shades of the “public option” debate now consuming Congress. Funding was to be through a tax on cigarettes, though as with all things federal, budgeting is never really that transparent.

Things went along pretty swimmingly with a modest but functioning SCHIP program in place under a Republican Congress and then a Republican Congress and a Republican President. But 2006 shook up matters as Democrats regained control of Congress and sought to reauthorize and expand SCHIP. This time, Orrin Hatch backed out and sided with the Republicans while the Democrats sent bills to George Bush in 2007 and 2008 to reinvigorate and inflate SCHIP. He vetoed both of them.

More change came in 2008 as the Democrats strengthened their hold on Congress and also sent Barack Obama to the White House. One of President Obama’s first acts was to sign the bill that Bush had vetoed, and SCHIP morphed into CHIP through the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (CHIPRA). Obama called it his “down payment” on universal health care, which leaves open the question whether the public option being proposed by the Democrats as part of health care reform is actually intended to become the “only option,” as critics have charged. CHIPs for all of us?

Since the original SCHIP was never designed to be a one-size-fits-all solution and states were left to implement health coverage for children on their own, there exists to this day a welter of different state programs, many relying on Medicaid and many setting up their own networks.

CHIPRA makes a few changes in CHIP. States are now given the option of providing premium assistance so that eligible children can be included in their parents’ employer-provided health insurance plans. The assistance would pay the difference in premiums between insurance solely for the parent and insurance for the parent and eligible child(ren). Eligibility for CHIP, whether through premium assistance or Medicaid or a state CHIP network, is capped at 200 percent of the federal poverty income level, which is about $44,000 for a family of four, though states can exceed that level and still receive partial funding. An exception was granted to New York since that state had already obtained permission to use 300 percent as its top fully funded rate.

Along with the folding of workplace insurance into the program came new notification obligations for employers. Companies are now obliged to notify their employers of possible assistance available under Medicaid and CHIP. CHIPRA also forces companies to establish special enrollment periods—much like floating or year-round enrollment periods—for their company-provided health insurance. When an employee’s child or children suddenly become eligible for Medicaid or CHIP (presumably through the loss of income on the spouse’s side), the employer must both notify the parent-employee of CHIP-Medicaid-premium assistance availability and also open a 60-day enrollment window. Likewise, when an employee’s offspring lose their eligibility for CHIP or Medicaid, notification must also take place along with another 60-day enrollment window.

Though the special enrollment option kicked in on April 1, 2009, CHIPRA ordered the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to develop both state-specific and national notification notice models by Feb. 10, 2010. These notifications must be used beginning the first plan year after issuance, which for most purposes would be on Jan. 1, 2011. In the meantime, employers are left to wade through the CHIP notification maze by themselves. And, as always, there are fines involved. In this case, companies can be fined $100 per day for failure to comply with the employee notice requirements.

CHIPRA requires health plan administrators to disclose to states, upon request, information about their group health plans, including information that allows states to determine an employee’s eligibility, benefits offered under the plan, contact information for the plan administrator, and other relevant information, so that states can determine whether it is cost-effective for the state to provide premium assistance or simply cover children through CHIP. HHS and the Department of Labor (DOL) are tasked by CHIPRA with developing a model disclosure form “within one year of enactment,” or by February 2010.

All of these notification and disclosure requirements are fine and dandy if a company has just one location in one state, or even multiple locations in one state, but for companies with locations nationwide, navigating the muddy waters of differing states’ CHIP programs and requirements could be challenging and costly

CHIPRA, like SCHIP, relies on increased tobacco taxes to foot the bill for its expanded outreach and operation, but as mentioned before, no one can ever be sure who or what pays for what in the federal budget. At least no one is (yet) talking of an unfunded multi-trillion-dollar liability for CHIP, but it is a much younger program than Medicare and Medicaid, which do indeed face a combined $37 trillion unfunded liability.

Financial shenanigans or not, CHIP (actually, SCHIP) seems to be having a positive impact. Georgetown University’s Health Policy Institute conducted a study showing that the number of uninsured children in the U.S. declined to 7.3 million in 2008, the lowest number since 1987, and this was before the more muscular CHIPRA kicked in. It seems that many states have taken to the program with a zeal, with 23 of them actually expanding their programs in the fiscally challenged environment of 2008. (One would be hard pressed, however, to find the likes of California and New York on the list, though New Jersey was indeed one of the 23.)

Overall, what is interesting here is that incremental, bipartisan reforms in the health care arena seem to work, whereas any effort to reform the whole system seems always to break down in Congress with both interparty conflict and intraparty in-fighting. What eventually transpires legislatively this time is still unclear, but if the nation simply follows the Massachusetts Plan called Commonwealth Care, the very things that the Obamacrats claim can’t happen will indeed happen in spades. Costs will rise, and care will be harder to get. The common pro-reform response is that reform can only work and save costs if it’s implemented on the national level; states can’t do it. The problem is—if the federal approach doesn’t work either, there’s nowhere else to turn except to rationing and denial of service to keep from bankrupting the country.

In short, we’d be right back to where we are now under private insurance. The French have a saying for this: “The more you change things, the more they stay the same.” And another French word sums it all up best, “Merde.”

There are some honest politicians- I hope! Why would a person spend millions of dollars to get elected to a job that pays $174,000 a year? Maybe it’s not because of the salary, but because of the PERKS. A person gets to fly around the world free and best of all is the HEALTHCARE program that is the best in the world- and it is FREE!  

One of the best things that could happen to America would be for us to NOT reelect any of our politicians. That doesn’t mean that we’d be assured of any better representations, it just means it would take them longer to figure out how to rip us off.

If there is a lightning rod now that is highlighting how inept and incompetent our Congress is, it’s the healthcare issue.

Much like the Massachusetts political manipulations to get a Democrat to replace Ted Kennedy, Harry Reid is threatening to use the “nuclear option” to pass the healthcare bill. In other words if the rules of fair play can’t get the bill passed, then let’s take whatever options needed.  And let’s rush the bill through. Most importantly, let’s not give people time to READ the bill! Who knows what might be found in the legislation!

Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday turned back a Republican amendment to wait 72 hours and require a full cost estimate before the final committee vote on the health care reform bill. It was the committee’s first vote out of more than 500 amendments awaiting them, in what has already been a contentious mark-up session.

The amendment would have delayed a vote on the final bill for about two weeks to allow the Congressional Budget Office to complete its final analysis on the cost and implications of the legislation. Arkansas Sen. Blanche Lincoln was the only Democrat to vote with Republicans for the amendment, further signaling that she may be an attractive swing vote for Republicans.

The shame of our politicians is our shame- for doing little or nothing
 

Love him or not, Senator Barack Obama has proven to be a Maverick Thinker. His campaign has done so many things that are just not standard politician fare. Just the idea that a young, African-American man would even have a real shot at the Presidency is a maverick thought in itself. But, Sen. Obama is on the verge of being elected President of the United States. The lessons of his highly successful campaign should be applied to your business every single day.

This is not to say that everything the Obama campaign has done is completely original. It’s just that the campaign has been able to mix some ideas of the past with new ideas, and package it as something fresh and new. It seems the Senator and his aides are able to recognize what has worked well in the past, but are not just rehashing it the same way it was done previously.

If you’re honest, regardless of what candidate you support, Sen. Obama has made Senator John McCain look plain, old fashioned, and just out of date.

The Key to the Obama campaign is positive buzz. The announcement that Sen. Obama will accept the Democratic nomination in a football stadium in front of 75,000 people is downright brilliant. Rather than stand on a stage in front of 19,000 people in an indoor arena, he will give the most important speech of his life in a massive venue. He will be surrounded by thousands of cheering supporters. On TV screens across America this will look amazing, and reinforce the image of Sen. Obama as the overwhelming choice of the people. How can John McCain help but look small in comparison?

As brilliant an idea as this is, it is not completely original. John F. Kennedy did the same thing in 1960. Many voters today don’t remember the Kennedy years, but they know he is revered. Just hearing that JFK accepted his nomination in a football stadium, and that Obama is doing the same links them emotionally in the hearts of many Americans. Especially young Americans, many of whom will vote for the first time this year.

Now consider how you can Omabatize your business. Whether it’s politics, entertainment, or business people always flock to the hottest buzz. Your marketing should make you stand out first and foremost. Marketing technical jargon, and the same old bullet point features or benefits makes you just another face in the crowd. Our culture has A.D.D., so you need to grab the attention of your target market. You want to have the hot new product or service that is ready to set the world on fire.

Vanity matters. So many people I work with fear tooting their own horn. They feel if they brag too much about their product or service they’ll be perceived in a negative fashion. Ever heard of a fellow named Donald Trump? There has never been a bigger self-promoter. Even when he was a virtual nobody he figured out how to get attention, and use publicity to rocket to the top of his industry. That’s not easy in New York City, but he did it to perfection.

Just like Sen. Obama, love him or not you have to admit he knows how to get what he wants. Four years ago most people had no idea who Barack Obama was. Yet, just four years later he is on the cusp of becoming the most powerful man on Earth. That’s pretty wild, and amazing self-promotion.

So, don’t be afraid to talk up your business or your products or services. Don’t be arrogant, but be proud. Talk about what you do in the same way you would talk about your child who is an honor student, or about that sweet new sports car you just bought. When you beam with pride you give off a positive vibe that people pick up on. People are always drawn to positive messages that make them feel good. Your target market will be far more receptive to you if they feel you can somehow transfer your positivity to them to make their life better.

The big thing in molding the image you want people to have of you is how you package yourself or your business. You won’t find many competing companies that are both successful by looking the same as each other.

Think of Coke & Pepsi. Both soft drinks look alike if you pour them in a glass, but they are packaged very differently. They both have bright, colorful labels that are nothing alike. They both use plastic bottles, but they are shaped very differently and evoke different emotions. Their logos are also very different.

The lesson is trying to look like your most successful competitor will will really make you look a like something your customers have already seen before. There’s nothing to motivate them to take a deeper look. You become the same old same old. Don’t copy what others have done. Be bold. Your customers will be motivated to give you a call, or check out your web site by feeling as though they might find something new and exciting. Maybe you have a solution that your competitors don’t.

One of the most successful pieces of copy I ever wrote was two sentences on a postcard. It read, “You’re pissing away millions of dollars every year by not managing your inventory properly. You might want to fix that.” It was a little crass, I know, but boy did it get the attention of those who received it.

The point is don’t be afraid to be daring. Don’t be shackled by so called “business language.” Speak to people the way you would about your favorite movie or your cool new smartphone with all the bells and whistles. It’s OK to say what you do is “awesome” or “cool” or gasp, FUN.

Be controversial. Even the bad publicity that has surrounded Sen. Obama has kept him at the forefront of almost every news cycle since the start of the year. His decision not to take public financing was very controversial. Heck, just the fact that a black man is within months of possibly being elected President is controversial. Barack Obama is controversial, and that draws people to him. His positive message keeps them in his corner.

Sen. Obama is the sunshine breaking through the clouds. Ronald Reagan said it was morning in America , and that made people feel good. It conjured up an image of a new beginning with the prospect of great things to come. Sen. Obama brings a similar message of hope and change in an increasingly dark time. People want to believe that great things are just ahead, and will vote for the person they think will bring those great things to their lives.

Be sunny and positive. No one likes a rain cloud, but people love fun in the sun. Let your customers know how good they’ll feel working with you. They’ll be happy to vote for you to bring those rays of sunshine to their daily grind. Of course, your customers cast their votes for you in dollars, and that will make you feel pretty darn good too.

They took our job!?
Dey took ‘ur jaaahbs! What is so wrong about illegal immigration? They cost toll payers money, they abuse the welfare system, they do not pay enough within property tax to pay for their illegal/anchor babies to attend U.S. schools, they knock about the health care system, the refuse to assimilate, they increase crime, etc. etc. ahahaha so THEY took your…

A recover that will put together some style of amnesty, work visas and raise surrounded by wellbeing seem difficult,?
but is that will help with the issue of illegal immigration? In my inference I think that we need to take contained by consideration many things together and not to focus in only one, close to SOME people say ( they say deport, deport or…

Whats going to start to my friend?
well my friend is illegal immigration i think he is contained by jail because he drive without license he charge with NO DRIVER LICENSE FAILURE TO APPEAR source i want to know this because he borrow my ipod.. whats going to happen to him? right now he is 16 (10th grade)…

What’s obama,hilary and mckane’s plan on unlawful immgration solution?
make it easier to give them officially recognized status and no more illegal immigration problems. We can use a lot more foreign workers in this country you know the president have no power to pass immigration laws. US congress wont touch an other Amnesty bill with a 10 foot pole They all favor…

What’s the difference between an…?
Anti-illegal immigration extremist, and a racist American? this is not a joke! I’m trying to distinguish the difference, but I can’t. An anti illegal immigration extremist is just motto that immigrants shouldn’t be here because they are breaking the law and the minute that they actually become permitted and come here well then they are welcome :] but a…

What’s wrong near immigration?
if you’re so scared about these people coming over and taking your job, why don’t you just do something about it? sitting here and complaining isn’t going to do anything. Do you know the difference between legal and illegal immigration? i played my constituent in letting my Congressmen and Senators, know where i stand on Amnesty and…

What’s you stance on unauthorized immigration?
What is you stance on illegal immigration? How does it affect the area that you live in? Do you chew over illegal immigrants cause more problems and are that much of a strain on the discount? Illegal immigration cost California import tax payers $6 Billion a year! Democrats like Pelosi encourages illegals to come to California because…

Where can I find dispassionate broad facts around informal immigration within America?
The more recent, the better. Also, preferably online. Look under Department of Justice – Immigration and Customs Enforcement(ICE). They may have the stats you necessitate. It’s hard to find good info these days when it come to the glum impact and crime of illegal immigration. Many sites and groups have been found to…

Where can one find on the fence information and statistics on unlawful immigration?
I am looking for unbiased information and statistics on illegal immigration. There will always be bias no matter what. Like for instance the 12 million illegals they claim are contained by America. This figure came about by sample poles and such.where the FBI and other agencies were actually asked to…

Where do stand on the issue of against the law immigration?
(into the US)? Just curious. I am against illegal immigration but I am not give or take a few to give up my civil liberties to make it easier for the authorities to deport wrong immigrants. ICE and Homeland Security can do their job without trampling adjectives over the Constitution. The…

Which is cheaper to do stretch out the borders or try and trademark them and control immigration?
Seal the borders, and control illegal immigration. As for giving the illegals an opportunity to become citizens… No way! Anyone catch on to Ted Kennedy’s family connections reunification clause yet?! His 1964 Family Chain bill?! It has been costing us more. …

Which one of these is easier?
Is it easier to stop illegal immigration in America by building a border fence and putting military personnel on 24/7 study. Or by removing incentives that illegal aliens have to come to America by creating stricter laws and punishments for society entering illegally, by prosecuting people who hire illegal aliens, and making a canon that ‘anchor babies’ are…

Which type of liberal are you, tough on banned aliens or one of those who give the name folks racist for tough stance?
Which kind of Republican are you? tough on illegal immigration and want it stopped to save job of americans and helping keep up standard of living of working americans or are you the kind of Republican who says the more of…

Who benefits from unauthorized immigration?
i hope this does not offend anyone, but i have to write about illiegal immigration for my chicano studies class. so who besides the nearest and dearest and the coyotes beniefits from illegal immgration? also is the government really doing everything they can to stop illegal immigration thank you to whoever help. Everyone and not a soul. No…

Who reason this guy is a prime hopeful for Amnesty?
An illegal immigrant who was deported in 2007 after serving time for an attempted-rape conviction contained by Nebraska returned to the United States earlier this year only to assault two men in Alexandria on separate occasion. Time to shoot that poor bastard! Anyone beside common sense would never support ‘illegal immigration’ in whatsoever, but you…

Why are african immigrant agreed smaller quantity for american citizenship than latin or asian immigrant?
why is america being so racist as far as who wants to be accepted into this country? proximity, illegal immigration, amnesty and ‘chain migration through familial ties having preference’. It isn’t racism. It is why we came up with the diversity lottery and countries that hold more than…

Why Are Liberals Always Right?
THIS TIME it’s on immigration. Remember when we told you that the best way to solve the illegal immigration problem wasn’t fences or foreign laws, but merely to arrest every businessman who hired them? Well GUESS WHAT? Now that the economy is in the dumps, they are going home! Proof’s right at hand. Come…

Why are McCain and Obama on the ballot?
‘The majority of Americans are against illegal immigration’ is often said here. Why isn’t Ron Paul, Trancredo, Romney or even Thompson on the ballot? Even as VP? Things that make you shift hummmmmm.. Ya i agree i cant stand either of them. Because, despite the fact that the politicians from each party attempt to starkly differentiate themselves…

Why are prohibited immigrant demonized for taking the bait that American employer dangle above them?
The employer are the ones fuelling the trend of illegal immigration by hiring illegal immmigrants because they’re too cheap to pay their force decent wages, so why demonize illetgal immigrants for coming up here illegally when the plea they keep coming up here is because there is never a shortage…

Why are undemocratic immigrant evil?
I’m really uninformed about this issue of illegal immigration, but I’m doing a paper on it right very soon, so I need some kind of background info. This probably sounds resembling a really dumb question, but why is it hard for immigrants to come here reasonably? Particularly Mexicans and other Hispanics?(as opposed to say, people from Asian) I’ve hear…

Why aren’t immigrant allowed to come to the United States?
I know that the issue of illegal immigration is big in the United States. But how does the government want whether an immigrant can or cannot come the U.S? I don’t know. There’s a lot of hot guys out there that should be living here. The answer. A certain # of immigrants…

Why do individuals believe that the poem on the Statue of Liberty is a canon?
Many supporters of illegal immigration refer to the poem on the Statue of Liberty to give credence to their belief. Don’t they know that art is not law? Why are they so in the dark? It seems like that symbol has become a Deity for them. How did they…

Why do relations vote the UK Deportation Orders and Officers are Inhumane?
Some left wing pro-lobby-lunnies have often criticised the law and immigration officers for being inhumane and heavy hand in their decisions to deport illegals. This is how they deal next to illegal immigration in other parts of the world. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_a… So are the British really that inhumane and nasty?…

Why do so frequent white supremacists come into the immigration slice underneath the guise?
that they are against illegal immigration when the opposite is evident within theis answers. I am interested in history and I travel the world with my work. I hold worked for UN agencies in various hell holes around the world. I find that most people?? are racist…

Why do so oodles those contained by this piece mull over that anyone who isn’t a racist bigot is pro-illegal immigration?
I don’t support illegal immigration, but at the same time I don’t see why so much blame is being placed on informal immigrants for being opportunists when American employers verbs to hire them. Again, I realize that it’s wrong a nd illegal to come…

Why do some nation support unjust immigration?
Name some reasons that one might support illegal immigration. Because they are bleeding heart liberals who cannot or will not see the problems that immoral immigration is causing in this country. They also seem to hold a problem understanding the term ‘illegal’. They don’t. Please cite legitimate sources that support the fact people support private immigration. There…

Why do the Mexican…?
i just read a moderately racist question similar to mine. The author claimed that all other groups assimilated okay into the USA BUT the mexicans… so i have to ask what are your views on illegal immigration and why are they that method? to all you who are saying that illegals are taking positive aspect of the U.S without…

Why do those who support unendorsed immigration attack those who are against it as racist or chauvinistic?
Proponents of illegal immigration inevitably paint critics as being anti-immigration (the US allows more immigrants through its borders than any other country surrounded by the world) and racist (ask 100 Black Americans how they feel about illegal immigration). Even hard-right denizens approaching Sean Hannity preface their criticisim of…

More Illegal immigration questions please visit : ImmigrationFreeFAQ.com

AARP has it wrong and NARP-National Association of Retired People have it right. Why does AARP think a government take over of health care could possibly be good for seniors? 

I am one senior citizen that thinks AARP sold us out. I thought AARP was supposed to be for seniors, now I think they are for the politicians. AARP came out in favor the government takeover of health care (they don‘t call it that, I call it that). I read AARP’s list of reasons for support of new legislation and it sounds very lofty and idealistic. “We all have a role to play individuals, providers, purchasers, insurers, and the government.” What role do we “senior individuals” have to play? Go home and die because the government eliminates health care services we now receive. The one thing AARP should have said is that the government should not run or control the health care system. To begin with, they say our healthcare system is broken but it is not. We have the best health care systems in the world. Americans do not leave this country to get better health care in another country. It is the other way around, world leaders come here for medical treatment. AARP should have stood up for their 40 million members and said no to the government takeover of our health care system.

AARP sells hundreds of millions of dollars of medical insurance to seniors. They were afraid of losing that revenue and made a wink and nod agreement with the politicians. Presently there about 1,300 health care insurance companies in the US. It is estimated that number will be reduced to about 50 in the first few years of the new plan. Does AARP really think they can trust any of the politicians in Washington? Did you see how 200 years of law was thrown out the window when it came to the government takeover of General Motors and Chrysler? Ask the 100,000 individual secured bondholders that were screwed out of 70% of their secured money if they trust the politicians. By the way, most of them were seniors. AARP and the insurance companies will be shocked in a few years when the government tells them there will only be one health insurance plan run by the government and their services will not be needed. I do not think the Republicans or the Democrats in Washington can be trusted. Politics has become only about “what’s in it for me right now” and control, not about what is best for the American people. The politicians love their power. Do you really feel AARP is looking out for you? 

The government really does not care about providing good health care in America for everyone; they care about the government-running health care in America. It is about government control of another major section of the economy and your life. If all they really wanted to do, was guarantee health care for everyone it would only cost between $29 to $40 billion extra over today’s costs; and the rest of us could continue with the good health care we have now without the government control. It could all be paid for out of stopping even part of the $200 billion in medical fraud each year. If they did that one thing, there would be no need to raise taxes or have the government take over our health care system. Tell that to your politicians. If the government takes over health care, they will control about sixty percent of the US economy. They already control the Banks, Insurance (AIG), Auto Industry (GM & Chrysler), Mortgage business (Fannie Mae & Freddy Mack), and now they want to take over health care. If you are a senior citizen and the government takes over health   care, they are going to tell us at what age we live or die. Maybe you are like me and had heart bypass surgery at age 58 and I will probably need it again at age 75 (because it usually only last 15 or 20 years). In England with their government run health care, you cannot get a stint or heart bypass surgery if you are over 59. If that happens here a guess they will tell me, I am too old because it is not cost effective for someone my age, and not covered by Medicare, I will just have to go home and die.

After they get us all on the government plan they can make us do anything they want not necessarily, what is the best for you to live longer. I am 69 years old (the same age as Nancy Pelosi Speaker of the House). I think you seniors and I are entitled to the same health care opportunities as she and Ted Kennedy. These politicians will not have the same health care insurance rules we on Medicare are being asked to accept. Under the new plan if you are Ted Kennedy’s age, you could not get the brain surgery he received. What is wrong with what the government is trying to do is, limiting how your Doctor can treat you. Moreover, what is worse, if they say it is not covered by Medicare it will be illegal for you to go out and pay for better treatment out of your own pocket that is just not right?

If these politicians take over health care, your life, and my life just got shorter. This applies to you young people as well. The President’s chief health care policy advisors Dr. Ezekiel J. Emanuel (brother of Rohm Emanuel the president‘s chief of staff) has written extensively that the elderly should get less health care. He thinks that incurable illnesses such as dementia should not get continued health care. He says because they no longer contribute to society. Does this apply to Down syndrome babies, badly injured soldiers and to paraplegics as well? He also is a leading proponent of state assisted suicide. He is a very brilliant man but these are not the views most of us here in the United States of America. That sounds more like Nazi Germany back in the late thirties. How does AARP think this kind of thinking is good for seniors?

I do not want anyone coming between my doctor and me. I want my personal doctor telling me what is best for my loved ones and my health, not some Washington Bureaucrat.

I do not want some young person in Washington telling me my 82-year mother cannot receive treatment because it is not covered. Like I just said, even if you have the money to pay for it out of your own pocket it will be against the law. To me that is just not right, it is outrageous, this is not Cuba, China, or Russia this is the United States of America. If you like, the way the government runs the Post Office, the IRS, Social Security, or the way they handled New Orleans during Katrina then get ready for the Government Takeover of Health Care.

One of the staff from a Senator’s office out of Nebraska said… If they cannot get what they want right now, they will take anything they can and change it to what they want in a couple of years. They actually want a single payer plan with rationed health care. We seniors cannot let this happen.   

I have called every Congressman, Senator and the White House letting them know that I do not want the government to take over health care and I and my fellow Americans will vote against anyone that votes for it. You may ask why I called all of them. The other day I saw a Senator on TV that said he was getting calls from all over the country and he appreciated hearing the pulse of the nation. He thought it was a good idea to contact each of them and let them know what people all across the country are thinking. 

I will make a prediction… If our politicians vote in the government take over of health care there will be a voters revolt, a nationwide outcry of “Throw the bums out of Washington.”

The administration is very smooth about how they promote the government take over of health care. When the Clinton’s tried, the governments take over of healthcare, they called it healthcare reform, and it died. These politicians started that way but have changed what they call it. Now they call it health insurance reform. It is the same thing. They are just trying to blame the insurance companies for high prices and divert your attention away from their real agenda to take over. The government wants to take over health care and have control over your life and your death.

The myth is they are trying to sell us the idea the system is broken and they can fix it. We all know the truth is we have the best health care in the world, they want to take control, and they will ruin it. People from the United States are not leaving this country to go anywhere else for medical treatment. If our system is so bad, why do Kings and leaders of other countries come here to get medical care? This is all about control and power it is not about giving health care to everyone. Anyone that needs emergency health care can get it right now if you have the money or not. They can call it anything they want but it is about control of your life.

If they once get any kind of government health insurance, life in America will never be the same. They will gradually nudge you into their plan and ultimately make everyone on the government plan (except the politicians and some unions). All of the politicians have private health insurance plans and every December they can choose to change if they want. In the new proposal if you ever for any reason want to switch health insurance you can only go into the government plan, which is just wrong.

All of you young people beware. If you feel like you cannot afford health insurance with your present lifestyle, the government will make you buy it anyway. Health insurance may cost you as much as $6,000 a year and if you do not buy it they may fine you a fine of $3,800 a year. That is just not right. You should be able chose what you think is best for yourself. This universal health care is flawed from the start. There are many ways to reduce health care costs without government control. If the politicians and unions do not switch to the government health insurance plan then you know the politicians have lied to us but by then it will be too late. This is not about either side of politics this is about the lives and well-being of all Americans. God, help us all if this health care passes in any form.      

Why have several of the major political players, like Ted Kennedy, decided to jump on the Obama band wagon? The most obivous reason is the more than DOUBLE the votes that Obama received over Hillary in the South Carolina primary. That’s an amazing number for any primary, anywhere. However, there’s much more to the picture than Bill Clinton playing the race card and being an out-right liar. If his presidency told us anything, it told us that! That’s one of the reasons he lost his law license in Arkansas.

Remember?

If Hillary were to get the nomination there would be a lot of TV commercials showing other Democrats being upset by Bubba’s red-faced outbursts, finger pointing, and yes, LIES! A growing concern is just where Hillary shakes out in her relationship with Bill. A co-presidency bothers many people- a lot of people! As someone has wondered, can she not keep the attack dog on the porch, or is it that she needs him to do her fighting for her.

Either answer doesn’t work! And Super Tuesday is just a week away!

But, it’s the following statistics that started getting Democrats to thinking that hitching their star to the Barack-Star just might be the thing to do to assure them of winning the election in the fall. Let’s begin with the obvious.

1-Obama won 55% of the total vote, more than twice as many votes as Hillary!

5-And the youth really love him getting 67% of voters between ages 18 and 29.

Even the Republicans, who are already at a decided disadvantage, know what the above figures represent. Is there anything that can stop him other than the Clinton attack machine? Barack is still the underdog and the hill that he’s trying to climb is steep indeed! While he welcomes Ted Kennedy to the fold, he’s going to need a lot more than Teddy boy!

But, comparisons to Jack Kennedy sure doesn’t hurt! But, let’s not take those comparisons all the way.

It’s one thing to embellish your accomplishments, but it’s entirely another thing to dig into the deep valleys of your dark soul and hope for the the worst of your fellow man so that you can be elevated. It’s OVER HLLARY! Get off the stage. We don’t need any more insights to your perverted thinking. You’re staying in the race because Obama might be assassinated?

Of course after she said it she made up the excuse that she was thinking of Ted Kennedy’s ailment. Sure. But she said the same thing back in March. It’s the same MO as the sniper fire excuse that she was tired, but she’d said that same story many times before.

We aren’t buying it- nor YOU!

Hillary Clinton’s last gasp campaign suffered a gaping, self-inflicted wound Friday when she recalled Robert Kennedy’s 1968 assassination while defending her determination to keep running against Barack Obama. Political reaction was swift and unanimously negative. Even Hillary loyalists expressed shock, dismay and private outrage.

It was a rare moment in political circles when Democrats and Republicans alike literally had the same visceral first response: “Oh. My. God.” “She said what?” an incredulous Rev. Al Sharpton told the Daily News, adding that the remark reinforced his belief that Clinton should fold her candidacy.

Hillary Who?

Writer, Michael Goodwin summed it up best for me when he wrote, “SICK. Disgusting. And yet revealing. Hillary Clinton is staying in the race in the event some nut kills Barack Obama. It could happen, but what definitely has happened is that Clinton has killed her own chances of being vice president. She doesn’t deserve to be elected dog catcher anywhere now. Her shocking comment to a South Dakota newspaper might qualify as the dumbest thing ever said in American politics.”

If anyone thought she had a chance at the VP slot, you can now write that one off too!

A sad ending.

Victoria Kennedy eyed as successor of Ted Kennedy as senator

It was reported in newspapers that before Ted Kennedy died, he wanted his wife of 16 years to replace him as senator. She could be appropriate for the job since she is a layer in Washington and  she was always involved in Ted Kennedy’s legislative projects. One democrat even opined that Victoria Reggie Kennedy is smart politically.

Some political analysts think that Victoria Kennedy is a possible successor for Ted’s senatorial position. It is said that she is seemed to be born for politics. She always knew how to keep herself and Ted away from any scandal. She even made sure the they both are never photographed holding a glass of wine.

Should Victoria Kennedy run for a position in the U.S. Senate?

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Vote yes or Vote no.

Victoria Kennedy is a daughter of a former judge in Louisiana and she is a lawyer herself. Mer mother was the democrats’ national committee woman. Many people see her as an able senator since she knows the world of politics well having been involved with her husband’s legislative affairs and having brought up in family that gives so much attention to business and politics.

Will Victoria Kennedy succeed if she pursues a senatorial seat?

Vote yes or Vote no.

Remarriage and later career

While the Kennedy and Reggie families were friends for many years, Vicki remembers (but Senator Kennedy did not) their first meeting when Vicki was a summer intern in his Senate office’s mailroom the year following her college graduation. They began dating after meeting again in June 1991 at a party celebrating her parents’ 40th wedding anniversary. Ted Kennedy said of this meeting, “I had known Vicki before, but this was the first time I think I really saw her.” The relationship became serious in September 1991. They were engaged in March 1992, and married July 3, 1992, in a civil ceremony at his home in McLean, Virginia. His political career had suffered from a long period of womanizing, drinking, and adverse publicity, and she is credited with stabilizing his personal life and helping him resume a productive career in the Senate.Kennedy was devoted to her two children. In Kennedy’s 1994 senatorial re-election campaign against Mitt Romney, she was credited by The New York Times with “giving him a political advantage in a difficult contest.” For a Boston, Massachusetts, reception she organized, 1,200 influential New England women met five of Kennedy’s Senate colleagues. In[clarification needed] his campaigns and his senatorial work, she became his principal assistant and closest political advisor. By 1997, she no longer practiced law. She came to the aid of the greater Kennedy family following the 1999 plane crash that took the life of John F. Kennedy, Jr. She is president and co-founder of Common Sense about Kids and Guns, an advocacy group begun in 1999 which seeks to reduce gun deaths and injuries to children in the U.S. She is a member of the board of trustees of the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, and has served on the board of Stop Handgun Violence in Boston. Following her husband’s May 2008 diagnosis of brain cancer, she became his primary caregiver, dealing with the Kennedy clan along with Ted’s political connections. She assisted him in planning his course of treatment. Reports indicated that he expressed the wish that his wife would succeed him in office, and speculation towards that possibility continued during his illness. However, upon his death she indicated no interest in assuming her husband’s Senate seat, even temporarily.