The Lloyd House Wednesday Night Salon WEEKLY
A Newsletter published every Thursday from the Lloyd House in Cincinnati
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FIVE SECTIONS, including:
- Table Notes of the discussion at this Wednesday night’s Salon, as recorded by Ellen
- Events and Opportunities
- SPECIAL SECTION: Health Care Reform
- Articles of Interest
- Book, Film, Theater, TV, Music, Radio, and Restaurant Reviews
- Tri-State Treasures, compiled by Jim Kesner
Submissions: you must have the email copy to me by Wednesday night midnight. Copy the format you see in this Weekly please. (Times New Roman font, text 14 pt, headlines 20 pt. Maroon for Opportunities and Events, Navy for articles.)
The Wednesday Night Salon has been meeting each week of the year (no break for holidays, weather) since July 2001 in pursuit of good talk. Bring a dish at 5:45 pm and join us. We are usually about 10 people of varied erudition and age. We like to talk politics, environmentalism, social issues, literature, the arts, ad any blamed thing we want. Sometimes we have a special presenter. We emphasize good fellowship and civility always. Way fun! Everyone welcome. 3901 Clifton Avenue 45220.
SECTION ONE: Table Notes
Royread the preamble and the quote from Granny D.
These rough notes have not been approved or edited by the speakers and contain inevitable misunderstandings and misquotes. Also, opinions expressed are NOT necessarily Ellen’s.
At the Table this Wednesday:
Attendees:
Roy Jones, Ginger Lee Frank, Mira Rodwan, Cheryl Hardin, Coleman Kane, Ellen Bierhorst, Vlasta Molak, Gerry Kraus, Marvin Kraus, Carolyn Aufderhaar,
Roy, Vlasta, Gerry, Ginger, Mira, Cheryl, Coleman, Marvin
TOPICS and ANNouncements
Vlasta— the French people’s attitudes
Gerry — specifics of Obama’s plan for health care reform.
... Some have been saying Obama should design a bill and present it.
... Obama is going to be in Cincinnati Monday; Coney Island, 1 – 5 pm. $2.
... Rally in Westchester this Sat (see below in Events and Opportunities section)
Roy: Malton gallery in Hydepark Edwards and Edmundson, have invited me to show there. 20th Sept 3 – 6. Then I was invited to participate in an Art Auction at the Hauck House in OTR Fri Oct 9. A great opportunity for me. I will also be there making a painting right there. Tickets $50.
I am also doing a mural in Camp Washington, that is nearing completion.
Vlasta: report on French attitudes towards US. On flight I sat next to Enrique Caruso's grand daughter. I was on Belle Isle off Normandy attending my son’s wedding. My new dau in law is an admiral in the French navy, retired. Gorgeous ocean view house. He says, “What’s going on in America? Are they crazy? Why are they against health care?” In France they pay half of what we pay, proportionately to their GDP (gross domestic product) for their health care. Here we pay 14% of GDP for our health care.
Coleman: I went to the two rallies yesterday. Sen Brown had sent a rep who contrasted the Senate’s bill to the House’s bill. Lots of proposals to eliminate fraud, save money. The House bill, there are 2: one is paid for by levying a surcharge on small business owners who elect to not provide health care for workers. The second House bill would be funded by income tax, including a higher tax on the wealthy. Another proposal is to tax medical benefits as income... Apparently the house bill is now revenue neutral,
Cheryl: what people don’t get is that people’s premiums won’t stop...that will continue.
Marvin: what about businesses with fewer than 250 employees?
Coleman: Not required to provide health care insurance and not fined by the House plan.
Gerry: we have Medicare, costs $8,000 / year in premiums, but we don’t have eye, dental coverage, and they only pay 80%. No drug coverage.
Cheryl: the alternative to reform is that costs will continue to soar.
Vlasta: I think health insurance should be divorced from employment.
Cheryl: under the Public Option people could quit their jobs and still not risk losing health insurance coverage.
Roy: some people want Obama to take the reins and start dictating to the congress the details of the plan. I like it that Obama is not doing that. He is letting the congress design the bill.
Coleman: everyone who has Medicare will keep their benefits or else get better.
Cheryl: 49% of the people in the US would not support single payer...
Coleman: a compromise solution was proposed to allow the states the option to set up their own single payer plans (like SPANOhio).
Ginger: in the US I have to pay $4.55 a day for a drug I need; there is no generic. $150/month. In France you can buy it for 16 Euros / month or about $22/month, 1/8 of what I was paying. Also you don’t need a Rx.
Roy: used to be you paid the doctor directly. The insurance was created to manage that cost. But now both the dr and the insur co get your money, and they fight over how much. The insurance plans actually cost more than in the old system.
Cheryl: We pay $15,000/year in premiums for health. The employer pays some of it. That includes dental but not vision. Includes Rx, but it is weird... We have to buy drugs online from the insurance co store. But they don’t provide all Rx your dr might prescribe, like Nasinex which I need.... The proposed legislation will be better , a step in the right direction.
Coleman: some of the problems we are seeing with Medicare are caused by maneuvering to get it thru congress.
Marvin: Medicare. No matter how much you make, there is no cap on the % you have to pay in Medicare premiums. That’s a lot of money coming in to the system. The high salary people paying 2.6%.
Roy: I am unemployed; have a few months left on Cobra for which I pay $150/month. I do get dental. No vision, I get drugs. When Cobra runs out for me I am screwed. I can’t pay $600/month in premiums.
Cheryl: we pay 20% of income for health insurance premiums.
Ginger: for 20 years I had Blue Cross Blue shield, paid over $4,000/year. Three times I had a serious medical need, and in each case they told me it wasn’t covered at all! So over 20 years I spent 100,000 in premiums. So I opted out. Now I have 250,000 worth of bills. People advise you to do things like puttign your house in someone else’s name... So they can’t take your home. ...
Also, today the uninsured patients are charged MORE than the insured patients.
..... Marvin: hospitals used to be non profit; now they are for-profit corporations. The hospitals are responsible for a lot of the cost increase. They want to make profit; they buy expensive equipment; they are motivated to get people coming back for repeated visits...
The insurance companies are tied in with the hospitals; they encourage hospitals to give more tests...
... Yesterday my dr told me he only got $900 for all the care of me, surgery, plastic surgery, ... He thought the hospital got , for outpatient surgery, charged like $7,000.
Ginger: I was there overnight and was charged $15,000!
Ellen
SECTION TWO: Events and Opportunities
September 9 Planning Meeting for October Rally-Leafletting Event to End the War in Afghanistan 7pm at Peaslee Neighborhood Center All welcome to attend! We need your help and your creativity! Help us focus attention on Afghanistan and mobilize action to end this war during the October 17 national mobilization. October 17 is the 40th anniversary of the famous Vietnam Moratorium in 1969 that Daniel Ellsberg referred to as so significant that it forced Richard Nixon to shelve plans to nuke Vietnam. Call Kristen at 513-579-8547 for more information
Hi there friends,
- Now here’s an opportunity for you. I am now a fully qualified teacher of the Alexander Technique, and eager to give a lot of lessons this summer. All lessons will be free until the end of June, and then really cheap during July ($10), and pretty darn cheap during August ($20?). Starting sometime later I’ll be charging $78 for a 45 minute lesson, but still eager to make it affordable for you. So please call me to schedule a time and by all means tell your friends and family. 513 221 1289.
Don’t know what Alexander Technique is? Check out http://MissyVineyard.com or http://www.alexandertechnique.com for introductory essays and FAQ.
Also, you can read my own Alexander Technique stories at www.lloydhouse.com, follow the Alexander links.
Thanks for your interest in this wonderful work.
Ellen
P.S. Response has been wonderful this summer to this announcement! My calendar is full...a miracle. First lesson is free this summer; then lessons 2 – 4 are only $10, and lessons 5 – 8 only $20 if paid in advance, so take advantage of this rare opportunity. Eventually, when I feel ready, my full fee will be $78. If you call now and I don’t have space in the calendar, you can still have one free meeting, 3 $10 meetings, and 4 $20 meetings whenever it is that I can schedule your lesson. Get ‘em while they’re hot! This deal can’t last.
PPS: 8/13/09 ~ my enthusiasm for the Alexander Technique is growing by leaps and bounds as I give more lessons. I’ve given over 100 lessons to date, and sure enough, people look and feel the way I always feel after a lesson: much more “up”, relaxed, attractive, and encouraged about my life generally. As Richard Brennan says, “This is brain work that looks like body work.” Indeed!
Lloyd House Monthly Drumming Circle:
Did you know that on the Final Tuesday of the month we have a super informal drumming circle here? Bring instruments of any variety. We rock! Dancing. No perfectionism tolerated. Starts 6:45, ends at 8:45. Bring Snacks if you like, wine...
Roxanne, Michael, Ellen, Don (middle row- Yvonne, Jeanne, Paul, Kevin, Josie, David, (back row – Nancy, Tom, Scott
Hey all,
Sat. Sept. 5th- Old Timer's Festival <http://www.rabbithash.com/about_rabbit_hash_general_store/visiting_the_general_store/how_to_git_here.html> (Rabbit Hash, KY)
Sat. Sept. 12th- Waldorf event
Sat. Oct 10th- TribOrginal <http://www.barakamundi.com/triboriginal/> (Asheville,NC) part of
Sat. night big show, jamming around fires, workshop presenting
Sat. Nov. 21st- Raquy & the Cavemen <http://www.raquyandthecavemen.com/>
Help Our Precious Public Library Weather the Cut Backs
Due to state budget cuts, the Library is facing a 28% reduction in funding, a $16 million deficit. As a result of these cuts, the Library has already had to eliminate nearly 200 staff positions, cut 241 hours a week, and cancel or postpone all capital projects.
A 1-mill levy is on the November ballot to provide some additional funding. The Cincinnati and Hamilton County Library is the only metropolitan library in Ohio that has no local funding. This 1-mill levy (about $30 per year if your home is valued at $100,000; the cost of 2 1/2 average-priced books) will help fund our excellent library system.
For more information, go to www.voteforourlibrary.com.
To volunteer to help with the campaign, go to www.voteforourlibrary.com/page/volunteer. There are a variety of ways you can help with this effort to keep our libraries functioning at a time when we truly need them.
Nancy Dawley
sign up to get a yard sign supporting the Public Library levy in the Nov Election at: http://www.voteforourlibrary.com/page/yard-sign
Six-Session Dream Workshop Starts Sept 10
From: "Susan B. Crew, Ph.D." <crewsusan@fuse.net>
Date: Sat, 25 Jul 2009 20:07:03 -0400
To: Susan Crew <crewsusan@fuse.net>
Subject: Dream Gates
Dream Gates
What: Join us for adventures in dreaming. Outside our conscious awareness there is an ongoing process of healing and creativity. Dreams are gateways into this process. By traveling through this gateway, we can cooperate and co-create with this creative process. We will work with our night dreams through dream re-entry, dream theater, dance, music, guided imagery and shamanic journeying. Group size will be limited to 12 participants.
Where: Growth in Motion studio, 4019 Red Bud Avenue, North Avondale, Cincinnati, OH.
When: Six 2 hour sessions, Thursday evenings, 7:00 P.M. to 9:00 P.M., beginning Sept. 10 and ending Oct.15.
Who: This group is for adventurous, playful people who want to connect with the world of helping spirits, ancestors, power animals and other helpful energies. Whether you label these energies archetypes, complexes or spirits is of secondary importance. What is primary is to experience, then develop ritual and action plans to honor these energies. Add your conscious intention to the creative endeavor that is your life. Even if you are new to the habit of remembering night dreams, you can still participate. If you are less adventurous and playful than you would like to be, this group is also for you.
Cost:$25.00 per session if paid each time, $20.00 per session if total price of $120.00 is paid at first session (discount of $30.00.)
Facilitators:
Susan B. Crew, Ph.D.: Susan has been conducting dream workshops for the past 35 years. She is a Jungian psychologist and soul work mentor, deeply immersed in dreamwork, the study of the shamanic practices of the Dagara people of Burkina Faso, West Africa and the Peruvian mysticism of the Q'ero people of the high Andes. She integrates this with her practice of psychology, the care and tending of the soul. You can reach her at 559-1193 or www.numinousity.net
Fanchon Shur: Director of Growth in Motion Center. Through performances, workshops, classes, and therapy, Growth in Motion imparts the skills needed to deepen understanding of the body — its ability to heal, its power to build community and transform our experiences into a shared movement celebration.Call 513-221-3222 www.growthinmotion.org
Both have worked with Robert Moss and honor him by using some of his playful and creative techniques for Active Dreaming.
To Register: Call Fanchon Shur 513-221-3222 or mail your check to Growth in Motion, 4019 Red Bud Avenue, Cincinnati, OH, 45229-1316.
"WHAT PARENTS SHOULD KNOW"... about reading and comprehension: [WED SEPT. 9,
6pm-7:30pm at University of Phoenix in West Chester. Also, THURS. SEPT 17th at 9:30-11am & again at 6:00-7:30pm at Symmes Public Library]
A FREE community education series that will review the current research on
how the brain learns best. This presentation is an overview of the
governments report on the 5 critical skills of all good readers, the
cognitive processes assumed to be intact before a child enters school, why
even bright children fail to build these processes, why good readers
struggle with comprehension and benchmarks for detecting troubles before a
child starts to slip in school.
FREE
Register: Through Langsford Learning Acceleration Centers. 513-531-7400. RSVP as seating is limited at: www.WeTeachReading.com <http://www.WeTeachReading.com>
Send for your Absentee Ballot NOW:
Click on link below, print form, fill it out and mail it in:
http://voteforourlibrary.com/page/vote-by-mail
SECTION THREE: HEALTH CARE REFORM STUFF
SAT. MORNING RALLY IN WESTCHESTER: important!
Dear fellow Health Care Activists,
As you may have read, the Anti Health Care Reform forces are expecting thousands--LITERALLY THOUSANDS!!!--at their rally this Saturday afternoon at the Voice of America Park in West Chester, Butler County, where John Boehner will finally participate in a Health Care Town Hall.
In response, several Pro Health Care Reform groups--including Change Butler PAC, the Butler County Progressive PAC, the Hamilton-Fairfield Democratic Alliance, and Organizing for America--are holding a press conference at a nearby location prior to the rally. The press conference takes place at Noon, Saturday, Sept. 5, at the West Chester Library, 7900 Cox Road (doors open at 11:30). At the press conference there will be four speakers--including private citizens, a small business owner, and a physician--who will tell of their painful experiences with the current health care system and explain their reasons for supporting the kind of health care reform that President Barack Obama is promoting.
Please don't let the Tea Baggers win because they shout louder than the rest of us and scare people with lies about "death panels" and other misrepresentations! We need at least 100 people at the press conference to make clear to the media that health care reform has solid support in Butler County. Can you stand up for Barack Obama and Health Care Reform? Will you join us this Saturday?
Thank you for standing up for Barack Obama and Ted Kennedy, who called Health Care Reform "the cause of my lifetime."
Jocelyn Bucaro
President, Change Butler
Directions to the West Chester Library at 7900 Cox Road from Hamilton: Take Main Street/High Street/Route 129 straight across Route 4. Take Route 129 (Veterans Highway) to Interstate 75. Take Interstate 75 South to Exit 22, Tylersville Road. Turn left at the exit ramp onto Tylersville Road and go 1/8 mile. Turn right at the light onto Cox Road. The West Chester Library is on the left. See you there!! YES WE CAN!!
President Obama is coming to speak and visit Coney Island for the annual
AFL-CIO picnic at Coney Island on Monday, Sep. 10th. from 12-9pm. He's
supposed to be giving a pep-talk there.
Firedoglake Urges Signatures for Public Option
ellen,
Can you do me a quick favor? We need to reach 40,000 signatures on a petition to the 65 members of Congress who said they'd only support health care reform with a strong public health insurance option.
You're one of 32,015 people who already signed. We're so close to our goal of 40,000. You can help push us over the top.
Please forward the email below to your friends, family, and coworkers and ask them to sign this petition:
http://action.firedoglake.com/page/s/keepthepledge?source=email&subsource=fwd
Thanks so much for all you do.
Take care,
Eve Gittelson (nyceve)
Firedoglake.com
Dear Friend,
In one week, Congress will be back in session. Then, it's crunch time to pass the public health insurance option as part of health care reform.
We need to show our resolve right out the gate. The greedy insurance industry can't stand in the way of real health care reform.
65 members of Congress have stood up and said they'll accept nothing less than a strong public health insurance option. We need to make sure they keep their promise.
We have 32,015 signatures right now. Can you help us get to 40,000 in one week?
Click here to add your name to our petition: http://action.firedoglake.com/page/s/keepthepledge?source=email&subsource=fwd
We need to show members of Congress that we're serious about holding the line on the public option.
If we can get 40,000 petition signatures telling Congress to not back down on a public option, I'll go down to Washington, DC next week with Jane Hamsher and personally deliver your signature to members of the House.
It really is crunch time. Can you help push us over the top before Congress comes back next week?
Click here to add your name to our petition: http://action.firedoglake.com/page/s/keepthepledge?source=email&subsource=fwd
After you've signed, please forward this email to your friends, family, and coworkers.
Thanks so much for your help.
Best,
Eve Gittelson (nyceve)
Firedoglake
repeated: The overwhelming majority of physicians, nurses, Americans of all kinds know we must have health insurance reform.
The time to push is now, before Sept 15 when Congress reconvenes.
What can you do?
- Telephone your 2 senators and your congressperson’s office, say you are a constituent, your zip code is xxxxx, and you want the senator or congressmember to vote FOR health insurance reform. You might also indicate support for single payer or for the public option. (That just means that every American could have their choice to participate in a private for-profit health insurance plan like Anthem, or else to participate in a public plan like Medicare.) Call back every week.
- Call your rep’s office and request a face to face meeting with a staff member to convey your views. They will schedule you one! Show up and tell them.
- Write a hand-written letter (or a printed one) in support of Reform and fax it to your reps.
- Write a hand written (or printed) and mail it
- Go to Rep. Dreihaus’ next community meeting next Wed. 7:30 PM at the Nathanael Greene Lodge at 6394 Wesselman Road. (enlargeable map at http://cincinnati.citysearch.com/profile/map/33206888/cincinnati_oh/nathanael_green_lodge_veterans.html. It is off the Rybolt Exit from I-74)
- Go to http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/health-care-action-center/?source=feature and click on buttons to write letters to the editor, call people in your area, etc.
- Go to Barackobama.com and at the very top of the screen, on the right is a place to create an “account” or if you have one, log in. That takes you to a page where you can find all the events and opportunities for helping. They will even give you a phone list of people in your neighborhood you might call. There are also plenty of links to information sources if you want to inform yourself better. Like here: http://www.whitehouse.gov/realitycheck/71/?e=11
- Brown, Sherrod - (D - OH)
713 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
- Voinovich, George V. - (R - OH)
524 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
- Steve Driehaus First Congressional District
441 Vine St. 3003 Carew Twr., Cincinnati, OH 45202
- Jean Schmidt 2nd Congressional District
8044 Montgomery Rd., Cincinnati, OH 45236
I recommend a hand written letter that is faxed to the senator or congress person’s office followed by a voice phone contact. Judy said when she gets the rep’s office and says her piece, she asks them to repeat back to her what they have heard so she knows it is accurate. Another great idea.
And of course, get your friends to call and write demanding passage of a comprehensive health care bill that includes universal coverage for all Americans, reduction of costs, and choice of plans and providers.
Could we have a post card party? A telephone banking party? An email sending party? We’ve got to do something more. We could have it at the Lloyd House. Ellen
This just in from Judy Leever:
I just made my weekly calls. Here is what I say:
“Hi, I am a constituent. My zip code is 45140.
I am very much for healthcare reform.”
Then in my case, I continue to say,
“I would most prefer a single payer plan but I will take a public option. I think it is absolutely crucial that health care reform be passed.”
I then thank “Congressman Brown for his support of health care reform and Voinowich for not always voting party line. I have nothing positive to say about Schimdt so I don’t say anything except “I hope she will support healthcare reform.”
They say thank you very much I will tell him/her and I respond
“What will you say?”
They repeat it back and I thank them and go.
Don’t go into a long explanation-just tell them in a sentence or two that they can repeat back. The staffers have a chart where they check off what you say-so they have single payer on the chart or public option. They write down your zip code. If you make a special comment,it is written in the margin. At the end of the day they compile and send it to the Congressperson.
Good luck to us all, Judy
repeated: From Bob Witanowski, ex-salonista: Lobby for Single Payer
First, here's something lighthearted: http://billionairesforwealthcare.com/BillionairesForWealthcare.html
We see health care reform coming to a head during this Congressional recess. The "tea bag" thugs, representatives of the desperate and ruthless private health insurance industry, are out trying to discredit any type of reform by disrupting democratic discussions, spreading outright lies and fear-mongering. We can't let them win that way. Let's stand up to the forces of greed and darkness! Please join me in speaking out for single payer reform online and in personal contacts. Congress will debate this plan on the floor of the House after Labor Day. It's never been more important for our voices to be heard. Even if you don't have much time, you can do something. Just consider this highlighted text.
FIRST CHOICE/MY FAVORITE ACTION WITH THE MOST-BANG-FOR-YOUR-BUCK: You can send timely and topical faxes to your own elected officials and key Washington legislators, even major media, by entering your name, e-mail address and zip code. Then with a few clicks, your faxes are on their way. Health Justice will contact you once or twice a week with a new fax to send, depending on developments. If you like, you can send a fax every day. Start here - http://www.1payer.net/faxapp/senders/add/cid:27 (Please FWD this link to anyone else you know who supports single payer health financing.)
Supporters of any kind of reform must dispel the lies and fear-mongering out there. We need to educate our fellow citizens about the choices we have for reform. You can talk to your family, friends, neighbors & co-workers - anyone, anywhere that feels appropriate -, about Single Payer -
Single payer equals improved and expanded Medicare for all.
Seniors love Medicare. It is the most popular government program ever. It gives seniors peace of mind about health care expenses, peace of mind that everyone could enjoy. The government has successfully administered this program for 44 years with a very low overhead (about 3%.)
"Single Payer" (Medicare for All) is a much simpler system than any of the proposed "public options."
It will be paid for by reallocating the money we already spend on health care. Instead of paying inflated premiums, co-pays and deductibles, we'll pay a tax. In every other country with single payer, the people pay less and get more. Surely the U.S. can do as well.
36 other advanced democratic countries have tried some kind of single payer financing with considerable success. No country has ever tried to go back to free market, for-profit health financing.
Only in America is anyone just a layoff away from losing health care.
Only in America do families - even families with health insurance - file for bankruptcy because of medical expenses.
Single payer is a financing reform. It does not change health care delivery except to make it possible for us to afford universal coverage and still spend less money for health care than we do now. Same doctors and hospitals. Even dentists, opticians and counselors will be covered to keep you healthy.
Remind folks that the health insurance companies have one job. It is not to pay for our health care. It is to make a profit. Over and over again they deny coverage for medically necessary care, raise rates by double digits every year and cancel policies when people get sick. They spend $1.4 million in Washington every day to stop health care reform. They pay their executive multi-million dollar salaries & bonuses for making profits, not for paying for health care. We cannot trust them with our health care financing. Other democratic governments can run successful health care programs. Surely America can do so also. Yes, we can!
Peace and Love, Nurse Jackie
More links for folks with more time:
The Million Letters campaign makes contact once per month with a reminder and a suggestion for actually writing a real letter to Washington. They have been coming up with other action ideas, too www.medicareforall.org
HealthcareNow has links to all the major single payer coalition players: PNHP, CaNurses, PDA, etc.
http://www.healthcare-now.org/
A new one "Private Health Insurance Must Go" at http://www.phimg.org/V2/
Maybe you'd enjoy visiting the Mad As Hell Doctors "where the rubber glove meets the road": http://www.madashelldoctors.com/
For Massachusetts residents: http://masscare.org/
Repeated: From the White House: dispelling myths about Health Care Reform
Dear Friend,
This is probably one of the longest emails I’ve ever sent, but it could be the most important.
Across the country we are seeing vigorous debate about health insurance reform. Unfortunately, some of the old tactics we know so well are back — even the viral emails that fly unchecked and under the radar, spreading all sorts of lies and distortions.
As President Obama said at the town hall in New Hampshire, “where we do disagree, let's disagree over things that are real, not these wild misrepresentations that bear no resemblance to anything that's actually been proposed.”
So let’s start a chain email of our own. At the end of my email, you’ll find a lot of information about health insurance reform, distilled into 8 ways reform provides security and stability to those with or without coverage, 8 common myths about reform and 8 reasons we need health insurance reform now.
Right now, someone you know probably has a question about reform that could be answered by what’s below. So what are you waiting for? Forward this email.
Thanks,
David
David Axelrod
Senior Adviser to the President
P.S. We launched www.WhiteHouse.gov/realitycheck <http://www.WhiteHouse.gov/realitycheck/?e=11&ref=text0> this week to knock down the rumors and lies that are floating around the internet. You can find the information below, and much more, there. For example, we've just added a video of Nancy-Ann DeParle from our Health Reform Office tackling a viral email head on. Check it out:
<http://www.whitehouse.gov/realitycheck/71/?e=11>
8 ways reform provides security and stability to those with or without coverage
- Ends Discrimination for Pre-Existing Conditions: Insurance companies will be prohibited from refusing you coverage because of your medical history.
- Ends Exorbitant Out-of-Pocket Expenses, Deductibles or Co-Pays: Insurance companies will have to abide by yearly caps on how much they can charge for out-of-pocket expenses.
- Ends Cost-Sharing for Preventive Care: Insurance companies must fully cover, without charge, regular checkups and tests that help you prevent illness, such as mammograms or eye and foot exams for diabetics.
- Ends Dropping of Coverage for Seriously Ill: Insurance companies will be prohibited from dropping or watering down insurance coverage for those who become seriously ill.
- Ends Gender Discrimination: Insurance companies will be prohibited from charging you more because of your gender.
- Ends Annual or Lifetime Caps on Coverage: Insurance companies will be prevented from placing annual or lifetime caps on the coverage you receive.
- Extends Coverage for Young Adults: Children would continue to be eligible for family coverage through the age of 26.
- Guarantees Insurance Renewal: Insurance companies will be required to renew any policy as long as the policyholder pays their premium in full. Insurance companies won't be allowed to refuse renewal because someone became sick.
8 common myths about health insurance reform
- Reform will stop "rationing" - not increase it: It’s a myth that reform will mean a "government takeover" of health care or lead to "rationing." To the contrary, reform will forbid many forms of rationing that are currently being used by insurance companies.
- We can’t afford reform: It's the status quo we can't afford. It’s a myth that reform will bust the budget. To the contrary, the President has identified ways to pay for the vast majority of the up-front costs by cutting waste, fraud, and abuse within existing government health programs; ending big subsidies to insurance companies; and increasing efficiency with such steps as coordinating care and streamlining paperwork. In the long term, reform can help bring down costs that will otherwise lead to a fiscal crisis.
- Reform would encourage "euthanasia": It does not. It’s a malicious myth that reform would encourage or even require euthanasia for seniors. For seniors who want to consult with their family and physicians about end-of life decisions, reform will help to cover these voluntary, private consultations for those who want help with these personal and difficult family decisions.
- Vets' health care is safe and sound: It’s a myth that health insurance reform will affect veterans' access to the care they get now. To the contrary, the President's budget significantly expands coverage under the VA, extending care to 500,000 more veterans who were previously excluded. The VA Healthcare system will continue to be available for all eligible veterans.
- Reform will benefit small business - not burden it: It’s a myth that health insurance reform will hurt small businesses. To the contrary, reform will ease the burdens on small businesses, provide tax credits to help them pay for employee coverage and help level the playing field with big firms who pay much less to cover their employees on average.
- Your Medicare is safe, and stronger with reform: It’s myth that Health Insurance Reform would be financed by cutting Medicare benefits. To the contrary, reform will improve the long-term financial health of Medicare, ensure better coordination, eliminate waste and unnecessary subsidies to insurance companies, and help to close the Medicare "doughnut" hole to make prescription drugs more affordable for seniors.
- You can keep your own insurance: It’s myth that reform will force you out of your current insurance plan or force you to change doctors. To the contrary, reform will expand your choices, not eliminate them.
- No, government will not do anything with your bank account: It is an absurd myth that government will be in charge of your bank accounts. Health insurance reform will simplify administration, making it easier and more convenient for you to pay bills in a method that you choose. Just like paying a phone bill or a utility bill, you can pay by traditional check, or by a direct electronic payment. And forms will be standardized so they will be easier to understand. The choice is up to you – and the same rules of privacy will apply as they do for all other electronic payments that people make.
http://www.WhiteHouse.gov/realitycheck <http://www.whitehouse.gov/realitycheck/?e=11&ref=myth1>
http://www.WhiteHouse.gov/realitycheck/faq <http://www.whitehouse.gov/realitycheck/faq/?e=11&ref=myth1>
8 Reasons We Need Health Insurance Reform Now
- Coverage Denied to Millions: A recent national survey estimated that 12.6 million non-elderly adults – 36 percent of those who tried to purchase health insurance directly from an insurance company in the individual insurance market – were in fact discriminated against because of a pre-existing condition in the previous three years or dropped from coverage when they became seriously ill. Learn more: http://www.healthreform.gov/reports/denied_coverage/index.html
- Less Care for More Costs: With each passing year, Americans are paying more for health care coverage. Employer-sponsored health insurance premiums have nearly doubled since 2000, a rate three times faster than wages. In 2008, the average premium for a family plan purchased through an employer was $12,680, nearly the annual earnings of a full-time minimum wage job. Americans pay more than ever for health insurance, but get less coverage. Learn more: http://www.healthreform.gov/reports/hiddencosts/index.html
- Roadblocks to Care for Women: Women’s reproductive health requires more regular contact with health care providers, including yearly pap smears, mammograms, and obstetric care. Women are also more likely to report fair or poor health than men (9.5% versus 9.0%). While rates of chronic conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure are similar to men, women are twice as likely to suffer from headaches and are more likely to experience joint, back or neck pain. These chronic conditions often require regular and frequent treatment and follow-up care. Learn more: http://www.healthreform.gov/reports/women/index.html
- Hard Times in the Heartland: Throughout rural America, there are nearly 50 million people who face challenges in accessing health care. The past several decades have consistently shown higher rates of poverty, mortality, uninsurance, and limited access to a primary health care provider in rural areas. With the recent economic downturn, there is potential for an increase in many of the health disparities and access concerns that are already elevated in rural communities. Learn more: http://www.healthreform.gov/reports/hardtimes <http://www.healthreform.gov/reports/hardtimes/>
- Small Businesses Struggle to Provide Health Coverage: Nearly one-third of the uninsured – 13 million people – are employees of firms with less than 100 workers. From 2000 to 2007, the proportion of non-elderly Americans covered by employer-based health insurance fell from 66% to 61%. Much of this decline stems from small business. The percentage of small businesses offering coverage dropped from 68% to 59%, while large firms held stable at 99%. About a third of such workers in firms with fewer than 50 employees obtain insurance through a spouse. Learn more: http://www.healthreform.gov/reports/helpbottomline <http://www.healthreform.gov/reports/helpbottomline/>
- The Tragedies are Personal: Half of all personal bankruptcies are at least partly the result of medical expenses. The typical elderly couple may have to save nearly $300,000 to pay for health costs not covered by Medicare alone. Learn more: http://www.healthreform.gov/reports/inaction <http://www.healthreform.gov/reports/inaction/>
- Diminishing Access to Care: From 2000 to 2007, the proportion of non-elderly Americans covered by employer-based health insurance fell from 66% to 61%. An estimated 87 million people - one in every three Americans under the age of 65 - were uninsured at some point in 2007 and 2008. More than 80% of the uninsured are in working families. Learn more: http://www.healthreform.gov/reports/inaction/diminishing/index.html
- The Trends are Troubling: Without reform, health care costs will continue to skyrocket unabated, putting unbearable strain on families, businesses, and state and federal government budgets. Perhaps the most visible sign of the need for health care reform is the 46 million Americans currently without health insurance - projections suggest that this number will rise to about 72 million in 2040 in the absence of reform. Learn more: http://www.WhiteHouse.gov/assets/documents/CEA_Health_Care_Report.pdf <http://www.whitehouse.gov/assets/documents/CEA_Health_Care_Report.pdf?e=11&ref=report>
Repeated: Info on Health Care Reform:
From: Bob Witanowski <bobwit@earthlink.net>
Date: Thu, 16 Jul 2009 00:56:35 -0400
Some of the best info (on Health Care Reform) is at Physicians for a National Health Plan – http://www.pnhp.org
Also HealthJustice.org <http://HealthJustice.net> and http://healthcare-now.org
Independent polls show between 60% - 75% of the American public and a solid 59% of U.S. physicians support single payer financing of health care. But the health insurance companies are spending $1.4 million dollars a day in DC trying to get health care planning to go their way - the same route that has brought us to this crisis. ...
SECTION THREE: Articles
- Driehaus handles crowd well
- new Climate Change blog
- Dem endorsed slate for School Bd. (Campaigner David Little will present at salon on Oct 7.)
- Laure Quinlivan on Street Car issue
- Jeannette Raichyk warns of “medical fascism”
- EARLY WARNING for November election , local races and issues
Wed. 9/2/09
Hi Ellen,
Cheryl and I will be coming by the salon tonight. We've made some
vegetarian chili that we'd like to share.
We had a pretty eventful day yesterday at the Sen. Brown and Rep.
Driehaus events. Driehaus was better than I've ever seen him. He managed
to shut down some pretty ridiculous arguments that were being made
against the public option. Both Brown and Driehaus managed to indicate
to the protesters how child-like their behavior was.
--
Coleman Kane
Salonista Jeff Cobb has new blog for Climate Change
Hello,
This is my blog for climate change advocacy in Ohio: http://climatechangeadvocatesofcincinnna.blogspot.com/. The post on climate change being mainstream is an idea whose time has come, although I think it could probably be made more succinctly by a better writer or if I had more time. I also have a Twitter account that I also use only for climate change, which is connected to my blog: http://twitter.com/ClimateChangeOH.
Please feel free to share with anyone you think would be interested in supporting climate change action. We have a bill that passed the House, another being made in the Senate, and then there is the new climate change treaty in Copenhagen this December and then ratification by the US Senate which will likely take place in the summer (that was the time frame for the Kyoto Protocol vote). These bills and the treaty are best opportunity to address climate change while there is still time before we reach tipping points leading to planetary disaster.
I'm open to suggestions or corrections.
Thanks!
Jeff
Climate Change Advocates of Cincinnati
http://climate-change-advocates-of-cincinnati.groups.local.1sky.org/en/summary/
Google Voice Phone# 219.973.2239 or 219.9PEACE9
If you look at the science about what is happening on Earth and aren't pessimistic, you don't understand data. But if you meet the people who are working to restore this Earth and the lives of the poor, and you aren't optimistic, you haven't got a pulse. - Paul Hawken
Dem Slate for School Bd.
Ceair Baggett is an Ohioan born and raised on Cincinnati’s Westside. Ceair graduated from the Robert A. Taft Information Technology High School. He is a 2009 graduate of Xavier University in Cincinnati and has entered the University of Cincinnati Graduate School where he will major in Education. He currently has a very successful and rapidly achieving position as a Operational Administrator for Cincinnati Bell and is a substitute teacher in the Great Oaks school district.
Ceair has thrived in college, in the corporate world, and as an educator. He tirelessly strives to accomplish the many goals he has set for himself in the fields of education, in his dedication to his family and to his community. Once he receives his Masters in Education he intends to become a lifelong educator in the Cincinnati public school system, which he credits with making him the success he is today.
Ceair has been active in several organizations, including the Black Data Processing Associates (BDPA); Diamond Oaks Leadership Team - Vice President for the student leadership Team (2004-2005); Distributive Education Clubs of America (DECA) and the Black Student Association.
Ceair is a unique and dynamic young man. He is a prime example of the type of graduate we would all like to see from our public schools. He brings an energy and tech savvy to our team that can benefit all of our candidates. He is certain to out-work any candidate in the large field and will make history when he is elected.
Ceair currently owns a home and resides in Mt. Airy.
(from ellen: I thought it looked silly that an endorsed candidate is a 21 year old man. Here’s what David Little, their campaign mgr. answered:
Ellen,
Well, as to the soon to be 22 year old, Ceair Baggett. He is no ordinary kid which is why he was endorsed over seven other older individuals who sought the endorsement of the Democratic Party. He beat out two incumbents and a host of lawyers and activists—because of his energy, vision and perspective as a recent successful product of the redesigned Taft High School. He is the candidate most in demand in this race and is addressing a school as I write these words and will be doing the same at Great Oaks tomorrow.
He received a scholarship to Xavier from Cincinnati Bell, was hired and promoted three times by the company and is operations manager of 21 retail stores –all of Hamilton County, He has two homes—takes care of his grandmother, has two cars—one a Mercedes and has just enrolled at UC to get his Masters in Education and he teaches in CPS part-time and still had time to work for Obama.
Not your ordinary kid---and he campaigns like a hurricane—and will serve as an incredible mentor to all our CPS students.
See you soon—on October 7th.
My best,
Your neighbor---David
(David will present at the salon on Oct 7. )
Joyce Hooks has deep roots in our community and will bring the perspective of a dedicated grandmother with her grandchildren in our public school system.
Joyce Elaine (Smith) Hooks was born in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1942. She is the only child born to working class parents, McKinley and Helen Smith. Joyce grew up in South Avondale and attended the following schools: South Avondale Elementary, Samuel Ach Junior High and Withrow High School. She earned an Associate in Science degree in Early Childhood Education from the University of Cincinnati and a Bachelor of Liberal Arts from Xavier University.
Joyce Hooks began her thirty-three year career with Cincinnati Public Schools as a Civil Service employee. The Civil Service positions she held include the following: instructor assistant, junior typist, intermediate typist and preschool instructor. Her first certificated teaching position was at Aiken High School, where she taught Child Care Job Training in the Vocational Department.
After the vocational program at Aiken closed, she taught preschool at the following schools: Pleasant Hill Elementary, Hays Elementary, and Washington Park Elementary. Joyce was a consulting teacher in the Peer Assistance and Evaluation Program for a two-year term. She returned to the secondary level as a Career Based Intervention Teacher at Western Hills Traditional High School. Her final position, before retiring in 2007, was as a Field Representative for the Cincinnati Federation of Teachers, Local 1520. Joyce currently works with the NID Housing Counseling Agency as a Foreclosure Intervention Counselor.
Joyce Hooks has had the unique experience of working in a variety of positions within the Cincinnati Public School District and she knows the system well. CPS is near and dear to her heart, and the success of the district will always be of extreme importance to her. Joyce will contribute seasoned knowledge and experience to the Cincinnati School Board as goals are set and operating strategies are developed. She has demonstrated leadership abilities as a classroom teacher, a consulting teacher, in the Peer Assistance and Evaluation Program, and as a Field Representative for Cincinnati Federation of Teachers.
In addition to teaching, Joyce Hooks is a certified mediator in Permanency Mediation, Truancy Mediation, and Custody and Visitation Mediation. Joyce is currently a Mortgage Foreclosure Intervention Counselor.
Her experience has prepared her to serve our community as a Cincinnati City School Board Member.
Joyce currently resides in North Avondale. Mrs. Hooks has been married to Derry L. Hooks II, for sixteen years. Mr. Hooks is a Cincinnati Private Police officer and Private Investigator. Mr. and Mrs. Hooks, their children, grandchildren all attended Cincinnati Public schools. Mrs. Hooks presently has grandchildren and great-grand children enrolled in Cincinnati Public Schools.
Catherine Ingram has been a member of the Cincinnati Board of Education for 12 years, serving as president in 1993 and vice president in 1995. Ms. Ingram has served on numerous board committees and, for many years, in her current leadership role as Finance Committee chair. In 2000, she earned the prestigious honor of being just one of five board members in the state to be named to OSBA’s All-Ohio School Board.
At the state and national levels, she serves on OSBA’s Board of Trustees and Executive Committee and the Federal Relations Network. Professionally, Ms. Ingram is an instructor at Northern Kentucky University and an independent consultant, working extensively on the local, state and federal levels to advance key issues facing education. She earned her bachelor’s degree and master’s of business administration degree from the University of Cincinnati.
A resident of Cincinnati, Ingram serves on boards of the United Way/Community Chest; Leadership Cincinnati XX; Great Rivers Girl Scout Council; Greater Cincinnati Black Achiever Award program; Mayerson Human Resource Academy; and Cincinnati Recreation Commission. Recognized as a leader in the community, Ms. Ingram was honored with the Delta Sigma Theta Achieving Women Award and United Way/Community Chest Outstanding Service Award and recognized in the 2003-04 edition of Who’s Who in Black Cincinnati.
Lisa Schare received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Cincinnati’s College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning, and her Master of Fine Arts from the Pratt Institute in NYC. Ms. Schare also received a MA in Art Education from the University of Cincinnati’s College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning.
Lisa is a successful educator, practicing artist, and community activist.
Lisa began teaching Studio Art and Art History at local colleges, including the Art Academy of Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky University, and the University of Cincinnati. Ms. Schare is a member of the art department at Princeton High School. Her success as a teacher there can be judged in terms of the achievement of her students who each year have placed in the Scholastic Art Award competition, as well as the Ohio Governor’s Award program.
Ms. Schare’s success as an artist has been recognized by a number of invited gallery exhibitions both locally and nationally, as well as an Arts Midwest/National Endowment for the Arts Individual Artists Fellowship, an Ohio Arts Council Individual Artist Grant, and a City of Cincinnati Individual Artist Grant. She has used her artistic and teaching skills to work with at-risk youth in urban Cincinnati through the Citizen’s Committee on Youth and the Urban Appalachian Council.
Lisa has also shown her devotion to community and political issues. She has been nominated as a Woman of the Year in 2004 by The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Ms. Schare an active member of the St. Vincent de Paul Society and chaired the successful Grace Place fundraiser. Grace Place provides transitional housing to homeless women and their children.
She has also demonstrated her organizational skills by starting the Catholic Democrats of Ohio, a local chapter of the national Catholic Democrats. Working with other progressive Catholic groups, they produced locally a six percent increase in Catholics voting Democratic in the last Presidential election.
Lisa Schare lives in Cincinnati with her daughter, Helen, a Walnut Hills High School 7th grader.
From: Laure Quinlivan <LaureQuinlivan@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 27 Aug 2009 16:49:54 -0400
To: Ellen Bierhorst <ellenbierhorst@lloydhouse.com>
Subject: RE: Weekly 8/27/09 - 14
Ellen,
Let me respond to your newsletter comment/conclusion that my pro-streetcar position means I’m in the “care about business” camp and not the “care about people” camp. What’s wrong with being in both camps?
Investing in the streetcar to bring economic development to our City is good for ALL the PEOPLE who live in the city. It will create jobs. The new residents and businesses that come because of the streetcar investment will grow our tax base and increase the pot of city money we have to budget for everything, including social services and help for neighborhoods.
Streetcars will also help “green” our environment by getting cars off the road, also good for PEOPLE.
Thank you,
Laure Quinlivan
Neighbor gets stung by Health Insurance
Hi Ellen,
When will be your next discussion concerning health care reform? If I am available, I would like to attend. I recently applied for an HSA, high deductible insurance plan through Athem and was denied due to a preexisting condition ... seasonal allergies and perscription drug (Singulair use to treat the symptoms)! I have written to Driehaus, Voinovich, Brown and President Obama, but have yet to hear from any of them. I have attached my letter. Feel free to share the letter with others.
Thanks and I look forward to hearing from you
David Shaffer
“Medical Fascism” feared in Massachusetts’ new bill
From Jeanette Raichyk
Maybe this is item OT (over the top, ellen) since the current excitement is in Massachusetts, not Ohio, but clearly the Feds are not far behind considering Bush-empire footprints and Rumsfeld's financial interests in vaccines -- not to mention the Obamacare enthusiasts who were flagging websites opposed to Obamacare to a reporting address at whitehouse.gov until the existence of this flag-operation got out on the www's youtube and resisters began clogging the email addy at whitehouse.gov with people 'reporting' their own selves as opposed to Obamacare.... Am I glad that someone told me yesterday that news that more than half of the healthcare workers in the southern hemisphere were refusing the vaccine.. Beware of government.
Think closer about what you are asking for when you wish for something from government.
Jeanette
>
>
>
>-----Forwarded Message-----
>From a homeopathy friend, courtesy of a website called NaturalNews
>>
>>The United States of America is devolving into medical fascism and Massachusetts is leading the way with the passage of a new bill, the "Pandemic Response Bill" 2028, reportedly just passed by the MA state Senate and now awaiting approval in the House. This bill suspends virtually all Constitutional rights of Massachusetts citizens and forces anyone "suspected" of being infected to submit to interrogations, "decontaminations" and vaccines.
>>
>>It's also sets fines up to $1,000 per day for anyone who refuses to submit to quarantines, vaccinations, decontamination efforts or to follow any other verbal order by virtually any state-licensed law enforcement or medical personnel. You can read the text yourself here: http://www.mass.gov/legis/bills/sen...
>>
>>Here's some of the language contained in the bill:
>>
>>(Violation of 4th Amendment: Illegal search and seizure)
>>
>>During either type of declared emergency, a local public health authority... may exercise authority... to require the owner or occupier of premises to permit entry into and investigation of the premises; to close, direct, and compel the evacuation of, or to decontaminate or cause to be
>>decontaminated any building or facility; to destroy any material; to restrict or prohibit assemblages of persons;
>>
>>(Violation of 14th Amendment; illegal arrest without a warrant)
>>
>>...an officer authorized to serve criminal process may arrest without a warrant any person whom the officer has probable cause to believe has violated an order given to effectuate the purposes of this subsection and shall use reasonable diligence to enforce such order. [Gunpoint]
>>
>>(Government price controls)
>>
>>The attorney general, in consultation with the office of consumer affairs and business regulation, and upon the declaration by the governor that a supply emergency exists, shall take appropriate action to ensure that no person shall sell a product or service that is at a price that unreasonably exceeds the price charged before the emergency.
>>
>>"Involuntary Transportation" (also known as kidnapping)
>>
>>Law enforcement authorities, upon order of the commissioner or his agent or at the request of a local public health authority pursuant to such order, shall assist emergency medical technicians or other appropriate medical personnel in the involuntary transportation of such person to the tuberculosis treatment center.
>>
>>$1,000 / day in fines
>>
>>Any person who knowingly violates an order, as to which noncompliance
>>poses a serious danger to public health as determined by the commissioner or the local public health authority, shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than 30 days or a fine of not more than one thousand dollars per day that the violation continues, or both.
>>
>>Forced vaccinations
>>
>>Furthermore, when the commissioner or a local public health authority within its jurisdiction determines that either or both of the following measures are necessary to prevent a serious danger to the public health the commissioner or local public health authority may exercise the following authority: (1) to vaccinate or provide precautionary prophylaxis to individuals as protection against communicable disease...
>>
>>Forced quarantine for those who refuse (illegal imprisonment without charge)
>>
>>An individual who is unable or unwilling to submit to vaccination or treatment shall not be required to submit to such procedures but may be isolated or quarantined pursuant to section 96 of chapter 111 if his or her refusal poses a serious danger to public health or results in uncertainty whether he or she has been exposed to or is infected with a disease or condition that poses a serious danger to public health, as determined by the commissioner, or a local public health authority operating within its jurisdiction.
>>
>>Arrest for refusal to be "decontaminated"
>>
>>If an individual is unable or unwilling to submit to decontamination or procedures necessary for diagnosis, the decontamination or diagnosis procedures may proceed only pursuant to an order of the superior court... During the time necessary to obtain such court order, such individual may be isolated or quarantined pursuant to section 96 of chapter 111 if his or her refusal to submit to decontamination or diagnosis procedures poses a serious danger to public health or results in uncertainty whether he or she has been exposed to or is infected with a disease or condition that poses a serious danger to public health.
>>
>>Interrogation
>>
>>When the commissioner or a local public health authority within its jurisdiction reasonably believes that a person may have been exposed to a disease or condition that poses a threat to the public health, in addition to their authority under section 96 of chapter 111, the commissioner or the local public health authority may detain the person for as long as may be reasonably necessary for the commissioner or the local public health authority, to convey information to the person regarding the disease or condition and to obtain contact information... If a person detained under subsection (1) refuses to provide the information requested, the person may be isolated or quarantined pursuant to section 96 of chapter 111 if his or her refusal poses a serious danger to public health...
>>
>>Forced isolation and quarantine
>>
>>An order for isolation or quarantine may include any individual who is unwilling or unable to undergo vaccination, precautionary prophylaxis, medical treatment, decontamination, medical examinations, tests, or specimen collection and whose refusal of one or more of these measures poses a serious danger to public health or results in uncertainty whether he or she has been exposed to or is infected with a disease or condition that poses a serious danger to public health.
>>
>>Forced entry into any home or building...
>>
>>There's a lot more in this bill, including language that allows Mass. police to enter any home or building without a search warrant, to destroy any object or building they suspect may pose a threat to public safety, to order the closing and / or decontamination of any facility using highly toxic chemical decontamination agents, and to arrest, detain and interrogate anyone who gets in their way.
>>
>>Meanwhile, all state law enforcement and medical personnel are granted complete immunity from prosecution for their part in violating your Constitutional rights. So if they violate your right to due process, or they accidentally destroy your home, or they kill your family dog because they suspect it might be infected, you have absolutely zero recourse.
>>
>>Under this bill, Massachusetts becomes a medical police state. There is no debating it. It's all written, clear as day, in this law: The citizens of Massachusetts will have no rights, period. The Constitution is ancient history. You are now the property of the State.
>>
>>Kiss your freedoms goodbye
>>Massachusetts, it seems, has never met a vaccine it didn't like. This is the same state that rounded up the parents of schoolchildren who hadn't been vaccinated, then corralled them into a courtroom (with attack dogs standing guard outside) and forced vaccine injections onto all the schoolchildren under the threat of jail time for parents who resisted.
>>
>>Remember, readers, that this is all taking place in the "land of the free," a nation that former President George Bush claimed was so envied around the world that terrorists attacked America because they "hate freedom" and wanted to destroy our way of life. But terrorists need no help attacking freedom as long as Massachusetts is in the vaccine game, because this latest form of "gunpoint medicine" destroys freedom for everyday Americans in a way that terrorists could have never hoped to accomplish with all the bombs in the world.
>>
>>Massachusetts, it seems, has done what terrorists could not: It has turned "free" Americans into medical slave subjects who no longer have any freedom to decide the details of their own medical care. All options have been stripped from them but one: The Big Pharma option. That's the one that involves using untested, unproven and potentially dangerous vaccines that could paralyze you or even kill you. All to defend you against a virus that's so weak, almost anyone with decent levels of vitamin D and basic nutrition can resist the virus without incident.
>>
>>But Massachusetts, as you'll see below, is just the beginning. It turns out that the whole nation could soon find itself under a similar forced vaccination policy...
>>
>>Isolation camps, forced vaccinations and more
>>In 2006, former President George Bush signed into law the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act (PREP). It gives power to the Secretary of the U.S. government's Health and Human Services department (HHS) to declare any infectious disease a "national emergency" and therefore require mandatory vaccination of the entire population. Because of the existence of this PREP Act, the entire population of the USA is now but one pen stroke away from being subjected to mandatory swine flu vaccinations at gunpoint.
>>
>>Those who resist such vaccines will be arrested and taken away for "isolation" in domestic prison camps. They can't just leave vaccine refusers free to live among the population, of course, because that would send the message that anyone can refuse the vaccines without consequence. So they'll arrest those who refuse the vaccine, labeling them "a threat to national security" (enemies of the state) and imprison them without trial, without charges and without any legal representation whatsoever.
>>
>>Meanwhile, all those who take part in enforcing these crimes against the American people will be granted complete immunity. From the HHS website: "[the Secretary may] issue a declaration... that provides immunity from tort liability (except for willful misconduct) for claims of loss caused, arising out of, relating to, or resulting from administration or use of (vaccine or other pharmaceutical) countermeasures to diseases, threats and conditions determined by the Secretary to constitute a present, or credible risk of a future public health emergency..."
>>
>>There are other laws already on the books that strip Americans of virtually all Constitutional rights in a "pandemic emergency" scenario. One such act is The Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act (S. 3678), which probably merits another article altogether.
>>
>>Have no illusions: At the stroke of a pen, the Constitutional rights of all Americans will be immediately suspended. Mandatory vaccinations and "decontaminations" will kick in and the mass arrest of resisters will begin. There will be no court, no trial, no jury and no due process. Your actions will be dictated to you by a law enforcement officer or a health care worker who has been granted complete immunity, so if you just happen to get kicked around a bit (or shot), there's really nothing you can do about it.
>>
>>Some might argue these are necessary actions to save a nation from a deadly pandemic. And yet they forget that the pandemic has been intentionally allowed to worsen by censoring information about vitamin D and natural remedies that could stop it. Somebody at the top, in other words, wants this pandemic to get really bad, perhaps because it allows them to invoke precisely the draconian response I've outlined in this article. Seizing power in a Democracy cannot be accomplished by simply declaring war on the rights of the People. Rather, a situation must be engineered where the People are so desperate that they beg to be controlled. Releasing a pandemic into the wild is the perfect way to accomplish precisely that.
>>
>>Timing
>>None of these laws will be invoked before the vaccines are ready in large numbers, of course. Part of the purpose in all this is to prop up Big Pharma profits with massive vaccination efforts, so until the vaccines are actually available, don't expect to see any declarations of a public emergency.
>>
>>It might take until October or November before the vaccines are readily available in sufficient quantity to inject just half the U.S. population. But once that milestone is reached, a declaration of a pandemic emergency is imminent. Trust me on this point: They won't let all those hundreds of millions of vaccines sit around unused; they'll make sure they get injected into the People as soon as possible, because that's the only way to justify making more.
>>
>>So the sequence of events we're likely to see here are:
>>
>>#1) Waiting on vaccine manufacturing to procure at least 150 million doses in the U.S. Probable timeframe = October.
>>
>>#2) Hyping up a few local swine flu breakouts in schools in order to justify step #3. Probable timeframe = November / December.
>>
>>#3) Declaring a full-blown national emergency and announcing mandatory vaccinations for everyone (to use up the vaccines that are now available). Probable timeframe = January / February / March.
>>
>>#4) If the disease continues to spread, this is when you'll see forced entry into homes and buildings, forced "decontamination" sprayings, widespread arrests and forced quarantine of resisters, Martial Law and a complete crackdown on freedoms (especially in the inner cities). This will likely continue through the winter until Spring arrives, bringing the sunshine that will suppress the virus around the May 2010 timeframe.
>>
>>All this is written in black ink. It's already part of the pandemic response plan. Body bags, FEMA camps and much more.
>>
>>Two years ago, this was all the domain of conspiracy theory "wingnuts." Now it's State law. Now it's being openly discussed in security conferences and health care meetings. What will we do when the hospital beds are full? How will we accomplish the "involuntary transportation" of those who are infected? Are there enough zip-tie handcuffs to go around? How do we disarm and arrest citizens who refuse to be vaccinated? How do we prevent National Guard troops from becoming infected themselves?
>>
>>These are the questions circulating now at high levels, all across the world. And the answers are always the same: Abandon freedoms. Strip the People of any rights. Dictate from the top down and arrest anyone who gets in your way.
>>
>>Welcome to the Land of the Free. I hope you are prepared for what looks to be coming, because this isn't America anymore, folks. This is Amerika, and the Constitutional rights you thought you had are about to be written right off the books.
>>
>
Our New Democracy Educator/Advisor Bentley Davis : LOCAL ELECTION THIS NOVEMBER
Hello Ellen,
It was a pleasure to meet you yesterday.
...Below, please find some information about the 2009 elections. As I said during our drive, the school board race has the broadest field for the number of seats (12 candidates for 4 seats). City Council has the smallest field it has seen in a number of years.
On the horizon in 2010, there will be a primary for the senate seat being vacated by Voinovich and a primary for the Secretary of State office.
2009 ELECTION
Cincinnati Mayor’s Race
Background
Four-year terms
Terms limited to two successive -four year terms
Current Mayor Mark Mallory was elected in 2005 defeating challenger David Pepper by 52% or 3,000 total votes. Both Mallory and Pepper are Democrats.
2009 Election
Current Mayor Mark Mallory will face Republican Brad Wenstrup. Wenstrup is a podiatrist with his office in Anderson Township; and Iraq War veteran, where he served as chief surgeon at Abu Ghraib.
Cincinnati City Council
Background
All 9 seats open
At-large seats; voters pick 9; top nine vote getters win
Two-year terms
Term limit of 4 two-year terms
Current Make-up of Council: 5 Democrats, 2 Republicans and 2 Charter Party Members
Cincinnati 2007 Council Elections
Candidate
Party
Total Votes
Percentage of Total Votes
Eligible to Run in 2009
Roxanne Qualls
Charter Party
33,775
7.83%
Yes
John Cranley
Democrat
33,772
7.83%
N/A*
David c. Crowley
Democrat
31,124
7.22%
No
Cecil Thomas
Democrat
27,103
6.28%
Yes
Chris Bortz
Charter Party
26,500
6.14%
Yes
Leslie Ghiz
Republican
24,920
5.78%
Yes
Laketa Cole
Democrat
24,900
5.77%
Yes
Jeff Berding
Democrat
23,586
5.47%
Yes
Chris Monzel
Republican
23,336
5.41%
Yes
* Current Councilman Greg Harris was appointed to replace Cranley. Harris is eligible to run in 2009.
2009 Election
Of the current nine-member council, eight are eligible to run again in 2009; only David Crowley is term-limited. The only member of council not to win a seat outright in 2007 was Greg Harris, who was appointed to council to replace John Cranley in January 2009.
In addition to the four Democratic candidates already on council (Harris, Thomas, Cole, and Berding), the Cincinnati Democratic Committee has endorsed five additional candidates. Non-incumbents recommended for endorsement are Tony Fischer, a U.S. Army veteran, Nicolas Hollan, an employee of the American Red Cross, Laure Quinlivan, a former news reporter, Bernadette Watson, former chief of staff to Charlie Luken, and Wendell Young, former council candidate and retired Cincinnati police sergeant.
The Charter Party has two current members on council - Roxanne Qualls and Chris Bortz. The Charterites have also endorsed a third candidate Kevin Flynn, a local real estate attorney.
Both Republicans on council - Leslie Ghiz and Chris Monzel – are eligible to run again in 2009. In addition to the two incumbents, Republicans have also endorsed the perennial candidate, Charlie Winburn, a local pastor and former councilman who was the 10th highest vote-getter in 2007, George Zamary, a local attorney who came in last in 2007, and newcomer Amy Murray, president of the Japan Consulting Group.
Independents Lamarque Ward and Anitra Brockman are also running.
Cincinnati School Board
Background
Seven members elected at-large
Four-year terms
President and vice-president selected by the seven members of the board
Four of the seven seats up for re-election in 2009
2009 Election
At least thirteen candidates have indicated they are running for four seats.
Both the Board President, Eileen Cooper Reed, and Vice-President, Melanie Bates, are among the four members of the current board which are up for re-election. They are running without a party endorsement. One member up for reelection, Susan Cranley, has chosen not to run.
Democrats have endorsed incumbent, Catherine Ingram as well as recent high school graduate/ success story, Ceair Baggett, former CFT representative Joyce Hooks, and Lisa Schare, a Democratic activist (founder of Catholic Democrats of Ohio) and Princeton School District art teacher.
Republicans have endorsed two attorneys, Chris McDowell of Mount Lookout and Todd McIntosh of Mount Auburn. They have not endorsed Republican attorney John Banner is running and has already come out AGAINST the school renewal levy. Their lack of endorsement is only because Banner works for the city and cannot have a partisan campaign without running afoul of the mini-Hatch.
The Green Party has endorsed Jason Haap, a teacher and local blogger.
Vanessa White, who works for the Fine Arts Fund, sought the Democratic endorsement and is now running as an independent.
Another independent who is running is attorney and business consultant Mary Welsh Schlueter.
BALLOT ISSUES
Cincinnati Public School Levy
Background
Renewal of $65 million annual property tax levy
Last approved in 2004 (5 year renewal levy)
Predicted $29 million budget gap in 2010-2011 school year without the levy
Last CPS Levy (7.7-mil) in March 2008 passed 51% to 49%
2009 Election
This levy must past to avoid a $29 million predicted budget gap in the 2010 school year. But previous levy passed by close margin. Though it is a renewal levy, the opposition is already telling people that this is a tax increase.
WaterWorks
A recent task-force has recommended that the Greater Cincinnati Water Works, currently owned and operated by the city, become an independent water group so the Water Works could continue to expand its services throughout the region. Signatures have been collected for a ballot initiative sponsored by NAACP, AFSCME, and COAST to amend the city charter to prohibit the transfer of the Water Works to any other entity.
Anti-Rail/ Streetcar
Sufficient signatures were collected in a drive sponsored by NAACP and COAST to amend the city charter to require a vote when there may be an “expenditure of monies by the city for right-of-way acquisition or improvements for passenger-rail transportation (e.g., trolley or streetcar)." Proponents of the measure argue (1) the streetcar proposal is a waste of money at this time and (2) even if one is for the streetcar, one ought to support the measure as it only asks for public input. Opponents of the measure argue that this will halt all passenger rail service, including the proposed Cincinnati-Columbus-Cleveland high speed rail line.
Library Levy
The Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County has seen its state funding drop – as have all libraries in the state. Since 2001, state funding has dropped 21%. However, the library system here is the only metropolitan library in Ohio without local funding. The library is seeking a 1 mill operating levy. This is the first time the library has sought a levy. Without the levy, the library may close 15-20 branches.
County-wide Levies
There are four county-wide levies in addition to the library. However, exactly what will appear on the ballot is to be determined. The county commissioners will decide on August 20. (The commissioners agreed to Pepper's proposed numbers)
Agency
Agency request
Tax committee recommendation
Pepper proposal
Cincinnati Museum Center
$38 million
$18-$33 million
$16.2 million
MRDD
$417 million
$400 million
$388.3 million
Family Services and Treatment (formerly Drake)
$39.4 million
$37.2-$39.4 million
$37.3 million
Total
$494.4.4 million
$455.2-$472.4 million
$441.8 million
Annual cost to owner of a $100,000 home under Pepper's proposal:
Agency
Cost this year
Cost under Pepper proposal
Cincinnati Museum Center
$4.93 operating $4.16 bond
$4.43
MRDD
$89.32
$104.44
Family Services and Treatment
$20.73 (as Drake levy)
$10.09
Total
$119.14
$118.96
*Chart above is from Cincinnati Enquirer “County Delays Vote on Levies” 8/12/09.
SECTION FOUR: Book, Film, Theater, TV, Music, Restaurant Reviews
Please send us notes of what you are reading or seeing. It’s entirely up to the readers to make this section interesting. We want to know what is turning you on!
Brand New Trailer for Michael Moore's 'Capitalism: A Love Story'
Friday, August 21st, 2009
It's here! Check out the brand new trailer for Michael Moore's 'Capitalism: A Love Story.'
Mike is premiering the film at the oldest film festival in the world, the Venice International Film Festival.
Next he heads to the Toronto International Film Festival where 'Roger & Me' won the festival's People's Choice award 20 years ago.
'Capitalism: A Love Story' opens nationwide October 2nd.
Can't wait for you to see it!
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SECTION FIVE: Tri-State Treasures by Jim Kesner
(Jim is out of town this month... will resume in Oct.)
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