I’m terrified of losing my healthcare.

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I’m freaking out right now.   The GOP is going after ACA (Obamacare) AGAIN.

This time, some federal judge in Texas (whose actual name is Reed O’Connor, though that hasn’t been widely reported) said the law is unconstitutional and therefore needs to be repealed.

There was a detailed article about this from the New York Times.  I had it linked here but the link no longer works so I removed it.  I’m too disgusted and angry to try to explain why this judge thinks the ACA is unconstitutional and don’t really understand his logic.  I think it’s all bullshit, frankly — just another way the GOP can try to strip healthcare away from 20 million Americans and ratf*ck the sick, poor and elderly.

I happen to be one of those Americans who will be affected should this cruel law be upheld (I have heard it will probably be appealed and not be upheld, but I’m not getting my hopes up).   The ACA is the only way I can afford health insurance.  I’m way too old to risk not having health insurance (though I’m fairly healthy, I know I won’t always be), and I’m still too young for Medicare.  The way they keep raising the age for eligibility (they want to raise it to 70, I believe right now it’s 67),  I may never be “old” enough to get it.

This predatory regime wants the elderly poor and working class dead.   I’m convinced of that.  All their actions and their lack of empathy and general cruelty makes it obvious.   Once we’re too old or too sick to make money for the oligarchs and corporations, we’re just “useless eaters” (using one of the GOP’s actual terms for us).  Taking away our healthcare is a sneaky way to kill us off when we lose our usefulness to them.

Hopefully the new Democratic Congress, headed by Nancy Pelosi (I’m very happy she will be the Speaker) can work out something that will allow us to keep our healthcare, or maybe even work with the less partisan Republicans (do they exist anymore?) to come up with something even better than the ACA.

More people than ever, even some Republicans, are demanding Medicare For All (single payer healthcare, like other developed countries have).  Maybe one day that will actually become a reality and we can stop worrying about dying or going bankrupt should we become sick or disabled.   At my age, it’s a very real worry, and right now, I’m absolutely terrified that I could lose my ACA with nothing to replace it.    I do not have a job that offers health insurance, I’m not married so no one is paying for me to be on their plan, and there’s no way I can afford the premiums on my own without the ACA.

Certain things should not be privatized or not at least have a public option (such as education).  Healthcare is one of those things.    Some things are necessities that benefit the common good and should be paid through our taxes, meaning that We, the People own these things, not private shareholders and individuals.  Those things include national parks and monuments, fire and police, education (though private schools should and can be available as well), the post office, healthcare, the military, and prisons.  Privatizing these things (or not having a public option for them) leads to nothing but further inequality and fascism.

32 million Americans’ healthcare rests on one vote!

Whether or not 32 million Americans lose healthcare through the ACA (Obamacare) or get to keep it now depends on one vote : Lisa Murkowski’s.    Senator John McCain has stated he “cannot in good conscience vote for this bill,” in spite of the fact he is friends with Lindsey Graham, one of the authors of the Graham-Cassidy bill.   He has proved to me he is a man of integrity by his refusal to cave to politics over people.

But, as you probably know, Murkowski is being bribed by the GOP and Mitch McConnell. They told her if she voted yes on the bill, that HER state of Alaska would get to keep Obamacare (which means they know it works better than their plan).

While I think Murkowski has a conscience and won’t fall prey to their bribery and will do the right thing, I’m not sure of this. She hasn’t stated how she will vote.

So we all need to CALL HER OFFICE AND TELL HER TO VOTE NO ON GRAHAM CASSIDY!  Make sure you thank her for voting no the last time and remind her that she did the right thing by doing that. 

You can call her at 202-224-6665.  WE NEED HER NO VOTE!

Please save our healthcare!

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The GOP is at it again.  Like Michael Myers, it just keeps rising from the dead.

Yes, they’re trying to ram through a new version of Trumpcare — and this one’s even crueler than the previous two  — an estimated 32 million people would lose healthcare.  Insurers would be allowed to refuse to insure you for pre-existing conditions (a previous pregnancy would be considered a pre-existing condition, meaning most women would be affected).  Like the first bill, premiums would go up exponentially for older people.   It also eliminates the Medicaid expansion.   And Planned Parenthood.   It discriminates against women, especially older women like myself who are not old enough for Medicare.  It punishes the poor and middle class.  If you’re not wealthy and develop a serious illness like cancer, it will be your death sentence.

This is the worst bill yet, and they are very close to passing it.  All so Trump can have his WIN and they can get their tax breaks.  At our expense.  They are relentless.  They must be stopped.

They have until September 30th to pass it, but if it passes, the ACA (Obamacare) will be gone forever.   If they lose, the ACA stays indefinitely (until something better, like single payer, comes along).

I HATE that we have to beg our own government not to kill us, but unfortunately this is what we must do.    Jam the phone lines!  Please!   It’s literally a matter of life and death for millions of people.

We need all hands on deck over the next few days. Call your reps & tell them to vote NO on the Graham-Cassidy bill: (202) 224–3121.

Also, please share this post.

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Oh no, here we go again.

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Like the Terminator or the zombies from Night of the Living Dead, Trumpcare just refuses to die.

That’s right.  Not two days have passed since their repeal bill was killed in the Senate, and already these criminals and grifters who have hijacked the GOP are attempting to revive their Frankenstein monster of a healthcare bill.

You can read all about it here:

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/7/29/1685291/-Politico-Senate-Republicans-to-make-another-attempt-at-Obamacare-repeal

I can think of at least 12 reasons why they want to keep reviving this monster in spite of its vast unpopularity, even among members of their own party.

Why do they keep trying to revive Trumpcare?

  1. They NEED those tax breaks NOW and won’t stop until they get them.
  2. They really are trying to thin the herd.
  3. Donnie just HAS to have his WIN or else.
  4. It’s a form of mental torture intended to exhaust the resistance into submission and apathy.
  5. They are masochists trying to destroy their own party.
  6. They are sadists who like to watch people suffer (from preventable illness) and insanity (from their relentless reviving of this bill)
  7. They are ordained by God because they are the Elect and this is going to be a Christian nation so if you’re not rich like them or you’re sick it’s their holy duty to take away your healthcare.
  8. They really do think their plan will be help more people (yeah, right)
  9. They believe in more “freedom” and “choice” (the freedom to die or go bankrupt; the “choice” argument is bogus)
  10. They are being pressured to pay off their donors (through tax breaks)
  11. Trump is desperately trying to distract from the Russian investigation and besides causing constant drama and chaos among his staff, this is the easiest way to do it.   He’s not very creative.
  12. It’s actually a stealth attempt to force us to adopt single-payer (nahhhh…although that could be the end result).

They are relentless.  Please make it stop.

Save our healthcare!

Republicans are taking advantage of all the media attention on Russia right now to secretly ram through their abomination of a healthcare bill that will leave millions — me included — without health insurance.     They are doing this without anyone knowing what’s in the bill, because they know it’s so horrible it will never fly if people knew what was in it.    It’s not a healthcare bill.  It’s a thinly disguised tax break for the wealthy. 
Well, guess what.  If I have to go to the hospital, I refuse to pay my medical bills.    I am not kidding.   I’ll send ’em all to the White House.   
In the meantime, until these compassionless sociopaths who will blithely let people die on the streets (and blame them for “not living a good life”) are defeated, PLEASE help save the ACA:
IMPORTANT: Please copy and paste. If you share, fewer people will see your post.
In reference to the Senate Republicans lack of public debate or information on their attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act, also known as “Obamacare”:
After hearing about the midnight repeal of the pre-existing conditions clause, people have flooded Senator Elizabeth Warren’s office with calls, as well as Speakers Ryan and McConnell. Sen Warren’s staff say that what would help THE MOST is calling the 5 Republican senators who have broken away from the GOP in an attempt to slow down of the repeal. Tell them how much you appreciate their efforts:
Senator Bob Corker – (202) 224-3344
Senator Lisa Murkowski – (202) 224-6665
Senator Rob Portman – (202) 224-3353
Senator Susan Collins – (202) 224-2523
Senator Bill Cassidy – (202) 224-5824

I hate Paul Ryan.

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PLEASE SHARE AND DO THIS!  If you are serious about saving the ACA, text RESIST to 50409. You can do this more than once. Each time, a letter will be sent to another two senators or representatives. This is real — and you will get an actual person who will work with you on your letter.

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I’m breaking my own rule here not to write a rant about partisan politics, but this really isn’t a partisan issue, or if it is, it shouldn’t be.

“Trumpcare” might win the house, and he is willing to bet our lives against the house.  This is unbelievable. If this bill passes, I better pray I don’t get sick, which isn’t likely given my age. I’m in that vulnerable ‘older’ (50-64) age group and am FAR from rich. No way could I afford the premiums.  I’ll be in that group of 14 million who loses their healthcare the first year.

If you have a ‘pre-existing condition’ you will not even be able to get insurance even if you could afford it, if your state opts out, which many red states will.  These people say they are pro-life, but guess what — PREGNANCY is a pre-existing condition!   You can be sure there will be more abortions then ever, when poor and middle class women who lose their healthcare realize their pregnancies won’t even be covered.

Ironically, Trump’s working class supporters will be most negatively affected by this horrible bill. It probably won’t pass Senate, but still, this is so scary.

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I also want to smack that smug, self righteous smirk off Ryan’s stupid face.   I don’t hate too many people (even Trump escapes my hatred a little because he’s batshit insane and a mental and emotional child), but I really, REALLY hate Paul Ryan.  This smug sociopath (who lived off the death benefits from his dad’s social security and had everything paid for by the government (and still gets everything paid for by the government through OUR TAXES) thinks people need to “take responsibility” for their own healthcare.  HELLO?!   How is losing your health insurance going to teach ANYONE responsibility?  I’m so SICK of this blaming the victim, Ayn Randian, “bootstraps” mentality.

This Eddie Munster-looking twit has NO conscience and not a shred of empathy.    I can just see the way he’ll gloat and smirk if and when this “healthcare” bill passes.  He just loves the idea of kicking 24 million people off healthcare.  He WANTS us to suffer and die.   I really think this Ayn Rand worshipping d*ck is trying to thin the herd — the old, poor and sick  aren’t “producers” so of course they can go first.   Good thing we have liberal GUN LAWS — because if you get cancer, suicide might be the only option.     This bill also means a big ass tax break for his billionaire buddies.   God, I hate this administration.  NOTHING they have done or plan to do is good for the average American.    These people are CHRISTIANS?  That’s a laugh.   Pro-life?  Yeah, only until you’re born.  Have a sick baby and you’re not rich? Too bad!  You should have made better life choices.

Sorry if this offends, but I’m mad as hell and scared!  It’s very traumatizing for many of us.   I hope the whole lot of them get impeached soon.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/republicans-health-care-bill_us_5909fdf9e4b02655f84314af?ncid=inblnkushpmg00000009

Trump’s budget, repealing the ACA, the triumph of evil, and the rebirth of community spirit.

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I absolutely hate Trump’s projected budget, as well as Trump’s Obamacare replacement, which although is nearly universally hated  not only on the left but on the right too (albeit for different reasons), is likely to pass this Thursday when Congress votes on it.

This administration not only wants to repeal Obamacare and take from the poor and middle class to give more tax breaks to the rich, they also want to eliminate (not just cut) the EPA, as well as Meals on Wheels (which help many disabled elderly and half a million disabled VETERANS), after school programs that help single moms, free legal services that help the poor in civil cases, federal grant programs for colleges, the NEH and NEA (both which promote arts and culture to the masses for free or nearly free), NPR (the only place on the radio where I can get the factual news while I’m driving), PBS (how can anyone hate Sesame Street? Really?), and many,many other programs that help families, and the poor and middle class.  Not only that, but they want to privatize public education, making it impossible for the poor or those who live in rural areas to send their children to school at all.  A voucher just isn’t going to cut it for these people, many of whom voted for Trump.   Next I expect they’ll try to repeal the child labor laws.  “Send those kids whose parents can’t afford to send them to school to work to teach them about the value of hard labor,” they’ll say.   “Let’s make America great again — like it was in 1900.”

Let’s stop kidding ourselves by making excuses like “more jobs will be created” and “taking away entitlements will force people to be self reliant.”   Nearly 40 years of trickle down economics has shown it does not work.  It doesn’t create more jobs and the money funneled to the top doesn’t trickle down to the most vulnerable Americans whose poverty, illness, or advanced age is almost never their own fault.   It’s become popular to blame them though for all the nation’s ills, instead of the greedy corporations and billionaires who keep taking and taking and taking and seem to be voracious in their need for more and more tax breaks and perks.     This is typical “blame the victim” mentality on a national scale.  Their greed and narcissism is off the charts and is destroying our country. The destruction or privating of everything good about America, and destroying its people and the environment we live in is exactly what they plan to do.

It’s time to face the ugly truth about this presidency.  I believe this budget (and the repeal and “replacement” of Obamacare) is actually an intentional death sentence for the so called “nonproducers” — the most vulnerable members of society — the poor, old, disabled, and sick.   Remove their only hope for healthcare, then take away all the popular programs that fill in the gaps and help many of these vulnerable people have better lives, keep them alive, and keep them from becoming totally ignorant. Many will die.  Those who don’t die  or suffer with chronic medical or mental conditions will be faced with lives so difficult and painful they may be forced to suicide.  But this administration doesn’t care.   In fact, letting the vulnerable people kill themselves off is probably what they want.   They are evil.   They want people to suffer. They want “the little people” to have nothing.  They don’t even want us to have clean air or drinking water.  They don’t care.

Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security will be next.   What will happen to all the elderly, disabled, and sick who rely on these programs? What will happen to the nursing home residents who rely on Medicaid to cover their expenses?  Guess they’ll all be tossed out in the streets and be forced to move in with their adult children, whether those children have the means to take care of them or not.   If they don’t have adult children to care for them, they will die lonely, painful deaths with no one to care.

Yet these same far right conservatives wring their hands and shed tears over the unborn.  Once you’re born though, it’s “bootstraps, baby!”  Your child is sick?  You shouldn’t have gotten pregnant.   Don’t have the money to buy health insurance for your child?   It’s not our problem!

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It’s all because they want to keep everything for themselves.  They decry socialism as the ultimate evil and tell lies about long wait times in European countries who have universal healthcare and other social programs that help their people.  But I don’t know one European or Canadian who complains about having to pay higher taxes in exchange for having decent healthcare.   In fact, every one I know is very happy with their single payer healthcare, and feel very sorry for us that we don’t have it.   They wonder what is wrong with us that we still think healthcare should be for profit and don’t share their philosophy that “wer’re all in this together.”

I would be more than happy to pay higher taxes for single payer healthcare.  I sure as heck would rather pay taxes for programs that help people and cultural enrichment programs like the NEH and PBS and NPR  than I would for a ridiculous, unnecessary wall or for even further buildup of the military and nuclear weapons than we already have.

They say socialism is evil, but they are hypocrites.   They believe in socialism alright — socialism and welfare for the wealthy and for corporations (remember, corporations are people!); but rugged individualism for everyone else.   These people have no empathy.  They have no conscience.  They are morally bankrupt.  Their hearts are black and shriveled like prunes.  You can see it in their hard, cold, dead eyes and cruel smiles.

What they really are trying to do is thin the herd and create a banana republic that cares only about the wealthy 1% and f*ck you if you aren’t one of them.

But there’s a plus side to this.  People will be so outraged if this budget (and the ACA replacement) goes through and these programs are abolished that charitable giving and community spirit will increase to levels we have never seen. Many corporations, celebrities (almost all who are liberals), and other compassionate wealthy people (they do exist!) will set up funds to fill the vast hole left by the Republicans or to fund the dying programs so they stay in existence — or create new ones. Grass roots organizations and community organizations will spring up to help their neighbors and fellow citizens. There will also be backlash from the left the likes of which has never been seen before, and Republicans are nearly guaranteed not to win another election.

Within the ruins these hardline conservatives leave in their wake, emerging from the ashes they leave behind of a once great nation that cared about the common people both here and around the world–the proverbial phoenix will rise again.  People will start to take care of each other again, because we will have no other choice.

RIP USA

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50 days in. The United States is a far different and sadder place than it was on January 19. America is now run more like an organized crime syndicate than a proper country — and no one seems to have a clue as to what to do to reverse the devastation, or any power to stop him. Trump could murder someone and he’d get away with it. He’d just find a way to blame Obama and he’d be believed — the same way he’s taking credit for the “job growth” which actually began on Obama’s watch, not Trump’s.

We are no longer a democracy, we are a third world country run by a lying, corrupt dictator and his minions.   We need a new name.  The United States of Russia, perhaps?

If Paul Ryan’s horrific “replacement” for the ACA goes through (and it probably will, since no one seems to have any power to stop any of them), expect more crime (the sick poor will have to commit serious crimes in order to receive healthcare in the prison system), more suicides (by newly uninsured people who develop a life threatening illness), and possibly rioting and even civil war.    “Just let them die” seems to be what Ryan wants for the “nonproducers.”   Unfortunately, I’ll be one of the 15-20 million who will lose their insurance if this bill passes.  At my age, that is terrifying.   It’s also extremely unsettling the way this disaster of a replacement is being jammed down our throats without even giving us time to process what is happening.

Medicare and social security are next.  Expect any environmental protections, public education, and unemployment benefits to go too.  Expect more police and more laws (against the little people, not the rich and powerful) and no more freedom.   Expect depression, despair, and terror on  a level that would make the Great Depression look like a warmup.    Causing mass human suffering for their own enrichment is the Trump administration’s idea of “making America great again.”

We were lied to, and people still believe the lies, even in the face of overwhelming evidence that this presidency is a massive bait and switch.

We are told to just “get over it” and “stop being sore losers.”   I could go on and on about this evil and corrupt administration and the many ways it’s gutting our democracy and thumbing its nose contemptuously at the Constitution.

I can’t deal with this anymore.   I wish I could pack my bags and just leave.  I have no idea how much worse things are going to get.

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Rally for ACA (Obamacare), Asheville, NC

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This event, which was really an outdoor Town Hall meeting, focused on the right to affordable or better yet, single payer healthcare and the importance of not repealing Obamacare, since the ACA was an important step in that direction — and now it’s under threat.

I arrived early, so early there were only a few people there before me.  The day was cooler than it has been, but clear as a bell, as you can see in the photos.  It was fun taking pictures of all the different sights I saw.  Some of the protest signs were really creative.

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I apologize — the tops of her signs got cut off but I think her shirt is a hoot.

I would say probably about 400 people attended, and maybe a few more than that.   Most of the people attending were older folks — some older than me (Medicare age), which makes sense since older people are the most likely to have medical issues and the most at risk should they lose their healthcare.   There were some young families there too though, and a couple of the speakers were quite young.

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I was surprised how many people brought their dogs, and one woman, wearing a “pink pussy hat” had dressed up her little dog in an adorable miniature version of the hat she wore.   The sign she had made was pretty funny too.

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Not everyone there was a Democrat. There were some independents, and even a few stray Republicans, who agree that ACA should not be repealed, like the sign of the lady shown below. When it comes to affordable healthcare, party really doesn’t matter. Some actually understand that.

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Some of the signs were quite funny.  Here are a couple.

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There were four speakers.  One speaker’s story brought tears to my eyes.  She talked about her son, who was born in 1974. Doctors urged her to have an abortion because he had some genetic abnormalities but she refused.   Well, the condition he had left him extremely vulnerable to certain forms of cancer, especially colon cancer.   In 2008, just before Obama was elected, when he was just 34, he had to be rushed to the emergency room.  He hadn’t been seeing doctors regularly  because they didn’t have the money and he could not get health insurance because of his pre-existing condition.  He was too sick to work enough hours to get company sponsored health insurance so he never got the surgeries and other treatments that had been recommended.   So he just did without.

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One of the young volunteers.

On the day he was rushed to the ER, some tests were run, and it was found he had developed inoperable colon cancer. He died just before Christmas in 2008, just after Obama was elected, but before Obamacare was a reality.  It was too late for him.

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The woman, who was now in tears, concluded her story by saying that no politician who says “No” to the ACA or who wants to repeal it has the right to call themselves pro-life.  Life doesn’t stop at the end of the birth canal.    Being pro-life means caring for people of ALL ages — and making sure everyone has affordable health care. No exceptions.

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These are the kind of tragic personal stories that used to happen on a regular basis before the ACA was passed.  People dying prematurely and unnecessarily, and sometimes suffering horribly — just because they couldn’t get health insurance and weren’t wealthy enough to pay for treatments out of pocket.    And now our “dear leader” wants to roll back not only that but is also threatening social security, Medicaid, Medicare, and even Veteran’s benefits.   Can you imagine how horrible things would be if they were to succeed in taking all that away?   We can’t allow that.

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I took lots of pictures — the rest are below this post. I didn’t have a sign this time, but next time I will make sure I do.  It was a good experience, and was very peaceful. In spite of the serious issue being addressed, it was a lot of fun too.

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On my way out, there was a vendor selling related merchandise, such as T-shirts and buttons.   The proceeds go to the Indivisible movement, which co-sponsored this event.   These are my purchases (I’ll  be wearing these at the next event I attend — and carrying a sign too).  The button in the middle was free — it was given to me when I signed up for emails.

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The rest of the photos:

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