C.A.R.S. (Per Glenn Beck today, please don't go into this CARS website! Seriously, unless you want every bit of your privacy to vanish right before your eyes; Glenn can better explain)
WTF.GOV?
Let me get this straight -- good ole Uncle Sam is incentivize-ing the buying of something, by example, the car -- causing John Q. Public to buy into the idea that through the graciousness of our fine government they can purchase a brand new car TODAY without a second glance or concern about tomorrow.
No concern if John Q. Public can afford the new car payment over time in the first place...
No concern if John Q. Public has a job next year or for that matter through the duration of a new 5 year contract...
No concern to the environment of all 250,000 cars destined for the scrap metal factory and landfills...
No concern for getting involved in a marketplace where government, once again, doesn't belong; and I wonder where are the junk yard guard dogs to keep them out?
Doesn't this sound eerily familiar to the housing mortgage bust? The government made it so easy for all of those who couldn't afford it!!! get into a house and subsequently went belly up in their mortgages when the realities set in (and the realities, there were a number). But remember the ads and the incentives; the call to ARMs to get into the market was huge.
So in two years from now, when these people who got themselves irresponsibly into a new car payment figure out they can no longer afford it, or worse, lose a job, or even worse lose their health insurance, what will our government do then?
Will the government force all the rest of us wage earners to help cover the costs of refinancing these loans? Will they just write them off for simply reasons that these people know not what they do? Will they somehow find Wall Street to blame, or even better blame car dealership OWNERS ultimately demonizing their behavior and turning the car lot into a twisted tale of double crossing slimey car salesmen?
When money is tight, normal behavior would tell you to keep driving the old clunker. Normal behavior would have us take personal responsibility of our own budget, even going so far as to scrutinize every detail to find out if in fact it truly is a "good time to buy" as Ford insists.
Yes, I guess I slipped into another chat on self-reliance. A hard lesson to learn, so why not repeat it. Cause and Effect is alive and well in America, and we have to start paying attention to what is true for ourselves. Just because we hear it on TV does not make it true, or righteous, or in any way, shape or form economically responsible or feasible. BUT the point is, the more we depend upon our government whether it be getting into a new home, a new car, or health insurance or food stamps, the less free we really are.
Debt, no matter who's debt it belongs to, is not a symbol of freedom. It makes us a slave, if you will, to that debt; and only if you really, really, really love your job is it worthy of having.
The more we allow for Big Brother to come swooping in, no matter what sector of our lives, the less freedoms of choice we will have. I mean, at the rate our government is going, I'm surprised we weren't told what color of car we had to get in the fine print!
And really, doesn't this situation with this CARS/Cash for Clunkers program just reek of undermining the philosophy of a free market system? For these people who are coming out in droves to take advantage of these so called deals would have to buy a new car eventually ...when the time is right. But now, that free market system is no longer free as it has now been tightly tethered along with many other fallible programs like the cap and trade, stimulus package and all other previously managed government entitlement programs past, present and future!
So if everybody is getting that new car TODAY. When tomorrow comes -- and it will --what's are government, or rather "silent partner" as the case may be, gonna do about it?
My girlfriends and I have a favorite phrase to use when out with the gang and it came time for the check. For those of us on a more frugal spending diet who just ordered an appetizer and beverage we'd jokingly scream "I'm not paying for that!" when it came to sharing the costs of the little princess who ordered a steak. You get my beef.
Every day now. It is happening every day. The government just knocks on the Treasury door and says, "hi, can you make me some more money, I ran out already"; 2 billion dollars more, people please. Like a teenager asking daddy for more. Like a princess ordering a steak. We need to stand up and say "I'm not paying for that!"
Make it a good day, G
Friday, July 31, 2009
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Dear America,
I didn't vote for him.
I saw the writing on the wall. I saw where he came from and read all about the family who brought him into this world. I heard where he went to church for the last twenty years, through which was personally mentored, and that was enough. And in retrospect, I could never understand how people were all so googly eyed over him. The View thought he was sexy. America couldn't get enough of him vacationing in Hawaii. Ellen and Oprah just adored his every move and hung on every word.
Socialism. Marxism. Anti-establishment, radical dispositions and Chicago style
politics surrounded him and nobody seemed to care because by golly he was the symbol of hope.
Still, every President prior had the American dream, American ideals, and American faith fully embodied and emboldened from within. There was never a day we doubted that even for one second, even if we all didn't agree with the political party at the helm. We were sure that we stood as "ONE NATION" under God, indivisible, and justice for all. NOT G8 or G20 or Global America Under God, it specifically, and with due diligence says ONE.
Where is our self-reliance as a NATION?
"Society is a wave. The wave moves onward, but the water of which it is
composed does not. The same particle does not rise from the valley to the ridge.
Its unity is only phenomenal. The persons who make up a nation today,next year
die, and their experience with them." Emerson
I would love to know what Emerson would be saying right about now. I mean, if he was the
town crier way back when for getting the individual to wake-up and take responsibility for their
personal duty to make their own way and find their own happiness, then how desperate he must think we are in these revealing times as a nation.
We are eating the words of our new government as if its candy. We are entrusting our future, and our children's future, to a government so big that our debt will devour us from the inside out as the socialistic recovery plans take root. History proves these methods do not work and that we will have dire consequences as a result. More importantly, everything that we seem to be doing now is so outside the lines of our Constitution its not even funny.
Could it be our clear lack of individual self-reliance that may be to blame? And if so, then really we need to look no further than ourselves to fix it. But then again, if its true when they say that we are as strong as our weakest link, then God help us.
"He who knows that power is inborn, that he is weak because he has
looked for good out of him and elsewhere, and so perceiving, throws himself
unhesitatingly on his thought, instantly rights himself, stands in the erect
position, commands his limbs, works miracles; just as a man who stands on his
feet is stronger than a man who stands on his
head." Emerson
Such power emanates from these words and yet most Americans will never in their life read them. How can you not respond with high hopes and visualize big dreams and begin taking steps forward to make it so! Emerson's final words begging for action saying, "Nothing can bring you peace but yourself. Nothing can bring you peace but the triumph of principles."
I tell you, if statesmen actually spoke like this I have to believe our fine nation wouldn't be fumbling by looking outside of herself for commendation, negotiation, in apology or in peace. We would only pay attention to what America can do all by herself. Taking this a step further I "ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country" as in the words of the infamous Kennedy Inaugural Address in January of 1961. Interestingly enough, six months before Obama was even born.
And if I may point out, it is interesting, being pretty much a conservative across the board, that I have referenced JFK twice now in the last two days! Fascinating...
Wake up people. Our nation owes other countries a lot of money (namely China) Our nation relies on other countries for basic necessities (namely Saudi Arabia). Our nation is seemingly finding it easier and easier to sell her soul in each new day.
It really can't continue like this for much longer unless you all want to sit on the proverbial couch -- made in China, of course, and quite possibly located in the Sahara --with not only an identity crisis like we last spoke, but now clearly overwhelmed with a serious case of denial. I don't think our health care plan will cover it, however I think there is a pill we can take...
Make it a good day, G
I saw the writing on the wall. I saw where he came from and read all about the family who brought him into this world. I heard where he went to church for the last twenty years, through which was personally mentored, and that was enough. And in retrospect, I could never understand how people were all so googly eyed over him. The View thought he was sexy. America couldn't get enough of him vacationing in Hawaii. Ellen and Oprah just adored his every move and hung on every word.
Socialism. Marxism. Anti-establishment, radical dispositions and Chicago style
politics surrounded him and nobody seemed to care because by golly he was the symbol of hope.
Still, every President prior had the American dream, American ideals, and American faith fully embodied and emboldened from within. There was never a day we doubted that even for one second, even if we all didn't agree with the political party at the helm. We were sure that we stood as "ONE NATION" under God, indivisible, and justice for all. NOT G8 or G20 or Global America Under God, it specifically, and with due diligence says ONE.
Where is our self-reliance as a NATION?
"Society is a wave. The wave moves onward, but the water of which it is
composed does not. The same particle does not rise from the valley to the ridge.
Its unity is only phenomenal. The persons who make up a nation today,next year
die, and their experience with them." Emerson
I would love to know what Emerson would be saying right about now. I mean, if he was the
town crier way back when for getting the individual to wake-up and take responsibility for their
personal duty to make their own way and find their own happiness, then how desperate he must think we are in these revealing times as a nation.
We are eating the words of our new government as if its candy. We are entrusting our future, and our children's future, to a government so big that our debt will devour us from the inside out as the socialistic recovery plans take root. History proves these methods do not work and that we will have dire consequences as a result. More importantly, everything that we seem to be doing now is so outside the lines of our Constitution its not even funny.
Could it be our clear lack of individual self-reliance that may be to blame? And if so, then really we need to look no further than ourselves to fix it. But then again, if its true when they say that we are as strong as our weakest link, then God help us.
"He who knows that power is inborn, that he is weak because he has
looked for good out of him and elsewhere, and so perceiving, throws himself
unhesitatingly on his thought, instantly rights himself, stands in the erect
position, commands his limbs, works miracles; just as a man who stands on his
feet is stronger than a man who stands on his
head." Emerson
Such power emanates from these words and yet most Americans will never in their life read them. How can you not respond with high hopes and visualize big dreams and begin taking steps forward to make it so! Emerson's final words begging for action saying, "Nothing can bring you peace but yourself. Nothing can bring you peace but the triumph of principles."
I tell you, if statesmen actually spoke like this I have to believe our fine nation wouldn't be fumbling by looking outside of herself for commendation, negotiation, in apology or in peace. We would only pay attention to what America can do all by herself. Taking this a step further I "ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country" as in the words of the infamous Kennedy Inaugural Address in January of 1961. Interestingly enough, six months before Obama was even born.
And if I may point out, it is interesting, being pretty much a conservative across the board, that I have referenced JFK twice now in the last two days! Fascinating...
Wake up people. Our nation owes other countries a lot of money (namely China) Our nation relies on other countries for basic necessities (namely Saudi Arabia). Our nation is seemingly finding it easier and easier to sell her soul in each new day.
It really can't continue like this for much longer unless you all want to sit on the proverbial couch -- made in China, of course, and quite possibly located in the Sahara --with not only an identity crisis like we last spoke, but now clearly overwhelmed with a serious case of denial. I don't think our health care plan will cover it, however I think there is a pill we can take...
Make it a good day, G
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Dear America,
My head is about to explode.
But before we can go any further, I think today is a good day to stop and take a look at what it truly means to be an American. I realize that there are so many issues swirling around us right now, how can I ask you to contemplate something so elementary even for a moment. We have racial tensions uprooted, health care in a forest of concerns and an economy hanging on by our last dollar.
But let's just assume that if you are reading this, you were probably born right here in the good 'ole US of A. Well done. The stars were certainly aligned for you, now weren't they -- that being a statement, not a question.
I may be stepping out on a broken limb but I must say, just because you may be born in the states doesn't guarantee the American tree is embedded in your roots.
America was created by hand and through hard work. What began with the Pilgrims, a discovery that used to be celebrated in our schools with Columbus Day, has now evolved into a serious case of identity theft, that which we need all fellow Americans to find the courage to address.
For the sake of conversation, let's bounce over our first two hundred tumultuous years prior when America found herself grappling with wars, documentation, creating government and giving birth to western culture and the hip, young, up and coming democracy we know today (for people who don't know me, there was a bit of sarcasm in that last remark).
Point is, we created a Republic -- a people working freely and equally for the same cause, and direct opposite of monarchies and dictatorships.
As part of our American way, we all grew up pretty much in the same way for a very long time. Not without a few exceptions of course, having had our grandparents and great grandparents and maybe even all the generations before that, we can trace our roots back to a family member arriving to the land of the free to become an American.
We were given the image growing up in school of the "melting pot" and how all kinds of people, through strife or through joy, came to America to make a better life in the new land. A land where freedom was fought for and revered by not only ourselves through generation after generation, but through the eyes of the entire world. We were respected, and honored, and deep down inside each and every one of us, we KNEW we were special and that this country of ours was some kind of wonderful.
Our federal government was somewhat controlled. Our states personalized our experiences. Our communities celebrated American culture individually and collectively through the simple turning of the pages in the calendar. America had her seasons. America had her culture of holidays and festivals, from birthdays to Memorials, and rites of passages and traditions. America had her roots in all kinds of different soil, but deep down, we all drank the water from the same well.
Our formative years, besides being a world entrenched in security, liberty and means, gave custom to a culture that grew from this place of faith and tradition. Whether we had an Irish grandma and Italian pop, whether British or German, African or Asian, Mexican or Islander we were created on American soil -- giving birth to an American soul -- and blessed with the great duty as caretaker to the health, wealth and life of all that She stands for.
As history proves time and again, the most precious of these freedoms may lie in the separation of church and state; our founding fathers recognized that as simple as it may sound, making a land and it's people free to follow God (or not) by not aligning with a state religion. This allowed for all people who come to our shores the free will "endowed by the Creator with certain unalienable rights...Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness". But the conversation on faith is not going to happen today...
I am going to make a giant leap now and warn all of you that if we, as a people, as a Republic, do not "wake up" as one of my favorite people, Glenn Beck, likes to say, we are going to lose our American Identity, our American Way, and find ourselves living in a state without the simple liberties we seemingly are taking for granted now.
Our young President Obama was not raised American. Forget about the documentation of the birth certificate people! It doesn't matter even if it were true. What does matter is how this President, who represents us as Americans, has struggled with an identity crisis of his very own, admittedly in his own words from his memoir Dreams From My Father. He stresses how so much of his early life was wrought with questions of who he was and void of the firm foundation that only a nurturing, secure parent can bring.
His formative years were absent of any security. Both of his parents struggled with the duty of raising their son, having his father flee by the age of two and his mother leaving him to his grandmother. Neither parent offered much of a spiritual foundation; his mother proudly atheist and while both his birth father and step father were Muslim, Obama claims he was never really involved with the teachings of Islam however illogical that may sound. He had little tradition, little faith and hardly a mainland experience to speak of. The reality is, the American culture that most of us were raised on was just not a part of his life.
Now that Obama is safely grounded in the oval office he talks about his Muslim roots, as if all of a sudden he had this great epiphany. Clearly afraid of discussing it while campaigning, I ask then what is this allegiance all about? How have these young formative years, absent of American culture an tradition, truly shaped our President? These are fair questions.
While Obama may say that we are not a Christian nation, we are founded under "one God" with Liberty and Justice for all as defined in our Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights, and Constitution, Pledge of Allegiance, and our money. Our founding fathers recognized something greater than ourselves as evident in our unwavering faith in our Creator; and as most Americans agree today, make no apologies for it! Accentuating the positive, we love how we are a country of faith and tradition and Christmas and Easter. Whats more, 86% of us believe in God altogether.
As Americans, we have inherent by our birthright formative years as a country and as individuals that come together to shape us into who we are today. While we may not all look the same or come from the same place, we choose to have these traditions of faith, family, ritual and certainly the English language in common with each other; conversely, the more we look at what divides us, the less grounded and uprooted we become.
The culture that trumps whatever else we bring to the table is being true blue Americana. It is through our traditions year in and year out that bind us together and make us as strong. And even though the American tree is diverse, I am most assuredly not speaking in terms of turning us into one big loaf of white bread; I am only recognizing that it is through this pure dynamic of melting into one that we are longing for and show great loss as a culture without, as evident in these trying times. I believe America is intelligent and regenerating. It evolves with each new season, blossoming into new generations springing forth innovation and discoveries that are for the betterment of the American future.
The Sun shines upon our Culture and the entire world has reaped our bounty.
Before I leave you today, I only recently discovered something that I thought fascinating. By contrast, John F. Kennedy made Sir Winston Churchill an honorary American in a ceremony in the Rose Garden in 1963. The remarks made were extraordinary and to recite the entire read may be a little much, so I will leave it to your free will if you are so inclined (see http://www.winstonchurchill.org/)
Point is, in a rare occurrence you can become a citizen of this great country through profound service and inspiration. While our fine young President Kennedy's words of commendation and proclamation made a stunning finish in saying:
But before we can go any further, I think today is a good day to stop and take a look at what it truly means to be an American. I realize that there are so many issues swirling around us right now, how can I ask you to contemplate something so elementary even for a moment. We have racial tensions uprooted, health care in a forest of concerns and an economy hanging on by our last dollar.
But let's just assume that if you are reading this, you were probably born right here in the good 'ole US of A. Well done. The stars were certainly aligned for you, now weren't they -- that being a statement, not a question.
I may be stepping out on a broken limb but I must say, just because you may be born in the states doesn't guarantee the American tree is embedded in your roots.
America was created by hand and through hard work. What began with the Pilgrims, a discovery that used to be celebrated in our schools with Columbus Day, has now evolved into a serious case of identity theft, that which we need all fellow Americans to find the courage to address.
For the sake of conversation, let's bounce over our first two hundred tumultuous years prior when America found herself grappling with wars, documentation, creating government and giving birth to western culture and the hip, young, up and coming democracy we know today (for people who don't know me, there was a bit of sarcasm in that last remark).
Point is, we created a Republic -- a people working freely and equally for the same cause, and direct opposite of monarchies and dictatorships.
As part of our American way, we all grew up pretty much in the same way for a very long time. Not without a few exceptions of course, having had our grandparents and great grandparents and maybe even all the generations before that, we can trace our roots back to a family member arriving to the land of the free to become an American.
We were given the image growing up in school of the "melting pot" and how all kinds of people, through strife or through joy, came to America to make a better life in the new land. A land where freedom was fought for and revered by not only ourselves through generation after generation, but through the eyes of the entire world. We were respected, and honored, and deep down inside each and every one of us, we KNEW we were special and that this country of ours was some kind of wonderful.
Our federal government was somewhat controlled. Our states personalized our experiences. Our communities celebrated American culture individually and collectively through the simple turning of the pages in the calendar. America had her seasons. America had her culture of holidays and festivals, from birthdays to Memorials, and rites of passages and traditions. America had her roots in all kinds of different soil, but deep down, we all drank the water from the same well.
Our formative years, besides being a world entrenched in security, liberty and means, gave custom to a culture that grew from this place of faith and tradition. Whether we had an Irish grandma and Italian pop, whether British or German, African or Asian, Mexican or Islander we were created on American soil -- giving birth to an American soul -- and blessed with the great duty as caretaker to the health, wealth and life of all that She stands for.
As history proves time and again, the most precious of these freedoms may lie in the separation of church and state; our founding fathers recognized that as simple as it may sound, making a land and it's people free to follow God (or not) by not aligning with a state religion. This allowed for all people who come to our shores the free will "endowed by the Creator with certain unalienable rights...Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness". But the conversation on faith is not going to happen today...
I am going to make a giant leap now and warn all of you that if we, as a people, as a Republic, do not "wake up" as one of my favorite people, Glenn Beck, likes to say, we are going to lose our American Identity, our American Way, and find ourselves living in a state without the simple liberties we seemingly are taking for granted now.
Our young President Obama was not raised American. Forget about the documentation of the birth certificate people! It doesn't matter even if it were true. What does matter is how this President, who represents us as Americans, has struggled with an identity crisis of his very own, admittedly in his own words from his memoir Dreams From My Father. He stresses how so much of his early life was wrought with questions of who he was and void of the firm foundation that only a nurturing, secure parent can bring.
His formative years were absent of any security. Both of his parents struggled with the duty of raising their son, having his father flee by the age of two and his mother leaving him to his grandmother. Neither parent offered much of a spiritual foundation; his mother proudly atheist and while both his birth father and step father were Muslim, Obama claims he was never really involved with the teachings of Islam however illogical that may sound. He had little tradition, little faith and hardly a mainland experience to speak of. The reality is, the American culture that most of us were raised on was just not a part of his life.
Now that Obama is safely grounded in the oval office he talks about his Muslim roots, as if all of a sudden he had this great epiphany. Clearly afraid of discussing it while campaigning, I ask then what is this allegiance all about? How have these young formative years, absent of American culture an tradition, truly shaped our President? These are fair questions.
While Obama may say that we are not a Christian nation, we are founded under "one God" with Liberty and Justice for all as defined in our Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights, and Constitution, Pledge of Allegiance, and our money. Our founding fathers recognized something greater than ourselves as evident in our unwavering faith in our Creator; and as most Americans agree today, make no apologies for it! Accentuating the positive, we love how we are a country of faith and tradition and Christmas and Easter. Whats more, 86% of us believe in God altogether.
As Americans, we have inherent by our birthright formative years as a country and as individuals that come together to shape us into who we are today. While we may not all look the same or come from the same place, we choose to have these traditions of faith, family, ritual and certainly the English language in common with each other; conversely, the more we look at what divides us, the less grounded and uprooted we become.
The culture that trumps whatever else we bring to the table is being true blue Americana. It is through our traditions year in and year out that bind us together and make us as strong. And even though the American tree is diverse, I am most assuredly not speaking in terms of turning us into one big loaf of white bread; I am only recognizing that it is through this pure dynamic of melting into one that we are longing for and show great loss as a culture without, as evident in these trying times. I believe America is intelligent and regenerating. It evolves with each new season, blossoming into new generations springing forth innovation and discoveries that are for the betterment of the American future.
The Sun shines upon our Culture and the entire world has reaped our bounty.
Before I leave you today, I only recently discovered something that I thought fascinating. By contrast, John F. Kennedy made Sir Winston Churchill an honorary American in a ceremony in the Rose Garden in 1963. The remarks made were extraordinary and to recite the entire read may be a little much, so I will leave it to your free will if you are so inclined (see http://www.winstonchurchill.org/)
Point is, in a rare occurrence you can become a citizen of this great country through profound service and inspiration. While our fine young President Kennedy's words of commendation and proclamation made a stunning finish in saying:
"DONE at the City of Washington this ninth day of April, in the year of our Lord
nineteen hundred and sixty three, and of the Independence of the United States
of America the one hundred and eighty-seventh."Need I say more.
Make it a good day, G
Friday, July 24, 2009
Dear America,
Perhaps every couple of hundred years a people has to do what a people has to do... Revolution, anyone?
I got to thinking about all of this hullabaloo about health care, reform, the need for government to step in and help us poor souls and it just started making me so crazy. The politics of spin and timing and bad economics along with the prevailing winds of "the sky is falling we must do something now before it's too late" is basically creating a culture of fear. Dare I say, rushing to solve this issue from a position of fear and deprivation will only rush us into another bad new deal.
They say that the 47 million "Americans" not covered amounts to about 15% of our nation -- so 85% are covered! They also say that due to the government provisions already in place, nobody is turned away from an emergency room -- ever -- even those who are here illegally! They also say that we in America are blessed with the BEST health care in the world, hence the story goes everyone and their mother COME HERE for recovery to reap the benefits of American innovation and organization second to none.
I love that word INNOVATION. It is funny that a product today pokes fun of the very word in a television commercial...Post Shredded Wheat. Have you seen it? The spokesperson says, "we take the NO out of Innovation"...reveling in the very nature that this product doesn't need to change.
Why do they capitalize on the idea of no innovation? Because like my dad always said if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Some things started out a good idea and just kept on going being a good idea. Simple. And taking it one step further, I can't help but think of my grandmother who has been eating Shredded Wheat since the age of 10! Today, at the age of 92, she still makes a bowl of it every morning, divining a count of 22 pieces as if it were a religious experience (and maybe it is). Of course, at the risk of digressing, she is an example of what eating right and taking care of yourself is all about. Again, personal responsibility goes a long, long way. Enough said.
Our country and our fellow Americans have always been recognized for our innovation, our discoveries, our inventions, our attitude, our good Samaritans, our military who saves the world, and most importantly, our ability to year in and year out be the country where dreams can come true and anyone can grow up to be anything. When you put us all together we are this country.
So what is really happening here? Is it not the current political agenda in play that has us all bushwhacked? For really then, after careful study, doesn't this issue simply become a tool to create another bureaucracy?
By definition, a bureaucracy is "any administration in which the need to follow complex procedures impedes effective action". Just because government believes they are acting in ways which are presumably what is best for us doesn't make it so. We must think it through for ourselves and trust our own judgment otherwise we will grow to become a people dependent on the government for everything!
I just obtained health insurance for myself after leaving my previous employer and turning down the expensive option of going on Cobra. It took me three days to shop around, apply and get approved (even with pre-existing conditions). It was amazing how easy and efficient it was and, in the end, amounts to half of what I would have had to pay if choosing the Cobra option. Here's the kicker, I remain with the same health insurance I was previously on with my company, but getting even BETTER service; for with my old company I was only receiving an HMO, and now I have a PPO, allowing me even more choice when it comes to taking care of me.
I cover my daughter, too, under a separate policy and have had that ever since she was born and she is now twelve.
It was so easy and such a good experience, I will even tell you who the lucky show of health innovation and organization won my loyalty over -- Anthem Blue Cross.
Now here's another kicker, I am single too. So break those old prejudices and preconceived ideas of single mothers; even us poor single mothers can get health insurance! But let me be clear, I am certainly not rich, and currently inbetween opportunities with employers, but the point is I got insurance.
I believe that people, in general, would rather just get a free lunch out of our government; make someone else responsible for our ills and pay for it. Who really wants to pay for health insurance anyway, certainly not me. It is no fun being responsible for ourselves sometimes. No fun being the adult. And no fun in paying out each and every month for an insurance on something we hope we never really need to use, like in the catastrophic ailments.
So perhaps what we must do is revolutionize our health care system -- simplify it, extinguish waste and fraud -- and maybe even allow for the industry to ultimately prosper. You know, it is okay if our doctors and nurses and hospices and cancer centers and alternative medicine clinics all prosper from giving us such great care. It is who we are as a culture to think and grow rich and be healthy and happy as we do it. It is who we are as Americans. It is what we are made of and what dreams are made of everyday.
If we limit ourselves under this veil of fear we will not prevail. Our country will go on life support and slowly fall into a coma of no return.
Make it a good day, G
I got to thinking about all of this hullabaloo about health care, reform, the need for government to step in and help us poor souls and it just started making me so crazy. The politics of spin and timing and bad economics along with the prevailing winds of "the sky is falling we must do something now before it's too late" is basically creating a culture of fear. Dare I say, rushing to solve this issue from a position of fear and deprivation will only rush us into another bad new deal.
They say that the 47 million "Americans" not covered amounts to about 15% of our nation -- so 85% are covered! They also say that due to the government provisions already in place, nobody is turned away from an emergency room -- ever -- even those who are here illegally! They also say that we in America are blessed with the BEST health care in the world, hence the story goes everyone and their mother COME HERE for recovery to reap the benefits of American innovation and organization second to none.
I love that word INNOVATION. It is funny that a product today pokes fun of the very word in a television commercial...Post Shredded Wheat. Have you seen it? The spokesperson says, "we take the NO out of Innovation"...reveling in the very nature that this product doesn't need to change.
Why do they capitalize on the idea of no innovation? Because like my dad always said if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Some things started out a good idea and just kept on going being a good idea. Simple. And taking it one step further, I can't help but think of my grandmother who has been eating Shredded Wheat since the age of 10! Today, at the age of 92, she still makes a bowl of it every morning, divining a count of 22 pieces as if it were a religious experience (and maybe it is). Of course, at the risk of digressing, she is an example of what eating right and taking care of yourself is all about. Again, personal responsibility goes a long, long way. Enough said.
Our country and our fellow Americans have always been recognized for our innovation, our discoveries, our inventions, our attitude, our good Samaritans, our military who saves the world, and most importantly, our ability to year in and year out be the country where dreams can come true and anyone can grow up to be anything. When you put us all together we are this country.
So what is really happening here? Is it not the current political agenda in play that has us all bushwhacked? For really then, after careful study, doesn't this issue simply become a tool to create another bureaucracy?
By definition, a bureaucracy is "any administration in which the need to follow complex procedures impedes effective action". Just because government believes they are acting in ways which are presumably what is best for us doesn't make it so. We must think it through for ourselves and trust our own judgment otherwise we will grow to become a people dependent on the government for everything!
I just obtained health insurance for myself after leaving my previous employer and turning down the expensive option of going on Cobra. It took me three days to shop around, apply and get approved (even with pre-existing conditions). It was amazing how easy and efficient it was and, in the end, amounts to half of what I would have had to pay if choosing the Cobra option. Here's the kicker, I remain with the same health insurance I was previously on with my company, but getting even BETTER service; for with my old company I was only receiving an HMO, and now I have a PPO, allowing me even more choice when it comes to taking care of me.
I cover my daughter, too, under a separate policy and have had that ever since she was born and she is now twelve.
It was so easy and such a good experience, I will even tell you who the lucky show of health innovation and organization won my loyalty over -- Anthem Blue Cross.
Now here's another kicker, I am single too. So break those old prejudices and preconceived ideas of single mothers; even us poor single mothers can get health insurance! But let me be clear, I am certainly not rich, and currently inbetween opportunities with employers, but the point is I got insurance.
I believe that people, in general, would rather just get a free lunch out of our government; make someone else responsible for our ills and pay for it. Who really wants to pay for health insurance anyway, certainly not me. It is no fun being responsible for ourselves sometimes. No fun being the adult. And no fun in paying out each and every month for an insurance on something we hope we never really need to use, like in the catastrophic ailments.
So perhaps what we must do is revolutionize our health care system -- simplify it, extinguish waste and fraud -- and maybe even allow for the industry to ultimately prosper. You know, it is okay if our doctors and nurses and hospices and cancer centers and alternative medicine clinics all prosper from giving us such great care. It is who we are as a culture to think and grow rich and be healthy and happy as we do it. It is who we are as Americans. It is what we are made of and what dreams are made of everyday.
If we limit ourselves under this veil of fear we will not prevail. Our country will go on life support and slowly fall into a coma of no return.
Make it a good day, G
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Dear America,
Where do we begin and how do we begin again, I ask myself.
Where I live, it is the Day After OPENING Day of the Races, in Del Mar. It is one of those local traditions that brings the seasonal influx of big hats and high balls, arriving as Bing Crosby sings by train or by car-- limo or beemer-- and away they go with a day of heavy drinking, gambling and the like. I really don't wanna sound cynical during these trying times, but it is a wonder when pondering the state of America and all of it's ills, worries and confusion how merriment still reigns a very high priority.
Of course, it is also the Day After the Presidential primetime address regarding the state of our healthcare system and his valiant push by our President Obama to "make it so", even if it rushes to harm us in the end. While just the idea of the Day After brings a sense of melancholy, as if to say that the party is over, time to heal the hangover, pop a pill and sleep it all off.
It is the day after something big, something planned, and that something is now over...it merely remains the Day After.
I find such irony in realizing that here we are in the country who created the very idea of "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" that we have grown into such a wayward, mental state as a people. We are lost individually and collectively living in one serious hangover; and the only way to transcend this downward trend is to go back to the time before.
A time when our founding fathers and philosphers and renaissance men and society were all speaking the same language. A language that united us in thought and in word to do our personal best. It was a time that called for individual responsibility to rise up and create a life of happiness on our own. A time when you had no choice but to create that life because big daddy nanny state wasn't going to do it for you, and moreover, we didn't want them to!
How can it be okay to let the government simply takeover our lives; and to be sure, it would seem by the prevailing attitude a hostile takeover at that. Are we giving birth to people so weak and blind to the trappings of big government, or are we just spellbound by the very idea that maybe this time big government will be different. Perhaps we are no longer the greatest generation; perhaps handouts and subsidies and taxes are the answer to our prayers.
Wake Up you people! Socialism has many ills, wrecks societies and has never been a system of government that allows for the full freedoms and liberty of it's people. It never has worked and it never will and heaven forbid, do not let a really cool President tell you otherwise!
Our power to choose everything, good or bad, not only dictates our individual life each and every day, but as a whole in our present day has the ill-fated power to create a society of puppets!
I say today, NO thank you.
We have the power to create responsible, accountable citizens who revel in the very thought of our freedoms to raise a family, grow a business, acquire wealth and prosper in every possible way. Government is not needed for that! Stop, think, grow rich and look at how we are just turning over, as if playing dead, to the powers that be through taxation, through excess, through mismanagement, through loss of control, through waste, through affairs on the taxpayer dime, through corruption, through lobby, through not in my back yard, through just sleeping it off like the Day After hoping we will just wake up and have it all better tomorrow.
The only pill for this Day After is a hard pill to swallow. That's it. Mary Poppins is not here to put a little sugar on it. It will take each of us, individually and collectively to wake up and place our goverment back in the hands of the people.
We must recognize that this power and strength is within ourselves all along; our outer world will only change when we align ourself to the qualities that will sustain the individual to rise up and be strong all by one's self. Then collectively, we will live all of our days in the land of the free and the brave and even look forward to the Day After, and the day after that, and the day after that, and ...
Make it a good day, G
Where I live, it is the Day After OPENING Day of the Races, in Del Mar. It is one of those local traditions that brings the seasonal influx of big hats and high balls, arriving as Bing Crosby sings by train or by car-- limo or beemer-- and away they go with a day of heavy drinking, gambling and the like. I really don't wanna sound cynical during these trying times, but it is a wonder when pondering the state of America and all of it's ills, worries and confusion how merriment still reigns a very high priority.
Of course, it is also the Day After the Presidential primetime address regarding the state of our healthcare system and his valiant push by our President Obama to "make it so", even if it rushes to harm us in the end. While just the idea of the Day After brings a sense of melancholy, as if to say that the party is over, time to heal the hangover, pop a pill and sleep it all off.
It is the day after something big, something planned, and that something is now over...it merely remains the Day After.
I find such irony in realizing that here we are in the country who created the very idea of "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" that we have grown into such a wayward, mental state as a people. We are lost individually and collectively living in one serious hangover; and the only way to transcend this downward trend is to go back to the time before.
A time when our founding fathers and philosphers and renaissance men and society were all speaking the same language. A language that united us in thought and in word to do our personal best. It was a time that called for individual responsibility to rise up and create a life of happiness on our own. A time when you had no choice but to create that life because big daddy nanny state wasn't going to do it for you, and moreover, we didn't want them to!
How can it be okay to let the government simply takeover our lives; and to be sure, it would seem by the prevailing attitude a hostile takeover at that. Are we giving birth to people so weak and blind to the trappings of big government, or are we just spellbound by the very idea that maybe this time big government will be different. Perhaps we are no longer the greatest generation; perhaps handouts and subsidies and taxes are the answer to our prayers.
Wake Up you people! Socialism has many ills, wrecks societies and has never been a system of government that allows for the full freedoms and liberty of it's people. It never has worked and it never will and heaven forbid, do not let a really cool President tell you otherwise!
Our power to choose everything, good or bad, not only dictates our individual life each and every day, but as a whole in our present day has the ill-fated power to create a society of puppets!
I say today, NO thank you.
We have the power to create responsible, accountable citizens who revel in the very thought of our freedoms to raise a family, grow a business, acquire wealth and prosper in every possible way. Government is not needed for that! Stop, think, grow rich and look at how we are just turning over, as if playing dead, to the powers that be through taxation, through excess, through mismanagement, through loss of control, through waste, through affairs on the taxpayer dime, through corruption, through lobby, through not in my back yard, through just sleeping it off like the Day After hoping we will just wake up and have it all better tomorrow.
The only pill for this Day After is a hard pill to swallow. That's it. Mary Poppins is not here to put a little sugar on it. It will take each of us, individually and collectively to wake up and place our goverment back in the hands of the people.
We must recognize that this power and strength is within ourselves all along; our outer world will only change when we align ourself to the qualities that will sustain the individual to rise up and be strong all by one's self. Then collectively, we will live all of our days in the land of the free and the brave and even look forward to the Day After, and the day after that, and the day after that, and ...
Make it a good day, G
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
