Rick Scott Claims’s He’s Been Drug Tested ~ Let’s Have the Results !!!!

Florida’s Rick Scott is doing his best to ruin Florida. Unfortunately, Florida does not allow voters to recall legislators or governors. I have yet to meet one person, in the past few months, who has anything decent to say about Scott – we are all suffering from his bandito tactics.

Scott says he wants to run Florida like a corporation, he is the CEO and we are his employees. Hmmm, I don’t recall applying for a job at a place where Rick Scott is the boss. As a doctor, I have had the privilege of making my own hours and decisions about how I wanted to run my practice (within reason). I would never allow myself to work under a tyrannical leader like Scott .

Scott will not engage with you at a Socratic level. Try to engage Scott in discussion and all he does is cite his party line repeatedly. Watch his interviews and this is quite apparent. Reminds me of a cult. There is a party line (the philosophy of the cult) and this is how cults train their members to answer questions to individuals outside of the cult. Don’t think about the answer, don’t analyze the question – just give the party line – main thing: NEVER ANSWER THE QUESTION.

Rick Scott is a liar. This is not an ad hominem attack on his personhood. This is a statement about things he has said in his role as Governor. I watched him interviewed recently and when asked if he would take a drug test for his employer, Rick indicated that he has done this in recent years.

Really? WHEN?

LETS SEE THE RESULTS. I would like Rick to provide the date of the last tests and provide a copy of the results.

If Rick Scott has been the CEO of HCA for many, many years, you just have to wonder who ordered Rick to pee in a cup with someone standing outside waiting to take the cup away to a lab. Prior to Scott being CEO, I believe he was working as an attorney (?) – was that out in Texas? I can’t recall at this writing – BUT -

1. Do we really believe that Rick actually took a drug test for himself as CEO of HCA ?

2. Do we really believe that Rick actually took a drug test while an attorney for a law firm?

Frankly, I don’t know any CEOs or professionals, like physicians, attorneys, or professionals like myself who have ever had to submit to a drug test. If you know of random and pre-hire drug screening of physicians, CEOs, and attorneys anywhere, please write me, as I am always open to correction and frankly, I’d really like to know where this is taking place.

Why is this an issue for me? Because Rick signed the bill forcing young, poor women with children who apply for TEMPORARY assistance to needy families (TANF) to submit to a drug test – AT THEIR OWN COST – in order to get assistance from the state.

BOO HOO on you Rick Scott!!!!

This suggests that poor women are drug addicts. Or it suggests that poor women with young children are drug addicts. Or it suggests that the House and RIck Scott are anti-women, anti-poor, and anti social programs for poor folks. Remember, TANF is TEMPORARY and remember that there is absolutely no study in all of the literature that indicates that TANF recipients are any more likely to be drug addicts than Rick Scott is.

I am angry. Disheartened. And disgusted with the lack of ethical and moral consciousness going around these days. I feel sorry for young people having to grow up in times when politicians are selfish, greedy, and totally lacking in compassion.

Now that I have ranted, I will continue to prepare for my dream retirement in Patagonia ~- heart failure and all, at least , I can keep dreaming ~ ~

PETITION: 250,000 strong to tell Boehner and Republicans not to end Medicare

PETITION: 250,000 strong to tell Boehner and Republicans not to end Medicare: http://dccc.org/medicare

via PETITION: 250,000 strong to tell Boehner and Republicans not to end Medicare.

Dear Speaker Boehner & House:I’m Not Ready to Die Yet

Dear Speaker Boehner and House Representatives,

I am an aging Clinical Psychologist who has survived the ravages of Congenital Heart Disease for the past 50+ years. With 15 cardiac surgeries and 50+ hospitalizations behind me; I am alive today to write this letter. I would not be alive without the help of the group health insurance I used to have.  Once my illness made it impossible for me to keep working, I lost my health insurance.  The private companies, the darlings of the conservative movement, refuse to insure me. I am not poor enough for Medicaid and not old enough for Medicare.

My doctors and I have spoken about the precarious situation I am in; awaiting my living to reach Medicare age.  If I can reach age 65, I will once again be able to have the medical care I need. Thank God we have Medicare. The aging population in our country needs the security of knowing that when we  arrive at the autumn of our life, America’s safety net is still there for us.  We need to know that America does care about its elderly, sick, and frail individuals.  All Americans must know that the burdeon of age, with its mild to grave ailments, will be able to turn to a trusted program for help. 

 BUT YOU WANT TO TAKE IT AWAY. You call it support. OMG, support? Let’s get real. We are aghast at this horrific notion!!

Call it what you will: voucher/coupon/support program: it will not pay for the costs millions of Americans must rely on. This is what an ethical and moral government does for its people?  It cares enough to take care of them. I am urging and begging all of you to stop thinking about this rhetorically but look at the REAL devastation that “transforming” Medicare will cause.

Forget your charts, your numbers, your budgets, look at REAL people, go into nursing homes, go into the hospitals, go into places where sick people are. Look at your own families with devastating illness, look this in the face, PLEASE, and realize what this will actually look like, not in a 100 page document, but in REAL LIFE – in your city.

You want to give an average of $11,000 (give or take here and there) so seniors with pre-existing conditions ) can go onto the private market to buy health insurance?  Nobody reaches age 65 without SOMETHING! Virtually anyone this age will have some kind of pre-existing condition, because this is what happens to human beings as they grow older. Given this, it means that people like you and me, your parents, your grandparents, aunts, and uncles will be without any kind of healthcare program.  Do you seriously believe that the major corporations, who are in the business for profit are going to provide full health insurance to older Americans with pre-existing conditions with the same full benefit and affordable price as they are providing to 30 year olds? Are you living on the same planet that I am? 

I can’t buy health insurance now – nobody will sell it to me, because I am pre-existed OUT OF THIS WORLD. Why do you think that private insurers are going to start selling insurance to seniors with pre-existing conditions at a rate that is affordable? Do you know that Blue Cross and Humana now offer private insurance to YOUNG people with congenital heart defects for $2,000 a month, with a guarantee of only 1 year of coverage? That is $24,000 a year with the knowledge that the plan will be terminated at the end of the year.  House of Representatives, where did you get your data?. It is incredibly far from what is happening here in the real world. The world that exists far from your charts and massive documents (how much did those cost the GPO to print?)

Paul Ryan’s plan will surely cause the early death of millions of Americans who will no longer be able to get the care they need. This is not drama – the research already indicates that people without full insurance coverage are dying early. How will Paul Ryan’s support pay for heart surgery, kidney dialysis, cancer treatment, coma patients on life-support, etc?

Furthermore, Americans are satisfied with the current Medicare program. They are NOT complaining.

It is your job to represent what the people want, not what you personally believe is necessary. Your jobs, as our representatives are to act upon what we believe in and want. The American public has told you not to dump Medicare, not to change it, leave it as it is. That is not hard to understand. It is very simple to see. This is why people all over the country are outraged. It would outrage you, if you were 54 and sick with cancer,  neuormuscular disease, kidney disease, heart and lung disorder, diabetes, or any other illness requiring ongoing care.  

We, as Americans, do not want to die or go broke because you are taking away the life-net from us. We don’t want to go back to the 1940′s. That was a time when people died early because they couldn’t afford medical care, went to the poor house, debtor’s prison, etc. Do you remember – do you know? Is this the future America you want?  Rather than progress, the House of Representatives is working hard to take us back to the past. 

Speaker Boehner and House of Representatives, please listen to the voice of the majority of Americans, particularly those of us who struggle with chronic and devastating illnesses. We are in the millions. 

The U.S. has always been a country that is compassionate and cares about the elderly – throwing us in the garbage just because we are over 55 is reprehensible. Your plan will prohibit individuals that are not wealthy or well from having appropriate medical care.  Your plan doesn’t even take into consideration that even the healthiest citizens living into their 80′s will be affected by Alzheimer’s Disease or other form of dementia. Your plan tells these citizens that they are to go out on the private market to negotiate a plan with a private insurer – an outrageous concept. WHAT ARE YOU THINKING? 

Paul Ryan’s plan is the worst thing that could happen to this country.

Think about your own family, what will happen to them if they get sick in the future with a devastating illness – cancer treatment, heart surgery,kidney diseases, and neurological disorders costs hundreds of thousands of dollars to treat. Without care, Alzheimer’s and other dementia patients will end up wandering the streets and subsequently dying early due to lack of appropriate care.

You know that the private insurers, such as Blue Cross/Humana/United Health Care/Coventry/Aetna will not cover pre-existing conditions. You know that they terminate policies with 30-90 days notice, you know that they refuse payment for many technically driven issues. This is the America you want. Leaving older and sick Americans vulnerable and defenseless, against BIG CORPORATE AMERICA. Is this the America you desire? This makes us a great nation?  I think not. From my perspective, a great nation takes care of the elderly, not treat them like ticks and roaches.  Rather, you seek to line the pockets of corporate millionaires. It’s almost impossible for me  to believe this is what my House of Representatives wants. It’s a bad dream – a nightmare – a horror movie. It cannot possibly be real.

Unfortunately, the House has become so full of arrogant and callous individuals, they have chosen this plan. It’s a wonder that we have yet to see uprisings in the streets – but we will, in time. 

Sadly, this will be written in the history books, however it goes. Terrible commentary on  how much you value your fellow Americans.

I ask you, to please embrace your fellow Americans. Take care of them. We need to be good to each other, even when there are financial difficulties. What good is promoting longevity in this country, if,tax breaks to corporations are more important than helping and saving human life?

Life is more important than money – sometimes we must tell the wealthy they have to accept less profit, so we can take care of a 65-year-old woman struggling with congestive heart failure or a 70-year-old kidney failure patient. This could be your mother, your sister, your brother, it could be you if you were not in Congress. It is the ethical and moral thing to do. It is THE American thing to do.

P.S. Please don’t insult me by suggesting that “you just don’t understand”. I do understand, I am a doctor and a nurse and a patient. I understand very well. Thank you. 

PAUL RYANS MEDICARE JOKE

I enraged

I am outraged

I will be civil because I am human

BUT

Paul, do you think we are stupid? 

From: http://www.roadmap.republicans.budget.house.gov/

This is what he believes : I actually have to put this on my blog because it’s so unbelievable. And this is just the little part. I can’t believe Paul and his cronies actually believe this. 

Ryans tells us, in his plan about Medicare that:

“The Roadmap secures Medicare for current beneficiaries, while making common-sense reforms to save this critical program.

It preserves the existing Medicare program for those currently enrolled or becoming eligible in the next 10 years (those 55 and older today) – So Americans can receive the benefits they planned for throughout their working lives. For those currently under 55 – as they become Medicare-eligible – it creates a Medicare payment, initially averaging $11,000, to be used to purchase a Medicare certified plan. The payment is adjusted to reflect medical inflation, and pegged to income, with low-income individuals receiving greater support. The plan also provides risk adjustment, so those with greater medical needs receive a higher payment.
The proposal also fully funds Medical Savings Accounts [MSAs] for low-income beneficiaries, while continuing to allow all beneficiaries, regardless of income, to set up tax-free MSAs.
Based on consultation with the Office of the Actuary of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and using Congressional Budget Office [CBO] these reforms will make Medicare permanently solvent.
Modernizes Medicaid and strengthens the health care safety net by reforming high-risk pools, giving States maximum flexibility to tailor Medicaid programs to the specific needs of their populations. Allows Medicaid recipients to take part in the same variety of options and high-quality care available to everyone through the tax credit option.”

As my Bubbie would say, “oy yoy yoy yoy ; oy vey is mere; I say it too.”

“What is Compassion, asked the Conservative Republican”

I have been on a hiatus due to ongoing health issues. However, the insanity of the Radical Conservatives has turned my power switch even higher. Hmm, now what was this blog about in the first place ~ Thoughts on Compassion  ~ and what do the Tea Party, Rick Scott, Paul Ryan, Scott Walker, and the rest of the bunch represent ?  Arrogance, contempt and total lack of regard for their fellow human being.

To say the least, I am OUTRAGED. I am outraged that people are more concerned with what is in their wallet over the welfare of their fellow human being. I am outraged that people in this country actually elected these idiots into power. And, at times, I feel sorry for them, because the Radical Right lied to their constituents. The firefighters who protect them, the paramedics who take their mothers to the hospital when they break their hip, the police who serve them when a burglar is raging through their gated wealthy communities; the nurses who wipe the feces from their backsides when they are too immobilized to do it themselves after surgery; the teachers who wipe the goop off of their children’s noses, etc. I could go on and on. I am disgusted with lack of compassion, love, care, concern, and ….uggh I am too riled up to think clearly.

I am glad to see Wisconsin is giving Paul Ryan and his compassionless cronies a hard time. They lied. Our kids are apathetic about politics because they tell us, “why vote, their just a bunch of liars.” Here we are today, seeing the truth. They are liars. Not all. But, OMG, I am stunned to be alive in a time when nothing about humankind matters to the conservatives; it makes me ashamed to be part of the human race.

Thank God I am a liberal and a progressive and a person of compassion – who believes in love and care and concern for everyone; when you have just one dime, and you live next to someone who doesn’t have a penny – you share - it’s we teach our kids when they enter pre-school – or are we not even doing that anymore?

Health Insurance God of America

Still sick. My friends are trying to convince me to go to the doctor ~ I don’t think I need a lot of convincing. Not having insurance makes going to the doctor a problem. Last time I was there a few months ago, a simple lab test let to my receiving a bill from the lab company for $469.00. People with insurance don’t think like this, all they think about is, “well what is my co-pay?” Then they bitch and moan about having to dole about somewhere between $10-30. Instead of griping, they should be falling to the ground and thanking the United States of America Health Insurance God.

Which reminds me that just a year ago there was so much hoopla about the new affordable health insurance act. And how all of us were going to be granted the privilege of being able to have health insurance and even those of us who didnt want it would be forced into buying it.

 Don’t get me wrong, I am one of those rare bleeding heart liberals who still supports OBAMA. I am one of those who supported the public option. And I still do. But, looks like things are going to get worse for real Americans who don’t live the life of luxury. Because the new Congressman are going to start chipping away at what we don’t have.

They try to brainwash us into believing that all of us stupid silly folks don’t get the the problem is all about government control. If only we would have faith in private corporate America all of our problems would be solved. We would all have jobs. Health insurance. And we would all be happy and healthy and rich.

Don’t these folks get that it was corporate America that put us here? Don’t they realize that once Blue Cross, Metropolitan, United Health Care, CIGNA, and all the other health insurance companies took control of our physicians and our pharmacies that the demise of good medical care was underway?

All these conservatives keep talking about, “oooh noooh we don’t want big government controlling our health care.” What do they think is going on already. Where have they been for the past 30 years? Where were they when managed care was introduced by private corporate insurance companies? I bet if you ask most of the new Congressmen, they have no idea.

They probably don’t even know that in the days of real medical care, when you called the doctor for an appointment, the first question out of the receptionist’s mouth was not “who is your insurance company?” In fact, back in the days of real medical care, sometimes the receptionist was a real R.N., who asked you, “what’s the problem, I’ll tell the doctor.” Then, the doctor would call you and he would decide whether you should come in or not.

How many of the new conservatives in Congress even know about this time in history? Do they remember when your doctor came to your house when you were sick. Do they remember being a kid stuffed under the covers sweating it out, watching out the front window, looking for his car to pull up? Looking to see if he had that black bag with him? Do you think he carried insurance authorization forms with him then?

The conservatives care about two things: their personal wallets and their blaming everything that is wrong on BIG GOVERNMENT. They believe the rest of us are stupid because we don’t pray to their God of Private Corporate America. You don’t have to look too far to see that it was corporate America that put us here.

Michael Moore has it right ~ what spooks me is that millions of people don’t have a clue what is really going on here.

I may sound cynical, but, I have faith. And that’s because everything is a cycle – and it means that one day, perhaps not in my lifetime, but, doctors will be doctors and pharmacists will be pharmacists and patients will be patients. And it will be simple and normal. And the insanity will be gone. One day.

To Be Human is To Be Humble: Goodybe 2010 ~ Hello 2011

I can’t believe it’s been 2.5 months since I’ve made an entry in my blog. Every day, my mind is full of ideas worthy to write, but between being sick, short days of winter, and not enough help, I find little time.  A lot of important stuff has happened. Unfortunately, I have been kicked to the side-lines with some nasty flu-like illness for the past two weeks. Life has been nothing more than getting my dog out for necessary exercise and bathroom time, coughing, moaning, and sleeping for hours on end. It has given me a somewhat new relationship with the television – and has confirmed once again – that most of what you find on the mainline tv is a bunch of junk. So, in my haze of coughing and sleeping, I find solace in the guys on American Pickers, who rove the country looking for hidden treasures. I’m losing the point, let me try again.

In the past 2.5 months, the political landscape relevant to Dangerous Dog Law finally changed. The voters, in recent elections, were able to get the villainous Ken Keechl out of office thanks to grass root efforts. Ken was responsible for doing the dirty work a few years ago and changing Broward to the nation’s only one lethal bite and your euthanized law. Once he was out of office, the new County Commission, judges, and lawyers who knew a bad thing needed to be fixed – worked their magic. The cases of Brandie and Gigi were resolved. Both dogs went home to their owners where they belonged. It was the best news of the year. Fred Kray, an attorney specializing in legal issues for dogs, has become one of my heroes. 

Most people who know me, know that I am an intuitive. I’m one of those people who experienced a Near Death Experience back in the days before people ever talked about it. I’ve had lots of odd paranormal experiences and basically just see them as part of who I am. Lately, it doesn’t get spoken about much. I only mention this because in the past several months I did have a very profound experience. I had a visit from my mother, who passed away in 1997. She came to me in a dream. Sounds silly right? It’s been 13 years since I saw my mother and one night, a rare night for me, she appeared in a dream. It was awesome and left me with some very profound thoughts and beautiful feelings for several days.

This kind of experience can only remind us that there is so much in life we do not know. There is no room in our minds or hearts for arrogance, to think we know it all, to be rigid in thought, to not be open in heart or in mind. There may be all kinds of spiritual, philosophical, intellectual, psychological explanations for the experience of the dream. To me, it is the not knowing for sure, the opening of the gates of ongoing pathway of knowing that keeps these experiences so very special. 

On December 18 my son graduated from college. I haven’t been anywhere significant in months due to my problems with heart failure. I was a wreck and the trip was difficult for me, because most little things get me out of breath.  Yet, there was nothing so awesome as to watch him make that transition in the world. It was so inspiring. I remembered his high school graduations, then all of my college and grad school graduations and what these meant. My mind raced to memories of my professors, advisors, and deans of various colleges from the past. I recalled the extraordinary high you get when sitting with your peers and faculty in academic quests of what probably looks like stupid banter. But it’s not. There is a reason college is so important – and its not just because you might get a job with your degree. 

And so, these 3 good things happened.

But now, this illness is swooping me down, so much more to tell. Tomorrow is another day, or so I think.