Hate Mongers attempt to follow me on Twitter

I have made it no secret I am for a public option and support President Obama's health care reform plan. I have blogged on it and used my Twitter (Twitter/nkbe) account to continuously promote this action, joining many others in this cause. I don't know why I am still amazed at the agression of the minority who espouse lies and fear mongering to get Obama's plan defeated; but I am still amazed. I almost wish those of us for the bill had more gumption and less apathy in this matter.

If you watched Senator Kennedy's memorial and burial service, you would have heard Republicans speeches on what they admired most about this Senator: His ability to reach across the isle and get things done. Yet less than 24 hours after Kennedy's burial, the Republican Congress was out in full force espousing lies about the health reform bill. They need to be removed from Congress because all they care about is their own personal gain (in my opinion). They seem to want to do and say anything to have the President fail. If the President fails, we all fail. President Obama inherited this mess. It will take more than 6 months to fix the crap President Bush got us into not to mention the greed of Wall Street and banks.

Where are you people? Do you not have a voice? You better speak now because we are in danger of losing help we desperately need for our citzenry. I contact Maryland Congress people yesterday to tell them to make health reform happen, particularly the public option. As I said in a previous blog: managed care insurers want their say; want to make millions and billions of dollars at our health needs. We need an option!

Today, the Christian Coalition wanted to follow me on Twitter. Their goal: defeat health care reform and more. Can they not read? do they not see I am for it or are they trying to defeat my voice? I blocked them but I fear their efforts will attempt to defeat my voice.

Now is the time: here is the link to all of Congressional emails: http://www.webslingerz.com/jhoffman/congress-email.html

What are you waiting for? 57% of those polled want the entire Congress replaced. I want most of them replaced. We can make a difference here. Make your voice heard. do it NOW.

RIP Senator Ted Kennedy; Keep Hope Alive for Healthcare Reform

Sad news this morning: Senator Edward Kennedy has lost his battle with the Glioma, cancer of the brain. A tragic end to a life filled with both tragedy and good. I choose to remember the good. Yes, the Chappaquiddick incident is still constantly brought to the forefront. But he paid his dues. He did good and he was a champion for people. Maybe the bad that happened brought out the best in him. Maybe his good and commitment to good came about as repentance. Whatever, he was the head of a family that felt more tragic events that any family should.



Now, with Eunice gone, there is no other leader to this family. Now, with health care reform being badgered by Senators who may not have had such public misdeeds, but as vile as anything you can imagine by taking money from health insurers and fighting with such vengeance and lies to stop healthcare reform. Now we are left with many Senators who will stop at nothing to get their own ways; to assassinate health reform; to kill a new President's goals that are needed for this county. Maybe as a tribute to Senator Kennedy, we ought to vote out those who choose their own personal goals ahead of the good of the country and its people.



Whatever you think of Senator Kennedy, you must see that for decades, he changed his life and improved ours. I fear health care reform in this year may be stalled by his loss. I hope not. But I urge you to please contact all congress leaders to promote healthcare reform. Not as a tribute to Senator Kennedy, though a tribute it would certainly be, but for all of us, all of us. Don't believe those people who push their own interests over ours.

Kennedy got between 300-500 bills that help each and every one of us. Have a child that needs more help in school? Think of Title 9; So much that is too much for this blog.

For the Kennedy family, I wish them peace. Keep hope alive; let the dream of health care coverage for all human beings live on.

A little more on healthcare reform; Baucus plus

I read September issue of Rolling Stone Magazine. They have a great section on health care reform. A little bit of Trivia:Max Baucus (a so called right wing Democrat) who chairs the Senate Finance committee and is trying to stop the public option of healthcare reform, took almost $3 million from health insurers over the past year...and he knows health care? HAHAHAHA; he is owned by managed care companies.

Here is an emial I got from an organization trying to get health reform passed, the way it needs to be passed. I am including it to show that if we all work together, we can overcome the lobbyists and in fact we are lobbyists!

It's all because of you and the work we've done together.It started with 400,000 thousand signatures of Americans drawing a line in the sand, demanding that the inclusion of a public option in healthcare reform is non-negotiable. Then over 10,000 people delivered these petition signatures to every single member of Congress, sometimes to multiple offices. Governor Howard Dean capped it off with a public delivery event in Washington D.C. that drew over 10,000 supporters.Congress got the message. At least 64 House Democrats have pledged to vote against any bill without a public option. We need to thank our House Healthcare Heroes. Tell them to stand strong against pressure from insurance industry lobbyists.

ADD YOUR NAME NOW AND THANK OUR HOUSE HEALTHCARE HEROESWe're winning today because you've been driving the debate and delivering results.For the last two months, DFA members teamed up with OpenLeft-com and Healthcare for America Now to get every Senator on the record in support. The campaign is working. We are only four Senators away from the 50 we'll need to guarantee passage. We've been raising money all week to put extra staff and resources on the ground starting September 1st in as many as 10 states to pressure the remaining Senators. We will not stop until we win.DFA members also teamed up with FireDogLake-com to mobilize House Democrats. We made calls together.

We went to Town Halls and spoke up. And we offered House Democrats the chance of increased exposure if they shot a video to drive their position home. At least 64 House Democrats have stood up publicly, taken our challenge, and several of them backed it up with a video. Thanks to your work and these 64 Democrats, a Healthcare bill without a public option is D.O.A. in the House.Together with leaders like Jane Hamsher at FireDogLake and Chris Bowers at OpenLeft, we're delivering the results to get the job done. Let's make sure our House Healthcare Heroes know we have their back as long as they stand strong against insurance industry pressure.

THANK THE HEALTHCARE HEROES AND DEMAND THEY STAND STRONGWe're not holding anything back.We're continuing to pressure Roadblock Democrats like Senators Ben Nelson, Mary Landrieu and Max Baucus with hard-hitting ads and personal healthcare stories of real Americans calling for change. And, with our friends at the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, we're preparing to amp the pressure up for Republican Senators in Iowa and Maine just in time to send them back to Washington with a clear message to not block reform.More than 1,000 DFA members have offered to become a spokesperson in rapid-response ad campaigns pressuring their member of Congress. We're ready to hit back against any Republican or Democrat - in any state - at any time if they plan to stand against the choice of a public health insurance option.

We're organizing everywhere to make sure we pass reform with a real public option. And just as it is important for us to be able to fight back against our opponents, it's important for us to be able to thank our heroes.ADD YOUR NAME NOWWe're winning, but we can't sit back and hope it happens. We need to make it happen.Thank you for everything you do to make sure we win.-ArshadArshad Hasan, Executive Director Democracy for AmericaP.S. On Tuesday, Governor Dean challenged DFA members to fund a campaign to put organizers on the ground in states where we still have Roadblock Senators. We've almost hit our goal. After you add your name, please contribute. We can be on the ground in as many as 10 states if we have the funds by Monday.

Democracy for America relies on you and the people-power of more than one million members to fund the grassroots organizing and training that delivers progressive change on the issues that matter. Please Contribute Today and support our mission.

Paid for by Democracy for America, http://democracyforamerica.com/ and not authorized by any candidate. Contributions to Democracy for America are not deductible for federal income tax purposes.

Health Care Reform or Revolt? An insider's view

First and foremost, I wanted to say how proud I am to be part of a blogging community that is taking action to provide accurate, truthful, factual information on health care reform as proposed under the Obama administration. Much has been written, printed, pontificated about already. Much of it wrong. This blog will attempt to offer opinions and views, facts that will dispel the horrendous propaganda being dispelled by people who have a mission to destroy health coverage for all. Others will report more facts and this blog has listed resource for you also. Today, I want to talk about polls, myths and my own experience working in the insurance industry...managed care (and it is managed).

First, let's talk about public opinion. How can you have an opinion if you don't know the facts?

Polls: the reports are polls are showing people are against healthcare reform. Well it doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that when people are reporting that the new reform will kill elders and ration healthcare, people would fight back. BUT THIS IS NOT TRUE.

How polls are reported is up to selection of material by politician and media alike. They usually choose those aspects of polls that support their views. On the Health care Blog yesterday, the Chairman of Harris Interactive posted one of the most thoughtful, factual truths about the health care reform polls. I urge you to go and read it NOW: http://www.thehealthcareblog.com/the_health_care_blog/2009/08/health-care-reform-what-do-people-really-want.html

Humphrey Taylor, Chairman of The Harris Poll, Harris Interactive. reports on what do People Really Want? He lists the top 13 items people really want or feel about health care reform. He says its not about cherry picking polls as politicians do and choosing those aspects of polls that confirm and individuals opinion.



More on polls:http://polls.newsmax.com/results/obama_health.html is from a sight Newsmax that offers an immediate online poll on health care reform. Anyone can take it. I went to the site and the results listed are above. You have to sign up with your email so this is really a site, in my opinion, that really is soliciting information based on your email that they can perhaps sell or reveal. That is my opinion because when I went to the site for results: see url above, the poll was over 70% against health care reform and the same percent were people who voted for McCain. Factual and reliable poll? No. Be careful what polls you use or believe.

HMOs, Managed Care from the inside: I am a nurse. I worked in managed care for 7 years. I even worked in appeals and medical management where claims and issues with members were attempted to be resolved. People please understand that this affects YOU, your family, your health. Here are some examples of issues I found that made me sick:

A woman went to the hospital for surgical removal of a suspicious breast lump. When the surgeon went to remove it, it was obviously malignant and spread to lymph nodes. He removed the breast lump, the breast and some of the lymph nodes. The HMO denied coverage because the surgeon did not call the managed care organization for pre-authorization for a mastectomy instead of lump removal.

Mandates for hospital stays that were unreasonable and have changed but these included 1 day post op for mastectomy; 1 day hospitalization for postpartum care following vaginal delivery.

What happened? Cases such as the above caused more repeat hospitalizations for complications thus various states, and politicians, started a movement that finally resulted in certain conditions having to follow mandates for good health care. This was the first public mandate of health care. Whether you choose to believe this or not, this is true. So public, or government mandated care, actually saved lives, and money. And had it not been for the government and human outcry, this deplorable restriction on health care would be alive and well today.

Did you know: that most health insurance, including yours, has a cap on care? Did you know that your insurer has the right to deny coverage for care based on fine print including such terms as medical necessity?

Did you know that UNLESS you have group health coverage with an employer, the health insurance company can elect not to cover certain pre-exisitng conditions? These include asthma, diabetes, and more. So if you lost your job....which is entirely possible in this economy, and could not afford COBRA or ran out of COBRA and had to buy an individual health coverage plan, you would pay top dollar and still NOT be covered for pre-existing conditions.

And let's talk about individual purchase of health coverage. My son works. The company where he works is small and cannot afford to provide health coverage. Understandable. So my son purchased a HMO plan of one of the nation's largest HMOs. It started out at $150 per month. It went up every single year and hit $400 per month in 36 months. My son never was hospitalized, is in good health, went to a doctor once a year for a physical that was the extent of his claims. Health coverage for individuals and families who do not have access to employer covered health insurance is UNAFFORDABLE.

MYTH: the most widely spread myth out there is that the proposed government insurance will ration health coverage and kill off elders. Spare me. The stupidity of this is unbelievable. Public insurance will provide "end of life coverage". That is Hospice care. Hospice is offered for people of ALL ages who have a terminal illness. What it says is even though you have a terminal illness and may die within 6 months, you CAN STILL GET HEALTH COVERAGE to keep you pain free, and avoid complications that would hasten death. THIS HAS BEEN AROUND FOR YEARS. It is needed. Ask anyone who has experienced a catastrophic illness affecting a family member. Hospice has gotten the family and the patient through this difficult time. NO ONE KILLS ANYONE.

Where to go for more information:http://www.healthreform.gov/

I urge you to contact your congressional representatives TODAY to support health care coverage for all human beings. This blog has been touching on issues for the last week. YOU need to do your own sole searching based on solid facts and what you want and deserve for yourselves, your children, your families.

I urge you to visit Time Goes By, the site that started the movement among "elder"bloggers that spread to all ages blogging on health reform today. Here is the link to see the list of bloggers on health care reform: http://www.timegoesby.net/weblog/

Also, a great blog with questions and answers to help people understand the health care reform movement:
http://darleneshodgepodge.blogspot.com/2009/08/questiona-and-answers-on-health-care.html

To your health, and for your health, please, please be vocal, make your voice heard. "One voice can change a room, and if one voice can change a room, then it can change a city, and if it can change a city, it can change a state, and if it change a state, it can change a nation, and if it can change a nation, it can change the world. Your voice can change the world." — Barack Obama

Show YOUR support: http://www.healthreform.gov/support.html

Big Night on TV tonight: Big Day Tomorrow for Healthcare reform

Tonight is a night for relaxing and enjoying shows. Relaxing and getting away from the right wing lies on healthcare reform is just what I need. Top Chef Masters ends...(will miss it) but Top Chef begins!. And tomorrow night is Project Runway. HURRAY! And it's a double dose. First show is bringing back favorite designers who did not win to give them a second chance. 2nd show is the start of the new season....another Hurray!

Tomorrow, many bloggers, me included will post blogs on health care reform: what's real and what's not. The movement was started by Ronni Bennett of Time Goes By. Here is the link to that post:http://www.timegoesby.net/weblog/2009/08/elders-for-health-care-reform.html

Health care is personal. Almost 50 million Americans have no health insurance or are under insured. In this economy, anyone is at risk to be without health coverage. You included. Ask yourself what would you do? How would you care for a child? spouse? yourself?

Some people are saying this is healthcare rationing. Not true. Some people say it is a way to kill off seniors: not true or I would not be endorsing it nor would AARP. Some people say AARP is losing members because of their endorsement of health reform: NOT TRUE. The reform is not causing the problem; the conservative right wing Republicans who will do or say anything to assure this does not pass are the reason for the controversy. Make no mistake about it: health is a liberty....a freedom, the freedom to live YOUR best life and be able to pay for preventive, and interventive, medical care is every human being's right. Man, woman, child, old and young.

It is also a CIVIL RIGHT. I got an email from Dr. Howard Dean. Here is part of that email: The campaign for the choice of a public health insurance option will be over only if we quit or we've won. That decision is ours to make. Not the media's decision - Not the insurance industry's decision - It's our decision. We have the power and we're going to win.Make no mistake, victory won't happen overnight. Just like President Obama's campaign for President, this campaign is a long haul. Congress returns in September for the final stretch to pass reform by the end of the year. "

I urge you to get involved. Learn the facts not from the media, but from legitimate sources which I will post tomorrow. I will also post how to contact your congressional leaders, the White House and more. More to come...

Want health coverage? Get Informed

Unfortunately, the majority of the population would qualify to be on Jay Leno's stupid answers section of the show when it comes to healthcare reform. Why is this? You work, you get health coverage, right? Do you know what your health insurance covers and does not cover? How much do you pay for this? If you lost your job tomorrow, what would health insurance cost you? If you could even get it.

Don't be stupid please. Be informed. More people, more uninsured. More unemployed, more uninsured. Make no mistake: YOU PAY FOR EVERY UNINSURED PERSON, in one way or another.

Make no mistake also: the Republican conservative right wingnuts are out to kill health care reform. In fact, under their fearless leader, Russ Dimbat, they are out to destroy the Obama Presidency. And they just might succeed if you, yes YOU, allow this to happen.

They are the ones that started the health rationing rumors and rumors the new health reform bill will kill elders. NOT TRUE PEOPLE. Read it yourself.

On August 20th, many bloggers will be speaking out with facts on the health care reform bill. Join us. But know of what you speak. You can also speak to the President and tell him your thoughts on this and more at usa.gov and whitehouse.gov. And you can look up your Congressional team online and tell them your thoughts. Rest assured, that "other" side is doing that now. Step up for you and your family!

Some Facts for You: On June 13, 2009 "President Barack Obama announced new Medicare and Medicaid savings proposals that will contribute more than $300 billion over 10 years to paying for health care reform, beyond the historic $635 billion down payment included in his FY 2010 Budget. The President stressed in the address that the health reform effort must be deficit neutral and that reform is a fundamental part of the solution to our long-term fiscal problems".

There is a website that lists reports, facts and the truth about healthcare reform under President Obama. You can also let your support be heard. I urge you to go to this website: http://www.healthreform.gov/reports/index.html

Here is a sample of info you will see at the site:

Employer-sponsored health insurance premiums have nearly doubled since 2000, a rate three times faster than wages. In 2008, the average premium for a family plan purchased through an employer was $12,680, nearly the annual earnings of a full-time minimum wage job. Americans pay more than ever for health insurance, but get less coverage. A new report Hidden Costs of Health Care: Why Americans are Paying More but Getting Less details the rise in health care costs.
View Report

Don't be part of a diagnosis of disaster. Get the prescription for good health for all of us! Don't fear health insurance companies but be strong because the managed care groups DON'T want a public health insurance. the reasons are obvious; think about it: the CEO of BC/BS and Wellpoint got HUGE payoffs when they retired, in the tens of millions of dollars. You and I paid for that. What did it do for us?

Get involved now!

Flight from reality, with reality...shows that is

Finally, Project Runway is coming back this week. May I just say: YEAH!!! I love that show. What's not to love? Tim Gunn and Heidi Klum, Michael Kors...I have been suffering from withdrawal. Aug. 20th yes!!

Top Chef Masters comes to a close this Wed. GREAT show. Great chefs can struggle with challenges also. Who knew? Then the regular Top Chefs returns after the Master final. YEAH! Love the show

Love Joan Rivers new show: How'd you get so rich? I have a new goal: come up with something so obvious I can make millions. Yep, that's the way to go.

America's Got Talent: Not the greatest but fun. No drama just real amateurs wanting to be successful. The American Dream.

These are my distractions. Still on RIF, still no job, unless I want to move and I don't. Love my kids and grandkids too much.

still.......maybe I could start a movement to be a guest judge on one or more of these shows??? Hmmm...now there's a job for me....more to come.

Health Care reform: Be informed

In health there is freedom. Health is the first of all liberties.
– Henri Frederic Amiel

Are you insured? What's the cost? Know someone who is not on health insurance? I do.

Do you understand the health reform act? Do you believe the garbage conservative Republicans are promoting all over the Internet?

You owe it to yourself to get the facts.

And, if you are a blogger, blog the facts, the truth, the whole truth.

Get involved...It's your right to freedom

Health Care Reform, Activate yourself, part 2

Not sure what is real and what is not in the health care reform movement? I urge you to go to Ronni Bennett's post on it NOW. This is real, this is truth, this if factual: http://www.timegoesby.net/weblog/2009/08/elders-for-health-care-reform.html

You owe it to yourself and your family and friends to be involved. But first, you need to understand this in real terms...no political pontification. Go to the link above....more to come!

Activate Yourself for Healthcare Reform

See Dirty Laundry blog for great explanation of what you need to do for health care reform, today. Her blog can be found here: http://marcys.wordpress.com/2009/08/06/republicans-learning-to-hack/#comment-10983.

It is in response to potential hacking by ???Republicans?? (are they that smart?). At any rate, I signed up for the public action pledge and am urging you to do the same. See http://www.democracyforamerica.com/activities/179-public-option-action-pledge

Tell your friends

The good, the bad, the ugly, the irrelevant

Good: Laura Ling and Euna Lee are home. Well done Al Gore and Bill Clinton! Diplomacy wins. We need to have dialogue with enemies. Haven't you heard of keeping your enemies close?

Bad: conservative pundits second guessing this (health care reform, gas guzzlers, and more). Does the media have nothing to report? Yes report, factual reporting not dissertations. What will the media do when the Jackson report comes out? Fear the TV then.

The Ugly:NY mom driving on wrong side and killing kids and herself in accident was drunk and under drug use . What went wrong? No history of alcohol or drug use prior to this. How awful for everyone affected.

Ugly continues: shoot out at gym in Pa. Many injured. Seems responsible person had blog that spoke of his doing this. no one picked it up?

The irrelevant to some but to me, the escape from reality: Food Network has a new cook and she looks like she will be an excellent resource for real people to cook great meals. Why not show on cooking for 1?

Irrelevant continues: top chef masters is great and getting to the top chef is soon. Can't wait for Top Chef!! AND Project Runway is finally only 2 weeks away!!!! Hurray for distractions!

Irrelevant again but sad: Paula Abdul is out of American Idol. Who knew? Yes she talks too much but so do I. Yes she is sometimes crazy but who isn't? But she has heart and seems to care about people, maybe that's a precursor for being fired?

Joan Rivers has a new show that I cannot wait to watch: How did they get so rich on wed on TV Land. Don't know time but will record if on opposite Top Chef Masters. She may be nasty but she is one smart woman who has outlasted many people and many of her own challenges.

America's Got Talent: actually has some talent especially a 75 year old comedianne who is hysterical. I like the show because all the talent are amateurs who are trying to seek their dreams and overcome life challenges. It's sappy but a feel good show.

I don't know about you, but I like to feel good....more to come.