Georgia Republicans... The Politicians that want to Crush the Poor, the Injured, and the Working Poor(Used to be called The Middle Class)...

Congress is on vacation for the month of August, which I don't understand, I mean... haven't they been on vacation all year?  Anyway, the Senators, the Congressmen... they all go "home" to their constituents for "Town Hall" meetings so they can talk a bunch of rhetoric to the sheep, so they can peddle their poop for cash and votes for their next terms.  Saxby Chambliss comes to Athens, does he have a "Town Hall"?  No, of course not... he's a coward, he goes to the Rotary Club, a place where everyone believes what he believes and just adores him.

While Chambliss is at his Love-In, he tells the Rotary Club about his "New Bill".  Now, a little background, he is for shutting down the Government if the Affordable Care Act and the Pre-Existing Healthcare Bill isn't repealed, and he is as all the other Republicans in Washington a part of separating the Farm Bill from the Food Stamp Program, which of course was pushed through...the Republicans own the House, so they can get that much closer to their goal of de-funding the Food Stamp Program.  We have people working full time and not making enough money to buy food, gas to get to work, and insurance... and if you are like hundreds of thousands of people like myself, that have Pre-Existing conditions.  Many of whom, like myself, have that condition due to an accident or illness, it's not like we purposely put ourselves in a situation to have conditions.  So, these people who are now the majority, we used to be called Middle Class...now, just the working poor can look forward to a September that might strip us of our food and insurance.  Thank you Senator Chambliss.

There are a lot of misconceptions about the Affordable Healthcare Act and the PICP(Pre-Existing Insurance), and they want it that way.  PCIP is not Medicaid, you have to PAY for it and PAY your deductible.  Nobody is giving you anything, except Insurance which is vital to our survival.  The Affordable Healthcare Act is the name of the new Healthcare reform, not Obamacare.  The penalty for not getting insurance is $96.00, if you get insurance and you are the working poor, the government reimburses you in your Income Tax Check for your fee and deductibles.  Faux News didn't tell you that, did they?

The deal here is that Big Business has been getting away with not taking care of their people, they hire 3rd Party Providers that can lie...lie...lie and you lose your job because you got hurt, or sick.  Or, they work you 36 hours, this is to step in on Big Business and make them do the right thing.  Now, speaking of Big Business back to the Senator.  He, the man on his website saying he's for the people of Georgia...yeah, is going into Washington in September with a bill to provide Big Business with a Federally Funded Firewall.  No, I'm not kidding.  He wants to take your money, and give more of it to Big Business by creating and maintaining Federal Firewall protection for Big Corporations that have been hacked, so that they can discreetly go to the Government without disclosing to you that your information has or may have been compromised by Hackers and the government will provide them with Federal Encryption Firewall protection.  This is the truth. Republicans have been behind funding all the bailouts and the banks...Trillions of dollars towards Big Business.  Like the huge corporations that hedge their money in countries that have little to no Capital Gains Tax and then go poor mouthing to the government saying that they can't access their funds because the taxes are too high and they can't hire new people, blah...blah...the things they have to say so that when the masses hear about it, they can rest easy that these gigantic wealthy companies are only paying 5% of what we pay because they are going to create jobs.

Where are these jobs?  Where I live, my county, and the surrounding 3 counties have no Department of Labor, they are shut down.  Yes, honestly... there is no place you can go to be referred to permanent employment.  If you came here at my age with my largely accomplished resume, not beating my own drum, just saying that I have a long history of Management in Administrative and more, so I'm an accomplished and driven individual that has spent most of my life coaching and developing, pushing for success for my companies, you will not find a job.  Drugstores, Gas Stations, Grocery Stores...won't hire you(that's what's available here, unless you know someone).  But, I didn't need to tell you that, the fact that there is no DOL in 4 counties, now I could be wrong...it may only be 3 counties.

So, it comes down to this.  I'm not a "Party Person", I'm not bashing the Republicans because I'm a Democrat, it's because they want us to be poor, they want "1984", they don't want women, black, or brown to stand up and stand out.  They don't care if we starve, die of treatable diseases or sleep on the street...they just want to say NO TO ANYTHING THE PRESIDENT PROPOSES.  Shut down the government, really?  If they don't like the Healthcare Bill, form a Bipartisan Committee and create one that would work for the benefit of all American's and it's new immigrants.  Leave PCIP and Foodstamps alone.  Until we have jobs, or until we have jobs that pay living wages, we need to eat and those of us who can't get insurance the "old fashioned way", let us pay for our insurance and let us get the care we need!  Big Business is called Big Business for a reason, they HAVE A LOT OF MONEY, THEY DON'T NEED ANYMORE OF OURS!!!  Let them take care of their own Firewalls, bills, and decisions.  But, since they have taken much to much liberty, THEY DO NEED BABYSITTERS!  Feel me?    

My Home... My Heart... My Neverending Question...Why Hath Thy Forsaken Detroit?

                               "Beautiful" - My Beautiful Detroit, My Home...
I hear on the news day after day about my home, they talk about her like some distant land that our country cares nothing about, because there is nothing in it for them... They forget that the progress of our country was literally "Forged" on her beautiful back.  From industry, cars, music, sports, arts, and my heart...

Hollywood has always to my disgust, portrayed Detroit as a city you go to war to be on vacation from(Three Kings)...or fire and mayhem(Mars Attacks)... and on and on.  I am a Detroiter, and I'm damned proud of it!  I was born in Detroit and lived the majority of my adult life in her arms.  I went to College at CCS behind the breathtakingly beautiful Detroit Institute of Arts, all my childhood, every Christmas, my pictures with Santa at Hudson's.  I spent my middle school years downtown at Trapper's Alley, Greektown, and the Renaissance Center in awe of the beautifully crafted two person paper dragon kites.

I went to her Dally in the Alleys...her Taste Fests...her Brew Ha-Has...her Blues Festivals in Heart Plaza, and George Clinton's free concerts at Cheyenne Park.  I spent the boat races on blankets on Belle Isle and wandered her beautiful Arboretum, and drove slowly through the night while the deer walked up to your car.

I spent many nights at Rock 'n Bowl at the Magic Stick and saw Fred Wesley and Maceo Parker at the Majestic...home grown bands at the Old Miami.  I wandered her streets and marveled at her exquisite architecture, from the Book Tower Building's fresco ceiling to the Incredible Courthouse...and yes, I walked!

From child to young adulthood, I hardly ever missed a home game at TIGER STADIUM, where in 1984 we won the World Series(one of my good friend's step-father was Kirk Gibson). Going to the Red Wings games at the Joe Louis Arena, my cousin being a HUGE fan got a signed stick from my "Uncle Vic" who was a bartender at the Olympia Room forever...I remember our back to back Stanley's and the HUGE Parade on our 1st win, every street was full of people walking with our kids, friends, and families, the Pistons "Dream Team" or "Bad Boys" whichever you chose(Isiah Thomas, John Salley, Dennis "The Worm" Rodman and Adrian Dantley).

She still lives, she still breathes, she still has Detroiter's, she still has us!   Families who built futures from the sweat, work, and resilience that was her.  I am the granddaughter of a Polish immigrant who was raised in a Catholic orphanage during the depression to become one of the catalysts behind the birth of the UAW(representation for worker's safety, for wages worked, health care and security for a family if the husband was injured on the job) and voted in to be Chief Union Steward of the Chrysler Mound Plant, worked as the Tool Room Supervisor and eventually one of the Plant Electricians.  This great man, who came with nothing, had nothing, became the model of the American dream.  He build his own home for his wife and two daughters and sent them both to college.  In Detroit, the city he loved...in America, the greatest country in the world, he felt...where anything is possible.  For both of those reasons, I'm glad he's gone and not here to see his city, his hard work and livelihood crushed...and his city, my city, our city...used as a synonym for CRAP.

With just what I have listed here, which is nothing compared to what she has contributed to this country, I ask...Oh why have we forsaken her?

An Addendum to The Insurance Company and the Corporate Congress, The Truth of "Obama Care" from the mouth of an Insurance Agent...

There is more to know...

50 states have chosen to "Opt Out" of the Affordable Health Care option in their states, the majority of those states are what are commonly called "Red States".  This means that the state has chosen not to chose a pool of low cost insurance options for you to chose from, as well as those on Medicare who would have been given significantly higher coverage, as well as more choices as to who, what, and where your care is coming from.  Not to mention the coverage options.  This means the Federal Government will have to do it, and there will not be as much given to those who have lower means, retirees, those with pre-existing conditions, and small businesses.
Take a look at what this is doing....http://ara.typepad.com/blog/2012/07/southern-governors-buck-medicaid-expansion-will-leave-poor-uninsured.html

Want to see who isn't going to be participating....http://www.advisory.com/Daily-Briefing/2012/11/09/MedicaidMap

Get educated... the people working on health care reform and trying to make sure everyone has access to care don't have time to do commercials and commentaries, but the other half do.  Know what the Affordable Health Care Act is, look at what the "Red" side is doing for our predecessors, my mom... your mom... your grandparents!  They don't want to include them... oh, yes Social Security and Medicare is putting us in debt, it's not the war, or the fact that multi-million dollar corporations don't have to pay taxes!  Go on Hulu, watch some documentaries about the government by a bipartisan film maker, read that first link, investigate then write to your congressmen.  This isn't just them... people that aren't us, this is going to be us.  Educate yourself, you don't have to agree with me.  But at least know what is really happening!

The Insurance Company and the Corporate Congress, The Truth of "Obama Care" from the mouth of an Insurance Agent...

In today's society, we don't have news... we have entertainment shows that dress up like news and use someone else's hard footwork, expense, and true unbiased information to dress up like a "News Cast", when in fact it's just commentary.  A soap box to stand on the work of a REAL journalist and spread bias and create fear to further an agenda, an agenda that makes sure to keep people separate, ignorant, and angry. 

One perfect example is the Blank "News" Channel and it's mates talking about "Obama Care".  I spoke with an Insurance Agent who was trying to convince me why it's such a bad thing.  He said that in a recent mass meeting they were informed about what the bill entitled and the logistics including the costs.  Now, I'm not sure why he told me this information as a platform to support the Insurance status quo.  I suppose that people with high income and company provided insurance might agree, but I still really don't see how, since they wouldn't be effected and it is illogical when you have the FACTS.  So when I asked him about people with pre-existing conditions(me being one of those people)he told me that if I needed a CAT Scan I could just pay for one.  The last CT Scan I priced, before the Pre-Existing Health Insurance Plan, was $2,000.00.  Do you have a liquid $2,000.00, you know, just to throw around?  So, here it is, the TRUTH...

Under the Affordable Care Act(I'm going to use a family of four example for this)for a family of four, two parents mid-forties, children are fourteen and twelve, the cost of their PRIVATE health insurance is $20,000.00 per year which is $400 per person monthly $1,600 a month total.  Holy Crap!  I can't afford that with my deductible!  My husband/wife/partner and I don't make that much!  Well, what you are not told is that you who can't afford that, those that fall under the yearly earnings which is, and I'm sorry I forgot what that number is, but it's quite realistic, you get a check for $12,000.00 plus at tax time with your refund, or at refund time you are given a refund check for the total of your deductible payments for the year.  So, a family of four is paying $8,000.00 per year for PRIVATE insurance which is $160 per person at $660.00 per month and your deductibles are refunded back to you.  If you are under the average yearly earnings that I was talking about the insurance is less than that.  They have tiers based on a families Net earnings, not Gross!(what you actually get paid, not before they take the taxes out).  Also, you know that BIG PENALTY THE GOVERNMENT IS GOING TO CHARGE YOU FOR NOT HAVING INSURANCE...guess what they are going TO CHARGE YOU $96.00!(or $98.00 I wrote it down and can't find it).

So, all this talk and Tea Party yelling is this.  The Government is simply putting it's foot down on the Insurance Companies and Doctors that have wrought this upon themselves by the unprecedented, substantially extravagant pay for service abuse.  And, to also make available insurance to those like me, which has to be in the millions, who have pre-existing conditions.  The fact that there was never an option in the first place is unconscionable.  I fell and broke my neck and due to mistakes and malfeasance, I am permanently damaged and the company I worked for used unethical means to wrongfully terminate me, Oh....sorry, you have a pre-existing condition, we "can't" insure you so, forgive me... but since there are so many people I know that have pre-existing conditions, or don't have insurance because it is impossible to pay for and there is no tier by income options...I don't see anyone coming up with a better solution.

In closing, I want to say that this is not Obamacare, this is called the Affordable Care Act written by Congress not the President, it passed by votes that go through the House and Senate like every other bill.  Be informed, not propagandized... research, read, and act.  If you don't like this bill, don't form a protest with hateful signs, call names like "All Democrats are Communists", yell and swear...on both sides!!  Create a think tank and come up with ideas to bring to the Government, the problems are apparent, but I see no one having a rally with signs of solutions.  I am not a "Party" person, and I feel that both sides are a mess, so it's up to us to bring ideas to the career politicians that have lost their vision and commitment to their constituents.  Because after the Supreme Court ruling January 2010, "Citizen's United" was passed.  That means that Corporations can raise unlimited funds(anonymously) to support or bash a Candidate, whether it be U.S. Representative or a Senator, and it gives them the same rights as people.  In plain terms multi-billion dollar corporations are considered "The People".  I wonder who our Senators are voting for?

We all Deserve Dignity....

As a human being with decent morals, good manners, a friendly demeanor, and
an all around decent way of treating all people, I deserve to be treated respectfully.  Even when a person is rude or just all around nasty, like that man who verbally attacked me on Election Day, I do my best to "handle" them in a respectful manner.  I can't help but wonder what all this "profiling"  is about.

What happened to the gratitude of our grandparents, or great grandparents?  My grandfather imigrated here from Poland as well as my grandmother.  My grandfather lost his mother not long after they fled to this country and as a 9 year old child alone on the streets of Detroit/Hamtramck was taken in by a Catholic orphanage.  He was well educated and taken care of, he became the head of maintenance at the Mound Rd. Chrysler Engine plant, as well as worked to create the UAW(my grandfather was born in 1908), and became the Chief Union Steward for his plant. 

He built his own big(in the standard of the day) brick house with the help of his multi-ethic friends.  He was never a man that believed color or creed made the person...only their character, he believed this was the greatest Country in the world...a place where a poor lost orphan child amidst the "Great Depression", could grow up to be a prosperous person, fight for what you believe in and make a change in this great nation, and all people of character were equal.  I'm glad he died when I was 6 years old.  I loved him more than I even knew how...and so did everyone whose life he touched.  When he died they had to close down one of the largest roads in Detroit because there were over 500 cars trying to find parking to get to the Funeral Home and church.  He inspired people and challenged them to be better, he raised his two daughters (one born in 1937, and my mother 1944) to strive for the best, telling them they could do anything a man could do and more, he sent them both to college, and my Aunt and Mother are both Master Degreed in double majors.  My Aunt, Latin and Art History and my Mother,  French and European History....both with undergrads in Education and my Mother double majored in her undergrad so she had Business as well.  My grandfather helped my mother with the creation of the Union in her District (teacher's), by getting the support of the UAW and their presence at their creation as well as their striking for implementation. 

You see, the Union is not the Devil... it was created, in the case of the UAW in Detroit, for safety standards, fair wage and hours, because these men were being worked sometimes 22 hours with no safety standards and not being compensated for their full hours worked.  And, when a man that was on his 20th hour got his finger caught in the line and ripped from his hand, he was docked for the line shut down, and time missed.  In the case of the Teachers, men were being paid double what their female counterparts were being paid and in most cases, like my mother, the women had higher education.  Also, women had to wear skirts and heels and could not wear slacks, they were constantly harassed, they would lose their job if they had to be out to deliver a child, AND the Administration was dictating the ciriculum, not the educators.  Administrators were educated in business and finance they had no education background.  So, students weren't receiving the benefit of an education dictated by educators that knew what was inherently important to obtaining the best and most comprehensive education possible.  Now you understand why I'm glad he's gone... for the state of this Country today would have killed his beautiful spirit.
 
There are still Unions out there that still work for their people, there are still people of character, but the possibility of coming from nothing and attaining success is increasingly harder to find.  I know for me, there hasn't been any opportunities...with a rich resume full of important and skillful knowledge, I can't get hired at a gas station as a cashier.  I also find that I become a doorman if I hold a door for someone instead of letting it smash them in the face.  No thank you's, no attempt to take the door themselves, in fact I've had men walk in behind someone I'm holding the door for....like I said, a doorman.

We are better than this aren't we?  I think we are.  What do you think?

Politics Mean Nothing When the People and Pets You Love are Gone...

Zion: 11/00-11/12

In the last week, I've been accosted by people that look at me and make up their minds as to who I am, what I believe, and what kind of person that makes me... in regards to the election.  I am a proud voter, there are people dying for that ability as we speak.  I however, lost my best friend of 12 years the Friday before the election and picked up his remains on the day of the election(after voting).  I will say, it took the wind out of my sails and I flatly walked into my voting location and cast my ballot without the excitement I always feel when I vote.  That feeling that I am a part of change and shouting my beliefs across the country... I felt nothing this time.

I'd been hammered on consistently by people, some even as to go as far as looking me up and down, when I refused to discuss my vote at my mother's place of business, and told that "You liberals need to go find yourselves another country to live in!!".  I realized that other than a knee jerk reaction to slap this man in the face for speaking to me that way, I didn't care.  All that mattered is that I lost the most precious loving gift I have ever been given...and I would never again be able to rub my face in his belly fur, or kiss his little face.  This brought up my decade of loss.  My father, my aunt, my cousin/sister, my sister, my niece, my grandmother, my son, and my best friend and constant companion of twelve years.  No... my sister, niece, and son are not dead, but they are gone and I've suffered the loss.  Mourning the death of our relationship and love, the ability to see them, touch them, hold them, laugh with them.  

These things have made me realize that the most important things in life are what you recieve from those you love, the wonderful traits of kindness, gentleness, unconditional love, patience, and more...and when they are gone, you take those loving gifts given without pretense or condition and you carry them into the world and give them back.  

On NPR yesterday I heard a Republican politician say that new wave feminism shouldn't exist anymore because we are holding a majority in politics now.  Instinctually, as I felt with that man, I wanted to scream...instead I laughed. I laughed because I realized how blind people are, how uninformed and selfish.  That the majority of politics and the "society" I'm surrounded with currently are so immersed in themselves and their agendas, they don't and can't see the bigger picture.  The bigger picture being that women aren't safe in any respect, that the need for feminism is as important now as ever.  Our wages aren't equal to our male counterparts and anyone that would like to argue that, do your research.  I don't mean go to FOX News, I mean really research put the time in to find out the truth that you would if it concerned your paycheck and then we can dialog.  Because, I have done my research and I've also lived it most of my adult life.  Also, women's health issues are again... and yes, I will continue to repeat myself on this, are up for legislation.  Do you see any bills for employers having the right to decide whether or not to provide coverage for a vasectomy, or cutting funding for prostate screenings and the like?  No, you don't.

But, in light of all of this loss and my aching heart, I'm not angry.  I'm determined.  I will use the gifts given to me by those I was fortunate to be loved by... especially my Zion, because he was truly the embodiment of all I aspire to be; kind, gentle, loving, unconditionally understanding, loyal, giving, and empathetic with a completely unjudgmental and peaceful knowingness that as humans, we are capable of attrocities and capable of justifying them as well.  So, with those beautiful gifts, I will approach, I will stand, I will continue to push forward, to educate people in an empathetic, peaceful, and understanding way...and not feed ignorance with anger.  I will try dilligently, to stand unjudgementally nose to nose with those who don't care, because they believe it doesn't affect them and explain calmly and with care how and why it does.

Do I believe I will fail, fall on my face, get angry?  Of course, I'm not lucky enough to be Zion... but, I will continue to try, brush myself off, find my peace, and walk on with this mission, my ambission, and the gifts of those who left before me. 

Our Duty to Ourselves and Our Brothers and Sisters

Tomorrow represents one of the greatest responsibilities we have as people of this nation.  Is also a privilege we have that other countries of the world do not have.  As a woman, I know that it is a precarious thing for me... people will tell you that when the Constitution says man it's just symantics and women are also included, do not fall for that tired lie.  When it comes to government and law, there is no such thing as symantics.  Women are not covered by the Constitution, we have State by State legislation.  If we were covered under the Constitution they could not legislate our bodies, our insurance coverage, etc.  You don't ever hear discussions about not covering vasectomies, or cutting out prostate exams.  So ladies and the men who love them, remember WE have to work together to make a change in this country.  I'm tired of the status quo, that's just not good enough, we've been asleep at the wheel to long and let our liberties slip out of our hands.  We are now a nation that can ask, "Let me see your papers"!  Is that what we want?  I know that if we vote and if we shout with a UNITED voice, "We want jobs, equal pay for equal work, fair and impartial immigration laws, and a MIDDLE CLASS"!!! Government will have no choice but to listen. 
Let your voices be heard.... I'm a 47%-er and I Matter!!!