You know, it gets really frustrating to watch the goings on in Washington with the people we elected to represent us and to do the things that we need them to do.

Just this past week we have legislation to allow us access to lower cost prescription drugs and to take a couple of bucks out of the pocket of Big Pharma. But the stumble bums in the House and Senate played games with us and put the legislation into a netherworld from which it will probably never arise.

Who did this horrible thing? Was it a Republican? Was it a Democrat? Who the hell cares who was ultimately responsible. It would appear that we had just as many from both sides of the aisle coming down on both sides of the legislation. Trouble was the greed hounds had more against the bill and not enough honorable people coming out for it.

Frankly, this old guy is getting damned pissed. I am sick and tired of seeing people come to the congress with a direction from their consitituents to take action to get this country back on track and to enact legislation that will BENEFIT us Americans. I think it is really past time for us to get out there and let our voices be heard. We, the American Citizen, the taxpayer, and the voter need to tell these slackers that they need to start paying attention to the real reasons they are in that swaky office, flying around the country on the taxpayer’s money and getting the finest healthcare and retirement pensions. WE are that reason folks WE are the ones to vote them into office and WE are the ones who can take them out of office.

These people, Democrats, Republicans, and Independents seem to just think that every year election rolls around that the US taxpayers/voters will simply roll over and let them shaft us again. Frankly, I am really tired of that garbage and I intend to do something about making my voice heard.

What about you? Tell us what you think in the comments section. Let’s get something started that will scare the hell out of these fatcats.

The Congress is set to complete legislation expanding the hate crime laws and to implement stronger penalties across the board for people who perpetrate these heinous crimes. The new legislation will include hate crime asaults motivated by, race, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation. According to Steny Hoyer, Majority Leader of the House, thiese crimes not only injure individual victims, but also terrorize entire segments of the population. He stated that it tears at our national fabric. I for one, totally agree.

The White House is indicating that the president will VETO the legislation if the Congress passes it. What a humanitarian we have in the Presidency. What was it he said,,,, ah yes, He is a compassionate conservative (no such animal), and that he was a uniter not a diveder. He certainly has shown that he lied about those two things. But then there are a number of things that the President has not been very truthful about, right?

Naturally the conservatives have different ideas and promote some really stupid reasons for not passing this important legislation. The most egregious is that the law would make criminals of clergymen who speak out against homosexuallity, then inadvertently inspire violens from misguided followers. Simple solution for that, tell those clergy to keep their stupid opinons on this group of Americans to themselves. In other words, if you preach to a bunch of knuckle dragging idiots that homosexuals are bad, are cursed by God, then you facilitate the idiots who go out kill these innocent people.

Take for instance Mathew Sheppard, the young gay man, who was beaten by those “God-fearing” scum in Wyoming and left to die hanging from a fence. Baseball bats and clubs do a real job on people, you know? Clergy who preach to people like that, do need to be aware of the consequences of their actions. Don’t hand me that old saw about unintended consequences. If a minister does not know his or her flock, they do not deserve the position.

But really? The conservatives are doing what they always do. If it has anything to do with anything other than making money for themselve and their conservative buds, then it must be a socialistic piece of claptrap and should be stopped.

The 1998 origins of the expansion for the original hate crime legislation was due to the horrific death of James Byrd Jr. who was chained to the bumper of a pickup truck and dragged to his death by three upright citizens of Jasper, Texas. The legislation was also directed at the beating death of Mathew Sheppard mentioned above. It has passed either the House or Senate several times since 2000, but has yet to clear the entire Congress. Could it be the Republican Conservative Congress was afraid of their religious fundie constituents more than they feared the American people themselves? You will recall that James Byrd was dragged behind that pickup truck at high speeds until his body was literally torn apart. This legislation was intended to strengthen a law passed in 1968 that focused on race, religion, color and national origin.

One interesting aspect of the expanded hate crime legislation is that there is another piece of legislation coming before Bush and he has indicated strongly that he will sign it with pleasure! That legislation? To stop the practice of animal fighting contests. Seems our president cares more about a couple of roosters in a pen that citizens who are constantly under threat from religious fundie preachers and their knuckle dragging congregants. Let’s not worry about a coulple of queers, after all. We have more important things to do, like protect chickens. Now don’t get me wrong, I think that the people who participate in animal fighting deserve to be horse-whipped in the town square, then tossed into jail for years.

But that doesn’t excuse the president and the conservatives in Congress for fighting this important hate crime legislation. They need to get their damn priorities straight. We need this hate crime strengthening law. Heck look now at the fact that a presidential candidate has been threatened. Candidate Obama’s organization has requested Secret Service protection because of death threats. Hmm, could it be that the threats are because a BLACK man would dare run for president? Think we don’t need this law? Think again.

Let the president and the neocons in Congress all know your opinion!!! Let them know that we are “Mad as Hell and we are not going to take it anymore!”

The news has been filled with examples of the past, present and ongoing corruption among our current President and his administration. Each and every day, it seems, we have another situation that arises that makes one stand back and say oh my God, what are they doing up there?

Interestingly enough, from the inaugration of Bush in his appointed position as President following the debacle of the 2000 election, to the 2006 elections when the Republican Party lost it’s majority, we rarely, if ever, heard anyting untoward about our presidential administration.  We only rarely heard anything about the corrupt practices within the Republican Congress.

However, now that there is a new game afoot, the Republicans are once again in the minority, the slime is starting to be seen more and more.  From the questionable firings of 8 US Attorney’s, to the possible violation of the Hatch Act by the head of the GSA, it seems that this administration can’t catch a break!  And rightly so.

I read an article in the Washington Post that describes George Bush going into a “bunker mentality” and sinking lower and lower in the minds of our national citizenry.  People by the droves have seen the perfidy, the corrupt dealings, and the arrogance of this administration and they are frankly, getting really pissed off.  From the White House Staff, to the political appointees in the various agencies, we are seeing a tremendous lack of respect for the American people and for our country as a whole.  These people have come into the government with the sole purpose of taking whatever they can while they are in a position to do so,. There is NO honor in their actions, they have no desire to make the country better, and they certainly do not care one whit about the average American.

Now, if you are Exxon, or Merck, or Chase, or Cigna, that’s another story.  If you are a high powered lobbyist or have the bucks to hire a high powered lobbyist, you can get any damn thing you want from this government.  Never mind what is in the best interest of the country.  Hell a goodly number of these people have moved their companies off shore or are in the process of doing so.  In many cases these organizations are “multi-nationals” such as EXXON who are basically beholden to no single country and yet they take billions of tax payer dollars through our corrupt government representatives and continue to rape and pillage the Americans on a daily basis.

Let’s take our president, George W. Bush for instance when we consider the incompetence that is rampant in the current administration.  First he has NEVER held a real job.  EVER.  He starts a couple of businesses, and drives them into insolvency straightaway.  But he gets bailed out by his daddy’s influence and their best pals the Saudi’s,.  Then he leverages a very shady “possible insider trading” windfall profit into an investment with the Texas Rangers baseball team.  He is also incompetent there and the other people on the management board “buy him out”.  Sort of like leaving the post to spend quality family time???

His best pal, the vicious little chubby Karl Rove gets him set up as the Governor of the Great State of Texas.  To do this they totally besmirch through outright lies and innuendos, the reputation of a most gracious lady governor, the late Ann Richards.  When the people of Texas are blinded by the BS, LIES and Spin Doctor crap, and elect this individual to the highest office in the state, all hell breaks loose.

George W. Bush starts an oil exploration company and is probably the only person in West Texas who had such a company and it went bust because “THEY COULDN’T FIND OIL”. In West By God Texas for crying out loud. How incompetent can one person be?

Love his stupidity and culpability regarding health care in this country. As far as George W, his whole family and the entire Bush cabal administration, there is no need for universal health care in this country. Guess he figures let them who can’t afford health care, simply die off and reduce the over population. Sounds about right!

Recently, I underwent surgery to remove my coccyx (the tail bone).  I had broken it when I was fifteen (some 50 years ago) and over the ensuing years, the break became more troublesome.  As old age began to dawn, it started to really beome problematic.  I consulted a spinal surgeon and the decision was to obtain a CT Scan to more clearly define the situation.  Standard x-Rays had not been much help. 

So, off the old guy went to the local Imaging Center and had a few snapshots made of the butt area.   That was in January of this year, 2007.  The CT Scan showed that the tail bone was broken in two places and had an acute angulation along with tons of scar tissue and other loverly things.  We both agreed that the optimum was to remove the offending tail bone.  Remember that we no longer need that appendage, it serves no good purpose since we no longer have tails.

The surgery was scheduled, and the old fellow went under the knife.  The surgery was no problem at all, however the recovery was horrific, and I am STILL in a partial recovery mode.

Then this morning, the capper!!! I recieved an envelope from the Imaging Center.  Upon opening it, I found a bill for $250 dollars.  This supposedly was in addition to what my insurance company had paid!!!!

My company had recently changed insurance providers for all our full time employees, since the previous company had raised our rates 35% across the board!  Our new company was supposed to be better, it was larger, and we were supposed to get better coverage for the extra money.  (We all pay a rather large co-premium in addition to what our company pays).

Now, how can a diagnostic test, prior to a very dangerous surgery (anything to do with the spine), be so darn costly, that the insurance says that I have to come up with $250 dollars to cover the overage?

Think about that folks.  Does the Insurance Company get all in a dither about the cost?  Nope, because if it doesn’t fit their bracket, then they simply shove it off on the patient.   I happened to be lucky in that we can afford to pay the blood money.  But folks, there are literally thousands upon thousands who would be in deep trouble getting hit with a bill like that.

Well as it turns out, the charge was for a doctor to evaluate the CT Scan prior to it being sent over to the surgeons who would also read the scan.  Strange that two doctors have to read the same set of pictures of this old turkey’s tail bone just to make a cut, remove the bone, clear out the scar tissue and sew the old butt back up. 

There was also a very cryptic letter from the insurance company that I recieved just about the same time,  saying that I had been asked to get information on the medically necessary reasons for another bill (I thought).  There was a notation at the top of the letter from the insurance company that said: “This is a copy, do not pay”.

In my letter from the Insurance company said that I needed to get the necessary documentation to prove the “medical necessity”, I read it and then thought; “How stupid can one be, to make a statement like that.  It was spine surgery, fools, why would you not think it was medically necessary?”   Oh, right, I forgot, the people who review this crap are not medical people, in most cases they are accountants.  Certainly makes my concerns about medical/health care insurance all better!!!

Folks, I don’t know about you, but this old guy gets pretty damned steamed when I pay several hundred dollars a month in co-premiums with my company for health care coverage, then a co-pay everytime I use the health care coverage or get a prescription filled, then have an annual deductible tacked on and THEN they tell me that I have to pay 250 dollars for fees involving a CT Scan of my spine pior to surgery?

 IT is time people that we stop playing the fool with the politicans and the greedhounds of the health care insurance industry.  It is time that we get our representatives at the local, state and federal level off their collective asses and initiate the legislation to implement a single payer universal health care program.  Every other decent nation in the world has UHC and it is a very successful program in each and everyone of these countries, regardless of what the right wing conservatives and their brothers and sisters in crime (the insurance companies) would have you believe.  By the way, just as a single instance of their perfidy?  Canadian citizens DO NOT come to the United States for medical treatment.  That stupidity is the biggest bunch of Male Bovine Excrement I have heard from these jerks in all the crap that they normally spread.

SO, ladies and gentlemen of the United States of America, are you going to sit on your fat butt, allowing these greedy and corrupt jerks to continue to screw over you?  OR are you going to be the kind of person that made this country what it is today, and get out there, DEMANDING appropriate care, and a single payer program for health care.  IT has been proven by actuary experts that Single Payer Universal Health Care will save this country, business, and citizenry, billions of dollars annually.

 Frankly, what the hell are we waiting for?