This morning as I arose from my bed to prepare for a day at work, I paused to reflect on the situation that many of us in this SCC organization find ourselves. That is the situation of growing a tad older. Yep, believe it folks, there are many of us who are, dare I say it? Becoming ELDERLY.

But as I say to THE BRIDE, as long as I can look in the mirror and see a reflection staring back, I KNOW that I still am alive. And to that end, I then resolve to make the very best of each day. Most of us are in relatively decent health and we are, quite frankly, still young. Aches and pains are part of growing older, a slightly slower pace may be the result for some. However, we all know that as society ages, our focus on being elderly continues to slide further back. The 65 of today was the 45 of a few years ago. We are actually living longer and we must ensure that we have a decent ability to live that longer life with dignity and respect.

Consider this, the 65 year old today is better physically fit and we are a lot more active than the 45 year old a few decades ago. So, basically, when you consider things from that point of view, many of us are simply in a new level of Middle Aged People. Not elderly at all!!

Now, how do we take advantage of that aspect? Well we could simply sit on our patoots, flipping through the 100′s of channels on the cable television system, or we could get out and about, becoming active in our community. How does one go about making a difference in our community? We volunteer to do things that need doing.

Join your local elections board, they are always screaming for more volunteers to assist in the elections process. Hey, good way to keep an eye on the process and keep it honest!!

Find a political candidate that supports the things you care about and help his or her candidacy. They can always use people to help out. Stuff envelopes, hand out flyers, bumper stickers, hold down a seat on the call center. There are many ways to get involved, outside of simply sending in a contribution (although that is VERY important in today’s climate).

Here’s a great thought… Join the March on Washington for Health Care organizors and lets get this important program off the dime.

But don’t just sit in your chair musing about being elderly… Active seniors are NOT elderly, we are Mature….

George W. Bush stood in front of the public, through the press and stated that the Iranian government was moving forward with their nuclear weapons programs and that failure to act would bring World War Three. He said these words in the middle of the month of October, this year. Does the scare tactic seem familiar? Does the reference to nuclear weaponry not smack of his administrations lies in 2002-2003 about the “mushroom clouds” from Iraq’s nuclear weapons programs? Who is this person who sits in our nation’s White House and lies to the American people constantly. Who is this person who allows someone with the most evil of intentions such as Richard B. Cheney, to technically rule the country’s run up to war again?

Mainly, where were the people who were stupid enough to vote for this cretin, not once but twice?

Now we find that Bush knew that the Iranian nuclear weapons programs had been halted almost five years ago and he still, even with that knowledge in hand, stood before the television news cameras and the print media people and LIED to the NATION about Iran!

Our congress issued a bill of Impeachment against President William Jefferson Clinton for lying to a civil court process about a personal situation with a woman. And our congress stands by and does nothing while George Walker Bush lies about war and the reasons of war? He lied and we lost over 4000 of our young men and women in a war that we started ill prepared and ill equipped and with the World opinion against our actions. He lied about his actions agains ANYONE in his administration being fired for exposing the identity of a CIA secret agent! He lied when he vetoed the S-CHIP bill and the other bills that he has vetoed ever since the Democratic Party took the majority away from his lap dog congress.

Yet, we do nothing. We don’t even offer up a bill of CENSURE against him and his cohorts in this unholy cabal. Even a bill of CENSURE is too frightening for our wimps sitting in their cushy jobs on Capitol Hill.

In his news conference relating to this subject, he lied again and once again he also allowed his total contempt for the American people to shine through. This president is beyond a doubt the worst or if not THE worst among the 2 or 3 worst presidents in American history. We have only 12 more months to put up with this cretin. May our nation survive and we can all hope and pray that the next person who sits in the Oval Office is at least respectful of the Americans who put him or her there.

We can only hope against hope.

More states are coming around to the idea of a single payer health plan for all citizens.

http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessioncurrent/bills/HB1688_.htm

Now coupled with the activity in Colorado, California and other places around the country, we might actually see a Single Payer Universal Health Care program in our lifetime. Or maybe not.

Frankly, it depends on you, the public, you the American citizen, and you the American Voter to make this happen. Trust me, left to their own devices, our congress critters will NEVER move legislation for SP-UHC off the dime. They will gnash their teeth, beat their breasts and shout out how they want to do good things for their consitituents. Then they will take a few hundred thousand in “contributions” from the Health Care Industry and we will get the short end of the stick.

When the United States has the lowest ranking among the major industrialized nations in health care across the board, doesn’t that make you want to get angry? It certainly does me!!! We rank below every single nation in Europe, and a number of countries around the world. Why you are ranked 37 in the world for health care and you are supposed to be the richest, most powerful country, what does that say about our government, our elected officials and more importantly, about our people.

Tired of being subject to the profit hogs of the Insurance and Health Care Industries? Sick of being denied care prescribed by your physician because some jake legged clerk or accountant, several thousands of miles away, decides to delay or refuse simply to keep more profits coming into their organization? Makes this old man madder than a wet hen!!.

It is time for the American people to stand up, shout out loud and clear that we want, at minimum, action to pass HR676 and make it the law of the land NOW!. It is time for us to take responsibility for our country’s dire position regarding health care access. I frankly am sick and tired of hearing the right wing armchair slugs deriding the provision of Single Payer Universal Health Care as SOCIALISM. It is NOT!

And anyone who continues to make such a statement is a bald faced liar!

Worse, they are criminally negligent every time a child dies in this country because of a lack of access to health care.

Don’t like statements like that? Then get up off your ass and do something about it!

This will be the first and could be the last, blog entry where I discuss items specifically related to the Senior Citizens Consortium organization. However, it was a request from one of our organization’s officers and I felt that the request was reasonable, so here it is.

The 2007 SCC Conference

Nashville, Tennessee – home of the Tennessee Walking Horse, Jack Daniels Whiskey and the Grand Ole Opry. Oh yeah, it is also the home of Country Music. To this storied land, the SCC members came to meet and greet. To have face to face interactions after so long of simply being cyber friends. All in all, even with the significantly reduced participation, it was a very good meetup, everyone was enjoying each other’s company and we had a couple of reallyl good meals to share and hold great conversations. What’s a conference meeting for, if not that? A tour on a river boat, a shopping expedition and a visit to the saloons on Broadway to hear live country music were among the fun things.

Those members who attended all agreed that we would really like to make the 2008 Conference a much bigger and better set of sessions. So, we are going to start now, working on a location and venue for the next conference. We hope to be able to encourage more people to attend.

Oh yeah, at the Nashville Conference, we also conducted some SCC business. The very first SCC official business strategy meeting was held on Friday afternoon. The original SCC agenda, created when we thought we would be many more in attendance, was scrapped and we had only two items on the agenda for the Annual Business Meeting. These were:

Establishing a formal organizational structure
Establishing a formal membership organization

I will present a summary of these items on this blog entry, but will have a more detailed presentation in formal documents available on the SCC Home Page.

Membership Organization

First the membership organization is the most important. We have had a significant number of people come to our SCC web site, participate on our members forum and on our BLOG. Some counts are in the neighborhood of 90 to 92 actual members. We had a couple of duplicates and two “management” userids. But in the end, we were over 90 people strong. This has changed over the past few months and we have had several members leave our organization for one reason or another. Some, thankfully, have returned with our new SCC2008 focus and member board forum.

With regard to those members who we have lost, we were concerned about them personally and had no knowledge of why they left. Considering that we had one member pass and we were grieved, we were thinking along the lines of how to maintain contact with our members and friends without being intrusive, yet being able to contact them after a prolonged absence to make sure that they were alright.

A more detailed description of the Nashville Conference discussions are found in the Proceedings document which is posted on the SCC Home Page under Administration.

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Formal Organization Structure

As an adjunct to the membership approach, we would also establish the formal organizational structure for the SCC and would develop and publish a set of organizational documents. These have been completed and are in final edit review. Once the reviews are completed, these documents will be available for viewing by the general public. Our official documentation includes, Mission Statement, Charter, and By-Laws.

These documents will also be posted on the SCC Home Page under Administration.

All documents will be available for viewing by November 1, 2007.

To those who were orginally planning to attend but for one reason or another could not, we would encourge you to start planning now to attend the next conference. We promise a great time and a learning experience.

The new message board is up and running thanks to Harvey Hodges.  Several of our old friends are back posting again.  We have been having a wonderful time discussing issues, informing each other of new current events and just generally enjoying friendly conversation.  Any of you who haven’t signed up yet, please do so.  Come have your morning coffee and conversation with your Cyber friends on the SCC board.

Six years ago this morning exactly, two airliners flew into the World Trade Center in Manhattan, New York City. Shortly after these two aircraft hit the towers, a third flew into the Pentagon and a fourth crashed into a field in Pennsylvania. On that day, our lives were irrevocably changed.

American Airlines Flight 77 held particular significance for me, not just because it crashed into the Pentagon and I was but a short distance away. No, it was more personal and profound. For a year prior to that time, I had flown AA Flight 77 from Dulles to LAX every month for a consulting task that I was working up in Thousand Oaks, California. I came to know this fine, extraordinary flight crew, pilot, copilot, and flight attendants on sight. I was understandably shocked the next morning when I saw the photos of the crew in the Washington Post and realized that they were the same people that I had flown with for those many months. Then it dawned on me that due to the program completion just three weeks prior, I was NOT on that aircraft on that fateful day.

Across the oceans, in a miserable plot of land called Afghanistan, a bearded fanatic, Osama bin Laden cheered his organization’s success in striking a blow against the infidels of the West. Over three thousand people died on that cataclysmic day and we do not count the scum who were responsible for the flights, the 19 Arab men. They, in my honest and fervent belief, will spend their eternity burning in the same fires that they ignited, and being tormented by demons every moment of their miserable existance.

If there is any justice in the universe, these 19 individuals (to refer to them as men would bring dishonor on even the worst examples of the male human), will be tormented by having the demons who torture them for eternity be pigs considering that the Islamic fundamentalists have such an aversion to pork of any fashion.

With the horrific events of 9-11-2001, this nation, the United States of America came together as we have not done since December 7, 1941 after the Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbour. We were horrified, angry and shocked at the violence visited on our country, our people and our culture by a group of rabid fanatical theocrats. America recieved an outpouring of sympathy and support from almost every nation in the world, save a very few radical regimes. Our subsequent retribution actions were not only applauded but supported with personnel and materials by these countries when we responded to the Taliban of Afghanistan and the al Quaeda fanatics. Our actions in Afghanistan were understood, supported and aided by the world and we were able to drive these fanatical bastards out of power in that country.

There is no justification in any religion for the horrible acts this group of rabid, fanatical Moslem men perpetrated on this country and on our people.

On this very auspicious day, let us all pause in rememberance of these wonderful souls whose lives were cut short by an act of fanaticism and evil. Let us come together in remembrance of these individuals and their families who continue to live with the horror of that day.

But also, let us ensure that the political prostitutes are not successful in using this day of honor for their nefarious ends.

May all the fallen be welcomed into the light of eternal peace.

I thought I would do a “change up” on the few people who come to read this blog and write about something totally different than Single Payer Universal Health Care. Today, I would like to give some insight as to why I believe we need to get after the Congress to repair, extend and expand the AMTRAK system rather than the current mindset of diminishing the services offered by this National Passenger Rail System until it no longer exists at all.

Let’s take a short stroll back into history. Not that far really, but before the total disintegration of our passenger rail systems. Back then we had passenger trains servicing the majority of our nation, every fairly large town and city had passenger service from one of several dozen rail road companies. These trains also provided transportation access to thousands of smaller towns and villages across the country at what were then known as “whistle stops”. That meant that the train only stopped there if there were passengers to pick up or drop off, otherwise, it blew it’s whistle as it passed.

People were able to buy a ticket on a train in Ottumwa, Iowa and ride the trains into Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, etc. People were able to get on a train in Chicago or Los Angeles and take a vacation trip to visit Grandma and Grandpa in Shreveport, Louisiana with a reasonable schedule for the travel. Kids were enthralled by the sound of the train wheels on the rails and many is the night where they were lulled to sleep by this pleasant sound. I know I was!

Today, very few towns and cities have a passenger rail service. Why is this? Well a couple of reasons, but mainly the Airlines and the government subsidies for those airlines. Consider the early days of air travel, heavy commitments by the government to use the airlines for carrying Air Mail and to build and maintain airports in multitudes of locations. Trains used to carry the majority of Americans from the country into the city, on vacations and on business trips. Today, effective and efficient trains service the Washington-Boston Corridor and the mid-California coast only. There are still a few cross country trains, including the fabled City of New Orleans made famous in song. There are also still trains that run from Los Angeles across the southern route to Orlando, FL. Still a train that runs acorss the northern route from the east coast to the west coast, But alas, the days of the wonders of rail travel are almost gone in this country.

Isn’t it interesting that in the REST OF THE WORLD, rail travel is still among the most predominate modes of transportation for the masses? Trains run regularly and on time from Hanover Germany (in the north of this beautiful country), all the way across Europe to France, England, Italy, Spain and the rest of that area. Trains run frequently, services small intermediate towns and villages with local services and they carry millions of passengers each year, many on daily trips. There are “bullet” trains that travel in excess of 300 miles per hour in Europe and Japan. We have a train Acela, that has the capability, but cannot make higher speeds due to the condition of our rail road tracks and that they have to share the rails with freight trains. The Mistral train carries people at 250 to 300 miles per hour in luxury and comfort across France and into the other European countries, on special dedicated rail systems.

In order for someone in this country to travel from Washington, DC to say Huntsville, Alabama and they didn’t want to ride on another of those crappy airplanes flying today, they could take a train but only to Birmingham, AL and would then have to rent a car to get the final 60 miles or so up to Huntsville. In point of fact, Huntsville, Alabama just recently demolished their only remaining train station and the tracks that used to lead up to it no longer exist either. There are literally hundreds upon hundreds of train stations in this country that are abandoned or have been turned into offices or restaurants. An entire segement of our nation’s history is being systematically demolished day by day.

Trains are what made this country what it is today. Passengers and freight were carried across the new nation to build the communities that had been founded a few years earlier by wagons and pioneers. Yet today, even the freight trains are struggling to maintain a profitable business profile. Many of these in-country destinations are no longer readily available to us because our national passenger rail system is being systematically destroyed by our elected officials and the airlines stopped flying there because it was not sufficiently profitable. Now, that they have achieved dominance, the airlines are severely reducing or totally halting service to the smaller communities, so people have to find means of transport to the larger towns and cities where air travel is still available.

Frankly, the airlines show their disdain for the traveling public on a daily basis. Their airfares changes almost hourly, they lose our bags, they make us wait in interminable lines with too few customer service reps, and then wait in other lines to clear security, and finally wait in a gate area to get into another line to actualy board the aircraft. Finally, we are on board and strapped in, and now we wait in another line while our flight gets final clearance to use the runway for take off.

Consider in comparison, a modern train station with multiple ticket windows or you may have purchased your ticket online through Amtrak’s EASY TO USE web site. You arrive at the station, and a Red Cap (yes they still have those), is there to take your bags if you wish. You then go to the ticket window to check your bags, OR you keep them with you (no tight restriction on carry on bags). You then get some refreshment at one of several facilities in these larger stations or at the “diner” in the smaller stations while you wait a short time for your train to be announced (ON TIME). At that point, you walk along a corridor or down an escalator to the loading area (a very short distance) and the train is standing there with doors open for your boarding. The conductors and porters have placed steps to make your access to the train car even easier. You get on the proper car, find your seat or on a longer trip, your roomette and get comfortable. Within a short while the train begins to move slowly out of the station. As it picks up speed, you watch the country slide by your window and the conductor come by to validate your ticket. You sit, relax, read, plug in your laptop at your seat, make a cell phone call (no restriction because there are no worisome electonics), or simply take a nap. The seat is wide, thickly padded and there is a considerable amount of room between your seat and the row in front of you. So stretch out and relax.

Big difference huh? Ever try the trains in other countries?

WE, the United States citizenry, essentially REBUILT the European rail system following World War II and the European nations have made improvements and enhancements ever since. WE, at the same time, allowed our rail system to be primarily relegated to freight trains only. The freight trains now have priority over all rail traffic, when just a few years ago, freight trains were required to pull onto a siding to allow a passenger train to go by.

It was decided that passenger rail had seen its day and that people wanted to travel faster by air so the government put its might behind the airline companies and assisted in the demise of the private sector passenger rail sytem. The Federal Government then took over these passenger trains, creating the AMTRAK system or the National Passenger Rail System. But through the years they have systematically worked to effect the almost total demise of our national passenger rail system.

This strangling of AMTRAK is sort of like the theory that Newt Gingrich used toward Medicare, he wanted to continue to hold off on funding and allow Medicare to die a slow and painful death (didn’t care what the senior citizens would do). The combination of adminstration perfidy, a significant lack of concern by the Congress and continuing inroads by the airline industry has taken the passenger rail system in this country to the brink of extinction. There are movements in Congress and this perfidious administration to “chop” up the AMTRAK system, handing off responsibilities for huge portions of the system to the several states and keeping only the California commuter corridor and the Washington-Boston corridor trains in the Amtrak service. As you can imagine, that would totally destroy the ability to travel coast to coast reasonably by train, so the final demise of our rail system would be complete. Also, the States don’t really have the money or the inclination to assume responsibilities for a passenger rail system. My gosh, they can’t even implement decent light rail for their cities to reduce the commuter waste.

While the rest of the world improves and expands their rail systems, we in this country, in our typical blind idiocy, are demolishing our passenger rail systems. Why is this?

Are you really happy with the service, comfort and customer care that are being provided by the airlines today.

Are you really happy that ontime arrival and departures for ALL airlines has sunk to dismal levels, to the point where it is rare for them to meet any schedules?

Lost passenger bags are increasing in frequency, the seats are getting smaller, harder and more close together with each passing year.

Why do you suppose they feel they can get away with that? Simply because we and the federal government allow them to do so. We sing the songs of energy conservation and fossil fuel independence, but we continue to utilize the terribly fuel inefficient airplanes to travel. Did you know that the same amount of fuel used by a modern 767 taking off and flying up to it’s cruising altitude, would be more than enough to power a passenger train several times the number of people, from New York to Los Angeles? People don’t seem to understand that the passenger cost per mile on a railroad is less than one tenth that of a passenger mile on an airplane. But then we still drive those big honking SUV’s that get 10-18 miles per gallon, don’t we?

I personally have taken a pledge that where EVER and when EVER I have the opportunity I will forego the dubious pleasure of hopping on a “regional jet” from Delta, American, United, etc or any of their “regional” carriers and squeezing myself into a seat that would be a tight fit for a super model, and having my knees shoved up to my chin when the guy in front tilts his seat back. Instead, I plan on going to the AMTRAK train station, boarding a comfortable train car, sitting down in my wide, thick cushioned and very comfortable seat (only two abreast), tilting my seat back and raising the foot rest to the optimum comfort. I will not have to strap my seat belt and wait for the interminable time before take off, the train I board will move smoothly out of the station, on time. After riding for a while, I will leave my seat, walk down to the cafe car or the dining car (depending on the type of travel) and have a decent snack or meal and a cup of coffee, a soda, a beer or a mixed drink. If the train segment is sufficient long enough, I can go to the Dining Car and have a full meal at a table with a cloth covering, silverware and glasses for my drinks. NOT plastic or fiber cups. Then if I wish, I can go into the Club Car, have a couple of cocktails or a beer/wine or soda and network with some of my fellow passengers watching the scenery pass by the windows. OR I can return to my seat or my roomette, get out my laptop computer, PLUG it into the power socket at my seat, and do some work or whatever I wish to do. Some trains are now providing hookup to an internet connection, but the prevalence of this option is still highly dependent of gaining more passengers, and that, in an of itself, is a huge struggle.

Simply put, the fact is that the train does take longer to get people from place to place. It does not travel unimpeded through the skies above 30,000 feet, at 400 or 500 miles an hour. Instead, the modern American Passenger train travels at a constant range of speeds of between 50 and 80 miles an hour, through the country side and provides extensive views out of the picture windows of our great nation and its wonders. I can also, IF I wish, book a cross country trip, getting a “sleeper” room with privacy and the amenities such as a bathroom and a bed that is made up by the professional porters and other train employees. Then in the evening, after the bed has been “turned down”, I can snuggle into my comfortable bed and fall asleep to the sound of the wheels thrumming on the steel rails. A most peaceful sound and very conducieve to a good night’s rest, I might add.

Are we simply a bunch of sheep and idiotic Type A personalities that we can no longer take the time to enjoy travel and use a train, but instead have to shlepp our bags through the indignities heaped upon us by the airlines and the Federal TSA people as they paw through our luggage, search our physical persons and make us take off our shoes and walk on their dirty floors?

Additionally the airlines continue to degrade their services. No longer do they serve meals (such as they were even then), their seats are hard and uncomfortable and the airplanes are almost always full or more accurately “jammed packed”. In fact, in a growing number of cases people are “bumped” from flights because the airline overbooked a flight and someone has to pay by not getting on their flight. The airline, don’t really give a rat’s patoot about your inconvenience. Just consider that in the course of a decade, the airlines stopped serving a choice of meals, went to sandwiches and a cookie or fruit, then to peanuts and a granola bar. The sandwiches and fruit are still available in a “flight box” but you pay for them at an exhorbitant price. You can at least still get a soday or coffee for free, but wouldn’t put it past them in the near future to start charging 1.25 or better for those items. Putting it frankly, the airlines and air travel suck big time now and it is only getting worse.

Next Time you travel, if you can afford a little extra time, TAKE THE TRAIN if at all possible. I guarantee you will enjoy the trip a lot more. I know that I certainly do.

More on this topic in upcoming segments.

Yesterday in a meeting I heard the CEO of a small business (over 500 employees) saying that it looked like next year 2008, that his company may have to investigate dropping their health care plan due to continuing increases in premiums from the insurance company that provides coverage for his employees. He indicated that his premiums increased over 35 percent for the 2007 year and all indicators were that even higher increases would be expected for 2008 and beyond. This is a CEO who just a few months ago was adamantly opposed to Single Payer Universal Health Care coverage. Now? starting to think it is not such a bad idea to get rid of the ever increasing insurance costs and go to a different larger pool of risk. Such would be the SP-UHC program.

Frankly, folks, you can expect more and more of this to come about in the very near future. Health care costs are going through the roof and small businesses are being strapped for money to continue providing health care access programs for their employees. Each year, more companies drop coverage and their employees are left swinging slowly in the breeze. But you can’t lay the blame at the feet of these companies, they are caught between the needs of their employees and the callous disregard by the insurance programs. This includes the non-profit companies folks, the Blues get not pass on this problem, they are just as guilty as the for profit greed hogs for the sharp increases over the past few years. Look for more and more small businessses to become strapped and then to reluctantly drop coverage for their employees. Many will shift more of the premium payment to their employees where possible, but most will not be able to do so and simply have to stop it altogether.

This is not a scare tactic people, it is the stark truth, understand it and either live with it or get mad and start doing something about it!

Now as we move into the late summer and early fall, our presidential campaign is gaining more and more interest by the mainstream media. Daily there are articles on the candidates, what they said, what was said about them. Interesting isn’t it that only the very top tier candidates are getting the press and notice by the public?

Most of these candidates (from the Democratic Side) have issued some semblance of broad brush statements about their version of a health care plan for Americans. But none have made this a talking point for the media. Even though their plans are simply a whitewash and a sop to the health care industry companies, there is precious little about them in the mainstream media.

Naturally the Republicans have said nothing of value regarding health care reform. To them, the current system is fine for the common folk and let the insurance companies have their way. They are also vehemently opposed to implementing a “socialistic” health care program. I find that terribly sad and funny all at the same time. Sad that such supposedly intelligent people are too dumb to recognize that SP-UHC is NOT socialistic or socialized medicine, and funny that they are so stupid as to believe and parrot the political propaganda put out by the water carriers of the health care industry. I may be a tiny bit harsh here, but not really. Most people have discovered that the majority of Republican Conservatives do not believe in universal health care unless it continues to fatten the pockets of the greed hogs in the health care industry, including medical insurance companies, HMO’s and phamaceutical companies. Hmm, perhaps I was not being harsh at all, simply stating the truth.

So far, our illustrious Democratic candidates have shown very little of the concern formerly exhibited by the Democratic Party for helping all Americans, not just a small rich cadre. I refer to their sad lack of a reasonable health care plan that the majority of Americans have stated is HIGH on their list of concerns and interests. What is it with the Clinton, Obama, Edwards, Biden, Richardson, etc. camps? Have they totally lost interest in listening to what their constituents, the AMERICAN PEOPLE want and need? Sure looks like it to this old man. It is really irritating that we, the average Joe American are the ones who put these damn people into office, it would be really nice, if for one moment, they started to listen to what WE say instead of the corporate interests and lobby slimeballs have to say.

Now it is not like we are not awash in potential solutions to the health care crisis in this country. Hell, they could swing their arms and hit several plans across the country. There is a bill in Congress (HR-676) to address reform of health care and provid access to all legal residents of this country. There are legislative programs in California, Colorado and other states that are attempting to address the solution to the crisis with a single payer universal health care program. The California legislation has already passed the State Senate with a large majority and is currently working through the House of Representatives.

So what is it with the talking heads on the campaign trail that they cannot spend a couple of buck of the millions upon millions they are collecting and actually ask the American people what kind of health care access programs THEY want? Do they not understand that our country, the richest, most powerful in the world is 37th on the list of developed countries with regard to health care outcomes? We are almost dead last in that race folks. The other countries have citizens living longer, healthier lives, fewer infant mortalities, fewer children dying young from disease. Why is our country so far behind? Simply because the politicians will not listen to people, only to their big money slimeballs.

Dennis Kucinich, is the ONLY presidential candidate who has stepped up to the plate with a program that has been identified as THE Single Payer Universal Health Care reform that will work on a national level. The only candidate in the eight who are running and are gathering up your dollars folks. It is your hard earned cash and these slugs don’t give a damn about your potential losses from a health care emergency or your possible loss of health care coverage because the rates are getting far and away more than your company can afford.

None of them, from Clinton to Richardson have given any indicatation that they give a Rat’s Ass about providing the United States with the type of health care access that the rest of the developed world has for its citizens.

Dennis Kucinich is the ONLY one of the eight who has a plan, (and a real one at that, with a bill in Congress entitled as HR-676, waiting for action) that addresses the concerns of the citizens of this country and this guy has a snow ball’s chance in hell of getting elected president. He has not the money, the presence or the organization to beat back the big STARS of the election. But he has the right plan, at the right time and somebody needs to get behind this guy and help him move on up.

So once again, we are faced with the prospect of going to the polls on election day 2008, holding our noses over the stench of the candidates and pressing a vote for one of the money people. Not a valid candidate, who gives a crap about this country or it’s people, not a candidate that will actually consider what is best for the health and well being of the American people, but one who had the organization to pull millions of dollars in from the lobbyist slimeballs, from big corporations and health care industry greedy slime. They won’t give a damn about your continuing loss of health care access, they will simply MANDATE that all people are covered one way or another and put billions more into the pockets of their big contributors.

Take a look at the other web sites regarding health care initiatives, in California, Colorado and other states. Look at the HR-676 bill put forth by Conyers and Kucinich in the House of Representatives. Educate yourself on this situation and then yell loudly to your political prostitute that “You Are Mad As Hell And Are Not Going To Take It Anymore”.

You can also let us know by sending an email to SPUHC@seniorcitizensconsortium.org and we will get information to you regarding the program and what you can do to help.

Or we can sit back and watch more of our people lose health care access and the 18,000 who die each year because of no health care access to increase diametrically.

It’s our choice.

This blog entry will replace a more verbose entry that I felt was simply too much for most blog readers to focus on and provide feedback. So that blog entry has become a white paper and will be retrievable from this blog entry, if you so desire. Check at the end of this blog for the link.

Again we turn to the primary issue from our perspective at the Senior Citizens Consortium, that of Single Payer Universal Health Care. Consider that the health care system in the US, based on a private sector commercial approach to medical care results in the highest cost per capita in the developed countries. Most of the European countries, all democracies, have a health care cost of less than 50% of ours and they consistently produce far better medical outcomes for their citizens. Consider also, the United States, the richest, most powerful country in the world, is ranked 38 on the list of developed countries with regard to health care for its citizens!

With our seemingly perpetual election cycles considering that this Presidential election started almost immediately after the 2006 mid term elections, we now have a plethora of candidates all angling to be nominated as their party’s candidate for the elections in NOVEMBER of 2008!!! However, these people are basically talkng a lot, yet saying nothing, which is pretty typical for politicans in a campaign. They are full of platitudes, obfuscation of issues, and in far too many cases, outright lies, to convince the public that they are the most deserving to be our government’s chief executive. Frankly, none of them are listening to the people, they are hearing what they want to hear.

With this attitude on the part of the candidates, it seems more and more important that we, the American People, need to get out of our comfortable homes and hit the streets, figuratively speaking. Now I know that the call for street demonstrations at the places where the candidates meet will be met with a huge ho hum. With the exception of a few people against the War In Iraq, we don’t seem to have the stomach for letting our politicans know what we, as taxpaying citizens want to see in the way of legislation. We need to get out there and tell them in no uncertain terms that if they want our votes, they must listen to us, not the fat cat health care industry! Do we need to march in the streets in reality? Probably not, even though that would make a huge difference. What we do need to do, folks is let these people know, in no uncertain terms, that we are truly an angry citizenry and they had better start listening to us.

Now, really, I don’t expect much from the Republican candidates on the aspect of Single Payer Universal Health Care, but I would have thought that the Democrats would have had better ideas for their consituents! Not so. Clinton, Edwards, Obama, Richardson, the entire slate of wannabe presidnts, are basically espousing a plan that requires ALL citizens to have MEDICAL INSURANCE, but does nothing to slow or halt the alarming increase in the cost of medical care and pharmaceuticals. Their “plan” is essentally based on the plan put in place in Massachusetts, where people were required to have health insurance and the state would “assist” them where necessary with the cost of premiums. They are basically tinkering with the health care system instead of trying to fix it.

The only candidate who is in support of the idea of Single Payer Universal Health Care is Dennis Kucinich! He is supporting Congressman Conyers’ National Heath Insurance bill HR676 currently in the congress but languishing as it has done for several years. The HR-676 bill is available for reading or downloading either from Congressman Conyers web site of at the link below.

HR676 National Health Care

The bill is only 27 pages long folks and it is well worth a few minutes of your time to read it. Congressman Conyers and his staff have put together a very good start for universal health care. It it not the optimal solution, but it will provide an excellent baseline.

Further, we need to establish an American Health Care Bill of Rights. The following is a starting list of these bill of rights. We would encourage any of you reading this, to submit your idea for further enhancements to this preliminary list.

I was truly disappointed when the Democratic candidates all started spouting the Health Care Industry line of expanding the care through expanding the insurance and HMO theft. Clinton, Obama, Edwards, Biden, Richardson, well you get the picture! ALL of these so called Democrats have totally bought into or have been bought by, the insurance and health care industry. While that stuff is expected from the Republican candidates, it was and is truly disappointing that the Democrats are not stepping up to the plate for all Americans in providing health care as a right for all citizens.

I will tell you all that the Senior Citizens Consortium is going to be more and more active in this advocacy for Single Payer Universal Health Care and we will be contacting our elected representatives and those candidates who are sniffing around for our votes. We will, even if the AARP will not, take the side of senior citizens, along with all other citizens and legal residents in this fight for a recognized RIGHT to health care.

We, at the SCC will work diligently to let all politicians know that the people of the United States believe that health care is NOT a consumer product as our so called president keeps trying to sell us on. Health care decisions are not and they should never be, subject to a consumer product decision. The very idea of health care as a consumer product shows that our adminitration has no clue and frankly does not care a whit about the regular American Citizen.

Our SCC membership is encouraged to take an active role in pushing their political representatives to recognize the NEED for single payer universal health care. If they can’t recognize that need, and our demands for this RIGHT, we need to replace them with politicians who will!

Now, for those of you who want to read the original blog posting that this entry has replaced, click on the link below:

Universal Health Care-Redux

I do get a bit verbose, but this subject is, or should be, among the most important subjects for this country.

The Republicans are now totally owned and operated by the far right conservative leg of the party and these people are all water carriers for the insurance, medical, and pharmaceutical lobbies in the health care program area. Republicans have not cared a whit for the average American for so long that no one can even remember when that might have been the case. So don’t look to the Republicans to help in this area, they are going to fight it tooth and nail and will bring in their pals in the industry with the deep pockets to present lies and half truths to once again defeat a chance at a reasonable health care access program. Remember the Harry and Louise lying ads on TV and Radio? Who do you think put up the millions of dollars for those lies?

So, keep the candidates, both presidential and congressional on their toes. Write them, call them and send them emails. Let them know that we want a total restructuring of the health care access sytem in this country. Let them know that at the very least, they must support Congressman Conyers’ HR676 bill.

Step up to the plate folks, you are the owners of this country, not the politicans and their cronies in the industry. Let them know how you really feel. Comments on this blog can be forwarded to our candidates if you wish. Just let us know.

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.