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What We Hear


Buzzwords, sound bites and catch phrases are not facts. The current political debates are popularity contests disguised as real information. These aspirants use what they can to excite , arouse and enthuse us with what they believe we want to hear. The reality is –  when the winner  is actually sitting in the Oval office , they will find that the promises, sound bites, buzz words, etc., no longer apply. The reality of the job kicks in like an overdose of caffeine. It will take the first four years to understand the job and act on things that were already in the works. There will be no repealing, revoking or deleting because they will have to be the CIC with military activities occurring in other countries, UN members that need attention aside from their immediate family’s needs. He or she will need to hit the ground running since time stops for no one nor does the country’s business. The question is who do we really want or who do we really need? There are no perfect candidates but we need to dismiss  the debates as  so much fluff or as we would a schoolyard scuffle between second graders. Our job as voters is to determine beyond the debates and oratory of the campaign who feel will do the job if we do not perform this exercise we will not have fulfilled our duty as voters and we can only blame ourselves if we end up with less than the best we can get. There is no such thing as “no matter who I vote for nothing will change”. This is why Illinois has the Governor they currently have and why we have the Congress we have. Remember Congress will be in place after the Presidential elections so who will we blame then?- “Ourselves if we become complacent and place our trust in Politrickers”.

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Rand Paul -has no Clue


Dupublican candidates statements on Vaccines refuted.

Elizabeth Warren takes on Rand Paul’s ‘profound mental disorders’

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) questions U.S. Federal Reserve Vice Chair Janet Yellen (not pictured) during a Senate Banking Committee confirmation hearing on Yellen's nomination to be the next chairman of the Federal Reserve, on Capitol Hill in Washingt

attribution: REUTERS

Sen. Elizabeth Warren is not having any of your anti-vaxxer nonsense, or any of Sen. Rand Paul’s anti-vaxxer nonsense either. At a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee hearing on vaccinations, Warren had some questions for the director for the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the CDC:

“Is there any scientific evidence that vaccines cause autism?”“Is there any scientific evidence that vaccines cause ‘profound mental disorders’?”

“Is there any scientific evidence that vaccines have contributed to the rise in allergies or auto-immune disorders among kids?”

“Are there additives or preservatives in vaccines that can be toxic to kids?”

“Is there any scientific evidence that giving kids their vaccines further apart or spacing them differently is healthier for kids?”

“Is there any scientific evidence that kids can develop immunity to these diseases on their own, simply by eating nutritious foods or being active?”

(Answer key: No, no, no, no, no, and no.)Important questions, but one stood out: “Is there any scientific evidence that vaccines cause ‘profound mental disorders’?”

Rand Paul last week: “I have heard of many tragic cases of walking, talking normal children who wound up with profound mental disorders after vaccines.”

Game, set, and match go to the Massachusetts Democrat refusing to be drafted for president over the Kentucky Republican trying to rig the system to run for president without losing his Senate seat.

Originally posted to Laura Clawson on Wed Feb 11, 2015 at 08:00 AM PST.

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If We Could


If we could agree that our political process is broken perhaps we could agree that we have been under served for the past 10 – 20 years by our elected representatives. Looking at the debacles also called debates, it should give us a reason to think about who we really need to have running the country. No one person is going to be perfect however the onus of not being re-elected is a powerful incentive to try to get it right. If we could allow the evils of racism, religious intolerance and personal bias to race off into the sunset , we find that we are all facing the same issues on one level or another. Our common  problem  appears to be the people we elect to represent us. Each of us has an opinion on what we believe ( TRUE OR NOT) and that belief is changeable when all facts are known, but we must stay out of the tar pits of political rhetoric that is constantly in our ears and faces. Do you find it odd that so many are willing to lie to get elected and continue the lies once elected? The lies are no more than fairy tales with a supposed happy ending which is so far away that we forgot it was coming and accept what ever the ending is with relish. If we could, would we make the same election choices again? I hope not, yet we allow the political ads to sway us on voting much like the ads for the products we buy. The real story is the one we don’t want to hear because we have been advertised into believing what is wrong is right and vice versa. Why else would we be told to talk to our Doctors about medications when he should already know what we take and if this new medication is correct for us? This is advertising and it is the same as a political campaign. Would we really want to elect someone based on advertising?

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Rocky Mountain High!


Why is possible for a State to get Universal healthcare accomplished and the Federal Government cannot? Simply put 535 elected officials whose sole purpose is to do what their handlers want them to do and it is not in our (the voters) best interests. The ACA (Obama Care) had it been properly  addressed by our 535 pimps could have been like this proposal in Colorado.

Fri Oct 23, 2015 at 01:00 PM PDT

Colorado Poised to be First State with Universal Health Care

byIvanJMillerFollow forColoradoCare

 

Today the campaign committee for universal health care in Colorado, ColoradoCareYES, delivered to the Colorado Secretary of State 156,107 signatures to place universal health care, ColoradoCare, on the ballot in 2016. Celebrations across Colorado — in Denver, Ft. Collins, Colorado Springs, and Grand Junction — marked this historic moment. In Colorado, when government fails or falls under too much influence of lobbyists and the powerful, citizens can put an issue on the ballot by submitting petitions containing signatures from over 5 percent of the voters who voted for Secretary of State in the last election. This was no small undertaking. The completely grassroots campaign required $590,000, and 580 volunteer petition carriers spending thousands of hours talking to their neighbors at farmer’s markets, festivals, and on the streets. Today’s success shows Coloradans are ready to take back their health care from Big Medicine and the rules its lobbyists have written in Washington. Help launch the campaign: Join us!The U.S. health care system is broken beyond words—spending over twice as much as other developed countries, getting poorer results, and paying for an incredible swarm of bureaucrats in the space between patients and providers. Because the current Congress is barely capable of staying open for business, it is up to the states to make innovative change.

T.R. Reid, Spokesperson for ColoradoCareYES, explains:

“State-by-state change has been the template for some of the most important policy reforms in American history: women’s suffrage, the minimum wage, the progressive income tax, same-sex marriage, etc. Most recently, Colorado led the nation by ending the prohibition and criminalization of marijuana and replacing it with policies of rational regulation. If we can convert one state at a time, it will not be long until the U.S. joins the democratic, economically advanced countries of the world with universal health care.”

If a state meets or exceeds the goals of the Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare), it may obtain a waiver to opt out of ObamaCare. ColoradoCare is just such a plan: it replaces ObamaCare with a universal health care plan. ColoradoCare covers all residents with comprehensive health care and no deductibles, while saving Coloradans $4.5 billion in 2019. This figure takes into account increased spending on previously unmet health care needs. This is possible because the current system is so overloaded with administrative bureaucracy and profits for insurance administrators that ColoradoCare can remove $6.2 billion of administrative waste.Premiums are collected in a manner similar to the successful Medicare and Social Security programs — via both a payroll and non-payroll premium tax based on income. To avoid the partisanship and the inflexibility of government-managed programs, ColoradoCare is organized as a cooperative business. The cooperative business model is democratic and has a proven track record. Credit Unions, REI, Rural Electric Cooperatives, and the Green Bay Packers are cooperatives. Colorado residents would own ColoradoCare: Coloradans would elect the trustees and they would benefit from any savings.

We believe we can campaign smart with a ground game and win on the ballot in November 2016. Strong support is expected from Colorado businesses as they learn that they would save billions and get out from under the responsibility for administering employee health care. The choice for Coloradans will be clear-cut:

•    Choose the current system designed in Washington and continue paying $4.5 billion more than with ColoradoCare, continue paying for $6.2 billion of wasteful administrative interference between patients and providers, and leave many people without health insurance and even more Coloradans underinsured
OR
•    Choose ColoradoCare: Made in Colorado, locally controlled, costing $4.5 billion less, and covering everyone without deductibles.

Coloradans will have a full year to understand the choice, and we believe they will choose wisely.The opponents are the owners of Big Medicine, who believe they are entitled to control the political and economic foundation and future of the health care system —big insurance, big pharmaceutical, and big hospital chains, with the big chambers of commerce that they dominate leading their resistance. The airwaves will be sold through Citizen’s United Express to the purveyors of dirty and dishonest advertising.

Today’s grassroots insurgency is reminiscent in many ways of the Spirit of 1776, when the Colonists decided to end the rule of the oligarchy of King George and the 0.1 percent of that day. The American Revolution replaced King George’s wealthy oligarchy with the novel idea of the time, democracy — a system in which the majority of the people, not the most wealthy and powerful, made the rules. In today’s politics, the corporate oligarchy and 0.1% have hijacked our democracy, and it is time for the people of Colorado to use the ballot initiative to take our democracy back.

ColoradoCareYES is building a Campaign Launch Fund and organizing to campaign smart and use people power to overcome the financial edge and dirty advertising of Big Medicine funding through Citizen’s United. The time is now. The infrastructure for the smart campaign requires $200,000 by the end of the year. We need support from around the nation. Early donations help the most — they help us grow and gain more donations as our year long campaign gains momentum.

Contribute and join us at www.ColoradoCareYES.CO.  Help the movement grow and spread to other states.

Ivan J. Miller, Executive Director
ColoradoCareYES

Ivan J. Miller, PhD is the Executive Director of ColoradoCareYES, the campaign committee promoting the ColoradoCare

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What If?


What if the Select Benghazi committee really wanted the truth? It would be a relief however if the truth is the real basis of this expensive inquiry? As a citizen I have listened to what the committee said they were looking for but the real story even though it is readily available does not appear to be on the table. To make a short story: The location of the embattled building was an out post embassy which did not have the extensive security that the full embassies have. It did have a safe room however that safe room was not air tight and it has been determined that the death of the ambassador could have been from smoke inhalation (not verified yet). It has been revealed that an alert was issued but due to weak security of the outpost there was not enough time or personnel to hold out. Given this little bit of information I have managed to find, I am wondering where the  expensive Congressional committee got their information and why it may be incomplete. As an aside, we have all heard of the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes but do we really understand his process? The detective’s methods involve looking at all of the apparent evidence then studying the no so apparent evidence and forming a conclusion with all available  evidence. All of this evidence tell a complete story not a “chicken little” scenario. The Benghazi committee aside from spending taxpayer money is doing no more than proffering a political “witch hunt”. It is fine that the incident is being investigated but do it the right way. We have already had a failed investigation in the ’50s by former  Senator Joe McCarthy, which damaged lives and our country, we have a current Congress that has taken the President to task  for the ACA (Obama care) while not doing their due diligence and that is to read it then tweak it as needed. What if our Congress really attempted to do the job we elected them to do instead of looking for political advantages that net us as voters nothing but more of the same ineptitude we have been experiencing for much too long. What if?

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In A Country With Less Freedom


In a country with less freedom of speech and expression, the following people would be in jail for life:

Ann Coulter, Bill O’Reilly, Charles Krauthammer, Rush Limbaugh and a few others.

We have as many “terrorist” type groups in America as anyone else, some have the potential to do as much harm  as any others but fortunately a lot more people have no desire to broadly embrace them and their ideals (?). If we look at religion, we have as many sects and sub sects as the middle east fortunately we are not killing one another off because of the assorted interpretations of the known religious texts. The Middle east has within the Muslin umbrella of religion has alewites, Sunnis, Sufis, Shi’as, Wahhabis, Ibadan and these are just a few of the subsets which vary from country to country. To express an idea that does not mesh with the Government line  in many other parts of the world puts ones life in danger. In America that is not the case but sometimes the talking heads need a reality check and their forums reduced to a smaller audience. The freedoms of America allows for these diverse opinions and ideas which opens the door for more investigation in the basis of these ideas and opinions which in turn lets us see that the real basis is: notoriety with no foundation in truth. The worst thing about this is we have “conservative  Christians  who want to deny the rights of others because of their personal beliefs and often the misreading or interpretation of the Bible. These Christians  are no more than religious bigots with enough backing to gain the attention of like  minded followers who are for all intents and purposes terrorists with the same zest for punishment as any Radical Muslim cleric. In My Opinion!

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Russian Invasion


What if we had listened to General George Patton near the end of WWII? He advocated going after Russia then rather than later ( Remember General MacArthur? in Korea?). Russia has always been no more than a bully for years but with the might of their army they have bit by bit worked to consolidate and enlarge their grip wherever they could. The Syria situation requires the support of the entire UN to correct, the United States can no longer be the only front-runner in the resistance  and criticism of the Russian incursion in Syria. The middle east has never been at ease with themselves so we have Russia aiding and abetting wherever they can to help their own cause. They have turned to the Stalinist practice of taking what they want through might (as they see it, right).The confrontation if coming from the U.S. alone would be as close to a war declaration as you can come without the actual declaration.  The refugees have exacerbated the situation and created a  distraction for the Russian ambitions, which also aids the Syrian strongman’s cause. In case anyone missed it, this Russian “assistance” is no different than the events in Ukraine. We have had several U.S. congress member advocating more U.S. involvement including ground troops but have we not had enough loss of life after the past 10 to 12 years of an undeclared war in the middle east. The last “war” was beneficial for many big money people (including former VP Cheney) and gained us nothing but a loss of resources and lives. The aftermath left the people here in an economic spiral whose coming was ignored and obscured by the “war” in the middle east. Reasonably speaking: why did we go into Vietnam when France ran like a thief at the first opportunity, why did we go into Afghanistan when Russia cut their losses and ran? The answer as I see it is a financial windfall for munitions manufacturers (big Money). Along with the loss of life and the ongoing (even now) health problems for our veterans and the effects on their families, we had a government that ignored the issues for years. The current Russian invasion in Syria has so far no direct effect on us yet but we must be vigilant and insure that we press our elected officials to do what is correct.

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Biggest Threat


Short post about the real radicals and threats, add the disparate groups we have in our Congress and we have a recipe for change that is dangerous. If you add the NRA’s radical ravings then consider this a homemade bomb put together by an amateur. The issue of “gun Control” keeps popping up yet the issue is not gun control, the real issue is who owns and can own guns. All of the other stuff ( concealed carry, open carry, etc.) is irrelevant. An example is the women who has a concealed carry license who shot a shoplifter in a parking lot of Home Depot, this was a poor choice on her part as the fired round could have done more damage than a flattened tire. Should this woman have a concealed carry? Hard to say but it could be that her ability to carry emboldened her to irrationality. This is the type of mindset that needs to be addressed not control of guns. This is my opinion.

Statistics Show White Supremacy is a Bigger Threat to the U.S. Than Radical Muslims

By Keisha Hatchett

Oct 2, 2015

Despite what Donald Trump and many other politicians have told you, the major threat to America isn’t Muslim extremism. In fact, statistics show that the real danger lies with domestic extremists who aren’t of the Muslim faith.

The New York Times reported back in June that since Sept. 11, 2001, almost twice as many people have died at the hands of white supremacists and other non-Muslim extremists than by radical Muslims. Using data compiled by New America, a Washington Research center, a study found that 48 people have been killed by extremists who are not Muslim—including the mass killings in Charleston, S.C.—compared to the 26 by self-proclaimed jihadists. However, this does not factor in yesterday’s tragic shooting or less publicized incidents like the Las Vegas couple who murdered two police officers and left a Swastika on one of the bodies.

These stats reveal a vast difference between public perception and the number of actual cases in which Muslim extremists have claimed American lives. So why aren’t more people outraged about domestic terrorists? Because then we’d have to admit that white supremacy is still a problem.

While the public hasn’t quite caught on yet, scholars say that the issue needs to be addressed. “There’s an acceptance now of the idea that the threat from jihadi terrorism in the United States has been overblown,” Dr. John G. Horgan, who studies terrorism at the University of Massachusetts said. “And there’s a belief that the threat of right-wing, antigovernment violence has been underestimated.”

That’s an understatement.

Tags: News, Racism, White People, Terrorism

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Legends and What You Stand For


If the legend of Pinocchio were true, there would be no room to move in the Congressional chambers. We unfortunately are plagued with many representatives who can hardly tell the truth. Many are hard pressed to believe the truth. Given the tasks set before them as Legislators(?), one would believe they would not spend taxpayers funds on issues that have been previously resolved  (4.2 Million dollars on Benghazi). This being a run up year to a national election may have some influence on these activities. At some point in the past we had representatives who in spite of their later known personal issues joined with like minded representatives of the other parties to create and enact laws that benefitted most of us (especially the 99%). What have  now is a group of self aggrandized  elected officials whose sole purpose is to control the government and insure  that they can accommodate the needs of their large donors. It is unfortunate that the smaller  issues that mean more than the current prominent ones will and have gone unattended. The lies: planned parenthood has been attacked based on an edited tape and picked up by Conservatives as the truth, thereby causing the funding for women’s health to be reduced or defunded. This Lie has been picked up by the radical fringe of the Dupublican party as truth without as much as a cursory investigation and no thought of the effect on their constituents (who they never consulted). The pity of it all is that anyone who never had to use the services of Planned Parenthood do not understand the dire effect of  this defunding. The very people who need health services the most will be affected  regardless of  any abortions performed by Planned parenthood. The Fact that no government funding goes to any abortion services does not seem to affect the blatant disregard to the overall function of the agency. We have become so much like the Radical Islamists as to be identical except for the murderous rampages and beheadings. Our Radicals are the so called “religious right, moral majority or perhaps conservatives”. These disparate groups have gained a high profile due to Mainstream media coverage which plays to their radical thoughts and theories as if it were the National Trend. If we as rational people do not pay close attention we will have the closest thing to a dictatorship as any other  nation that is now fighting that same type of government. Then its the Email flap, how much will this cost us? It is important to remember the Alexander Hamilton quote: ”  Those who stand for nothing fall for anything”.

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Billions


Why is it that billions can be spent on campaigning but none is spent for infrastructure. It is understood that these billions are provided by external sources yet the roads and bridges still need funding. While the politicians argue and jostle for position, the legislation to fund the government for an extended time is  going undone. Suppose these statesman wannabes actually tried to be? The modern political climate is pretty much bought and sold by big money donors whose agenda does not include anything good for the voters of America no matter what they say in the media. In my opinion  anyone , voters, elected officials or even external sources who does not see the always present “handwriting on the wall” is either blind or they do not care that we as a country could have a serious problem. The current political and business climate harkens back to the time of the railroad and steel magnates who helped build this country but some totally disrespected their workers and kept them in virtual poverty and at the so called “lower rungs of society”. It is important to remember that this is not as much a racial issue as a class one. When the clouds roll by and the sky is clear one can readily see that most of us who are not millionaires have been pushed into the same leaky boat no matter what our religion, race or ethnicity is. This is class warfare on a grand scale with a sprinkling of Racism and religious outrage thrown in to muddy the waters. It is unfortunate that some of the folks who are in this boat have allowed their biases  to blind them to the greater problem which is the electorate and Billionaire rulers.

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