Sanitizer needed ASAP!

Ah, yes. The campaign season is certainly in full swing. And I'm already sick of it all! How about you?

I'm usually eating up every little sound byte of political information, so this is an unusual year for me, to say the least. I am sick of all of it, though, because I'm amazed at how strange things have become. The Republicans are, as ever, on the side of the uber-rich. And still regular folks vote for them. The Democrats have no backbone, and just want to be friends. (And in my local race for Congress, the Democrat is the best Republican one could ever ask for.) So nothing they've done in the last 2 years has truly been progressive. Everything has fallen just a bit short of the goal.

So, to say I'm crestfallen, or depressed, or just plain concerned about the way things are going is an understatement. As I've alluded to in previous posts.

Today I read something that not only made me sad, but confirmed my tendency to assume money wins all in American anymore. The LA Times had a small article about how much money the healthcare insurers are giving to candidates this fall. And guess what? They're giving to candidates in the GOP. Why? Because they want to repeal SOME of the rules in the newly created healthcare legislation. The ones that make it illegal to put caps on payment for sick patients, or the ones that require insurance companies to cover children. (Well, some of them have already fixed that, since they stopped selling policies for children, they no longer have to follow that rule.)

The one rule they want to continue to have on the books? The one mandating every American to get healthcare insurance, of course! This actually is a sticking point, as most GOPers want to repeal healthcare reform legislation altogether. The mandate means insurers have a HUGE batch of new enrollees. They say they need them to keep costs low. But remember that insurers made HUGE profits last year? The biggest profits EVER? I'm sure after they buy donate to those GOP campaigns, those same candidates will start changing their tune about what to repeal.

As I always say: Follow the money and you'll find the puppetmaster.

On the bright side, I always enjoy a little of  "The Daily Show" no matter how bad it seems. And, I think everyone needs a bit more of this:

Just sayin'.

Healthcare and my future here

You all know by now that health care is something I'm passionate about. I do not understand why Americans think we're #1 in the world, when nearly half of all countries in the world have healthier people than we do (according to the World Health Organization.) I realize there are a number of reasons for that, one of which is our abysmal lifestyle here in the States. But we could slowly change that for the better, if we'd just try to.

Anyhoo, if health care isn't your thing, you probably won't care about this clip from The Daily Show recently. You should care, and should research this topic on your own. Our health care system is a massive drain on our economy, and on our main street lives. Jobs, wages, possibilities of moving up in the world. All of these are related to the cost of health care in America.

One of the blogs I read almost daily, Momma Politico, posted a lengthy clip of Bill Clinton on The Daily Show. It was fabulous! But, I wanted to post just a portion of the interview, because in it Mr. Clinton talks about health care, and brings home my point about the costs. Thanks for posting, MP!

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Exclusive - Bill Clinton Extended Interview Pt. 2
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Tea Party

When smart people realize that America could be better, I hope we move in that direction. Right now, I have a very negative view of America's future. In that, I guess I'm not unlike most of the TeaBaggers. (Yikes!) I am angry. Angry that we haven't wanted to do better. Angry that those in power continue to manipulate the masses, so they can keep their money and their power. Angry that the masses are so uneducated about everything that they don't even realize they are being manipulated. Angry that they vote against their own interests time after time after time.

So, when a poll comes out asking if you are happy with the way the country is moving, or happy with the job this Administration is doing, I probably end up in the same category as all those angry TeaBaggers. I want more! I want Obama to man up and fight for what's right, not compromise from the middle to the right. I want Americans to be educated. I want us all to have a better life.

I voted for Obama, and I'd do it again. But I'm not happy with what he's done, mainly because I believe he squandered the momentum he had. We could have so much more right now, but he wanted to get bipartisan support. He was more worried about making people happy than he was about doing the right thing.

Politics is a nasty business. I know. And every day I get more and more discouraged by the whole theatrics of it all. And when my husband and I sit down and talk about what we want to do after the kids move out, one of the first things we agreed on was considering a lengthy stay abroad. That is SAD! I want to be proud to be here. Proud to live in a country that's tolerant, and works towards ideals that every person be free. Freedom isn't just about religion. It's about the ability to make something of yourself. Unless things change, and the religious right settles down and stops trying to become a theocracy, I don't feel we have that here anymore.

My eyes are open. I hope to see the change we need soon.