Montgomery, Alabama "Tea Party Patriots" Support Joe Wilson In Person

Last night President Obama's speech on health care reform to a joint session of congress was marred by the inappropriate and disrespectful outburst from Republican Representative Joe Wilson of South Carolina who falsely yelled "you lie" at the president after Obama correctly denied that his health care proposal would cover illegal immigrants. This rude show of incivility was so outrageous that even conservatives like John McCain have admonished Wilson as "totally disrespectful."

What is worse is the indisputable fact that Rep. Wilson is really the one lying because both the House and Senate versions of President Obama’s health care reform plans contain passages explicitly excluding illegal immigrants from receiving federal money to purchase health insurance from either a private or government-run health plan. This is documented by bipartisan fact checking organizations here here and here. Also, PolitiFact rates Wilson's claim that Obama was lying as "FALSE" on their Truth-O-Meter.

How blatant is Joe Wilson's lie? If you actually READ the bill, H.R. 3200 under Subtitle C -- Individual Affordability Credits is Sec. 246 which is titled "No Federal Payment For Undocumented Aliens" which says:

Nothing in this subtitle shall allow Federal payments for affordability credits on behalf of individuals who are not lawfully present in the United States.

Therefore, Obama is right and Wilson is wrong. CASE CLOSED.

The facts or common decency and respect certainly didn't stop the "Alabama Tea Party Patriots" of Montgomery, Alabama from supporting Joe Wilson. Today, MSNBC reports that members of the group (which is coordinated by known liar Matthew Givens) were the first in line this morning to visit Rep. Wilson's congressional office to offer their support in person.

Starting at around 8:30 a.m. various groups supportive of Congressman Wilson’s comment began to stop by his office. First up: the Montgomery, Alabama Tea Party Patriots. When leaving the office, one of the four women that made up the group said, “He was right, and he needed to know it.”

Yup, Montgomery Alabama's Tea Party Patriots support Rep. Joe Wilson and believe that he was "right" to yell at the president in such a rude and disrespectful manner even though what he yelled wasn't even factual. Congrats Alabama Teabaggers, you've proven yourself as the absolutely moronic fools that you truly are.

This video explains why Alabama is a "red state"

Complete stupidity and gullibility!

Also, this must have been the slowest news day...ever!

Conservative Arguments FOR Healthcare Reform

Here are conservative argument for health care reform that I think any fair-minded person can agree with regardless of your political affiliation or beliefs.

By passing comprehensive health care reform we have the opportunity for the federal government to truly affect the general welfare in a positive way for all Americans as guaranteed in the United States Constitution. How? It's simple. A healthy nation is a productive nation. Think of all the man-hours being lost today due to workers being ill, in pain, or disabled. If we were all just a little more healthy, a LOT more would get done and therefore, more money would be made and we would ALL prosper.

Also, healthier citizens are happier and that means less crime and violence as well as less division and hate. It would mean less domestic violence and less child abuse. More jobs and better salaries means less burglary and theft, less homeless, less hungry and less poverty. And, of course, it would result in more business too because happier people have a tendency to do more and spend more money. This stuff is just common sense, but it rarely is brought up in the debate for health care reform. Why are you opposing it again?

Let's say you just care about more jobs and economic growth. Great! The 'public option' being proposed by Democrats will give a competitor to the insurance industry to bring costs down. The insurance that businesses provide to their employees will be cheaper and some will even take the public option. That means more small business jobs and more profit for small businesses. The CBO reports that, despite claims by HCR opponents, private insurance companies will actually gain MORE customers due to lower costs.

Want more business arguments FOR health care reform? If 47 million people suddenly have health insurance, there is sure to be an increase in demand for medical services and pharmaceuticals, so expect the stocks for these providers to do extremely well. Those businesses will need to hire more people to meet this demand, therefore more jobs created due to health care reform. Salaries will also be positively affected. The public option is good business, good for jobs and good politics!

But what about the conservative principle of fiscal responsibility, you might ask? The answer is simple: We can't afford to keep things the way they are. Our broken health care system represents 16% of our Gross Domestic Product. Health care costs are leading individuals to bankruptcy at an alarming rate. If nothing is done, it will only get worse. That means less income in the form of taxes for all levels of government and therefore a loss of public services you've taken for granted your entire life. Without economic growth, the only way to go is down. A public option would clearly be good for business, good for American's health, productivity and overall prosperity.


We are still feeling the negative effects from eight long years of a conservative administration and 'representatives' who completely abandoned this supposed principle of fiscal responsibility by turning a surplus into record deficits. When a Republican president wanted to drop bombs, they never questioned the cost, but if Democrats want to reform a broken health care system which will directly help American citizens by protecting our life, liberty and pursuit of happiness, suddenly we can't afford it?

Yes, health care reform directly affects all three of these inalienable rights set by our founders in the Declaration of Independence. The "Life" part is obvious. Healthcare is essential for life. "Liberty" involves how insurance companies currently profit by denying health care benefits as well as the lack of real competition in the industry. Currently most people get insurance from their employer. When costs come down, you can choose between companies and coverages because they will be more affordable. It is also an injustice infringing on your liberty that an insurance company decides what medical treatment you get and not a doctor. At least we can vote for whoever represents us in government. That is the power of our great democracy. Your "Pursuit of Happiness" is being infringed on when insurance companies take advantage of you, for example, by denying coverage based on a pre-existing condition or refusing to pay for your benefits solely for their own profit and greed. Obviously, healthiness contributes to happiness and lower costs will reduce financial hardships which are a detriment to an individual's well being. With all three of these inalienable rights currently in jeopardy by a broken health care system, I am shocked that more true conservatives don't come out in support of health care reform.

10 More Conservative Arguments FOR Healthcare Reform

1. Illegal immigrants are explicitly not covered.

2. Legislation does not subsidize abortion.

3. Insurers that deny lifesaving treatment, or ignore Living Wills can no longer keep these practices secret.

4. The bill promotes entrepreneurship by letting people keep their healthcare when they quit their job and start a business.

5. More Choice = More Freedom. The public option is OPTIONAL. It's another choice designed to give much-needed competition to an out-of-control insurance industry that is making record profits by denying health care benefits.

6. Emergency room care for the uninsured is guaranteed at public expense so it makes sense to bring these people into the insurance system, and to offer less expensive, long-term preventive healthcare. This will reduce costs for everybody.

7. Accountability for costs, quality, and value of providers, suppliers, and administrators is public.

8. Coverage does not discriminate by type of illness or ability to pay.

9. Both the Preamble and Article 1 Section 8 of our US Constitution guarantee that the government will promote and provide for our defense AND general welfare. If you believe that the federal government should provide a military for defense, then you should also support the idea of providing health care for all US citizens.

(BTW universal health care would require a 'single-payer' system and not the 'public option' being proposed by Obama and Democrats in congress. Liberals are compromising because a solution to this problem is THAT important.)

10.  A Republican party that often cites their own moral values as an advantage should put compassionate common sense in front of ideology and partisanship.


There sure does seem to be a lot of good conservative arguments FOR health care reform. Wonder why you never hear Republicans or right-wingers talking about these positives? Unfortunately, that's because it seems to be all politics and no common sense with so-called 'conservatives' these days.

Wingnuts are Mental Cases

I've been trying in vain for ages to get inside the mind of wingnuts who base their opinions on anything but fact and common sense. All attempts have let me to just one conclusion: Delusions. Today I found this great NewsWeek article, and it backs up that argument and explains a lot!

In short, being a wingnut is a mental phenomenon called "motivated reasoning."

Some people form and cling to false beliefs about health-care reform (or Obama's citizenship) despite overwhelming evidence thanks to a mental phenomenon called motivated reasoning, says sociologist Steven Hoffman, visiting assistant professor at the University at Buffalo. "Rather than search rationally for information that either confirms or disconfirms a particular belief," he says, "people actually seek out information that confirms what they already believe." And God knows, in the Internet age there is no dearth of sources to confirm even the most ludicrous claims (my favorite being that the moon landings were faked). "For the most part," says Hoffman, "people completely ignore contrary information" and are able to "develop elaborate rationalizations based on faulty information."

The article goes on to compare how some people irrationally believe the outrageous lies being spread about health care reform with those who believe the false claim that Saddam Hussein was involved in the 9/11 attacks - even after being shown proof that clearly discounts their beliefs.

For their study, the scientists whittled down surveys filled out by 246 voters, of whom 73 percent believed in a Saddam-9/11 link, to 49 believers who were willing to be interviewed at length in October 2004. Even after the 49 were shown newspaper articles reporting that the 9/11 Commission had not found any evidence linking Saddam and 9/11, and quoting President Bush himself denying it, 48 stuck to their guns: yup, Saddam Hussein, directly or indirectly, brought down the Twin Towers.

Wsheew, talk about delusional!

The entire article by Sharon Begley is quite insightful for those of us who try to understand the illogical reasoning behind a wingnut's opinions. Now that I know they are mentally handicapped, I may feel a little sorry for them.

AL.com is Guilty of Censorship

Recently I've been taking the truth to the people in al.com's politics forums. It has been a daunting task as the vast majority of people who post there are right-wingers who promote any and every lie being told about the Obama administration and Democrats with ZERO facts to back up their delusional opinions. I have always conducted myself in an appropriate manner and followed the website's policies without deviation.

However, It didn't take long before my posts, and only my posts, were being deleted for no reason other than some moderator obviously didn't like what I had to say. Today my account was disabled. My crime? Setting the record straight on the common lie that health care reform legislation will supply free health care to illegal immigrants. I was even able to find a blatantly right-wing news source to support the fact that both the House and Senate versions of the bills actually prohibit subsidies to illegal aliens, but the al.com forum moderators can not handle the truth.

Apparently, if you're liberal you get censored and banned, but if you're a wingnut - any crazy conspiracy theory you want to write about, regardless of facts, is perfectly okay. Not only that, but the wingers frequently use childish name calling and rarely engage in anything even vaguely resembling civil discourse. It is clearly obvious that al.com does not want any dissent from the right-wing talking points, propaganda and lies that are the only opinions allowed on their forums. In their forums it is practically North Korea - not the America where our right to freedom of speech is held dear and they should be ashamed of themselves!

My personal stories about why healthcare reform is desperately needed

I'll admit that the health care reform debate is personal to me. Someone very close to me had just started full-time hours at her new job when intense stomach pain caused her to be rushed to the emergency room. It turned out she had an inflamed tumor and, after emergency surgery, it was determined that her stomach was riddled with peritoneal carcinoma - a type of cancer related to ovarian cancer which can be very deadly. Luckily, it was caught in very early stages and we were assured that she was going to be okay after another surgery and a few chemotherapy sessions. Today she is doing well, although the chemotherapy has caused the long-term problem of anemia. Regardless, almost a year-and-a-half later, we are very thankful that she has made an almost full recovery.

The medical care my friend received was excellent but unfortunately her health problem began just a week before her employer-provided health insurance was to begin covering her. Not only did we suddenly have to face this daunting battle with cancer and the long recovery from two surgeries, but also how these outrageously expensive medical bills would be paid for. Thankfully, charity took care of a bulk of the costs, but not all of them. That meant my friend will have to declare bankruptcy or be in debt for the rest of her life just because she got sick a week before her health insurance kicked in. Without charity it is very possible that she would have been denied treatment and eventually died from cancer. Even with charitable help she is facing a desperate financial situation.

It is clear from our experience that costs are simply out of control. Recently, when she was having trouble sleeping and her doctor prescribed her Ambien, we were unable to afford the price of a bottle of pills which was over one-hunderd dollars. This price for a few pills is simply ridiculous, but it is a good indicator of what the broken health insurance system has done to prescription costs. Without insurance, medical treatment and prescriptions are simply not affordable to the average person so never let anybody try to tell you that health care reform is unnecessary.

That's not the whole story and how it relates to why we desperately need health care reform in this country. During her recovery period, my friend was still working when she could at her new job. This was very difficult and she ended up occasionally having to miss a day of work or two due to complications. Even with her recent medical history her employer did not think this was appropriate and they refused to give her full time hours. If fact, to this day, she has yet to get full-time work from her employer. They keep her just under full-time hours so they don't have to supply her health insurance. It is obvious the reason why this is happening. They don't want to pay for her health care because they are afraid she will get sick again which would cost them money. Her employer even went as far as to basically tell her that if she missed just one more day of work she would never get full-time hours from them again. This has caused a great deal of stress as she feels that she must go to work no matter how sick she actually is, and frankly, I find their treatment of her despicable! Now, after a year-and-a-half since her original surgery, they have finally promised that she will get full-time hours, so we'll see what actually happens. I am worried that if she even gets a cold or the flu and has to miss work that they will then take away her full-time hours and she will be without insurance once again. Is this how the American worker is treated these days? It seems that compassion has been replaced with greed and workers are treated as if they are disposable unless they are in perfect health. That doesn't sound like the America I know and love, and those problems are a direct result of a faulty health care system that is desperately in need of reform.

As for me personally, I own my own business and can't afford health insurance due to the high premiums and lack of steady work in a weak economy. I've had my own health problems of late, albeit much less serious than my friend as described above. Recently, I suffered a dog bite while trying to break up a scuffle between our pets and the first thing that went through my mind was: "How much will this cost me?" I had the exact same thought when I also recently came down with gout in my foot, and in both cases I did not go to the doctor because I simply cannot afford it and refuse to be in so much debt for getting hurt or sick. Last month I suffered intense pain daily simply because I couldn't afford health care or medication. It has to make me wonder how many other people are in the same situation or worse off than me. The prospect is frightening and I try not to think of the suffering and death caused by our current broken health care system.

Regardless of the facts, those on the 'right' will continue to try to argue that there is no need for health care reform, or that the answer is simply 'personal responsibility' and in my opinion they are completely delusional. I've seen firsthand how the system is defective and how employer-based healthcare is being held over workers to control them as practically slaves. Frankly, I am disgusted with the status-quo of the health insurance system in our country. This is suppose to be the greatest nation on earth, but our citizens have to worry about going broke just because they get sick. That's just not right. We can do better, and we MUST do better. If our government can spend a trillion dollars fighting an unnecessary war in Iraq, why can't they spend our tax dollars on something that will positively affect the American people on a daily basis? Keeping things the way they are now with an insurance industry that is making record profits off of the pain and suffering of people by denying them health care benefits is just plain disgusting, and we need real change NOW.

Where is my mind?

Obviously, I've lost focus posting on this blog. I guess now that the election is over and (thank the Gods, Obama won) I just don't have the passion to keep up with it and write new articles. I'm also very busy trying to get work and it's tough out there. My apologies to anyone who checks this blog (if they actually exist). I'll try to add more when inspiration strikes but the topics probably won't be political.