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1/31/2017

"Perverse Prevaricator"


Let us begin today’s post with definitions of two words that describe the unprincipled man who now occupies the Oval Office.  Donald Trump is an inveterate “prevaricator.” Not just a liar - which he has been shown to be -  but according to Webster’s New World Dictionary, literally someone who “walks crookedly.” One who “turns aside from or evades the truth.” 
There is another word that applies equally well.  It is the word “perverse” which literally means: “a turning away from that which is right and good,” and may include synonyms like: “corrupt, deviant; or, disobedient or intractable; characterized by “obstinacy or contrariness.”
Taking the two together we could perhaps characterize Donald J. as “a perverse prevaricator:  one who walks crookedly, who consistently turns truth upside down with intractable obstinacy, invariably leaving behind corruption of what is right and good.” 
The following list of some of Trump’s Executive Orders and memoranda, promulgated since he took Office on January 20, 2017, provides a panoramic view of how this perverse prevarication is beginning to show itself upon the political and administrative stage.  Since taking the oath of office, Trump has signed and issued:

  • An order that directs federal agencies to ease the “regulatory burdens” of ObamaCare.  It orders agencies to “waive, defer, grant exemptions from, or delay the implementation of any provision or requirement” of ObamaCare that imposes a “fiscal burden on any State or a cost, fee, tax, penalty, or regulatory burden on individuals, families, healthcare providers, health insurers, patients, recipients of healthcare services, purchasers of health insurance, or makers of medical devices, products, or medications.” 
 Truth: the “regulatory burden” is not placed on recipients of this all-important coverage for health-care, but they just happen to be the main reason for this Act.  Enrollees receive the benefits of the Law, including enabling subsidies, and thereby are no longer a burden to the middle-class taxpayer who had to pay extra high premiums to support the uninsured in their very expensive use of emergency rooms and other expensive ways to obtain care.  Only those who don't have coverage, those who make a profit by restricting access, and those who don’t pay their fair share or who attempt to make huge monetary gain through outrageous pricing of drugs or equipment are regulated.  Once again, the Right-wing, represented by D.J. Trump, withholds the truth and tells a perverse Lie.

  • An order imposing a hiring freeze for some federal government positions meant “to shrink the size of government.”   This excludes the military, as Trump noted at the signing. 
More Truth:  un-targeted hiring freezes, not based on data and evidence of waste and over-hiring, produce crises in departments of government in terms of delivery of services, protection and safety of the People, and unregulated cheating of our citizens by those who hold most of the money. Untargeted freezes produce lack of research into various fields, the diminution of investigations, a noticeable lack of first responders and the inability to monitor and oversee disasters and frauds of many kinds.  Such shortages are often declared ‘fixed’ by either issuing exemptions to the freeze or by hiring outside contractors who immediately raise costs by delays and overruns.  Contracting-out functions of government to the private-sector, although it appears to be a shrinking of “government,” is simply a conservative Republican code word for dismantling national government and turning over certain functions either to the states or to the private sector.
Republicans are not successful at shrinking the budget (or the government for that matter).  Their major fault is they don’t know how to temper ideology with pragmatic approaches for solving problems.  Their bumper-sticker mentality has produced extra cabinet departments, over-spending on grants and private contracts, major tax reductions for wealthy individuals and corporations.  Thus, under every modern Republican President since Eisenhower, we have seen an increase in the federal deficit when they left office, not a reduction, and large increases in the rate of growth in the federal debt.  
What’s more, and what Republicans will never tell you, but the Wall Street Journal will, as noted by Salon:  The highest growth rate ever for the federal debt was under Ronald Reagan at 13.4%. Compare that to the slowing of the national debt to 10% by the Obama administration’s gradual deficit reduction of $1 trillion-dollars over his two terms!  In fact, no Republican president in modern times, with the exception of Dwight Eisenhower, has cut the deficit.
 Salon writer concludes:  “along those lines, the recently introduced tax plan of Republican Donald Trump would explode the deficit by as much as $10 trillion over a decade.”   And here’s the kicker as reported by Salon: no Republican President has ever even dared to do what President Obama did,  to propose and sign into law in February 2010, the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act, which mandates that new spending be offset with spending cuts and new revenue.  A Democratic President and a Democratic Congress passed that Law, and guess how many Republicans voted for this Act?  ZERO.  Not one.  It’s not just Trump who is perverse in prevarication.

  • Trump signed a notice that the U.S. will begin withdrawing from the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal. Trump called the order "a great thing for the American worker."  In addition, Congress voted on its first day to stop U.S. payments to U.N. Programs.
Some Considerations:  Denying the existence of a global economy and the need for uniting nations rather than working toward divisions in an ever-shrinking world, is neither wise nor prudent.  The truth is that isolating our country from the global marketplace and ignoring the necessity for united nations working to save the planet and to preserve and enhance rights and freedoms for all human beings, is not negotiable.  We must participate or our isolation will result in dangerous outcomes like regional wars, outbreaks of ravaging diseases, and human rights abuses that are cataclysmic, to say nothing about nuclear arms increases, deaths of those fleeing belligerent and dictatorial countries, as well as a not-so-slow death from neglect of the environment.  We will suffer trade debacles, more loss of jobs and companies, products we can’t afford anymore, inflation and falling wages.  There is no such thing as a “one world conspiracy” that seeks to undermine our country, its economy and its democracy.  There is only the truth that we are strengthened as a nation when we learn from others, assist others, work with others and become partners in preserving and advancing the rights of all.  Bi-lateral agreements are not going to forge that kind of world.
And about all those manufacturing jobs that Trump promised to return from overseas, and that will stay here when he confronts the manufacturers who want to move their plants abroad:  don’t be bamboozled!  It’s not going to happen to any great extent. Ask him what robotics, nanotechnology, 3D printing and drones are going to be doing to his premise of more jobs.  If the experts are correct, the unemployment rate is going to be skyrocketing because more and more jobs are going to be done by technologically adroit non-human entities!
  • Standing out today is Trump’s executive order on immigration that indefinitely barred Syrian refugees from entering the United States, suspended all refugee admissions for 120 days and blocked citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries, refugees or otherwise, from entering the United States for 90 days: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.  Although changes to the Order appeared in various venues, the basics were:
The order unleashed chaos upon the immigration system and in airports in the United States and overseas, and prompted protests and legal action which basically put a stay on the orders. The order does not affect naturalized United States citizens from the seven named countries.
After the order was signed, students, visitors and green-card-holding legal permanent United States residents from the seven countries — and refugees from around the world — were stopped at airports in the United States and abroad, including Cairo, Dubai and Istanbul. Some were blocked from entering the United States and were sent back overseas.
Thousands of people protested the executive order in cities across the country on Saturday, many of them at airports. Those protests continued Sunday, and a large rally was held outside the White House.
On Saturday night, a federal judge in Brooklyn blocked part of Mr. Trump’s order, saying that refugees and others being held at airports across the United States should not be sent back to their home countries. But the judge stopped short of letting them into the country or issuing a broader ruling on the constitutionality of Mr. Trump’s actions.  Federal judges in three other states — Massachusetts, Virginia and Washington — soon issued similar rulings to stop the government from removing refugees and others with valid visas. The judge in Massachusetts also said the government could not detain the travelers.
On Sunday morning, the Department of Homeland Security said it would comply with the rulings while it continued to enforce all the president’s executive orders.
Take-Aways:   Mr. Trump and his Trumpettes just do not seem to understand the intricacies of government.  They failed to vet sufficiently their own promulgation on immigration and may well have created a constitutional crisis that could impact the U.S. domestically, as well as having a negative impact on U.S. foreign policy. They also failed to understand the role of Congress and the Judiciary.
Perhaps Trump and many of his people, just don’t understand that government can’t be run like a business, issuing orders from the top, expecting everyone to obey those orders or be fired. Since Congress and the Judiciary are meant to be co-equal with the Executive branch of our government, they also have important roles to play, and protecting the integrity of each individual branch may now become an obstacle the Donald did not foresee.  In business, you don’t have to worry a lot about such “interference”, but in government, it’s wise to do a lot of research, consulting, negotiation and vetting to gain support before taking pen to paper and issuing Executive Orders that disrupt the entire system of governance.
A third take-away may be clearer if we remind ourselves that Trump also signed an Executive Order on January 27th that will result in a great rebuilding of the armed services and of weapon’s systems.  He told a crowd at the Pentagon that this action would provide planes, ships, along with other resources for the men and women in uniform.  As the SNL ‘Church Lady’ used to say: “Isn’t that Spesc-i-a-l.”
Here, in a nutshell is the underlying foundation for what Trump wants to do and will do: the privatization of many of government functions through contracts for private manufacturers and other groups.  Trump will use this ‘trump’ card for any negotiations with manufacturers that become necessary.  He will first make sure that he and his family benefit from whatever projects they can develop as Trump Enterprises, whether as legitimate payments for sub-contracting or kick-backs that can be hidden from the public as legitimate payments.  He will then reward his sponsors and his cronies and his supporters (some of whom may become new supporters in exchange for the contract!).
Taking a step back to other Orders like the repeal of the ACA, the building of the two pipelines, the building of the great Wall along our southern border, the federal hiring freeze, plus some lesser known orders like construction of detention facilities along that walled-off southern border, and the government-wide freeze on new regulations until a review process for all regulations can be in place under each new cabinet appointee.   
Labor leaders met with Trump in the White House (1/24/2017) and appeared on MSNBC with Chris Matthews.  They appeared impressed, joyful and very enthusiastic about Trump’s plans for jobs related to infrastructure refurbishing.   I hope their enthusiasm is justified.  However, Trump is not looking to enhance the stature of unions or Labor.  He is in business and has proven over and over that labor is a tool and a device to be used, manipulated and swindled out of a fair payment. Witness a recent headline that focused on his real attitude and technique: “Trump to Be Sued by Contractor for Unpaid Workers. He is not on Labor’s side and that is why he met with Labor so early in his term, because he wants to gain their trust and respect so he can draw them in to the greatest scam of this century.  He will use labor to enhance his own fortune and the fortunes of the upper class.  The latter are his main concerns and whatever symbols and actions he must pursue to make that happen, he will pursue.
 Anti-labor legislation will be surreptitiously supported in every Republican-controlled state.  Watch out for those government contracts for infrastructure development – labor doesn’t control them; businessmen negotiate and control them. And, Trump is what? – a businessman!  You are dreaming of something that will not happen – Trump on your side, and Trump working on behalf of Labor.  He never has and he won’t now, you have been taken in!     That is a false premise, just like so much of the Trump agenda and Trump approach.
And that brings me to my final point: the primary thread that I see running throughout these Orders, Memoranda and Tweets and/or press Releases during these first few days of the Trump administration.  It is Trump’s uncanny ability to base almost all his agenda on false premises and outright lies.  That’s right.  The Donald is on-course to become the most obvious manipulator of truth ever seen in the Oval Office – which will also end up being the underpinning of the legislative agenda about to be foisted upon us all.  It comes under the varied headings of “Fake News” “Alternative Facts” and the “Big Lie.” 
A recent New York Times article by David Barstow seems to back up this thesis by reminding us that “throughout his business career, Mr. Trump’s most noteworthy deceptions often did double duty, serving not just his ego but also important strategic goals attracting lucrative licensing deals built around the Trump brand.”
In a Blog dated June 1, 2012, I wrote about the stark differences between a community organizer’s skill sets and those of a capitalist CEO as related to being President of these United States. Let me recall a few of those differences for you:
“Overall, Capitalism is not democracy; in fact, it is more dictatorial and oligarchic than democratic, operating on a top-down model, not on an electoral, people’s will, model.  Free enterprise is not based on broad legislative guidance as representative democracy is -- it is based on the guidance of a relatively few “officers’ and board members, and shareholders, most of whom share a certain ethos and ideology.”
-- an ability to work closely with unions and the Civil Service is necessary to ensure positive results that must be accomplished by the federal workforce, not by a bunch of people hired to obey the CEO’s every order.
--an ability not to deceive, mislead, convince by half-truths, deceptions and outright lies; perhaps this is part of a skill set that enables capitalists to hide their motives, keep secrets, or denigrate their rivals.  It certainly seems to pervade the capitalists at equity firms and banks, and big oil.  In government, one’s constituency expects transparency, honesty, integrity, stability, pragmatism, and common sense.  A President, unlike a CEO, must answer to the people for violations of their trust.” 
What underlies the Trump agenda in almost every area: The Big Lie, supported less and less by a tiny kernel or glimmer of truth.  The source of the Big Lie technique is this passage, taken from Chapter 10 of James Murphy's translation of Mein Kampf:

“All this was inspired by the principle—which is quite true within itself—that in the big lie there is always a certain force of credibility; because the broad masses of a nation are always more easily corrupted in the deeper strata of their emotional nature than consciously or voluntarily; and thus in the primitive simplicity of their minds they more readily fall victims to the big lie than the small lie, since they themselves often tell small lies in little matters but would be ashamed to resort to large-scale falsehoods.
It would never come into their heads to fabricate colossal untruths, and they would not believe that others could have the impudence to distort the truth so infamously. Even though the facts which prove this to be so may be brought clearly to their minds, they will still doubt and waver and will continue to think that there may be some other explanation. For the grossly impudent lie always leaves traces behind it, even after it has been nailed down, a fact which is known to all expert liars in this world and to all who conspire together in the art of lying. “
— Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf, vol. I, ch. X[
 We are being used, lied to, manipulated and bamboozled every day of this Trump administration.  We must not abide it; we must resist it; we must overcome it – because too much is at stake:  our whole way of life and governance is in jeopardy.  DON’T BACK DOWN and DON’T GIVE UP!

1/22/2017

Resistance Speech


Today's Post is a speech I gave at a Resistance gathering in Utica, NY as part of the demonstrations that were held in the United States - and in several countries around the world - to protest the inauguration of Donald Trump to the Office of President of the United States.  I hope it reminds us that we have a duty to protest and resist whenever democratic values are threatened; that we also have a duty to use that right in a bold, positive, reasoned and effective manner.   This POST is also meant as a thank you to all the participants around the globe yesterday, especially those at the three events that took place in Utica, NY.  

The challenge facing us now is how to keep the Resistance alive for the next four years.  That will be the test of our commitment to democratic values as Citizens of this nation, and to human rights as Citizens of this World.    
  
Anti-Trump Unity Rally
January 21, 2017
Utica, NY

This talk today was advertised as being about resistance.  And indeed, we must be ready to resist whatever Donald Trump and his followers – including our new congresswoman – attempt to do that is harmful, hurtful and demeaning of people and destructive of our democracy.  We must be prepared to counter that which leads us away from our constitution, away from our moral underpinnings and away from our mutual responsibility for each other.
 
While I stand firmly on the side of resistant actions that display our objections to injustices and to inequality of access and opportunity, I want to accentuate the positive approach that was an important part of President Obama’s farewell speech on January 10th

And let me begin where he began – with us.  Change happens when people of hope and good-will engage with each other to forge that more perfect union that was set in motion over 2 and 1/4 centuries in our past.  We can handle dire current challenges by working to make people’s lives better with greater economic opportunity, by upholding laws and policies that prevent discrimination, separation and denigration of people, and by knowing that the long sweep of our history has favored a progressive advance toward realization of that ideal of equal justice-for-all forged centuries ago.

Fear-mongering, contempt, intolerance, bullying and the attitude that might makes right are not helpful in the quest to expand the rights, the liberties and the opportunities for every member of this society.  Walling off portions of our nation and protecting privileges of a small percent of our population, pulling back into protective enclaves is not the way toward inclusion and unity out of diversity. 
President Obama pointed out that the worst threat to our democracy is when good people choose to do nothing; taking Democracy for granted.  We must throw ourselves into the work that strengthens democracy; And we must certainly seek to enlist others in this cause because, as President Obama said:  the most important office in our democracy is that of Citizen.
 He even laid out for us some of the necessary attitudes and actions we citizens must cultivate:
  • We must Reject attempts to enfeeble our sacred ties to one another for it weakens the underpinnings of Democracy when we write-off certain people and deny our responsibility to care for one another.
And those first attempts have already begun in the new Congress: our new congresswoman recently voted in favor of cutting off funds to the UN; she also voted for a budget resolution designed to repeal the Affordable Care Act.  And we face the approval of cabinet nominees who basically reject the mission and purpose of their assigned departments and seem poised to eliminate some vital functions that will more than weaken our democracy. 

·       Run for office.
  While Democrats ignored local politics and needs, the Republicans took over school boards, town boards, county legislatures, college curricula, state legislatures and a hefty portion of Governorships.  It is necessary for us to be candidates, find candidates, train candidates and win local elections, and even to help fill empty Party Committee seats in other towns and cities where some party committees don’t exist right now.  We have to build from the bottom up; not from the top down.
·         What President Obama said about the Constitution was very meaningful: “The Constitution is nothing but a piece of parchment that has little power of itself unless the people give it force” – the force of progressive ideals and values.

 
Let no one misunderstand.  The word “force” does not mean the use of violence, but it does mean the reasoned use of power.  The use of Economic Boycott, for instance, is a tactic that has been employed when nothing else worked.  We may have to consider well-researched and well-planned boycott actions against businesses, services, non-profits, and even some individuals if they insist on supporting immoral, non-democratic, unjust actions of Trump and his followers.  Let it be plain and very clear that no one should be boycotted just because they may have voted for Trump or Tenney.  Boycotting must only be used as an economic wake-up about attitudes and actions that deliver hurt or harm to people.

The repeal of the ACA for over 20 million formerly uninsured and under-insured citizens may not respond to the usual tactics of protest, and targeted boycotts may turn out to be necessary. So, be prepared to be innovative; to be forceful but reasoned about tactics.
However, we must become BOLD; in the spirit of the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s and the Anti-Viet Nam War movement of the 1970s. And so, I’m going to conclude today with a few of the thoughts and ideas that are occupying my mind lately:

·       Those who attack equality and justice-for-all must be made to feel the loss of privileges that too many politicians and office-holders believe they deserve.  If Congress and Trump insist on destroying affordable health care insurance operated out of government exchanges with federal subsidies, then we must find ways to abolish free clinics at the Capitol and subsidized surgeries for members of Congress at army & navy hospitals.  And, we must advocate for Congressmen and Senators to have to follow every provision in whatever they legislate to replace the ACA. No exemptions! Just for the record:  I would much rather my taxes be used to cover subsidies for people who can't afford healthcare insurance than to have my taxes used to subsidize the health care and insurance plans for members of Congress, 40-50% of whom are millionaires.

·       The Electoral College has always been a way for an elite group to hold some sway over elections for president.  It must be abolished.  And one way to do that is already a Movement across the country worthy of your consideration, called the “National Popular Vote Interstate Compact.”  Its premise is that once states containing more than half of the total electoral votes pledge by law all their electoral votes to the candidate who wins the popular vote, the Electoral College will become simply a rubber-stamp of the popular vote.

·       Recently, a coalition of agencies supported the City of Utica in a press conference held at City Hall featuring a joint agreement between the Mayor and the Common Council that opposed repeal of the ACA.  Such local participation in national issues is a necessity, and we must support and promote just such a model elsewhere.  What’s more--

·    We must develop coalitions of progressive organizations;
·    We must have rapid response teams trained in creative ways to react immediately to the errant proposals and actions of the Alt Right;
·   We need people to utilize and scrutinize social media, as well as writers of Letters-to-the-Editor (LTEs);  
·     In-depth education of the public is indispensable.
· Therefore, we must be holding training for candidates and writers and activists of all kinds like today’s Rally.  But we also need individuals who can call and post and text and write from their own homes.

So, Dive in; stay with it; have faith in the power of ordinary people to bring about change. Let us resolve to put our opinions, our values, our ideas to work, for we are the Hope, the Change and the Resistance that we need at this point in our history. Let us act with the determination and the audacity of true believers in a new and stronger social contract with each other. Let us have faith in the power of right over might and build up the protection and expansion of our rights and freedoms like voting, elections, healthcare and public education.

Let it be said as we pass the torch to a new generation that we met the challenges of authoritarianism, expanded our concept of democracy, and left a stronger more progressive nation to our children and our grandchildren, who themselves can then once more proudly proclaim:   YES, WE CAN!


NOTE:  read the previous Blog Post dated 1/10/2017 for more on the non-viable Republican alternatives to the ACA. 

1/10/2017

Sounding the Alarm on "Obamacare" Repeal

It is certainly no secret that Donald Trump and the ultra-conservative Republican Congress are gearing up for the repeal of the Affordable Care Act – “Obamacare” as they like to call it.  It is also clear to many of us that they have an unbridled ideological obsession about this which is hopefully going to result in a wide-spread negative reaction (and perhaps torrents of protest) because they have no alternative measures with which to replace the health coverage of over 20 million enrolled in the ACA (not counting perhaps 10 million more who were able to enroll in Medicaid under expanded income eligibility guidelines).

As you must know by now, the repeal process is underway. A Resolution was passed last week that instructed two relevant committees in the House and two in the Senate to draft legislation within their particular purview that “would cut at least $1 billion from the deficit over 10 years.” (NY Times).  Their legislation is due by Jan. 27th and will be in the form of a reconciliation bill which can be adopted under fast-track procedures, and which will require no more than 51 votes to pass the Senate because, in the Senate, the filibuster rule will be curtailed.

The seemingly innocuous language of the resolution will allow the four committees to propose budget cuts that will affect the functioning of the Affordable Care Act, something with which the House already has some familiarity, having voted more than 60 times to repeal “Obamacare.”  Some parts of the ACA law may remain intact, such as the prohibition on insurers denying coverage to those with pre-existing conditions, and those under age 26 being able to remain on their parents’ insurance. Since Senate rules require that reconciliation bills must have provisions that have some effect upon spending or revenue, the committee bills will address those issues in perhaps the following ways:

·         Eliminate the tax penalties imposed on people who do not have coverage and on larger employers who do not offer coverage to employees
·         Eliminate the billions of dollars that go to states each year to cover expanded eligibility under Medicaid
·         Repeal the subsidies for those obtaining coverage under the marketplace exchange plans
·         Could possibly repeal some of the taxes and fees on certain high-income people, on health insurers, and on certain drug and medical device manufacturers

    Republicans have taken every opportunity to indicate that the effective date of repeal will be delayed for two to four years to avoid disruption and to provide time to craft replacement legislation.  But, make no mistake:  There are some thorny problems left to address.

  1. If the Republican Congress has failed to produce a credible alternative health care bill over the last 6 years, is it plausible that they can do so over the next 2-4 years?  Rep. Sander Levin of Michigan, Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee when the ACA was signed into law, has said that “the American Academy of Actuaries has highlighted concerns about premium rate hikes” under the GOP non-Plan.  In a letter to Speaker Ryan, the Academy made clear that: “Delaying the effective date of repeal while a replacement is worked out likely won’t be enough to assure the stability and sustainability of the individual market.”  Health Plans, hospitals and researchers have all echoed the same worry, says Mr. Levin.
  2. Since Trump expects to issue Executive Orders to undo some of the ACA provisions and policies, what will be the effect on an alternative plan, and how will the newly insured under ACA be affected?  According to some reports, Trump is more concerned about shoring up the stability of the insurers than of addressing the devastation of the about-to-be uninsured.        
  3. According to a NY Times article at MSN.com, Mike Pence indicated last Wednesday that the replacement would “probably encourage greater use of personal health savings accounts and make it easier for carriers to sell insurance plans across state lines.  Also, it would encourage small businesses to band together and buy insurance through ‘association health plans’ sponsored by business and professional organizations.” Trump has endorsed some kind of state-run “high-risk pools” for people with pre-existing conditions. None of which answers the question of how millions of people unable to afford these before they got ACA coverage will be able to afford these measures after repeal!
  4. The thorniest question, of course, comes down to affordability and mandated coverage. The latter can perhaps be put off, but the former is going to determine what the millions of former ACA-covered clients are going to be able to afford during the interim period and beyond it.  Without adequate subsidies, millions of people will again simply not be covered.  And by the way, guess where many Republicans want to put that money they will save on no more subsidies?  According to the Tax Policy Center, the primary recipients will be those earning over one million dollars annually.  Another use will be to shore up large insurance companies that lost money during the first few years of operation in the ACA exchanges (because of their own miscalculations, by the way!).
  5. Another tremendously important dilemma is the fact that certain provisions of the ACA depend on other provisions in the law to work effectively.  This is one more reason why many health care professionals are warning against repeal.  Doctors, hospitals and even some insurance companies are warning against repeal because of what the absence of certain provisions will do to them and their livelihoods.  Medicare and Medicaid will be affected by the ACA repeal and that could affect payments to hospitals and doctors.
  6. Not only are there provisions within the law that work with other provisions, but repeal would likely affect the entire healthcare system and professional groups like the American Medical Association are sounding the alarm. For example, repeal could have an effect on Medicare recipients who could lose access to free preventative care and more affordable prescription drugs.  
  7. No one has taken the time or made the effort to address the one thing in the law that was included to protect consumers and to advocate for reasonable changes and adjustments in the law.  That is the section on consumer advocacy and protection.  (Please see my posting of 9/29/2013 for details).  Republicans despise consumer advocacy and oversight boards, but they don’t want you to realize that so they keep quiet on that matter while they surreptitiously try to eliminate every such entity they can find!  Soon, you will have zero such groups to advocate for your needs, while the favored 1% of wealthiest citizens will continue to reap every possible government dole-out that becomes available.
  8. Another thorny issue that repeal of the law portends is that its successes will be thrown away with repeal, which is something that Republicans cover-up by telling the Big Lie that the ACA is falling apart from the inside out.  Not so.  In fact:
·         enrollment for coverage is at a higher pace than last year at this time or in any other year; the navigator provision has been of great help in this enrollment
·         the percent of Americans without insurance coverage is at an all-time low and so is the rate of rise in premiums
·         over 20 million depend on the law for health care coverage (and about 10 million more signed up for Medicaid under enhanced eligibility rates)
·         there is also increased access to primary healthcare and a reduced reliance on emergency unit care
·         Seniors on Medicare are experiencing the disappearance of the “doughnut-hole” and a reduction in their cost for prescribed medications
·         Large numbers of young adults up to age 26 are being covered on their parent’s policies
·         Women are experiencing more equality in rates and treatment, and benefiting tremendously from ACA provisions directed at their circumstances

I want to conclude today with something unusual.  I want to conclude with sort of an exercise; perhaps a way to look outside one’s own situation.  Picture, if you will, a person who has multiple health problems, in this case, let’s say heart disease, Parkinson’s disease and skin cancer.  Any one of these, allowed to go untreated, could result in a fatal conclusion - death. 

Just think of the expense involved in treating this person who would require a primary physician versed in watching for the worsening of any of the three conditions.  A cardiologist would be very important, as would a cardiac surgeon, a neurologist, and a plastic surgeon.  Of course, numerous lab tests would be required to monitor the effect of medications, the complications of these diseases such as blood thinning, edema, loss of balance, loss of fine motor coordination, removal of some skin cancers, and even some mechanical equipment such as stents, a valve replacement in the heart perhaps, a pacemaker and/or defibrillator, and perhaps an operation on the face to remove what were becoming  worrisome growths.  
Then there would be the therapies: physical mostly, but perhaps speech as well for complications from Parkinson’s.  Of course, one cannot forget the expense of hospital stays and perhaps a few ambulance rides. Have I forgotten anything major?  How about a gastroenterologist needed to monitor the effects of certain drugs on digestive system, liver, kidneys, etc.? Oh yes - how about all those necessary medications -- as many as 15-20 separate pills. I’m sure there must be more items involved, but let this serve as a broad overview of this (real) person’s health picture, and his/her overwhelming need for a very adequate health insurance plan. 

For many such people dealing with multiple diseases or conditions, Medicare, a very good Medicare supplement, and perhaps extra coverage for dental, vision and hearing treatments and devices is a necessity.  It is not an exaggeration that some kind of insurance – perhaps Medicaid – will also be needed at the end stage of this person’s life as nursing home or hospice care may be inevitable but personal resources will have been gradually exhausted.

Now please do what many people are failing to do - switch from your vision of this person with multiple diseases and with adequate health insurance coverage to meet the demands of these conditions to a vision of a person who has no health insurance coverage and can't afford it – and has no help to manage these conditions and their resulting side effects.  Millions of such people exist in this country, with more about to be forced back into that reality.  They could not afford the medical insurance coverage, they could not even get adequate coverage because of insurance company restrictions on pre-existing conditions and long-term pay-outs.  Some who got very basic cheaper coverage also got a lifetime cap on expenses, and higher costs for co-pays and limits on certain treatments.  If they were eligible for Medicare, they also got stuck in an expensive “doughnut hole” which affected their treatment because they could not afford the expensive drug costs. 

What did they do?  They overloaded our emergency rooms, community health clinics and public health services trying to get treatment to save their lives – all of which services were not equipped to handle the onslaught of chronically ill people.  Rates of medical insurance climbed every year for all those who were covered in order to pay for those public services for those who weren’t covered.  That was before the passage of the much-derided “Obamacare” that was set-up to cover the uncovered or inadequately-covered persons so that their right to adequate health care would not be compromised, and so that the rest of us could reasonably expect to be free of the out-of-control rising rates we were being forced to bear by insurance companies in order to balance their costs and maintain their rather lucrative profit-margins.  And now, radical Republicans are determined to repeal the ACA so that we can go backwards to allowing insurance companies their large profits made possible by their undue and unfair restrictions, unreasonable rates and unwarranted caps.  Unwitting proponents of repeal are about to get what they have been asking for – along with the rest of us -- health bills that we can’t afford and bankruptcies we didn’t expect and cannot endure.

 As usual, unscrupulous politicians in the Congress have bamboozled you.  They directed blame for initial flaws and hiccups in the ACA to one person – Barack Obama – when it was Republican inattention, delay and outright opposition to providing adequate health care coverage for an uninsured segment of our population that played a key role in rising health care costs, rising deficit-spending and rising difficulties for small hospitals and for folks who are sick, often with multiple diseases.

Repeal of the ACA is not only irresponsible; it is immoral because care of the sick and vulnerable is an integral part of the ethical code inherited and embraced by this nation.  Congress is about to bring real harm upon millions of individuals -- including children, women and Senior Citizens -- who have gained health care coverage, and assistance for medication costs, under “Obamacare.”  Those who vote to repeal should be declared ineligible to hold public office because they will have violated their oath of office by bringing direct harm to real people, and abandoned their fiduciary obligations by directly abrogating the constitutional principle of the General Welfare of the People and the obligation in Article 1, Section 8, to do all in their power to execute the responsibilities named therein. 

Stop these anarchists.  Go on www.barackobama.com or to www.indivisibleguide.com and join the anti-repeal movement in a meaningful (and well-guided) manner.  As our President said in his farewell address last night: we weaken democracy when we write-off certain people and our responsibilities toward them and toward all.  We must constantly work - for a lifetime - to improve our great nation and its ideals. Being an involved Citizen is the most important Office in a democracy, because self-government is the underpinning of our democracy. In a phrase that I shall ever remember, he declared that the Constitution - a piece of parchment with writing - has no power or meaning unless We the People give it force and meaning.

So, he concluded: "Dive in.  Stay at it.  Have faith in America and in fellow Americans.  It is in the power of ordinary citizens to bring about change with our hearts, our ideals, and our enthusiasm. Believe in your ability, and in the Creed at our Core: "Yes, WE CAN!"  

Thank you, Mr. President, for your grace, your determination, your capacity to focus on the good, and your undiminished commitment to the fundamental values that have nourished, sustained and inspired us for centuries.  I am committed to grass roots activism to bring about meaningful change in our democracy and will continue that quest in the spirit you have manifested throughout your Presidency.  I am also committed to preserving your distinct legacy in any way I can because the successes and the achievements of your terms must be preserved for the edification of future generations. May many blessings be yours in the next phase of your life of service.