February 11, 2010 by vortmax.

There’s another viral email circulating.  As with any viral email, the information it presents is exaggerated to support a certain political point of view.

Subject: FW: What a Class Act
Bush Asked to Leave Ft.Hood

I sent my cousin in Fayetteville, N.C. (retired from Special Forces) that picture of Geo. W. visiting the wounded at  Ft.   Hood  .. I got this reply:

What is even better is the fact George W. Bush heard about Fort Hood, got in his car without any escort, apparently they did not have time to react, and drove to Fort Hood.  He was stopped at the gate and the guard could not believe who he had just stopped.  Bush only ask for directions to the hospital then drove on.  The gate guard called that “The president Is on  Fort   Hood  and driving to the hospital.”  The base went bananas looking for Obama.  When they found it was Bush they immediately offered escort and Bush simply told them to shut up and let him visit the wounded and the dependents of the dead.  He stayed at Fort Hood for over six hours and was finally asked to leave by a message from the White House.  Obama flew in days later and held a “photo ” session in a gym and did not even go to the hospital.  All this I picked up from two soldiers here who happened to be at Fort Hood when it happened.

Here’s the only mention I found of it from any news source (Fox News from Nov. 7th, 2 days after the incident):

Former President George W. Bush and his wife Laura secretly visited Fort Hood last night and spent “considerable time” consoling those who were wounded in Thursday’s shooting spree, Fox News has learned.

The Bushes entered and departed the sprawling military facility in secret, having told the base commander they did not want press coverage of their visit, a source told Fox News.

What President Bush did is to be commended, but it wasn’t some impulsive, “not having time to react” same day act as the email implies.  And I highly doubt the Obama administration asked him to leave.

Here’s the obligatory Snopes entry on the email.

The claim that when President Obama visited Fort Hood he merely “held a photo session in a gym” is false. President Obama traveled to Fort Hood and spent four hours there on 10 November 2009, attending a memorial service for the victims of the shooting and meeting with the families of the dead and the wounded.

Once again, I ask that any email one receives that smears anyone, be they democrat, republican, or independent, please take the time and effort to verify the information in the message.  We need accurate information, not lies designed to fool the gullible.

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February 9, 2010 by vortmax.

From the Dallas Morning News:

Even anti-government icon Ron Paul can’t escape the conservative “Tea Party” fervor stretching across the county.

Paul, the Gulf Coast congressman whose 2008 presidential run excited libertarians nationwide, even though he didn’t get much traction overall, is considered by many to be the “father of the Tea Parties.” But he has three opponents in the March Republican primary – more than he has faced in his past six primary campaigns combined.

But here’s where it gets ludicrous:

“The word I keep hearing is ‘ineffective,’ ” said Gay, a school business administrator. “This district is not really being represented as it could be.”

Tea Party associations aside, many of the challengers’ criticisms echo concerns of Paul’s past opponents: that he is too focused on his national ambitions; that his views are too extreme; that he doesn’t support the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan; that he votes “no” on everything, including federal aid for his district after Hurricane Ike.

These “Tea Party” candidates are standing up in favor of even more government spending and PORK, therefore claiming it’s a Tea Party principle.

Hypocrites.

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November 16, 2009 by vortmax.

It’s that time of year again.  The time of year when the airwaves bombard us with commercialized carols and red and green ad displays.  It’s also that time again for the “War on Christmas” emails to begin circulating.

I have not received any such email, but I hear the gist of one of them is this:

President Obama is going to call the National Christmas Tree the “National Holiday Tree,” and that the Obamas are going to have a “White House Holiday Tree” instead of a White House Christmas tree.

Let me say that is complete and utterly false.

First, per the National Parks Service, the nation will still have the traditional National Christmas Tree.  So consider part 1 of the above email debunked.

Second, per the Washington Post, Michelle Obama has specified the type of “Official White House Christmas tree” she wants.  Thus part 2 of the purported e-mail is also proven false.

Finally, my favorite fact-check site, Politifact, has also debunked this false claim, labeling it a “Pants on Fire” lie, complete with sources that refute the email’s claims (including a reference to a similar e-mail about President Bush doing the same thing, which is equally ridiculous).

For those of us in the Christian faith, we understand what the true meaning of Christmas is.  The blessing of the birth of Jesus Christ will never be forgotten, no matter how many jingles, ads, or hyperbolic chain e-mails we receive.

Posted in Computers, News, Politics | 1 Comment »

October 31, 2009 by vortmax.

Once again, Jon Stewart nails it:

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September 29, 2009 by vortmax.

This weekend, the largest free clinic ever in the US was held in Houston’s Reliant Center:

It’s an epidemic here in Texas and Harris County — people without health insurance. On Saturday, the uninsured lined up to get their needs met.

More than 2,000 people came to Reliant Center to see doctors for free. Many of the people we talked to can’t afford health insurance, especially in the rough economy. Some say it shows the need for health care reform.

Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn advocates using charity as the final option for health care.  So does  Virginia Congressman Eric Cantor, as seen in a previous post.

Coburn and Cantor are obviously not people who have had the indignity of having to beg for something (other than more donations to their campaigns), yet they expect the uninsured to rely on just that.  Become indigent, become poor, even sign up for a government-run health care system (Medicaid).  And, if all those fail, “hope” that the goodness of others will keep them well enough to stay healthy and become productive members of society.

In my opinion, begging is not an option.  It’s humiliating and no guarantee of getting health care.  If someone can convince me that it is, I’ll be happy to hear them.

Posted in Health, News, Politics | No Comments »

September 25, 2009 by vortmax.

Representative Eric Cantor (R-VA) participated in a town hall meeting hosted by the Richmond Times Dispatch.  Democratic Representative Bobby Scott also attended.  Together, they took questions from the audience regarding their position on health care reform.  The discussions were quite civil.

However, one of Rep. Cantor’s responses has me shaking my head.  Here’s the video:

Paraphrasing:
Attendee: “A relative lost her job.  She later finds out she has cancer.  She has no health insurance. What is your proposed solution?”

Cantor: “Sell everything to pay expenses.  Once a certain poverty level is reached, apply for Medicaid (government-run health care for the poor).  After that, look to charity or indigent services for assistance.”

Is this the Republican “solution?”

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September 20, 2009 by vortmax.

If you remember your social studies and civics courses, you most probably are.

From Oklahoma’s News 9:

A thousand students were given 10 questions drawn from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services item bank. Candidates for U.S. citizenship must answer six questions correctly in order to become citizens.

About 92 percent of the people who take the citizenship test pass on their first try, according to immigration service data. However, Oklahoma students did not fare as well. Only about 3 percent of the students surveyed would have passed the citizenship test.

The news story has the 10 questions, and I was able to answer all 10 off the top of my head.  Can you pass the test?

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September 5, 2009 by vortmax.

OK, I don’t get it.

President Ronald Reagan addressed the classrooms of America in 1988, even taking questions from students and promoting his idea of lower taxes for all.

President George H. W. Bush had a televised address to students in October 1991, asking kids to write him to “tell him how to achieve his goals.”

President George W. Bush was reading to kids on Sept. 11, 2001.

Now President Barack Obama wants to do a televised address to the nation’s schools to promote staying in school and working hard… and the far right is outraged, OUTRAGED, that President Obama may be “indoctrinating” their kids into “socialism.”

Where was the outrage then?  Where were the angry parents threatening to pull their kids out of school instead of being “indoctrinated” into some political cause?  Where?

Nietzsche said, “The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher
regard those who think alike than those who think differently.”  These people are afraid to open their minds, so they close their kids’ minds as well.

Here’s what I want to say to those people:  Instead of plugging your ears, how about listening as well, then engaging your child about what was said.  Discuss what the President said with your child.  Talk about the parts you disagree with, as well as the parts you agree with.

But that would assume these people want to engage their brains and participate in their child’s education.  All indications are currently otherwise.

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September 2, 2009 by vortmax.

Brian Donohue of the New Jersey Star Ledger attended a town hall meeting with Rep. Frank Pallone (D) of New Jersey’s 6th district.  He filed this report:

Speaks for itself.

Posted in News, Politics | No Comments »

August 30, 2009 by vortmax.

My wife has sent the following letter to President Obama:

 Dear Mr. President,

My name is Jennene and I have Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease that causes chronic inflammation of the joints. RA can also cause inflammation of the tissue around the joints, as well as in other organs in the body. Autoimmune diseases are illnesses that occur when the body’s tissues are mistakenly attacked by their own immune system.  Patients with autoimmune diseases have antibodies in their blood that target their own body tissues, where they can be associated with inflammation.  This disease is chronic and make simple day to day functions difficult if not impossible.

I have lived with this disease for 43 of my 44 years. Growing up I had at least one operation every summer. Some summers I had more then one surgery. Normal summer activities such as swimming were curtailed because of the presence of holding pins and casts. Over the years, I have had approximately 25 surgeries. Most of these have been on my hands and face. I have artificial wrist and knuckle joints, several fusions and have had total facial reconstruction. I am sure there will be more surgery in my future. 

Although I have RA  I consider myself an “average” middle class American. I am married with a teenager, Curtis, who will be attending college in a few years. My husband of 16 years, Brad, works at the National Weather Center and I work part time as a Customer Service Agent at Southwest Airlines.  I graduated from the University of Kansas with a B.A. in History with concentrations in Music History had Harp. I was a Artist-in-Residence with the State of Oklahoma Arts Council.  I enjoy costume history and am a glass artist

Coping with my disease has brought with it some recognition. I was chosen one of the National Arthritis Foundation’s “Heroes overcoming Arthritis” for the foundation’s 50th anniversary. That same year my story was included in the report that the National Arthritis Foundation submitted to Congress. Recently I was the “Star of the Month” for Southwest Airlines “Spirit Magazine”.

I am fortunate. Since I work part time for Southwest Airlines, I have good health insurance through my employer. My insurance is fully funded by Southwest Airlines who uses United HealthCare to administrate the policy.  However, even with my insurance plan, our out of pocket cost for my care is over $10,000 a year. That figure would go up if I would have to have any surgery. Every year during the re-enrollment period I hold my breath for fear that my physicians and medications would not be included under my coverage. 

But what would happen if I was unable to work? I would be forced to rely on my husband’s healthcare plan. He works for the University of Oklahoma which utilizes the “lowest bidder” system. Currently his insurance is with Blue Cross and Blue Shield. If I had to use that carrier our out of pocket cost for my care would increase about $1500 a month. If I am unable to bring in any income, our out of pocket cost for an entire year to take up about half of my husband’s gross salary.  This  figure would skyrocket if there is an catastrophic event.  That is very very frightening. I cannot imagine what we would do. My husband makes too much for me to qualify for public assistance. 

I am urging you to press forward towards Health Care reform. The system we have now is a very scary prospect for people like me. I am not asking for free hand outs. I want health care that will enable me to treat my disease without bankrupting my family. Recently I went to a town hall meeting. I was appalled at the level of misinformation and outright lies that a lot of people there believed.  I was saddened that people have chosen to believe that latest email chain and media lies.  I am concerned that their artificial anger will frighten the members of Congress and cause these members to de-rail much needed reform. I am also worried that there are members that know that something needs to be done and simply don’t care.

The healthcare system we have now must be fixed. We must break the insurance company monopolies be allowing them to compete over state lines. Something need to be done to limit frivolous malpractice lawsuits.  I also believe that allowing Pharmaceutical companies to advertise on TV is harmful and does little to help patients.  Overall, THERE MUST BE A PUBLIC OPTION! 

How we patent medications needs to be re-examined. For example, I take Embrel which is a very expensive medication for my RA. It has a price tag of over $1300 a month. Recently, it came to a point that it would be eligible to be a generic drug. At that point,  the drug company re-patented the drug for psoriasis and the the wait to become generic begins again. This needs to be reformed.

Please not back down on this issue.  This is too important There are too many Americans like myself and my family. If there is anything that I can do personally to aid the progress of Health Care Reform, please contact me. I have done much public speaking on the subject of my disability. Perhaps my story and I could add something to the debate at hand.

Sincerely,

Jennene

Posted in Politics, Home | No Comments »