Who Are We Protecting?

There has been much talk about what can be done about
the proliferation of gun violence in this country.  But so
far all it has been is talk, everyone has an idea of what
the problem is and what the solution should be; is it
mental health, background checks, assault style weapons,
large capacity clips, too many guns?  Is it one thing, or a
combination of things?  Perhaps it is all of the above.  In
the mean time the killing continues.

In 2017, there were 39,773 gun deaths in the United
States, that is 12 gun deaths per 100,000 population.  By
contrast, there were 37,133 deaths from automobile
accidents in 2017.  You are much safer taking your
chances with an eighteen wheeler on the intestate at
80mph, than you are going to the local mall or movie
theatre.

Everyone is looking at the obvious solutions, let's look
at it from another angle.  When deaths from smoking
were on the rise in the 1950's and 60's, scientist began
to equate many cancers with smoking cigarettes.  That's
when litigation began against the tobacco companies,
however it wasn't until the 1980's when there was a huge
wave of lawsuits.  The premise being:
             
          1) Tobacco companies failed to act with reasonable
               care in making and marketing cigarettes.
          2) Tobacco companies made and marketed a
               product that was unfit to use.

It wasn't until the 1990's that there was limited success
with lawsuits against the big three tobacco companies.
And finally, in 1998 the tobacco companies gave in,
and agreed to pay annual recompense to states, of $206 billion
over twenty-five years for  health care costs stemming from
smoking, and to pay for advertising to discourage smoking.
Too bad the states have used those monies for everything but.

Sensing the same murmurings, the NRA and the gun manufacturers
leapt into action and what resulted was The Protection of Lawful
Commerce in Arms Act, passed on October 26, 2005.  It is a United
States law which protects firearm manufacturers and dealers from
being held liable when crimes have been committed with their
products.  In the years before this legislation, the United States had
successfully sued manufacturers and dealers on the grounds that they
should have foreseen that their products would be diverted to criminal
use.

After the shootings in 2012 in Aurora, Colorado and Sandy Hook
Connecticut, there have been efforts to repeal the Lawful Commerce
in Arms Act, to make it possible for the victims of theses shootings
to sue firearms manufacturers and dealers on a broader array of
grounds.  Nothing has come of the efforts, due mostly by opposition
from the NRA.

According to the Center for American Progress, the protection of the
Lawful Commerce of Arms Act prevents; "victims of gun violence
from pursuing well-established legal claims against irresponsible
gun manufacturers and sellers - without presenting an alternative
means for the victims to be compensated".

The Second Amendment is not sacrosanct, there are exceptions to it,
and there have been for years.  In 1934, responding to multiple gangland
killings, Congress passed the National Firearms Act, it banned the
manufacturing, sale and possession of 'machine guns', fully automatic
guns that could fire multiple rounds, it was reaffirmed by Congress
in 1998.

However, in response to stricter gun laws in Washington DC, and Chicago
the Supreme Court took up the case of  The District of Columbia v Heller.
The ruling significantly reduced the power of cities and states to legislate
effective gun control. It did however, say that there are limits to gun
ownership; felons may not own a gun, those diagnosed with a mental illness
cannot own a gun, guns may be prohibited in schools and government
buildings, and military weapons, such as the M 16, may be banned.

But I ask you, what is the difference between a machine gun and an assault-
style rifle with a 100-round clip and a bump stock?  Yet those things are legal and
readily available for purchase on the internet or at a gun dealer near you.
Can the manufacturer and seller really defend the sale of these products?
Based on what...hunting?  That would have to be one really big buck, or
a hunter who is a really bad shot!  These products are used to inflict the
greatest amount of harm in the shortest amount of time.  And the manufacturer
and dealer knows that.  And that knowledge is tantamount to making and
marketing a product that is unfit to use.

Perhaps it is time to hold the firearms industry liable for the damage they have
inflicted on America, it may nor put them out of business, but it will slow
them down some.  

I'm just sayin'.

The Power of Positive Thinking

In 1952, an American Minister by the name of Norman
Vincent Peale, published a book called The Power of
Positive Thinking.  I'm sure you heard of it; it is still in
print today.  It was based on the premise that if you
believed, really believed in yourself you could achieve
anything.  You can dispel negative thoughts by tuning
into a cheerful channel in your mind.  The book and its
beliefs were thoroughly debunked by psychologists
and the mental health community, who called Peale
a con man and a fraud.  But the Reverend Mr. Peale
was feted by several presidents including Nixon, Ford,
Carter, Reagan, and Bush I.  At his death, he was
lavishly praised by president Clinton.  Our current
president, Donald Trump, attended Rev. Peale's
Marble Collegiate Church as a child, and he, and
his sisters, were married in the church.  Trump has
praised Peale and cited him as a guiding influence
in his life.

I bring this all up, because it appears as though the
lessons learned by Trump at that tender age, are what
has driven him to overcome failure and bankruptcy
and still believe he is a business genius.  Trump has
used Peale's philosophy throughout his life, he lives
by it, and it has served him well.  It has taken him all
the way to the White House as president, the most
powerful position in the world.  And like the Rev. Peale,
Donald is a con man and a fraud, he has managed to con
39% of the United States population.

I see now that what Trump says are not lies, they are the
reality as he wants it to be.  Trump refuses to see, hear,
or speak anything negative.  It is one of the tenets of his
belief, it is what he learned in church as a young man.
When he said the crowd at his inauguration was larger
than Obamas, he wasn't lying, it was as he saw it.  He
refused to believe it rained on his inauguration.  In his
mind, he had envisioned his inauguration, and it was
perfect, and the facts of the matter will never change
that.  He does have alternative facts.

He only sees his adoring minions; it matters not that
some of them are paid to be there.  You can see it in
his face, he becomes transfixed.  He believes that
everyone loves him, and if they don't, they are un-
American rabble.  If the press dares to print anything
unflattering, they are 'fake news' or worse.  He actually
believes he can do anything to any woman, grab, fondle,
or kiss them and it is alright, because he is The Donald.

Trade wars are easy to win, they are if you believe they
are, and Donald Trump believes they are.  He believes
it is his destiny to bring China to it's knees, to change the
dynamic of 6000 years.  The tariffs will be paid by China
and in the end they will bend to his will.  It makes no difference
that studies from researchers at Harvard, the University of
Chicago, the International Monetary Fund, and the Federal
Reserve all show that the tariffs are hurting the US and
not China.  Even so, Trump has decided to hold off on increasing
the tariffs on China until mid-December, lest they raise prices
before the Christmas shopping season,  No hurt here, Duh!

We are riding the longest expansion in years, and the whispers
of a recession are growing louder.  The rest of the world's
economy is slowing, and the uncertainty surrounding Brexit
is adding to fears of a worldwide downturn.  But Trump will
have none of it, he believes that our economy will prevail and
there is no recession in sight for America. And he has said so
over and over again.  Yet in a campaign rally in New Hampshire -
where according to him he drew a bigger crowd than Elton John -
he told those gathered, and the rest of the country that the only
way to survive the coming recession is to vote for him.  He is
the only one who can save the country.  Double Duh!

Is he delusional?  Or does he truly believe he is the savior the
world needs, the only one who can restore order across the globe.
He has rewritten treaties and scrapped other treaties, he has made
enemies of our friend and friends of our enemies. He is the bully
in the schoolyard, getting his way through threats, both economic
and military.  He is uncultured, unrefined and uncouth, he is
lacking in manners and grace.  But what if he is right?

                       The time has come to talk of many things
                       Of Shoes and ships and sealing wax
                       Of cabbages and kings.
   I'm just sayin'.

An ode to Isurance Companies

                      How do I Love Thee?

   It appears that every time Elizabeth Warren or Bernie
Sanders bring up the idea of single payer insurance,
someone points out that people really love their private
insurance.  Really?   Let's take a good look at the object
of your affection, if you will.  We'll start with a history
of the health industry:

   Early 1900 - Doctors begin to coalesce into to organized
units and the American Medical Association is created

   1912 - Teddy Roosevelt campaigns for mandatory
health insurance for all Americans, but the idea is
abandoned as World War I heats up.

   1920s - After WWI, health care costs increase, and
the middle class is having difficulty affording it.

1930s - FDR signs into law the Social Security Act
without health insurance, due to opposition by the AMA.
They thought it would limit doctor's freedom to practice.
Blue Cross begins selling hospital insurance in some
states.

1940 - During World War II, employers began to offer
 insurance to their workers to compensate for wage
controls.  After the war, Truman proposed National Health
Insurance but it was again fought by the AMA who called
it 'socialized medicine'.

1950 - Tax incentives were offered to employers who
offered health insurance to the employees.  The price of
hospitalization doubles.

1960 - LBJ signs the Medicare Insurance Act and Medicaid
Insurance for the poor and disabled.  The number of
companies offering health insurance exploded.  And by the
end of the 1960s, 69% of doctors were specializing.

1970s - The cost of health care exponentially increases after
Medicare and Medicaid.  Nixon signs the Health Maintenance
Organization Act, creating everyone's favorite, the HMO, to
try and curb medical costs.

1980 - Health care providers move to privatize and consolidate
into ever larger hospital systems.

1990 - The cost of health care rises at double the inflation rate.

2000s - Medicare's sustainability comes into question as costs
rise.  Direct-to-consumer advertising takes off, prescriptions are
being touted to consumers and not just to physicians.

2010 - Obama signs into law the Affordable Care Act, against
the opposition of most conservative legislators.

It has been a one-hundred-twenty-year long journey to get where
we are now, a game of 'which came first, the chicken or the egg'?
Did insurance evolve to help with the high cost of health care,
or did health care costs rise because now people had insurance?
Which ever it was this is where we are today.  And thankfully,
because of the ACA, there are now some standards of minimum
coverage that insurance companies have to meet.  It's how they
meet those standards that we will address next.

     Let Me Count the Ways.....

   * Finding a private plan that has coverage in your area and that
you can afford
   * Or, understanding the plans offered by your employer
   * Enrolling in the plan of your choice for yourself and your
family; forms, forms, and more forms
   * Finding a doctor and hospital that accepts your insurance
   *Getting second opinions
   * Getting prior approval for a proceedure
   * Making sure all medical providers are covered by your
plan, ER, OR, OT, oh my!
   * Paying the co-pay for doctor's visit
   * Paying the deductible for hospitals
   * Calling the insurance company for an explanation of
denial of coverage
   * Having to choose a new insurance company every year
because your insurance no longer services your area
   * Getting laid off or fired and loosing your coverage
   * Moving out of the coverage area

Select any or all that apply to you insurance coverage, this
is the world of private insurance.  They are not here to make
life worry free for you, the insurance companies are here for
the bottom line, and when the actuaries tell them a certain
geographical area is not profitable, or a certain doctor is too
free with suggesting surgery, well then, the company moves on.
Too bad if you live in that area or that is your doctor,

I don't know about you, but I find it abhorrent that someone is
making money from the suffering of others.  Perhaps Blue Cross,
when they started, had an altruistic motive when it was founded
by Justin Kimball in 1929.  He was the Vice President of Baylor
University health care facilities and saw the need for assistance with
hospital costs.  He offered 10 days free hospital care for a six-dollar-
a-year premium.  That simple plan grew into Blue Cross/Blue Shield
and BCBS was tax exempt until 1986, operating as a 501c4, a social
welfare plan. Then in 1994, BCBS allowed its corporations to switch
to a for-profit status.  And in 2010, Health Care Services Corp., the
parent company of BCBS, doubled its profit to $1,09 billion, and
the next four years have been billion-dollar profit years also.  BCBS
is just one company, what the entire industry earns is staggering,
The latest figures available for 2017, show first quarter profits of
the top five insurance groups as $5,785 billion.  That's profit folks,
not income, in the first quarter.  These are companies that claimed
 they would lose money under the ACA.

Now let's look at a single payer system, such as Medicare for all:

   * Automatic enrollment with your Social Security card that you
receive when you are born
   * Universal coverage at any hospital and doctor in the US and it's
territories
   * All members of the family are covered
   * No co-pays or deductibles
   * No forms to fill out, providers collect directly from Medicare
   * Never losing your insurance coverage by moving or losing
your job
   * Supplemental coverage available for purchase to cover elective
procedures

How do we pay for this, you ask?  The same way we pay for Social
Security, thru deductions in payroll taxes, shared by the employer and
employee.  Right now, both pay for private insurance coverage, and you
also pay co-pays and deductibles, currently.  Assign that money to
Medicare instead of the insurance companies.

OMG! What about government bureaucracy. Currently the cost of
administering Medicare is 3% of premiums collected.  That is far
lower than the cost at private for-profits.  And, think of the saving
in advertising.

The AMA says that doctors and hospitals can't operate on what
Medicare pays.  That's a fair complaint, but let's look at the currrent
billing system of most doctor's offices and hospitals.  In most cases,
there are more personnel working in the billing and collections
department than there are medical staff on duty.  And what about
the savings from bad debt write-off?

And that $232 billion insurance profit?  Well that might go a long
way to paying for prescription drugs.

I don't know about you, but I think I'm in love...I'm just sayin'.

How to Identify a Smart ALEC

   There is a movement in America and it has been active here
since the early 1970s.  The amazing part is that very few
Americans are aware of it, and yet it affects every aspect of
their lives.  I am speaking of ALEC, the American Legislative
Exchange Council.

In 1971, then lawyer, Lewis Powell, was commissioned
 by the Central Chamber of Congress to write an opinion,
later to be known as the Powell Memorandum.  It was in
response to the rise of consumer protectionism, championed
by men like Ralph Nader.  In it, Powell called the consumer
movement a slippery slope to socialism.  Powell was the first
to refer to the media as 'biased agents of socialism', and enemies
of America.  It was Powell who advocated for the beginning of
funded conservative think tanks, such as the Heritage Foundation.
The Memorandum is the first step to the founding of the American
Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC. It also foreshadowed
the Supreme Court's opinion, especially the ruling on First 
National Bank of Boston v Belotti, which was the precursor
of Citizens United.  The anonymous Memorandum was
uncovered after Powell was confirmed to the Supreme Court,
by Jack Anderson of the Washington Post.

Here are some names you should recognize, they are the
founders and prominent members of ALEC: Henry Hyde,
Bob Kasten, Tommy Thompson, Scott Walker, Mitch Daniels,
John Boehner, Jesse Helms, Eric Cantor, and Newt Gingrich.
And this is but a handful of Senators and Congressmen who
belong to this organization, along with several Corporations,
such as: Exon-Mobile, Pfizer, AT&T, State Farm, and of course
Koch Industries.  However, in 2012, sixty other prominent
companies were shamed into dropping their membership
after ALEC was exposed in the push for state 'Stand Your
Ground' laws which led to the death of Trayvon Martin'

When ALEC was formed in 1973, it put forth the following
agenda to work toward:
    * Reduction in corporate taxes and regulations
    * Crack down on illegal immigration
    * Loosening of environmental regulations
    * Tightening of voter registration
    * Weakening of labor unions
    * Opposition to gun control legislation
    * Squashing the homosexual revolution
    * Supporting anti-abortion legislation
    * Expanding school choice

If all that sounds familiar, it is a page right out of Donald
Trump's election handbook, and every other conservative
legislator.  For the last forty-five years ALEC has held true
to these beliefs.  Just goes to show you, there is nothing
new under the sun.

To further this end, ALEC writes and distributes to its
members, at least 1000 bills every year to put forth
for approval in state and federal houses.  Of those
1000 bills, approximately 20% are passed.  ALEC
approaches every new conservative legislator, state
and federal, and demands they join with ALEC and
promote its agenda.  If the congressman or congress-
woman demurs, they are threatened with being
'primaried' in the next election cycle.  And, because
of gerrymandering, (another ALEC victory) a new
conservative will replace them. One who will go
along with the program.

And now ALEC has spread its poison across the Atlantic
to many foreign countries among them: the UK,
Germany, Poland, and Hungary.  And of late to the
Australia and New Zealand, where Adani Mining,
owned by an Indian billionaire, got permission from
the Australian government, though protested by
environmentalists and scientists, to mine and
export coal from NE Australia.  Adani is building a
$2billion coal fired electrical plant in India.  They
intend to sell the electricity to Bangladesh.  In
the interim, they will be releasing CO2 into the
atmosphere for the next 40 years

Where will it end? When there is no more air
to breathe and water to drink?  We are poisoning
ourselves for the almighty dollar.  Pretty soon
all the money in the world won't buy a drink
of clean water.  Then where do we go?

I'm just sayin'...      

Iowa, you've got to kidding

        When I was growing up in Chicago (it's been awhile), there was a joke,
        it went something like this:  What do you call two dead pigs and a
        tractor that won't start?  Answer: The Iowa State Fair!  Iowa was some
        mythical land like Oz.  Mother's would threaten their children by saying,
        "If you don't shut and go to sleep, the Boogeyman will come and take
        you to Iowa".  Well maybe that's a stretch.  But I was well into my
        twenties before I knew anyone from Iowa, an I lived less than 100 miles
        from there.  I don't think Iowans came to the big city on a regular basis.

        However on a cold day in February, (the third to be exact) 2020, Iowans
        of all persuasions will meet in church basements, town halls, and some
        farmer's living room and decide the fate of the Democratic Party.  Now
        I don't know about you, but I have as much in common with the average
        Iowan as I have with the average extraterrestrial.

        Iowa has a population of 3.15 million people, or about 57 people per
        square mile.  By comparison, the Chicago metropolitan area has 9.5
        million people, and more people in the average apartment building than
        than in a square mile of Iowa.  Get this, the largest metropolitan area
        in Iowa is...Omaha Nebraska.  And the demographic breakdown doesn't
        even come close to the nation as a whole.  Iowans are 91% white, 3%
        black, and 2% Asian, and the rest, a mix of races,  I've been to Iowa,
        where are they hiding that token black person?  Please don't tell me there
        aren't enough Hispanics to make a dent in the demographics.

        It's a fallacy that all Iowans are farmers, there is a large component of
        manufacturing these days, consisting of...food processing plants.  So
        if they don't grow it, they process it.

        Iowans tend to be politically and religiously conservative by nature.
        But they did recognize the LGBTQ as an entity that cannot be
        discriminated against.  They just don't think they have any in the state.

        But recently, I would say in the last twenty years, in August at four-year
        intervals, the population of the state swells considerately, as an influx
        of reporters descends upon the State Fair.  Why you ask?  Because
        candidates of every political persuasion, who are running for president,
        come to the fair to curry favor from these savvy, urbane, cosmopolitan,
        Iowans.  There's an oxymoron if there ever was one.  The candidates will
        look them in the eye and shake their hand, and tell them just how important
        they are, that they hold the fate on the nation in their hands.  And Iowans
        eat it up. And why not, with this carnival of clowns, comes money, lots of
        money.  And a chance for Iowa to bask in the attention of the entire nation.
        They are Cinderella at the ball, courted by every major newspaper and
        television station.  And they only have a short time before it all disappears,
        and then reappears briefly again in February.

        So, enjoy your time in the sun, Iowa, but don't tell me that you understand
        the problems of the country and which candidate can best solve them based
        on which one knew how to eat a loose meat sandwich.  Your fame
        will melt like your butter cow, and after the fairgrounds are deserted, the rest
        of us will have a few less decisions to make, thanks to your winnowing
        the field.  I just hope my favorite candidate is one who makes the cut.
        Because last time around you picked...Ted Cruz.   How did that work out
        for you?

        And, I really hate to point this out, but we go from Iowa to New Hampshire.
        Is this really the way to pick the best person to beat Trump?

         I'm just askin'.