We've Fallen And We Can't Get Up--Why Health Care Reform Can't Wait

I heard Olympia Snowe, Senator from Maine chastise her fellow Senators for moving too quickly on health care reform. "Why do we have to move so quickly," she asked? Perhaps she would feel a sense of urgency if she lost her health care coverage like thousands of Americans do every day while Congress continues to drag its feet.

I'd like Congress to be forced to give up their excellent health insurance coverage for themselves and their families until they get this mess fixed. And then, I'd like them to have to accept the worst insurance plan that they pass in Congress. Then, and only then, they might think like us and pass a sound bill.

Until then, we need to organize, and speak out. If you need some talking points, or bullet points, try these:

The present situation is intolerable. There are no cost controls and way too much power in the hands of the health insurers and drug companies. The health insurance companies donate huge amounts of money to both parties to maintain the status quo. They win, we lose--year after year.

None of the proposed bills are “GOVERNMENT RUN HEALTH INSURANCE.” That would be single payer, “Medicare For All.” However, most people who have Medicare are satisfied with it and would fight like hell if we got rid of that government run program. Veterans and government employees are also very happy with their single payer insurance.

Private health insurers are raping us today (and will tomorrow unless we regulate the hell out of them). Their profits have skyrocketed. Premiums have risen by double digits at a time when wages are stagnant or falling. All the major companies are in collusion with each other when it comes to setting rates. There is no real competition. They own us. We let them by continuing to elect politicians who won't stand up to them and stand up for us.

If you like health insurance coverage that you have today, that doesn’t mean you’ll have coverage that you like tomorrow—or ANY coverage, for that matter. Not under our present system where the following are standard practice: pre-existing conditions are not covered; rescissions of policies for “misrepresentations or failure to disclose medical history—including conditions you didn’t know you had”; yearly maximums; exclusions of certain illnesses; and other insurance company gimmicks specifically designed to limit coverage and maximize their profits.

The need for health care reform isn’t only about providing insurance for those who don’t have it now. It’s about making sure that small businesses and individuals can afford it tomorrow and 5, 10, and 15 years from now.

Health insurance companies should not be “for profit” companies because the only way for them to make profits is to continuously raise premiums and deny benefits to those who paid. The original health insurance companies were nonprofit. As insurance companies became for- profit the practice of medicine changed. My wife saw this happen over the 20 years that she practiced nursing. Decisions are made based upon insurance reimbursements - not what is best for the patient. This is the main reason she no longer works in her chosen profession as an RN. She had too many sleepless nights worrying that she might have done something to harm a patient because she was constantly given more responsibilities and expected to function with less staff on longer shifts.

Drug companies sell the same drugs in other countries for much cheaper, because we let them. They are making profits overseas, too—just not as much as the off-the-charts profits we allow them to make in the US. I’m tired of it.

If my choice is a for-profit health insurance company employee who is denying my coverage to get a bonus for herself (or for her boss), or a government employee who won’t deny my coverage because she won’t get paid a performance bonus for denying me (especially if the bill is submitted by the doctor to the government for reimbursement like Medicare), I’ll take the latter every time.

I have to fight my health insurance company for coverage all the time. My doctor recently told me she is on the phone fighting with the insurance companies up to 15-20 times a day. They want her to prescribe a cheaper drug EVERY TIME. She will present them with studies that show the more expensive drug works better. They will require her to call another number to obtain "peer approval" from an insurance company paid doctor even though it might be a pediatrician who has no knowledge of adult practice or no knowledge of the particular drug. Ridiculous! My doctor admitted she never has this problem with her Medicare patients.

I encourage you to go to the website for Frontline (a PBS show known for its independent investigative journalism) and watch the following videos. Sick Around America tells the story of the health care crisis we now have in this country. Sick Around the World examines health care delivery systems in five democracies around the world and how they have managed this problem. Most of their citizens are happy with their system of care.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/sickaroundamerica/view/

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/sickaroundtheworld/

I am not saying there are easy answers, but clearly we need immediate, meaningful, radical, health care reform. I wish the Republicans (who are heavily funded by big insurance, as are many Democrats) would stop their fear tactics and come up with intelligent, sound ideas about how to reduce the rising costs of health care, bring down premiums, and provide coverage for every American. It will be a member of their family that becomes uninsurable or bankrupt some day soon. It's not a question of IF, only a matter of WHEN.

It is unfathomable to think that I live in a country where people have to lose all their life savings, lose their home to foreclosure, and file bankruptcy because of medical bills for an illness suffered by a family member. Most of these families are hard-working people who went to college, or work in trades that are the backbone of our society, owned their own home, and HAD health insurance.

What do we say to the surviving family members who mourn those who DIE needlessly because they have no access to health care? (Google "number of people who die every year because of no insurance." It's estimated to be 45,000 people!!!!) That's way too many funerals. It's unacceptable. Not in America.

Take some action. Together we can insist upon REAL REFORM.

Paying For Health Care Reform--It's Been There All Along

Remember a year ago during the Presidential campaign? How many times did you hear Candidate Obama emphatically say that he would not raise taxes on the middle class--and in particular, those Americans making $250,000 or less would not see one dime of increase in their taxes?

Every day before the election, he talked about the need to repeal the Bush Tax Cuts--those income tax cuts that gave major tax reductions to the upper 1%. There was great populist support for that concept among the remaining 99% of Americans. After all, the previous 8 years had resulted in the accumulation of enormous personal wealth for the upper 1% and a corresponding huge deficit for our Federal budget and an historically large national debt.

So, what happened to THE campaign promise? Why don't we ever hear about repealing the Bush Tax Cuts anymore?

That brings me to the Baucus Bill. In its present form, it violates the primary campaign promise that the President made, by imposing a tax increase on the middle class. Anyone who makes less than $250,000, but has a health insurance benefit valued at more than $8,000 would be taxed. Period.

In its original form, the Baucus Bill mandates that we all buy health insurance, and those who don't purchase health insurance would have to pay an excise tax. Don't try to talk around it Mr. President, it is written in to the bill! Read it and say you won't sign anything like that.

President Obama cannot support the Baucus Bill or it will violate his primary promise to the middle class--he will raise EVERYONE'S TAXES.

Wait, it gets worse--and the President's message gets fuzzier.

Everyone wants to know "How are we going to pay for health care reform?" It's going to cost upwards of a trillion dollars over 10 years.

The President talks about two-thirds of it being "paid for" by money saved in eliminating fraud, waste and inefficiencies in the system. I'm all for that. It sounds great, but it's also too theoretical for my taste. I'm not alone. There are many on the Republican side of the isle who question how much will be produced from these new efficiency efforts that will actually "pay" for the bill and not increase the deficit (another promise).

Frankly, finding more than 600 billion dollars of savings in this manner is too vague of a concept for most average Americans to wrap their heads around. In short, as a result, they don't believe the President.

We wouldn't have to guess as to how to pay for health care reform if the source of the funding was the repeal of the Bush Tax Cuts. 100% of us are very familiar with that concept--we heard it almost daily for most of the last 2 years. I'll bet that most of the lower 99% would easily get on board with it as a way to pay for the reform of health care.

It would be easy to understand that taxes are going up on the upper 1%-- to the same rates that they were when Bill Clinton was President (but, they would still be lower than when Ronald Reagan was President). That's a really simple concept that's easy to understand and measure.

It's time to lead on this Mr. President. Forget the nuances and the gimmicks. Remember your promises and keep them.

Governor Crist, Instead of Dialing For Campaign Cash, Why Not Lead On Green Jobs?

The September 20, 2009, edition of the St. Petersburg Times contains two articles that demonstrate the wasted opportunities for leadership that Charlie Crist continues to display as our Governor.

The first article reveals the Governor's uncanny popularity and his personal political skills in being able to "connect" with people in both political parties. It seems that when the Governor's goal is fundraising for his own personal advancement for his next political job, that he is a juggernaut with boundless energy. No one can say "no" to Charlie, when he's dialing for dollars, and he sets extremely high goals and doesn't rest until those goals are met. The thought of making 200 telephone calls to supporters--in one morning, beginning as early as 5 AM, is extraordinary. Too bad he uses this energy for his own personal advancement and not for our State's advancement--the job he was elected for.

The fundraising article shows me that the Governor could be an amazing catalyst for changing our State. He could be using his boundless energy--with help from members of both political parties-- to solve the problems that he promised he would when he ran for Governor.

Remember how he promised to fix our homeowners' insurance crisis, or to make our property taxes "drop like a rock?" Hey Governor, how about focusing on why people are leaving the State of Florida (so that we have a negative population growth for the first time since WWII), and trying to come up with ideas to make Florida a desirable and affordable place to live?

What about the fact that many accused the Governor of being a passive observer, and not an agenda-setter in last year's legislative session?

These are critical times when real leadership is required and we need our Governor to be singularly focused on being the Governor.

What are we going to do to balance next year's budget? (Hint, we won't have the Federal Stimulus Money to do it next year, Governor.)

The second St. Petersburg Times article that caught my interest and made me think of our Governor and his priorities, both for our State and for our Nation, is the article involving the US military's focus on energy efficiency and global warming as national security threats. The CNA Military Advisory Board, which consists of 12 two, three, and four-star retired admirals and generals from all four branches of our military has issued a report that recognizes that we will never have enough oil to provide for our national security, and that unless we start developing alternative energy sources, we will not be able to service our military equipment and operations. These military experts concluded that until we get off our oil addiction, we are fighting the last war and are not doing the things that we need to do to protect ourselves in the future.

One answer to our energy needs may be algae oil. It may be the best biofuel option for the future. Algae oil production actually acts as a source of consumption of carbon dioxide--that nasty CO2 that we need to dissipate--and growing algae is a productive way to accomplish it.

Algae for Oil production can occur in fresh water (both clean and contaminated water) or in salt water, and even in empty big box stores--we have an abundance of all of those things in Florida these days. Algae is a better, more efficient alternative for biofuel than corn or switchgrass. It also has no adverse ecological impacts such as the ones that we need to consider with offshore drilling.

So, where is Gov. Charlie Crist on this issue? Why doesn't he use this need for alternative energy as a way to promote the growth of good green jobs in Florida? Why not have Florida become the leader in algae oil production in the nation? What are we waiting for? Leadership?

Why doesn't the Governor take the lead and announce that he will veto any of offshore drilling legislation--which is environmentally dangerous and clearly yesterday's unsustainable technology? Instead, Governor, you should send a message that you will insist upon promoting biofuel production in this state, including, algae oil production. I'd like you to make some phone calls to legislators and tell them you won't take no for an answer--just like when you are fundraising.

Governor, we need you to be a leader for the rest of your term. Show us that there is a reason for you to be worthy of representing Florida in the US Senate. Show us that you are something more than just a popular guy and a good fundraiser.

Do something substantive that will actually advance the interests of our State, and not just your next election.

Calling All Progressive Democrats

As a result of the last two national elections, it seemed readily apparent that there were a lot of people in our country who looked at the state of our nation and the myriad of problems that we faced, and the electorate sent an overwhelming message that it should be the Democrats that assume power and make the changes that we need. The country was in search of new faces--Democrats with fresh ideas, poised to implement real Change.

The mood of the country cried out for progressive bold policies, including ending the War in Iraq, regulation of our financial system, and finally passing meaningful health care reform. There was a waive of optimism as President Obama was sworn in on January 20.

When I use the term "Progressive Democrat" I do not equate that with a person who wants to overspend foolishly--in fact, I think that progressive policies and fiscal responsibility should go hand in hand. Given the shape that our national balance sheet is in, fiscal responsibility must always be considered, but we need to look at what our true priorities are, and that means doing things differently. In my view, a Progressive is one who understands the need to challenge the status quo, if necessary, in order to effect the types of regulatory change that we need to fix the messes that we have found ourselves in because of the policies of the last 8 years.

However, just when we thought that real changes were coming, we were introduced to the so-called "Blue Dog Democrats" who think it is their duty to be obstructionists to these needed progressive policies. I like to think of myself as a lifelong, strongly Progressive Democrat--because we have a lot of things to fix--and I also consider myself to be a dog lover.

But these Blue Dogs don't seem to understand or appreciate the urgency of the situation, and, with their lack of party loyalty, are inhibiting the passage of the progressive policies that we need. I think that "Blue Dogs" need to pick another nickname for themselves, because lately, they don't seem to be acting much like real Democrats to me, and frankly, they are casting the word "Dog" in an unfavorable light as well.


We are all familiar with the labeling that occurs whenever an elected Democrat is named in print or on television, there is a (D-State) designation after his or her name. The "D" of couse stands for Democrat in that usage. However, in light of the obstructionist character of these Blue Dogs, and their apparent failure to realize and act upon the electoral mandate that was handed to them in the last 2 elections, and in light of their failure to effectively seize control the legislative process (which Republicans always do, by realizing that they are on the same team), I've come up with some other meanings for the "D" after these Blue Dogs' names that convey my feelings when the Blue Dogs act more like Republicans than Progressives:

For Example:

Bill Nelson (D)isappointing--Florida

Evan Bayh (D)isasterous--Indiana

Mark Pryor (D)isingenuous--Arkansas

Joe Lieberman (D)elusional--Connecticut

Blanche Lincoln (D)isgusting--Arkansas

Mary Landrieu (D)isoriented--Louisiana

Ben Nelson (D)eaf--Nebraska

Mark Warner (D)edicated to the Status Quo--Virginia

Tom Carper (D)etached--Delaware

Mark Udall (D)isrepectful--Colorado

Michael Bennet (D)isengaged--Colorado

Mark Begich (D)efective--Alaska

Kay Hagan (D)oggone Ineffective--North Carolina

Herb Kohl (D)econstructing the Party--Wisconsin


Can anyone come up with others?

Actually, I'd really prefer to be able to remove these new nicknames and have these Democrats start to act like a team and get going to fix our serious problems.

If they won't, we need to elect people who will.

Senator Nelson Thinks We're Stupid!

For the entire summer, thousands of Bill Nelson’s constituents have sent him letters and emails and made thousands of phone calls to his office asking his position on health care reform and encouraging Sen. Nelson to get firmly behind the Public Option.

He has been strangely silent, has not granted interviews, and has sent vague messages assuring us that he is working on the problem (between his python hunting photo ops). He sent one of his aides to our South Tampa Democrats' meeting in July, and she told us that the Senator favored a Public Option. After the cheering subsided, she continued...BUT he wants to make sure it is feasible, doesn't cost too much, etc. (His aide didn't have an answer to the question of whether the Senator was as concerned about cost before he voted for the War in Iraq that has cost more than the current health care proposals).

Senator Nelson is a member of the all-important Senate Finance Committee, who finally unveiled its bill yesterday—without a Public Option. Bill Nelson’s response to his constituents who seek cost savings for their small businesses and as individuals who have to buy health insurance in a monopolized market was that we are too stupid to understand the Public Option. After months of silence, our Senator plays the condescension card. Marvelous! That's leadership.

The Baucus Bill is an abomination. It is woefully inadequate to cut costs of health insurance. In idiot-speak that even the Senator's constituents understand, “it sucks.” It significantly increases costs to the middle class. Wendall Potter (former CIGNA executive and whistle blower on the insurance industry) calls it a “Gift to the Insurance Industry.”

Senator, is the Public Option “so complicated” because you and your committee members have outsourced the writing of the bill to the health insurance industry?

Senator Nelson is one of the key Senators that will be responsible for whether we can truly reform health care. If it doesn’t happen, we know who to hold accountable.

Senator, stop chasing the snakes in the Everglades and start rooting out the ones in Washington who are choking us with ever-increasing health insurance premiums.

Hey, Health Insurance Companies; Stop Interfering With My Doctor's Orders

I go to my primary physician because she is a great doctor. Most of my doctor's charges are not covered by my health insurance. I choose to pay "out of network rates" to see her.

(I can't wait until I'm covered by Medicare and her bills will be at least partially paid by Medicare --but that's another issue for a different day).

Today's topic is the daily interference that my Doctor has to endure with Health Insurance Companies constantly undermining her health care orders and decisions.

In order to understand the situation fully, you should know that my physician, unlike many others, refuses any "perks" from drug company reps. She doesn't accept their gifts or their trips or their meals, or their event tickets. She severely limits the drug rep's visits, and isn't swayed by the drug company's marketing ploys.

My doctor won't prescribe a medication unless she has done her own independent research and believes that a particular medication is the best one for her patient.

In some instances she has prescribed generic drugs for me, and in others she has insisted upon prescribing a particular drug--usually based upon the results of a specific clinical trial conducted by a reputatble clinic or hospital that was conducted for patients of my same gender and age.

In short, my doctor does her homework and knows exactly why she chooses the particualr drug that she prescribes, and she doesn't prescribe it to curry favor with a drug company that is providing her with gifts.

Last month when I was in her office, she related to me that she had received 18 phone calls the previous day from various health insurance company employees, asking my doctor and her staff, if the doctor would countermand her orders and agree to prescribe a different drug instead. She related that this is standard operating procedure to attempt to save the insurance company money. She has to fight with them tooth and nail each and every time and considers it "a personal victory for her patients" every time that she prevails in one of these arguments with an insurance company.

Some times these insurance company battles require my doctor to get on a "peer conference call" with an insurance company paid doctor to argue her case for approval of a particular medication. Many times the "peer" physician that my doctor is arguing with has ablsolutely no training or experience in the particular medical specialty, or has no knowledge of the clinical trials of the drugs. In some cases, the "peer" has never even heard of the drug that she is arguing against the use of--yet the "approval" for the patient cannot be given until the "peer" says "ok." Explain to me the point of arguing the merits of the use of a drug that one of the parties has never heard of and knows nothing about. Could it be simply to frustrate my doctor into surrendering her principles?

Often times it is the same insurance company employee that calls back day after day knowing full well that my doctor always says NO, yet the calls continue, every day, in the same or higher volume, without fail.

I asked my doctor if the insurance company employees ever stop calling (because they know that my doctor never backs down). The answer is, they NEVER stop calling-- and they increase the peer calls whenever they can to make it more inconvenient and time-consuming to get an approval of something that should never have been questioned in the first place. It is that employee's job to continue to pressure our doctors, every day, in hopes that they will grow weary and give up the fight.

TALK ABOUT GETTING BETWEEN ME AND MY DOCTOR!!

I asked my doctor if her collegues face the same pressures from insurance companies that she does. She assured me that they all do, and that some of her fellow physicians have reluctantly admitted that they have grown weary of fighting the insurance companies day after day, and have acceded to their orders being changed.

My doctor also related that these problems never arise with her Medicare patients--only private health insurance company patients. Remember that the drug companies convinced the then Republican-controlled Congress and President Bush that they should include a provision in the Medicare Part D law that makes it illegal for the Federal government to negotiate with drug companies for lower priced drugs. So, the profit margins are already built into the cost of the insurance premiums for Medicare Part D and are built into the drug prices for Medicare patients.

This allows the insurance companies and drug companies to focus their energies solely on those of us who have private health insurance plans. Lucky us!

(Congress should fix the no negotiation provision of Medicare Part D as well, but that too, is a topic for another day.)

This madness has to end. We need a Single Payer system. We need to have Medicare for all, and those under 65 have to pay for it. Health insurance companies bring no value to the delivery of health care services and syphon off billions in profits that have nothing to do with keeping patients well.

Just think about the wasted energy and distractions that my doctor and your doctor face on a daily basis because of these oppressive, profit-induced insurance company practices.

Get mad about it and start expressing your outrage to your friends and neighbors. Write to your Member of Congress and Senators. Reach out and contact those in Congress from other states. Make them support REAL health care REFORM.

We have to demand better care and need to let our doctors do their jobs as they deem necessary, without interference and distractions.

Top 10 Reasons Why There Should Be No Offshore Drilling in Florida

With all due homage to David Letterman, there are at least 10 "top" reasons (and dozens more) as to why off shore drilling for oil in Florida is a horrible idea:

10. Tar Balls Ruin Your Day and Are Bad for Tourism. If you've ever been to a beach that is plagued with tar balls (such as Galveston), you won't ever want to go back. (So much for the tourism we depend upon.) "Tar balls" are the remnants of spilled oil that wash up on the beach--lovely black globs of tar of various shapes and sizes that are soft and sticky and stain your hands, feet, clothing and wildlife. You can encounter them in the water or on the sand--and both situations will make you wish you'd never gone to the beach. There's nothing quite like walking barefoot and stepping on a tar ball, and then struggling to get it off your feet and hands. (Hmmm, this Grouper Sandwich tastes a little heavy on the 10W-30 side....) Some say that chemical solvents are the fastest way to get the tar off your skin, but not necessarily a safe idea. Get the picture? Tar Balls--we don't have them, we don't EVER want them. Period.

9. There Is No Such Thing As a 100% Safe Drilling Process. Although proponents of offshore drilling tell us that "new technologies" are much safer and have "little impact" on the environment, no one wants to define "little." There is leakage and spillage in the drilling process--EVERY TIME. Don't be fooled by that person who stands to profit from this venture telling you that it is "completely safe." No how, no way!

8. Hurricanes Topple Oil Rigs. Why would we want to fill up the Gulf of Mexico with oil rigs when we have several named storms in the Gulf each year and are bound to have more and more as global warming continues. A Category 4 or 5 hurricane never met a drilling platform it couldn't damage (and don't forget about the imbedded tornadoes in those storms). We are already severely over-extended with the huge exposure that we have created on land with Citizens Insurance. With all of the state's current liabilities (as the guarantor of Citizens) to fix our homes after a major Hurricane (or after 4 Hurricanes in one season as we had a few years ago) the State of Florida is going to be financially wiped out and won't have the ability to clean up any oil spills from those same storms.

7. The Risk Is Higher Than The Reward. The proponents of offshore drilling have LOTS of answers to provide before they will ever convince Floridians as to why offshore drilling is beneficial to the State of Florida. Here are just a few of the hundreds of questions that should be answered under oath before our legislators even think of going along with this boondoggle. Exactly how much money will the State receive for the leases? When will it be paid? What are our guarantees? Who will pay for cleanups of spills? How much does an oil spill clean up cost today? How much will it cost in 5, 10 or 15 years? How much will the State have to pay to clean up spills? Will it be more than the State received for the leases? (Wanna bet?) How much will we lose in sales tax revenues (and for how many years) if there is an Exxon Valdez type of spill (for example from a Hurricane)? Aren't there other sources of revenue for the State that don't have any environmental risk and don't have potentially unlimited liability to the State for clean up costs?

6. We Won't Receive Cheap Prices For Fuel. If you think for a second that drilling in the Gulf will lower gas prices for Floridians, you don't understand the money grabbing capitalistic system. The oil companies that want to drill in the Gulf will sell that oil when they want to, to the highest bidder. That's why there are many existing wells that are already producing in the Gulf that have been "capped" until oil prices spike again. Why would an oil company sell it cheaply now when they can sell it at a higher price later? What makes Floridians think that the oil drilled here will be sold here? Do you think if the Chinese are willing to pay a higher price that it won't be sold to them? Wake up and taste the tar balls.

5. We Need To Get Off The Sauce. The First Step in getting cured from an addiction is to admit that you have an addiction. We use more oil than we have or can produce. The sources in the Gulf won't fix that problem--there will never be enough. We are going to run out, and we are destroying the planet by delaying the weaning process any longer. Are we that thoughtless about the quality of life that we will leave for our children and grandchildren? I certanly hope not. We need to pour our efforts into alternative sources of energy to leave them a planet that is liveable. Every dollar spent to pursue this outdated energy source is another nail in the coffin. We can't get a "planet transplant" the way that someone gets a liver transplant after years of addiction.

4. Our Beaches Are Irreplaceable. We don't have tar balls and nasty beaches only because we have stayed steadfastly opposed to offshore drilling. Our beaches are amazing treasures that people from around the world come back to visit year after year. If we ruin them, they will never be as good as they are right now. We cannot run that risk.

3. We Are Addicted To Sales Tax Revenue. Floridians are selfish. We want others to pay for the cost of running our State. The more tax money we can get visitors to pay, the better we like it. If this current recession has not taught us anything else, it should teach us that sales tax revenues are fluctuating fickle things when the economy turns sour and people have less disposable income to spend on vacations. It's hard to make a State budget when we don't know how much revenue we may collect. Enduring an "off season" or two is bad enough. Image if the tourists didn't come back for years (or ever) because of a massive spill that ruined the Pinellas, Manatee and Sarasota County beaches for a decade. How would the State of Florida and our local governments survive financially? I don't think the oil companies want to pay THAT much for the leases, do you?

2. Republicans Can't Really Hate Our Beautiful State. Let's face facts. The Florida House of Representatives and the Florida Senate are both heavily controlled by the Republican Party. We have a Republican Governor. For some reason, this issue of oil drilling seems to be an issue that Republicans like. Remember the chants at the GOP National Convention of "Drill Baby Drill?" While I can somewhat understand getting temporarily carried away with enthusiasm on a National Convention Floor--after all, we've all had times when perhaps we had one too many and weren't particularly proud of what we did-- but, certainly, in a time of quiet reflection, this oil drilling business just HAS TO BE a non-partisan issue for Floridians. The truth of the matter is that only Floridians live here. Surely we understand the precious and irreplaceable nature of our State resources, don't we? We know that drilling won't solve the nation's energy needs and that the risks to our State are too great. We know that any drilling will be years away and won't have ANY short term benefits to us. So where's the fire? Where's the rush? What's really in it for us? Floridians know that we don't have to let others come into our State and pillage it for profit and leave us with a huge mess to clean up. But frankly, we are at the mercy of the Republican controlled State government in Florida as to whether our most precious resources will be protected, and it's high time that they stand up for Florida. If the House and Senate and Governor want to sell us out, they can. I just hope and pray that they will not. It's time for thoughtful governance. We won't get a Mulligan if this shot gets hit out of bounds. I am glad to finally hear and see some signs that Republican leaders are saying "slow down, not so fast." Now, if we can only begin to hear them say, "No way, no how."

1. Because We Don't Need All This Secrecy. We don't know ANYTHING about who is proposing to purchase the drilling rights off our coast. Why is there so much damn secrecy? Why was a drilling bill brought up late in last year's legislative session-- almost as a sneak attack? Why were there no hearings last year where experts were required to testify and answer questions, under oath, on the many important issues involved? Don't we need to know if the companies who will do the drilling have the financial wherewithal to fund the cleanups? And, given what we've seen in terms of large corporations failing in the last year, how can we EVER be comfortable that they will be able to answer the call when its time to step up and do the clean up? At the very least we should be talking about requiring these companies to put their money up front (in cash bonds) to fund cleanups (asuming we can get the answer to the primary question of how much these cleanups may cost)....and if we can't get that basic answer, we know that we have to just say NO to drilling, now and forever.

There is only one Florida. It must be treated as a treasure.

This issue must be debated thoroughly and deliberately and in the Sunshine.

I've been to the beach in Galveston--stepped on tar balls--never again.

Like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, Mel Martinez Goes Home

If there is a secret reason why Mel Martinez quit his job this week (such as a serious illness for himself or a member of his family--which would be a justification for him to leave), then I wish he would have told us so. Otherwise, I have no sympathy or understanding for his selfish decision. His only publicly announced reason is that he wants to spend more time with his family.

Hey Mel, before you decided to run for U.S Senate, weren't you aware that it was a 6 year commitment? Why did you even run in the first place?

Why did you trash the good name of a true public servant, Betty Castor, with unfounded allegations that she harbored a terrorist on the faculty during her tenure as President of USF if you really didn't want to fulfill your entire first term?

Being one of 2 elected Senators of our state is a solemn responsibility. It isn't like getting homesick at summer camp. You don't just quit and go home, even if you become a member of the minority party during your first term.

I did not vote for you, and I strongly believe that you embarrassed the majority of Floridians with your involvement in the Terri Schaivo debacle, but you had become an important voice opposing offshore drilling, and your departure at this critical time when members of your party are beating the drums so loudly to "drill here and drill now" (without asking questions) is extremely troubling on this critical issue alone.

Serving in the US Senate is one of our nation's highest honors. You quit without a sufficient explanation. It seems as though you couldn't wait to get home.

Enough WellCare, Already!

Question: If you are WellCare Health Plans, Inc. (Florida’s largest HMO in charge of administering Medicaid and Medicare programs), how many laws do you have to break before you lose your huge state contracts?

Answer:

It depends upon:

(a) Which politicians you give campaign contributions to;

(b) The amount of fines that you agree to pay;

(c) Who the Florida Attorney General is (formerly Charlie Crist, and now, Bill McCollum);

(d) Whether any Floridians are paying attention or even care; or

(e) All of the above.

We don’t yet know how many laws will have to be broken before the State will fire WellCare, but sadly, the Answer as to how Wellcare has managed to keep their contracts in place is (e)—All of the above.

The Form 10-Q Report filed by WellCare on 7/29/09 shows: (1) WellCare agreed to pay an $80 million dollar fine in May, 2009 for defrauding the State of Florida out of $40 million dollars; (2) WellCare settled an SEC investigation of alleged securities laws violations by paying a $10 million dollar fine; (3) WellCare has estimated that other pending Federal investigations may cost $60 million dollars to resolve; (4) Through June, 2009, WellCare had spent approximately $148 million dollars in “administrative expenses” (including legal fees and accounting fees) associated with or consequential to these governmental investigations.

The Form 10-Q doesn’t include the company’s revelation in August that WellCare has agreed to pay a $120,000 fine to the Florida Elections Commission because of 142 illegal campaign contributions. Look at the list of recipients in Howard Troxler’s St. Petersburg Times article on August 23, 2009. (Only one Democrat received a contribution, whereas all of the other illegal contributions were to Republicans in elective state offices, because the State of Florida is in Republican control.)

When are voters in Florida going to wake up and realize that this is what you get when your Republican state elected officials outsource these “services” to a for-profit private health insurer to “manage” public health care programs? How much money which should have been available to provide healthcare to children, the elderly, and the poor has instead has been diverted to pay for other corporate expenses that have nothing to do with providing health care, but only have to do with protecting the corporation from criminal liability.

Oh, but wait, there's more--there's supposed to be a "watch dog"--an "Independent Monitor" for WellCare to make sure it does what it is supposed to do under its criminal plea bargain.

The Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) that WellCare signed with the US Attorneys' Office on May 5 provided that WellCare would have an Independent Monitor appointed within 60 days to monitor WellCare’s compliance with the law and the DPA. The U.S. Attorneys' office is supposed to approve of the person to be appointed as the Independent Monitor, and WellCare is supposed to pay the cost of the Monitor.

Why has no Monitor been appointed yet?

And, more importantly, when you realize that the primary source of WellCare’s income is the administrative fees received from the public tax dollars which fund Medicare and Medicaid, why are taxpayers indirectly spending money to act as a watchdog for this company?

Wake up, voters, and pay attention to these abuses that outsourcing produces. It's time to demand accountability from these outsourcers and the politicians who continue to reward them with government contracts.

HEY, CONGRESSMAN WILSON

Dear Congressman Wilson,

Congratulations on your "15 seconds of fame" for showing Americans how to disrespect the office of the President of the United States, and looking like an ass in the process.

It’s no wonder that our town halls have become unruly gatherings where Americans can no longer have a civil debate of important issues without disruptive screaming and name-calling. Your constituents have to look no further than their own elected Representative as their role model.

I’m thankful that you are not my Congressman, but I am embarrassed that you are a member of Congress at all.

Grow up, stop acting like a 5th grader, and raise the level of your debate, or resign.