Showing posts with label Healthcare reform. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Healthcare reform. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Orrin Hatch Complains About Opt-Out

Sometimes it's hard to tell what Orrin likes because his voice is a nasal whine in the best of times. In the healthcare debate Orrin has sided with the big insurance industry's stranglehold on the country. But a weakened public option has him apoplectic. The idea that states will have the option to refuse the public option means any Republican Governor who decides to opt-out will be wildly unpopular with the voters, and this seems very unfair to Orrin.

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Orrin Hatch Is Undone By Small MoveOn.org Demonstration

Hey "scurrilous" folks,

So, we knew the fight would be hard and long... but it's begun to really heat up now...

On MSNBC this afternoon, Andrea Mitchell asked Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) about a MoveOn-organized protest outside his Salt Lake City office, where protesters criticized Hatch for allegedly being beholden to the insurance industry because it donated a lot of money to his past campaigns.

"I'm supported by people all over the health care system," Hatch said, "including doctors, including hospitals, including insurers, including
liberal people, conservative people and moderate people. Everybody knows how much money you have to raise to run for the Senate."

Then Hatch turned his fury to MoveOn and George Soros.

"MoveOn.org is a scurrilous organization," he said. "It's funded by George Soros. He's about as left wing as you can find in this country. And they're
up to just one thing, and that is to smear good people. And frankly, they're
not gonna smear me without getting kicked in the teeth by me."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/33330046#33330046

(This from the Deseret News.)

MoveOn.org executive director Justin Ruben responded that when Utah members of his group questioned the money Hatch took from insurance interests, "What did he do? Go on national TV and threaten to kick them in the teeth. Apparently this was easier than defending his ties to the insurance companies."

He added, "Hopefully whoever Sen. Hatch kicks in the teeth is independently wealthy, in case their claim is denied by one of the insurance companies who've been funding his campaign."

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Here's what the media advisory will say about tomorrow's event:
---------------------------------------------------------------

MEDIA ADVISORY FOR October 16th, 2009
CONTACT: Richard Lafon, (801) 815-3870

Event Begins at Senator Hatch’s Office at 12:00 PM, October 16th, 2009

MoveOn Members Protest Sen. Hatch’s Threat To “Kick Them In The Teeth” Event Held in Response to Hatch’s Threatening Remarks Made Towards MoveOn.org On National Television


On Friday, October 16th, MoveOn.org members will gather outside of Senator Hatch’s office to protest his threat, made on the national cable television
station MSNBC, to kick MoveOn.org in the teeth. The threat was made in response to a question about a rally held on Wednesday, where MoveOn members
criticized Hatch for taking $913,614 from HMO and health insurance interests and being opposed to a public health insurance option. Insurance companies
and HMOS are spending nearly $5 million per week fighting against health care
reform, and one of their top targets is the public health insurance option—the heart of real reform crucial to lowering rising health care costs and expanding high-quality, affordable coverage to more Americans.

There are nearly 23,000 MoveOn.org members in Utah.

Senator Hatch’s remarks can be viewed at (1:30 mark):
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/33330046#33330046

WHAT: Rally Outside of Senator Hatch’s Office
WHO: MoveOn members
WHERE: Federal Building, 125 South State Street, Salt Lake City, UT
WHEN: 12:00 PM, Friday, October 16th, 2009

*** VISUALS: Participants will be holding sets of chattering teeth***
(cold and rainy)


MoveOn.org Political Action is a political action committee powered by 5
million progressive Americans. We believe in the power of small donors and grassroots action to elect progressive leaders to office and to advance a progressive agenda. We do not accept any donations over $5,000, and the average donation to MoveOn.org Political Action is under $100.

Sunday, September 27, 2009

I'm Not Feeling Well

It's funny that I was feeling well until I saw the oncology hematologist Friday. I thought it was only a one time thing that my platelet count was low. But it's been the last two tests (6 months apart) that showed a low platelet count. Now that I know it's been going on for awhile, I'm starting to worry a little. After my exam yesterday and talking to my new doctor, it looks like it might be more serious than I thought. How powerful is the mind that once I realizes it might be a more serious problem I start to feel ill. They took more blood to do other tests, more specific tests. It's now a waiting game to know whether it's bad or really bad.

Tomorrow at the crack of dawn I have to haul my ass out of bed to go get an ultra-sound of my liver and spleen. I have to do this fasting. This is tantamount to torture for me. No coffee with loads of milk and a bit of sugar? No dallying with the dogs? Out to pee and then breakfast for them and then I'm gone for most of the day. I have to drop my car off in the AM for safety inspection and to have it winterized. Then a friend is giving me a ride to the ophthalmologists for the appointment I should have made two years ago.

Again, I apologize for not visiting you at your blog to read and comment. I'm still rewriting the novel and tweeting. I've found that twitter is a powerful tool for lobbying politicians for healthcare reform. Now that I'm old and less inclined to do the boots on the ground work of real protesting, along comes twitter to make it possible to demonstrate online. It's a powerful tool. Not a social networking tool, but a power to the people network for societal change. I resist the "friending" thing. If I talk to you on twitter, your part of my network. You're all special to me, so "friending" seems silly to me. It is the friending aspect of FaceBook that turns me off, like high school cliques. Twitter is not like that. And I love the challenge of saying something meaningful in short bursts. I think in many ways this can only help with writing in general.

For the few of you who do still stop by, I thank you from the bottom of my shriveled little heart.

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Wednesday, July 29, 2009