The battle to replace Charlie Crist as Florida’s governor is heating up in the GOP primary.
Earlier this week, the Bill McCollum campaign released a new TV ad with Jeb Bush, the popular former governor, urging conservatives to back McCollum.
Former healthcare executive Rick Scott is waging a multimillion-dollar TV ad effort to wrest the GOP nomination from McCollum, the state’s attorney general.
On Saturday, McCollum’s campaign released a memo sharply criticizing Scott. It cited press reports from the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel, which slammed Scott for his role running one of the nation’s largest hospital companies.
The newspaper reported: “It was and still is the biggest Medicare fraud case in U.S. history and ended with the hospital giant Columbia/HCA paying a record $1.7 billion in fines, penalties and damages. Now the guy who ran the company at the time wants a new job: Florida’s governor.”
The McCollum release follows:
Today, McCollum for Governor Campaign Manager Matt Williams issued the following statement on Rick Scott’s misleading attacks on Attorney General Bill McCollum regarding immigration:
In the Dick Morris Report published on TheHill.com on May 4, 2010, he says about Obama, “In his frequent messages calling for higher Latino and black turnout and his condemnation of the Arizona immigration law, Obama is trying to recapture over immigration the voter approval he lost over healthcare.” It appears quite likely according to a Gallup Poll, that Obama will definitely not recapture any voter approval, and is very likely to lose even more than he wishes.
The Gallup Poll that was presented by CNS News.com on May 05, 2010 which was conducted on May 1-2, states that “9 out of 10 Americans Say Secure the Border This Year.” It couldn’t get more definitive than that. NINETY PERCENT of Americans; those are your employers, Mr. Obama; and lest you say that they are all Republicans, just don’t bet your lunch money on it.
The poll asked Americans if they would say ‘it is moderately to extremely important to them for the federal government to take steps this year to secure the border against illegal immigration’ and 9 out of 10 questioned answered positively. Only ten percent said it was not that important. However, 42 percent said it was extremely important, 26 percent said it was very important and 21 percent called it moderately important.
Those, Mr. Obama, are numbers that you just can not slough off as unimportant. That is 90 percent of the people telling you to TAKE ACTION NOW TO SECURE OUR BORDERS. And that doesn’t mean to send a handful of new border patrol agents to work on the problem; it means DO IT RIGHT, and DO IT NOW!
That question was followed by Gallup with another question asking “whether it was extremely important, very important, moderately important, or not that important to them that the U.S. government develop a plan to deal with the large number of illegal immigrants who are already living in the United States.”
In almost identical fashion, NINETY PERCENT of the respondents answered affirmatively regarding extremely, very or moderately important while only TEN PERCENT replied that it was not that important.
So it would appear that should the President choose to hang his hat and hopes on those 10 percenters who didn’t feel it was that important, he could find himself out of a job in 2012, if not sooner. Obama has a way of choosing to ignore anything that is not to his liking or that shows that his positions are not favorable to a high percentage of the REAL citizens of this country. He is extremely disdainful of the people who provide the tax dollars to operate the United States of America, but it is a group that should not be denigrated nor ignored.
One of my daughters became pregnant and found to everyone’s surprise she was going to have identical twins. The news came with mixed emotions as well as difficult decisions. This was not her first child and she, like many in the family, believes in natural childbirth without medication. Only her first child was born in a hospital while all the others were born at home with a midwife.
She initially started seeing her midwife for prenatal visits, but when they discovered she was expecting twins the reality of government interference took hold. The state of Arizona does not allow midwives to knowingly delivery twins, so they had to find a doctor. They are on the state insurance, which poses it’s own challenges. However, trying to find a doctor that not only would accept the state insurance but would also deliver twins and accept a patient at 10 weeks became almost an impossible task. It took her a month to even obtain the booklet of doctors she requested from the state to start her search. She went through the book and was more often turned down because the doctors no longer accepted the state insurance. With the help of her midwife and fortunately a state employee willing to help, she was able to obtain the services of a high-risk OB team.
Through the ultrasounds they discovered the babies were identical twins, had separate bags of water but shared one placenta. This put her in a higher risk category. At one point during the pregnancy they determined she was experiencing twin-to-twin transfer and was then referred to a specialist. Because of this the doctors wanted to see her 3 times a week and she underwent regular ultrasounds and non-stress tests. During her third trimester an ultrasound indicated she actually had two placentas; that there was a division in the placenta that had not previously been noticed; the twins may not be identical. At that time it was also revealed that she had not actual experienced twin-to-twin transfer, it was only borderline. With only 4 weeks remaining until her due date the doctor told her she needed to find another doctor because she was now no longer considered high risk!
She took childbirth classes at the hospital she was to deliver at. She is also a childbirth instructor so these classes were quite unnecessary from a childbirth aspect, but with this unusual pregnancy she wanted to be informed about the hospital, their procedures, as well as the special considerations in delivering twins.
During her regular doctor visits they discussed the expectations of delivery. This resulted in a difference of opinion from the doctors and expectant parents. The doctors believed in a medicated birth with a likely outcome of an induced labor as well as a cesarean delivery. The parents believed in an unmedicated birth, as natural as possible, and only in an emergency to save the mother and/or babies did they want a cesarean. They created their birth plan and the doctors made their modifications. They were able to “negotiate” delaying an induction until 38 weeks.
She went in to labor naturally and the first baby came quickly. They never made it to the hospital. Labor never stopped and what seemed like a very short time later the second baby was delivered; he was a breech delivery. Both babies were well and of good size, especially for twins (7 lbs. 14 oz. and 6 lbs. 9 oz.) with the mother and father cooperating during delivery; no one else was present. This was a Sunday and at this point they did not want to go to the hospital because there was no need. So they contacted one of their midwifes who came over to make sure mother and babies were okay – everyone was fine. It also turns out the twins are identical, sharing only one placenta – the latest ultrasounds were wrong!
How can the government force you to purchase something? Many have been comparing the proposal of making health insurance a requirement to that of requiring auto insurance. This is an unfair comparison. If I don’t want to purchase car insurance then I have the option not to own a vehicle or not even have a driver’s license, and therefore wouldn’t need insurance. You can’t opt out of health care insurance in that same manner. If you choose not to purchase health insurance then the government will penalize you. That is the government forcing you to purchase something.
In my first blog I brought up the question “Is the proposed healthcare reform constitutional?” I submitted this question to a number of television and radio celebrities and one has finally addressed this question.
It appears as if I am not the only one asking the question. Bill O’Reilly states in this interview that he doesn’t believe it is constitutional. I’ve also read about a number of others, including lawyers, who do not believe Obamacare is constitutional and are already preparing for a court battle. So while the writers and supporters of the bill state this will not be an increase in taxes, then the bill itself would be unconstitutional.
OBAMA, here is the simple fact. America wants and needs healthcare reform. You will find no argument from republicans or democrats. If you want true healthcare reform, you and the democrats better start listening and communicating honestly to the American people.
Don’t demonize Americans who turn up at town hall meetings because they read HR3200 and are scared of thinking they are about to lose something precious. Explain why you sold out to special interests and are promising to make them a lot of money at our expense.
Team Obama will spend August complaining about right-wing distortion of their healthcare agenda. Or, they can figure out how to tell the truth and then work with the Republicans, or even consider some the bills they have created, that will not destroy the greatest healthcare system in the world, just fix a few of the problems.
Of course, there is also a third America. It is made up of the uninsured poor, who you would have us believe never have a shot at what the rest of the country considers a constitutional right, healthcare. This is just more misinformation to sell the current bill, and we know it. Any American can go to any hospital in the US and get care now – it’s the law – and that care is free of charge. What would even be better is to give these people the opportunity to obtain healthcare insurance like the rest of us, and that is what we all want. There are many bills on the floor that achieve this goal today and all of them are a lot smaller than 1000 plus pages.
All of the bills in Congress address the problem of costly emergency room visits. The Republican solutions do this at a fraction of the 1 trillion dollar price tag that will destroy our current system.
As a presidential candidate, Obama talked about healthcare mostly in connection with his mother’s end-of-life struggle to pay her medical bills. It was an effective anecdote, which he used to launch a broad commitment to reform healthcare as president. In your current proposal your mother would have saved all that money in medical bills because the government would have told her her life wasn’t worth saving and would have given her end-of-life counseling instead. Obama’s reform plan is a complicated political mess while the Republican plans are simple, straight forward, and keep the best healthcare in the world intact.
In recessionary times, the goal is more urgent. Today, more Americans are perched on a precarious financial edge. When a job disappears, employer-supplied health insurance does, too. A doctor’s visit becomes a luxury. Instead of immediately bringing in a child for a strep test, a parent waits out the scratchy throat and puts off the antibiotics that are needed to fight something other than a cold. The Republican plans give every American the choice to buy their own Healthcare plan thereby take the dependence on the employer out of the picture. You would own you own plan and when you left a job your insurance would come with you. This gives you the choice as to the coverage you need and the federal government will even help you pay for that Healthcare plan.
I attended the Town Hall Meeting of Rep. John Shadegg in Scottsdale, Arizona on August 8, 2009. Amazing enough, there were no mobs – only a crowd of very concerned American citizens. They were there to ask questions and get answers to the most important legislation in history – the National Healthcare Reform package.
The turn out was much more than anticipated, filling all the seats in the cafeteria as well as any available area inside the building for standing, with even more people standing outside. In Arizona in August this is quite a turnout as temperatures are well over 100 degrees. The crowd remained courteous and respectful to Rep. John Shadegg, as well as all who presented their questions, whether for or against the proposed plan. It was pleasure to start the meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance, the meaning many people in this country seem to have forgotten. Only one television station was present at the beginning of the meeting.
Rep. Shadegg had the democratic healthcare bill and the amendments with him and referenced it as needed. He stated he has read the bill and showed the annotations and comments he made on his copy. He explained how the proposed plan would affect American citizens.
He also showed and explained the Republican alternative plans, that unlike HR3200, offered an alternative that would not destroy what is currently working, would allow people to keep their current plans, would offer alternative purchasing options to those who don’t have or don’t like their current plans, would ensure people with pre-existing could get coverage, gives a tax credit to help offset the cost of healthcare insurance if it is not employer paid – and most important – GIVES THE PEOPLE THE CHOICE AND CONTROL OVER THEIR HEALTH!
The floor was opened to questions asked in calm and intelligent manners, with no one becoming disruptive. Even when one group came in with their signage against John Shadegg, the group simply continued on; no fighting broke out.
The answers confirmed many of fears people have about the democratic plan, despite the fact that the president still insists these are false. Has the president read the plan? Most disturbing is that even if you have coverage now, you won’t be able to keep that coverage as it stands today because it will be forced to change, everyone will be forced to purchase one of these plans or be penalized if they don’t, the government will decide what plan you get and what treatment you may or may not receive, the Medicare Advantage plan is being dropped, the plan leads to rationing of care, and if you happen to be in your golden years or if you or a family member has a serious illness you may not be able to receive treatment but will be given “end of life” counseling based on the governments decision – not yours, your families and your doctor’s decision. You will also not be able to sue your insurance company for any wrongdoing, whether it be accidental or intentional – PERIOD.
This insurance option is so well received by the Democratic Party that when it was suggested they participate in the same plan they rejected it. I heard that one democratic represented said “I wouldn’t give this plan to my dog.” Government employees and government officials will NOT be participating in this plan – they will keep their elitist plans, and they CAN sue their insurance company for wrongdoing.
We, the people of these United States, had better wake up or we will find ourselves in a country we no longer recognize. It is one thing for government to raise your taxes and pass laws that rule the way you may or may not function in every day life. It is quite another for the government to take over your LIFE. That is what the Obama and Democratic healthcare reform plans are doing. They will control who gets care and who doesn’t – who lives and who dies. Are you willing to let the government decide when your time is up – when your life is no longer worth saving? If not, then SPEAK UP.
Doesn’t it bother you that Obama and certain members of Congress have to campaign to convince the American public that their plans are good? It reminds me of the pushy car salesman or the telemarketers – they all have to constantly bombard you with their sales pitch to convince you their product is good. Obama is no different. Anything that needs that much of a sales pitch probably has something wrong with it – there is something they are trying to hide. We cannot let this happen. They are trying to convince us to buy a healthcare package that is already broken, cannot work, will cost us more for less coverage and in the end will end our lives. My life is worth more than someone’s political agenda. Isn’t yours?
If you would like to protect your life, then write to your congressmen and tell them to oppose the Obama and Democratic healthcare plan. They need to know now! Tomorrow may be too late.
All this talk and debate over healthcare reform, government taking over – what next? If we get back to basics it could be simple.
1. Remove all the illegal immigrants from getting free or subsidized services. If they don’t like it then they can go back to where they came from. If they need medical treatment they pay for it.
2. Offer affordable healthcare insurance to every legal American. Make the healthcare packages the same as those offered to large corporations, and at a competitive price so everyone can get the same type of coverage.
3. Put all government employees and elected officials on the same medical plan. If it is good enough for the general public it should be good enough for them!
4. Give tax incentives to those people who do not have employer paid plans to help offset the cost of purchasing healthcare insurance. Give incentives to those employers who do offer insurance coverage and pay or help pay the premiums.
5. Do not make it mandatory for everyone to have to purchase insurance, but if an individual does not have insurance they must pay for their medical treatment.
