Based on my 35 years as a physician working in the private practice of medicine as well as serving in senior positions in my home state Department of Health in government, in a non-profit major managed care company, in a national pharmacy benefit management company, and in a biotech company making disease prevention products, I believe that I’ve seen it all. In addition to these diverse experiences, I am Board Certified in Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology and have earned a Masters degree in Public Health. Lastly, I also know all too well what it feels like to be a patient in our healthcare “system,” —blessed by God and my fortunate access to healthcare to be a 7 year survivor of a serious cancer. Thus, I believe I have the appropriate credentials to write a prescription. YOU will need to decide whether to take the medicine. The ball is it YOUR court. Truly, I believe if WE as individuals making up our country don’t make some hard decisions real soon, we will have passed the point of no return!

Before I begin, let me state that my prescription will not make everyone happy. That’s NOT my intent. My thoughts are meant to get us back on the right track so we can afford universal healthcare—to reduce unnecessary costs—to save America from being another great power that fell from its lofty position! And, I am using my first amendment rights of free speech to offer my opinion on healthcare industries but I will never talk about specific companies or any particular individuals.

Of the $2.5 TRILLION, we will spend on healthcare this year; there are indispensable costs that cannot and should not be reduced. We must fairly pay for doctors, nurses, hospitals, prescription drugs, nursing home care and home health, as well as dentistry and many other essential healthcare services and technological products. At this time, I offer a point of order. Always remember that for every dollar of cost that we spend, this HC dollar is money which is either a dollar of income for someone in the “healthcare-industrial complex” or a dollar to pay for a technological test, procedure, or medication. MILLIONS of Americans made an honest living working in the health care field providing care to patients, building hospitals and doctor office buildings, researching compounds and protein molecules to develop new medicines to treat diseases and then manufacturing and distributing these products, and so on and so forth. So, what are the solutions to OUR problem?

Before we get to action steps, let’s first ask some critical QUESTIONS: Are we getting VALUE from each dollar spent? Do we want to spend more than 17% of GDP on healthcare and probably not have enough money for other worthwhile values like investments in national defense and education? And most, importantly, is there a plan to REDUCE unnecessary costs while getting more value of each HC dollar to cover everyone in a new and necessary paradigm of HC?

My prescription is a plan to get more for less. I take no credit for all the thinking that has already been done on this subject and in part I am just summarizing “Best Practices” based upon what I believe to maximize VALUE while ignoring whether this prescriptive medicine is popular or not. Let me initially say that there have been studies demonstrating that between 30-50% of our healthcare costs can be lumped into buckets of waste, fraud, and abuse. And, let’s not forget a simple idea that our grandparents taught us – a truism that has been forgotten by many: “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Based on this singular point, we need to change the mindset of Americans and our current HC “system” from a “sickness” model to a “wellness” model. Of course, we can never prevent all diseases but we CAN reduce the number of Americans who develop specific diseases that could have been prevented through personal behavior modification in collaboration with a functional HC system. In addition, some of these diseases could have been diagnosed at an earlier stage through appropriate use of prevention. One of the reasons we are spending more much money than any other country is that the United States ranks dead last among industrialized countries in prevention and diseases first diagnosed at a later stage costs much more than if diagnosed earlier.

Let’s be mindful that I’m certainly NOT suggesting that we move away from our capitalistic system. And, let me be clear that there is plenty of blame to go around! On the other hand, rapacious capitalism where greedy people use unscrupulous means to achieve the ends of excessive profits and power should be condemned. Leaders need to speak out against greed. GREED IS NOT GOOD! Now, for purposes of organizing my thinking, I would like to group the involved stakeholders into the special interest camp, the provider of care crowd, and lastly, all of us, as consumers and customers of healthcare.

First of all, who are these special interests? I believe this camp includes people who are essentially well meaning but whose industries, intended to serve the general good in healthcare, have gone off track. Recall the aphorism, “The path to hell is paved with good intentions.” And in going along with the corporate culture in order to keep their jobs, many of these folks have become self serving of their own interests WELL BEYOND what a prudent and reasonable person would deem to be a fair amount of balance between self and public interest. A great book I once read called THE RISE AND FALL OF THE GREAT POWERS over the last 1,000 years has shown when the wealth gap between working class and the CEO class widens to current levels that the “powerful” country and its people hop onto a slippery slope that leads all of the people to LOSE vis a vie other countries that have better managed themselves in a fair manner. And, there are blatant examples in the “healthcare-industrial complex” of where these special interest folks have shown they will use any means necessary to attain unconscionable profits or power. Included in this special interest group are SOME, but NOT ALL: Politicians, For- profit insurance companies, Pharmaceutical and Medical device companies, and Trial Attorneys.

Let’s start with politicians. Why do they believe they know more about our intricate healthcare system and understand best how to fix it than healthcare professionals such as doctors and nurses? Is it their ego with an insatiable need for power? Is it because each of them is followed around daily by six health care lobbyists? Is it because they need the campaign donations from other special interests to get re-elected? Why doesn’t the President surround himself with a team of informed, savvy, and caring doctors and nurses who have spent their entire lives in healthcare and understand best what needs to be done in making HC policy? As a physician, I would never dare to pretend to be an expert on matters of tax policy, or manufacturing cars, or making furniture. So why do WE accept the premise that politicians are experts on such a complex subject as HC? Why do YOU allow them to control your HC? Remember, YOU are the customer.

My first recommendation would be to vote out of office anyone who will not listen to informed and reasonable “rank & file” HC professionals in developing a comprehensive HC reform. To be clear, this plan MUST provide three goals: Universal Health Care, Cost Reduction, and Improved Quality of Care. Why don’t YOU vote out of office any politician making side deals with a special interest group in return for their political support? Examples of conflict of interest side deals include a provision whereby the American Government remains the only industrialized country in the world that does not negotiate drug prices with manufacturers. In return for that deal that has occurred on the watch of both Presidents of the 21st century, the pharmaceutical industry agreed in the recent HC reform debate to contribute $8 BILLION a year to pay for about 1% of the HC reform Bill in return for our agreement not to demand the negotiation of drug prices with them. Since we spend nearly $300 BILLION in the cost of pharmaceuticals each year, if in aggregate, the pharmaceutical companies raise prices just 3% each year, THEY WIN by recouping their $8 BILLION investment and WE LOSE since their 10-30% increases in drug costs are just passed on to employers, individuals, or the government by insurance companies who then have to pay the pharmaceutical industry. Needless to say, the other side bar deals like the almost consummated Nebraska Medicaid give away and the Louisiana give away need to be stopped dead in their tracks. Many politicians are clearly part of the problem and are not part of the solution. Vote them out of office! Every rotten apple increases the chance to spoil the whole barrel.

Next, we all know that for- profit insurers and pharmaceutical/medical device companies are publicly traded companies. Their twofold mission is to maximize shareholder equity value AND to provide helpful healthcare services and cost effective, efficacious and safe products to help US. Can anyone serve two masters? Can these companies fairly serve both Main Street and Wall Street? Are there conflicts of interest here? YOU decide. Be aware that there are many NON-PROFIT insurance companies.

Let’s get specific. Sure everyone is in favor of ridding ourselves of the insurer’s right to deny coverage based on pre-existing conditions and we all need to prevent insured folks from being unfairly dropped from coverage. However, going forward, to achieve these worthwhile goals, you must be covered—now is the opportunity to provide universal coverage—otherwise we’re expecting insurance companies to issue HC policies AFTER WE get sick. This makes no more sense than buying car insurance AFTER an accident. Thus we need universal coverage and those politicians who rail against pre-ex but are opposed to universal coverage are being disingenuous. But, HC is unaffordable for so many. The only solution is to temporarily subsidize people until HC costs are reduced. In return for this governmental assistance, people should be asked to volunteer (or even required to serve) in a National Healthcare Corp that should be established (much like The Peace Corp). Proving car insurance is not a right since one can take public transportation but health care is a right since one cannot take out one’s own infected gallbladder or prescribe medication for severe hypertension that can kill you unless treated. The State has laws to save the lives of its citizens. Health Care is NOT an option any more than Civil Rights was an option.

Meanwhile, for the many decades that despised rules like pre-ex have been in place, where have been the State Insurance Commissioners who are supposed to look out for the consumer? Write letters to them. Vote out of office any Governor who appoints an Insurance Commissioner who does not do what’s in the best interest of the public. YOU can do this.

On the positive side, the insurance companies “try” to manage the premium dollar by paying providers what THEY consider a fair compensation for their work based on the relative value system and other factors, to ferret out fraudulent providers who intentionally “up-code” or “mis-code” for their professional services to collect more money that they are entitled to under the time they spent with the patient or in providing an inaccurate diagnosis that pays more, to hire medical physicians (not clerks) as medical directors to review physician orders for services and products that are not always aligned with established professional medical society guidelines, to utilize medical directors to review all appeals on the basis of medical necessity and to overturn a denial of payment for care if appropriate based on all relevant facts, to incentivize providers based on not what is done to the patient but based on how well the patient does clinically (pay for performance and medical homes) and to provide nurses to educate patients on how best to manage their disease states of their members.

On the pharmaceutical side, they deserve credit for developing and providing life saving medicines and medications to treat illnesses. Yet, for the most part after their drug patent is over, cheaper generic medications provide the same value. Also, these companies could compare their product against other products within a therapeutic class to ascertain and provide that information to physicians as to what product is the most helpful in achieving the desired outcome and is also the safest and lowest cost. To date, except for the All HAT comparative effectiveness study, there have been few head to head comparisons among many expensive medications with significant side effects. It’s understandable that no company wants to admit that their product is the most costly and yet doesn’t work any better and is not as safe as a less costly product. But, is it right? YOU decide. You don’t have to take something that you feel is not the best medication. YOU have options in consultation with your physician. President Obama has rightfully called for more research, for more head to head comparative effectiveness studies but Congress has passed a law making such research not admissible by insurers in determining which products receive lower co-pays out of YOUR pocket. Boo on Congress! Also, recall from a prior blog of mine that research is given an paltry 3.5 cents for every HC dollar. On another point, does the practice of direct to consumer advertising lead to people to demand drugs seen on TV that look so alluring? Recognize that America is the only industrialized country that permits this practice. YOU can change the channel and not pay attention to “promotion” on commercials. Do YOU do it? How about demanding that manufacturers provide factual information to physicians as to why their expensive product is any better than alterative medicines that are lower cost, possibly safer, and possibly more effective? And, are there gifts and “free” samples given to physicians to prescribe these highly expensive products? Isn’t that a conflict of interest? Could that lead to higher HC costs? Do YOU ask your doctor about lower cost drugs or generics? If not, WHY NOT?

Among the medical device companies, do they fund well designed research studies as to whether their product is superior to a competitor’s similar product like a heart stent or pacemaker? And, if they would fund such research in a compelling peer reviewed research paper, would the company making the much more expensive but less effective or less safe product withdraw their inferior product from the market? Does anyone believe that ever happens? Should it happen? Do YOU hold anyone accountable for this? Do YOU elect representatives that pass laws to require companies to prove the cost effectiveness of their product versus other products? If not, I’m beginning to see a pattern developing of why at the point of no return for escalating HC costs.

Last among the selected special interests are the trial attorneys who scare the dickens out of physicians through frivolous lawsuits. More importantly, there is FEAR in the hearts of physicians that they will even receive such a subpoena. Numerous studies attest that the mere fear of getting sued is enough to incentivize doctors to order unnecessary and sometimes risky tests by practicing defensive medicine. Several reports show that many BILLIONS could be saved through tort reform that does not deny a citizen of their legitimate rights to sue for wrongful injury. So, we do need tort reform and not just state by state “experiments” but national reform.

But, as I said earlier, THERE IS PLENTY OF BLAME TO GO AROUND.

Secondly, let’s talk about the providers of care crowd. It is my belief that many physicians, nurses, and hospitals provide some of the highest quality of care in the world. Yet, reimbursement for providers and hospitals has been consistently on the DECREASE, especially for nurses and primary care physicians. Is that a good idea? What have YOU done about it?

As the “captain” of the healthcare “system” all orders for lab tests, procedures, medications, and education of patients on diseases/prevention/wellness begins the physician. I call upon my colleagues, the physicians, to lead in changing the mindset of their patients from a sickness model to a wellness model. But, physicians cannot do this without the cooperation of their patients and other components of our HC “system.” Insurers need to more appropriately compensate primary care providers who spend time listening and educating patients. However, I believe the real leverage to get patients to change their personal behaviors would be for employers to incentivize their own employees to practice healthier lifestyle habits and to undergo prevention screening procedures as recommended by their physicians. I believe the employers NEED to get more involved. If given an opportunity, ask your supervisor what your Company is doing to demand better value from the dollars your employer takes out of YOUR paycheck and gives the insurance companies so that they can pay the providers and the special interests.

To my mind, if we do not accomplish changing our efforts to promote maximum wellness/prevention, we will never get our HC costs under control. Concurrent with this, the minority of physician outliers of commonly accepted “standards of practice” need to accept that there is a science as well as an art to the practice of medicine. The science of evidence based guidelines of “Best Practices” can’t be ignored. No physician should just expect to order any test, any procedure, or any medication without their being appropriate justification for doing so beyond the fact that they have a right or license to do so. Managed care is here to stay and some physicians have to accept this reality. The fact of the matter is that appropriate justification for what they order originates from professional peer and scientific studies of what works best. And, lower cost is not a bad thing if it achieves what a higher cost service or product would offer. Moreover, insurance companies by law have provided for rights of a physician to appeal a denial of payment by the insurance medical director based on medical policy for something ordered which is deemed by their professional colleagues to be less than optimal. And, it is well accepted in our profession that many population based studies have shown marked deviations in the ways physicians in one city would treat the exact same patient if the physician practiced in another city. These “community standards” can lead to a waste of money and possible harm to a patient. Most progressive minded physicians, thankfully, embrace “national standards of care” based on professional society guidelines and the latest scientific studies. Furthermore, physicians need to keep in mind that every time they order a drug or a device that isn’t the most effective, the safest, and the lowest cost, they alone are spending the wealth of America to reach unsustainable levels of HC spending.

The one tool that leads to the majority of HC spending in America is a ballpoint pen in the hands of a physician. Those ball point pens in the hands of someone licensed to practice medicine can spend MILLIONS & BILLIONS. The good news is that many physicians willingly embrace the process of ordering lower cost products that work just as well and are just as safe, if not safer than more expensive products or services. As long as patient care is not compromised, physicians’, in my personal opinion, have a societal obligation to use their ball point pen prudently. For those physicians who have not yet changed their practices to meet “Best Practices” their unwillingness to do so has become a major problem for all of us. Solution: Do YOU ask your doctor questions on what is ordered? Do YOU do your own research? That said, always seek out and work with the majority of noble physicians, trying their best to be your advocate and proper stewards of the national purse strings. Your employer will also thank you for keeping down the cost they have to pay to provide you with health care benefits since these costs are passed downstream to your employer and ultimately to you. THERE IS NO FREE LUNCH. I sincerely believe that the overwhelming majority of physicians are caring individuals who act in a humanistic fashion to reduce human suffering and to save as many lives as possible. But, there are always a few bad apples in any barrel. Run away from the bad apples as fast as you can.

As to our nurses and hospitals, I believe they deserve our highest admiration for what they do every day. Even though I’m not a fan of public opinion polls because they frequently change merely based on how the question is asked, etc BUT the public believes that nurses and then physicians have the highest credibility on HC. THEN WHY AREN”T “RANK & FILE” PHYSICIANS AND NURSES ASKED TO SPEAK ALONGSIDE THE PRESIDENT on HC? And where has the U.S Surgeon General been during this healthcare reform debate? WHY AREN’T REAL DOCTORS AND NURSES the “TALKING HEADS” instead of politicians on cable and national TV shows? Caveat: Any physician who has become a politician, in my mind, has lost his/her credibility as a physician since they have chosen a partisan approach and probably have accepted campaign donations from special interests groups, thereby compromising their trustworthiness. The President is to be commended for having bipartisan ideas included in his health care reform proposal. JFK once said, “Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer but the right answer.” Unfortunately, not one Republican vote has been cast for comprehensive HC reform—not now—not when they were in the majority—WHY NOT? WE ARE AT THE POINT OF NO RETURN!

Last, but certainly not the least, let’s look at the behavior of every American citizen with regard to practicing healthier lifestyles. Are all of us doing our part by exercising, by eating healthier foods, by not smoking, by not drinking and driving, by nor wearing a car seatbelt? NO!! NO!! NO!! Whereas, every single American deserves and needs a functional HC system that will aid each of us with the appropriate Rx, WE can’t expect miracles every time from the HC system no matter how skilled our physicians and nurses may be. WE must do our part! But have we? The aggregate data says NO! WE are the most overweight country in the world, less than 50% of us take our prescription medication on a consistent basis, less than 30% exercise regularly, and far too many of us refuse to accept that we must look at ourselves in the mirror and ask ourselves whether we have done our part. Have YOU?

When all is said and done, many HC decisions come down to OUR CHOICES. WE THE PEOPLE! WE can vote out politicians who don’t pass laws to guarantee universal cost effective quality HC. WE can ask our physician whether the ordered services or products have been proven to be aligned with the highest standards of care and at the lowest possible cost. WE can hire the best physicians and fire the worst. WE must make our HC decisions not based on what we think we want but based upon what we really need.

In the final analysis, it’s all up to YOU and ME! WE have been too passive for far too long It’s up to each of us to make the right choices to ACT on what in our hearts we know to be true and to reject what we know to be false. It’s up to each of us to practice personal responsibility by OUR BEHAVIORS to lower HC costs. The future is OURS but only IF we seize it.

The status quo is not sustainable. But if the status quo is to change, WE must act! “The only necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men (and women) to do nothing.” – Edmund Burke. Let’s get to work to demand affordable quality HC for all! WE are the CUSTOMERS for the entire HC industry. Let’s act like informed customers and actively demand cost effective care. Let’s go shopping. It’s up to US!

REMEMBER: We are at the point of no return!

LIMBAUGH: You know I’m getting so many people — this Louise Slaughter comment on the dentures? I’m getting so many people — this is big. I mean, that gets a one-time mention for a laugh, but there are people out there that think this is huge because it’s so stupid. I mean, for example, well, what’s wrong with using a dead person’s teeth? Aren’t the Democrats big into recycling? Save the planet? And so what? So if you don’t have any teeth, so what? What’s applesauce for? Isn’t that why they make applesauce?

Limbaugh previously http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/200908200032" href="http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/200908200032" target="_blank">told a caller who could not afford the $6,000 it would cost to treat a broken wrist that he “shouldn’t have broken [his] wrist.”

Beck mocks Slaughter’s story: “I’ve read the Constitution … I didn’t see that you had a right to teeth.” On his February 26 radio show, Glenn Beck played an audio clip of Slaughter’s account thenhttp://mediamatters.org/mmtv/201002260010" href="http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/201002260010" target="_blank">said, “I am wearing George Washington’s dentures right now. I’m wearing his teeth right now.” He later added, “I just like wearing dead people’s teeth. But in America — I’m sorry, I didn’t know that that was — I’ve read the Constitution before. I didn’t see that you had a right to teeth.” Echoing Limbaugh’s remarks the previous day, Beck stated, “The environmentalists should be all over Slaughter. ‘How dare you say that?’ My gosh, they’re just recycling. They’re just reusing.”

Beck sidekick uses baby voice to mock letters Obama receives. On Beck’s February 25 radio show, co-host Steve “Stu” Burguiere http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/201002250048" href="http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/201002250048" target="_blank">stated that Obama “gets 10 letters, Glenn, every night.” Co-host Pat Gray asked, “From 2-year-old girls?” Then, one of the co-hosts started speaking in a baby’s voice: “I have no health care, Mr. Pwesident, and I have no feet and no tonsils because doctors took ‘em out.”

Conservative blogger Pamela Geller linked to an audio clip of the segment, which she http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/2010/02/lol.html" href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%3A%2F%2Fatlasshrugs2000.typepad.com%2Fatlas_shrugs%2F2010%2F02%2Flol.html" target="_blank">wrote was “[d]a best! the funniest thang evuh!”

Gateway Pundit attacks Slaughter’s “sappy lib sob story of the day, hands down.” On his Gateway Pundit blog, Jim Hoft linked to a video clip of Slaughter telling the story about the dentures under the headline, “http://gatewaypundit.firstthings.com/2010/02/horror-lib-dem-claims-her-constituent-wore-dead-sisters-teeth-video/" href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%3A%2F%2Fgatewaypundit.firstthings.com%2F2010%2F02%2Fhorror-lib-dem-claims-her-constituent-wore-dead-sisters-teeth-video%2F" target="_blank">Horror! Lib Dem Claims Her Constituent Wore Dead Sister’s Teeth (Vi….” After declaring the account the “sappy lib sob story of the day, hands down,” Hoft wrote: “Will Obamacare buy me glasses and contacts? Will Obamacare buy me a gold tooth in the front of my mouth with a little heart on it?”

Ingraham: “Louise Slaughter won the Olympics of sob stories.” On Fox News’ The O’Reilly Factor, radio host Laura Ingraham http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/201002250062" href="http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/201002250062" target="_blank">said she “liked the dueling sob stories, OK? One Democrat was trying to outdo the next on the sob story about how rotten our health care system is. Louise Slaughter won the Olympics of sob stories by saying one of her constituents had to wear her sister’s dentures. OK? It got so bad with the health care system.” She later added, “You had Harry Reid on the cleft palate with his — I mean, the whole thing was ridiculous.”

Fox Nation labels anecdote “Summit Insanity.” From The Fox Nation, accessed February 25.

“Where have all the graveyards gone?
Covered with flowers every one
When will we ever learn?
When will we ever learn?”

The evil Joseph Stalin once said:

“A single death is a trajedy; a million deaths is a statistic.”

During his purge of his Communist party from “corruption & treachery” in the 1930′s, Stalin slaughtered nearly two million people. But because America was friendly with Stalin, the United States stood by and did nothing.

I’ve heard many Americans say, “Why do we need healthcare reform? 85% of us already have health care. WE don’t want to lose what we have just to help the 15% without healthcare coverage.” With this attitude, America has fought off universal healthcare coverage since President Teddy Roosevelt first raised the point over 100 years ago. The 15% without health care counts 45 MILLION citizens. That number is growing every day.

Unfortunetly, the “have’s” do not want to lose what they have earned and thus are willing to ignore the MILLIONS that suffer and die without proper health care. Subconsciously it seems, unless it affects them personally or their loved ones, it’s just another statistic.

As the ONLY industrialized country on planet Earth without universal healthcare, the opposition has a long list of rationalizations for why they lobby against joining the parade of nations that care for ALL of their citizens. Watching the opening ceremonies of the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, each nation marched proudly into the stadium. Many countries have reason to be proud as they believe that ALL life is precious and thus provide health care coverage to ALL of their citizens. When the United States team marched onto the field, all I could think of was “When Will We Ever Learn?”

Sure, the United States has done much to help the world be a better place. Certainly, our citizens are God fearing people who believe in preserving life. But, I believe fear and politics has blinded many of them to the fact that if they lose their job, they will probably join the ranks of the uninsured. They will become part of the statistic. Many of them will lose their coverage when rapacious special interests such as for-profit insurance companies raise premiums so high that MILLIONS more will lose the coverage they currently enjoy. They will then become part of the statistic.

I live in hope that Americans will not only understand that we must take care of our brothers and sisters BUT that we must act to make that vision a reality. Yet, it’s hard to block out the thought that 45 MILLION Americans have been written off for the past century as just another statistic. 45 MILLION suffering human beings who have been segmented from the “have’s” as just another statistic. WHEN WILL WE EVER LEARN?

A contribution of $25 came complete with a full North Carolina barbecue dinner, sweet tea, a semi-automatic machine gun magazine for use at Jim’s Guns Indoor Shooting Range in Fayetteville, NC, the site of the fundraiser, and a raffle ticket for a chance to win an AR-15 assault rifle.

52-year old D’Annuzio is one of at least five Republicans hoping to win the nomination for North Carolina’s 8th District. He is a staunch advocate of 2nd Amendment rights, a point that he seems to have gotten across with Thursday night’s “machine gun social.”

Democrat Larry Kissell and Libertarian Thomas Hill are also set to challenge the eventual winner of the Republican nomination.

I find it fascinating, that Dubai,along with our contracting,engineering,and investment help, is able to build all this in the ocean, during Bush’s term of Office. All was finished before his departure… Do you wonder why this third world country’s Sultan can build his dream in the ocean,,,, and we can’t even build the levies in New Orleans, to a level 5 hurricane strength???? Not to mention, that we didn’t even consider, rebuilding the barrier islands.. The source of the problem. You go figure,,, I’m still scratching my head.

If the evilness of this teabagger movement were to ever gain any access to power in our country, their philosophy would set this country back at least 60 years to the darkness of the Jim Crow south. How could any patriot, and “informed” American citizen choose to associate themselves with this band of uninformed cooks?

Any one that has any basis of knowledge of the history of our country over the last 100 years knows that this group of teabaggers is nothing more, or should I say nothing less, than the John Birch Society, with a jazzed up name that, as the “urban dictionary” so aptly points out, names them to a “tea”.

She may not know it yet, because she really doesn’t read that much, but the supreme court voted to effectively destroy our electoral system, but, since this is a “conservative” talking point on free speech, she will probably just ditto the idea. Then just like always, she won’t learn about it so she can stand up for you.

Ask yourself this question. If you had to persuade your community about political opinion X, but corporations opposed your view, would you stand a chance to compete,  knowing that their “political speech” was worth much more than your political speech? The answer is obvious. Mere people have been thrown on the scrap heap.

 The U.S. Supreme Court is lifting corporations to the top of the evolutionary ladder…. Do you get it now, Teabaggers? You are outraged by your powerlessness. Can you now see the real source of that powerlessness?  IT IS NOT THE GOVERNMENT!  Government has been turned into the handmaiden of the corporate oligarchs.

LOL,, now isn’t that just about as serious of a worry, as what these opponents to repealing “Don’t ask Don’t tell,” are worrying about?