Open Letter to President Obama

Dear President Obama;
I've sent comments to you on healthcare, but the box only takes 500 characters and I am much more long winded than that. Also, I haven't received any response. But, I'm not writing this to complain, but to help people take notice.
First and foremost, we shouldn't rush any of this. Theodore Roosevelt wanted national healthcare at the beginning of the last century and we've lived this long without it. Let's take our time. I know there's a feeling of urgency what with the economy trying to climb out of the toliet and the American public supporting you by 65%, but let's not make hasty decisions.
Second, any plan that adds yet another tax onto the backs of the middle class is not a plan worthy of mention. Those of us in the middle class pay enough taxes as it is. Right now, between Federal and State taxes, Social Security and Medicare, 1/3 of my paycheck is gone and I haven't even walked out of the building. Let's find the money some other way. (I'm for stopping farm substidies to large corporations and weekend farmers. The substidies weren't supposed to be paid out for more than five years when they started. It's just ridiculous that people like Sam Donaldson gets farm substidies, but I digress.) I'm pretty sure that at some point in the next few years, our taxes are going to have to go up, but let's not tax one of the few benefits we enjoy.
Now, having said # 2, let me mention #3: Let's give HUGE tax breaks to companies that cover at least 75% of an employee's healthcare and even bigger tax breaks to companies that cover 90%. Let's not make them pay taxes on any money spent on healthcare for employees' dependents. A lot of the uninsured are children and by giving employers the push to do the right thing, we might be able to knock more than half of the uninsured off the list.
Four, and this is big, let's not have national healthcare, but a national standard. And, here's why; we don't want to give companies a break on taxes and then have them use some shoddy fly by night insurance company that doesn't cover the basics. A pound of prevention is worth an ounce of cure, after all. We need wellness visits and mammograms, etc. to be covered. And, the standards set must be followed whether the company is self-insured or not. I spoke with a company representative where I work and she insisted that they didn't have to follow the minimums set by Illinois because they were self-insured. I couldn't find an answer on whether or not she was lying, so let's just get that part out of the way. If you follow at least the minimums, you get the tax break, if not, you don't. He who pays the band gets to pick the music, so companies shouldn't expect breaks, if they don't want to have the minimums.
Finally, whatever healthcare plan we pick or whatever minimums we set; Congress should be set at the same standard. If they had to live with our healthcare, the healthcare system wouldn't be broken.
I hope you see this, President Obama.
God Bless
A Concerned Citizen

Freddy Fender

I love the song "Before the Next Teardrop Falls." Freddy Fender did it, along with many other Country hits. So, why isn't he in the Country Music Hall of Fame? Does anyone know how members are selected? I think us Freddy Fender fans should unite and do something about this.
God Bless

Taxing Healthcare Benefits

Okay, if you're a regular reader of my blog, you know that one of the three reasons I didn't vote for McCain was that he wanted to put a tax on my healthcare benefits. Yesterday, a co-worker of mine mentioned that he hoped I was happy now that Obama was going to start taxing healthcare benefits. I was more than a little stunned, especially since 1/3 of my reasons for voting for Obama was that he was against this idea. So, this morning, I have set out on a mission to see if I can find the justification for my co-worker's remark. I have found one article, but then my router went down and I discovered that my archives weren't working, so I haven't finished reading the article, but trust me, I will get to the bottom of this and I will be calling Feingold, Kohl and Ryan to let them know the taxing of healthcare benefits is wrong.
One quick thought before I'm off:
The article I'm reading states "The wealthy enjoy the biggest boon from the policy, with their better jobs and richer perks. Still, Obama and many lawmakers are reluctant to embrace a tax." Well, I don't think I would be considered among the wealthy of the country, so there might be hope. I wouldn't be opposed to paying taxes on the healthcare if, say, they had to earn a certain amount, like $100,000 for a single person and $200,000 for a married person -- that, my dear friends, would leave most of us out of it.
Anyway, I would like to formulate a better thought on this, but I want to do my research -- just like I did when McCain first proposed this idea.
Oh, I almost forgot, according to my co-worker, this taxing of healthcare is Hillary's idea and it was part of the "deal" she made with Obama last year. Where is that coming from? Anyone know?
God Bless

Video for Dad

I made this video for Dad and I posted it on Facebook, but if you're not on Facebook you can't see it. But, Dad sent out the link to his friends and our family members, so I'm posting it here so they can see it too.

God Bless

Inbox fatigue

Did you get the email for Robin Williams's supposed plan for peace? It is full of rantings on how America should stop defending other countries and we should give illegals 90 days to get out. I received this email and it pissed me off and not just because it is an unintelligent, uninformed rant attributed to someone who didn't write it, but because the person who forwarded didn't check the facts. And, they didn't clean up the email, by removing all the other forwarded message headers.
As my friends can attest, I rarely forward emails. On those rare occasions when I do, I remove headers, I check the facts and most of the time, I remove those forward to 100 people messages. I received an email yesterday where the writer referred to me as the queen of information and I don't think he meant it in a nice way, but I wear it as a badge of honor.
So, here's my rule: if you don't have the time to make the message look neat and you don'T have time to check the facts, the rest of us don't have time to read it.
God Bless

Happy Birthday, Pop!

Today is my father's 72nd birthday. I made him this video.

Happy Birthday, Pop!

Love,

Julie

Did you hear the one?

Sherri Goforth should not lose her job for sending a racist email. Actually, no one should and here's why.
We live in a free society where all forms of speech are protected. Now, I happen to work in a zero tolerance environment where any non-work related email can get me fired. But, we're not talking about me. If we want to truly talk about tolerance, then people who send racist emails need to be shown compassion, not lose their jobs.
I realize this woman works for the state, but racists happen to be people, too. Sherri Goforth said that she sent the email by mistake. Who hasn't hit reply all when they shouldn't? Firing her isn't going to change his racist views. It'll only make them worse. Trust me on that. Racists hate being treated nice -- especially by the race they hate the most, so if I was Sherri's African-American co-worker, I'd be as nice as all get out to her. It'll piss her off.
But, that's just me.
God Bless

Pettiness

I just received an email asking me for money to help Al Franklin in Minnesota--like I have any money! I thought this was all settled and I have to wonder how a party who wanted votes thrown out in Florida in 2000, can throw a fit now? And, I wonder why they aren't putting the country first, like Al Gore did when he gave up the fight? And, then I wonder why Republicans can't figure out why they lost the Presidency?
Last thought, isn't this the party who complains about judges legislating from the bench?
God Bless

I was thinking

I was thinking this morning, as I was reading an article about Miss Porter's School for Girls in Vanity Fair about coddling and blaming. And, I was thinking about why the economy has failed and what needs to be done and the car companies and I came up with this disjointed blog you're now reading.
First, what goes up - must come down. After the boom years of the '90s, it was only natural that the economy bottoms out.
Second, deregulation and the allowing of banks to be investors, too, didn't seem to help. And, isn't that sad? For most things, I'm not really into government regulation. I think businesses should be allowed to run themselves. I do believe it is sad that we need laws that protect people based on their sexual orientation, religion and race. I have held three jobs where, once my immediate supervisor found out I was gay, he (and I say he because they were all men) would have fired me, if it wasn't illegal for him to do so. I worked one job in Illinois, where they didn't have the protection (they might now, I do not know) and when my boss found out I was gay, out the door I went. And, it is more than that. Our government shouldn't have to mandate a reduction in greenhouse gases. Businesses should be able to make changes without being told what to do like little children, but they don't do they?
Case in point -- the car companies -- Chrysler is now own by Fiat, Ford is struggling (but the only one with a chance to survive -- and I've put my own money into that notion) and GM will be gone soon -- and, yet, why did this happen? Well, for one thing, no had to force Toyota and the other foreign car companies into building higher mpg cars. They did it and they won the car battle. Now, after taking government money, both Chrysler and GM are closing American plants that employ American workers and leaving foreign plants open. Isn't that a kick in the rubber parts?
Finally, I think in the last eight years, there were bad decisions being made all around. As a country, we're fighting two wars, we cut taxes (for the rich, at least, the middle class is still screwed) and we didn't spend money on infastructure (our roads and bridges are falling apart). Add the thought that when given an option, people will do what is best for the greater good (on a whole) and suddenly, you have banks and investment firms failing left and right.
And, now, the President wants to try to initiate a Pay as you Go plan and he's being critized by a bunch of people (Republicans) who claim to be fiscally responsible and weren't. How else could we increase spending ($10 billion in Iraq every month since the war began total? $720 billion and all of it borrowed, none of it we will see again and someone is now very rich and it ain't me).

God Bless