If the profit factor (insurance companies)...

• Posible new "boon" to the economy? Higher minimum wages??.....PSM - Cyndiee
  • You are forgetting...........sm - m
    • How about this...(sm) - Just the big bad
      • EXACTLY!! - Marmann
        • That's why... - mythbuster
          • If the profit factor (insurance companies)... - Marmann
    • So we offer substandard wages and attract more people to welfare???...sm - Cyndiee
      • Like I said..........sm - m
      • They want it both ways, Cyndiee. - Shirley U. Jest
        • Can't have your cake and eat it too, don't you want your husband, son, daughter...sm - Cyndiee
          • I just cannot grasp the fact that you can't buy shampoo - sm
            • I buy the cheapest stuff on the shelf.... - sm
              • And that is one of my biggest problems, unfortunately....sm - Cyndiee
                • To Cyndiee: - Marmann
                  • Thank you so much for your care! And I will be praying for you....sm - Cyndiee
            • Let me guess...(sm) - Just the big bad
              • wow, nasty this morning,,, - sm
                • It's glaringly obvious who has the attitude here...(sm) - Just the big bad
                  • thanks sweetie, i appreciate that! - nm
            • What a snooty post, no,we have PAID OFF all debt, own our home,,,,sm - Cyndiee
              • What does living in the northeast have to do with anything... - huh
                • No, do your research. In the Northeast we have some of the....sm - Cyndiee
                  • HELLO, yes, I do... - huh
                    • I would never earn a martyr badge, and again, I am not complaining...sm - Cyndiee
              • You have such a better-than-you attitude, I can't stand to read your posts anymore. - hypocritical
                • You are SO WRONG about Cyndiee - MTPockets
                  • Applauding! Great post. (nm) - Marmann
                • Did you even read the thread at all? No preaching, no judging, ....sm - Cyndiee
              • Nothing snooty my dear... - sm
                • GOT TO earn $70K?????? - judytee
                • How nice for you, but how does this apply to the political topic.....sm - Cyndiee
                • You are right...it was beyond snooty! - Shirley U. Jest
                  • Oh please, it's the truth.... - sm
                    • Not snooty..just ignorant - MTPockets
                    • You have nicely defined snooty for everyone,thanks......nm - Cyndiee
                      • Cyndiee, you hang in there girl, I am - MTfromLA
                        • Ditto! I enjoy her posts, as well. (nm) - Marmann
                        • I'm with ya, friend, thanks for posting, actually, ....sm - Cyndiee
              • Also, because we are white middle class and have a house, we are putting kids through college, ever - Cyndiee
  • It doesn't seem that you have thought - No, no, no.
    • Number one, less peole SHOULD eat at McDonalds, some of the most unhealthy eating habits...sm - Cyndiee
    • You are absolutely right! - Shirley U. Jest
      • The point was.......... sm - m
        • Can anyone say "spend your $$$ wisely?" Do you realize their profit margins over the years?.. - Cyndiee
          • Cyndiee, why can't you just say - No, no, no.
            • The price of shampoo or McDonalds WAS NOT my original post at all.....sm - Cyndiee
              • Big Macs and shampoo......sm - m
                • You know, I had forgotten about the old - MTfromLA
                • Like the commodities idea...thanks for your post!...nm - Cyndiee
              • I think you have me confused - no, no, no
                • Not THE solution, but perhaps one of many? sorry I put an idea out there for discussion, didn't - Cyndiee
    • And think of the small business owner...sm - Confetti
      • With the stimulus package there are built in tax credits for small businesses and SBA...sm - Cyndiee
        • minmum wage - sasha
          • Agree a lot; but can we consider that the President only in for a month??.....sm - Cyndiee

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What's the difference who says no?  Some insurance companies pretty much say no to everything but wellness visits - and that's simply so they can find out if you develop a condition, so they can drop your coverage on a threabare excuse, or jack your rates to the moon so you'll have to drop it.  Then no other company has to cover you due to it being preexisting.  I don't want to pay for insurance that only covers me if I'm not sick!

At least if there was universal healthcare, even with a wait, they'd have to treat you eventually instead of NEVER.  And do it for free.

...involved in the transcription of patient notes?

That just doesn't make sense.

Doesn't anybody in DC have a conscience?  The system as it stands now is disgusting.  They are literally making billions by killing of thousands upon thousands (maybe millions?) of Americans.  Anyone with half a brain should recognize profit-driven health insurance only serves the best interest of the CEOs of the insurance companies - not healthcare recipients! This needs to change NOW!

I saw my first AMA commercial last night urging people to vote with the millions of uninsured Americans in mind.  I loved it!  It is at least a step in the right direction.  Vote with the healthcare crisis in mind people!

in my voting choice.  Progressives can understand human fraility.  As we all know, in this sexy-sexy business of medical transcription, one can face some rompin' stompin, fierce temptations.  John Edwards went way past the mark with the baby and the coverup and all.  Look at the man who replaced Elliott Spitzer.  He 'fessed up right away and no one ever speaks of it anymore.

Wow, if my in-laws (in their 80s) knew that they were looked upon like that, I'd get a black eye (and deserve it) Incidentally, they could do it, too. They travel abroad, work out, all that stuff.

Maybe we should get a little sampling of how many fossilized 70YOs there are out there. I'm embarrassed for you.

It also seems to me that anyone who could endure the worst imaginable torture for 5 years must be made of something. 

Is that the best ya got?

You know, Sam, I don't know if Obama is trustworthy or not.  I don't know him and I don't know John McCain.  I think we would all do well to keep an eye on the direction of our country.  I really, really thought McCain would end up in the White House but with the landslide electorate vote I don't see any way that could possibly happen now.  Maybe it would be a good idea to get to work on doing away with the electorate.  The popular vote should be enough.  It appears to me that elections are decided really just by a few states.

Sooooooo I'm not really sure that we have time to worry about whether we trust the new president or not.  I don't trust any politicians but the cards have been dealt and there's plenty we all need to do.

xx

Two articles below:

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-na-bucky23mar23,1,7624344.story?ctrack=1&cset=true

From the Los Angeles Times

Bush's Uncle Earned Millions in War Firm Sale

An SEC filing shows William H.T. Bush collected about $1.9 million in cash, plus stock valued at $800,000, from the deal.

By Walter F. Roche Jr.
Times Staff Writer

March 23, 2006

WASHINGTON — As President Bush embarks on a new effort to shore up public support for the war in Iraq, an uncle of the commander in chief is collecting $2.7 million in cash and stock from the recent sale of a company that profited from the war.

A report filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission shows that William H.T. Bush collected just under $1.9 million in cash plus stock valued at more than $800,000 from the sale of Engineered Support Systems Inc. to DRS Technologies of New Jersey.

The $1.7-billion deal closed Jan. 31. Both firms have extensive military contracts.

William Bush was a director of Engineered Support Systems. Recent SEC filings show he was paid cash and DRS stock in exchange for shares and options he obtained as a director.

Before DRS purchased it, Missouri-based ESSI experienced record growth as a result of expanded U.S. military contracts — many to supply U.S. efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The contracts, some awarded on a no-bid basis, include a $77-million deal to refit military vehicles with armor for use in Iraq.

Other ESSI products used in the war include radar and detection services, field medical stations and field electrical generator units.

SEC filings show that two federal investigations of ESSI are underway. One inquiry involves a stop order from the government on the field generators. The order was issued because the units didn't operate properly.

The generator contract was a major source of revenue. SEC files show that ESSI did not tell stockholders about the stop order until last June, about seven months after it was issued.

During the interim, several ESSI executives, including Bush's uncle, cashed in stock and stock options worth millions of dollars, the filings show.

According to one recent filing, the SEC and the U.S. attorney in St. Louis are investigating the delayed disclosure and other matters.

Unnamed members of the ESSI board and corporate officers have been subpoenaed in the inquiry, according to documents.

SEC filings show that William Bush, 67, exercised options on 8,348 shares of ESSI stock on Jan. 18, 2005, about two months after the stop order was issued and six months before it was disclosed. He collected about $450,000 in cash.

Bush, known as Uncle Bucky in the president's family, joined ESSI's board in 2000, several months before his nephew became president.

He heads a St. Louis investment firm and is the youngest brother of former President George H.W. Bush.

He declined to comment Wednesday. However, in an interview last year, he said he played no role in ESSI's winning federal contracts.

I don't make any calls to the 202 [Washington, D.C.] area code, he said.

Patricia Williamson, a spokeswoman for DRS, would not comment on the status of the federal investigations.

The company has said it is cooperating in the probes, which also involve an ESSI insurance contract.
_________________________________________________________________

March 22, 2006, 11:58PM

Former first lady's donation aids son

Katrina funds earmarked to pay for Neil Bush's software program

By CYNTHIA LEONOR GARZA
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle

Former first lady Barbara Bush donated an undisclosed amount of money to the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund with specific instructions that the money be spent with an educational software company owned by her son Neil.

Since then, the Ignite Learning program has been given to eight area schools that took in substantial numbers of Hurricane Katrina evacuees.

Mrs. Bush wanted to do something specifically for education and specifically for the thousands of students flooding into the Houston schools, said Jean Becker, former President Bush's chief of staff. She knew that HISD was using this software program, and she's very excited about this program, so she wanted to make it possible for them to expand the use of this program.

The former first lady plans to visit a Houston Independent School District campus using the Ignite program today to call on local business leaders to support schools and education.

The trip to Fleming Middle School is intended to showcase Bush's commitment to education for both Houston-area and New Orleans evacuee students, according to a press release issued Wednesday by Ignite.

Fleming, which has more than 170 New Orleans students, was one of eight area schools chosen by the Harris County Department of Education to receive a donated COW, or Curriculum on Wheels, multimedia program after Hurricane Katrina.

Neil Bush founded Austin-based Ignite Learning, which produces the COW program, in 1999.

Becker said she wasn't at liberty to divulge how much money the Bush family gave to the hurricane funds, but said the rest of their donation was not earmarked for anything.

Nationally, some other donors also specified how they wanted their donations spent, Becker said.

For example, one man wanted his money to go to Habitat for Humanity but via the former presidents' fund. Nearly $1 million has been raised for the local fund and more than $120 million for the national.

Regarding the fact that Bush's earmarked donation also benefited her son's company, Becker said, Mrs. Bush is obviously an enthusiastic supporter of her son. She is genuinely supportive of his program, and has received many letters from educators who support it. Bush honestly felt this would be a great way to help the (evacuee) students.

Barbara and Neil Bush presented the donated programs to Houston-area schools this winter.

Districts that received the free curriculum include Houston, Alvin, Katy, Pearland and Spring and the New Orleans West charter school.

There are 40 Ignite programs being used in the Houston area, and 15 in the Houston school district, said Ken Leonard, president of Ignite.

Information about the effectiveness of the program, through district-generated reports, was not readily available Wednesday, according to an HISD spokeswoman.

Two years ago, the school district raised eyebrows when it expanded the program by relying heavily on private donations.

In February 2004, the Houston school board unanimously agreed to accept $115,000 in charitable donations from businesses and individuals who insisted the money be spent on Ignite. The money covered half the bill for the software, which cost $10,000 per school.

The deal raised conflict of interest concerns because Neil Bush and company officials helped solicit the donations for the HISD Foundation, a philanthropic group that raises money for the district.

HISD school principals decide for themselves whether to spend their budgeted money on Ignite.

Leonard said that in the past six to eight months, the company has hired national sales representatives across the country — in Florida, New York, Pennsylvania, Georgia and Nevada — in hopes of expanding beyond Texas. Currently, about 80 percent of the company's customers are from Texas.

Last year, Neil Bush reportedly toured former Soviet Union countries promoting Ignite with Russian tycoon Boris Berezovsky.

According to the Times of London, Berezovsky, a former Kremlin insider now living in Britain, is wanted on criminal charges in Moscow accusing him of seeking to stage a coup against President Vladimir Putin.

The purpose of today's event is to showcase everyone's efforts in helping the hurricane evacuee students who ended up in Houston, Leonard said.

We have a role, but we're not the leader in this, Leonard said. He also acknowledged that his company will benefit from the former first lady's visit.

Barbara Bush is expected to observe both teachers and students using the Ignite Learning program while touring classrooms, according to the Ignite press release.

During a short reception, teachers and students will give testimonials about the program and Bush will encourage community business leaders to have a stronger presence in supporting schools and education, the press release said.

The free-standing instructional tools that are not dependent on the Internet. They include a built-in computer, projector and speakers and come pre-loaded with science and social studies courses.

cynthia.garza@chron.com

HoustonChronicle.com -- http://www.HoustonChronicle.com | Section: Houston & Texas
This article is: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/metro/3742329.html

It's funny how Obama can ramble on and on and on about all the Americans out of jobs; however, he refuses to enforce the E-Verify bill already in place to make sure NO illegals continue to take their jobs, which they are.   He couldn't give a rats butt about those jobs.  The proof is in his lack of doing anything about the illegal invasion in this country.  He's very good at using all his fear tactics with all his big adjectives and descriptives out the ying yang, but he hasn't done ONE SINGLE THING to stop American employers from giving illegals American citizens' jobs. 

He's just wanting that stimulus package passed so bad, he'll continue to get on TV and promote more fear....................

And for those posters who said he has taken ALL THE PORK OUT DAYS AGO, get in the real world, will ya?  He JUST said on his little announcement that there is PORK that needs to be taken out STILL.     All I hear now is blah, blah, blah, blah.................

He can sign 5 executive orders in his first 3 days of office but he can't enforce E-Verify!  That big fat smile doesn't make me melt and it doesn't fool me either.  He ain't got what it takes.

Now all you O lovers can flame away........... then tell me why he can't enforce E-Verify!  It's a law ya know!!! You'll probably have to look it up first. 

if one of your most pressing concerns is that the large corporations are being abused by government, keep reading.  Have you seen news reports on the executives are given huge million dollar bonuses and pensions? A lot of them "earn" them by closing facilities, firing workers, destroying unions, downsizing or removing benefits from workers.  Our benefits go down; corporate execs compensation are sky-rocketing.  The history-making profit of the oil companies this quarter in the billions?  Do they still need more tax breaks?  Sorry, my sympathy and concern for the well-being of these corporations is minimal to none.

 But if you really want to protect the corporations, vote McCain!

do it again and again for the next 2 years because that is how long it is going to take car companies to make a good economy vehicle.  If government bails them out, next will come airlines and so on.  We do not have enough money to bail them out for the next 2 years.  Those companies BURN money each month. 

Do not get me wrong, I do want the American car companies bailed out.  I WILL ONLY OWN AMERICAN MADE CARS.  NEVER will buy a foreign made car so I can help the car companies stay in business.  Geesh, I am from Michigan, born and raised there for 18 years.  Most of my family is from Michigan on my mother and father's side.

If the car companies fold, we could have the Great Depression or close to it.  Shoot, Toyota and Honda, etc., could buy our car companies and now will be foreing made cars only.  It is a mess, chaos mess.  What I do know is most of my family in Michigan blame the American car companies.  My cousin just took early retirement from them 3 weeks before the US financial mess.  Thank God he did.  A 3 car companies had years to design and make cars better than Toyota, but did not.  Some of my family members blame the gas companies for jacking up the price of oil which is what started the car companies to have problems.  If only the oil companies did not raise it to 4.00, our 3 American car companies just might not be in the mess they are in.  So now my family believes it should be the OIL COMPANIES to bail them out since they started the mess with high gas prices.  Family actually do not want the government to bail out car companies because the costs will be from you, me, and the USA and will go on and for the next 2 years.  Family wants them to stop production, think about what to build next and then start building it.  The 3 car companies need to make what consumers want and need. 

It is a mess and horrible.  I personally do not want so many jobs to be lost.  It is such mixed feelings.  I just want new jobs created NOW.  Drill, drill, drill, and create new technology and start building and working by all of us coming together and creating new jobs and what we really need for these new jobs.  Hope this all makes sense, I am really tired from a long night of working. 

that would go out of business if the auto industry tanks, not to mention the auto workers themselves (what's left of them).

I don't think it would be a good idea. They stated 3 million people would lose their jobs if they let the industry tank. That would really throw us into a depression.

all 3 didn't  just hit bankruptcy level at the same time.  As a matter-of-fact I seriouisly doubt they are even in a financial crisis.  I think they've been working up to this panic for the past 6-8 years.  Unfortunately your husband and other companies that have supplied the big 3 are going to suffer.  I think this is all a smoke screen and what they REALLY want is to get out from under their union contract.  Do you really think if that happens they are going to lower the costs of their cars?  Nope.  They'll take as many billion as they can wanagle out of Bush and then file BK which will let them out from under their union contract.  Then miracously they'll recover.

As for people and their big Hummers, SUVs, etc.  That is a bit on the "look what I've got" front.  I think those Hummers are undoubtedly the UGLIEST things I've every seen.  I know a couple of people who bought them with payments approaching $1000 a month and they worry how they're going to pay their gass bill.  BOOHOO!!!

Things are going to get rough for all of us.  Even if Obama does what he promised, it probably won't be in his first term.  It will take him that long to undo 8 years of Bush....not to mention Clinton before him and Big Daddy before him.

taken down with them, though. They don't deserve it.

GE stock on Friday was only $.10 a share. So sad. Other stocks are just as bad and some of them were good ones before all this started.

Barack Obama And Joe Biden Have Consistently Lied To Americans About John McCain's Plan. Their claims have failed every fact-check - from CBS to the Washington Post. John McCain is not going to raise taxes on middle class families. Barack Obama and Joe Biden are the only ones in this race that plan to raise taxes.

OBAMA FICTION
John McCain Will Tax Health Care Benefits For The First Time And Will Be the Largest Middle Class Tax Increase In History.