Paul Revere by Cyrus Dallin, North End, Boston

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Sunday, May 7, 2017

Sunday "Disgusted With the GOP SOBs" Blog


Kurt Eichenwald is a reporter for the New York Times -- The "Doing Very Well and Not Losing Readership" New York Times.

Please, Please. Please. 

Read his heart-wrenching story (the last half of it is copied and pasted below) about trying to get and keep health insurance coverage for his pre-existing condition. And remember, he's not what we Americans would consider a "poor" person. 

Read his story and understand that the GOP are a group of malicious thugs not worthy of inclusion in the human race. Rattlesnakes have more humanity in their poisonous fangs than the human vipers who voted to increase human suffering and condemn innocent sick people to death so that an over-fed, narcissistic cretinous president could strut around in the Rose Garden and show his sycophantic cowards in the GOP House what a YUGE deal maker and preznit he is.

Read Eichenwald and understand that what Trump and the House Goopers did will harm more people than their scapegoats, the Muslims, could dream of hurting. And the horror of it is that the harm is being done to Americans by American elites -- y'know, the elites the Goopers thought Trump would save them from:



Kurt Eichenwald:


Last week, the House passed a bill that would push everyone with preexisting conditions back into the same situation. The representatives billowed and cooed that high-risk pools would protect us, fooling the same uneducated ones who didn’t know they paid for the uninsured. High risk pools had been tried before. They failed. But these members of congress probably didn’t even know that. They didn’t care enough to hold hearings to find out whether high-risk pools would work. They didn’t wait to find out how many people would lose their insurance. They had to rush it through. Then they cheered for themselves.

 Meanwhile, those of us with preexisting conditions were plunged back into fear. Foundations for people with chronic diseases began receiving phone calls from panicked people. My wife and I reviewed our options if this bill became law. We are middle aged now, which presented new issues. She is four years older than me. She hits retirement age in five years. If she retired and was on Medicare, I would be clinging to a slender thread to keep my insurance. I could never write another book. It would be too dangerous. My wife said she would work until she was almost 70 to keep me safe. Guilt overwhelmed me. She was born in Britain, and we discussed her citizenship and, if necessary, we could move there if I lost my coverage. We would have to burn through our savings for a long time, but eventually I might be able to get onto national health insurance. But I don’t want to leave America. I don’t want my wife to work until she’s almost 70. I don’t want to be guilty. And most important, I don’t want all the other people with preexisting conditions to be forced to make their life decisions based on where they can get group insurance. Or worse, to not be able to obtain group insurance, be denied private insurance and die.

I watched Fox News. They giggled and laughed that people were being hysterical about preexisting conditions. There were high-risk pools, they sneered, that states could participate in unless they didn’t want to. I watched the clip, over and over, of those self-congratulatory members of Congress, high-fiving and smiling, as I knew the situation at my house was playing out at millions of houses where talking points and rationalizations didn’t change the realities of what we would face. I commented about how terrible this was. And then I saw comments from people deriding those with preexisting conditions as wanting charity.

 I thought of members of Congress who wanted prisons as brutal as possible, until they themselves were jailed; then, they became advocates for prison reform. I thought of the ones who screamed about gays until their child came out, then they became tolerant. I thought about the members of Congress who happily sent other people’s children off to fight in Vietnam, while getting their own kids deferments and spots in the National Guard or reserves, making sure they wouldn’t see battle. And then I thought of the child whose parents home I visited, who told me of their boy dying of suffocation in his mother’s arms as they rushed to the hospital. They hadn’t been able to afford his inhaler that week. They had no insurance. They planned to buy it the week that followed. Their son died two days after they decided to take the risk.

 And the members of Congress smiled and high-fived.

 More people’s children would die. And the members of Congress smiled and high-fived.

People would be forced to take jobs they did not want or marry people they did not love.

And the members of Congress smiled and high-fived.

For millions, every day would be terrifying as they wondered if they would they run up bills that day that would bankrupt them or would they be unable to get treatment. Would they live through the week? 

And the members of Congress smiled and high-fived. 

 My anger exploded. I wanted them to feel the consequences of what they thought was so wonderful. Why should they be exempt from the damage they would inflict on others from their vote, votes they cast with so little concern about others that they didn’t hold hearings to find out what damage they might cause? 

 And so I tweeted, “As one with a preexisting condition, I hope every GOPr who voted for Trumpcare get a long-term condition, loses their insurance, and die.” 

 Harsh? You bet. I wanted the words to be blunt, to lay out the reality of what real people would face, people who didn’t have the ability of members of Congress to avoid the consequences they voted to inflict on real people. 

Conservatives broke out the fainting couches. I was wishing Republicans to die, they moaned. I forgot we live in an era where fools will interpret it the way they are told. One of the propagandists at the Daily Caller, after emailing me for comment at 3:00 in the morning, posted a story proclaiming I wanted my political opponents to die. And the conservative trolls descended, screaming for my death.  
I remain angry. I remember the tears of that woman whose son died in her arms. I remember my struggles. I remembered my fears. I remembered the fears of so many others I have spoken to over the years who struggled with preexisting conditions. I deleted the tweet. Apparently, confronting people with the reality of what they have chosen is just too inappropriate. 

Voting to let people die is fine, rubbing the fact that they voted to do that is just wrong. Do I regret what I said? No. I want those words to sink in. 

My tweet won’t kill anyone. 

But the vote from those members of Congress will. And if they are not forced to confront what they are doing, they will just keep smiling and high-fiving.

14 comments:

Jersey McJones said...

Yeah, ya' know, though I'd had more than my share of injuries when I was young, I was always lucky when it came to my health and healthcare, until recently.

Typical wild American rock kid from NJ, NY, CA. Went to some college. Roamed around a lot. Partied too much. Into the music scene, but learned young and from experience to avoid the hard drugs. A night drinker (for far too long than I'd like to admit), though I quite that some years ago now. Smoker (not any more). Had a bunch of surgeries for various injuries. At 6' 1 1/2, around 200lbs, strong and fast and hyperactive and charismatic, I thought I was made of heavy metal.

Always had great coverage, through my mom, who worked in the St. Clair system. Then I had great coverage from work for many years. There was one year when I'd regretted not having the insurance, in my early twenties, but a surgeon and a therapist, both from Columbia (the school), fixed me pro bono. How's that for wonderful people! Funny, that was back when "Hillarycare" was being debated. My physical therapist was convinced the HMO's would make everything just fine. We argued about that. Even in my early 20's, I knew full well single-payer was the only way to go - for ethical, moral, economic, and rational reasons. I'd already been around a bit by then.

In our early years together, my wife graduated college, top of her class, Jesuit school, and chose, a decision we thought was the right and good thing to do, to teach at a small, poor Catholic school in the inner-city that paid very little. She was very successful with that, and my income and coverage was enough for the both of us.

Then my wife and I moved to FL, just before the recession. It was a family emergency, having to do with old age, Medicaid, and her family losing an estate in FL, that was in possession, at the time, of a 90+ year-old grandmother alone at the hands of dubious "managers" of her care, and a state with it's claws hovering over her assets. 1000 miles away from anyone in the family who could do anything about it. So we moved to Florida. Secured grandma and took great care of her and she lived to be almost 99. ...

cont...

Jersey McJones said...


...

My wife was able to get work immediately in the public schools and so we were back on at least pretty-good insurance. Then came the recession, and she had not enough tenure in the public schools to survive the 500 teachers that county immediately laid off. We've been doing whatever we can since. I wound up as a local restaurant manager. Then came two serious illnesses. She came within a hair of dying from a heart infection about 5 years ago that left her with multiple organ and system damage, and then I, last year, was diagnosed with a mutation of the B-Cell Lymphoma that spread over half my body, one that I, by all my history and genetics, shouldn't even have because of my unique genome (we Americans are amazing little mutts). Six months of R-CHOP chemo-immuno therapy. No income. No unemployment. No disability. Not allowed to have assets beyond very, very little. Cancer is nothing compared to what happens to you financially when it hits.

I am currently cancer free, just finished chemo, but am crossing my fingers because there is very little data on particular people like me with this particular cancer, so no one knows the likelihood of recurrence. Regardless, as we all know, there is no cure for cancer. It is by definition a preexisting condition - as is my wife's condition.

We have tried to manage things very carefully, and to our credit, when we were younger, we prepared for the future and were able to keep our heads above water, but this cancer was the final blow. We are now dependent on the kidness of family and friends to get by. We are VERY lucky in that sense too. Now, after I have a couple more surgeries and hopefully remain cancer-free, I have to get back to work. What the hell am I going to do about insurance??? I'm almost 50! Who wants to cover the 50-year-old guy with the weird cancer??? There's a market for that???

I was always lucky, until just recent years, had great coverage, great doctors and such, but I always believed healthcare should be a right, it should be paid by one payroll tax, we can disperse it however we like, we can contract the private system is we must, whatever - we just have to make sure everyone is covered and paid-for. Then employers won't care so much about these things, our products will be cheaper, people don't lose everything they have right after finding out they're terrifyingly sick, and guys like me, who are smart and tough and want to work, can find work, etc. Now? Before the cancer they wanted over $700 a month. I can't imagine what future premiums may be.

JMJ

Les Carpenter said...

Still has to make it through the senate and it will be a different bill than the house passed. Then the two bills will have to be reconciled.

Public option is not with the abortion bill the house passed and senators Will be concerned with keeping their jobs.

Public pressure must be applied. RESISTANCE against the miscreants must be vicious and unrelenting.

Shaw Kenawe said...

Jersey, that is a harrowing story. I hope you and Mrs. McJones continue to do well. I understand what you've gone through, because I've faced that bastard cancer (more than once) and am still being followed because of the rare cancer that I had treated at Mass. General two summers ago. Luckily I have insurance to see me through the whole ordeal, but I think of others who do not, and that enrages me.

I agree that health care is a right. Without the ability to fight and conquer debilitating diseases, one cannot pursue life, liberty, or happiness.

We are the third most populous country on the planet, and we have enough people to spread the risk around if we enroll Americans as soon as they begin to work. I understand there are many wingers who don't share this belief, and they're more often than not people who haven't had their life savings wiped out because of a catastrophic illness or accident or they're rich enough not to worry about having a child die because of an illness. I don't understand those people. And never will.

Shaw Kenawe said...

RN, we can only watch this and hope the American people continue to put pressure on the monsters who voted for the House bill.

Ducky's here said...

Friday's Majority Report podcast goes into detail on this abomination. This bill really is terrifying.

Lost in the furor are the changes to Medicaid which amount to large cuts that are turned into state block grants and wording which would allow large corporations to purchase coverage in the least restrictive state.
It would require a lengthy focused discussion to get at all the obscenities in this bill. Essentially, in a nutshell, the Republican party is so depraved it will risk people's live by denying them medical care in return for large tax cut to the top decile.


@Shaw -- "Sunday "Disgusted With the GOP SOBs" Blog

Cheer up Shaw, LePen got spanked badly and they'll be in a panic.

anymouse said...

Jersey,
I hear ya, Brother. I've now been cancer free for nearly 2 years. As I'm sure you know, we'll be tested at different points until we reach the magical 5 year clear mark. Then, they consider us "Free of cancer". I'm so glad to hear that you have started on that climb up the health staircase. I had reach my lifetime maximum after 6 years of chemo/break/chemo/break/surgery/chemo, etc. etc. etc and my wonderful oncologist was telling me I needed one more round and he thought we'd get it under control. I was horrified and scared and there was no way I could come up with the kind of money needed for treatment and I wasn't going to bankrupt my entire family like that. Luckily, I had a local Congress critter (A Democrat, btw) who helped get me into an indigent program and they paid for the final round. That time, my cancer was gone for about 18 months before returning. As luck would have it, Obamacare had just passed and gone were the lifetime maximums and I get a great plan for myself and 4 children for less than I was paying before. I beat cancer that time too, and am now virtually 2 years clear. Hang in there, Jersey, it gets better and there are a LOT of us pulling for you.
As for the disgusting, greedy, slobs who voted for this. F U all!

Ducky's here said...

Oh yes, the high risk pools are a freaking joke especially given the list of preexisting conditions.
They allocate 10 billion a year (barely tip money) over a period of five years after which they must be renewed.

Obviously just a cheap trick to supply Faux Snooze with a talking point because the coverage in the current Affordable Care Act is popular.

The crafters of this bill and it's supporters are simply disgusting human beings.

Infidel753 said...

Rattlesnakes have more humanity in their poisonous fangs than the human vipers who voted to increase human suffering and condemn innocent sick people to death

Amen to that. Rattlesnakes don't, as far as we know, take actual glee in hurting others -- certainly not others of their own kind.

As RN says, it's actually very unlikely that the ACA will be repealed because of the difficult steps that still need to be taken, and the chronic inability of the Republicans to get anything done. But the fact will remain that they tried their damnedest to repeal it -- if they fail to take away millions of people's insurance, they deserve no credit for failing. The fact that they tried must be tied to all of them come November 2018.

Ball Zack said...

Le Pen was demolished. She's the French version of Trump. The French saw what a complete asshole America voted for president. They didn't want to be as stupid as America is.

Good for France.

Shaw Kenawe said...

Infidel753, rattlesnakes kill to defend themselves or to eat. GOP lawmakers OTOH kill for sport and to laugh at the misfortunes of people who do not have government health insurance like they do. They are the worst sort of human beings ever created. I detest them.

Ball Zack, Indeed. The French are far more sophisticated and intelligent than the average American. Look at who this country chose for its president.

Ducky, we will hang this abomination around the GOP's neck, forever!

BlueBull, you, Jersey McJones and I belong to the same club. Unfortunately. That we have to worry about whether we will be able to afford the healthcare and medicine to stay alive is a disgrace on the richest country in the world. And the people who denigrate those who cannot go it alone for healthcare costs are living devils who deserve the worst sort of retribution. And they surely will have it.

Shaw Kenawe said...

"When the American Academy of Family Physicians is against it, and the American Academy of Pediatrics is against it, and the American Medical Association is against it, and the American Psychiatric Association is against it, and the American Hospital Association is against it, and the American College of Physicians is against it, and the American Congress of OB/GYNs is against it, and the American Osteopathic Association is against it, and the American Nurses Association is against it, and the American Public Health Association is against it, and the American Heart Association is against it, and the American Diabetes Association is against it, and the JDRF is against it, and the March of Dimes is against it, and the AARP is against it, you know it's not about HEALTH CARE but about money and politics and insurance company profits. For shame, for shame, for shame. "

The Goopers have no shame nor humanity. They are worse than vipers.

Jersey McJones said...

Well, as we can see here, the Good Guys are out there! We just have to keep fighting the good fight! Shaw, Blue, we're gonna make it!

JMJ

anymouse said...

I have no doubt, my friend. And if you ever decide to stop fighting it, let me assure you that I'll find you and kick your behind. I know you're here somewhere in Florida. :)