Progressives For Pennsylvania

Interview With Dave Steil, New President Of Health Care 4 All PA, 2/22/11 | Guaranteed Healthcare

2011-02-23T14:57:00.000-05:00

Interview With Dave Steil, New President Of Health Care 4 All PA, 2/22/11 | Guaranteed Healthcare

Your Daily Prayer For Healing-12/31/2010-Your Prayer For Today

2010-12-31T10:00:00.002-05:00

Your Daily Prayer For Healing-12/31/2010-Your Prayer For Today

Dear God/ess, Another documentary film we watched over these last few days, is "Fierce Grace," about Ram Dass' life. I was especially taken with the concept of what Ram Dass calls, "Being Stroked."

Ram Dass had a stroke in 1997, and nearly died. He believes he was spared because he still has work to do. He says he has much more to teach the Babyboomers about aging without fear. As he lay on the floor immediately after the stroke, he stared at the water pipes without any thought whatsoever about the Divine, God/ess or Higher Power. This was another sign to the great spiritual teacher that more work needed to be done on himself.

Especially as we embark on the year 2011, we may as well accept that unknowns will present themselves to all of us. These events need not be viewed as "Good" or "Bad." They simply are "What Is." Certainly outside events will spell success or failure on many fronts. Certainly it is much better to view everything that happens to us as learning opportunities.

Let us first of all remember to take what is happening "out there" as a further signature to focus more intently on what is happening "in here," that is, in the inner sanctuary of our mind(s).

Let us always remember that none of us is ever alone, in this year, and all the years to come.

Om Peace Amen

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MoonMooYou: The Collective Wisdom
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Our National Obsession With Sarah Palin

2008-10-13T03:50:00.000-04:00

I Wish I Had This Sign!!

2008-10-09T22:38:00.000-04:00

Joe Biden Strikes Back

2008-10-09T00:57:00.001-04:00

Fellow POW With John McCain: Not Fit To Be President

2008-10-08T18:17:00.001-04:00

The Rage Of John McCain

2008-10-08T17:59:00.000-04:00

Keating Economics and McCain

2008-10-06T16:53:00.002-04:00

The Real McCain 3

2008-10-01T08:51:00.000-04:00

Tina Fey--as Sarah Palin-Again

2008-09-28T15:16:00.001-04:00

California Single Payer Teaching Video

2008-09-27T22:17:00.001-04:00

Single Payer Minute

2008-09-26T20:40:00.000-04:00

Alaskan Women Speak Out: NO, NO To Palin!!

2008-09-22T16:40:00.000-04:00

Biden and Hillary on Women's Issues

2008-09-22T04:04:00.003-04:00

What About John McCain's Malignant Melanoma??

2008-09-16T17:21:00.001-04:00

The McCain Lies

2008-09-13T12:53:00.002-04:00

Over 100,000 Women Protest McCain's VP Pick

2008-09-12T22:07:00.003-04:00

The following blog was created to give voice to the thousand's of women
who decry the Palin VP choice.

http://womenagainstsarahpalin.blogspot.com

These voices give me hope!!

These voices are a testament to the American Spirit which the
Corporate Media and the Bush Administration seeks to suppress.

In-Joy!!

Kate Loving Shenk

Biden takes on McPalin

2008-09-06T22:59:00.000-04:00

Stop Media Bias!! Media Bias Suppresses Votes!!

2008-05-23T09:04:00.000-04:00

Jon Stewart and GW Bush

2008-04-16T15:22:00.000-04:00

Ed Rendell Says He Will Sign Pa Sponsored Single Payer Bill

2008-03-21T01:25:00.002-04:00

Jerry Policoff Addresses Single Payer

2008-03-16T17:56:00.003-04:00

Please read this great article!

Jerry Policoff, our fearless P4P founder, wrote the following
article in the Daily Kos!!

It is awesome!!

GO JERRY!!!

Kate Loving Shenk
Nursing Career Transformation

A Common Treasury For All

2008-03-11T18:23:00.003-04:00

The Diggers were an English group, begun by Gerrard Winstanley as the 'True Levellers' in 1649, who became known as "Diggers" due to their activities.

Their original name came from their belief in economic equality based upon a specific passage in the Book of Acts.[1] The Diggers attempted to reform (by "levelling" real property) the existing social order with an agrarian lifestyle based upon their ideas for the creation of small egalitarian rural communities. They were one of a number of nonconformist dissenting groups that emerged around this time. --Wikipedia

THE WORLD TURNED UPSIDE DOWN
by Leon Rosselson, sung by Dick Gaughan

In 1649 to St. George's Hill
A ragged band they called the Diggers came to show the people's will
They defied the landlords, they defied the laws
They were the dispossessed reclaiming what was theirs.

We come in peace, they said, to dig and sow
We come to work the lands in common and make the waste ground grow
This earth divided we will make whole
So it may be a common treasury for all

The sin of property we do disdain
No man has any right to buy or sell the earth for private gain
By theft and murder they took the land
Now everywhere the walls spring up at their command
They make the laws to chain us well
The clergy dazzle us with heaven, or they damn us into hell
We will not worship the God they serve,
a God of greed who feeds the rich while poor folk starve

We work and eat together, we need no swords
We will not bow to masters, nor pay rent to the lords
Still we are free, though we are poor
Ye Diggers all, stand up for glory, stand up now!

From the men of property the orders came
They sent the hired men and troopers to wipe out the Diggers' claim
Tear down their cottages, destroy their corn
They were dispersed - only the vision lingers on

Ye poor take courage, ye rich take care
This earth was made a common treasury for everyone to share
All things in common, all people one
They came in peace - the order came to cut them down

[1] ACTS 4.32-35:

32 Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. 33 And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. 34 There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold 35 and laid it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.

The Return Of Kong!

2008-03-05T05:48:00.005-05:00

Aka, Meet the New Boss; Same as the Old Boss.

War & Peace, 2002 Edition -- "With CONVICTION!"

What, Me Worry?

Nader Enters The Presidential Race

2008-02-27T09:43:00.003-05:00

I received an email this morning regarding a petition I
was asked to sign, asking Ralph Nader to step down from
his presidential bid.

My response?

"HA!!"

Hillary and Obama are about as Progressive as the Corporate Lobbys
who run their campaigns.

I watched Meet The Press when Tim Russert interviewed Ralph
about his Presidential Bid.

Everything he said, I totally resonate with.

I struggle to like Hillary and Obama--well I like them but can't relate to a word either of them say!!

I watched all 20 debates and after last night's debate, I felt like
I was watching these people repeat the same things, over and over and over--

I am disaapointed in both of them.

Ralph Nader is right on. He doesn't do anything because he wants you to like him.

He doesn't measure each word because he wants to win a high ranking on the latest poll.

Here is the Meet The Press transcript.

Read it before jumping on the media bandwagon to denigrate Our Friend Ralph.

He's for Real Single Payer, and that's why I support him, until the Democrats decide to run 100% with this issue, not 50%, or less.

I refuse to be in a state of denial, hoping that Obama or Clinton will provide Single Payer Health Care Delivery; that somehow, after they are elected, they will do the right thing and go the single payer route.

Maybe Ralph will help them to do what is right for this country.

And that is why he is good for America.

Kate Loving Shenk
Nursing Career Transformation

A New Keith Olbermann Gem

2008-02-02T12:08:00.003-05:00

Olbermann is eloquent, as always, in his new statement.

Please In-Joy it here!!!!!

Kate Loving Shenk
Nursing Career Transformation

A New Keith Olbermann Gem

2008-02-02T12:08:00.001-05:00

Catch it Here!!!!!!!!!

Edwards Lives On

2008-02-01T09:54:00.001-05:00

I started a new blog for all the Edwards supporters over on the John Edwards for President blog, in case the site suddenly shuts down as fast as the Edwards campaign did this week.

Paul Krugman wrote a beautiful article in today's NYT called The Edwards Effect.

Check it out Here:

And you will be able to see the new blog, as well!!

Thank you,

Kate Loving Shenk
Nursing Career Transformation

California Health Care Plan Ditched

2008-01-29T21:14:00.001-05:00

California's Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's health care plan was nothing more than forcing people to have some sort of insurance coverage which undoubtedly would have done nothing to promote the health of the people in that state.

Why?

Because the Health Insurance Industry is in the business of making sure they don't have to pay for your health care

http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/012908HA.shtml

Single Payer health care delivery is the only option that makes any sense, and Pennsylvania has the best plan in the country, HB 1660 and SB 300.

www.progressives4pennsylvania.com
www.healthcare4AllPA.org

Thank you,

Kate Loving Shenk
Nursing Career Transformation

A Rose By Any Other Name

2008-01-26T07:27:00.000-05:00

The Philosophy That Dare Not Speak Its Name -- or: The phrase that stops all serious discussion in American politics:

"Class warfare"

And yet...

"I spent 33 years and 4 months in active service as a member of our country's most agile military force--the Marine Corps. I served in all commissioned ranks from second lieutenant to Major General. And during that period I spent most of my time being a high-class muscle man for Big Business, for Wall Street and for the bankers. In short, I was a racketeer for capitalism. I suspected I was part of a racket all the time. Now I am sure of it. Like all members of the military profession I never had an original thought until I left the service."
--Major General Smedley Darlington Butler, at the time of his death, the most decorated Marine in U.S. history

And Here Are The Instigators!!!

2008-01-24T08:00:00.000-05:00

Bush should not only be impeached, but all of his money should be taken away
and given back to the Iraqis.

At the link below is an amazing investigative compilation of -- are you ready for this? -- 935 occasions when top Bush administration officials, including Bush and Cheney, made false statements in order to support their agenda for war in Iraq, with Bush making the most false claims, according to MSNBC.

The website is non-partisan and as reputable as any you'll find. What to do with this information? That's up to each individual, but the pity and terror of it is universal.

Thanks to D.D.Delaney for alerting me to this information!

http://www.publicintegrity.org/WarCard/

Call Out the Instigators!

2008-01-19T13:29:00.000-05:00

The Single Payer Solution

2008-01-16T22:11:00.001-05:00

Much press is given aging Baby Boomers who send their children to
college and in many cases, take care of their aging parents at the
same time.

In my own case, my mother died after a stroke after a two month decline
in 1987. I just graduated from my Nurse Practitioner program and came
home on Father's Day.

This was the same day my mother had her stroke.

My father's gradual decline spanned over thirteen years. He had
Alzheimer's Disease and was in and out of consciousness for most of that time.
I dealt with Nursing Home administrators, and had to move him from one
nursing home to another when he "ran out of money."

These kinds of experiences where you feel powerless to help the one person
whom you love deeply from earliest memory, can teach lessons of surrender
and a giving up of all past memory for a simple acceptance of that
which is seen and unseen in this very moment.

My dad died seven years ago. I am reconciled with everything
that ever happened between us, and all members of my family.

Enter Marybeth Kuznik, Executive Director of Vote Pa. She is
dedicated to bringing voting (machine) reform to the state of Pennsylvania.
She was one of the people who went to Ohio for the final vote count in Ohio
in the 2004 election.

She verified what I have known since that time: G.W. Bush stole that election.

Marybeth and I met at the State Democratic Committee Meeting where
our group, Progressives For Pennsylvania, held our health care reform conference
in order to educate the State Democratic Party about HB 1660 and SB 300: The best
state single payer plan in the country, at this time.

The conference was a success! People are excited by the Bill. As Michael
Moore said in a recent conference call I was privileged to attend, the people
are ready for it. Getting it through the legislative process is the challenge.

We were collecting health care delivery nightmare stories, and Marybeth gave
us the most wrenching story I have ever heard, one that will soon be on You Tube
and on our website, Progressives 4 Pennsylvania, as well as our P4P blog.

Merle Kuznik, Marybeth's 89 year old mother, broke her right hip after
suffering a major stroke on her left side. The nursing home she was in, Wood
Haven Care Center in Monroeville, Pennsylvania, insisted that Merle Kuznik
apply for Medicaid to pay for expenses not paid by Medicare.

When the paperwork was not completed in a timely fashion, local Constables
showed up to her nursing home room, with guns visible but in their holsters,
and told her she would have to go to jail for 3 days, if she did not pay.

Marybeth, the savvy person that she is, went to KDKA TV and told the story,
which you all can view at the following link:

http://www.kdka.com/kdkainvestagators/woodhaven.merle.kuznik.2.628205.html">http://www.kdka.com/kdkainvestagators/woodhaven.merle.kuznik.2.628205.html">http://www.kdka.com/kdkainvestagators/woodhaven.merle.kuznik.2.628205.html
Our bill, HB 1660 and SB 300 pays for long term care.

If our bill was in place NOW, Marybeth and Merle wouldn't be going through
this degrading experience.

The question is, how many other of our elderly are experiencing similar
experiences that are the worst kind of abuses in what we know is NOT a civil
society until we get a single payer system instituted in our country?

How many suffer silently because, like Merle Kuznic, they cannot speak, or move
because they are paralyzed? or worse, because they are mentally incapacitated?

This story underscores the reason why I fight tirelessly for a single payer
health care delivery system.

Kate Loving Shenk

Nursing Career Transformation

Health Care Is An Issue Whose Time has Come

2008-01-07T02:26:00.002-05:00

The Sarkinyan family has joined the Edward's campaign in New Hampshire. Their daughter Nataline was denied a liver transplant by the Cigna Health Insurance Company but when Doctors and Nurses and neighbors and friends protested this move, they made an exception to their decision.

But it was already too late. Nataline died several hours after Cigna reversed their decision.

Here is the link to this very moving talk given by the family of Nataline.

Thank you.

Kate Loving Shenk
Nursing Career Transformation

The Wizard Of Obama

2008-01-04T10:49:00.001-05:00

I don't want to bring down all the Obama lovers--the people who are seduced
by the rhetoric--but the fact of the matter is, Obama is out in left
field when it comes to a health care plan.

In other words, he doesn't have one.

Why? Because his campaign is financed largely by the pharmaceutical
and health insurance companies, just like Hillary's campaign.

The choice is clear--we must keep up the fight for John Edwards.

Obama will never have a health care plan because we know who is in his
back pocket.

And this is not going to change.

The ferver and messianic rhetoric and the M.L.King imitation is just that.

Will the real Barak Obama please stand up? and come out from behind that
wizard curtain?

I am concerned that this seduction, this smoke and mirrors, this "charisma,"
will not only lose the Democrats the White House, but so much more will
be lost as a result.

The constant preoccupation that the press has with Brittany Spears and
Nicole Simpson etc is what fuels the flame of this emptiness.

Since the press is owned by Corporate Greedy Conglomerates, too, what do we expect?

Cnn and Msnbc and the Democratic Party will continue to ignore John Edwards.

Has any one considered a John Edwards third party ticket??

(Don't throw any rotten eggs my way, please!!) LOLOL!!

Kate Loving Shenk
Nursing Career Transformation

What Happens if Hillary Comes In Third?

2008-01-03T08:00:00.002-05:00

What happens if Hillary comes in third in Iowa?

Read this interesting blog for some predictions!!

Thank you,

Kate Loving Shenk
Nursing Career Transformation

pete seeger which side are you on

2007-12-23T17:05:00.001-05:00

We wonder which side the major political candidates are on?

I believe most of them are on the side of the Insurance Companies and the major corporations.

I will be voting for the one candidate who is on the side of you and me.

Kate Loving Shenk

Go California Nurses!!!!!!

2007-12-11T20:28:00.001-05:00

Vice President Chaney is outraged by the ad presented by the California Nurses Association in Iowa.

http://www.calnurses.org/assets/pdf/cheney_print_ad_121007.pdf

But as the Nurses said, what is more outrageous is that if you or I got catastrophically ill, we would have to cover the costs ourselves, unless we are blessed with good Medical Insurance, which, in reality, is a thing of the past for most of us.

As an aside, the latest Blue Cross Anita Smith ad here in Pennsylvania shows the Blue Man groping Ms Hill. She slaps him and laughs hysterically after he touches her inappropriately.

These are the ads that finance all the television shows.

Working for a real Single Payer Health Care System has never been more important--or more difficult!!

Kate Loving Shenk
Nursing Career Transformation

A Collective Effort For The Common Good

2007-12-04T09:36:00.001-05:00

I just scanned the web sites of all the Democratic Presidential
Candidates and was particularly energized by the Heartland Forum
in Des Moines, Iowa on the John Edwards page.

And the Edwards recent speech to the DNC was amazing.

Joe Biden also gave a convincing speech at that same meeting.
Senator Joe Biden's experience and commitment deserves praise.

But I keep coming back to the John Edwards message that people must
work together for the good of America.

Citizens of our country need to get involved. We can only make
the needed changes when we work collectively, as John Edwards
continues to passionately assert.

In my end of the world, our group, Progressives For Pennsylvania,
(www.progressives4pennsylvania.com) continues to work for passage
of HB 1660, the best state wide Single Payer Health Care Plan in
the country.

HB 1660 is a model that other states can study and implement.

Our latest mission is to help organize the January 12th
Lancaster Pennsylvania Statewide Conference of Health Care
4 All Pa.org, coinciding with the state wide meeting of the
Democratic Committee.

This is where the world of special interests meets with the will
of the common people.

Wish us luck, God/ess Speed, and a prevailing wind at our collective back!

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Kate Loving Shenk
Nursing Career Transformation

Elevator Operator For Senators And Congress People Is Bankrupt Due ToLack Of Health Insurance

2007-11-27T09:23:00.001-05:00

Just off the senate floor, a gentleman operates the elevator for Senators and Congressman, the people who have 100% health care coverage, while this man lost his home due to an inability to pay for health bills incurred when his mother had inoperable brain cancer.

An aide to Senator Richard J. Derbin of Illonois listened to this man's story and told the Senator about it.

You can read about it here:

Why can't all Americans have the same sort of coverage as our Senators and Congress People?

House Bill 1660 is Pennsylvania's Single Payer Health Care Bill. It would provide the same kind of coverage.

Read about it here:

Kate Loving Shenk
Nursing Career Transformation

Are We A Civil Society If We Don't Give Health Care To Our Children??

2007-11-19T09:59:00.001-05:00

Sorry to say, the answer is a resounding "No!!"

Look at other components of a civil society:

1)Zero tolerance about torture under any conditions

2) Health care for all citizens without some corporate
entity making billions by denying health care to people
in order to gain obscene wealth for themselves

3)Equal rights for women and every one else

4) Freedom of speech for all--We have become an America afraid to speak
out for fear of losing our jobs, because the workplace is
now run by corporate greedy philosophies

Children are suffering as a consequence of limited or no access
to health care.

Here's a great article explaining the intricacies of this crisis:

Kate Loving Shenk
Nursing Career Transformation

HB 1660

2007-11-16T12:08:00.001-05:00

Pennsylvania is in a unique position. She has a Single Payer
Health care Bill, HB 1660, that has a great chance to eventually
pass in the House.

Of all the State sponsored bills, this one is the strongest.

This is a solid bill, one Pennsylvanians can trust that insurance
companies will be fully exempt from corrupting.

Democracy For America promoted house parties across the country
November 14, where thousands of people watched Sicko, then listened
to a conference call with film maker Michael Moore and DFA President Jim Dean
for more than thirty minutes.

Or if people were watching on the West Coast, they tuned into the
conference call before they watched the DVD.

In any case, a certain percentage of watchers had never seen the
movie before, so Jim Dean, and Michael Moore were
careful not to divulge key movie points.

I saw Sicko for the third time that night and thoroughly enjoyed
watching it with my Progressives 4 Pennsylvania friends, a handful
of union leaders, and a few liberals I grew up with in my hometown.

The conference call itself was inspiring.

Michael Moore was asked about state sponsored versus federally
sponsored bills, and which did he support. For instance, John Conyers
and Dennis Kucinich have a National Single Payer Health Care Bill, H.R.676.

Moore said we need a National Single Payer bill, thus supported the
Conyers/Kucinich bill. John Conyers has said he supports the bill
here in Pennsylvania, HB 1660.

Having said that, and given the current stranglehold on anything good
coming out of Washington these days, I believe we have no choice but to develop
a model Single Payer Health Care Bill that other States and eventually the Country
are free to adopt.

Another point in the call was how the propaganda machines like to stop all
discourse on a real Universal Health Care Plan that covers all Americans
Minus Insurance Companies, by stating that such plans are Socialized Medicine.

Michael Moore said Single Payer is not Socialized Medicine, but rather is
Christianized, Krishna-ized, Mohammad-ized Medicine because of the impetus
for caring for every citizen in America in a true spirit of service.

The question arose about the supposed waits that people have in the Canadian
health care system, (although Canadians in the movie told us that they really
don't have the waits that the propaganda machines in this country want us to believe).

Moore said that when 50,000,000 people are taken out of the health care equation,
obviously our waiting times at the doctors, those of us with Health Insurance,
will obviously be shortened.

When we add the 50,000,000 people back into the system, yes, we will have
longer waiting times.

Isn't this preferable to making Health Care unavailable to so many millions of
citizens?

Governor Rendell of Pennsylvania has a Health Bill before the Pennsylvania
House of Representatives called Prescription for Pennsylvania.

This bill is losing support with only 8 sponsors as of this writing.

HB 1660 currently has 35 sponsors.

Why is HB 1660 superior to Prescription For Pennsylvania?

HB 1660 guarantees health care protection for all Pennsylvanians thus
delivering quality, comprehensive health care.

Rendell's plan does not.

HB 1660 takes Insurance Companies out of the equation.

Rendell's plan does not.

HB 1660 preserves the rights of patients to choose their own doctors with
out deductibles, co-pays or life-time caps.

Rendell's plan does not.

HB 1660 allows for prescription drug and behavioral health care coverage.

The Rendell plan does not.

Alternative Medical Modalities are allowed in the HB 1660 plan.

Not so with Rendell's plan.

A comprehensive comparison between the two plans can be accessed at:
http://www.progressives4pennsylvania.com

Progressives4Pennsylvania plans to create teaching workshops about HB 1660
and present these to Labor affiliated groups, retirement homes, small
businesses and other potential arenas.

Health Care For All Americans started with a vision that Pennsylvania
birthed and now shares with the nation.

John Edwards is the only candidate running for President who has a plan
to deliver health care to all Americans without the interference
of Insurance Companies.

He needs Health Care Reform Activists to work with him.

He cannot do it alone.

And neither can we.

Kate Loving Shenk
Nursing Career Transformation

Right On Keith Olbermann

2007-11-06T15:23:00.000-05:00

Check Out Keith's latest Rant here!!

Kate Loving Shenk
Nursing Career Transformation

Progressives For The New millenium

2007-10-30T15:01:00.001-04:00

The latest Truthout article gives us a great historical
view of the Progressive Movement in America.

Please read more, here.

Kate Loving Shenk
Nursing Career Transformation

Utah Phillips

2007-10-24T11:39:00.000-04:00

In this 'postmodernist' era of All Irony All The Time, I find Utah's songs, well, if not 'refreshing,' then definitely eye-opening.

Utah's Intro:

To this song:

ALL USED UP
( U. Utah Phillips)

I spent my whole life making somebody rich
I busted my ass for that son of a bitch
And he left me to die like a dog in a ditch
And told me I'm all used up

He used up my labor, he used up my time
He plundered my body and squandered my mind
And gave me a pension of handouts and wine,
Told me I'm all used up

My kids are in hock to a god you call Work
Slaving their lives out for some other jerk
And my youngest in 'Frisco just made shipping-clerk
He don't know I'm all used up

The young people reaching for power and gold
And they don't have respect for anything old
For pennies they're bought, for promises sold
Someday they'll be used up

They use up the oil, they use up the trees
They use up the air and they use up the seas
Well how about you, friend, and how about me
What's left, when we're all used up

I'll finish my life in this crummy hotel
It's lousy with bugs and my God, what a smell!
But my plumbing still works and I'm clear as a bell
Don't tell me I'm all used up

Outside my window the world passes by
It gives me a handout, and spits in my eye
And no one can tell me, 'cause no one knows why
I'm living, but I'm all used up

Sometimes in my dreams I sit by a tree
My life is a book of how things used to be
The kids gather 'round and they listen to me
They don't think I'm all used up

And there's songs and there's laughter and things I can do
And all that I've learned I can give back to you
And I'd give my last breath just to make it come true
To know I'm not all used up

They use up the oil, they use up the trees
They use up the air and they use up the seas
Well how about you, friend, and how about me
What's left, when we're all used up

- - - - - - - - -

BONUS UTAH -- Singing maybe my favorite Joe Hill song. I seem to recall it's being prominent in the great Bo Widerberg film (sadly, unavailable on DVD), but my memory could be faulty on that score... :-)

Al Frankin May Be The Next Paul Wellstone

2007-10-22T19:38:00.002-04:00

No one can replace Paul Wellstone, the late great liberal Senator
from Minnosota.

And indeed, his seat has remained vacant since his unexpected death
in a plane crash several years ago.

But Al Frankin is running for Senator Wellstone's seat.

And he may win.

Read about this here.

Kate Loving Shenk
Nursing Career Transformation

Run, Al, Run (For The Beleaguered Office Of President)

2007-10-16T09:09:00.001-04:00

Please, Al Gore, run for the office of President Of The United States.

Just do it.

And have the time of your life--and everyone else's , too!!

Read more.......

Kate Loving Shenk
Nursing Career Transformation

Draft Al Gore For President

2007-10-12T08:58:00.001-04:00

Al Gore won the Nobel Peace Prize for his outstanding
work to save the environment.

Breaking News May Be Accessed Here:

Now, with the Health Care Agenda safely remaining in the back pocket of the
insurance companies, perhaps Al Gore can fearlessly side with
the people and not the Special Interests.

In which case, I would not only vote for him, but tirelessly work for him.

Kate Loving Shenk
Nursing Career Transformation

Protest Insane War Policies

2007-10-02T21:54:00.000-04:00

Here are the final details for the Protest of President Bush's visit to Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Lancaster Coalition For Peace & Justice coordinating:

DATE: Wednesday, October 3, 2007
LOCATION: Bush will speak at the Jay Group Bldg., 700 Indian Springs Road (about six miles West of downtown Lancaster on Rt. 23).

We will meet at 10:55 a.m. in the South Parking Lot of Weis Market (corner of Indian Springs and Stony Battery Roads). From there, we'll march up Indian Springs Road to as close as we can get to the Jay Group Bldg.

Bush's speech is scheduled to begin at 11:35.

[Map removed 10/18/07 to speed page loading.]

MoveOn.George

2007-10-02T09:30:00.000-04:00

Our P4P group met last night and took a group photo to send to Move On,
to add to their other pictures protesting the obliteration of Free
Speech In America.

But Wait!! I'm writing this, aren't I?

And I am exercising my right to express, aren't I?

And "W" is coming to Lancaster County tomorrow--But don't let that
stop your Freedom Of Speech--

Join us at Penn Square in Lancaster 10/2/07 at 7 pm for a good old fashioned protest.

We've
been protesting there as long as I can remember--for Civil Rights, to
end the Vietnam and Iraqi War--and one time my brother and I shouted at
Dan Quail to go back where he came from--don't even want to think about
where that might be.

Yep, that was in Penn Square, Lancaster, as well.

Enjoy the festivities--and camaraderie--

See you this evening.

Kate Loving Shenk

Protest Bush and War on Iran

2007-09-30T17:27:00.000-04:00

According to Seymour Hersh's latest article, the Bush-Cheney Junta is pressing ahead with plans to invade (and possibly to nuke) another country.

Bush is planning a visit to Lancaster County on October 3, 2007, and we would like to greet him with a huge demonstration against his regime. Here is the latest info from the protest coordinators, Lancaster Coalition for Peace & Justice:

Demonstration Against Bush's Visit

This coming Tuesday, *October 2nd*, concerned citizens are asked to* meet at Penn Square at 7 pm* (corner of King & Queen) to demonstrate with the Lancaster Coalition for Peace and Justice (LCPJ) against President Bush's visit to Lancaster County. This event will mark a massive opposition to Bush's continued failed policies, both domestic and international. Bush is expected to arrive in the county Wednesday October 3rd in the morning or early afternoon. This demonstration will also be used to announce actions for the following day.

President Bush's record of illegal war, irrational foreign policy, detrimental environmental policy, as well as domestic incompetence, and human rights violations, will be the focus of this demonstration. Time and time again throughout his tenure, this President has ignored the will of Americans, both minority and majority opinions. Because this President oversteps checks and balances afforded in our constitution, we need to come together in mass to deliver a message that George W. Bush, his record, and his presence are not welcome in our town!

The demonstration will be hosted by the LCPJ, and will be a peaceful, community event. We encourage peace groups, religious organizations, student groups, our elders, children, and everyone who rejects this President's agenda to join us in this protest. Participants should bring their own signs, banners, and any other form of non-violent communication to make their voices heard.

Please forward this release to everyone you know.

CONTACT: Bill Adams
EMAIL: badams@riseup.net

Iraq War Resister's--What "W" Doesn't Want Us To Know

2007-09-28T09:19:00.001-04:00

Read And Watch This Now!!!!

Kate Loving Shenk
Nursing Career Transformation

Boycott Verizon Wireless

2007-09-27T09:09:00.001-04:00

Here's why we need to boycott
Verizon Wireless!!!!!

Kate Loving Shenk
Nursing Career Transformation

Video Sunday

2007-09-16T16:50:00.001-04:00

In which:

Tony Orlando makes a comeback. (Um, no pun intended?)

In keeping with the political music videos, here's Pete Seeger again (in case anyone missed it on the listserv). Question: Did he just write this song? It's gotta be about Bush, no? Or does history just keep repeating itself?

Greed and the pointlessness of war: One of the best statements on it ever made: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly, summed up in the graveyard scene. Brilliant film-making courtesy of Sergio Leone. Brilliant music courtesy Ennio Morricone. Was Eli Wallach ever better?

Finally, here's one just because: a) I liked Hoyt Axton (RIP) -- possessed of fine songwriting skills and one of the all-time great voices, and b) I especially like this duet with Linda because their voices work so well together. From 1975:

BONUS HOYT -- yeah, what the hey.

Will Ferrel Playing "W"

2007-09-14T09:11:00.001-04:00

I can't resist--another Will Ferrel impersonation of George W. Bush.

Catch It Here.

Kate Loving Shenk
Nursing Career Transformation

Thanks, Kate!

2007-09-11T10:37:00.000-04:00

That kid was good. Here's the original that he was lip-synching:

George Bush on Global Warming

2007-09-10T21:44:00.001-04:00

This is really funny.

Please enjoy and pass it on!!!

Kate Loving Shenk
Nursing Career Transformation

Praying For Peace With Iran

2007-08-29T09:48:00.001-04:00

Oh-oh--

The talk in the alternative news networks is about Bush's intention to go to
war with Iran.

If the Democrats let him do it, I will be leaving the Democratic Party for once and for all.

Here's the link to the article:

Kate Loving Shenk
Nursing Career Transformation

Here's A Great Letter For Speaker Pelosi

2007-08-23T20:27:00.001-04:00

Lucy Mannix wrote the following letter to Speaker
Pelosi.

Pass it on, please!!

Give it to every one you know!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you,

Kate Loving Shenk
Nursing career Transformation

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Speaker Pelosi,

Each day that passes we hear of another shameless
act by this current administration. Obviously, the November
elections mean nothing to them. The only way to stop them --
to stop a war with Iran, to stop their holding and torturing
citizens without the accused knowing the charges, or to seize
a citizen’s entire assets -- is to start impeachment proceedings.
This is not a choice, it is mandated by the constitution that
congress impeach an executive that refuses to uphold the constitution.

The fact that you may not have enough votes to impeach does
not absolve you of your responsibility.

The fact that the democrats might suffer in the next election
does not absolve you of your responsibility.

The fact that it seems that you have too many other things
to worry about does not absolve you of your responsibility.

You have not been able to stop the surge. You have not
been able to stop the funding of the war in Iraq. You
have not been able to stand up to Bush’s
outrageous requests to suspend the constitution.

The only victory was the expansion of the health care program
for children and Bush is finagling his way out of that one,
even though you were supposed to have enough votes to override
a veto.

This is very worrisome that the people gave you the power
in November and you squander it. We know the Republicans don’t
care about the constitution (save the 2nd amendment), and now it
seems the Democrats don’t either. I have yet to contribute any
money to the DCCC or the DSCC, because I have not seen them
earn my contribution.

You have achieved the highest elected position
in the land of any woman. Will your legacy be that you condoned
criminal behavior in the White House? Please, do your job!

Impeach Cheney, now! Impeach Bush, now! Impeach Gonzalez, now!

Lucy Mannix

221 Holly Lane

Lancaster, PA 17602

Karl Rove's Greatest Hits

2007-08-23T09:38:00.001-04:00

Jon Stewart did a perfect rif on karl Rove on 8/21--!!

Take a look!!

Ya' gotta laugh!!

Forget about crying.

It's wasted energy!!

Kate Loving Shenk
Nursing Career Transformation

The Good News Program

2007-08-21T18:25:00.001-04:00

Ildiko Minko has a blueprint in her mind for what she calls
The Good News Program.

Her training at The American Film Institute makes her the perfect
person to carry out this manifestation.

Others may participate, but she is the architect of this idea.

Last week, I interviewed Ildiko about her ideas revolving
around the need to elevate the vibrational fields regarding
sensational news stories, violence on TV and in movies.

This week, we will continue the conversation.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

1) Ildiko, tell us your plans for The Good News Program.

"I stopped watching the news programs wherever I am in the
world. The reason is that they are filled only with bad news.
They show all the awful and horrible things in the world.
My plan is to balance this. To show that there are as much good
things happening in the world.

"Wonderful things."

2) In our last interview, we discussed how the airwaves,
media and mind are in need of enlightened and transformed programming.

What is your vision for creating an enlightened Good News
Program that will spark interest and excitement with your viewers?

"We will only focus on all the good deeds and news that
are happening in the world. The positive things and events.

"We will show the BEAUTY in people."

3) How will The Good News Program ignite the imagination,
thus inviting more people to join in the movement of
generating uplifting and inspiring programing all over the world?

"I am not alone in stopping watching the news and would
like to feel uplifted when turning on the television. Millions are out
there who feel exactly the same way I do."

4) I recently read a "thread" on The Secret Forum at
Powerful Intentions about the Good News Program.

How are you planning to also partner with members of The
Secret Forum in the creation of The Good News Program?

"We are happy to receive their posts about uplifting stories
in their lives or others they have knowledge about."

5) It looks to me like this is a cooperative effort that
will bring into being a revolution in the media otherwise known
as a paradigm shift.

"Yes. Everybody participating in this with their uplifting
stories are creating the program.

"They are Co-creators."

This will lead to a grass roots movement whereby people
begin to think for themselves and start listening to their innermost
intuitive guidance.

All because of an idea that motivates creative solutions
to save the future of Mother Earth, just because we turn off negative
programming.

What do you think of that??

"I think, Kate, that this is wonderful!!"

6) What I want to discuss is free speech in
America, and the importance of honest reporting
of the news.

Honest reporting is what preserves our democracy.
Furthermore, this is why the press was originally formulated here
in this country: to keep our democracy honest, and to preserve the First
Amendment of The Constitution.

Nowadays, the media is reporting catastrophe after
catastrophe, and then goes on and on about
the lives of Paris Hilton and Brittany Spears.

This is not honest reporting. It undermines what we
really need in America, like environmental protection,
a single-payer health care plan and like the television
show you spoke of that you won award for:
The Green Planet.

What is your opinion about this?

"I think that media sensationalism distorts information
and causes great damage. They sensationalize in order to attract
more sales and more viewers.

"I find it very harmful."

7) What we need in media is a balance. People
honestly do not want to hear about Paris Hilton's alcoholism.

The balance is between censorship and reporting that
continually brings down a person's energy.

People truly want to hear about solutions to the
difficult problems we face in the world today!!!

They want to feel good after reading the news of the day.

Even what appears to be negative occurrences in people's
lives has a silver lining.

These need to be emphasized!

I recently listened to an Angelina Jolie interview about her experience
of going into war torn countries. What she experienced was a
cooperation and a love between the people, say, in refugee camps.

She went into the experience with her own fear and thought that the
people would be shattered and demoralized--but this is not what she saw.

So I believe the Good News Program doesn't need to ignore what people
might consider to be negative. It needs to report how people overcome
adversity, how spirituality often arises in the face of difficult
circumstances, how the resilience of the human spirit can rise above
everything!!!!!!

What do you think about this?

"I totally agree! The Good News Program should show the way people
overcome adversity, to inspire people to rise above it all.

"To show that it is possible."

7) The Green Planet-- tell us more about that
show!!!!!

"The Green Planet was an environmental protection TV series I
produced for Hungarian National Television. It aired for almost
two years and won an award of excellence from the Hungarian
Parliament."

Congratulations, Ildiko!! That experience has laid down the foundation for
your future success with The Good News Program!!

Good luck!!

-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Kate Loving Shenk
Nursing Career Transformation

Today's Random Tidbits

2007-08-19T08:03:00.000-04:00

ENVIRONMENT & ENERGY

It sounds counterintuitive, but burning oil and planting forests to compensate is more environmentally friendly than burning biofuel. So say scientists who have calculated the difference in net emissions between using land to produce biofuel and the alternative: fueling cars with gasoline and replanting forests on the land instead. --Catherine Brahic, writing at NewScientist.com

More on biofuels, from The Guardian, 'Biofuels Switch A Mistake.'

And:

Some tipping points for climate change could be closer than previously thought. Scientists are predicting that the loss of the massive Greenland ice sheet may now be unstoppable and lead to catastrophic sea-level rises around the world. --Alok Jha, The Guardian

HEALTH CARE

In a significant policy change, Bush administration officials say that Medicare will no longer pay the extra costs of treating preventable errors, injuries and infections that occur in hospitals, a move they say could save lives and millions of dollars.

Private insurers are considering similar changes, which they said could multiply the savings and benefits for patients. --Robert Pear, NY Times (also in Lancaster Sunday News , 8/19/07)

You have to love the chutzpah: the changes "could multiply the savings and benefits for patients." Um, right. For some reason I highly doubt it's the patients who will be the ones who 'benefit' from these changes.

JOE PITTS

U.S. athletes "will be there" for the Olympics in China next summer, a spokesman for the United States Olympic Committee said Thursday, despite calls for a possible boycott by some members of Congress, including Lancaster County's Rep. Joe Pitts. --Dave Pidgeon in Lancaster Intelligencer Journal (subscription)

Pitts -- as usual -- displays his great concern for human rights, as long as those humans aren't Americans.

CIVIL LIBERTIES [sic]

Americans may need passports to board domestic flights or to picnic in a national park next year if they live in one of the states defying the federal Real ID Act.

The act, signed in 2005 as part of an emergency military spending and tsunami relief bill, aims to weave driver’s licenses and state ID cards into a sort of national identification system by May 2008. The law sets baseline criteria for how driver’s licenses will be issued and what information they must contain.

The [newly mandated federal ID] would be mandatory for all “federal purposes,” which include boarding an airplane or walking into a federal building, nuclear facility or national park, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff told the National Conference of State Legislatures last week. Citizens in states that don’t comply with the new rules will have to use passports for federal purposes. --Pandagon

Papers, pleez!

Committing the Ultimate Blunder: War With Iran

2007-08-16T19:56:00.001-04:00

The rumor of war again reverberates through the airwaves.

And it may boil down to a real conspiracy.

Read This!

We need Angelic Intervention to solve these problems, because
our leaders in Washington are asleep at the wheel.

Kate Loving Shenk
Nursing Career Transformation

Dick Cheney Explains Why Toppling Saddam and Occupying Iraq Would Be a Bad Idea

2007-08-12T12:33:00.000-04:00

IMPEACH?

Get this Action Banner for your own web page

OR...

INDICT FOR WAR CRIMES?

OR...

BOTH!?!

You decide!

Impeach Now Or Face The End Of Constitutional Democracy.

2007-08-10T08:59:00.001-04:00

These guys in Washington have gone too far.

And the Democrats are helping them along by signing
the bill that further restricts our free speech.

Read this. Even the Republicans are speaking out!!

Where is Larry Flint when we need him??

Kate Loving Shenk
Nursing Career Transformation

Enlightened Airwaves, Media and Mind

2007-08-08T09:01:00.000-04:00

We all know that the United States is a violent country.

Violence is emphasized in the media, movies and news. Those of
us in the health care industry routinely care for people who have
been shot, stabbed and beaten.

I believe our film creators and media makers have a responsibility to
elevate the vibrations of this country and the world by making films and
repeating stories that underscore the resilience and positive aspects
of the human species.

The recent rage of The Secret DVD is a beautiful example of how
people are craving a more positive message.

Furthermore, people want to live their lives based on higher
energetic frequencies such as love, joy, freedom and transcendence.

Film maker Ildiko Minko has a vision. She creates enlightened films,
and lives the philosophy she makes movies about.

I recently had the delightful privilege of interviewing Ildiko.
She lives in Budapest, Hungary. She was born in Szeged, Hungary.

After graduating from the American Film Institute in Los Angeles,
California, Ildiko was guided by her intuitive Inner Voice to make spiritual
films.

She discovered Helene Hadsell's book, "The Name It And Claim it Game."
Ildiko went on to make a feature movie about Helene and the metaphysical
principles presented in Helene's book.

Ladies and Gentleman!! Here is Ildiko Minko!!!!!

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1) When did you first know you wanted to make films that transform
people's lives?

WHEN IT STARTED HAPPENING. WHEN I HAD AN AWARD WINNING TV SERIES
CALLED "GREEN PLANET" ABOUT ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION. I THINK IT WAS
PREDESTINED.

2) What are the circumstances that attracted you to Helene Hadsell and
the making
of your new movie?

I READ ABOUT HER IN A SILVA METHOD OF MIND CONTROL SUCCESS
STORIES BOOK MANY YEARS AGO.

I REREAD THE BOOK AND AFTER MANY YEARS, I CONTACTED HELENE.
I VISITED HER IN DALLAS AND OBTAINED THE MOVIE (INTERNET, AUDIO, DVD,
TV, THEATRICAL, ETC) RIGHTS TO HER BOOKS AND HER LIFE STORY.

3) Is your film about Helene Hadsell's life or does it focus on the
concepts in her
book: The Name It and Claim It Game?

THE NAME IT AND CLAIM IT GAME MOVIE IS FOCUSING ON HER CONTESTING
SUCCESS STORY BUT WE ALSO HAVE ELEMENTS FROM HER OTHER BOOKS.

What is the message you want your viewers to
glean from your movie?

THE MESSAGE IS: "THOUGHTS ARE THINGS". THAT OUR FEELINGS AND
THOUGHTS ARE MANIFESTING IN OUR PHYSICAL LIVES. ALWAYS. THAT
IS, THE PHYSICAL UNIVERSE IS ONLY MIRRORING OUR INNER WORLD.

How could your movie change a person's life for the better?

WHEN WE REALIZE THAT WE ARE THE ONLY PEOPLE WHO THINK IN OUR
UNIVERSE, AND THE UNIVERSE ONLY MIRRORS OUR OWN FEELINGS AND
THOUGHTS, THEN WE CAN NOT BE SUPPRESSED OR MANIPULATED BY OTHERS. ALL WE
HAVE TO DO IS TO CHANGE OUR OWN THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS. THE WITHOUT
WILL ALSO CHANGE ACCORDINGLY.

4) Joe Vitale said in one of his recent blog entries, that Helene
Hadsell could have been one
of the teachers in The Secret DVD. Your film will allow your audience to
experience Helene's
wisdom and insight.

In what ways is your movie like The Secret?

THE MESSAGE IS THE SAME. ALL HELENE DID IS THAT SHE "PROJECTED"
A POSITIVE END RESULT, A POSITIVE OUTCOME. SHE FOCUSED ON WHAT SHE
WANTED TO ACHIEVE.

In what ways does it differ?

CONCENTRATING MAINLY ON CONTESTING. AND IT IS A FEATURE
FILM BASED ON A TRUE STORY. A NARRATIVE STORY.

In what ways does it break new ground?

NOTHING IS NEW "UNDER THE SUN". WE JUST HAVE TO REMIND
PEOPLE OF THE TRUE NATURE OF OURSELVES.

5) Have you personally entered contests and/or played lotteries? If so,
have you
ever won?

I AM NOT INTO CONTESTING. HOWEVER I VERY MUCH CONSIDER MYSELF A
WINNER IN LIFE.

6) Great answer!!!

The metaphysical idea behind Helene Hadsell's book entails removing all
doubt to achieve wealth and the attainment of dreams that come true.

What have you personally learned from knowing Helene and making
your film about her?

I LEARNED THE TRUTH ABOUT MY REAL NATURE. THAT I AM THE SOURCE.

6) And lastly, what is your vision for future films?

I AM MAKING FILMS ONLY DEALING WITH THE HUMAN CONDITIONS. FILMS THAT
INSPIRE AND SPIRITUALLY EDUCATE.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Thank you, Ildiko, for your authentic and honest insights.

I know the world will welcome your refreshing contributions to the
planetary dance.

Kate Loving Shenk
Nursing Career Transformation

Energy & Environmental Links - Maybe All You'll Ever Need?

2007-08-06T07:47:00.000-04:00

Mitt Romney Explains His Health Care Plan

2007-08-04T07:09:00.000-04:00

Mitt Romney's health care plan utilizes insurance
companies to distribute health care to the citizen's
of Massachusetts.

Yet, Romney must be commended for even having a plan,
plus he is a Republican with a plan!! That is indeed, a
refreshing and hopeful sign.

Here is Mitt Romney defending his health care plan
to a waitress on the campaign trail.

The internent allows us to witness these intimate
exchanges. Since the news only shows these exchanges in
sound bites, and the blogs show them in their
entirety, we undoubtedly will have an exciting
election season, thanks to the political blogs.

Enjoy!!

Kate Loving Shenk
Nursing Career Transformation

Blessed Unrest

2007-07-31T08:48:00.000-04:00

The power in a progressive movement is a beautiful thing.

There's no room for negativity, criticism and loveless perception towards any human on the planet!!

Watch this short film:

Kate Loving Shenk
Nursing Career Transformation

Will Psychiatric Care Be Covered in a Single-Payer Plan?

2007-07-26T14:39:00.000-04:00

Ah, the good old days of television.

John Edwards On Health Care

2007-07-25T12:30:00.000-04:00

When I saw this, I got goose bumps.

And I simultameously decided that John Edwards
is my choice for the next president.

Thank You,

Kate Loving Shenk
Nursing Career Transformation

Phialadelphia InQuire Commentary 7/23

2007-07-25T09:13:00.000-04:00

Single-Payer is getting more and more press!! Let us celebrate the momentum
leading up to the inevitable passage of what 2/3rds of the American public
really wants!!!!!

Kate Loving Shenk
Nursing Career Transformation

COMMENTARY Philadelphia Inquirer 7/23

Make Pa. a health-care leader

By Linda Hunt Beckman

It's not news that the United States is the only industrialized
nation that does not have a universal health-care system. Millions
of people - 1.3 million of them Pennsylvanians - lack insurance.
Our health-care system is badly broken.

Gov. Rendell's health-care plan, Prescription for Pennsylvania,
was to help remedy this. Many considered the plan unworkable
because it failed to deal with the root cause of our dysfunctional
medical delivery system: the profit-driven insurance and pharmaceutical
industries. After battles with legislators over the costs, Rendell
announced recently that he was putting his plan on hold.

Two bills, Senate Bill 300 and House Bill 1660, called the Pennsylvania
Family and Business Health Care Security Act, have been introduced to
alleviate the state's health-care problems. They would provide
comprehensive health-care coverage, including dental and vision
services, long-term care and prescription drugs. All traditional
health-insurance premiums, co-pays and health-care deductibles
would be eliminated, and employers would no longer have to select
or administer company-sponsored health-care insurance. Coverage
for senior citizens would continue through Medicare.

The plan would be financed by a 10 percent employer-paid tax
on payrolls and a three percent personal income tax. These
funds would be added to money from Medicaid, Medicare, the
tobacco settlement, cigarette taxes, the Veterans Administration
and any lottery funds designated for health care. They would create
an estimated $48 billion trust to provide universal health care for
Pennsylvanians.

In short, health care as we know it would be replaced by a
single-payer, not-for-profit health-care system. This could
make our state a model for the rest of the country. (A bill
which would provide similar coverage for all Americans has
been stalled in Congress since 2005.)

A publicly financed health-care system would allow doctors
and hospitals to drastically reduce administrative overhead,
eliminate waste and provide substantial savings for business.
Compensation for medical malpractice claims would be provided
through a no-fault system that gives patients reasonable settlements.
The state health-care trust would be sued, not individual
providers, although doctors and patients could opt to keep
their tort rights.

The care provided under this program would not fit the notion
that Americans have of "socialized medicine." We would have to
overcome these objections:

Increased taxes. It is true that our taxes would increase,
but we no longer would have to pay premiums, co-pays, or
out-of-pocket expenses. Few of us resent spending for police
and fire departments, schools, libraries, and highways. This
would be the same kind of spending.

Waiting lists. Government financing of health care does not
cause waiting lists for elective surgery; they result from
specific flaws in health-care systems. France, Austria, and
Japan, among other countries, have created health-care models
that are superior to Canada and the United Kingdom (good as
theirs are in many ways). Better-funded, the former countries
have no waits for elective surgery.

Impersonal care. Some say government-managed health care
is impersonal. If the Family and Business Health Care Security
Act is passed, it would not change how health care is delivered,
only how it is financed. People would continue to choose their
own doctors. For example, in 2001, while visiting Austria, a
country with universal health care, I fell ill. A friend took
me to the physician she had seen all her life. Nothing could
have felt less bureaucratic.

Our state could become the cradle of liberty once again.
Let's make Pennsylvania a leader in liberating health care
from dysfunction and from myths. I urge you to call your
legislators and tell them you stand behind the Family and Business Health Care Security Act.

Linda Hunt Beckman (beckman5@verizon.net) lives and writes in Philadelphia.

Common Objections To Single Payer Health Care In America

2007-07-20T07:48:00.000-04:00

1) The government can't run anything. I don't trust the
government.

The current gang in Washington may be a good reason not to
trust
the government to do ANYTHING right.

However, Medicare and Social Security are good examples
of systems
that run well and on time. People receive their checks the
same
time every month and health care is provided: on time.

2) I'm a free market person and don't want any part of
"socialized
medicine."
Single Payer Insurance is defined as a single government
fund with each state
which pays hospitals, physicians and other health care
providers, thus replacing
the current multi-payer system of private insurance
companies.

It would provide coverage for the fifty million people who
are uninsured.

It would eliminate the financial threat and impaired
access to care for tens of
millions who do not have coverage and are unable to afford
the out-of-pocket
expenses because of deficiencies in their insurance plans.

It would return to the patient free choice of health care
provider and hospitals,
not the choice that only the restrictive health plans
allow.

It would relieve businesses of the administrative hassle
and expense of maintaining
a health benefits program.

It would remove from the health care equation the
middleman—the managed care
industry—that has broken the traditional doctor-patient
relationship, while diverting
outrageous amounts of patient care dollars to their own
coffers.

It would control health care inflation through
constructive mechanisms of cost
containment that improve allocation of our health care
resources, rather than
controlling costs through an impersonal business ethic
that robs patients of care
so as to increase profits for the privileged few. Single
Payer Universal Health
Care would provide access to high quality care for
everyone at affordable prices.

3) Canadians have long waiting periods and come to the
U.S. for their health care
needs. Therefore, such a plan would make for waiting
periods in the U.S.

First of all, ask almost any Canadian if they would trade
our system for theirs.
The answer is a resounding "NO."

They may have to wait for elective surgeries, for
instance, but
we have to wait for these kinds of surgeries, as well.

Canadians have the option to buy extra coverage to get
heroic measures covered,
say in the case of Cancer treatment.

At 9% of their GDP, they are spending much less than we
are as a nation.
We, the wealthiest nation on earth, spend 14 % of our GDP.

4) Our country cannot afford to insure everyone.

Our country already has enough funds dedicated to health
care to provide the
highest quality of care for everyone. Studies have shown
that under a single
payer system, comprehensive care can be provided for
everyone without
spending any more funds than are now being spent.

Not only do we have more than sufficient funds, we are
also a nation that is infamous
for our excess health care capacity. Typical of these
excesses is the fact that there
are more MRI scanners in Orange County, CA than in all of
Canada.

With our generous funding and the tremendous capacity of
our health care delivery
system, the delays would not be a significant limiting
factor in the U.S.

5) Americans do not want "Socialized Medicine."

Socialized medicine is a system in which the government
owns the facilities,
and the providers of care are government employees.

In sharp contrast, a single payer system uses the existing
private and public
sector health care delivery systems, preserving private
ownership and employment.
The unique feature of a single payer system is that all
health care risks
are placed in a universal risk pool, covering everyone.
The pool is funded in
a fair and equitable manner so that everyone pays their
fair share in taxes,
unlike our current defective system in which some pay far
too much while others
are not paying their share. The funds are allocated
through a publicly
administered program resulting in optimum use of our
health care dollars.

A single payer system has no more in common with
socialized medicine than our
current Medicare program.

Socialism is a dirty word in this country. Universal
health care for all has
been equated with socialism, and much propaganda has been
communicated by the
press, by right wing politicians, by medical groups such
as the AMA or anyone
else who has an agenda to keep the 1500 plus health
insurance companies a
thriving market with profits that undoubtedly help to pay
for their agendas.

6) A Universal Single-Payer would lower the standard of
care to a level of
mediocrity for everyone, preventing the affluent from
exercising his or her
option to obtain the highest level of care.

Our current system is characterized by essentially two
alternatives:
either no insurance with severely impaired access to even
a mediocre level of care,
or being insured by a managed care industry that has
whittled down what is
available until mediocrity has become the standard of
care. Only the relatively
affluent have access to unlimited care.

The generous level of funds that we have already dedicated
to health care,
adding to this a more efficient administration with an
exclusive mission of
optimum patient care well above the mediocrity that we now
have, lays the foundation
for a universal health care system in America.

A single payer system does not preclude the affluent from
paying, outside the
system, for a penthouse suite in the hospital, or for
cosmetic surgery or for
any other service that would not be part of a publicly
funded program.

But if Americans knew the truth, and would turn off their
TVs and use that time
instead to change this country, using the power of
grassroots politics, to make
a single payer universal system a reality for all, then we
would finally have
the best health care system in the world.

Any group with the passion to change the world, one issue
at a time, with a
loving intent, can do it.

Kate Loving Shenk
Nursing Career Transformation

Health Care & The Common Good

2007-07-17T14:43:00.000-04:00

Steve's letter to the editor, published today in the Lancaster Intelligencer Journal:

TO THE EDITOR:

Questioning the questioning of poverty statistics

In his letter, "Questioning statistics on poverty" (Intell, July 2), P. Melville Nafziger makes several comments about the health care crisis that are either uninformed or intentionally misleading.

Nafziger doubts there are 45 million uninsured and wonders whether they are all U.S. citizens. Yes, that figure is for legal citizens and it is actually closer to 50 million since about one million a year have been added to the ranks of the uninsured since the turn of the century.

That doesn't include the millions more with insurance who are often denied treatment because of the propensity of insurance companies to use every conceivable trick to avoid paying medical costs.

Nafziger claims Canadian stroke or heart attack victims wait for months for necessary treatment and Canadians are dying waiting for services.

This is not true. Either he is making this up or he is repeating propaganda from the insurance industry and right-wing think tanks.

All Canadians in need of immediate medical attention receive it promptly regardless of their ability to pay. Others wait no longer to see a specialist than we do in the United States. The vast majority of Canadians would not trade their health care system for ours.

We stand alone among industrialized nations in not providing universal health care. People in other civilized countries wonder what is wrong with us that we treat our fellow citizens so poorly.

Whereas other countries understand that upholding the common good is vital for a healthy democracy and have a collective attitude, we seem to be stuck in hyper-individualism and selfishness.

Recognizing health care as a fundamental right is not communism or socialism, it is simply basic decency.

Steven Jones, Landisville

RFK JR At Live Earth

2007-07-13T05:27:00.000-04:00

RFK JR tells the audience at Live Earth last weekend that "good environmental
policy is identical to good economical policy."

Here's the link to this moving speech.

Have a great weekend!!

Kate Loving Shenk
Nursing Career Transformation

Forget the Environment; Forget Health Care; Drop Everything...

2007-07-08T18:03:00.000-04:00

Because the world is ending.

Here's the subject for P4P's next forum:

Jeebus!

Via David Neiwert and The SPLC.

What are Donna and Larry Smith Doing Now??

2007-07-08T17:53:00.000-04:00

Dear Friends,

After watching Sicko for the second time, I wondered what happened to all the people Michael Moore had in the film?

And since yesterdays post written by Donna Smith, I found this, written by a member of the California Nurses Association, bringing us up-to-date on the lives of Donna and Larry Smith.

Kate Loving Shenk
Nursing Career Transformation

Colorado couple examined in 'Sicko'
By Erika Gonzalez
Rocky Mountain News
June 29, 2007

Six months ago, Larry and Donna Smith didn't even have a bed to sleep on.

Mounting medical bills not covered by their insurance, combined with high
insurance premiums and expensive medication, forced the couple to move
from South Dakota into a crowded storage room in their daughter's modest
Aurora home. Two years earlier, the Smiths had filed for bankruptcy to
deal with the debt they accumulated during Donna's treatment for uterine
cancer and Larry's heart problems and artery disease.

But the bills kept piling up, especially after Larry had his third bypass
surgery in February 2006. So, when the Smiths' six children urged them
to relocate to Colorado (where four of them reside), they finally conceded.
And filmmaker Michael Moore was there to document the move.

"When they (the producers) called to ask if they could film the process,
I said I didn't care at that point. I was so demoralized," said Donna Smith.

The Smiths are among many Americans featured in Moore's new film, Sicko,
which examines America's ailing health-care system.

The couple's trip to the big screen started last year when Donna Smith
answered a call on Moore's Web site asking people to share their
health-care stories.

"I just thought it was one of many stories they would hear, and I
would be added to the list," remembers Smith.

But producers talked to Smith and her husband several times over the course
of the year. The footage of the couple's move to Colorado is one of the
earliest scenes in the film. In January, the Smiths and other Americans
traumatized by problems with the health-care system (including several 9/11
rescue workers) were asked to go to Cuba to compare the country's health
system with what's available in America. Though Larry Smith was too sick
for the trip, Donna opted to go.

"I just thought that it was worth trying," said Smith, who also suffers
from sleep apnea and asthma.

Smith said she was amazed by the facilities and care she received in
the island nation. Doctors there performed a complete medical evaluation.
They gave her an eye exam and new glasses. They conducted a sleep study
for her apnea, the first study she'd had in nine years because insurance
wouldn't cover the treatment. They reduced the number of medications she
takes daily from nine to four, eliminating a beta blocker harmful to asthmatics
and a steroid nasal spray that was no longer effective.

"There was a difference in the mentality about care, and I did not expect
this gut-level, emotional tearing-apart feeling I got," says Smith. "I had
these feelings of sadness for us that we somehow convinced ourselves that
health care is something we have to pay for. It hurt so bad to think back
on signing all these payment plans before surgery and doing whatever we had to do to get care."

That trip, however, sparked an investigation by the U.S. Treasury Department,
which is determining whether Moore violated the U.S. trade embargo restricting
travel to Cuba - a charge that surprises Smith.

"If our government didn't know we were going, it wasn't for lack of people
telling them," says Smith, who carried a passport, a Cuban visa and an American
visa with her during the trip.

She also said that Moore required an "amazing" amount of paperwork from the
film's participants to back up their health care and insurance issues.

Says Smith: "I always get frustrated when people accuse Michael Moore of not
telling an accurate story because, from our perspective, the fact-checking
got to the point where it was annoying."

Smith is prepared for fallout from the film, especially from Moore detractors.
She says she's already heard some negative comments from friends and acquaintances.
In response, Smith simply asks people to see the film.

"The position they'll eventually reach is this is not a partisan film.
This film does not seek to make a Democratic or Republican point," says Smith.

In the meantime, Smith and her husband have kept busy jetting off to premieres
and talking to media about the movie. And they've been a bit overwhelmed by
their red-carpet experiences.

"We were not ready to pull up in front of a theater in Manhattan in a limousine
and have a dispatcher call to tell them we were arriving," laughs Smith.
"There were a hundred cameras flashing, and we held on real tight to each other.
We must have said, 'Oh my God,' a hundred times."

Though the Smiths seem to be living like celebrities, Donna Smith stresses
that the couple received no compensation for participating in the film.
They are still struggling financially but have made some important strides recently.

Smith, who quit her job as a newspaper editor when she moved last year, landed a
full-time, permanent position in April, allowing her to shed her $400-a-month
COBRA plan. And last month, the Smiths moved out of their daughter's home and
into a two-bedroom apartment in Aurora.

Smith hopes one day to emerge from bankruptcy and become a homeowner again.
She says Sicko has renewed her spirit by connecting her with other Americans
who've experienced similar health-care horrors. She's also had the opportunity
to talk with people who have the power to change the system and will testify
in front of Congress next month about the many benefits of affordable health care.

"I think a new world is opening for me. I feel hopeful that I can try again
to get back involved in life and come out of this period of real darkness
and start building back out of that," she says energetically. "On a movie
screen in Manhattan (last) Monday night, I started to reclaim my life."

No Whitewash Powerful Enough

2007-07-07T21:43:00.000-04:00

Donna Smith appeared in Sicko. This is a blog entry of hers
that appeared on the Sicko Blog.

Also in Sicko news, Pennsylvania Capitol Blue Cross of Anita Smith fame,
is actively attempting to discredit the film, knowing that public
perception of the Health Insurance industry is sure to plummet.

Couldn't plummet fast enough for me, that's for sure.

Kate Loving Shenk
Nursing Career Transformation

No Whitewash Powerful Enough

By Donna Smith, proud American appearing in Michael Moore's
'SiCKO'

ATLANTA – It would be difficult to identify one moment over
the past two weeks as the most powerful or moving. As my
husband and I have traveled through the U.S. participating
in premieres and screenings of Michael Moore’s new film,'SiCKO,'
we have experienced things that folks in our income range and
social groups rarely do.

We have been graciously included in events often closed
to all but the most celebrated of celebs.

Michael Moore featured us in the film because we represent
what is happening to so many Americans. Our health issues and
health care costs drove us to bankruptcy and shame. The past
several years have been filled with anguish, and the joy of
watching this film begin to make an impact is healing for us.

But a few days ago in Atlanta, I found myself witness to
and participant in a health care truth hearing sponsored
by HealthCare-Now at the U.S. Social Forum. That hearing
illuminated more truth – more stories – many like those shown
in 'SiCKO'. But the hearing also made it abundantly clear that
no amount of slick advertising or marketing whitewash can cover
up what Americans are enduring within this private health care
system. The truth just cannot be hidden.

Listening to story after story about trauma and devastation
suffered by fellow Americans who are uninsured or under-insured
is difficult, even sickening. The moral issues cannot be avoided.
And as Michael Moore asks in 'SiCKO,' “Who are we?”

But I also began to see a broader view of the whole private health
care issue within one story told by a nearly toothless woman
from Ohio. Though her speech was definitely impaired by her
lack of teeth, she spoke with courage and without self-pity
which might have been easier and certainly justified.

She had health insurance just a couple of years ago through her
job. She worked, paid taxes and paid her health premiums. But
when her dental problems became more and more serious, her
insurance plan would not cover necessary treatment. It did
cover removal of teeth. So, slowly but surely, her teeth were pulled.

She stood before us now in an open-air tent in the hot, thick,
mid-day air in Atlanta. Huge fans circulated the air and could
have drowned out her voice, but the crowd was silent and her strength
was enough to overcome the background noise.

She told us that after her teeth were pulled, her employer
fired her because she was “unsightly.” We gasped, but only
in support of her not because we didn’t believe a modern
American company would do such a thing. She told us that then
she started down the steady slope towards homelessness and use of
the public health system that included emergency room visits for
health issues that might have been handled in a less acute and
less expensive setting, if she had insurance or cash to use
another provider.

This beautiful, powerful woman had been reduced to this. And she
had most surely been yanked off the roles of taxpaying Americans
and onto the public program rosters. How does this make even economic sense?

She goes from contributor to being a “drain” on the system nearly
overnight. And as she slipped into deep poverty and homelessness,
she also developed physical problems from her terrible living conditions
and a lack of preventative or even early interventional health care.

Another scenario for her could have been, if we had universal health care,
that she had her dental problems addressed properly and her teeth saved,
kept her job and her modest housing, continued paying taxes and eventually
moved forward in her life. Even if I remove all the hideous, non-compassionate
ethical considerations, it just flat seems smarter to me that we stop this cycle.

Every American product now includes in its cost a certain percentage
of mark-up for health costs and coverage provided by American businesses.
On large ticket items, like cars, that cost increase can often be several
hundred dollars. Since most Americans finance the purchase of cars, they
now also pay interest on the amount that the car manufacturer must pass
along in health care costs for its employees.

Those costs have mounted in every industry across the nation. In many cases,
those increased costs are making American products and services less
competitive thereby driving the increased dependence on foreign products
and the loss of American jobs. This cycle is well-documented. Every major
news organization has done reports on the issue, and few arguments countering
this cause-effect economic pattern have been offered.

Small businesses can often not afford to even offer health coverage at
all or offer only plans with high premiums and deductibles which are more
like catastrophic coverage.

So this whole private health insurance system is costing us all – top
to bottom, morally and economically.

So why do we keep it up? Do we see those toothless individuals and
still think, “It couldn’t happen to me?” Or do we step over them on
our way to our American dreams, still believing we did it the right
way and they did it wrong? Poor people have poor ways, don’t you know.

After sitting in that hot tent in Atlanta and listening to this woman
with more dignity than any person I’ve yet to meet on this marvelous
journey toward changing this system, I realized that this fight will
take much more than a call for moral justice or outrage.

The battle to pass House Resolution 676, single-payer, universal health care,
as offered by Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., and 75 other co-sponsors, will
take moral indignation, no doubt.

But the fight for universal health care will also take a tearing at
the very fabric of the American psyche – that independent streak that
makes us pioneers and homesteaders and internet start-up gurus.

We all grew up with this gut full of self-righteousness, lightly colored
with compassion as we attended church each Sunday. But now we need
to flip-flop the equation a bit.

We’ll need economists on board to really compare the costs of the
whole package: including a very direct assessment of how universal
health care would play out in an average family’s budget and in the
budget’s of the SUV-driving, three-car-garage in the suburbs owning
families.

Let’s get really down to the nuts and bolts of the reality. Toothless,
unemployed, uninsured women cost us serious money. If we cannot see her
pain and see her humanity, then can we at least run the numbers?

As for me, I don’t need to run the numbers. I see the costs for her.
I feel the costs for myself in the lack of self-respect I feel when
I realize I am part of the system that is doing this to her and hundreds
of thousands of others. And I know that I never again want to hear a
fellow American woman stand before me apologizing for her lisp due to
a loss of teeth and assuring me that she once had a beautiful smile.

That cost is simply unacceptable on any level. There is no political
spin fast enough or whitewash dense enough to cover this American woman’s truth.

Labels: Atlanta, Donna Smith, HealthCare-Now, HR676, SiCKO, Universal Healthcare, US Social Forum

Sicko, Partie Deux

2007-07-01T16:31:00.000-04:00

As I write this, I'm thinking to myself: "Take two aspirin and wait until morning; you'll feel better then."

First, on a lighter note: P4P had an online discussion recently about the film Harold & Maude. We talked about the good soundtrack by Cat Stevens, including the fact that two of Stevens' songs were written expressly for, and were available (for a long time) only in, that film. So what song does Michael Moore play over the closing credits? "Don't Be Shy" -- one of the two songs written just for Harold & Maude. Moore has a good ear when it comes to music in his films.

Second, having seen Sicko this morning, I'd have to agree with what Kate said: it's got to be one of the best documentaries ever, but it's also 'terrifying.'

I think the ad in the local rag quoted the NY Times review saying it was, "Michael Moore's funniest film." That I would disagree with; although Moore's trademark humor shines through on numerous occasions, my overall reaction to the movie was one of great sadness.

Sadness not just for the people whose suffering the film highlights, nor for the millions of Americans in the same situation, nor sadness for the fact that we, as a country, could do so much better -- but rather a sadness that, more probably, we never will do better. A sadness that, as Kate pointed out, was probably part of some Law Of Unintended Consequences that Moore didn't foresee.

There's a scene in the movie where Moore asks a French doctor if he thinks Americans will ever have universal health care. The doctor thinks for a second, then says simply, "No." At first I chuckled, but soon after that, I felt a real, palpable depression settle in over me and I haven't been able to shake it. I've no doubt, as Moore points out, that Americans mean well. I just don't know if they'll be willing to pay attention long enough, and push hard enough, to make the social changes we need to make.

I'm hoping the aspirin and a good night's sleep will give me a rosier perspective in the morning.

In the meantime, there's always the re-broadcast of Larry King's Paris Hilton interview tonight... Or maybe I'll do some online research about getting my passport.

Sicko Is --Terrifying

2007-06-29T20:56:00.000-04:00

Dear Friends,

As a nurse, I thought I had seen it all, as far as the
miseries of the American Health Care System is concerned.

And I have seen the results of the corrupt health insurance
industry and have been petitioning for a single payor plan
since the time of the late and great Paul Wellstone--and well before.

Sicko made me feel like leaving the country.

In fact, I am actively seeking work in the Maritime Provinces.

I know Michael Moore had another vision for all the millions of us who
see the film--like working the front lines, getting signatures for authentic
single payer plans, going to State Capitols to lobby for reform, and onward
to Washington, D.C.

Yet there really are no compromises for the insurance companies.

Those who still want them can have them, but for the majority of us,
they can go.

We do not want them.

Our local Regal Cinema forbad P4P for getting signatures for a
timely petition for the more rapid passing of "The Health and Business
Health Care Security Act."

So get your own hard copy of the petition here and help get as many signatures as you can.

Please?

Thank you.

kate Loving Shenk
Nursing Career Transformation

Health Care For All Americans

2007-06-23T19:51:00.000-04:00

"Sicho," film maker Michael Moore's new movie, is reportedly Moore's best documentory to date.

We could see a grassroots movement here in the United States where the for profit insurance companies are eased out of existance, due to the passion this film generates.

Nurses are helping to sponsor the film all across America.

Thank you, Michael Moore, for recognizing that nurses can change the world!!!

Here's a great article that describes the momentum and excitement the week before the film's release.

Kate Loving Shenk
Nursing Career Transformation

Justice Scalia Appoints Himself to Head Imaginary Defense Team for Imaginary Trial of Imaginary Agent Jack Bauer

2007-06-20T07:43:00.000-04:00

The present age prefers the sign … to the thing signified, the copy to the original, fancy to reality, the appearance to the essence … for in these days, illusion only is sacred, truth profane.
--Ludwig Andreas Feuerbach, 1804-1872

What can be said anymore that hasn't already been said about the merger of television and reality?

Especially when a German philosopher said what needed to be said about a hundred years before the 'TV Age' began.

[cross-posted from Whips & Buggies]

States Take The Lead On The Environment (While Rome Burns)

2007-06-09T12:09:00.000-04:00

Who says we have to wait for George "W" Bush to take the lead--
on anything?

The environment is a responsibility for all of us.

Here is a great article on this very topic.

Enjoy your weekend!!

Kate Loving Shenk
Nursing Career Transformation

Michael Moore on Oprah for 'Sicko'

2007-06-07T09:44:00.000-04:00

As you may -- or may not -- know, helping to get universal single-payer health care for all Pennsylvanians (and all Americans) is one of the main interests of P4P.

Michael Moore's new film "Sicko" looks like it will be a huge boon to promoting a universal single-payer plan.

In case anyone missed it, on 6/5/07 Oprah interviewed Michael Moore for nearly 20 minutes about "Sicko" and the state of health care in America.

Here's Part 1 of that interview:

And here's Part 2:

The Need To be Right--At All Costs

2007-06-05T07:21:00.000-04:00

A terminal condition exists in the media, in politics, in medicine
and at most cocktail parties called: "I'm The Smartest Person
In The Room (and if I'm wrong, I won't admit it.")

George "W" is chronic with this condition.

And Hiliary did it the other night on the debates: refused to
admit she made a mistake regarding her vote to go to war so many
moons ago.

Here's a great article about this very phenomenon in The
Huffington Post.

Enjoy!!

Kate Loving Shenk
Nursing Career Transformation

Freedom Fries

2007-05-27T13:03:00.000-04:00

During a discussion about what had become of 'freedom fries,' Jeru pointed out that last year the Congressional cafeterias had quietly reverted back to calling the snacks 'French fries.'

This made me wonder, what can patriotic Americans call these fried concoctions now that 'freedom fries' are out. In a flash (divinely inspired?) the answer came to me: We'll henceforth forth call them:

Dick Taters.

"Give me a large order of the dick taters! Hold the coup d'etat."

The Democrats Are Cowards

2007-05-25T12:37:00.000-04:00

I can't believe it.

The Democrats gave "W" the money to continue this dispicable war. (All war is dispicable!!)

Listen to Keith Olbermann on this and--well, enjoy??

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/052407A.shtml

Kate Loving Shenk
http://www.nursingcareertransformation.com

Are You on The Left, The Right ... or Up or Down?

2007-05-13T09:21:00.000-04:00

Here's something that's not only fun to do but could be very useful for political groups when they're deciding on their Vision or Mission Statements.

This takes about five minutes of your time: Head to the Political Compass website and follow the link to 'take the test.'

What's unique about this test is that it doesn't just measure where you stand on the traditional Left-Right continuum (based primarily on your economic views), it also measures, on an 'up-and-down' axis, where you stand on social issues, then places your result on a x-y grid.

The links on the left-hand side of the Political Compass homepage are interesting, but don't read about the test before you take it!

Reading about the test beforehand might skew your results. Just dive in and take the test.

For what it's worth (which is: not much, at least until you take the test!), I scored a -8.25 / -6.56.

Harole & Maude

2007-05-13T09:04:00.000-04:00

Our group keeps talking about having a movie night: maybe we should actually pick a night and start with Harold & Maude. And while we're at it, three suggestions for future movie nights from My Top Ten would be: Brewster McCloud, O Lucky Man, and Local Hero. I have tapes of the last two but not the first.

Besides the Cat Stevens soundtrack, what actually drew me to Harold & Maude to begin with was the involvement of Bud Cort: I'd gone to see Brewster McCloud three times when it came out and he starred in that. It's still one of my favorite Altman films; I loved the revelation of overlapping dialogue, among other things. (And I went to see that because I'd seen MASH, by Altman, etc, etc...)

Plus, we've got a few documentaries we could watch. I still have The Corporation which, in my opinion, becomes more relevant every day.

(This just occurred to me: you know what would be great on a double-bill with Harold & Maude? The Loved One starring Jonathan Winters, Rod Steiger, etc., etc., based on the wonderful Evelyn Waugh book.)

The entirety of The Corporation has been posted to YouTube, broken down into 14 segments. Here's the first segment; stick with it (I find the very beginning to be slow, 'laying the groundwork' stuff), but toward the end Howard Zinn appears and discusses the 14th Amendment to the Constitution and for me, that's where the film really kicks in.

Freedom--Is In The Mind

2007-05-10T10:21:00.000-04:00

P4P members have recently been discussing our favorite tunes--this is one of mine--the first time I heard it after many years, I crashed into the back of a WGAL TV cameraman's car!!!

That's how totally excited I was!!!

Thank you,

kate loving shenk
http://www.nursingcareertransformation.com

The Truth About Social Security

2007-05-09T22:53:00.000-04:00

We talk a lot about health care on this blog. We give statistics, we talk about how unfair the system is. But to really understand the problem you have to walk a day in the shoes of someone who has no health care, or has to rely on the government to get money.

I know what your thinking, because I used to think the same thing. I used to think that those on social security or who have no insurance at all are either down on their luck, very poor, or both. The truth is this kind of situation could happen to anyone. It could happen to your mom, your brother, your best friend, or even a girl who grew up in the suburbs, dreaming of life as an adult.

When I was in school I was different then a lot of children. I thought about world issues and wondered why things are the way they are. At first I tried to get my classmates to participate in these conversations, but they just laughed at me. So I kept these thoughts to myself and waited till the day when I could make the world a better place.

When I was thirteen I was a red belt in karate. I was training for a tournament. I was told to go practice in a small room near the dressing room, and when I went to do a blind kick instead of just hitting air I ended up hitting the door frame to the dressing room and broke a bone in my toe.

That injury caused me to be disabled before my fifteenth birthday.

Seven years later after discovering that despite my best efforts I probably won't be able to hold down enough of a job to keep me afloat financially, I started applying for social security. I believe it was the answer to my prayers. It took two years of rejections and court hearings for the government to finally decide I was telling the truth.

After the court handed down it's ruling my lawyer told me that I could expect somewhere between twenty to thirty thousand dollars in back payments (back payments are the way that the court apologizes for not believing I really am disabled the first time I applied). I was elated.

Two months later I had my first meeting with a social worker. He laid down the ugly truth. He told us that while I will be getting money every month it probably won't add up to more then four-hundred and thirty dollars, and my back payments, after they paid the lawyer, wouldn't amount to more then ten thousand dollars. I was crushed. Still, I believed it couldn't get any worse. Boy was I ever wrong.

Only a couple days after meeting with the social worker the mail started flooding in. Mail about the decision, mail about how to pick a health plan, mail about who was giving me which amount of money. It feels like the mail will never stop coming.

And talk about confusing. My parents and I went through the mail hundreds of times and still didn't understand it. But we did what it told us to do. First we picked a health plan that we thought my doctor accepted. Then we were told they didn't accept it, so we choose a new plan. Then we were told that they were sorry, they didn't accept that plan either. Finally on top of all of this I started to get sicker, and it didn't seem to have to do with any part of the problem that started with the broken toe. My doctor discovered an irregular heart beat.

While it seemed like a horrible thing, the doctor told us that it might be as simple as too much stress. He did some blood tests, and said that if they came back normal (which they did) I would have to have an echo. Then it got worse.

Since the doctor that diagnosed the disease was not part of my new plan, I would need to go to another doctor and get him or her to write out the script for the echo; and that's where the fun started once again.

We called the plans office and asked if there was any doctors in our area that accepted the plan. The woman on the phone came up with one. "Great" we said, and tried to call him; but the number she gave us was a wrong number. Turns out that that doctor doesn't work in our area anymore. So we tried again and got the name of a different doctor. I called the office and asked if they can see me right away. They told me they don't see new patients for another six to seven weeks.

Stumped, I went back to my old doctor's referral office and asked if there was anything they could do turns out they found a clinic very close to my house that can help.

So what should you take from all of this? Should you march on Washington and demand them to change the system or you aren't leaving? Maybe. First and foremost, however you should take the following two things from this story:

First, know that this could happen to anyone. It doesn't matter what race you are, how old or young, or even what social class you originally came from. All that has to happen is for you to get sick and not be able to pay for your doctor bills.

Second, remember how long it took me to get a simple test on something that could be very serious. Know that it shouldn't be this way, and know that if we don't do something it will stay this way. So write your congressman have forums, or even just talk about this to someone who may have false beliefs about it.

I might not be the last person to go through this program, but I'm hoping that soon there will be one last person. I hope you learned something from this, and I hope that you will do something about it. Thank you.

Blessed be,

Artistinme82

My Introduction for a Better World

2007-05-04T23:27:00.000-04:00

It's interesting-I have my own blog and I normally use it for complaining about my life; it never occurred to me that a blog like this one could be used to debate foreign and national policy. Then again, I don't get around much in order to know why others are blogging in the first place. Sure I attend my meetings and help to organize marches like a good progressive, but it never occurred to me to try to share any views that someone would take seriously.

Then again, a lot of things don't occur to me. That might be because I really don't get out much. I have a neurological condition known as Reflex Sympathetic dystrophy and while the pain from this disorder (you can learn about that pain at http://www.fighting4us.com/) does keep me in most of the time, a lot of the time it's the idea of going out and dealing with the world that scares me more then the pain of going over road bumps.

It's not that I don't like being around people, far from it. The problem is dealing with people that don't know me, that feel they have to stare at me when I do something they feel is wrong or out of the ordinary. For instance while I can walk well enough, walking long distances is really hard on my body; so for that reason I have a handicap sticker in my car. It isn't because I'm lazy and use my relatives card to get in and out of places quicker.

Then there are the things people do that are in most cases a friendly gesture. If someone feels sorry for me and puts a hand on my shoulder it is actually extremely painful rather then comforting. The idea of shaking some one's hand makes me wonder about how I should handle the situation. Should just deal with the pain, or should I tell the person I can't do it and get an awkward look.

The point of writing this article is not to make you feel bad; but rather to help you open your eyes to the fact that a person who doesn't shake your hand or uses a handicap sticker when they can walk isn't necessarily being rude, and might actually be saving you from an embarrassing situation.

I'd like to think that by sharing this story I'll be able to get out more, or at least get less stares when I do get. Maybe by this time next year I'll be up to date on the way the world works. But till that happens I'll keep trying to keep up with society, and try to remember that a blog can be used for more then just complaining.

Did Rudi Giuliani Bury Himself Alive? (I Can Only Hope So)

2007-05-04T09:52:00.002-04:00

Here is a link to a recent Keith Olbermann commentary based on a recent Giuliani talk he gave at a "Lincoln Day Dinner" in New Hampshire.

If you saw the Republican Debate last night, and made it to the end (I'm living testimony) then you know how sad a bunch these white men are who one of them could replace "W."

And we'd be sorrier for it.

Here's the link.

Peace (of mind)
Kate Loving Shenk
http://www.katelovingshenk.com/nursingcareertransformation

Did Rudi Giuliani Bury Himself Alive? (I Can Only Hope So)

2007-05-04T09:52:00.001-04:00

Here is a link to a recent Keith Olbermann commentary based on a Giuliani talk given at a "Lincoln Day Dinner" in New Hampshire.

If you saw the Republican Debate last night, and made it to the end (I'm living testimony) then you know how sad a bunch these white men are who one of them could replace "W."

And we'd be sorrier for it.

Here's the link.

Peace (of mind)
Kate Loving Shenk
http://www.nursingcareertransformation.com

Bill Moyers Is Back

2007-05-02T21:45:00.000-04:00

As you know, the Bill Moyers Journal is back on PBS television every Friday evening.

I just had the pleasure of watching Moyers interview Jon Stewart and wanted to share the link with you all to watch.

The discourse is thoughtful and indepth, as one would expect from both of these men.

Also entertaining!!!

Check it out!!!

Peace (of mind)
Kate Loving Shenk
http://www.nursingcareertransformation.com

Topic For Discussion

2007-04-26T14:04:00.000-04:00

George Carlin is a funny guy. However, a lot of his humor isn't "funny ha-ha" so much as "funny, but sadly, true." The following riff definitely falls into the latter category.

Here's the topic for discussion: If you're nodding and agreeing with Carlin, here -- then, after he's finished, are you inspired to change the world? Are you ready to jump off a tall building? Are you merely depressed and are now headed out for a drink (or some other intoxicant)?

Discuss.

Letter to the Intelligencer Journal

2007-04-25T08:26:00.000-04:00

To the Editor--

I was stunned to read in your April 14th edition that after years of denying the calculated massacre of refugees in No Gunn Ri, Korea, conclusive evidence was uncovered about the Unites States policy of routinely killing innocent civilians. What made this even more troubling was the choice of the Intelligencer news staff to bury it on page 4 of the Local section. I'm sure it must be difficult to appropriate the proper placement of a story regarding the slaughter of hundreds of women and children when it's competing with stories as important as the deer Baby and Anna Nicole's child (tongue firmly planted in cheek.)

As a nation we can accept no less than a renewed investigation into the events that took place on that tragic day and the withholding of incriminating documentation of the policy. The individuals responsible should be held accountable for their actions.

The Healthcare Crisis In Pennsylvania

2007-04-24T18:19:00.000-04:00

I am a nurse who has practiced in the state of Pennsylvania for 23 years, first as a Nurse Practitioner for 17 years, now as a staff nurse at one of Lancaster's local hospitals.

Progressives 4 Pennsylvania organized a Healthcare Forum to discuss the healthcare crisis in the state, 4/4/07. The Governor of Pennsylvania was in attendance.

The following is what the forum revealed to the 300 people who gathered:

Over 48 million Americans are without health care insurance. That doesn't even address the problem with the under-served, and those without proper access to the system.

A notable problem not addressed by anyone on the Healthcare Crisis panel at Franklin And Marshall 4/4/07 is that there are over 1500 different insurance companies here in the US, all with different rules and different paperwork.

No wonder access to care is such a problem.

The system needs to be overhauled. Governor Rendell's plan, Prescription For Pennsylvania, allows those who have created the problem to continue to get a paycheck, by rearranging the way everything is delivered.

The Ceo's of the Insurance Companies continue to get their billions of dollars and the Pharmaceutical Companies continue to profit from the sick and suffering.

The Governor doesn't seem to know anything about healthcare, anyway. That much is obvious: Like putting everyone's medical records on the internet; Or like putting mercurochrome on everyone's wounds in the emergency room; Or like letting nurses take over the health care system--talk about a war between the sexes!!

More than one in three Americans is either uninsured or under-insured, and studies suggest that being under-insured is almost as problematical as being uninsured.

People faced with large co-pays and deductibles avoid seeking medical attention until they absolutely have to. By then it is often too late to avoid a bad outcome.

Think about that 8-year old who died of a brain infection down in Baltimore recently because his family couldn't find a dentist who would do a $60 medicaid tooth extraction.

His mother did not have $60.

Think about people or who have insurance that barely covers anything, like so many situations people face today.

The insurance companies are bound by law to generate returns for their stockholders, not provide customers (patients) with high quality health care at an affordable cost. Therefore customers of health insurance have next to no leverage to influence the way insurance companies serve them.

All of my Canadian friends love the system they have in their country. The AMA (American Medical Association) pays to disseminate propaganda leading Americans to believe otherwise.

We need to directly ask Canadian Citizen's to educate Americans about their Health Care Delivery system.

We need to ask the Governor how much Pac money he got from the insurance companies to fund his run for Governor.

The forum was a great beginning for opening our minds to this problem. As Chuck Pennacchio suggested, author of the "Family and Business Healthcare Security Act," SB 300(a single-payor Statewide, comprehendsive healthcare delivery system), an Economic Impact Study is a logical next step.

Perhaps Progressive's For Pennsylvania can lead the way for making this study a reality.

-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Kate Loving Shenk is a writer, healer, musician and the creator
of the e-book called "Transform Your Nursing Career and Discover
Your Calling and Destiny." The book is designed to stimulate
nurses to love their work and to prevent on-the-job-burnout.
Click here to find out how to order the e-book:
http://www.nursingcareertransformation.com
Check out Kate's Blog: http://nursehealers.typepad.com
http://mukunda22.powerfulintentions.com
http://secretsofthenursehealers.wordpress.com
And the Lens: http://www.squidoo.com/katelovingshenk
http://www.squidoo.com/thinkriches
http://www.mukunda22.powerfulintentions.com/forum/thinkandgrowrich

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=

P4P Hosts Forum on Universal Health Care; Governor Rendell Likes Single-Payer Plan

2007-04-07T20:37:00.000-04:00

"I've said a single-payer system would serve Americans well. Would I sign single-payer legislation if it came to me? Yes," Rendell said.

from: Lancaster Intelligencer Journal, April 5, 2007

Rendell drops by health forum at F&M

Touts 'Prescription for Pennsylvania' plan
BY SUSAN E. LINDT, Intelligencer Journal Staff

Gov. Ed Rendell popped in at a local health care forum Wednesday to plug his mammoth "Prescription for Pennsylvania" plan, which he said could provide Pennsylvanians with affordable health care.

The forum, sponsored by Progressives 4 Pennsylvania, included panelists detailing problematic aspects of the current health care system and a speech by panelist Chuck Pennacchio, a 2006 U.S. Senate candidate who plugged his own answer to the problem: a single-payer plan known as state Senate Bill 300.

Progressives 4 Pennsylvania was formed in 2006 by local backers of Pennacchio's failed bid for the Democratic nomination for a U.S. Senate seat.

"Unless it's single-payer, it's not universal," Pennacchio said, before Rendell arrived at the forum at Franklin & Marshall's Alumni Sports & Fitness Center. "It's only universal if everyone is covered. Let's get our terminology right. Our bill gets at the source of the problem. We already have single-payer health care; it's called Medicare, and it works."

Under a single-payer plan, one entity -- a government-run organization -- would collect all health care fees, and pay all health care costs. A multipayer plan, as featured in Rendell's proposal, would work with the existing insurance system.

With his signature sense of humor, Rendell defended his multipayer plan, even while conceding a single-payer model might be better. He listed Pennsylvania's powerful health-insurance lobbies and lack of support on the national level for universal health care as hurdles preventing him from proposing a single-payer plan.

"I've said a single-payer system would serve Americans well. Would I sign single-payer legislation if it came to me? Yes," Rendell said. "Would I like to wake up tomorrow and comb my hair in a pompadour? Yes. But it's not going to happen.

"We can make progress, but we can't be Don Quixotes. There are no votes (for a single-payer system) in Washington, and it can only work if it's for the whole nation."

Rendell said Pennacchio's single-payer proposal doesn't address major cost-cutting areas in his proposal, state House Bill 700.

That plan would guarantee 85 percent of every dollar invested in health care would be spent on treatment, not administrative costs. His plan also allows the state's insurance commissioner to set rates, as the commissioner does for car insurance.

The governor said Pennsylvanians use emergency departments at a rate 11 percent higher than the national average and that visits are increasing by more than twice the national average. His plan would designate ER nurses and physician assistants to care for nonemergency cases at a lower cost.

Rendell took a jab at physicians and the Pennsylvania Medical Society as he explained that his plan would allow nurses, midwives, physicians assistants and other licensed health care professionals more latitude in treating patients, which he said would widen access to care, improve quality and lower costs.

"(The Pennsylvania Medical Society) applauds much of the plan, but they want to preserve the sacred bond between doctor and patient of administering a flu shot or treating that infected toenail," Rendell said. "This is all about turf, and it shouldn't be. There are plenty of doctors out there who understand what's going on, and that it's about turf."

Pressed by an audience member to name the better plan, panelist Dr. Tom Gates, a Lancaster family physician, reluctantly said a single-payer system is "eloquent and simple" and "makes the most sense," but, "I also respect the governor's position on the politics."

Other panelists included Dr. Mike Baxter; Sean Flaherty, a professor of economics at F&M; and Louis Yoka, vice president of Fulton Financial Corp..

© 2004-2007 Lancaster Newspapers
PO Box 1328, Lancaster PA 17608, (717) 291-8811
Terms of Service Privacy Policy

UPDATE: John Morgan posted a blog about our Health Care Forum at The Pennsylvania Progressive.

Lancaster County For Pennacchio Becomes Progressives 4 Pennsylvania

2006-08-21T14:57:00.000-04:00

We are a progressive organization headquartered in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. We started out as Lancaster County for Pennacchio, dedicated to getting the Senate nomination for Chuck Pennacchio, a progressive Democrat. We are now dedicated to bringing progressive direction to Pennsylvania politics and advancing a progressive political agenda.

Progressives For Pennsylvania

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