Political Meanderings in Clay County Missouri
Keep tabs on your elected officials and all the political happenings in and around Clay County Missouri.Best Buy, Van Jones, and the lack of a backbone
I’m sorry, is it just me, or, is there any rational thought left in America? Van Jones, remember him, the disgraced Green Jobs czar that resigned from the White House because America figured out that he was a 9/11 truther and a self-avowed communist. I realize it’s just a typical association for our Progressive President, but it’s not OK with me to have him near our government. Well, he’s back, and this time he will speak at the State of Green Business Forum 2010 event with several American corporations. One of which was my former favorite electronics retailer, Best Buy.
Best Buy’s Senior VP of Emerging Business Rick Rommel will be joining Van at this conference. I decided to e-mail Best Buy’s customer service in protest of this. Here is what I said.
This is not related to product and customer service, but it is a concern I have. I love Best Buy, and enjoy shopping in your stores. I recently noticed in an article online that one of your executives, Rick Rommel will be speaking on the same stage as Van Jones in San Francisco at the State of Green Business Forum. Van Jones is a self-avowed communist, his words, not mine. He signed a document that accused our own government of the 9/11 attacks. He is a dangerous radical that has no business having input on anything green or business.Your executive speaks, I quit buying products at Best Buy.
Respectfully,
Andrew
Now one would think that any rational company, a company that truly cared about America and American values, wouldn’t send an executive to speak in the same city as this piece of trash, let alone the same event. Then again one wouldn’t think we are living in rational times considering current events.
I never expected Best Buy to respond. But they did, so I thought it prudent to share this with everyone that reads my blog. Here is their response.
Hey Andrew,
First let me thank you for your inquiry and apologize for the delayed response. Andrew while I completely understand your email and it clearly points out your stance, the conference is not about and bigger than Mr. Jones political views and this is why Rick is attending. The conference has support from some of the biggest corporations in the nation in an effort to educate and brainstorm on how companies can work more efficiently using green technologies. The focus of the conference is an awesome concept and personal politics are not involved in any way. Andrew I’m truly sorry that you’re considering leaving our family due to this event, believe me we definitely don’t want to lose you. I hope that you understand the conferences’ overall objective and reconsider continuing to be a Best Buy member. Please let me know if you have any other questions and I’ll be more than happy to assist you further, thanks!
Best regards,
Quintin
Here, let me translate this for you. “You dumb American consumer, you are not smart enough to understand the importance of green jobs. You must realize that we don’t live in a time of rational thinking and moral values. Instead we live in a time period where the end justifies the means, that reality can be created if we so decide, and that principles don’t matter. Surely you can look past this transgression and see that, well, your just a dumb-dumb-dummy and that we know best. But, please keep buying stuff in our stores, because we have America’s best interests at heart, really. Didn’t you hear, the world is going to end, Algore told us so.”
What’s funny is, I never even called into question the issue of green jobs, my whole comment was directed at the fact that Van Jones IS A 9/11 TRUTHER AND A COMMUNIST!
Please join me in boycotting Best Buy. They lack a backbone! Consider sending your own e-mail, and if you have time, send one to these other companies as well:
Microsoft
IBM
Intel
Best Buy’s customer service can be e-mailed here: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id=cat12104&type=page
ClayCoMoPolitics Takes On Mayor Funky and MAIG
Okay, I am done, I have had enough of Mayor Funkhouser. This is why I do not believe in bi-partisanship. Bi-partisanship should be translated as, violate your principals and values so we all can just get along. It fell apart about a month ago when I found out that our Mayor was a member of Mayors Against Illegal Guns (MAIG). I know, you are thinking, what’s wrong with being against “illegal guns”? Here is the catch, it’s a rhetorical device used to get you on the side of those that will do anything to deny American’s their Second Amendment rights. Below is a correspondence I had with the Mayor on this issue.
Here is the correspondence between the Mayor and I.
Mr. Mayor,
I have supported you for some time, defended you against the KC Star, and actually was considering voting for you in the next Mayoral primary. Well, not now. Resign from Mayors Against Illegal Guns! It’s a front group for taking away my second amendment rights. MAIG claims on its website that it wants to work with the NRA. That’s an outright lie!
See the below attached article.
Bloomberg’s Phantom Mayors http://www.nraila.org/Issues/Articles/Read.aspx?id=388&issue=011
Dear Mr. Palmer,
I have no secret agenda. I am opposed to illegal guns (and illegal aliens, illegal drugs, and most things illegal). I have said on the record what Corey Booker says in this article – homicides in my town are not committed by people carrying legal weapons. I support the 2nd Amendment (although no part of the constitution is “sacred” to me – it is foundational law for our country but it is not Holy Writ). I will oppose the NRA when I think they are wrong – they are simply one more pressure group – just like La Raza.
I support our police – and they very much support the Mayors’ Coalition Against Illegal Guns.
This issue – illegal guns – is only one of many issues that matter to me and that I think are vital to the future of our city. You and I are going to agree on some issues and disagree on others. If there’s another candidate for Mayor with whom you agree on illegal guns, and you choose to support him or her despite their stance on other issues, that is, of course, your choice. I hope you will continue to share your thoughts and opinions with me as long as I am your Mayor. And when the next election rolls around I hope you change your mind and decide to support me.
All the best,
Mark
Mr. Funkhouser,I do appreciate the response.
One question, maybe you could help me out here. Just what is an illegal gun? Considering the fact that every aspect of the firearm industry is controlled or regulated in one aspect or another, from manufacturer to point of sale. It’s hard to grasp what an “illegal gun” really is, other than a useless rhetorical device. It puts the blame on the wrong thing. The firearm is simply the means to the end in a crime, it’s not the problem, nor is it the cause.
That’s a heck of a stretch, comparing the NRA to La Raza. I assume you did that as just an example of an interest group, but I worry that you might be saying that the 1 million plus members of Americans who support the NRA are just as extreme as the racists in La Raza. I really doubt that’s what you are saying, but you might want to clear that up.
You do not support the 2nd Amendment if you support Mayor’s Against Illegal Guns. I am sorry, you can believe that all you want, the reality of the situation is as such. MAIG has attempted to repeal the privacy protections of the Tiahrt amendment and lobbied against right to carry reciprocity. I assume that you know that this group was started by Mayor Bloomberg and that he has repeatedly used personal money to lobby against the law abiding freedoms of millions of Americans? Maybe he could be spending his millions on helping police officers fight crime, reducing poverty inside of his city, and prosecuting criminals to the fullest extent of the law instead of infringing upon the rights of millions of law abiding citizens.
Mayor, 80 mayors have resigned from MAIG in the last 2 months, nearly 20% of those originally signed up to MAIG. You can be 81, I hope you open your eyes to what is really going on.
Best Regards
Dear Mr. Palmer
The most common type of illegal gun is one that has been stolen.
There are people who admire La Raza and do not see them as racists. There are also people who admire the NRA. Each is a lobby group created to advance a political position.
I believe my eyes are wide open.
If 80 mayors have resigned from MAIG to avoid political risk, so be it. I do what I believe right regardless of the political consequences.
Thanks again for sharing your thoughts.
All the best,
Mark
Well, I should have known. Why was I surprised though? The Mayor has consistently been a supporter of Obama. A tweet the other day said it all. “Despite all the critcism (sic) I hear, everytime (sic) I hear a senior administration official I have renewed confidence in the President.”
I mean, really? The same President who nominated a communist to be the Green Jobs Czar, Van Jones. The same President who seems to have no trouble with FCC Diversity Czar Mark Lloyd. The same President who stated on Wednesday that the reason Massachusetts voters voted for Scott Brown is because they were angry at Bush. The same President who continues to not listen to American’s as he tries to ram a health care bill down our throats that we don’t want. Yeah, Mr. Mayor, renewed confidence in Obama, whatever you say.
Kansas City, this mayor, is out of touch with reality, he must be dealt with after we get through November. As much as we thought that he may have been a “conservative” Democrat. I believe the proof is in the pudding, or, the leftist positions the Mayor currently holds.
Tiahrt Statement on Latest Assault on Law Enforcement, 2nd Amendment Privacy Rights
I have not done an in depth post on this yet, but we all need to be wary of this new anti-gun organization, Mayors Against Illegal Guns (MAIG) created by Mayor Michael Bloomberg. They claim to be concerned about stopping “illegal” guns and fighting crime, but in reality the group has been founded to take more rights away from law abiding gun owners. This continues the liberal axiom; if you can’t accomplish something legitimately, lie your butt off and do it dishonestly. Below is a press release from Representative Todd Tiahrt. MAIG is hard at work on attacking the Tiahrt Amendment. Oh yeah, by the way, Mayor Mark Funkhouser is a proud member of MAIG. More on that in a future post.
WASHINGTON—U.S. Congressman Todd Tiahrt (R-Kan.) issued the following statement about another in a series of false accusations perpetrated by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and his anti-gun organization Mayors Against Illegal Guns. In a syndicated op-ed column this week, E. J. Dionne Jr. released results from a survey funded by Bloomberg’s organization and deceptively charged that the Tiahrt amendment restricts police from enforcing firearm laws.
“The Tiahrt amendment protects those who protect us by ensuring trace data remains fully accessible to law enforcement officials while keeping sensitive information away from criminals, terrorists and organizations that could jeopardize ongoing criminal investigations or endanger officers’ lives,” said Tiahrt. “Had Mr. Dionne taken time to read the Tiahrt amendment, he would have known what the law does. Mayor Bloomberg’s assault on the Tiahrt amendment is an assault on the protections it affords law enforcement officials and privacy rights of legal firearm owners.
“Mr. Dionne’s claim this week that the Tiahrt amendment restricts police from enforcing the law is patently wrong. We have worked very hard to ensure the men and women who serve in law enforcement are provided the tools necessary to enforce firearm laws that help keep our communities safe. As the world’s largest organization of sworn law enforcement officers, the Fraternal Order of Police has endorsed the Tiahrt amendment because it helps law enforcement do their job. It is critical that we protect undercover officers and their investigations from sabotage by special interest groups like Mayor Bloomberg’s organization. ”
For more information on the Tiahrt amendment click here.
REP. SCHAAF DROPS AMA MEMBERSHIP, URGES IMMEDIATE PHYSICIAN EXODUS
I posted a comment on this Press Release a few days ago. It was also published in the Platte County Landmark as a letter to the editor Thursday. I thought it would be pertinent to go ahead and post the Press Release. I just want to reiterate the fact that Dr. Schaaf’s decision to leave the AMA was greatly appreciated!
St. Joseph, MO–In response to the endorsement by the American Medical Association of the Senate Health Bill, Missouri State Representative Rob Schaaf, M.D., a practicing family physician, is dropping out of the AMA and urges fellow physicians to do the same.
“The AMA has ignored the best interests of patients, opting to protect special interests,” Dr. Schaaf said. “Physicians need to send the AMA a strong message that they will not tolerate AMA’s support of this horrible bill.”
Schaaf noted that the proposal before the Senate ignores several basic problems with our health system while enlarging an already broken Medicaid program and burdening all patients with increased health insurance costs and taxes. Among other problems…
-
The high cost of defensive medicine due to frivolous lawsuits is not addressed.
-
Market reforms, such as allowing the purchase of insurance across state lines and the addition of transparency to the medical marketplace, would lower the cost of healthcare through increased competition but are left out of the bill.
-
The perverse incentives built into the Medicaid program are addressed for neither patients nor providers.
-
While the bill includes a huge expansion of the Medicaid program, it does nothing to fix the problem patients have seeing specialists, many of whom refuse to schedule adequate visit slots for Medicaid patients because of the insufficient payments for care. Medicaid would continue to pay physicians less than their cost of providing care. The Medicaid patients added to the program by the bill will further worsen the already severe access problem.
-
The Medicare Physician Payment formula is broken and has led to many physicians refusing to see Medicare patients. The bill does not provide the needed fix.
-
Younger patients would be burdened with the cost of health insurance as a result of the prohibition against preexisting condition exclusions coupled with the mandate to purchase insurance.
-
Political payoffs have resulted in some states getting greater subsidies for Medicaid at the expense of other states such as Missouri under the bill.
-
Even though physician-owned hospitals have been shown to provide lower cost and more effective care to patients, physicians would be banned from future hospital ownership. This political payoff to the hospital industry will protect them from the competition needed to force down costs and will deny patients the benefits of better and less expensive care.
-
The perverse incentive of cost-based reimbursement of some providers, including hospitals, is not addressed.
-
Patients are not guaranteed access to their own physicians, as under the bill, insurance companies would continue to be allowed to refuse panel membership to any physician willing to accept a company’s terms. According to a recent poll, this simple reform is supported by over ninety percent of the public.
-
The bill contains more regulatory burdens on physicians and will make it harder for them to provide care to patients. Many older physicians would retire early as as a result, frustrated with an already over-regulated medical practice.
-
The employer mandates in the bill would strain many businesses, thus putting many workers out of work. This political payoff would enrich insurance companies.
-
Insurance companies would continue to enjoy exemption from antitrust law as a result of one senator’s demand, blatantly protecting this special interest group that supported him.
-
The costs of Medicaid expansion would eventually become an unfunded mandate, straining the budgets of states such as Missouri, which already has a severe budget problem.
-
Increased taxation of makers of medical devices would reduce innovation and increase costs for patients.
“While some patients would receive free or subsidized health care, they would do so at the expense of fellow citizens, all of whom would see increased health insurance costs as a result of this bill. Congress has squandered an opportunity to make changes that would lower costs for everyone and instead, Congress plans to move us closer to socialized medicine,” Dr. Schaaf said. “They are forcing this bill down the throats of the American public, which poll after poll show are in opposition.”
Dr. Schaaf urges fellow AMA member physicians to contact member services at (800) 262-3211, or by emailing msc@ama-assn.org, and drop membership until such time as AMA demands a meaningful bill before giving its support. He also urges physicians to retain membership in their state organizations, such as the Missouri State Medical Association, which has objected to the legislation before Congress.
“Hopefully, if enough physicians act quickly, the AMA will realize the seriousness of this mistake and reverse it,” Schaaf noted. “If AMA does so, I will encourage physicians to reconsider, as I will, this painful decision to leave the organization.”
Dr. Schaaf encourages physicians to widely distribute this press release, especially to fellow physicians.
###
Notes From Funk’s Front Porch – 8 January 2010
Recent newsletter from Kansas City Mayor Mark Funkhouser.
Notes From Funk’s Front Porch
8 January 2010
Dear Folks,
This Week’s City Business
Happy New Year! The year 2010 has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?
The thick covering of snow that has blanketed Kansas City is beautiful, but it has taken a toll on our city employees. Our public works crews and management have been working around the clock, with most of them having to forgo time with their families on the holidays, to make our roadways safe for our residents. I would like to personally thank them for their dedicated hard work to meet that end, especially with the somewhat antiquated machinery that they’ve had to work with, and with having received no cooperation from Mother Nature. With the amount of snow that we’ve received and the accompanying frigid temperatures that we’ve had for going on three weeks, it is sometimes hard to see that plows have been down every roadway and street, but in fact, they have. And as soon as the temperature gets above freezing, the salt will be able to do its work to clear the roads down to the bare pavement.
Speaking of city employees, a horrible situation has befallen one of them while plowing our streets early this morning. The driver was in his truck when a gunman opened fire, spraying bullets into his vehicle. The employee was taken to a local hospital, and at this time, is considered to be in stable condition. Please hold this employee in your thoughts for a speedy recovery.
The Mayor was scheduled to meet with Governor Jay Nixon this past Thursday, but due to the inclement weather, had to postpone the face-to-face meeting for a later date. They did, however, have a phone meeting where they discussed, among other things, economic development and job creation in Kansas City. They are both looking forward to working together on behalf of the residents of Kansas City.
The Mayor was also scheduled to travel to his little cabin in the Ozarks this weekend to write his All Souls speech in the peace and quiet of the woods. Of course, the weather stopped that trip from happening as well. The All Souls speech is a speech that is given by the Mayor each January. It is considered to be a precursor to the Mayor’s State of the City speech that he gives each May. As usual, the All Souls speech will begin with an update on the progress of the Mayor’s current initiatives, and will conclude with the Mayor rolling out his next initiative, which promises to be his most exciting initiative yet. Stay tuned for more information on that front, or better yet, plan on attending the All Souls speech on Sunday, January 31st at the All Souls Unitarian Church, 4501 Walnut Street, in Kansas City, Missouri.
On A More Personal Note
We had a lovely holiday season with our children. Because we have all been so busy, it was a very low-key event this year. But we found that we rather liked having the focus be on each other, rather than on the preparations to be with each other, so I’m guessing that this might become a family tradition in the Funkhouser home for years to come.
The Mayor’s Public Appearances Next Week
Tuesday
10:30 a.m. Council Committee Chairs Meeting
Mayor’s Office, 414 E. 12th St. 29th Floor
3:30 p.m. A City that Works Weekly Public Meeting
10th Floor, City Hall
Wednesday
9:00 a.m. Little Blue Valley Sewer District Board of Directors Meeting
Harvey A. Jones Memorial Administration Building – 21101 East 78 Highway
Independence
11:00 a.m. Up To Date With Steve Kraske
89.3 KCUR FM
Thursday
8:00 a.m. EDC Executive Committee Meeting
Town Pavilion – 17th Floor
9:30 a.m. Northland Chamber Leadership Class
Mayor’s Office, 414 E. 12th St. 29th Floor
1:30 p.m. Council Business Session
10th Floor, City Hall
3:00 p.m. Council Legislative Session
26th Floor, City Hall
Friday
7:40 a.m. Fridays with Funk
710 KCMO AM
10:00 a.m. ASB Bridge Underpass Ribbon Cutting with the Port Authority, Ameristar Casino
And the City of Kansas City, Berkeley Riverfront Park
Sunday
7:00 a.m. First News on KMBC Channel 9 with Kris Ketz
KMBC 9
1:00 p.m. Your Kansas City
MY KSMO Channel 62
The Next Town Hall Meetings
January 6, 2010 – 6:30 p.m.
Garden Village Retirement Residence
8550 N. Gramby
January 28, 2010 – 7 p.m.
Hickman Mills School District PTA Council
5401 103rd Street
February 3, 2010 – 6:30 p.m.
Avila College
11901 Wornall Road
February 10, 2010 – 6:30 p.m.
South Kansas City Chamber of Commerce
5008 E. Bannister Road
February 17, 2010
Plumbers Union Local 8 and Pipefitters Union Local
8600 Hillcrest Road
February 24, 2010
Hickman Mills School District
9000 Old Sante Fe Road
March 10, 2010
Cristo Rey School
211 West Linwood Boulevard
March 18, 2010
Park Hill School District PTA Council
7703 NW Barry Road
In faith,
Gloria & Mark
The Stouffer Report-1/7/10
The Stouffer Report:
Real Solutions to Health Care
The mainstream media loves to accuse opponents of so-called health care “reform” of obstructing progress and not having proposals of their own. The truth is there are dozens of plans to help improve cost and access to quality care — you just are not hearing about them.
As laws are currently written, you can only buy an insurance policy from a provider licensed in the state where you live. Over the years, proposals to enable you to buy a plan from another state have been offered and rejected. There are a few such plans out there right now, offered as alternatives to the proposals in the U.S. House and Senate.
Proponents of interstate insurance policies say such a law would increase choices and lower prices for the 17 million Americans who buy individual coverage. Opponents say buying insurance from another state would decrease good coverage and wind up costing more, because one state’s consumer protection laws would not cover another’s safeguards. While this could be viewed as more of a state’s rights issue, it is an alternative to what is seemingly being shoved down our throats from the bureaucrats in Washington, D.C. on a much larger scale.
Another solution comes in the form of tort reform, which Missouri lawmakers passed in 2005. House Bill 393 was signed by the governor in March of that year. It was one of the best reform bills ever signed in our state’s history. The goal was to remove frivolous lawsuits from our courts. Most of those were malpractice suits that were clogging up our legal system, making it look more like the lottery than justice. Since then, the number of lawsuits has been declining and the judgments in these cases have been dropping to more sustainable levels. If we could get something like this passed on a national level, the amount of money you spend on health care would drop. However, it would be ideal if the states would put the interests of its people first, not the trial lawyers, and enact similar reforms.
The federal government seems to be obsessed with passing some sort of health care bill as quickly as it can. As I have mentioned before, there are roughly 4,000 pages in the House and Senate versions of “reform.” It would appear a majority of U.S. representatives and senators have not read every page contained in either of these bills. This was made obvious to me during the summer, when thousands of people went to town halls across the country and could quote directly from the bills, while the lawmakers were scrambling to get answers from assistants.
Somewhere among all of these different proposals, whether they are the ones you hear about or the ideas that are not on the front page, is a real solution to these challenges. I have little faith in the ability of the federal government to do the right thing. I do, however, have all the faith in the world in you — the American taxpayer.
Senator Stouffer serves the counties of Carroll, Chariton, Cooper, Howard, Lafayette, Macon, Ray, Saline, and a part of Clay.
Rep. Doug Ervin – Session Begins
Press release I just received from Rep. Doug Ervin.We look forward to battling the Federal Government with you.
Capitol Comment
Representative Doug Ervin
January 7, 2010
Session Begins
“The care of human life and happiness, and not their destruction, is the first and only legitimate object of good government.”
- Thomas Jefferson
letter to the Republican citizens of Washington County, Maryland
March 31, 1809
This week the Second Regular Session of the 95th General Assembly was convened. This will be my last year to serve in the Missouri House of Representatives due to term limits and I look forward to representing the interests of our communities and our state in the coming months.
It is also with great regret that I inform you that the U.S. Congress has also convened this week to work tirelessly on their behalf, and their elections, as well.
Missouri’s state budget will command the most attention from lawmakers and special interest groups this session. This is the second budget year in a row where general revenue collections are less than the previous year. At present, revenue collections are down considerably from last year with year to date collections off by 10.5%.
The Governor, House, and Senate budget leaders have agreed upon the revised consensus revenue estimate for the remainder of this fiscal year which ends on June 30, 2010 predicting that revenues will be 6.4% less than expected at $6.97 billion in general revenue. The fiscal year 2010 budget was passed based upon an overly optimistic revenue estimate of $7.76 billion.
They have also agreed upon the consensus revenue estimate for the next budget year which begins on July 1, 2010 suggesting a growth in state general revenue collections of 3.5% resulting in $7.223 billion of general revenue. This will be a difficult number to beat if unemployment remains high.
Speaking of unemployment, this year begins with a staggering 9.5% unemployment rate in Missouri and 10% unemployment nationwide. The shadow of the federal government continues to darken over the states and the federal overreach into the lives of Americans is frighteningly Orwellian.
A recent Wall Street Journal opinion piece suggested, “… a civilization becomes incompetent not only when it fails to learn the lessons of the past, but also when it becomes crippled by them.” The world over is strewn with the debris of failed socialist governments, despots, and the wretched human condition of those struggling for hope and liberty at the hands of those promoting “the greater good”.
Yet, in Washington, Congress continues to fritter away opportunity after opportunity to provide real leadership for America, to unleash the American mind and the entrepreneur by promoting Liberty. Instead, our elected Congress and executive branch ignore the virtue of our matchless Constitution, they ignore the inalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness endowed to us by our Creator as recognized by our Founders in the Declaration of Independence, and they buy each other off with our tax dollars to ingratiate themselves, buy votes for unpopular legislation, and then turn around and lecture us about who is watching out for our best interests.
This is the year where states will play defense. We will dust off the forgotten notion of federalism and we will remind Congress and the President that the U.S. Constitution begins with “We the People”.
The Republican majority in the Missouri House recognizes that the bedrock of the economy, the bedrock of every community, is you and your family.
It is time for government to quit trying pick winners and losers, to stop trying to tell us what is good for us, to stop trying to be God. Instead, government should recognize that, as Frederic Bastiat observed in 1850:
“God has given to men all that is necessary for them to accomplish their destinies… And now that the legislators and do-gooders have so futilely inflicted so many systems upon society, may they finally end where they should have begun: May they reject all systems, and try liberty; for liberty is an acknowledgement of faith in God and His works.”
Where our federal government has failed to act, the Missouri House will remain committed to seeking solutions to the problems faced by Missourians from all walks of life.
As always, I appreciate hearing your comments, opinions and concerns. LaTonya Percival, my Legislative Assistant, and I are always available to answer questions and address your concerns. I can be reached in Jefferson City at (573)751-2238 or you can write me at doug.ervin@house.mo.gov or regular mail at 201 West Capitol Avenue, Room 412A, Jefferson City, MO 65101.
###
For a Better Missouri,
Doug Ervin
State Representative
District 35, Missouri
Health insurance companies and who they really contribute to
The Democrats try hard to tell you that insurance companies and Republicans are in bed together. They always try to make it seem as if they don’t take any money either and they are the party of the people. This is a bunch of crap, and is a total lie!
So I thought it would be fun to inform, and piss you off at the same time. There is an amazing book out there called “The Blue Pages.” (ISBN: 978-0-9817091-4-7) It lists political contributions, by party, to every major company in every major sector of the US economy. Just as a teaser before we get started, the total amount of political contributions by these 15 following major health insurance companies is $9,136,510 and lobbying totals $60,181,929.
Aetna, Inc.
Democratic Contributions: $390,962
Republican Contributions: $336,795
Lobbying: $4,125,280
Assurant Health
Democratic Contributions: $180,900
Republican Contributions: $191,697
Lobbying: $3,556,000
Blue Cross and Blue Shield
Democratic Contributions: $1,543,570
Republican Contributions: $1,666,331
Lobbying: $25,586,969
CIGNA Corporation
Democratic Contributions: $164,635
Republican Contributions: $293,460
Lobbying: $2,481,436
Coventry Health Care, Inc.
Democratic Contributions: $49,000
Republican Contributions: $49,850
Lobbying: $1,300,000
Golden Rule
Democratic Contributions: $0
Republican Contributions: $256
Lobbying: $0
Health Net, Inc.
Democratic Contributions: $187,745
Republican Contributions: $124,723
Lobbying: $4,055,200
Health Partners, Inc.
Democratic Contributions: $47,744
Republican Contributions: $10,010
Lobbying: $104,962
Highmark, Inc.
Democratic Contributions: $9,300
Republican Contributions: $9,850
Lobbying: $574,137
Humana, Inc.
Democratic Contributions: $227,950
Republican Contributions: $375,900
Lobbying: $2,628,945
Kaiser Permanente
Democratic Contributions: $499,700
Republican Contributions: $78,702
Lobbying: $595,000
I find this one especially encouraging when you add in the facts that Kaiser has illegally canceled individual insurance policies, is currently being sued for nonpayment to emergency room treatment of HMO patients, and is being sued for discrimination against children with Autism. This company has the greatest disparity of contribution between the two parties, and it is skewed toward the Democrat party.
PacifiCare Health Systems
Democratic Contributions: $2,500
Republican Contributions: $5,100
Lobbying: $0
UnitedHealth Group, Inc.
Democratic Contributions: $954,813
Republican Contributions: $616,571
Lobbying: $9,774,000
Vanguard Health Systems
Democratic Contributions: $73,350
Republican Contributions: $61,600
Lobbying: $50,000
Wellpoint, Inc.
Democratic Contributions: $319,970
Republican Contributions: $663,526
Lobbying: $5,350,000
Out of curiosity, are you noticing a theme here? No one is being honest in this debate. This is why doing ABSOLUTELY NOTHING until after 2010 is the right thing to do. We cannot, and should not trust these crooks in WADC.
So how does this break down over these 15 companies.
Contributions to Democrats: $4,652,139
Contributions to Republicans: $4,484,371
Total Lobbying: $60,181,929
This is not about health care reform. This current bill is about power, control, and I would assume for some making even more money at the expense of our continual bickering across party lines. The bottom line is this; we need to remove our rulers in WADC and put in citizen politicians we can trust. Real health care reform looks nothing like the crap that is being pushed through Washington. Doing something IS NOT better than doing nothing when you can’t trust those in power.
Donate to the political campaigns of those who are opposing the representatives that voted for this health care bill. In Missouri the three Democrats that must be defeated are Emanuel Cleaver, Russ Carnahan, and William Lacy Clay.
Jacob Turk is running against US Representative Emanuel Cleaver in Kansas City. You can donate to his campaign here: http://www.turkforcongress.org/
Ed Martin is running against Russ Carnahan over in St. Louis. You can donate to his campaign here: http://edmartinforcongress.com/
As far as I am aware there is no stated opponent for William Lacy Clay near St. Louis.
Freedom’s hour of need is upon us. Ignorance is not bliss, it’s dereliction of your civic duty. Will you be one of the many American’s who continue to stand idly by and place more emphasis on the small issues of your life, or will you acknowledge the bigger issues, get active and get involved? It does matter and you can make a difference.
