Obama lied, the Planet Died

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Thursday December 05, 2013 · 1:54 PM PST

2013/12/05 · 13:54

"This was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal"

When then Senator Obama delivered that uplifting speech I knew he was going to be president and we were going to win a major battle in the fight for America's soul. America was going to elect a person that could motivate Americans to tackle important things like universal health coverage and climate change.

Then in one of his first acts President Obama continued the irresponsible Bush auto bailout. We now know Romney's prescient op-ed had motivated GM to prepare for inevitable bankruptcy; and Obama and Rattner had little to do with the "successful" outcome. Liberals should have cheered the bankruptcies of GM and Chrysler. These two companies along with Ford are the most irresponsible corporate actors on the planet and their ridiculous SUVs have needlessly contributed to global warming and the ongoing destruction of the planet. Even though Republicans don't believe in global warming, Romney didn't think twice of advocating bankruptcy for Detroit because they had built ridiculous autos like the Hummer and Excursion. Bush and Obama's no strings attached federal money was the worst thing one could do for these companies that quite frankly deserved to be liquidated due to killing the planet.

So why do I think Detroit is worse than oil companies or the airlines when it comes to global warming? Airlines are constantly trying to burn fuel more efficiently and oil companies just supply the oil. Detroit was making inefficient autos in defiance of CAFE regulation all the while other nations were developing more efficient engines and autos. Liberals are also somewhat responsible for the SUV craze as documented in "Bobos in Paradise". So in 2008 Detroit's proverbial chickens had come home to roost. The oil spike had made SUVs too expensive to operate and GM and Chrysler that depended on sales of Suburbans and Jeeps were in trouble. I was happy because for years I had warned of the dangers of Detroit building gas guzzlers while the rest of the world developed more efficient autos (although I did feel bad for the auto workers employed by Detroit).

So why I am I writing about this now? Well it turns out Romney's big lie of the 2012 campaign, that Fiat was more likely to manufacture Jeeps in China, is actually true and Obama was the one that told the BIG lie. Fiat is now going to build Jeeps in China which is exactly what Romney warned about in 2012. So now American gas guzzlers will proliferate in China to the detriment of the entire world!?! Fiat has invested a great deal of money in China and because it is a foreign corporation it does not care about American workers. If Obama had not agreed to the deal with Fiat Chrysler might have been more likely to manufacturer Jeeps in the US for the Chinese market, but Fiat already had a presence in China.

So what was Obama's BIG lie that helped him win in 2012?

"We refused to let Detroit go bankrupt"

This blatant lie was crafted in the desperate aftermath of Obama's first debate debacle and was a play on words of Romney's op-ed title, "Let Detroit Go Bankrupt". First off, GM and Chrysler did go bankrupt but Obama lies so easily nobody took notice in October 2012. Obama vilified Romney's bankruptcy advice, but Obama actually took his solid advice after his attempt to save Hummer proved futile-- Hummer would have to be liquidated, just as Romney advised in November of 2008.

So why was Obama's 2012 lie so awful? First it undermined one of the greatest speeches in American history, now was NOT the moment "rise of the oceans began to slow", now was just the time the government threw money at a corporation to try to save the Hummer!?! Second, it was just a blatant lie meant to demonize a good man that defied his party and gave good advice, so it was the politics of old which also contradicted his words that June night when the air was thick with hope.

So when you see our fellow earth dwellers lives being destroyed by climate change know that Obama's lies and our votes contributed to the destruction...let's not make the same mistake in 2016!!

kos was right and I was wrong

porterhouse24

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Friday November 01, 2013 · 10:42 AM PDT

2013/11/01 · 10:42

Several years ago when I read kos' post about the ACA bill I was outraged. He referred to the then bill as a "monstrosity" and that the Democrats should "kill" the bill. I remember thinking that his criticism was not constructive and his rhetoric unnecessarily heated.

porterhouse24

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Sunday October 20, 2013 · 11:46 AM PDT

2013/10/20 · 11:46

I am a big admirer and supporter of our First Lady Michelle Obama and her important public health initiative "Let's Move". So I was extremely disappointed when the very people Michelle Obama has been trying to reach the last several years engaged in irresponsible behavior during the Walmart EBT debacle. The people involved in this episode already have too much food due to programs like food stamps and farm subsidies that make unhealthy food cheap. These government programs enable excessive food consumption and unhealthy eating habits and are thus having a very negative impact on Americans' lives and must be cut and reformed!

The EBT episode happened in a part of the country that the CDC describes as the "Diabetes Belt". Louisiana, the state of the episode, also has one of the highest percentage of the population receiving food stamps. So the CDC and Michelle Obama and countless public health officials have identified a serious problem in the US --excessive food consumption. Excessive food consumption is not a "problem" created by Ted Cruz and the Tea Party...this is a REAL problem that is having deadly consequences. Too much food and unhealthy eating habits are decreasing quality of life, increasing suffering, and increasing health care costs.

Please note, this is not the first public health crisis due to our status as an agricultural powerhouse--excessive alcohol consumption and smoking are two public health issues that progressives were NOT afraid to combat and our nation is much better off because of the campaigns waged against those public health issues.

I think the Democrats' hearts are in the right place, but Big Farm/Food and Walmart have distorted the food stamp program and undermined its mission--enabling Americans to live healthy productive lives. I also believe the health care industry and Big Pharmacy might be involved in backdoor lobbying for increased food stamps because of the expensive health care issues that are created by too much food consumption.

In addition, I do not have to educate the readers of this website about the environmental damage Big Farm is doing to our nation. So the demand for unhealthy food and excessive consumption created by food stamps also has a negative environmental impact. Readers of this website also know how obesity and unhealthy eating habits increase health care costs for all Americans. So if we want to help make the ACA successful we must help reduce health care costs.

The time is ripe for Democrats to reach across the aisle and with the help of Republicans stand up to Big Farm/Food and Walmart and stand with our First Lady and end obesity. We must make cuts to and reform SNAP in order to fight obesity. Let's Move!

Medicaid is the wrong prescription

porterhouse24

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday June 19, 2013 · 12:03 PM PDT

2013/06/19 · 12:03

Two new studies cast a negative light on "free" healthcare. First off, I support the private health insurance subsidies aspect of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Two new studies indicate that Medicaid coverage results in worse outcomes than no health care coverage, so based on these two studies I support Medicaid reform, NOT Medicaid expansion. The first study is out of Oregon and concludes,

This randomized, controlled study showed that Medicaid coverage generated no significant improvements in measured physical health outcomes in the first 2 years, but it did increase use of health care services, raise rates of diabetes detection and management, lower rates of depression, and reduce financial strain.

The second study is out of Quebec and found "that children had worse academic outcomes after being treated with one particular stimulant." Here is the background,

In 1997, a policy reform in Quebec expanded insurance coverage for medications. It was accompanied by a dramatic increase in adolescents' use of Ritalin, one of the stimulant commonly prescribed to treat ADHD, and similar medications, relative to the rest of Canada. In theory, more treatment should be accompanied by improved outcomes in areas like education, where kids with ADHD often struggle.

These two studies indicate that with "free" health care you get what you pay for! We really should be focusing on strengthening the health care insurance exchanges and reducing the size of Medicaid.

Governor Perry is a Hero!

porterhouse24

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Sunday June 02, 2013 · 12:05 PM PDT

2013/06/02 · 12:05

Let's face it, the Republicans that are rejecting the Medicaid expansion are heroes! Justice Roberts is a hero for ruling the all or nothing Medicaid expansion unconstitutional. The Republican governors that have rejected the Medicaid expansion are allowing more people to enter the superior health care exchanges. For example, everybody that earns under 138% of the poverty level in Texas is now eligible for almost 100% subsidies on the exchange (as long as they are not eligible for Medicaid in Texas)...the exchange health insurance is superior to Medicaid. The people in states that expand Medicaid are FORCED to get on Medicaid if they make 137% of the poverty level. They can NOT get subsidies through the health care exchanges!

Yes, some people will not be covered due to states rejecting the Medicaid expansion, but would anybody really buy into Medicaid if they had the opportunity to buy private health insurance? We all know these people will still get health care, they just will not have efficient health care insurance! For example, a family of 4 living in a state that accepts the Medicaid expansion will be forced into Medicaid if they make $33,000, whereas in Texas that family would only have to pay 3.3% of their income for a subsidized health care exchange plan. Also, this might force the government to expand the health care exchanges, which would be better than expanding Medicaid! The key to Obamacare going forward is now the health care exchanges, not Medicaid expansion, due to Justice Robert's outstanding ruling!!

Here is where it gets tricky, employers are forced to pay fines if they do not offer health insurance or if their employees opt for a health care exchange plan, whereas they get a free pass if the employees sign up for Medicaid!! Obama and the Democrats wanted to give the employers a free pass with the Medicaid expansion!! Of course, this will force more employers to offer health insurance in states that reject the Medicaid expansion or they will pay fines.

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Obama lied, the Planet Died

kos was right and I was wrong

Food stamps must be cut!

Medicaid is the wrong prescription

Governor Perry is a Hero!