Jekyll Island Beach 2012

Jekyll Island Beach 2012

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

UNWANTED TENSION

The Rogue Speaks:

HIGH TENSION



I am starting on my Alphabe-Thursday post early (today is Monday) and I hope to have it completed by Wednesday afternoon.  Typing is still a bit laborious for me, but it should get better in a few weeks.

BREWER/OBAMA FIASCO (and yes, I altered it!)

I have an acquaintance with whom I used to play golf every week.  After the game, everyone would go up to the grill and have lunch together.  This woman always insisted on discussing politics, which is fine with me, as long as one has accurate facts to back up one's remarks. There is a politician in Arizona who has admitted on national television that his views are based on hearsay, and not actual facts.  This is the same fellow who keeps referring to Rosa Parks as "Rosa Clark," so you can see just how misinformed some people can be.  Anyway, this woman has always been very outspoken about her political leanings, but has based all her "knowledge" on what she has heard from others of her ilk.  Trying to get any actual true information out of her is like trying to milk a cat.

One day, I did manage to get in a few truths about certain bills that had been passed by the senate, and barely squeaked by the house.  I won't bore you with the details of those bills, but I did happen to know the bill numbers, which few people do (except for Arizona state bill 1070, which the whole world knows by now).  This woman was furious about the bills and claimed that the house was "lied to" by the senate to get the bills passed.  This, of course, is an absurdly stupid statement.  I asked her if she had read the bills, and she told me that they were kept secret.  Secret???  When I told her she could go online and read the contents of any bill she was curious about, she didn't believe me.  I think she didn't want to take the time to read them.  I think that so many people who complain about issues about which they are grossly misinformed are simply afraid to learn that they have been greatly misled by politicians whom they admire for one unrelated reason or another. 

This kind of attitude has created a lot of tension in our country today. It seems that no one from one political persuasion trusts anything the other side has to say.  People are angry, and friendships are lost because of the tension.  This has been going on since before 9/11, and it just keeps getting worse.  We don't need so much tension in our lives.  It's unhealthy!




With the medical issues I have been having for the last four months, the last thing I have needed is tension in my life.  So I dumped the nightly news, except for the weather, and dropped any activity that was likely to produce tension in my life.  I'll come out of hiding on November 4th, though, and cast my vote.  As for the rest of the stuff I have given up, I may or may not take it up again in the future.  When I recover from all those injections, I may just feel so good that I won't take the chance of becoming tense over the stupidity of others, and will give all that up for good!!!

Some people just don't get it!!
And we know who they are..
I rest my case!!!
Thank goodness for Medicare!  I never would have been able to afford that wonderful Tens Unit, since it cost $800 on the open market, but thanks to Medicare, we only paid $79!!!!  As the above photo shows, most of those uninformed  people who are screaming about Medicare NEVER stop to think that it is a GOVERNMENT sponsored program to help them with their medical bills.

Several months ago, I found myself in a very heated discussion of universal health care.  The person who was producing the heat just happened to be a very dear one to me, but who had been led astray over the years by a very controlling mate.  I asked what she thought should happen to the cancer-stricken child of poor people who cannot afford long-term chemotherapy.  The response was that the child should be allowed to just die rather than become a burden on the taxpayers.  Those words, coming out of the mouth of a person who breaks into tears when an animal is abused, totally confounded me.  What has happened to compassion? What has happened to "love one another, even as I have loved you"? 

Does it seem ironic to you that the countries that have health-care for all their citizens, rich and poor alike, are countries that a Christian conservative group of Americans consider "socialists?"

Pray, meditate...whatever it takes
to find inner peace.


Oddly enough, writing this post has not produced the tension in my that many might have thought.  I think it's because I am pretty confident that what I believe is the right thing to do so that all Americans get a fair deal.  Several years ago, the former leader of this country told us that tax breaks for all citizens, rich and poor, would stimulate the economy and prevent a depression.  That turned out to be false thinking on his part, because look where we are today.  Those tax breaks for the wealthy meant more money for them,  bigger bonuses, not more jobs, or a solid housing market.



Whew! I've typed just about all I can for this week!  If there is anything in this post that you disagree with, please feel free to comment, but you had better make darned sure that you have ALL your facts right, and don't rely on heresay.  I just love investigating, and finding the real story.

Oh, and if you  want to know how I feel about Hilary Rosen and her blatantly reckless remarks, please click here.

28 comments:

Rocky Mountain Woman said...

I try and avoid the local news because it is typically quite biased and depressing, but I do listen to NPR going to and from work and find some interesting tidbits there. I try to stay informed and try to keep my mouth shut when I don't know what I'm talking about! It's hard sometimes, but I do my best.

Excellent post, feel better soon and try yoga if you haven't already. It helps me with stress.

xxoo,

RMW

Donna Heber said...

I'm all for less tension and never utter a word at work about politics. You never know what might happen. People do need to get their facts straight before speaking out! I hope you are feeling better.

~✽Mumsy✽~ said...

I have stopped watching the news for quite some times now.

Medicare has its good points and bad points, but you're right, it's a government help program, and it is a good thing to have.

Take care Judie, and don't over do it.

Sandy said...

I gave up watching the TV news about 10 years ago.. just made me either mad or sad and if I need any inof on the outside countries my family lives I pick up the phone and call them... so much easier! My mind is so much calmer now! Sandy

Pat said...

If only more people would take the time to search out the facts...it amazes me the amount of misinformation floating around on the internet and forwarded on by email...I don't even open the messages anymore...

bluzdude said...

You expect me to disagree with THAT?? You nailed it!

People will actively cling to falsehoods that support their positions over proven, demonstratable facts that don't. It's no wonder we can't get anything done.

Vicki/Jake said...

My take on your (i love it) rant? Wherethehelldidyoufindacrochet(knitted?)femalereproductivesystem? In pink no less! mwahaha:) Chill out darlin and take care of you before any dang polital stuff! xoxox

Pondside said...

I'll stay out of another country's political stuff, but will also acknowledge that we are not short of know-nothings up here either.
re Universal Healthcare. It's a no-brainer. If we don't take care for one another we have no business calling ourselves a nation.

Erika said...

The news makes me sick. Politicians are just that...politicians who need to be elected and will say what they need to keep their 'job'. God said that we are to love one another--it is maddening to see people talk about religion and then spout what sounds like hatred about others.

Hope you get well soon.

Judie said...

The knitted uterus is a hot political item these days. Just google "knitted uterus."

Always Learning said...

I am a Christian conservative who believes in small government and allowing people who work hard keep their money and share it with others the way they think is best instead of a big, impersonal government who is deeply in debt and is so wasteful. Anyone who needs medical care in America has always gotten it. No ER can turn anyone away but I don't agree with the government stealing from the people {and for people's birth control?}. Having said all that, we are, above all, called to love others deeply. I never want to get in heated discussions with people over things like this because the relationship is way more important to me than being right. We need to love those we disagree with...I love my lefty friends! ;)

Judie said...

Lori, the real truth is that ER's actually do turn people away. Hospitals these days are run for profit. There was a case recently in the news in which an elderly man died in an ambulance while being shuttled from one hospital that refused him because he had no insurance, to a county hospital that was 30 minutes away.

There was a time in this country when maternity care was not covered by insurance because the companies felt that one had nine months to come up with the money. As far as birth control pills are concerned, if men have Viagra covered by insurance, then birth control should be also.

I believe that if someone has been "blessed" with the ability to make lots and lots of money, that person has a responsibility to his own conscience to help those in need. As Jesus said, "it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of Heaven."

Thank you for your comment, Lori.

Leovi said...

Hi Judie, I hope that all this high voltage regularization.

Herding Cats said...

Being from the UK, I'm really not sure of the ins and out of what is going on as I have only been privy to dribs and drabs of this news.

Still I can understand the frustration.

I love that knitted womb. I want one!

Betty said...

I heard someone say that you shouldn't get your news from anyone that's yelling and screaming and there seems to be a lot of that on radio and TV. People have made millions being controversial and I'm afraid that's a sign of the times.

I'm just grateful that people can now get insurance with a pre-existing condition.

Emergency rooms cannot refuse someone with a life threatening medical emergency, but no one has to treat a life threatening illness...for example, cancer.

No insurance can happen to anyone. Remember when Enron collapsed? People were out on the street with no money and no insurance. I remember reading in the paper about a man with cancer left with nothing.

I'm sorry to hear about your health problems. I didn't realize and hope you'll be feeling well soon.

nothingprofound said...

A very wise man once said: "Nothing contributes more to peace of mind than having no opinions at all." I've made it my business to follow his advice.

Judie said...

Betty, some hospitals DO refuse treatment. It has happened here in Tucson, and happened in the news story I wrote about in my comment to Lori.

I'm glad you mentioned Enron. When Bush was running for president, a former friend started sending us Republican propaganda. I asked him to stop. He asked me if I wanted four more years of sex in the White House, and Enron. The Enron big shots had close ties to the Bush's immediate family. Anyone who questions this fact should just go check it out.

Susan Anderson said...

Okay, that knitted uterus and fallopian tubes is hilarious!

And I'm glad that you've gotten relief from your Tens unit.

Heal soon, Judie! And don't let all the political ins and outs get you down. (Not easy, I know...)

=)

Cher Duncombe said...

Judie, my sister, what a stellar post! You are so knowledgeable that I would put you up against anyone speaking about issues of today. And you are right about tension. In my lifetime, I have never seen it this bad. We may differ on when it began, but that is minutia. I think it started when a Black man was elected president and the racism in this country reared its ugly head. Thus was born the Tea Party...no matter how they might deny it.

Get well soon, my friend. You are cherished by so many. Feel a warm hug across the miles, and thanks, just for being you.

Unknown said...

Medicare has been such a blessing for my mom!

EG CameraGirl said...

Well, I live in one of those countries that's considered "socialist" by some people. Unfortunately, our current government thinks the American way is better...so this is a HOT topic here. I agree with you that something has happened to compassion. Greed trumps all, I fear.

Jo said...

ah yes, i live in that same "socialist" country ... where the more money you have, the better health care you can afford, and the rest of us ... well we just wait for months and sometimes years to get specialist appointments or surgeries done ... lol! brilliant post Judie, i have been staying away form the news for a while now, it's just so negative ... sigh ...

Gattina said...

Difficult for me to comment on American politics, but I know that milking a cat is impossible !

To the Toy Box and Beyond said...

thanks for the visit. I put a picture up of my grandbaby if you were interested

Splendid Little Stars said...

I was wondering how you were doing, Judie. glad you are mending.

Politics can be so disgusting! Who IS for truth anymore, or the good of the people (who elected/will elect you)?
So many intelligent people spread "facts" that simply have little basis in reality (and not just about politics). That just amazes me.

becky3086 said...

Well, I am completely ignorant where politics is concerned. I stopped believing in "every vote counts" before I was even able to vote--which I never have. I don't believe anyone can get to know the candidates anymore so that they can make an intelligent decision. Politicians will absolutely promise anything to win and then they never can accomplish what they say they can.
I am perfectly happy to let other people watch the news and vote. I don't really think it matters much who they put in there.

Unknown said...

That's sad about the child with cancer and the friend saying they should be allowed to die so that they aren't a burden. It's not like anyone brings cancer on themselves and if they were in the same position or it were their child would they feel the same?? Man, I'm not big on politics so I read your info with an open mind and worry about all of our futures.... with that being said:-) Thanks for letting me know my U blog was missing. I forgot to republish it after trying to correct something on it. It should be there now:-)

Jenny said...

Oh Judie. I really hoped you were feeling better.

We're going to postpone our trip down there until we get back from Austin. You have until the second week of May to feel better!

I agree with all your points...

But I'm super curious about one thing...

How do you get Medicare? You aren't even close to that age.

Just puzzled.

Thanks for a thoughtful link to the letter "U".

A+