“Few are willing to brave the disapproval of their peers, the censure of their colleagues, the wrath of their society. Moral courage is a rarer commodity than bravery in battle or great intelligence. Yet it is the one essential, vital quality for those who seek to change a world that yields most painfully to change.” ~~Robert F. Kennedy
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ On a Personal Note about Being a Nurse here in Cleveland.....
Many of you know I am a Nurse of 20+ years, and I currently work Per Diem and Part Time, and Private Duty.( It also means I work a variety of other Part Time work to make ends meet and apply and work MANY non-nursing jobs. There are 25 Million Underemployed and UnEmployed, I am just one of the Many). I would love a full time Job in Cleveland, but the Health Care Industry is not as Rosy as some are painting it and "Hiring" is only a Mirage in this state. There are a couple of different issues, one is that Older Workers are viewed as costly to the system, so that is one issue. So sadly when one writes "Experienced" on the Resume, don't always expect a call back. One another note, many of the larger hospitals here are not hiring and have not been hiring for quite awhile.
Sadly this is means many nurses are leaving the area, and even new grads here were not offered jobs the past two years. Even my new hood that used to be full of residents and young doctors and many nurses, is now half empty, a change that happened in the past 10 months. It also is the ripple effect of limited school loans for Medical and Nursing students. Also since Kasich's Budget Cuts hit Hospitals and Health Care across the board, it has hit Home Care and all levels of care, Nurses are leaving the area, as more and more jobs are cut. Nursing Homes and Hospitals are laying off. Even the Two Free Clinics in the Area are laying off Nurses and Doctors. Two Hospitals are actually Closing due to some of these shifts in funds and many SNF's are actually closing. And about the TWO hospitals that are actually closing, this means that Blighted Impoverished parts of Town are going to be impacted. Also VA is moving care to all one facility-but sadly Cleveland is a town that is directly divided due to infrastructure failings ( Bridges that are being shut down, pending repair and add to that Major Bus Routes were slashed in the past two years, this means that the City is divided in half in regards to access to services). Literally the poorer part of Town is losing care and transit and services. ( And it is the side of town that has more elderly, disabled and impoverished.)
As many know my goal is to move to NYC by Spring for son to go to Film School and there are more jobs there than there are here. So my own plight has actually made me examine and write about the Health Care Delivery System here and it's own economic plight. Anyone who says that Politics does not impact Health Care or the Economy is not paying attention. Period. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Sometimes things hit snags, and tonight's show hit many snags, technical difficulties that we could not have anticipated. So we will be back next week with a great show. And our wonderful Guest Joel Achenbach said that he will be joining us another night. But there are other shows that are worth a listen on Sunday Nights, Harry Shearer and also Tim Corrimal. ( I listen to them when our show is over.....) Have a great night.
You can also always listen to Podcasts of previous shows, by clicking the Radio on the Sidebar. We have had some amazing guests, from Wendell Potter, to Mad as Hell Docs, to Lizz Winstead , to Dr.Margaret Flowers, to Octavia Nasr, to Jason Leopold, so go ahead , have a Listen.....
************************************** ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This Sunday we will be interviewing Joel Achenbach about his book about the 2010 Oil Spill,"The Hole at the Bottem of the Sea", it is a carefully researched, well written book that gives an inside look into the Oil Spill that answers many questions and also of course leads to new questions. You can read more about his book here and please do call in to the show if you have Questions for the Author, he will be on the show at 7:30PM EST. The Show is 7-9PM EST, join Kim @awopradio and Perry @mommapolitico and me for this interesting show. ( Click the Radio in the Sidebar to directly listen to the show.
**************************************** Amnesty International and many groups worked so hard to stop this Execution. But as of tonight, Wednesday Sept21st, sadly it looks like he will be put to death. Here you can read the Letter from Troy Davis.....
Do follow the Occupation on The Guardian.....Most American Media has not done a good job covering this Movement at all.. MSNBC did not jump in to cover it until day 12 ( when Susan Sarandon and Micheal Moore came to the scene.) Keith Olbermann on Current has been covering since Day 3.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane." MLK ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This Week's Awop Radio Show is dedicated to the Health Care Crisis in our Country and the People who are fighting the Good Fight still advocating on behalf of millions of Americans without access to affordable Health Care. We plan to honor our guests hard work as we ask questions about the ongoing battles and challenges for improved Health Care. Do Click the Title to connect to AWOP on Blogtalkradio or click the Radio on the Sidebar. Or Click the LINK HERE for the actual link to Sunday's Show. Kim @awop of "A World of Progress" ( online Magazine), and Perry ( @mommapolitico) are the Hostesses,Nunzia Rider is our crew, and I am a contributer ( Health and Environmental ).
Guests include ::
(1) Wendell Potter at 7:30PM EST , Insurance Whistleblower who helped so many of us learn about the Inside Workings of the Insurance Industry. To Learn more about his work and his insights, please do see his Blog and learn more. ( Here is the Link to his Blog and website.)
Here is the Link to the YouTube Video of Wendell on BOOK-TV on CSpan, discussing his book, Deadly Spin. (10min) The Full Name of the Book is "Deadly Spin, An Insurance Company Insider Speaks Out On How Corporate PR Is Killing Health Care and Deceiving Americans."
Wendell is also working with Public Integrity to answer Insurance Questions/Concerns, by emailing askwendell@publicintegrity.org or by posting your queries as comments at the bottom of his columns. More Explained in his latest blogpost.
(2) Out 2nd guest is Lucinda Marshall, Health Care Advocate who has been researching the Current Situation of People with Pre-Existing Conditions who are trying to navigate Insurance and High Risk Pools as they move state to state. Here is more from her blog on her research and her story about moving Insurance with a Pre-existing Condition that shows how difficult the situation is to navigate. (Scroll to her post of 8/21 where the story begins.And also more on her and her work in her own Biography.
(4) And at 8:30PM we have the Mad As Hell Doctors. All three wonderful folks are planning on calling in, Philip Kauffman (organizer,facebook guru, non-physician activist), Dr. Mike Huntington and Dr. Paul Hochfeld.
You can also follow them on Twitter @MAHDrs and like them at www.facebook.com/MadDrs.
This Video about Single Payer was produced by Dr.Paul Hochfeld, "Health,Money and Fear",
Here is the link to Dr.Paul Hochfeld's Film on the Doctor's Tour /Road Trip to DC, of America. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “To be persuasive we must be believable; to be believable we must be credible; credible we must be truthful.” Edward R.Murrow Posts Below have the latest on the Poverty Statistics, as they relate to Insurance Issues, Joblessness, and Food Assistance. Helpful Background information for the Sunday Radio Show.
( LA Times) "Reporting from Washington— In a grim portrait of a nation in economic turmoil, the government reported that the number of people living in poverty last year surged to 46.2 million — the most in at least half a century — as 1 million more Americans went without health insurance and household incomes fell sharply.The poverty rate for all Americans rose in 2010 for the third consecutive year, matching the 15.1% figure in 1993 and pushing many more young adults to double up or return to their parents' home to avoid joining the ranks of the poor. Taken together, the annual income and poverty snapshot released Tuesday by the U.S. Census Bureau underscored how the recession is casting a long shadow well after its official end in June 2009."
It is important to note that this report also correlates with the Food Assistance ( Food Stamp ) Numbers of earlier this summer saying that 46.9 Million Americans are now receiving assistance and 1:4 Children are living in Poverty and also suffering Hunger. 24 Million Americans still searching for work, we should not be shocked by these numbers. We should be talking about the effects of this Economic Stress, and Poverty on our Children. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Feeding America Responded to the New Census Data. ""Today the U.S. Census Bureau reported that the nation's poverty rate rose to 15.1 percent in 2010, up from 14.3 percent in 2009 -- the highest level since 1993. Poverty affects African Americans and Latinos at nearly triple the rate of non-Hispanic whites.
"This reported increase is not a surprise to Feeding America. We know that more and more people are seeking help to feed themselves and their families. Proof of this is that the Feeding America network of food banks distributed 3.1 billion pounds of food in 2010, an increase of 500 million pounds over 2009, when 2.6 billion pounds were distributed.
"It is important to note that just last week the USDA reported that in 2010, nearly 49 million Americans were food insecure, about the same rate reported for 2009. The fact that food insecurity has remained stable while poverty has increased proves that the current safety net, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), is working. We must continue to protect our federal nutrition programs to meet the current rate of need."
"More than 46.2 million Americans live in poverty — the highest number in the 52 years for which such estimates have been published, according to census figures released Tuesday. From 2009 to 2010, the nation's poor increased by 2.6 million, and the number of those without health insurance grew by nearly 1 million people.In Florida, 3.8 million people — more than one in five — were without health insurance last year. Nationwide, the number of uninsured was closer to one in six.Of those Americans not working, 28.5 percent were without health-care coverage — the same percentage as part-time workers. But even among those who worked full time, 15 percent were without insurance, the continuation of a trend that began a decade ago with rising insurance rates.Since 2001, the number of Americans with employer-provided insurance has declined from 179.9 million to 169.2 million. In some cases, employers stopped offering such coverage. But there are also employees who decided they could no longer afford the premiums." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ " If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other. "~~ Mother Teresa
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Do read the Article attached to the Title, it has some interesting stats and information that is worth seeing, especially as the Republicans keep pedding the idea that Medicare and Medicaid should be eliminated or removed, even though these are organized established Programs.
About 1.5 million fewer Americans had health insurance plans covered by their employers in 2010 than in 2009 – while 1.8 million more joined government insurance plans.The number of people covered by Medicaid, the government program for the poor, increased 1.5 percent to 48.6 million. Those covered by Medicare, the government program for the elderly, rose 2.1 percent to 44.3 million. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Meanwhile National Association of Free Clinics are seeing More Patients than Ever, please go to the Website and see how you can give to help your neighbors, in money or as a Volunteer, they are providing much needed care around the Country.
I have said this since I first encountered Teabaggers at a Health Care Rally in Summer of 2009, they have No Compassion, No Humanity. As an American I am embarrassed at their coldhearted greed and selfishness. As a Nurse I watched Dr.Ron Paul show his true Colors in last night's Tea Party Express Debate. As a Doctor who took a Hippocratic Oath, he should have a more appropriate response than this halfassed statement about "responsibility" and the blood thirsty Crowd Cheers. These are the same people that a week ago cheered at Rick Perry's Bloody Execution Record.
Chilling Moment about Healthcare, the Tea Haters cheer and applaud the concept of Someone Dying without Insurance...... This post in Common Dreams by Abby Zimet, About Our Broken Compassion is a MustRead......... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Humanity is the spirit of the Supreme Being on earth, and that humanity is standing amidst ruins, hiding its nakedness behind tattered rags, shedding tears upon hollow cheeks, and calling for its children with pitiful voice. But the children are busy singing their clan's anthem; they are busy sharpening the swords and cannot hear the cry of their mothers." Kahil Gibran
I don't care where you live, there is no State that is not hurting for Jobs and this economy has not turned around yet, so do call your Elected Reps and tell them that ALL states will benefit from this bill.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Lets dedicate ourselves to what the ancient greeks wrote so many years ago, to tame the savageness of man and make gentle the life of this world. Let us dedicate ourselves to that" ~~Robert F. Kennedy ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It's been 10 very long years, and so much has happened, so much has changed. And sadly we are not a better country or a better people. Our Leadership during the Bush years decided that Fear Mongering, Power Mongering, War Mongering was a Path that would "strengthen " America. The Bush Regime was wrong, and they have taken us into two false wars, created much hatred of America, and weakened our place in the World by using greed and lies to create a false position of strength. I am very sorry for all that lost loved ones on 911, and also for all that have lost loved ones in Afghanistan and Iraq. Too many people have been hurt in the last 10 years. The Damage is real, and ongoing and devastating. Bin Laden may be dead, but there are other War Criminals that are still roaming free with no Shame trying to re-write History. It is a sad sad Time in Our History. A Time of Shame.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "A good politician is quite as unthinkable as an honest burglar."~ H. L. Mencken ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I actually looked for cats in a room full of rockers because I think that is more accurate...but there were no such photos or such art.....So the popcorn is ready.
Will Any of them really talk Creative Jobs Solutions ? Will they have the Nerve to keep pursuing their Austerity Chatter ? Will they keep blaming the Poor and the Elderly and the Unemployed for the Economic Mess ? Will any of them really offer Real Solutions or will they keep serving up Obama Bashing , pretending to be Strong Vision Men ? Will they continue their bashing Muslims, Immigrants, Public Workers and Unions ? Will they bash puppies and kittens and babies too ?
Will they mention ANY of the Following: (1) One in Four Children Living in Poverty and suffering Hunger issues (2) 24 Million UnEmployed ( Millions More UnderEmployed ) This figure does not even acknowledge the 22% Rate of Unemployment for Returning VETS, or for Americans over 40 and also newly graduated. (3) We are behind other countries in Infrastructure and Education and Quality of Healthcare.
Other Things to Note: Watch for the corporate Pandering and Coddling....( Let's see How Many Times they mention the Taxes for the Rich and let's see Who Sponsers the Debate). ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Molly Ivins Wisdom on Al Franken's Show in July 2004....Her Wisdom is Timeless....,
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ IN THE COMMENTS BELOW I WILL BE LIVEBLOGGING THE GOP DEBATE....ANYONE ELSE CAN JOIN TOO.... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Incomfortable PreDebate Banter... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I went to walk the dog and missed the most disgusting moment according to my son they read Perry's Execution Record ( 254) and the crowd "cheered"......so today I saw what Reagan's own daughter said about it, and it was sobering... "The moment that would have broken my father's heart was the moment when applause broke out at the mention of more than 200 executions ordered by Rick Perry in Texas. It was stunning and brought tears to my eyes. This is what we've come to? That we applaud at executions?" -Patti Davis, Ronald Reagan's daughter.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ For Years now we have been seeing the news stories about Empty Homes, the Mortgage Meltdown. And we watched the Homes emptied, abandoned. It was a mess that should not have happened, the news blamed the Homeowners, I didn't and still don't. I blame the BANKS. The banks were greedy, they could have let families stay and live in their homes and pay rent, they could have worked out a negotiated payment plan. Here I live urban, a neighborhood close to universities,hospitals and colleges, there used to be many lovely duplexes and sidebysides and brownstone apartment buildings all full up with hardworking students and teachers and nurses and young doctors. Now they too sit empty with smudged darkened windows looking out confused. Yes, even Landlords were hit in the Foreclosure Epidemic, but the News forgot to tell anyone. And when the Empty Buildings fill a street, things change, Grafetti tagging starts, and squatters quietly sneak in, and syringes appear on the treelawn. And Nightime Dog Walks become more of a planned affair.
The Banks abandoned the people, they abandoned the Homes. And now in many parts of the Country the second wave of Emptiness is hitting. Commercial and Business Real Estate buildings are filling up whole blocks of Downtown Cleveland, and other Cities. It is eerie and quiet and lonely driving by block after block of Emptiness. I drive my Refugee Patients downtown and we pass block after block of the "Emptiness" my one patient calls it. He says he has never seen anything like it, and I have a hard time explaining it. And then the next block we see homeless people sitting outside on a sidewalk. And he asks" Why does not someone take the empty builidings for them ? " he quietly asks. I am as haunted by what I see as the Man from Nepal. I have no smooth American Answer or Wisdom. I have only sorrow.
Some of the Buildings have been carefully boarded up and painted, I know that the Owners did this with love and sadness as they locked the doors the last time. The Buildings above are all near the Loft I used to live in Downtown, and each of them I knew them as a thriving lively Business. I still remember people going in and out and the Lights On. I remember all of this, even though My Loft was foreclosed in 2007 and the landlord hid crying in the garage and told me that I had less than 2 weeks to find another place and it was Zero degrees outside. I called it my UnMerry Christmas. And so my son and I moved 2 miles away from our Lovely Loft. And that wonderful Loft now still sits Empty and I drive downtown and spy on the pigeons flying in and out of my old windows....And the "Emptiness" Leaves a Hole in my heart.
Yet I will always know that Greed was what created this wave of Foreclosures.... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ HoneyCutters "GoodNight Irene"
I don't know why, but I hummed this song this weekend as I took photos of downtown....hundreds of photos...
Internet Radio is the happening place on Sunday Eves 7-9PM EST.....please join us and listen in...or join us in the Chat Room.Click the Title to listen up.... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This Sunday we have a very special show. LIVE in the Liberal Loft there will be the HoneyCutters performing for the first hour. Our Round Table Guest will be Internationally known Journalist Octavia Nasr. For those of us that have followed her for many years and her outstanding Middle East Coverage, this past year we have been following her blog and her tweets as the Middle East has been rocked by Change. Her website has links to her blog and her Consulting Company as well as her newspaper articles in arabic and Lebanese newspapers. This is an exciting time to be watching the Middle East and a wonderful time to discuss the changes as women, and also to discuss the fusion of Twitter,Blogs and Journalism.
In one article I was reading about Octavia it had this wonderful quote by her, that truly shows how she views her role in this ever changing journalistic landscape.
"The time has come for me to get on the road representing myself and everything I stand for. Through Bridges Media Consulting, I wish to be a voice of reason, a voice of moderation, a voice of expertise and best practices.I created Bridges Media Consulting to reflect what I've done in my career so far and serve as my platform to carry on making a difference in our world". ( Quote from The National 2010)
Also @mommapolitico pointed out that this week's NEWSWEEK has a whole expose on our "Security" Systems in place since 911, what they are costing, where there is overlap and waste.
And Nunzia Rider who helps so much with @awop and @awopradio also works for @storyful make sure to support their work and fine journalism on Twitter. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ How Wonderful are the Honeycutters ? This is their song IRENE :
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ And in Honor of Labor Day and Unions....."Which Side Are You On " with Florence Reece ( Union Wife, CoalMiner Wife) on the version of Natalie Merchant....
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Dear President Obama, I like many others worked hard for you to be elected. I worked hard for you to Fight for us We The People. There are too many people that are Underemployed and Unemployed. 24 Million Unemployed,and at least another 22 Million Underemployed Working Part Time Jobs to try to keep food on the Table. 22% Unemployment Rate for VETS returning Home from Two Long Protracted Wars. 26% Unemployment Rate for People of Color. 20 % Of Unemployed are Experienced Workers over 45 yrs old. We Need a WPA Jobs Plan NOW. People are starving, losing Homes and Health. Young People also are having trouble seeking jobs to support themselves through College and After College, their Dreams need to be recognized as well, since they too helped get you elected. It's Time for the White House to Create a JOBS Program that will Bring Meaningful Work and Wages to Millions of Americans. In the 1930's FDR stood up to Corporations and Thuggery and Created the WPA and the New Deal. It's Time for that Kind of Courage and Creative Problem Solving. If you agree with this please Do Sign Below and Share on Facebook and Twitter. The White house says it if gets 5000 Signatures it will take Any Petition Seriously.....
Sign below and pass on Facebook, Twitter and Google Plus and email me also. Let's get 5000 by the time of Obama's Speech Next Week. ( We Can DO THIS !!!) Here is MORE on the Actual Petition Issue and the White House Announcement....
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ So within days of this Post, and writing the Petition, President Obama came out with a Jobs Act,see video below of him addressing Joint Session on this issue.
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This summer I had the world's smallest garden, mostly on my back porch and back steps and tiny little plot, less than 4 by 5 ft. I grew beans, tomatoes, basil, dill, mint, cilantro, and blueberries and lettuce. Flowers, violets, and morning glories and petunias.My little garden was small,but everything I planted seemed to grow. ( There is alot to be said for Manure). This past month I noticed that Someone was taking tomatoes and basil and beans. I also know that the Community Garden up the street is now locked 24/7. So I simply realized that there must be people who are hungry taking some of the vegetables and fruit. So at first I was upset when some of my vegetables vanished, but then I had a change of heart. I realized that True Hunger was making someone take from my tiny garden. I can't be angry if someone is so hungry. 47 Million are on Food Assistance in our Country, 1:4 Children are hungry. We all need to acknowledge that people around us are hurting. So I started leaving fruit out under the Hanging Tomato Plant. And if I made Banana Bread I would leave that out as well. I share with the Birds and Squirrels, I view them as neighbors. So in my heart I know that Another Neighbor is Hungry, and I must do my best to help them as well. Compassion is not an emotion, it requires Action....daily.
"Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I will meet you there."~Rumi ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I have been spending more time with the Refugees, so I am seeing the world and America through their eyes. I am haunted by what I am seeing. I am working on a Photo Post of Downtown Cleveland that is heartbreaking....it is beautiful. It will be posted next week. Thank you for your patience. In the meantime I still rush down from the attic to see the Morning Glories every morning.....and I have to share them with you.
