Randall Blaum's Blog

The Truth About the Health Care Bill - It will cost me more money - How about you?

Here is a link to the most "to-the-point" myth-busting information on the health care bill I have read.  Seems like this bill is not a good deal, at least for me and my faily.  I am reading every page of the bill myself and there are so many loopholes, problems, and outright "gimees" I don't know what to say.

I think health care reform is needed, but this bill seems to be off the mark and will most certainly cost me and my family more money.  Read this article and see if it jibes with what you know.

The Firedoglake health care team has been covering the debate in congress since it began last year. The health care bill will come up for a vote in the House on Sunday, and as Nancy Pelosi works to wrangle votes, we've been running a detailed whip count on where every member of Congress stands, updated throughout the day.

via www.huffingtonpost.com

FT.com Trinity Mirror will not pursue internet paywall strategy + Microsoft to Hold the Word Hostage!

This is important and will effect us all.  There is a debate on what content will be paid for in the future and what will be free on the internet.  Rupert Murdoch wants 100% of it to be paid, others disagree,  Here is an article from the UK's largest media conglom about NOT using a Paywall Strategy.

Where do you stand?  It seems to me that most people will not pay for general news and yet, would pay for very specific news that is critical to them.

Add to this that Microsoft wants to tax the internet this could lead to very big troubles.  Have you thought about the time (and I am predicting it here) when Microsoft hold us hostage for taxes on the net?  Have you thought about how many things they really control?  Do they have a doomsday device built into the software we use that can simply be turned on if we don't pay?  Is Microsoft to big to fail?

via www.ft.com

Swamp Things: Eerie Memories of '06 Haunt Democrats in '10 - The Note

I don't usually promote another writer in this blog, but this article from Rick Klein is one of the best overviews of many of the situations in Washington right now, so I am presenting it to you.

Rick Klein is ABC News' Senior Political Reporter and author of The Note's morning look at the upcoming day in politics. Throughout the day, ABC News' political team contributes to The Note with the very latest news and analysis from the nation's capital.

via blogs.abcnews.com

Could Abortion Issue Derail Obama, Democrats Health Care Efforts? - ABC News

Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich.

via abcnews.go.com

Representative Stupak, You have laid down your law and set your principles forward. Good for you. Now stick with them.

The pressure will be immense and you will have issues coming at you from all corners. Stay your ground. If we the people can know that you politicians will stand your ground on your morals and beliefs we can begin to have faith in you and the system once again.
Good luck-

The Decline: The Geography of a Recession - ABC News

via abcnews.go.com

This is amazing and scary as hell. Watch and be afraid. Or, watch and take control. Your choice.

Stiglitz, Nobel Prize-Winning Economist, Says Federal Reserve System 'Corrupt'

SHOCK!!  Say it ain't so:  The Fed is corrupt?  A privately-owned corporation that does as it pleases?  Who woulda thought...

Nobel laureate economist Joseph Stiglitz, a former senior vice president and chief economist at the World Bank, said that if countries applying for World Bank aid during his time would have presented a financial regulatory system similar to that of America's Federal Reserve, in which regional Feds are partly governed by the very banks they're supposed to police, it would have raised alarms.

via www.huffingtonpost.com

Microsoft exec pitches Internet usage tax to pay for cybersecurity programs

via thehill.com

Janitor Facing Eviction Cleans Up After CEO Whose Bank Bought Her House

"At the beginning I didn't know he was the guy," said Gomez through an interpreter in an interview with HuffPost. "I didn't know the relationship between my house and him. I saw him one time but never talked to him."

via www.huffingtonpost.com

This is a true cruel twist of fate.

Fight For The CFPA Is 'A Dispute Between Families And Banks,' Says Elizabeth Warren

Elizabeth Warren is the star of "U R Pre-Approved," the film I directed on credit card debt, the banks, and how you are getting screwed.  You can see the trailers and buy the film at www.urpreapproved.com.

Elizabeth is still fighting for all of us and this article shows why we all have to be very vigilant at all times.

While members of the Senate Banking Committee debate proposals to fix the nation's broken financial system and ineffective approach to protecting consumers, Elizabeth Warren has one message: Pass a strong bill or nothing at all.

via www.huffingtonpost.com

Lou Dobbs, Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin, Michele Bachmann Share Blame For Rise in Right-Wing Extremism, Says Activist Group - ABC News

Home > The Blotter from Brian RossDobbs, Beck, Palin, Bachmann Share Blame For Rise in Right-Wing Extremism, Says Activist GroupSouthern Poverty Law Center Cites Violent Incidents; Lou Dobbs Calls SPLC Director 'Paranoid'

via abcnews.go.com

Like I've said before, when people think they have no hope, that their leaders are not empathetic to them, and when people are squeezed so tightly and live in fear and frustration, they will strike out on their own.

A trillion years of evolution and "fight or flight" is evidence of this in any species that I know of.

This is frightening, but not unexpected. When there is no trust and people live in constant fear, they will take charge and in ways you cannot predict.

God help us all. We the People have to be very active participants in the process of this country will self destruct and that will effect you and me too. It will change all of us - forever.