Health Care Reform in Alabama - the facts

From Sarah Palin's sorry excuse to the lack of judgment of some people (particularly those who would strike a match or flick a lighter to light a cigarette while being treated with oxygen - thus killing themselves) there are many things I could write about.

But Sarah can cook her own goose and smokers are already showing their poor judgment by continuing to do so.

So with the delay over the Repeal of Health Care Act vote a little info on what Health Care Reform has done for Alabama so far is in order.

As Alabamians learn, maybe they will call their representatives and say, "Hey, don't take away the insurance of those people or the jobs from these folks." Read on.

Source

In Alabama, 30,599 Medicare recipients have received a tax free $250 rebate check to help close the donut hole coverage gap.

Will the Republicans want that money back from our seniors when they rip that hole back open?

33 uninsured Alabamians with pre-existing conditions now have insurance as a result of Health care Reform. There are thousands`eligible for this benefit, possibly the media in our state has not done a good job of educating the citizens, or perhaps those in need have been frightened by the Republicans of "Obamacare" and they are avoiding getting coverage out of fear.

When you think of Alabama people, who comes to mind?

These dancers are regular Alabama women. I took this photograph at an art show in Birmingham. Some of these women are probably students. Some are probably without insurance. Within 30 years, some of them will develop cancer. Remember this fact, I'll refer to it later.

This group of Alabama residents are marching toward the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma. I wonder how many of these Alabamians are without insurance. Some of these people are eligible for early retirement. Remember this fact. I'll refer to early retirees later.

Many census workers were students. They probably didn't have insurance. They can now stay on their parents insurance until age 26 under Health care Reform.


This mostly white group of McCalla residents gathered in Bessemer to become informed about the Norfolk Southern Intermodal Facility. Many of these folks are seniors, benefiting from the $250 rebate.


In Alabama, 32 Employers Enrolled in Early Retiree Reinsurance Program. The Early Retiree Reinsurance Program(ERRP) provides much-needed financial relief to businesses, schools and other educational institutions, unions, State and local governments, and non-profits, in order to help retirees and their families continue to have quality, affordable health coverage. Click here to find a list of organizations accepted into this program in Alabama.


In Alabama, $1 million has been given to the state in grant funding to crack down on unreasonable insurance premium increases. This money will help to pursue greater legislative authority in insurance review, Expand the scope of the review process, improve the review process, and increase transparency and accessibility in the review process.

In Alabama, $1 million has been allotted to plan for a Health Insurance Exchange.

In Alabama, $3,708,304 has been awarded to support biomedical research for the Therapeutic Discovery Project Program. This research will advance the goal of finding therapies and cure for cancer over the next 30 years. In Alabama this means 17 projects, with their accompanying jobs, will be supported. For a list of the project credits click here and for the project grants click here.

Other grants made available in Alabama:

• $1.5 million for Tribal, Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting Programs
• $500,000 for Medicare improvements for patients and providers
• $200,000 to strengthen public health infrastructure to improve health outcomes
• $3.4 million in Communities Putting Prevention to Work grant awards
• $500,000 to build epidemiology, laboratory, and health information systems capacity
• $100,000 for HIV Prevention and Public Health Fund activities
• $5.1 million to support capital development in health centers

So around $16,000,000 will flow through the Alabama economy in the form, mostly, of equipment and wages for those employed in the programs. I wish I knew how many jobs were being created, but it is obviously thousands.

These figures are not complete. They are only current through December 20, 2010.

Every Representative from Alabama with the exception of Terri Sewell wants to do away with these programs, re-open the donut hole for seniors, remove insurance coverage from those who now are insured as a provision of Health Care Reform, and un-employ thousands in our state that are employed in the research and other programs listed above.

Please call your representative and tell them to leave your health care reform alone. Dial (202)224-3121 and ask for your representative. Or use this searchable online directory to find your representative's direct office number.

War Eagle - AU National Champs!

Unless you've been under a rock you have to know that Auburn defeated Oregon 22-19 in last night's BCS game. I'm part of that Auburn family that Coach Gene Chizik speaks about, having spent 9 years of my life in the Loveliest Village.

I did many of the things that students do (or did during those years a few decades ago).

I've raided the bathrooms in academic buildings to steal toilet paper from the bathrooms to throw over the trees and power lines at Toomer's Corner. Access to buildings was much less controlled back during the 1970's. Here's a live web cam of Toomer's Corner.

Toomer's Corner web cam.


I sat in Legion field as a freshman in 1972 and watched Bill Newton block an Alabama punt and David Langner pick it up and run into the end zone. I then watched the same thing happen again, same two players, and I saw my first Auburn victory over Alabama as a college freshman.

I saw Bo Jackson electrify the crowd as he put it into second gear and carried the ball about 90 yards for a touchdown.



I was in Jordan Hare Stadium on December 2, 1989 and saw Auburn defeat number 2 Alabama 30-20, when Alabama first came to the Plains to visit.

My time as a student at Auburn ended in 1981 on the night of the graduation from vet school, as I skinny dipped in one of the ponds at Conway's trailer park the night of graduation with a bunch of fellow new graduates.

That was a long time ago. And cell phone cameras didn't exist, thank heavens.

Auburn defeats Oregon 22-19 to win the BCS Championship

There were many standout players last night, of course, but let's look at kicker Wes Byrum.

This picture is from his twitter page

He tweeted this early this morning:

What a blessing and unbelievable experience... War Eagle. We national champs baby!!!

In part, of course, because of his last second 19 yard field goal.



Then he tweeted this:

Shout out to all the fans and the whole auburn family! We love you War Damn

I like this tweet from a few days ago.

About to take a much needed nap. What a blessing it is to know everything I've worked for since I was a little kid is only two days away!!!

And this one:

War eagle to the best fans in college football!

Thanks Wes for being such a positive person and for being an inspirational player and...for putting it through the uprights to secure the National Championship for the Auburn family!

WAR DAMN EAGLE!!!

Global warming

Today is a drippy, slushy day in Bessemer Alabama.



It's a perfect day to look for evidence of global warming.

Let's go outside.

Here some ice has collected on a pine tree. Much more of this, and the power would have gone out, causing me to miss the BCS Championship Game and Auburn playing tonight.




War Eagle!!! We are still keeping our fingers crossed (both regarding power...and the game).

Here a holly tree and its berries are cased in ice. The cedar waxwings will take care of these berries, at some point.




This crepe myrtle has a layer of ice on it. This reminds me of northern friends in Pennsylvania who tell me that they can grow crepe myrtles without having to protect them in winter like they used to have to.




These wisteria vines, which I will be fighting again this year, are covered in ice.



Here are some chilled, frosted rose hips.




How about the camellias. There are several varieties on the property, and some begin blooming in late fall. This one has been blooming for weeks. These blooms will be damaged by the ice, but more will open later in the week or next week.



Ah ha! Here is my evidence.

This camellia normally blooms before Christmas. I have taken pictures of its flowers in the past in December, and have used the flowers in decorating for our Christmas Party, during the first two weeks of December.

This year, this is the first bloom on the plant, and today is January 10. There are lots of buds, so I will be enjoying this plant throughout the month and in to February, most likely.



But why is it a month late blooming?

I am not a camellia expert. I wish I knew one who could come visit and identify the dozen or so varieties that we have. But I would assume that the winter blooming camellia buds enlarge and finally open in response to low or falling temperatures. The plant may have perceived warmer temperatures in the late fall, and responded by delaying blooming.

That is the, although anecdotal and without proof, evidence for global warming I was looking for.

Winter days like today make me think of Tasha Tudor and her book, Tasha Tudor's Garden, my favorite garden book. In it she describes her garden in every season, and pictures accompany the descriptions.



If I were to write such a book, I would include this picture. There's just something about evergreens and ice.



Enjoy this cold, wet, beautiful, winter day in the south.

A Peaceful Nation

Not.

When I was a little kid I grew up, like most kids still do, believing that the United States is the best nation in the world, and basically unaware of the troubles that many in the world encounter everyday.

My grandmother lived near Legion Field in Birmingham. We would visit her on Sundays.

One Sunday I was not allowed to go outside to play because a bomb had exploded killing four black girls.

The troubles of the world quickly became the troubles of my world.

Then came Martin Luther King, Jr., LBJ, Bobby Kennedy, and the events of the 1960's.

But as time went on I really, really thought that the hatred and violence that I grew up so close to was becoming a thing of the past.

Today in Kelly Ingram Park

My plans for today were to attend a rally about peace and human rights in Birmingham that is held every year around Martin Luther King day.

Peace

But how can you focus on peace when violence has come to be expected, and a certain amount of violence is thought of as the norm?

When I heard the news of Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords being shot, there was a moment of surprise, but then reality sank in. This was predictable. The victim could have been any of a number of congress members. Many of us had spoken or written about the hateful rhetoric of the right, and shuddered at the rantings of Nevada Tea Party angel Sharon Angle who spoke of "second amendment remedies" and Sarah Palin and her "crosshairs" and "reload" and "fire" tweets and Facebook posts and her web site.



Giffords was one of 20 Representatives that voted for health care reform that Palin drew aim at on her web site.

We heard more rhetoric and saw images and video of gun rights advocates carrying weapons at public political events.

We knew then that this day was coming because of messages like this.



Gifford's opponent took Palin's advice, and made Gifford a "Target," allowing supporters to "Shoot a fully automatic M16 with Jesse Kelly" (her Republican Tea Party opponent).

Sarah Palin, Jesse Kelly, and whoever wrote this upcoming event blurb, should be held accountable for the murder of a federal judge, the murder of a child, the murders of the the other victims, the attempted murder of Congresswoman Giffords and others. Along with the shooter, who is in custody.

I will post later about the Human Rights rally, held rightfully at Kelly Ingram Park (where just a little over a year ago the Tea Party desecrated the area by holding an event there).

In the meantime, America, remember, you voted the Republicans into office. In doing so, you only encouraged the violence that occurred today. As mom used to say, "You made your bed, now lay in it."

Staying Awake for Human Rights

The Birmingham Peace Project is sponsoring an event on Saturday, January 8 (that's tomorrow).

"Staying Awake for Human Rights" -- the 8th Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Event

Birmingham area students will speak:

"Staying Awake for Human Rights"

An essay competition featuring Student Activist Groups. Hear what student activists have to say about human rights.

This event will take place at Kelly Ingram Park at 3:00.

Music will be provided by the Reconciler Praise Team from Church of the Reconciler.

Come join us, bring the family!

The effects of Health Care repeal

While the House of Representatives is enacting a third grade type reading of the Constitution others in Washington are working, in particular, those in the Congressional Budget Office.

The CBO has offered a preliminary estimate of the costs of enacting H. R. 2, the Health Care Repeal Act. The CBO says they will give a more detailed analysis later, but due to the short time period allowed for discussion of this bill (forget openness and transparency and allowing discussion and all that) they went ahead and released this.

Here are key points from the CBO letter, sent to Speaker Boehner, and others, including Nancy Pelosi and Jeff Sessions.



Read the letter here.

The repeal of Health Care would increase the federal deficit by $145 billion. Remember, Health Care reform is expected to reduce the deficit by $1.3 trillion over the next 20 years. Republicans want to add to the deficit.
Some money would actually be saved by repealing Health Care. For example, $39 billion would be saved by taking money from ongoing programs to benefit Native Americans (sorry, even though you were here first, Republicans don't care about you) and $34 billion would be saved by taking money from federally funded Health Care Centers (sorry minorities, we know these centers mainly serve you, but Republicans don't care for you either).

Under the repeal of Health Care, 32 million non-elderly people would lose their insurance, leaving a total of 54 million without insurance. 83 percent of legal Americans would have insurance after the repeal. If Health Care is not repealed, 94 percent will be insured.

Keep reading that Constitution. But remember, there are 32 million people right now wondering if you are going to take away their insurance. And there are 310,591,294 (current U. S. population - may be different at the link since population is changing) people wondering if you are going to increase their share of the federal deficit.

A Tale of Two Cities

Actually, the governments operating in two cities.

The biggest problems facing the government are financial. Huge debts are looming. There's talk of default, and the consequences.

There are new people in government who can rightly say that they didn't cause this problem.

So how are these problems being handled?

It depends on which government you are referring to.

Both our local Bessemer mayor and city council and the President and Congress are facing similar issues, but their approaches to solving problems are very different.

In Washington today marks the start of a new congress, and Republican leaders in the House are ignoring the economy and the national debt and the deficit and are focusing on repealing the health care plan that, besides allowing millions of previously uninsured people to be covered, will reduce the deficit by $1,300,000,000,000 ($1.3 trillion) over the next 20 years, create 400,000 jobs a year over the next decade, and in general improve the economy.

In other words, kill jobs, increase the deficit and at the same time, deny people health care.

In Bessemer the sins of the previous administration are coming to light. At each council meeting, it seems that additional disturbing information about money the city owes vendors, or revenues that are not coming in, or important budget/financial information that was kept from the council and public, is revealed.

This finally reached a crescendo last night during the citizens participation portion of the council meeting when a member of the audience went to the podium and pretty much castrated the former mayor and council (one of whom is still on the council and was sitting right in front of him*); the former mayor for keeping information to himself and the council for not being aggressive enough. He said he might not have been "lied" to, but he certainly feels he was misled over the past few years. Misled to the point that now he doesn't know if Bessemer will be a better place for his children.

(*there are actually 2 members of the former council still in office, but one was not present)

Based on what I heard last night from the mayor and from every council member, either in private conversation or during the council meeting, this group is committed to working together, exploring all options, operating in transparency, and solving the huge problems that lie ahead.

And I think that any vendor that is owed money by the city will appreciate their attitude and be more likely to work with the city regarding payment.

The man at the podium and others in the audience (who applauded after he spoke) expressed their approval for this mayor and this council, not because of any results they have produced, but because we recognize their determination to solve the crisis and because we have the confidence that they can do it.



So, if you want to get your blood pressure up, watch Congress this week, where hypocrisy and showmanship will be on display, and the needs of the people will be ignored.

If you want to see how government should work, and how problems can be solved, come to the Bessemer city council meetings, where the livelihoods of the citizens and their quality of life is of great concern to the members. It's refreshing, and you don't often hear that about government activities.

Celine Dion - "A New Day Has Come"