The insurance industry in the United States of America is actively recruiting and hiring and training LOBBYISTS in huge numbers to ready themselves for the shit-storm that the American people and HOPEFULLY their elected Representatives are about to lay down on them in the very near future.

As we are all well aware, medical insurance and the FOR PROFIT Insurance Corporations in the U.S. are out of control.  Millions of citizens are not insured at all, most citizens that do have some sort of medical insurance are under-insured and the sky-rocketing costs of medical insurance are becoming more and more prohibitive for the average American worker.  Add to that fact that employer based medical insurance is where most Americans recieve their insurance package and then consider the rising unemployment issue in this country, and things can only go from horrible to completely unacceptable.

I ran across this story this morning on BBC News.  The story revolves around a study conducted by the Rockefeller Foundation, the Conrad Hilton Foundation and Oxfam America.  In the report they completed, these groups state that Americans rank 42nd among developed countries for life expecentancy, even though we spend more money per person on healthcare than any other country in the world.

It would seem that our healthcare dollar isn't quite stretching as far as those other 41 countries, wouldn't it?

From BBC:

Americans live shorter lives than citizens of almost every other developed nation, according to a report from several US charities.

The report found that the US ranked 42nd in the world for life expectancy despite spending more on health care per person than any other country.

Overall, the American Human Development Report ranked the world's richest country 12th for human development.

US slips down development index

Standing up to President Bush and his administration, the Iraqi Government did not give into pressure to sign the Security Agreement that BushCo had been trying to force upon them.  This "Status-Of-Forces" agreement was being pushed hard by the Bush Administraion before they left office next January, as Bush and his cronies wanted to make absolutely sure they had tied the hands of the next Administration when it came to the troops in Iraq question.  

Unlike our Congress, Prime Minister Nouri al-Malaki has learned to say "NO" to President Bush and has bucked the whole Bush Regime just recently when al-Malaki stated that it was getting close to time for all Foreign troops to leave his country.  
Of course, as soon as he stated this, the Bush Administration bumper sticker motto of "When they stand up, we will stand down" became "We aren't standing down, thar's OIL in them thar sands," or something to that effect.

Let's pretend for a moment that you are a country.  Well, the seminal head of a country, so to speak.  

As the mouthpiece and the conveyor of all information that the people of YOUR country would like YOU to communicate to the rest of the world, your mission (should you choose to accept it) is to make sure you truly speak for your fellow countrymen and countrywomen with one voice that soars the virtues of YOUR country and it's ideals and passions!

OK, Hold that thought.  

G8 Crisis

More below:

No, Virginia.  There is no global warming!

Do you know how I know this, Virginia?  Because those well known and highly decorated Scientists, Rush Limpbaugh,PhV (Physician, Viagara), Sean Hannity,WnGnT (Wingnut), and Neal Boortz, LnC (Libertarian Nutcase) have told me in no uncertain terms that it is SO.

Who, in their Right(wing) Mind could possibly have the expertise in this field to actually stand up to these "Keepers of the Truth and the American Way" and offer a different opinion?

Certainly not Fox News!  That bastion of the Fair and Balanced coverage of all things great and small would never give in to the temptation to try their hand at discouraging their viewers from not believing any single word uttered by the above mentioned "brilliant scientists of hate radio."

In fact, Fox News has their very own theory that they pulled directly out of their collective asses regarding why global warming is not the cause for the melting of Planet Earth's Arctic ice.  

Let's see what they have to say on this issue, below.

Warning: Run on sentence ahead

Do you know how much courage it takes to join the military after the events of September 11, 2001 have affected you and your patriotic feelings to HELP any way you can the country you love, then ship out to Iraq, work your way to the rank of Sergeant, find out that both yourself and your comrades in arms come to learn that this war you are fighting with your life on the line to be nothing more than contrived BullShit, then come home (thankfully not in a coffin that Americans can't see on TV) and then be told you have to go back?

I sure as hell don't!  I have absolutely NO Friggin' Idea what that would be like.

Senator's Barack Obama and John McCain are working overtime to change the Electoral Map of our country in an effort to win over States that have been recently voting either Democratic or Republic in our current 2008 Presidential Election.  

Both Presidential Candidates are in serious need of changing the Electoral Map, as the polls are showing possible pick-up's in States that have traditionally voted for one party or the other during a Presidential election.

More below!

The trials for some of the alleged masterminds of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentegon as well as others who allegedly helped to fund or participate in the 9/11 attacks are soon to be held and overseen by a US military commission at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

The question I would like answered up front is whether we will get to hear the defendents statements during these trials, or will the also alleged torture that was committed on their persons during the interrogation of these defendents cause the Military Brass and the Bush Administration to go into full secrecy mode as to not allow the world to hear what these prisoners have to say in their defense.  Of course we all know that the "interrogation methods" will not be allowed to be spoken of during the trials.

Posted by permission of sarahlane
EENRblog.com

In just a few minutes Democratic candidate Kevin Miskell running for IA-4 C.D. will join us for a live blog here at EENRblog.com!  Before we get going on our conversation with Kevin, I want to tell you a little about what Kevin Miskell.
Kevin Miskell is a fifth generation Iowa farmer from Story County, Iowa. When family farmers were facing an economic crisis under Reagan, Miskell became very involved in his community working to help save family farms.  

More below the fold:

Simply put, y'all are stressing too much these days and you need something to take your mind off of all the "this, that and the other thing" that is going down in the world.

I have the answer!

For the admission price of absolutely NOTHING, not a single penny, nor a thin dime, not even two bits, I will allow you access to something more than fun, as sweet as pie and as lovely as a Rose-In-Bloom.

Ragdoll kittens, just born!

Be prepared.  Cute overload ahead!

Perhaps beginning with the reality of Right Now would be the place to start, because as we all know, everything that has happened before this very instant is in the past.  

We are all about the future, right?

Moving forward, bringing about sweeping change to the political, economic and environmental landscapes, addressing poverty and actually doing something about it, finding alternative fuels to propel our need for speed without causing the price of food to quadruple or the ozone layer to continue to cook the Poles and melt the ice?  Not to mention, war for the simple sake of profit.

I've been taken hostage by cats.

Yes, the Six Ragdoll cats own me and they are FRIGGIN' serious this time, OK?

They have demands.  I need help, if I am to get out to make more money to buy them food.

They call my house KITMO.

They insist I work each day and bring home the groceries, as long as the groceries don't include fruit or vegies.

They want you to send money too, or volunteer at your local animal shelter, or they will continue making me go to work each day and bring home the groceries (did I mention that they won't allow fruit or vegies)?  

It is spring, so lots of new kittens and puppies will be finding their way into a local Animal Shelter near you.  If you can, please donate some kitten, puppy, cat or dog food, or your time to your local shelter.

I was doing my usual perusing of the foreign newspaper and media websites (this is how I get the real news without that well known BushCo bias) and I came across an article at BBC.co.uk that caught my attention.

The credit crunch has hit the US economy hard. From Wall Street to Main Street, loans that looked rock-solid a year ago now look shaky.

And the US central bank, the Federal Reserve, is throwing away the rule book to contain the effects.

  My emphasis.

That is a pretty strong statement.  The Federal Reserve is Throwing Away The Rule Book to contain the effects.

There is more.

Continues To Be Wrong.

The person that we Americans are forced to admit, under our breath, is actually the President of the United States of America, once again opened his ignorant mouth regarding a matter of such importance that even his myriad screw ups somehow pale in comparison to his latest complete mis-interpretation of reality.

President Bush pledged Monday to ensure "an outcome that will merit the sacrifice" of those who have died in Iraq, offering both sympathy and resolve as the U.S. death toll in the five-year war hit 4,000.
"One day, people will look back at this moment in history and say, ‘Thank God there were courageous people willing to serve because they laid the foundation for peace for generations to come,’ " Bush said at the State Department after a two-hour briefing on U.S. diplomatic strategy around the world. "I vow so long as I am president to make sure that those lives were not lost in vain."

Let us, you and I, check the first basic words in the simpletons paragraph.  

Guess what?  The media has caught on!  Sure, a couple of years after those of us that have been paying attention already knew the answer, but HEY! at least they decided to report on it.  Only because it helps corporate interests, but they did finally report on it.  

Go figure.

What, you ask, did they finally uncover?  The reason your food is costing more money!  WHOA!  Be still, my bank account.

From a story, issued from MSNBC late Friday afternoon.

Over the fold, por favor.

Due to the soaring prices of food, especially wheat, corn, rice and other cereals, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) is drafting plans to reduce the number of nations receiving food aid as well as the amount of food supplied.  

Please allow me to intrpret the Administrations words, in plain English.

Due to the price of the War in Iraq and the graft being paid to officials in Pakastan, Iraq, and various other shady dealings that are going on under the cover of "state secrets", we will be unable to continue sending food to starving people in other countries.  Our greed is such that the rising cost of food is cutting into our personal profits, and that will never do!

Please continue below.

"To surge or not to surge!  That is the question!  Whether it is nobler to send more Americans off to face possible death, or to say I was wrong."  

Heh!  Like I'm going to say I was wrong about something - G.W. Bush, Presnit USA

Back, oh a few months ago, the Bush/Petraeus/Cheney/Liberman/McCain Surge™ was going swimmingly!  We were told that it was going so VERY WELL that before the year 2008 was over, we would be reducing the number of American soldiers in the Iraqi theater down to less than the number of troops that were there pre-Bush/Petraeus/Cheney/Liberman/McCain Surge™.

Well.  Not so much.

If you would be so kind as to read on below.

Dammit, this FISA voting within our Congress has become something of a pain in American's asses.  

We have a simple, obvious issue that we would like to be straight forward, unabasahedly, non-questionably understood by the people of America.  We are asking the people that Americans voted for to ratify that.  YOU call it FEESA, I call it FYESA.  Who cares?  

America calls it important. I'm tired of being walked on by goddamned Republics that I didn't vote for, you didn't vote for and America would like to kick in the ass for being stupid and not doing what we asked them to do.

The Democrats?  Well, I'll give you a list of those idiots that didn't get the fuckin' memo below.