I just wanted to mention this.

the Republicans are boycotting the committee meetings for the Environment and Public Works committee.

That committee is trying to work on the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act. That's how we build a 21st century economy so we can start making solar panels and other cutting edge stuff in America. I think that stuff is kind of important. But the Republicans aren't showing up. This is a video from the hearing, notice that the bottom half of the table is empty. The only Republican is James Inhofe, he stops buy for 2 minutes, drops off a statement and leaves. This is the video of that.




one of the things I hate about politics is when people put loyalty to their political party over loyalty to the country and its citizens. I think we should be talking about the environment right now.

This is especially a problem in light of the fact that the World is meeting to discuss Climate Change in Copenhagen in mid December

We need to get our act together.

One little note about Healthcare... Right now, it's action time.

Now is the crucial point to make your voices heard. Over the next week big decisions will be made. The Senate needs to feel the heat.

You know why people always break their campaign promises? Because after the election the voters are out of the picture, and the politicians are in fundraising mode. So they listen to the lobbyists and they don't hear a peep out of us till next election.

We can't sit back and hope the politicians hear us screaming through the TV. We have to make phone calls and send emails to lobby and make sure people in Washington Listen to us.

To Contact Congress call this number and ask for someone, 1-800-828-0498 it's toll free, call somebody new every day.

Or you can write to them, type something up and send a copy to everyone. You can look at the letters I quoted in my last post for ideas.

Here are the Senators that may need a bit of persuading.
Joe Lieberman, Connecticut
Bill Nelson, Nebraska
Evan Bayh, Indiana
Blanche Lincoln, Arkansas
Kent Conrad, North Dakota
Mary Landrieu, Louisiana
Susan Collins, Maine
Olympia Snowe, Maine
I know none of them are in our state, but just shoot them an email anyway, that's how lobbying works. You find out who's making the decisions and you target them. If you know anyone in these states reach out and ask them to call.

Thanks,

Now the fun pictures




The House


Tuscarora rd. Cute South buffalo Street that runs paralel to Caz Park.


Love the brick roads.


This is a little triangle park, off Tuscarora



Caz Park Casino


Looking Out






Caz Park Soccer Game

Yesterday we got some pretty good news on the Healthcare front. The senate came out with their version of healthcare reform, and it includes a Public Option. It's not perfect, but I think that it's fair, and the most important thing is, I think it might actually work.

Of course I favor Medicare for All, but we didn't go down that road, so you gotta fight within the realm of the possible, so I've been fighting for the Public Option. Go here if you're not sure what the public option is

Go here to read the news about yesterday's Public Option announcement from Harry Reid

Or just Listen to Harry for yourself.


I really loved that press conference, it kinda seems like Harry's got his groove back. He's straight up, and ready to get something accomplished.

The Senate bill includes a provision that was just invented as a compromise between 2 senate bills, one had a Public Option and the other didn't. The new provision is for a National Public Option but individual states can opt-out if they don't think it is good for their state.

I think the Opt-out Public Option is kind of, brilliantly democratic.

If the people of your state don't like the Public Option, you have the freedom to chose another way, nobody is forcing you to accept the new way. But most of the American people want to be able to choose a public option. Medicare is a public option for people over 65, and it works fine, why can't I buy some of that? A few stubborn senators shouldn't prevent the rest of America from having that choice.

The point of a Public Option is to give us a choice. A non-profit choice.

The main complaint against the Public Option (socialism, marxism, fascism, communism, BOO!)..... well ok, the main rational complaint against the Public Option is that it will hurt a particular state or community, senators complain that it will hurt hospitals in their state, or that their constituents are afraid of it, or some other version of I'm responsible for my state above all else.

This provision throws the state based argument out the window. Now your state can opt-out if it wants to, but at least pass Healthcare reform and give the rest of us a choice. Arkansas, North Dakota, Louisiana, and Indiana, you can do what you want, but give the rest of us what we want. And if your constituents don't want the Public Option why don't we give them the chance to say no instead of taking your word for it.

I think this is a responsible compromise, it's all about democracy, let the people in the states decide.

But we have to bring down the costs somehow, cause we're probably wasting $850 billion per year on Healthcare in America.

This video pretty much summs up why I think the Public Option is so important


I've been lobbying about this for a while, and so have the Quakers. I've been on the phone (1 800-828-0498) and writing letters.

here's my latest letter, I sent this to Harry Reid and Obama over the weekend:

I'm a small businessman in Buffalo NY, the healthcare issue is very important to me. We need healthcare reform that works. I don't see too many downfalls to the opt-out compromise, But I don't like the trigger idea, I'm worried that it is an empty promise. We need a public option to guarantee competition and bring prices down ASAP. I strongly oppose mandating that individuals or businesses buy insurance without a guarantee that we will be protected from fraud and abuse. The way I see it, no public option, no guarantee. You can convince the Maine Republicans to support the opt-out provision.

I'm also speaking as a registered Democrat, and my father in law spent weeks in Pennsylvania volunteering for the Obama campaign.

Here's the one from last week, this went out to my representatives and the important people in the Congress,

I'm urging you to pass healthcare reform that works. I'm a Small Business owner in Buffalo NY and I've been paying close attention to the healthcare debate.

I support a Public Option. We need a strong non-profit health insurance option in order to reduce healthcare costs.

We need successful Healthcare Reform. This is not about ideology or political philosophy, it's about what works.

We pay more for Healthcare than every other country in the world and we get less for it, that is the key problem. Healthcare Reform must address the inflated cost of healthcare, or it will be a failure, it will be a missed opportunity, and the Democrats will take the blame.

I've seen all the proposals, I'm looking for a bill that will improve the lives of ordinary people and business owners who are struggling to keep up with rising healthcare costs.

I think the Baucus Bill is ambitious, but does too little to reduce costs. It requires everyone to buy insurance, but we have no guarantee that the product we're being forced to buy is safe, effective, or fairly priced.

The way I see it, no Public Option means no guarantee. America's health will still be at the disposal of for profit insurence companies that have no incentive to reduce the prices they charge.

Insurance companies need competition, and Americans need a guarantee that Healthcare Reform is going to work.

Include a strong Public Option.

Thank you

one more funny video, this is fair and balanced fox

I love the part where they say, "Obama's Healthcare Plan, Scarier than Cancer?"

More Pictures!!

enjoy


Buffalo Small Boat Harbor, took this picture on a bikeride with molly.






This is the Beach at the end of Tifft Street, right next to the Small Boat Harbor on route 5. We like having a beach so close to our house, we go swim and canoe. It's so nice on those 90 degree summer days, you just go down and dunk yourself in the water.


the Fam at the same beach,


Molly on the boardwalk. There's a boardwalk and a pier at the beach too.




Labor day in Cazenovia Park, this was so fun, I love parties in caz park and I love Labor. It was a big homey barbecue nothing fancy, but just having the community get together and party after a parade, it's one of those wholesome things.


The labor day parade, Mickey Kearns in front, I marched with them and handed out fliers, helped tie balloons, fun stuff.



My favorite South Buffalo party, the Irish Feis and Expo. they have like 5-6 rockin Irish bands, like Jackdaw, Seven Nations, Emish... they also have Irish dancing troops, 2 stages, local businesses, food, drinks. The party starts around 2 and usually goes till 10:30. Bring your own beer or they have good stuff on tap like Guinness Harp, Spaten.. There's also a whole section for local businesses to set up tables. Very grassroots community oriented.




the women from Emish, I actually went to Fredonia with them, and they majored in Music :)




Irish Fest crowd shot.




Blue Heron Music Festival, near Jamestown NY


Main stage, it was muddy the first day


Tent Setup, this is where we slept at the festival. Dry and cozy :)


Anne


Night


Muddy ruts, cars and... cows.


Parking lot was a bit of chaos. I got splattered pushing somebody out. but I did not get stuck thank you very much.


lots of sun, no rain that weekend. This is the last day.



That's all for now :)

Hi All, I want to share some photos. Sorry for not posting more over the summer, it was a beautiful summer and I was happy to be away from my computer.

Here's some of the summer in photos.


Our house with sunflowers in front.


Our front garden when we just started.


Our back Vegetable Grden when it just started.


The first plants


Garden Sprouts


Mid Season, lookin pretty good


Tomatoes on the left fence, cucumbers in the middle, I think I'm switching them next year and making a bunch of changes, I grew a little bit of everything this year to experiment, now I know what works.


lettuce


some daily harvest, pretty nice


One of our absolute favorite ways to eat fresh garden veggies!! mmmm
Mozzarella, tomatoes, basil, and olive oil, classic italian dish, the taste is purely the ingredients,salt and pepper is optional.


cherry tomatoes, I'm growing these next year. Most of the other tomatoes got molested by squirrels. The cherry tomatoes are delicious.


I did not grow this tomato, it came from Molly's parents in the country, but it is huge!! almost 2 pounds.





Yes the sunflowers were 8-9 feet tall


Molly on the steps

I need to post more often. It seems like every time I post it's about some crazy news that's about to make my head explode.... well, here's another one..

Conservatizing the Bible


It seems like the "Conservative Bible Project" is really just some dudes with a website. Maybe it's just a fringe project, but something about it just strikes me as wrong.

I guess it bothers me that many of today's conservatives act like they own Christianity. But Conservatives conveniently ignore core principles of the bible and Jesus' teachings. Jesus preached non-violence, and he helped the poor, and told people to love thy neighbor as thyself. Jesus rejected greed, violence, the glorification of power, wealth.....

Some bible quotes to back me up:::::
"Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions. [Luke 12.15.]
Truly, I say unto you, it will be hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. [Matthew 19:23]
You cannot serve both God and Money. [Matthew 6:24.]
If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. [Matthew 19:21]

"But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. [Matthew 6:15]
Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. [Matthew 5:9]
I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despite-fully use you, and persecute you; [Matthew 5:44]

I guess that's the point right... the Bible has a liberal bias. "Blessed are the peacemakers"?!?!? That's some hippie commie pinko subversive stuff. (maybe they don't think that belongs in their religion)

I think the big idea behind the bible was to establish a guidebook that helps humanity live to the best of our potential. Martin Luther King described it as the "Blessed Community". That's what they mean by "Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven" the idea is that Heaven is in perfect harmony, achieving that on earth would create a Blessed Community.

I know this is a bit of a touchy subject, and the same people who defend low taxes and limitless wealth may also be the first to organize a bakesale for a friend in need.

But what we tend to see from the conservative movement, is indifference to the poor, an increasing list of enemies to hate, glorification of wealth.... And for people in need, of say, healthcare, we hear, 'you're lazy, you made bad choices, you didn't earn my mercy, I deserve more than you do.'..... I don't know if that's fair, I'm trying to generalize without exaggerating.

Here's some excerpts from the Conservative Bible Project

framework
"Express Free Market Parables; explaining the numerous economic parables with their full free-market meaning"

"Socialistic terminology permeates English translations of the Bible, without justification. This improperly encourages the "social justice" movement among Christians. "



It just rubs me the wrong way. I'm no expert on the bible or religion. But I just wanted to talk about this for a sec.

Honestly this whole Healthcare thing is making me tired and frustrated. I'm not sure that we are going to get something that actually helps. Washington DC doesn't really care about average people... cause they can't buy campaign commercials.

They released another Healthcare plan today, we waited all summer for this one because it was supposed to be magically "bi-partisan". The bill is proposed by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, the Finance Committee is supposed to vote on the bill by next week.

I'm calling it the "Baucus Bill" because he proposed it and he's probably the only guy who likes it (besides Insurance Company executives). I'm sure he worked his ass off trying to get Republicans and Democrats to agree, and that's a fine goal, but if the bill doesn't work, it's useless.

The Baucus Bill is the worst of both worlds.... I'm reading more details of this plan as I write, and it just gets worse.

1) Everyone is forced to buy Health Insurance. If you don't you will pay a fine.....
2) No Public Option. You are forced to buy Health Insurance from a Private Company.
3) And you can't buy insurance across state lines.

If you can't afford Health Insurance now, you will be forced to buy it. How much is it going to cost? Nobody knows, but there's nothing in this bill that will make it cheaper. The government option would be cheaper, because they don't have to buy advertisements or pay bonuses, but we don't get a government option. There is no added competition for the insurance companies, there is no incentive for them to lower costs.

4) Some of us get tax credits or subsidies to help us buy insurance. how much and who, is a little fuzzy.
5) Medicaid Income eligibility becomes 133 percent of poverty ($30,000 a year for a family of four) Childless adults making up to 133 percent of poverty ($14,400 for an individual) would be eligible for the first time, after but not till 2014...

This is what bugs me, Health Insurance is expensive, confusing, cruel, and an all around terrible product... Now we are being forced to buy it, and we still have no guarantees that the government will protect us from abuse.

The Washington Post analyzes the cost to individuals more specifically "as many as 4 million of the 46 million people who are currently uninsured would be required to buy coverage on their own, without government help, by some estimates. Millions more would qualify for federal tax credits, but could still end up paying as much as 13 percent of their income for insurance premiums -- far more than most Americans now pay for coverage. People further down the income scale would receive much bigger tax credits, effectively limiting their premiums at 3 percent of their earnings."

Alright, so the government is forcing us to spend money, they do that with car insurance too right? Yes, but you only buy it if you have a car, and nobody forces you to buy a car.

I have a problem with this plan, even if the government picks up all of the tab. If the government told all of us, "Private Health Insurance is too expensive, so we'll buy it for you!" I'm sure that would make a lot of people happy, but it does nothing to control costs! All it is is a gift to the health insurance companies that allows them to keep doing things the same way. "yea but they have to cover all pre-existing conditions now", thanks... apparently we're giving them a huge bailout for the favor.

OK, well, this is not the final plan, this is one bill out of many, but there's been so much emphasis on bi-partisan love that this bill seems like the most important for now... and it's absolute garbage.

A Public Option government plan will be cheaper because it is not for profit, it does not have to advertise and it will have enough people to bargain with insurance companies. Co-ops cannot do that, it would take 8-15 years for them to be competitive.

How are we eliminating waste, inefficiency and redundancy in the healthcare system? That's how we bring down costs. The Baucus plan is useless because it doesn't save us any money, maybe years down the road when a couple of those state based co-ops get enough bargaining power to help people within that state.

We need more guarantee than that. A Public Option or Medicare for All would save us money because it eliminates waste and inefficiency, it could offer cheaper insurance, and it would break the private insurance monopoly.

We have to do something that works.

The news is mostly bad, I'm tired of it. I was going to post some pictures, but I'm still working on that. And in the meantime news keeps happening. I liked the president's speech on healthcare, I think his plan might work, but I don't know how we get there.

Sorry for the rant. I swear I'm going to post about something besides healthcare soon. :)

Not sure if you saw me on TV or not, but I did go down to the, thingy, yesterday outside Brian Higgins' fundraiser at DiTondos

I guess my role was to show that people do support Healthcare Reform, there are a lot of loud people on TV trying to stop it, but there's plenty of people who want big changes, so I was one of those guys, I stayed for about an hour. My sign said "Medicare for All, HR 676" our side of the street was pretty united, "Healthcare for people, not for Profit" "Healthcare for all" that kind of stuff.

There was a big group of anti-people on the other side of the street, I'd say about 80, about double the size of the Pro Healthcare reform side. It was hard to figure out what they wanted. "Stop Socialism" "I'm not your ATM" "Brian we want your Healthcare Plan" anti communism, seemed like they came to vent about everything.. they shouted at us "Get a Job"... lots of stuff. I'd have liked to talk to them, you know me, always up for a good discussion, but they didn't seem to be in a conversational mood.

I took 2 videos, but I found one that is way better.



From WNYmedia.net

That video pretty much sums it up. Personally I enjoy talking to people with different views, finding out what their values are, learning new information, new perspectives... I probably could have had a conversation with a few people in on the Conservative(?) side of the street, but they were drowned out by the Angry Mob crowd who just wanted a target they could shout their frustrations at. They were in no mood to have a conversation with anyone who didn't think like they did. I'm not sure what they were so angry about, lots of different things, it was pretty incoherent. If you believe Limbaugh, they fear that Democrats are trying to sneak Socialist Tyranny into America to take your money and control everything everyone does through an incompetent government bureaucracy... but that's irrational, we live in a Democracy, you're not going to wake up tomorrow and find President Stalin canceling elections and killing off the opposition. Maybe they were protesting corruption, and career politicians.. but I didn't hear much of that. To quote my old teacher, "empty cans make the loudest noise", because of the angry 'Fringe' I don't think anyone got their point across. And why were they chanting "Get a Job"? isn't that kinda like "Get a Haircut Hippie"

Our side was shouting stuff too, about healthcare, but I wasn't really into it, I might want to shout slogans at a politician, but my neighbors? not realy, I'd rather talk about over a beer... But not after we were drunk.. people start swingin'.. not me, but there was some hostility in that crowd.

Oh, and the TV News reports sucked, I hate how they sensationalize everything and frame it as a battle. Yea we were shouting and chanting, that's what you do when you't in the streets with a sign. Eh, who knows, If Brian did have a town hall maybe it would look the same as all the other nonsense I don't know.


more Comedy :) Satire from Red State Update

Today's Special

It bothers me that America spends all this money on Healthcare, but a lot of it doesn't go to medicine, or treatment, or doctors or anything that actually makes us healthy. It goes to profit.

Today I'm picking on this poor millionaire Stephen Hemsley at United Healthcare



Including those stock option he makes this much money.



Let's just take his salary and bonuses for last year, 3.2 million, that's $3,200,000

That means that per day he made $8,767.12...... every day of the year, even weekends and holidays. almost $9 thousand per day? really? I guess it's because he does such important work right... making people wealthy by denying medical treatment to millions of Americans.

I guess he's getting richer by the day, I looked it up on Forbes.com and they say he's worth $5 billion now.

See for Yourself that goes to a list of healthcare CEOs

And he's not at the top of the list either.

Americans are going bankrupt all the time because of Healthcare bills. Over half of all personal bankruptcies are due to healthcare bills, the average cost of those bills is around $12,000. Funny thing is, 75% of those people, had Health Insurance when they got sick. Either it was canceled, part of it wasn't covered, or whatever
... But this guy makes $16,000 on the weekend.

Public vs Private Health Insurance Options

Critics of Obama's Healthcare plan are most upset about the "Public Option" they don't want to see a "government takeover" of the healthcare system, This is one of the main sticking points in the Senate Finance Committee, people like Chuck Grassley ask "Why do we need a public Option?"

I think the question really should be, why do we need a private option at all? We have publicly funded options like Medicare, and it's very successful.

Then why do we even need the insurance companies? What constructive role do they play? What benefit do they bring to the table? The whole point of the market is to increase efficiency and innovation and productivity, do Health Insurance Companies do any of these things?

I think they're parasites who make money by denying care. We've enabled this economy to exist, but all they do is waste our money.

I think the market and the entire economy would function better without Health Insurance companies and without the burden of worrying about how you're going to afford to protect your family from illness. All that worry and cost creates friction in our economic engine.

Think about it,
Guy works for large company, thinks he could do a better job than his boss, has a great idea, BUT if he leaves and tries to start a new business he loses healthcare for his family..... American companies are sacrificing quality to save money, they have to compete with Japanese companies that don't pay for healthcare, our companies aren't competitive overseas, and our balance of trade is awful which leads to a declining standard of living in the US..... Labor in the US is expensive, partly because of the cost of Healthcare, so companies move jobs out of the country..... Businesses pay more for healthcare every year, this eats up money that should go to expanding the business, buying equipment, marketing, moving the economy...... Individuals pay more every year too, that money should be going into home improvement, neighborhood businesses, vacations....... That's the story of the economy slowing down.

Here's the big question:
"Why are we wasting our money on an industry that brings us no value?"

Yea, Free Market at all costs... but if you look at it objectively, you start to realize that the economy would function better without the burden of healthcare.
.......


More on how Insurance Companies make money




think about it

Medicare for All
HR 676

I could go on and on about how our current Healthcare system hurts businesses, especially small businesses which make up 90% of the business community. I don't think it should be the Employer's responsability to provide healthcare for workers and their families. I think that it hurts businesses and makes them less competitive around the world. It's too expensive, workers and businesses would have more money to go around the economy if they didn't have to worry about healthcare.

I just wanted to share a personal tidbit. My mom works for a Catholic charity, OLV Father Bakers, the basilica... they have schools, homes for troubled teens, people with disabilities, seniors, etc, all good charity work. And they treat their employees well.

This year their healthcare costs went up 35%.

Just this year. And they go up every year. Her part of the charity has about 70 employees. She didn't get a raise this year because of the crazy healthcare increase. She said that is the biggest jump they've ever seen. I told her they need the money to lobby congress to crush Healthcare reform and protect their profits :) I know, it's not funny. 35% is a lot.


On another note, I decided to listen to Rush Limbaugh today.

I've been amazed by the lies floating around about the Healthcare Bills, I even got that email about "encouraging seniors to commit suicide" or "mandatory end of life counseling sessions", there's no such thing, by the way, I read the bill. I'm also astounded by the frightened protesters who've been attacking Democrats. They're scared of the government telling them who should live or die.. These fears seem irrational to me, this is America you know, it's a democracy, and 99% of Americans would never let such a thing happen.

Anyway I wanted to try and understand the rationale, so I tuned in to Rush Limbaugh. I found it fascinating. He paints a very frightening picture of America. He's afraid of authoritarianism, totalitarianism, the government controlling every aspect of your lives. He believes that our liberties and freedoms are being taken away. He doesn't blame the right wing protesters for being irate or un-civil, their liberties are about to be snatched away. The government will decide who lives and who dies.

He also says that his listeners are more informed than our congresspeople about what's in the bill. He says that our congresspeople haven't read the bill, they don't know what's in it. This may be partly true, but they do have a lot of staff to read the bill and it was drafted in a committee, most of the people in that committee know exactly what is in the bill. I was a bit disappointed that Democratic House members didn't take full advantage of the info-session provided to go over the bill and educate members about what exactly is in it.

But Rush, and the other conservative talkers I'm sure, believe that they have uncovered the awful secrets in this bill, and that their listeners have the inside scoop. They are telling their listeners that they are more informed than anyone else in America and it is their patriotic duty to alert the nation to the dangerous tyranny in this bill, and stop it by any means necessary. They're immersed in the conservative bubble of Fox news, Limbaugh, and the Drudge report, but they actually know what's in the bill, better than congress, and the people who wrote it?

There are so many lies and exaggeration coming from the right about this healthcare bill, I've seen some of this stuff, emails, scarry 'summary' of the bill etc. I've double checked the bill itself, and they're not mandating anything, you're just getting more options and more coverage, and more security from the abuses of insurers.

I think it's fascinating, bad for democracy, but really interesting anyway.