Some Gave All - All Deserve the Best

A nation’s lifeline is directly tied to their military. One of the reason’s Rome fell was due to its military problems. In WWII France was taken over because it had inadequate military defenses. And the United States of America was born because our military was fighting for something they believed in, thus becoming the better fighters despite the fact that they were really inferior in terms of training and weapons.

Men and women lay their lives on the line when they join the military – even in times of peace. The thousands killed and wounded at Pearl Harbor joined the Navy during peace time, but they still gave all for our country. They leave the service with many types of wounds and scars – mental, physical, emotional, and financial. We, both as a nation and as civilians, need to constantly be aware that what we have is due to our veterans – the ones who died for our country, who were injured, and the ones who served in times of peace.

“‘Keeping faith with those who serve must always be a core American value and cornerstone of American patriotism. Because America’s commitment to its servicemen and women begins at enlistment, and it must never end.’ – Barrack Obama, Speech in Kansas City, MO August 21, 2007

As a member of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, Barrack Obama fought to end benefit disparities, bring homeless veterans in off the street, strengthen mental health care, add billions of dollars in additional Department of Veterans Affairs funding, and reform a system that often places barriers between veterans and the benefits they have earned. President Obama and Vice President Biden will ensure we honor the sacred trust to care for our nation’s veterans.” from http://www.whitehouse.gov/agenda/veterans/ March 18, 2009.

Even the government seems to agree. Wrong! Currently, there is a plan to make veterans use their private insurance to pay for treatment of combat injuries and other service-related health problems. On Monday (March 16, 2009) at a meeting with various veterans groups, President Obama said that by cutting some veteran’s benefits the savings would be $540 million. What happened to commitment beginning at enlistment and never ending? What about the homeless veterans, who no doubt, don’t have private insurance? What about the remaining WWII veterans, who are dependent on the VA hospitals and services for all of their healthcare? They can’t afford – or qualify - for private insurance at this point and Medicare doesn’t pay for any services provided by VA.

Admittedly, our country is in the middle of a serious financial crisis; budget cuts need to be made, and a lot of them will hurt. But why start with our veterans? Because of their willingness to do what the majority of Americans don’t do, they should be the very last group that we take benefits from.

Healthcare is another huge crisis facing our country today, but if veterans are using their private health insurance for service related injuries that will drive up the cost of insurance, meaning even more Americans will be forced to go without. Private insurance is also all about existing conditions – so what will happen if an injured veteran has to change providers? Will the service related condition be covered or will it become a pre-existing condition that is exempt from the new policy? Insurance companies also limit Doctors, hospitals, labs, etc., that the insured can use, which will also limit the veteran to the care that is local and approved. Prosthetics are limited in type and how often they can be replaced, even though new types are being created that would give them more freedom. Issues like these could cause veterans to be unable to obtain the necessary care and services that they should receive.

There is no quick and easy answer to either the financial or the health care problems, but the plan to cause veterans to use private insurance may help the financial problem, but the health care crisis will worsen. That is not the way to fix a problem. This is not the way to treat the men and women who put their lives on hold and on the line to defend our country and our freedoms. This is not the campaign promise to break.

Bail Out Waste

We all know that times are hard and the government has had to bailout several industries. Most of the mortgage crisis has been blamed on predatory lending and unsound loans. Let me tell you true story about a prime example of why we are in this crisis.

A house was built on a nice 5-acre lot and was listed for sale at a nice price. A family member of the builder wanted the house – even though they didn’t have enough income to justify the loan, but Freddie Mac, said not to worry, they’d give them the money anyway. Now it’s important to know that this house was selling at a premium price.

The new owner was struggling to pay bills, buy groceries, and still afford the mortgage. Eventually, he lost the battle and the house was foreclosed on. According to local laws, the house was sold to the highest bidder at the courthouse auction. Now there were some people there who wanted the house and could afford the house, but the mortgage company outbid them and bought the house back. After sitting on the house – well, they were supposed securing the house and winterizing it – the mortgage company listed it at $350,000. Some of the people who had attended the auction made some offers – more in line with what the market currently was – but they were rejected.

Sometime before Christmas a water line broke in the house and water flooded the house for 4 to 6 weeks before it was discovered. Ceilings fell, hardwood floors were ruined beyond repair, carpet soaked and subflooring ruined. Cherry kitchen cabinets destroyed, as well as the bathroom cabinets. Walls were water-soaked up four feet. Of course the water was shut off, but the pipe was not repaired - after all the house is sold "as is". Now we all know that when you add water and heat you get mold, but the Freddie Mac represenative has turned the heat on to"dry the house out." One potential buyer estimated the cost to repair and made an offer to purchase the house for less than half of what it was originally listed for. Nope, Freddie Mac held firm at $350,000.

So, now it’s getting warm, the mold is starting to grow and soon this house will be in such bad shape that it will have to be torn down. And we, the taxpayers, will be out the $300,000 plus that Freddie Mac has in it. Of course, they could have sold it several times for between $300,000 and $325,000. And, even after the flood, they still could have sold it for something. But now – if they ever let it go – it will be for a lot price because the house won’t be worth anything.

And this is what we “bailed out.”

o-pin-ion [uh-pin-yuh n] – Noun

1.    A belief or judgment that rests on grounds insufficient to produce complete certainty.

2.    A personal view, attitude, or appraisal.

3.    The formal expression of a professional judgment: to ask for a second medical opinion.

4.    Law. The formal statement by a judge or court of the reasoning and the principles of law used in reaching a decision of a case.

5.    a judgment or estimate of a person or thing with respect to character, merit, etc.: to forfeit someone’s good opinion.

6.     A favorable estimate; esteem: I haven’t much of an opinion of him.

Synonyms:1. persuasion, notion, idea, impression. Opinion, sentiment, vieware terms for one's conclusion about something. An opinion is a belief or judgment that falls short of absolute conviction, certainty, or positive knowledge; it is a conclusion that certain facts, ideas, etc., are probably true or likely to prove so: political opinions; an opinion about art; In my opinion this is true. Sentiment (usually pl.) refers to a rather fixed conviction, usually based on feeling or emotion rather than reasoning: These are my sentiments. View is an estimate of something, an intellectual judgment, a critical survey based on a mental examination, particularly of a public matter:views on governmental planning. 

opinion. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Retrieved March 02, 2009, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/opinion

I think it’s important to understand definitions.  Not just the general   use of a word, but the true definition, so there is no misunderstanding. For example, take the word ‘opinion’ – as shown above it means my personal view; what I think.  It may not be the actual hard fact, but it is what I believe it to be.

So why do some people think that they have a sworn duty to make me see that my opinion is wrong. Maybe theirs is wrong. So what, it’s what I believe that matters to me.  I am not a debater.  I don’t like arguing, it creates too much stress in my life.  I have enough stress without adding anything as silly as arguing over opinions.  Some people say that I’m a pushover because I don’t argue back.  Nope, I just pick my battles.  When I argue with you, you better believe I will have facts.  You better have some too, because just because you say so won’t win any points with me. 

Now I will be the first to admit that I have walked away from a lot of arguments without “winning.”  Sometimes, there just no point in continuing.  One lady told me that her mother used to work with my grandfather at a local business.  I was very nice; asked who her mother was and what time period that was (mainly because I didn’t think that her mother was old enough to have worked at that business at the same time as my grandfather).  Sure enough her mother worked there in the 1940’s, but when I told her that my grandfather had owned that business, but sold it in the 1930’s to someone else she informed me that I was wrong, her mother had worked WITH my grandfather and he had never owned it.  Now, first of all, don’t ever argue my family history with me - I am the family historian!  Second of all, my grandfather had started that business from nothing in the 1920’s – which I shared with my friend.  No, I was totally wrong, she was right.  I smiled politely and said I would go home and check my facts (not!). Why continue?  It was a pointless argument.  I wasn’t going to change her opinion and I was sure of my facts.  Time to move on.

Now, I’m not saying that you might convince me that I’m wrong – IF you can produce the cold, hard facts that say I’m wrong. But if you just want to argue using your opinion, then I’m sorry, I have other things to do.