What the fuck???? Can't everyone see what's wrong with this picture?

[Hepburn]

Two things have really, really gotten to me lately regarding the manner in which the sick and disabled are treated in the United States:

1. TV Commercials asking for aid to Wounded Soldiers: What the hell? They fought for this country, why in the hell is not EVERYTHING they need being provided? Lost a leg, an arm? Then why aren't they given homes that are equipped for amputees? Etc., etc., etc...

2. TV Commercials asking for donations for children with cancer: Again...what the hell? Why is it necessary to literally beg for donations in a country which supposedly has the best medical care possible? Same goes for any person who needs medical care.

The more I see of this, he more I HATE Republicans, the insurance industry and the Vets Admin, etc., etc., etc...

Color me sad, really, really sad. This simply is NOT right. We are providing foreign aid all over the world...what about those who need us within our own country???

[misterhighwasted]

1. +++100000000000000> K&R

I have had the same feeling whenever these ads play. Millions billions trillions for aid to the same governments our soldiers were sent there to fight. WTF indeed.
Excellent Post Hepburn.

[Hepburn]

10. Thank you...

...I have a head cold and am watching day time TV and I became horrified over the literal begging for services that should be provided without hesitation and/or question.

[Hotler]

2. It's all about selfishness. n/t

[deutsey]

25. Yep...

Remember Bob Dole's rallying cry in the '90s? "It's your money, it's your money, it's your money."

It's all about breaking down any sense of the collective and atomizing how we see ourselves.

[NoJusticeNoPeace]

3. I was in my ACUPUNCTURE doctor's office yesterday and he had t shirts that

appeared to be sold to raise money to fund vets visits to acupuncturists.

So I asked my ac doc about this and he said no the VA was no paying for these visits, which is great.

So I didnt buy one.

But YES, in this country healthcare is a PRIVILEGE and only certain people can get it, otherwise we would all be in favor of ACA and in favor of making it better as in Universal Healthcare.


And while I am very anti empire military industrial complex, I am for taking care of veterans COMPLETELY and ENTIRELY if they see combat.

Period

[bluedigger]

22. You only support full care for combat vets?

I guess it's my fault that there weren't enough Cubans on Grenada to require my involvement. Not to mention all the female service members who were prohibited from the front lines for generations. It's okay, though, it's not the first time Uncle Sam would renege on a promise he made to me.

[Tsiyu]

28. I think you are reading too much into the qualifier

She mentioned combat vets because the commercials show people wounded on the battlefield. I am sure the OP is concerned with all vets.

[bluedigger]

42. I wasn't responding to the OP.

And NJFP clarified their comment. It's all good.

[Tsiyu]

58. Oops!

sorry bout that, I'm getting old.....( now where did I put that decrepit smilie? )

[NoJusticeNoPeace]

34. Isn't what I meant, i should have said all veterans...

[bluedigger]

39. Cool.

Just wanted to point out the problem. Words matter.

[erronis]

65. What about faith healers? What about iathonic radiation?

There are limited $s to use to make the vets better. How do we determine where those $s should be spent? Should they be on mending bones and bodies with traditional means (splints, surgery) or should it be on homeopathic remedies.

Far be it from me to be able to pronounce a judgement on what works and what doesn't. Perhaps we should ask each vet what care they would like to receive and give them the scientific evidence from what has worked in the past, or not.

[NoJusticeNoPeace]

67. Faith healers, is that in response to saying I want them to have care? I am confused

There is no such thing as faith healing...

Iathonic radiation, never heard of it, nothing comes up in google

Are you having a problem with offering acupuncture?

Should there be such a limit to taking care of veterans?

Shouldnt that limit be on the limitless end of things, you know, since WE sent them...

I am one of the biggest critics of the military, and many who join do so to be assholes and kill people, but not all, so even if only one out of ten who join do so for the most noble of reasons, then we have a responsibility to them

Personally i would like to seize the assets of the Bush families, Cheney families, Walton families and Koch families to help pay for it

[lunasun]

88. VA did coverr accupuncture but got cut in 2009 for some vets see post# 87

[BruceStern]

104. VA doctor, I do battlefield acupuncture.

They trained me in 2013 but it's true, there's no more money for it because of the outcry. I do this on a lot of patients and it's been very beneficial.

[lunasun]

87. even insurance like blue cross/ Medicare covers accupuncture(yes dependant on your plan)

comparing accupuncture to faith healers is a stretch I am glad valid insurances don't make . I am surprised VA doesnt looks like it did and then got cut for some but not others in 2009
http://www.firstcoastnews.com/story/news/local/2014/01/17/4599079/

[NoJusticeNoPeace]

108. My guy told me VA is covering it now

[alarimer]

99. No to acupuncture, and other scientifically unsound methods

No acupuncture, no chiropractors, nothing but science-based medicine should EVER be paid for by the government for veterans, in Medicare, etc. If you want to throw away your own money on bullshit, go right ahead, but taxes shouldn't fund it.

The following is good takedown on some of this:

http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/the-reality-of-ancient-wisdom-acupuncture-and-tcm-werent-so-great/

[erronis]

103. I'm in agreement about "science based medicine"

And I think that most people would want treatments that have withstood tests, randomized trials, rational explanations of what is happening to the body based on the treatment. Otherwise, it is not much different than Oral Roberts laying on of hands and when, for example, an appendix ruptures I want a gastroenterologist by my side.

I have worked at the US NIH (Cancer Institute) and they do have several efforts to research Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM). I am in favor of this research as long as it doesn't detract from "allopathic" medicine. Funny how the "homeo-" and "holo-" pathic practitioners try to make fun of traditional medicine by calling it "allopathic".

However, we do still learn some things from nature around us. Natural drugs that weren't born in a patent-enshrowded laboratory.

[BruceStern]

105. Evidence based?

Your excerpts are a series of anecdotes. How evidence based is that?

I get it, you see a picture of an ear and there's a foot. Stupid ancient Chinese! How can the foot be connected to the ear? It was my reaction too. When I was trained in Battlefield acupuncture (specific points for chronic pain) I saw the functional MRIs and consistently the areas used for pain control 'turned off' areas that were responsible for pain processing.

Placebo controlled trials have been difficult with acupuncture because to deliver the 'sham' treatment enough pressure to the points has to be applied to fool the person they've been treated which in itself is a treatment (acupressure)

The description of white hot needles being inserted into major vessels is completely different to what we're doing. Small studs inserted in the ears which fall out in 1-5 days. About as much chance of infection as an injection (which in my 15 years has been zero).

Now for the anecdote . I regularly treat veterans with acupuncture. I have ones that come to see me regularly because of everything they've tried (physical therapy, surgery, TENS, opiates, gabapentin, lyrica, amitriptyline, etc) it's the only thing that's been effective for them. Not evidence, but powerful when you're sitting across the chair. It's not because I 'believe' in it. Even after training I was uncertain if I'd get any results.

I'm not for 'woo', but to dismiss out of hand on flimsy evidence like this only betrays our own cognitive bias. We don't have a lot of tools to deal with chronic pain. Do opiods 'work'? They help with pain but they obviously bring with them lots of potential problems. If someone has a better solution I'm all ears but what you usually hear is naysaying without any viable alternatives.

I'm a 'Western' trained MD who's board certified in Internal medicine but after 15 years I've seen the failure of 'pill to the ill'. I teach meditation, exercise, diet as a way of getting to many problems. I use the least amount of medication to get the desired results and when I look at my metrics my patients do much better than the national average in terms of hypertension, hemoglobin A1c, days hospitalized, etc.

[phantom power]

4. I have a similar pet peeve about 'boxtops for education'

How about if we just properly funded our fucking public educational system? Then we wouldn't need any goddamned boxtops for education.

[geardaddy]

18. +1 million n/t

[Bigmack]

19. How about "boxtops for F-35s"...

... and bakesales for aircraft carriers?

Let's see how fast charity would build those missionless money-pits.

[erronis]

63. Lovin' it. Can you spare a dime for the poor beltway bandits?

[ET Awful]

27. But that would effect cereal sales negatively!

We can't have that

[AllyCat]

73. Seeing that box at my kids school really aggravates me

And that's why. I don't want to rely on corporations to fund schools. That's part of how we get crappy, privatized education.

[AtheistCrusader]

81. Those programs are tax avoidance strategies for the companies 'helping' the schools.

I'd fall over dead from shock if an accountant ever proved to me that it were otherwise, that investors and corporate management ACTUALLY took a hit in the spirit of charity.

Its a fucking write-off. A scam.

[ND-Dem]

90. Thank you!!! It makes me sick to see their misty-eyed commercials about it (yeah, I'm talking

to you, wal-fart) too.

[GTurck]

95. Any charity....

that offers to take over a public expense. It is not the unwillingness to pay taxes only but I suspect people don't want to pay taxes that only help the banks and 1%. I certainly don't.

[abelenkpe]

5. Feel that way about public schools

Every week we get flyers for booster club and to raise money for the school. Every election we vote for propositions to increase funding for schools and yet they never see that money. That money never gets to the actual schools. The teachers have all forgone raises, they no longer have science or music or art or counselors or nurses. The vice principal is only there two days out of the week. Where does that money go? Why are schools always making cuts and asking more from parents? Why aren't they properly funded?

[Hepburn]

14. I have always said that there are a few thing that should not be governed by money.

1. Medical care

2. Education

3. Justice

Seems so true and yet...so far from reality!

[Lifelong Protester]

86. We take the boxtop money at our school

several companies, like Kemp's, got out of it (a nickel a cap!) I think because we are so desperate for funds, we all sent in a LOT of caps.

If I did what they asked, I'd be having a table set up at each home game and sign up folks for the box store's "Red Card" (I don't know if one can name the company here). I said NO WAY, and I am not sending home a note with all the brands and products that carry box tops. They can do their own damn advertising.

[Arugula Latte]

109. I can't understand it.

You would think that in a country where the majority of adults have children, and the vast majority of those children are in public schools, that this would be a major priority and the politicians would be terrified to touch school funding.

But no.

Over the years our two kids have been in public schools we have voted for funding measures, worked for funding measures, volunteered countless hours in the classroom and on field trips, donated to their schools every year, paid massive fees for activities, etc. It makes me crazy that these actions are necessary in a supposedly rich country.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

6. Hey, our "Leave-A-Penny" health care system is the best in the world!!!

Where else can a kid get cancer treatment paid for by spare change in a convenience store????

[NCTraveler]

7. It sounds so simple. Huge K&R. nt.

[jeff47]

8. Because people will donate, and then you can skim off some of the donations for yourself

Komen is the champion of this. Most donations go to operating expenses or "awareness". Which is nice and vague so you can put damn near anything under it.

Just because they're begging does not mean they have to beg. Investigate anyone before donating to them, and make sure the money goes where you want it to go.

At the same time, we need to improve the VA and we need single payer and we need better disability payments, and we need.......

[burfman]

23. good advice Jeff

Best to do a little homework before investing in these charities so your contribution will go the farthest.....

[Tree-Hugger]

44. +1 nt

[jaysunb]

45. +1 Jeff

This is just another tear inducing scam ! They also run sappy, sloppy pet and animal ads that tear at the heart, but a little research might show who really benefits...and it sure as hell isn't who they say.
Just like that breast cancer outfit where the execs draw multi million dollar salaries.

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

56. I was about to post this general idea, but was glad to see you already did.

I was recently reminded of this when I heard about how the Goodwill Industries really works.

[bhikkhu]

82. This month's Architectural Digest has an example of that

A beautiful Manhattan penthouse, completely remodelled for a person who's "non-profit" work required her to be in the city so much that a permanent residence was called for. Everything top-of-the-line, from the architect to the building materials to the designer furniture and nic-nacs. The individual's other house was in London. I've always enjoyed the magazine, but how does a non-profit provide that kind of income?

[ND-Dem]

92. head of goodwill of socal was making over a million at one point, and goodwill of the willamette

close to it. they got called on it though. goodwill of the Willamette took a 25% cut; not sure about the other guy.

[ND-Dem]

91. We need a more equal society, better wages, more security, and less charity.

[flygal]

101. I think that's it!

There's just too much playing on people's emotions lately. I give the side eye to almost everything these days. It probably has more to do my living in a country in Europe that pays for everything health care related so you almost never see these "benefit fundraisers". When I travel back to the US I see posters all over the place - crowd funding cancer.

[Initech]

9. No billions to be made in domestic aid.

[Skittles]

11. this the repuke solution to everything

beg, beg, beg

[AtomicKitten]

12. It's the NWO: Government bad. Private sector good.

[GoCubsGo]

13. I agree with everything except for the part about the Veterans Administration.

They are not the problem. The people who continuously start wars, produce massive numbers of people who need the VA, and who still consistently underfund the VA are the problem. The VA does the best they can with what they're given.

[Hepburn]

15. Agree...

...those who are responsible for the lack of funds...and send others to die and be maimed....

FUCK THEM!

[tecelote]

16. Agreed

There are a lot of good people ready and willing but austerity budgets are literally death by a thousand cuts.

Which brings it full circle to how can we not fund the VA so it is the best health care in the world? Veterans absolutely deserve it.

Republicans believe in the right to life because they need bodies. That's it. Nothing more. They would prefer them soulless zombies but they have not figured how to do that yet.

[Skarbrowe]

38. The VA is saving my life right now. Literally.

I've had at least 10 years of free health care that I desperately needed. Feb. 6th they are putting in a A/V (artery to vein) port or fistula in my arm, finally wiring me for sound. I'll be on dialysis sometime this year. Yes, they've made a couple scary mistakes, but I think those same mistakes could be made in any hospital. I sometimes wonder where the money comes from. I mean I know it comes from the government, but I wonder how much is allocated for VA health care services. Dialysis is not going to be cheap.

There are scams out there, though. We see a lot of people at intersections down here saying they are collecting for the Veteran's care. I never believe them. I'm not sure at all about those TV things.

Also, I am not a combat vet. I was in for four years as a microwave radio tech and pencil pusher. Great job, actually. Years and years later, it really paid off with health care. I consider myself very fortunate to not have seen war and still feel like I did something for my country and now they are doing a hell of lot for me.

This may have been slightly off topic.

[BruceStern]

107. As a VA doctor, thank you.

I am relatively new to government service. I started at the VA about 1.5 years ago.

There's definitely issues, retention is one of them. I'm the most senior doc at this clinic

However, I work with such a great team. Probably the best I've ever had in 15 years . Having an LPN and RN is so huge. Anyone can don a pair of scrubs but together we deliver such effective primary care. I can count on my RN to get the Veteran the equipment, education and best yet, know when to ask me for help. My LPN is my right hand and everyone loves her and how caring and effective she is.

All of us, from the medical service assistant (receptionist) onward care very much about the veteran's care. Oftentimes the veterans don't know long one of us might be on the phone or computer fighting to get the services s/he deserve and only see the delay. There's lazy docs and nurses, sure, but take any large organization and you'll get slackers. I've never seen a more thorough vetting process than what I went through to get this job.

It's not perfect. The government with its mandates (here's one: every test must be directly communicated to veterans within 2 weeks, no matter what the test, no matter what the result) get more in the way of care than the employees. There's far too much CYA that gets in the way of looking at why processes fail but I'm not sure these problems aren't true of any large organization.

Sorry for the fast ramble but I'm on my way to work

[Historic NY]

17. Paralyzed Veterans of America.......

spends 62% of the funds they raise on fundraising. Their commercial makes its seem like the VA doesn't care for VETS. But their website says the help coordinate treament and services with the VA...


http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=4295#.VMFVuivUhkg

http://www.clarkhoward.com/topics/charity_check/

[QuebecYank]

20. Soldiers are expendable, and kids don't vote

Republican Congressmen have no qualms in wanting to start a war, invade a country, etc., but once the soldiers get injured, no one wants to help. Because, they are not of use anymore.
Kids, have never been seen as being equal, in the eye of the law. So the idea, that children's diseases are underfunded isn't a surprise. Children, are not seen as people. They don't vote, or pay taxes.
What other group if people, will be on TV asking for funding, I wonder?
The handicapped, autistic children....

[old guy]

24. "Children are not seen as people."

Except when they are still in the womb. Once born, not so much.

[Enthusiast]

50. You got that right.

[alterfurz]

68. "Republicans feel the same about soldiers as they do about fetuses...

...they claim to care about you while you're in, but once you're out, you're on your own."

[maddiemom]

112. So, so very true.

But you have to consider the right wing perspective. A woman who wants to terminate a pregnancy is an "evil slut". Just as bad, incredibly, is a "respectably married "woman who would "kill" her baby for the "selfish convenience" of herself or her family. Once the baby is born, however, it is the duty of the mother, whether or not the father is responsible, to provide for that child (if the father isn't responsible, the "slut" brought it on herself). It is not the responsibility of the conservative, tax-paying citizen to contribute to the upkeep of the child through their taxes (these aren't the people who usually mind paying for the termination of life through war). I'm certainly no expert on the Bible, but many who are often quote that according to the Bible, the soul enters the body with the first breath. Makes sense to me. But now some crazies even want to prevent preemptive pregnancy measures, or villainize even any thought of the INTENT to prevent pregnancy, The very last is completely insane, of course. Nonetheless, on a crowded planet, those who oppose the mildest of population control need to think again.

[katmondoo]

21. It is this message that I scream at the TV all of the time when I see these commercials

Billionaires give only to those who advance their agenda

[Wounded Bear]

26. Righteous rant, but...

The comment about foreign aid is a bit off. I worry more about the meag-cash dumped into the MIC black hole than the small percentage of the budget going to 'foreign aid.' Although, I'm pretty sure most of that 'aid' ends up in the pockets of American companies that are contracted to provide/administer such aid programs.

[Blue_Tires]

29. Well, for #1

You ALWAYS have to research the specifics of veterans groups, since so many of them are scams....

[pansypoo53219]

30. tax cuts/budget cutting=osteporosis to the foundation of the government. YAY! VOODOO DOO DOO!

[think]

31. It's either this or America will fall prey to the evil European socialism!

sarc tag just in case it wasn't clear....

[kairos12]

32. Every time I see a car wash for someone's medical care it stokes my hatred for rethugs.

[SunSeeker]

33. Right on. Vets and cancer patients should not have to beg for necessities.

Not while Joni Ernst's family collects $460,000 in farm sudsidies.

[Utopian Leftist]

35. Foreign Aid = "spreading democracy" (to the CONS)

Aid to Americans = "creating welfare dependents" (according to the CONS).

There's the problem in a nutshell. They've been getting away with it since Reagan at least, if not longer. They'd rather see us dead than be forced to treat us humanely.

[Bill USA]

36. Repugnants who vote to GO to war ought to be required to also vote for ALL efforts to help vets when

they come back from war. I wish there was a tally of those who voted to go to war who did not vote for programs to help veterans when they come back from that war.

color me ANGRY!!

recommended!!

[Turbineguy]

37. This is the essential problem.

Charities give cover to republican politicians and greed-heads.

[H2O Man]

40. Recommended.

If one wanted an accurate measure of how sick our society really is, these commercials are it.

[TimeToEvolve]

41. i dont even own an idiot-box anymore

i dont need to give the monied powers yet another method to pipe their P.R. tripe into my home

[Tsiyu]

62. Same here, TimeToEvolve

with my PTSD, having a TV is dangerous both for myself and for the TV.

It amazes me that people can live with that drivel going all night and day in their homes. It's toxic to me.

I was at a friends' place and saw a commercial for a drug you can take if you laugh or cry. Like having any emotion at all is bad. It's a disorder now to spontaneously cry. Or laugh.

Everyone ought to be crying, with 80 people owning half of everything, but here, take another fucking pill.

I'd rather hear the birds. But my Rapture Ready neighbor is getting bored and shooting his gunzz off every day so most of the poor birds have left the trees. He doesn't care that all of our gardens will be infested with bugs if he doesn't let some of the birds start nesting.

But he's a narcissistic Chosen One who is gonna be lifted into the firmament any second now, who thinks evolution is a sin even to contemplate and probably imagines me burning in the Fiery Lake of Hell. Cheery and hopeful to live next to that, I'll tell you.

Have I said how much I hate the things some people in TN do? But there are good people here, too. Veterans who deserve more than they're getting, but several have told me that Obama has helped them so I know not everyone is clueless here.

Okay, enough already. I have to get back to work. It's nice to come back to DU from time to time and chat with people who get it.

[Flatulo]

43. I wish Denmark would invade us and take over. nt

[RoccoR5955]

46. they make hate capitalism more and more

each time that I see one of them.

[Stephen Retired]

47. REC

Those "Wounded Warrior" ads especially gall me!

[MADem]

48. The real reason is pretty ugly, actually.

When those Republican geniuses were planning for the Bush Wars, they were looking at the data from the last big dust-ups, the Gulf War (which was a turkey shoot, more or less) and Vietnam. If you look at the casualty figures from Vietnam, you see 58K names on a long black wall in the shape of a V. If, back then, we had the type of body armor, helmets, and protective personnel transport that we have now, probably half those names--maybe more--would NOT be on that wall.

Here's the truth--and like I said, it's ugly....it's cheaper to bury a servicemember, pay out the SGLI and associated death payments (grave, headstone, etc) than keep 'em alive, kicking, with replacement prostheses and a medically retired designation and paycheck, with cost of living increases every year. When the Pentagon gripes about "personnel costs" those sorts of expenditures (along with pipeline training and family support) are the biggies that take the largest bite.

I do remember that they ordered a HUGE number of body bags at the start of that business--I think they've got lots left over, maybe they sold/transferred them to local coroners for a good price...

I honestly don't think the Bush Bunch necessarily counted on that much shooting, at the outset anyway, first, and second, when the shooting (and blowing up) started, they didn't expect that many to come home alive. The fact that they did survive injuries that would have been killers just a few decades ago put huge stressors on the VA, which resulted in the famous VA scandal that took so many people out of the picture. You think the GOP controlled House (where all appropriations begin) were about to appropriate money to build more VA hospitals, to increase staff and services? Hell to the no--it was "Make it do--or do without."

Military emergency medicine did a first rate job during those Bush Wars--they kept people alive who would have died thirty or forty years ago.

[Enthusiast]

49. According to 60 Minutes every single recipient of SSDI is faking it.

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

60. Also according to a disturbing number of DUers.

[cpamomfromtexas]

51. Thank you for posting this.

[midnight]

52. In Wisconsin, Gov. Scott Walker friend, just got out of prison today because he stole from the vets

here in Wisconsin.

We use our vets to raise money and get photos with.

http://www.veteransnewsnow.com/2012/06/04/wisconsin-media-buried-story-of-scott-walker-aides-stealing-from-veterans/

http://www.uppitywis.org/blogarticle/former-walker-aide-flashes-big-smile-hes-released-prison

[sabrina 1]

53. I couldn't agree more. Every time I see those ads for wounded warriors, it makes me so angry

that Dick Cheney and the rest of the War Criminals DID THIS to them, have profited greatly from their sacrifice, but this country won't take care of them now?

I guess what Sen. Simpson said is how the warmongers feel about this: 'Veterans were heroes when they were on the battlefield, but they're not heroes now or they would be willing to give up some of their benefits'! I can't believe that moron, selfish, greedy stupid moron is still part of the Deficit Commission.

How about HIS benefits? People did demand he be removed for that and other remarks about those receiving well earned benefits, but sadly no one listens to the people in DC.

[Tsiyu]

66. Sen. Simpson's comments are galling and SICK

Funny how the people with the most are so assured the rest of us should have the least.

A hard rain indeed.

[Hepburn]

80. That is the commercial that I saw today which totally inspired my Post.

I am just totally disgusted with this. Start a war, send troops, and when they are injured and ill...solder who?

[sabrina 1]

84. Yes, I really admire the people who are trying to provide the help they need. And I have donated to

Veterans. But they should NOT have to rely on the 'kindness of strangers' after what they have gone through, while those who lied them into this situation, profit and Congress continues to fund the Military to an obscene extent.

[spanone]

54. k&r...

[BlancheSplanchnik]

55. as a kid, I had Ulcerative Colitis. it's life threatening, catastrophic---

And NOT "sexy" like cancer and other diseases that have huge charities involved in funds raising and public awareness.

Now, there's a wave of openness about bowel diseases and ostomies, but back then, you prayed for ANYTHING else instead. Even now, Crohn's and Colitis and other catastrophic, incurable digestive diseases are not yet on the Compassionate Consideration list of diseases which are recognized (without argument and roadblocks) to be disabling in Social Security Disability claims cases.

Bottom line: relying on charity is relying on public appeal. And we all know that thr public is atrociously superficial in what it considers worthy of compassion.

[JeffHead]

57. Every time I get a call from veterans organizations dialing for dollars I tell them this...

You would be better served if you gathered up all those vets you represent, put them on a bus, drove them to Washington DC and bitch at the Congress who sent them off to war and continually cut funding for the VA. I already support the veterans by paying my taxes. Every time we send our military off to war we ought to set aside at least two to three times the cost of the war to take care of the guys that actually fight the war when they come home. The best thing we can do for veterans is just stop making them. Guess what happens next.... they stop calling you.

[workinclasszero]

59. We need commericals 24/7

Asking the Walton heirs to step up and do the right thing for their employees. They have a net worth of $144.7 billion dollars.

They could take a billion or two and give all their employees a huge raise and the best healthcare possible. But of course they could give a shit. Force them all on govt assistance of some kind and get billions more for free! Greedy evil bastards.

And of course they are held up as American success stories!

http://walmart1percent.org/family/

[brewens]

61. Our local veterans home sends guys out on food drives. I always kick in

something good. It kind of pisses me off that they have to do that. I'd be happier about it if I knew they were just supplementing the budget so they could splurge on some good steaks and a couple jugs.

[MoonRiver]

64. Both those things have been bothering me for years!

indeed! A just society would be giving those groups of sick and disabled Americans all they need to survive. Charitable contributions should NOT be needed.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

69. Hate the con artists who come up with these "charities" too....

Many donations go unreported and into their own pockets.

[Uben]

70. Hey Hepburn!

Haven't seen you in a while. Hope all is well. I'm totally in the same boat as you on this issue and why in the hell do we have people going hungry in this country when we are giving so much to corporate interests? Big money has ruined this nation and it just keeps getting worse.

[PatrickforO]

71. I agree with you, but foreign aid is a miniscule part of our budget.

What really takes it up is the war and security spending. That's all close to a trillion.

But, yeah, if we actually cared about each other and acted that way as a society, this world would be an order of magnitude better. I mean, if we even held people EQUAL to profits, we'd be loads better off.

Just out of curiosity, where do you get your hope? What keeps you going? Because this capitalist ugliness has been going on for a couple of centuries, and there seems no end in sight and every time we have a little 'win' in policy, the forces of evil attack on a hundred different fronts. Think of how the New Deal has been chipped away year after year.

My hope comes from love for family and devotion to a cause greater than myself, but I also have not lost hope in the Divine. I'd be interested to hear what keeps your boat afloat in this polluted ocean...

[madokie]

72. Gotta keep not taxing the rich

is what this is all about, Cause and effect

[Bettie]

74. Pretty much every week there is a flyer up asking for donations for

this family or that family to help with health care bills....accidents, cancer, long term illnesses.

Reminds me that we simply need single payer. No one should lose their home because they are ill.

Right now, my uninsured mother (decided to roll the dice and not get insurance on the exchanges...she lost) has been in the hospital since Monday night. I dread seeing the bill as she's got uncontrolled blood sugar, kidney infection, possible kidney failure starting, pneumonia, and a cyst on one of her adrenals. So, in addition to being extremely ill, she's worried about how they are going to pay for all of this.

Those commercials make me sad too...why can't we just have a civilized health care system instead of a profit driven system?

[PumpkinAle]

75. Ironically enough I was

thinking the same as I was listening to commercials on the radio this morning.

You can color me sad,but I am really, really mad.

[LibDemAlways]

76. Cannot express how much I hate collections taken

up/bake sales/car washes etc. to help cancer patients and their families. The last thing people battling cancer need is a shitoad of medical bills they can't pay.

Insurance helps, (those who have it), but with premiums, co-pays, deductibles, and whatever percentage isn't covered plus the cost of procedures that aren't covered at all, cancer can and does kill bank accounts as well as people. No one should have to go begging after such a terrible diagnosis.

Greatest country on earth? Hardly.

[Hepburn]

79. That one absolutely gets to me.

Cancer is bad enough...but to have to literally BEG for treatment? Just wrong, plain wrong. It just should be covered. PERIOD. No exceptions.

[nikto]

77. Supply-Side Jesus loves America

?1328718035



Who knew?

[ND-Dem]

78. K&R

[Petrushka]

83. K & R

[lunasun]

85. but but philanthrophy+ volunteers can replace government help '1000 points of light' and all that

You'll see as trickle down comes, then benefits will come, from private sources
no need for a collective source no need at all

More like pissed on and 'a thousand points of blight' repug assholes

[drmeow]

89. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!

I feel very conflicted about this and other similar charitable causes. On the one hand, not contributing means that the potential beneficiary will not get the aid they need. On the other hand, by contributing I feel that the American people enable the government to abdicate their responsibility. Its a lose/lose situation.

[czarjak]

93. Priority #1...

More wealth for the wealthy. Now sit down and shut up.

[ctsnowman]

94. Exactly!

[laundry_queen]

96. I totally get what you are saying

Even here in Canada I get pretty livid over certain things like that. Recently on our local news there was a bit about this wonderful new treatment room at our local hospital that helps treat heart patients using techniques different than open heart surgery, so babies and frail people have a chance of a better outcome. Then they talked about how it was 'possible because of donations provided by private corporate donors.' WHAT in the ever living FUCK! Why are those corporations not being taxed so we can have top quality health care? So now we have to wait until a corporation feels like donating so they can get a tax break before we get new technology? Eff that. I live in an area with a lot of rich corporations, what about parts of my country that don't have that?

Ugh. Some things simply should not be dependent on money. There were issues not too long ago too with cancer patients being slammed with bills for medication. See, our health care system will provide treatment in a hospital for free (at the point of service for those of you who will inevitably answer that it's 'not free') but with new types of chemo that you can take as a pill at home, that isn't covered. So some people without insurance had to pay $20,000 a month for their medication. At least this time there was a HUGE outcry and those pills are now covered. But seriously, wtf. Cancer patients should not have to worry that this illness will leave their family destitute.

You are so right - none of this is right. Should not happen. Not enough people with empathy in charge, that's for sure.

[bullwinkle428]

97. This post is LONG overdue. The "Wounded Warrior" stuff in particular makes

my blood boil! When I think I can't get any more upset, I see a report where that piece of crap Shrub shows up at one of these events. Not a fucking iota of shame in his entire body.

K&R.

[ejbr]

100. + 1n/t

[alarimer]

98. This country is very messed up.

Listening to the Moth Radio Hour podcast this week, I heard a woman talking about what she went through when her son was in a car accident. Now, I believe most of what occurred, insurance-wise, was before the ACA, but apparently her insurance refused to cover her son's rehab facility. Either she misunderstood what it actually provided or the insurance company lied and dragged their feet. Anyway, she brought him home to care for him until she straightened it out, took FMLA leave, got fired anyway.

At 18, he qualified for Medicaid/Medicare (not sure which), so they put him in a nursing home, where he eventually aspirated some food (the facility was underfunded and lacked the equipment to help him) and he died.

This story angered me on so many levels. First, our health care should not be based on our jobs. We need an NHS or similar RIGHT NOW! Because, despite the ACA, insurance companies can still fuck people over. And will. Second, the FMLA needs to have teeth. Companies that fire people while they are on leave need to face consequences.

The VA generally does good, but is severely underfunded. It is the kind of universal health care we need everyone to have. Medicare and especially Medicaid need to be funded at higher levels than the are now. SS needs to be beefed up. We CAN do all this, we just need to stop funding so much death and destruction all over the world.

[Dont call me Shirley]

102. I was 15 minutes from death with Lupus, a treatable disease, because I had no health insurance.

Begging for dollars and treatment did not work.

[raouldukelives]

106. You mean promote the general welfare? Yeah, that'd be trippy.

Unfortunately we are nation governed by the pitch of the voice of Wall St money. The higher it screeches, the less our whimpers are heard.

Everything in this nation is set-up to protect those who enable & abet the screeching voice.

Our police are there not to protect us, but to protect them from us.

Our prisons are overflowing with those who have violated nobody but themselves. While our government & Wall St is full of those who have violated everyone but themselves.

Our military is not used to protect us. It is used as a strong arm for the demands of corporations and to assure defense contractors can continue to provide weapons internationally to the highest bidder.

Our media is not to inform us of the facts, it is to create a virtual reality that sugarcoats the affronts of corporations and coddles the prophets of finance while filling us with gossip, mindless chatter and native advertising. If by overreaching demand somehow they must remark on a story of national importance that could rile the populous, they resort to subversion & character assassination.

Our education is not for our betterment or for enlightenment. It is to profit from and to ensure people are smart enough to pull the lever while never questioning what the lever does.

Our health care is not to keep us well. It is to used to immensely profit from us in the most insidious of fashions while we are at our most vulnerable.

We are rapidly approaching the time of a President Cruz, all because people have paid for it to happen. Have labored for those making it happen and are fine in this knowledge as long as they stay in the bubble corporations are kind enough to provide them.

[father founding]

110. From the words of the esteemed sage, Tony Soprano

Shit flows downhill, money flows up.

[KamaAina]

111. "in a country which supposedly has the best medical care possible"

Don't you mean "the most expensive medical care possible"?