Thursday, August 27, 2009

Town Hall With Sen. Murkowski

Lisa Murkowski will host a town-hall style meeting on health care this Saturday, Aug 29 from 10 AM-noon at the Soldotna Sports Center on K-Beach Road.

Murkowski released this statement on the meeting:

I have heard from thousands of Alaskans about the health care proposals currently being debated in Congress,” said Murkowski. “As a member of the Senate Health Committee, I voted against the Democrat bill that passed the committee last month. There were many problems with that bill, the biggest being the staggering cost – over $1 trillion dollars that would leave as many as 34 million people without coverage. Health care will be at the top of our agenda when Congress returns from recess in September and I want to meet with as many Alaskans as I can in August to hear their thoughts before returning to Washington.

What she doesn't address is the staggering costs of doing nothing - Medicare is facing a growing aging population, medicaid has been underfunded for years, and some 47 million Americans are currently without coverage. For those with insurance, we've seen copays grow and charges challenged.

A debate is needed and I just hope that this Saturday's debate is civil.

Ms. Murkowski rebuffed Sarah Palin's 'death panel' claim and called for all to stick to the facts. That's good advice, but as we all know you can spin anything by not only giving false information, but by conveniently leaving out information or by putting out misleading statements. Murkowski's opinion piece in the PC is an example.

She states that Medicare is broken - but leaves out that under the Bush Adminstration and the republican controlled congress (that she was a part of), they prohibited the government to negotiate for lower prices. In those 6 years, nothing was done to lower costs to taxpayers, but plenty was done to increase profits for private insurance companies. Murkowski notes that we don't buy a home without knowing the price. that's true, but it would sure be nice if that same sort of mentality went into questioning the need for the Iraq war which turned out to be a blank check for military industrials.

Let's hope we can avoid the socialism scares. If you are on medicare, medicaid, or a federal (including Lisa), state, borough or city employee, if you are a school district employee or a veteran or a native, you already receive some sort of 'socialized' medical coverage. If you are a taxpayer, you are already funding all of this and more. On the peninsula, taxpayers cover about $600,000 in unpaid/not covered medical bills for the 2 borough hospitals.

I encourage all those who intend to attend to do some homework beforehand. Get your news from more than one source. Learn the concern that the other side has. Paying for coverage IS a problem. Having millions without coverage is also unacceptable.

And how about walking or biking to the Sports Center? Do something healthy for yourself if you can. Just leaves your guns at home.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

JOHNNY CASH LYRICS
"Don't Take Your Guns To Town"

Don't take your guns to town son
Leave your guns at home Bill
Don't take your guns to town.

Anonymous said...

I kind of hope the winger crazies do come out in public.

Lisa has no intention of supporting meaningful reform that might benefit the people who are being taken to the cleaners by the corporate health care industry.

Lisa takes the corporate money and dances to the corporate tune.

Any of Lisa's talk about being 'concerned' is nothing but a shallow lie and an attempt to project an image that she has no intention of following through with.

Her voting record doesn't support the image she's trying to sell, her voting record shows she's a no more than a GOP puppet dancing to the dictates of the Party and to those dictates of the corporate sponsors of the GOP.

She supported the failed policies of the last administration and the failed policies of the GOP, and has never strayed from being their Alaska flunky.

You'd have to be an extremely gullible fool to buy into any idea Lisa might represent your interests.

When it comes to the Sports Center wingnut meetup, that circus is sure to both entertain and be informative.

Not that you'll learn any reality about health care beyond the reality that Lisa will attempt to obstruct any meaningful reform, but a little local learning can take place. You'll get to know a few more of the wingnut crazies, it's a wonderful chance to meet the crazies.

I welcome any chance to identify and put faces on the winger crazies in this area.

Should any of the winger crazies be business owners, I'll know not to trade with them because why would I want to fund the crazies.

It is my hope that the winger crazies come out and clearly identify themselves so we can know just who the crazies are and take steps to treat the crazies as crazies ought to be treated.

See you at the winger circus.


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