Whole Foods Boycott Update

Summary:

• Customer Driven Boycott in Progress
• Unions join Whole Foods Boycott
• Opposition Initiates Buycott
• Investment Group Wants Mackey Out

Two interesting articles analyzing the boycott/buycott:

• The Whole Foods boycott/buycott showdown
• Whole Foods Boycott: The Long View

Keep the pressure on, and do not let up.

Chuck Grassley’s Republicans Demand Public Option

Will our politicians serve us, or the special interests?

Boehner – Whips Misbehaving Cult Member

John Boehner, is mad as hell and not taking it any more!  He is whipping the Republican Cult back into shape.

There’s so much that can be said about his message to PhRMA.  Later maybe.

Does Congress have the Guts to do the RIGHT THING?

HOLD ME ACCOUNTABLE

That’s the REAL question.

I keep hearing the question posed, does the President have guts? I think the POTUS has the Guts to sign a Health Care Reform bill that contains a Public Option into law.

Does Congress have the Guts to deliver said Health Care Reform bill to him?  Remember that Nike ad?  Just Do It.

Conservative Dick Armey Wants to End Medicare!

Medicare is Tyranny because it is a mandatory program for Seniors, so says Dick Armey.

And all Americans abhor Tyranny, and would end it.  Dick Armey speaks for ALL seniors.

All those old people, I mean Seniors, that were at the town halls, must be representative of all American Seniors.  Because they made it plain to me that they think just like Dick Armey, and the Health Care Industry and Lobbyists.

So DOWN WITH MEDICARE and HEALTH CARE REFORM!!!

Health Care Reform On The Ropes – Is The President Responsible?

If President Obama were constitutionally allowed to write laws, he would have written this one already.

The Legislature, otherwise known as the House of Representatives and Senate, are responsible for sending him bills to be signed into law.

Period.

The Nut Jobs?

I do not absolve the nut jobs their responsibility in creating the appearance of real discontent.  But they are mere pawns of both the Industry, Lobbyist, and Conservative groups.  One can only hope that they one day learn to think for themselves.  And based on some of the video, some of them are probably medical cases that should be on medication.  I do not hold them responsible, they are but a distraction.

The Media?

Most of the media are biased.  But I cannot ascribe fault to the media if the person watching, listening, or reading, is NOT thinking.

The Legislature?

The Legislature contains ‘paid prostitutes’ owned by the health care industry.  They are not really prostitutes, you might just consider them indentured servants.  The problem is they are not indentured to their respective constituents but to those lobbyists and industries that fattened their campaign coffers.

The prostitutes are in both parties.

The minority party (conservatives aka Republicans) have no interest at either having a civil discourse or of allowing real reform to take place.  They have been the party of strength for decades, and have spent a lot of time creating the conditions we are in.  Every deed of theirs that President Obama undoes infuriates them to their core.

Since the Legislature is ultimately responsible for crafting bills and forwarding them to the President, I hold THEM responsible.

The President?

I think he’s doing the best he can, with what he has been given.

Strip Baucus of Responsibility

Baucus does not deserve a committee chair.  Instead of serving his constituents and the greater United States, he has decided to serve the health care industry from which he has collected $$$ MILLIONS $$$ of dollars.

So his behavior is not a huge surprise.  But it should come with CONSEQUENCES.  He should be stripped of any responsibility.

I do not agree with every issue CREDO is involved with.   But this one is worth a minute of your time to support:

Tell Sens. Cardin and Mikulski: Fire Max Baucus. Your message to Sens. Cardin and Mikulski: “Senator Max Baucus is holding health care hostage. Democrats should use a secret ballot rather than seniority to choose senate committee chairs. Keep them accountable to voters, not special interests.” It’s time to hold Sen. Baucus accountable. At a time like this, you have to wish the Democrats were more like the Republicans. In one specific way, that is — the Republican Party term limits its committee chairs in Congress, whereas Democrats award chairmanships based on seniority. No wonder Democrats are stuck with Senator Max Baucus to chair the pivotal Finance Committee. Baucus has been in the Senate since 1978, representing a great state, but one with a tiny share of the U.S. population. Not surprisingly, the drug and insurance industries are huge contributors. Sen. Baucus, as you probably know, has used his chairmanship to put the brakes on health care reform in the Senate, and may ultimately succeed in killing a public health care option almost singlehandedly. There’s no excuse for Sen. Baucus to wield this kind of power. Luckily, there’s a way to fight back. Ask Sens. Cardin and Mikulski to take away Baucus’ unwarranted power. According to The Hill, some members of the Democratic caucus are discussing putting chairmanships to a secret ballot vote every two years — that is to say, every two years, all the Democrats of the Senate would get to vote on whether committee chairs get to keep their seats. It’s time to institute some accountability for the Senate’s committee chairs — no senator should be able to hold health care hostage. Click here to ask Sens. Cardin and Mikulski to take action today. (Clicking will automatically add your name to the petition — you can read its text above.) Thank you for working to secure real health care reform. Kate Stayman-London, Campaign Manager CREDO Action from Working Assets Did you know CREDO has a Facebook page? Click here to check it out!

Whole Foods Market – Bad for your Health!

The Whole Foods Market grocery chain sells food that will destroy your health, and ultimately kill you.

Whole Foods Market offers a wide variety of organic and natural produce and products.  That might lead you to believe that their food and products are healthier for you.  But this is not so!  A recent study concludes that organic food is NOT healthier for you.

But what is most damning, is that John Mackey, the Chairman/CEO/Co-founder of Whole Foods Market, publicly acknowledged that his company “sells a bunch of junk.”  It is this very “junk” which causes obesity, diabetes, inflammatory conditions, and possibly even cancer.

And to make matters worse, he is publicly opposed to health care reform in America.  He does offer an alternative to real health care reform.  But the alternative he proposes is ineffective and designed to maintain the current state of affairs relative to health care.  I am sure many of the hundreds of thousands of citizens who have lost their jobs and health insurance are NOT happy with the current state of health care.  Hell, I still have a job and I am not happy with it.

So to sum up, this is a Whole Foods Market triple whammy to your health:

1. Organic food is not healthier for you
2. Whole Foods Market “sells a bunch of junk”
3. Whole Foods Market is against real health care reform in America

So quit going to Whole Foods Market!

You will find the organic and natural food selections of both Safeway and Giant more than sufficient.  I do support organic produce and products.  They come without pesticides and other nasty chemicals.  That’s reason enough to buy them.  Just don’t buy them from a company that has decided to align itself AGAINST you, like Whole Foods Market.

A Bubble of Anger Pops in a Sea of Calm

Is the anger displayed at the Town Halls real or manufactured?  And is the anger directed towards health care reform or towards America’s first black president?

Having observed and followed recent events, I believe the anger is both real AND manufactured.  It is safe to say that conservative and health care industry groups  (notice how they go together like chocolate and peanut butter?)  have manufactured a large portion of the anger.  Some of the citizens have probably been paid to be angry.

So of those that are really angry, what are they angry about?

Some are really angry about perceived negative impacts to their health care.  The conservative and health care industry groups have done a great job so far of spreading lies and fear.

The rest are just plain racist.  For them it boils down to one or both of these points:

• The President is black, they would deny him any positive change though it cost them their money and lives.
• They believe the uninsured group of Americans are minorities and are undeserving.

The funny thing about the second point above, is that largest group of uninsured citizens in the United States of America are ethnic Whites.  Talk about cutting your nose off to spite your face.

What I find interesting is that the conservative and health care industry groups are actively using these racists and nut jobs to further their political agenda.  Is it smart, or is it desperate?

It reminds me of the old saying, “Live by the sword, die by the sword.”  Although I fear no conflict, I hope I am no where near these folks when lightning strikes.

Karl Rove Denied Health Insurance For Pre-Existing Mental Illness

That news article has not been written yet, but perhaps one day …

Karl writes an article, “How to Stop Socialized Health Care”.  I will go on record and state that I am not a mental health practitioner.   But it is apparent to even a mental health non-practitioner, that he is not the brightest bulb when it comes to Health Care.   He is in fact a phony, his concern is that he might be able to influence other non-bright bulbs.   He does not care a whit about your quality of life or health.

If you think the last sentence is undeservedly harsh, then I remind you of the Bush Administration’s failed response to the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina.  You can place the ultimate blame on GW,  because the buck does stop there.  But let’s not forget his top advisor and the role he played, Karl.  If he had advised Bush differently, then the area of America which was destroyed would now be fully recovered.  But it is not.

So does Karl truly care about you or America?  Or does he only care about attempting to resurrect an obviously failed ideology?  Karl does not give a damn about you.

For the time being, I will ignore the name-calling and fear mongering aspects of his article.  I’ll provide an opposing view for each of his points.

First, he states that the public option is not necessary for competition, that there is already enough competition in the insurance marketplace.  Competition, as we learned in school, is supposed to improve quality and reduce prices.

So has the quality of health insurance improved?   Does it cover all my needs?  Yes, but then I am healthy and have not had a major health problem.  If you consider how the health insurance companies treat grandmothers with pre-existing conditions, or daughters that need liver transplants, then the answer to the quality question is a resounding NO.

Have health insurance costs to both employers and those covered been reduced?  NO, and NO.  Health insurance costs are significantly growing, and eroding the profits of companies trying to offer benefits to their employees.  And on top of that, the deductibles for those covered constantly rise.

So Karl’s argument that there is enough competition is pure fertilizer.  The real argument, is that we need the RIGHT kind of competition.  And the public option is that type of competition.

Second, he argues that a public option will undercut [the profits] of the private insurers, passing the tab to tax payers and health care providers.  My response to that is two-fold.  First, remind me why shareholder profits and citizen health care needs are a fantastic union?  Can anyone explain how the motivations and needs of one meet the other?  There are plenty of examples that demonstrate that the sick and shareholders (and the companies that serve them) are at odds.  Just search for ‘pre-existing conditions’ to get a feel for this.  Second, the cost of the uninsured is already being passed on to tax payers and health care providers.  All you have to do is take a look in any Emergency Room throughout America to see this.   Bull shit argument Karl.

Third, he argues that the public option would crater the private insurance market.  Neither Medicare nor Medicaid have destroyed the private insurance market, yet both programs compete with it.  Karl, bull shit again.

Fourth, he argues that the public option is too expensive and that Medicare (a similar program) is going to run out of money in the near future. WRONG and WRONG.  He simply cannot back up the claim that the public option is too expensive.  Privatized health insurance is too expensive.  The public option would not be burdened by exorbitant salaries and millions thrown away for lobbying and advertising.  Separately, Ronald Reagan predicted in 1983 that Medicare would be broke by the 1990′s.  So it’s no surprise that Karl is using that argument again.  But like Reagan, Karl is wrong.  Bull shit on both counts Karl.

Fifth, he argues that the public option puts the government  in between the patient and doctor, and that you should imagine how bad that would be.  You don’t have to imagine how bad it is that health insurance companies are between us and our doctors.  There are plenty of examples of how their profit driven decisions have negatively impacted the health of Americans.  But I can imagine that removing profit, exorbitant salaries, and huge lobbying costs from the equation would be best for America.

The public option is the sanest idea when it comes to health care.