Cleo's Mom

No one cares where Hillary Clinton sent Chelsea to school or whether she let her get her ears pierced at 13. You take a giant leap from this to interpret it as her wanting to push conservative morals on Chelsea while advocating that women have the right to control their bodies.

Foley Hypocrisy: Condemning Clinton’s Sex Scandal While Sexting Underage Boys Mark Foley was a Florida congressman who lamented that Bill Clinton’s runaway sexual addiction caused his scandal with Monica Lewinsky. And yet Foley had demons of his own. On September 29th, 2006 Foley resigned his congressional seat after reports surfaced that he was sending sexually explicit text messages and emails to teenage male congressional pages. Foley insisted he was not a pedophile and had never had sexual contact with any minor. Then he dipped into the media excuse bag and decided to used ALL of them at once: he blamed his emails on a drinking problem, checked himself into a rehab clinic, and said that he had been molested by a clergyman when he 13. To top it off, he decided that NOW was the time come out, and bravely had his lawyer inform the public that “Mark Foley wants you to know he is a gay man.” Many pages came forward after Foley’s announcement, but Florida officials closed the investigation citing “insufficient evidence” to file criminal charges. 7 Robert Tilton Hypocrisy: Prayer Fraud Robert Tilton is an American televangelist who achieved notoriety in the ‘80s and early ‘90s through his TV program Success-N-Life, a very slick and well rehearsed perversion of the “prosperity gospel”. Tilton promised that, for a $1000 pledge, he would personally lobby God on your behalf. All you would have to do was send in your check and he would pray over the very letter you sent him. Today, all of you know him as “The farting Preacher”, but back in the day people sent their entire life savings to this guy. At its peak, Success N Life was in all 235 American TV markets, and was earning $80M a year, tax free. But in 1991, ABC News discovered Tilton’s ministry threw away prayer requests without even reading them, keeping only the money or valuables instead. When confronted with these claims, Tilton claimed that he would pray over computer readouts of prayer requests, or sometimes lay across piles of mail as he prayed (even claiming that chemicals in those letters gave him two “mini strokes” in his brain). Tilton sued ABC for libel in 1992, but the case was dismissed and his show was off the air by October 1993. He later resurfaced on Black Entertainment Television (BET) in the early morning hours. Ole Anthony, founder of the religious watchdog group the Trinity Foundation, said Tilton pays $50,000 per month for the air time, and estimates that Tilton’s ministry is grossing $24 million a year using reruns or repackaged versions of older shows. “With no production costs, a fraction of his former TV time budget, his net must rival that of the good old days with absolutely no effort on his part,” Anthony said. 6 Ted Haggard Hypocrisy: Condemning Homosexuality While Practicing Homosexuality Ted Haggard is the founder and former pastor of the New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado; a founder of the Association of Life-Giving Churches; and former leader of the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) from 2003 – 2006. Haggard has condemned homosexuality, and under his leadership, the NAE stated that “homosexual activity, like adulterous relationships, is clearly condemned in the Scriptures.” Yet in November 2006, he “left” all of his leadership positions after he admitted soliciting a prostitute for homosexual sex and methamphetamine. After the scandal broke, Haggard entered three weeks of intensive “counseling”, overseen by four ministers who claimed to have converted him back to heterosexuality. When pressed, they backtracked and merely said Haggard is a “heterosexual with issues.” Ya think? Just paying the bills... 5 Bob Barr Hypocrisy: Opposing Abortion While Paying For An Abortion Bob Barr, is a former member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Georgia’s 7th congressional district as a Republican from 1995 to 2003. He gained national attention as one of several leaders who successfully impeached President Bill Clinton. According to a sworn affidavit by Barr’s ex-wife Gail, the longtime abortion opponent paid for her abortion in 1983. Barr never publicly disputed the affidavit, and the author of the Defense of Marriage Act even invoked a legal privilege during his 1985 divorce so he could refuse any questions on whether he cheated on his second wife with his now-third wife. Barr has recently resurfaced as the Libertarian Party’s nominee for President of the United States (he lost). 4 Rush Limbaugh Hypocrisy: Illicit Drug Sourcing Rush Limbaugh is the host of “The Rush Limbaugh Show”, a nationally syndicated radio program devoted to conservative issues and news of the day. On his program, Limbaugh has espoused a deep respect of law enforcement and tough penalties for drug offenders (In 1995, he said drug users “ought to be accused and they ought to be convicted and they ought to be sent up.”) Yet on October 10, 2003, Limbaugh announced that he was addicted to prescription painkillers and would immediately check himself into a rehabilitation program. Law enforcement sources had noted that Limbaugh’s name had come up during an investigation into a black market drug ring in Palm Beach County, Florida, specializing in the illegal sale of prescription drugs OxyContin and hydrocodone. Limbaugh said he first became addicted to prescription painkillers following unsuccessful spinal surgery, but has remained clean since his 2003 treatment. Limbaugh was not incarcerated because Palm Beach does not jail drug offenders unless they’ve failed opportunities to deal with their addiction and have turned to crime to maintain their habit. Thus, benefiting from the soft position on drug crime that he hates so. 3 George Bush, Sr. Hypocrisy: No New Taxes At the 1988 Republican National Convention, candidate George H.W. Bush famously said “Read my lips: no new taxes!”. It was a strong, bold statement, and the soundbyte resonated within the Republican party, which then backed him all the way to a successful election as the 41st President of the United States. Once in office, Bush refused several new tax initiatives from a Democrat controlled Congress, but ultimately relented, and agreed to increase the amount of existing taxes in the 1990 budget agreement. Rush Limbaugh went apoplectic and the general public was only slightly less enraged. While technically the taxes weren’t “new”, they were still “more”, and that’s not what his electorate him to do. Bill Clinton then used Bush’s quote to an easy victory in the 1992 presidential election. 2 Richard Nixon Hypocrisy: Obstruction of Justice In 1973, Richard Nixon went on television and told the world “I am not a crook” as part of a total denial of involvement with the June 17th burglaries of the Democratic National Committee offices located in the Watergate Hotel. But he and other high ranking administration officials were actually eyes-deep in it. As a youth, Nixon was rejected by the FBI academy and later in life had to “settle” for President of the United States. This always ate at him, and he loved the cloak-and-dagger aspects of covert operations. Despite warnings to maintain plausible deniability, Nixon kept himself fully apprised of the break-in. Then journalists Robert Woodward and Carl Bernstein exposed the scandal in August 1972. The public disliked the burglary but loathed the cover-up even more, and popular sentiment led to impeachment processes that ultimately drove Nixon to resign the presidency. 1 Strom Thurmond Hypocrisy: Blocking Civil Rights for His Own Child When South Carolina Gov. Strom Thurmond ran for president in 1948 on the Dixiecrat ticket, he vowed to bar blacks from white schools, restaurants, and even some occupations. But at the same time he was preaching segregation, he was secretly financing the business administration degree of Essie Mae Washington, a black coed at the all-black South Carolina State College. Why? Because it is widely believed that Ms. Washington is his daughter. By supporting a black woman he supposedly sired, Thurmond considered himself remaining loyal to a Southern Gentleman’s code that required white boys, who often learned about sex “on the colored side of town,” to take care of any children they fathered. To his very death, Thurmond never confirmed nor denied Ms. Washington as his daughter, even when the headline: “SEN. THURMOND IS UNPRINCIPLED — WITH COLORED OFFSPRING — WHILE PARADING AS A DEVOUT SEGREGATIONIST” ran in the Edgefield Advertiser, where Ms. Washington went to school.

This is hardly a small number: 43 million people were enrolled in Medicare in 2006, 36 million of whom were 65 and older. Medicare 101 53 million people were enrolled in Medicaid. (date unknown) Payroll taxes for these programs are only paid on the first $106,000 in wages. Why should someone like Bill Gates only pay these taxes on his first $106,000? Extend it to at least one million. That would go a long way to helping to fund these very popular programs.

Healthcare reform: Medicare buy-in from Open Congress Joe Lieberman: For Medicare Buy-In Before He Was Against It December 14, 2009 - by Donny Shaw Over the weekend, Sen. Joe Lieberman [i, CT], one of the key swing votes on health care, informed Majority Leader Sen. Harry Reid [D, NV] that he would vote with the Republicans to filibuster the Democrats’ latest health care “deal,” which would drop the public option in exchange for allowing people aged 55 to 64 to buy into Medicare. To be clear, Lieberman opposes keeping the public option in the bill as well. Talking Points Memo today had a good catch. As a Vice Presidential candidate in 2000 and as recently as September of this year, Lieberman was a strong backer of opening up Medicare and allowing people to buy into it. In 2000 Bangor Daily News reported: [Lieberman] said during the interview that the fastest growing group of uninsured are those 55 to 65. For that reason, the ticket proposes an expansion of Medicare to allow those and older to buy into the public program. There would still be a buy-in price but it would be less than buying private insurance, he said. And here’s the Connecticut Post on September 8 2009 outlining Lieberman’s preferred ways to reform the health care system: By allowing citizens who are not eligible for Medicare or Medicaid to buy in for a rate below the private market, the government can extend coverage to more of those who are currently uninsured, he said. Joe says he is an independent, caucuses with the democrats and votes like and is a hypocrite like a republican.

Top health insurers turned big profit in '09 Industry criticizes report's approach Friday, February 12, 2010 By Noam N. Levey, Los Angeles Times WASHINGTON -- As the nation struggled last year with rising health care costs and a recession, the five largest health insurance companies racked up combined profits of $12.2 billion -- up 56 percent over 2008, according to a new report by liberal health care activists. Based on company financial reports for 2009 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the report said insurers WellPoint Inc., UnitedHealth Group, Cigna Corp., Aetna and Humana Inc. covered 2.7 million fewer people than they did the year before. The report Thursday also said three of the five insurers cut the proportion of premiums they spent on their customers' medical care, committing relatively more to salaries, administrative expenses and profits. Prepared by Heath Care for America Now, a coalition of liberal advocacy groups and labor unions, the report was aimed at bolstering the drive by Democrats to complete work on a health care overhaul, which insurers have opposed. Industry representatives on Thursday criticized the report's approach, pointing out that 2008 was a bad year financially across many industries, skewing the 2009 comparison. "It is disingenuous to look at the profits at one company today compared to where it was in the depth of a recession," said Robert Zirkelbach, a spokesman for America's Health Insurance Plans, the industry's Washington-based lobbying arm. The company 2009 profits are nonetheless intensifying pressure on an industry already under attack for raising premiums and denying coverage to millions of Americans. "That's why we need health insurance reform today in this country, and why we are going to continue in the Congress to work on this until we see it through," said Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., a leading advocate of the health legislation being pushed by Capitol Hill Democrats. In California, Anthem Blue Cross, a subsidiary of WellPoint, is facing growing scrutiny over its decision to raise premiums for individual health insurance policies by as much as 39 percent this year for some consumers. WellPoint defended the rate increase in a letter Thursday to U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, saying the rising rates reflect soaring medical costs and will average closer to 20 percent for most customers. WellPoint also said Anthem's individual business in California lost money in 2009, as the weak economy prompted many customers to switch to lower-cost options. The company did not say how much Anthem lost. Indianapolis-based WellPoint as a whole posted a profit, recording net income of more than $4.7 billion in 2009, thanks in part to the sale of its NextRx pharmacy benefit management business, which accounted for roughly half the company's profit. That put WellPoint's profit margin at 7.3 percent, the highest of the five big insurers. Margins at the other four ranged from 3.4 percent for Louisville, Ky.-based Humana to 7.1 percent for Philadelphia-based Cigna. Other sectors of the health care industry, including pharmaceutical companies and device makers, typically are more profitable. But the insurance industry's improving financial fortunes is drawing more criticism because all but one of the companies achieved the better results at the same time they lost customers. WellPoint shed nearly 1.4 million customers, a 3.9 percent drop over 2008, according to its filings. And Cigna lost 5.5 percent of its customers, or 639,000 people. Only Aetna, which also was the only company whose profits decreased from 2008, gained new customers, picking up an additional 1.2 million people, an increase of 6.9 percent. Soaring profits, fewer customers, less spent on customers and more on administrative cost. You wouldn't see these headlines or articles about a government run healthcare program because it wouldn't happen. And that's why we need one. But of course there are those who advocate for big corporations and the insurance industry who will defend these obscene profits. I advocate for the patients and for people.

You can only post your opinions, I however post facts.

News Flash: Death Panels are real!!! But they have nothing to do with the government, they are brought to you courtesy of the health insurance industry. A family discovered that their 2 year old son had cancer and he received treatment for which his health insurance company, Health America, paid for. He did well and it went into remission but returned. When it returned it was suggested by his doctor that he receive a certain medication. Health America refused. Other medical professionals provided evidence that this drug could help this little boy but the committee from Health America refused and said their decision was final and the only recourse was for the family to sue. So, they did. So now, in additonal to the stress and difficulties of taking care of a critically ill little boy, this family must now use their limited resources of both time and money and deal with a lawsuit. This is time & money they could be using for their family and son. So, the INSURANCE COMPANY CAME BETWEEN THE DOCTOR AND HIS PATIENT AND BECAME THE REAL DEATH PANEL IN DENYING WHAT COULD BE A LIFE SAVING DRUG. NOT THE GOVERNMENT - THE INSURANCE COMPANY.

Health care reform negotiations: Republican Senator Kyl* (Arizona) criticized democrats for negotiating for healthcare behind closed doors. But now that democrats and republicans are to be on tv for the negotiations he said: well, you know some of these negotiations need to take place behind closed doors. *You may recall that during the senate healthcare debates last year Sen. Kyl said he didn't know why maternity care was in the health bill because he didn't need it.

Thanks, BJean, it's almost a full-time job keeping up with the republican hypocrisy but someone's got to do it. :scared2:

I don't have any more room for bumper stickers on my car. I have the Obama/Biden one, the Dem one, the healthcare one and my personal favorite: A picture of a skull and crossbone with the words: Insurance CEO's get the treasure, the patients get buried.

I actually like Rachel Maddow and think she is very factual in her reporting. She is the only one who uncovered the "Family" of DC legislators and their connection to Uganda and it's anti-gay legislation, which at one time proposed death to any homosexual. I agree that the democrats in the senate, especially, are a huge disappointment. Reid is weak. But I blame Baucus for allowing the bill to go beyond August. It should have and could have been passed by then. The democrats need to just shove the agenda along and to hell with what the republicans say. That's what bush and the republicans did. No looking back, no apologies. Just start an unjust war with no way to pay for it. And if you criticize it, you are on the side of the terrorists. Just pass 2 huge tax cuts for the rich, adding to the deficit. No criticism there, either. Just pass a huge medicare drug plan with no bargaining for lower drug prices costing nearly a trillion dollars over ten years. This is what democrats need to do. JUST DO IT is my new motto. JUST DO IT. You're probably going to lose your next election anyway, you might as well go down fighting. The american people have apparently decided they like the republicans who block everything and do nothing, so let them have them. We know where that will lead the country.

Make sure you take someone with you to the appt. They can be your witness. Also, remember to get copies of your operative report. Removing this port should not cost you one cent. And I also would like to know why it took 3 hours to remove the band when it shouldn't take that long to place it, including the port. The fact that the doctor removed the band for free makes me suspicious that he might have done something wrong with the original placement. Get a copy of THAT operative report, too. You need to have copies of all your medical file. You will need it, because my guess is he will say he has no control over the hosptial fees or anesthesiologist fee. So, you will have to make you case either with the hospital or an attorney. Good luck and let us know what happens.

The deficit: Sen. Sanders (I-VT): "Let me begin by saying something to my friend Senator Gregg, through the chairman, through the chairman. I really don't like being lectured on deficits when you (Sen. Gregg) and many members of your party (Republicans) helped cause the situation we are in right now. " "People voted, Senator Gregg, I believe you are one of them, for a war in Iraq, which some people will think will cost two or three trillion dollars, but you forgot to pay for that war. You and other people voted for tax breaks for the wealthiest 1%, costs $600 billion dollars, forgot to pay for that. You voted for a prescription drug medicare bill which will cost $400 billion dollars but doesn't negotiate prices with the pharmaceutical industry, forgot to ask how that was going to be paid for, you voted for the bailout and I believe you want to repeal the inheritance tax, which will cost a trillion dollars over a ten year period, benefiting the top 3/10ths of 1%. I voted against all of those things, so please, please, spare the lectures on deficit reduction." But the first thing out of the mouths of the obstructionist republicans about health care reform was "how are you going to pay for it"? And even when the CBO showed it would reduce the deficit, they still voted against it.

BJean, could this be what you are looking for? (5)”And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. (6)But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. (7)And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. (8)Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. – Matthew 6.5-8 NASB

Very true, BJean. The republicans like to say the democrats had the 60 votes in the Senate, but they didn't get that 58th vote until Franken was seated this summer. And you can't count Lieberman as a democrat. So in reality, the democrats had 58 democrats, one independent and one republican. Then you have the ultra conservative democrats (DINOs), like Ben Nelson, who held their vote hostage. Now that there are "only" 57 democrats and 2 independents no one person's vote is that important, so they no longer can demand anything in exchange for their vote. So, let the republicans block, obstruct and filibuster. And let America see it. The majority (58%) of americans want congress to continue to work toward a healthcare bill. Let them see the republicans filibuster it. I don't know if it's racism, or just that Obama was so popular (he is still well liked) and he represented a total rejection of the bush policies, but I do know that their ONLY goal is to have Obama fail. They would interpret that as their success. Let the republicans take back the house, senate, and white house. Then they will own the problems. Been there, done that (with brainless bush) and we are currently living in and with the disastrous results of those failed policies. Our country cannot take another 4 or 8 years of those policies. :rolleyes2:

When Pres. Obama wanted to eliminate the waste in Medicare to help fund the healthcare bill, the hypocritical republicans latched onto that and used it as a fear tactic for seniors - saying he was going to cut their medicare benefits.

Lets not forget when bush was seen looking under that desk trying to find WMD's and laughing about it saying they were there somewhere. I guess it was amusing to him that our soldiers died trying to find those phantom weapons of mass destruction.

If you're getting a replacement band down the road it might make sense to leave it in, but she is not, so it should have come out with the band. Having that object inside you that serves no purpose is not a good idea.

The stimulus spending. Perhaps nothing that Pres. Obama has done has generated more criticism from the republicans and the right than the stimulus spending. Those who had the opportunity to vote for it voted against it. And then they went public with almost daily bashing of it. Other elected republican leaders (like governors) also went public with their criticisms. The following is a PARTIAL list of republicans who voted AGAINST the stimulus and/or publicly bashed it but then PRAISED the stimulus when their district or state received the funds, started projects and created jobs. Many of these HYPOCRITES then showed up at the ribbon cutting for the projects funded by the stimulus funds they voted against and had no shame standing there with the giant check their district/state received. Some names might be misspelled but ALL ARE REPUBLICANS AND HYPOCRITES: Bobby Jindal Phil Gingry John Mika Frank Wolf Bill Shuster Kay Bailey Hutchison Richard Burr Kitt Bond Joe Wilson Bob Bennett Pat Tebery Mary Mack Mike Johan Lemar Alexander John Linden Mike Castle Eric Cantor John Boehner Jim Imhoff Jack Kingston John Carter Glenn Thompson Keep in mind that all these people publicly criticized the stimulus then publicly praised it when THEY got the money and said great things about it when it started projects and created jobs in their district/state.

Words people use: Sarah Palin demanded that Rahm Emmanuel, Pres. Obama's chief of staff, be fired for using the word retarded in a private conversation. He has since apologized and it was accepted. She did not call for the firing of Glenn Beck on Fox, or rush limbaugh for using the word "retard" (more than once) in a very degrading way.

Don't ask, don't tell: In 2006, Republican John McCain told a public audience that regarding this, he would defer to the military leaders on their opinions. Well, fast-forward to 2010 and congressional hearings on this. At this hearing - the joint chief of staff and the secretary of defense both say that DADT should be repealed, but NOW McCain wants them to defer to him (congress).

Healthcare: Republican Boehner said the repubicans wanted several things in the healthcare bill. He said they were: 1) Being able to buy insurance across state lines: check ! Was put in the senate bill. 2) Tort reform. Check! Was put in the senate bill. 3) Let small businesses group together to buy insurance for less. Check! Was put in the senate bill. 4) States can opt out if they can show they have a better health care program. Check! That was put in the bill. Republicans say they were shut out of the process. NOT TRUE. However, despite their input into the bill, not one republican voted for it. In addition, Boehner says we should start over (that's republican speak for "kill it").

Republican voting: Republicans repeatedly voted to raise the debt ceiling under bush but refused to do so under Pres. Obama. A bi-partisan deficit reduction committee was sponsosed by 6 republicans, but when Pres. Obama said it was a good idea, these 6 voted against it. Republicans were for pay as you go under bush - against it under Pres. Obama. Republicans were for trying suspects in civil court under bush - then against it under Pres. Obama. Republicans were for cap & trade under bush - then against it under Pres. Obama.

Backroom deals: The republicans have been very vocal in their criticisms of the deals made with Ben Nelson and Mary Landreiu in the passage of the senate health bill. However: Republican Sen. Christopher Bond, R-MO, put a hold on the appointment of Martha Johnson to the General Service Administration (a non-political position) to pressure the government into approving a building project in Kansas City. Republican Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala. - has placed a hold on all outstanding Obama administration nominations- about 70 high level government positions - until his state gets a tanker contract and a counterterrorism center.

President Obama wouldn't have to spend as much as he has if he didn't have to clean up bush's economic messes, among others.