Myth: The United States Cannot Afford to Insure Its Citizens

This started as a debate on FB with a cousin of mine about how to stimulate the economy and create jobs, then it moved to taxation and spending, and then I decided I should blog about the myths the Conservative Right wants you to believe. While doing some research, I came up on some facts about Infant and Maternal Mortality Rates, and the more I read, the more I found these statistics relevant to the discussion at hand. Here I am focused on Pre- and Postnatal Health, but there is more, and I am angry.

According to Business Pundit, the six countries with the the highest taxes in the world are these: Belgium has the highest marginal tax rate on average workers at 54%; followed by Finland, 46%; Germany, 45%; Denmark, 44.4%; Italy, 43%; and France, 40% on average wages and 50% on highest wages. 

The six countries with the lowest tax rates are Switzerland, 20%; United States, 27%; Australia, 31.5%; Canada, 31.2%; United Kingdom, 32% and Japan, 33%. Even at 33% marginal tax on average wages Japan is considered to have one of the lowest tax rates in the world, and our taxes are lower than theirs. 

Note where the US is on that list, we are in the bottom six.   Note that ALL these countries have high standards of living, and all but one offers womb to tomb benefits for its citizens. Want to bet which country doesn't?

One method used to evaluate a country's standing in the world is it's Infant Mortality Rate (IMR). It is also used as an indicator in assessing the quality and the availability of overall health care to a country's citizens. Guess where we are on THAT list? 

According to the United Nations World Population Prospects Report we are 34th in the world in infant mortalities. That is a SHAMEFUL statistic for one of the richest nations in the world; in a country whose leaders try to tell us we have the best medical care in the world; in a country where people are being told we don't need to provide health care.

Even more embarrassing is the CIA World Fact Book lists our IMR at 46th in the world here and here. Yes, That CIA.  What these figures mean to us is 6 out of every thousand children born in the United States in 2011 died before the age of 1 year. Cuba has a better survival rate than we do, as does Croatia, even in the face of genocide. 33-45 countries lose fewer babies every year than we do, depending on which report you read. This is unacceptable.

High IMR's can be directly attributed to poverty and poor pre- and postnatal care for baby and Mom. They are a direct result of poor prenatal nutrition for mothers, as are many birth defects.

So, whose babies are more likely to die? The very poor have recourse in Medicaid, free maternity clinics and other resources. The working poor, those who work full time, sometimes two jobs, make too much money to qualify for public assistance and not enough to pay for insurance or prenatal care. Rarely do their jobs offer health insurance. Mothers tend to show up on the doorsteps of the ER in full blown labor. They are delivered by doctors who have no prenatal history to rely on and have no clue of the risk factors at hand. There are sometimes some really nasty surprises for the medical team.  I've been there, done that.

The new poor are your neighbor who lost his job, and then his home. He is your co-worker whose unemployment has run out. He is one of the 15.3 million unemployed citizens of our country who cannot find a job. He has no insurance, He and his pregnant wife are not eating, so that their children can. She, too, is unlikely to receive adequate prenatal care. She, too, is likely to deliver prematurely, have an underweight baby, or a baby with a neural tube or other defect which affects the viability of the newborn. 

High rates of maternal deaths occur in the same countries that have high rates of infant mortality, reflecting generally poor nutrition and medical care. In some studies the US is ranked 39th in 181 countries, which translates into 16.6 out of 100,000 births as of 2008.

According to CNN, deaths from pregnancy and childbirth in the United States have doubled in the past 20 years. About 1.7 million women a year, one-third of pregnant women in the United States, suffer from pregnancy-related complications. Most of the deaths and complications occur among minorities and women living in poverty. Most of these tragedies are preventable. Another unacceptable fact for the United States. 

That same source quotes Larry Cox, executive director of Amnesty International USA as saying, "Good maternal care should not be considered a luxury available only to those who can access the best hospitals and the best doctors. Women should not die in the richest country on earth from preventable complications and emergencies" As a woman, a nurse, and as an American citizen, I wholeheartedly agree. (Emphases are mine) 

So, what can we do? Many of these problems can be eliminated by implementing the Universal Health Care Act. Insuring that everyone, regardless of socio-economic status, has adequate health care will benefit everyone. Sweden, Finland and Norway have the 4th, 5th, and 6th lowest IMRs in the world. They also lead in maternal health, longevity, and other health parameters. I would say theirs are the models we should be examining, not those of Canada and the UK, although their stats are still better than ours.

The next time someone tries to convince you the country cannot afford the Universal Health Care Act, think about this and tell them that we cannot afford not to implement it. Even one preventable death is one too many.

That's Miss PittyPat's truth for today.

It's STILL a Christmas Tree and the First Daughters DO Get Christmas Presants

I hate to upset my 'Conservative Right' (read Republican/Tea Party) friends, but the White House Christmas Trees are STILL Christmas trees, and there has never been, and still aren't, any plans to change the names.  There is a video showing this year's White House Christmas Tree arriving on a horse-drawn carriage complete with a carriage driver wearing a top hat.  Note it is from USA today.  The video was shown on all three major networks and, believe it or not, Faux News. 

The First Lady and Daughters are seen receiving the White House Christmas Tree in this picture that appeared in the Christian Science Monitor and at least 305 other newspapers.  The sign on the side of the carriage clearly states White House Christmas Tree, 2011.

Courtesy of the Christian Science Monitor

If you are interested, you can check the facts at Snopes.com and at Factcheck.org

The President and the First Lady wished All American citizens a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year in his weekly address to the nation on December 25th, 2010.

The misunderstanding seem to come from the Bush era, when Mrs. Bush began sending out ornaments to States and various other organizations and asking them to decorate the ornaments and return them to Washington to be put on the CAPITOL Christmas Tree.  In 2007, the accompanying information packet  to the organizations clearly states, and I quote:  "Ornaments with religious themes are not acceptable." In 2008, the criteria stated ♦  "Ornaments cannot reflect a religious or political theme."

The criteria has since been changed, and religious themes are acceptable.  But, PLEASE NOTE, this criteria was in place during the BUSH administration, not the OBAMA administration.

The Grinch does not steal Christmas at the White House.  The same people who spread the above misinformation  also bring you the misinformation that the First Daughters do not receive Christmas presents.  They quote a seven page interview of the President and Mrs. Obama in People Magazine in 2008.  What the President actually said was that he leaves the gift giving to Santa.  First Daughter Malia is quoted as saying, "I know there is a Santa because there’s no way you’d buy me all that stuff.” In US Magazine, Mrs. Obama is quoted as saying she gives better Christmas presents than the President.

Then you hear that the President said we were not a Christian country.  What he actually said is that we are no longer ONLY a Christian country, and whether you like it or not, that is true.  We are a country of Christians, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, and a multitude of other religions.

Our Founding Fathers had experienced the effects of government interference in religious practice and thought it important enough to make it the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. Thomas Jefferson thought his greatest achievement was not the Constitution of the United States, The Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom. Jefferson and many of the other great men of his time did not think of themselves as Christians, but rather as Deists, and believed in "the laws of Nature and of Nature's God…." I will probably blog about that at a later date, but if you research the writings of the time it becomes evident.

Finally, it does not matter what religion a President professes. He doesn't have to have a religion. He is guaranteed the right to think and believe what he chooses under the Constitution of the United States of America. Just like for any other American, it is unconstitutional to make adherence to any specific religion a condition for the job.

And THAT is Miss Pitty Pat's truth for the day.

So, why am I in Trujillo, Honduras, watching a funeral service in Miami, ready to chew nails and spit tinfoild?

I am sitting here in Trujillo, Honduras watching the funeral of two Miami-Dade police officers who were killed in the line of duty last Thursday.  Killed in the line of duty...It sounds so cold, so civilized.  What really happened is they were slaughtered when the mother of the killer ask the officers into her apartment and the killer opened fire. 

I'm not going to talk about what fine officers these two were, nor about how many family members are left behind, including children.  That will be covered by the media and during the eulogies being offered.  Suffice it to say the memorial service had to be held in the American Airlines Center, where the Heat plays, to accommodate the crowds of police officers from around the country attending.

What I do want to talk about is, why the hell was this monster on the streets and who the hell is the judge that put him on administrative probation, which means no reporting or supervision, after a warrant for his arrest for homicide was issued?

Now, I know I am suppose to feel sorry for this poor, undereducated young man.  After all, this is a young man that Society has neglected since he was born.  It is Society's fault that this young man has been classified as a career criminal since he was 17 years old.  It is Society's fault  that he felt he had no choice but a life of crime, since all Society did for him was provide subsidized housing; Food Stamps; free school breakfast and

lunch; a free education; free after school care;  free camps in the summer; free medical care and medicines, and money to live on. 

The legal system never gave him a break, a second chance.   The  prosecutors who could have charged him as an adult while he was a teen kept him in the Juvenile system until he was charged with armed robbery.  He had been out of jail three months when he decided to commit suicide by cop, because "they were going to kill me anyway."   If you want a detailed account of the repeated slaps on the hand Simms was given by judges, you can read it here, Miami Herald.

So what can we do?  In Florida we vote on who will sit on the bench.  We can keep a list of the judges who let these criminals go, time after time, and when election time comes we can vote them out.  There are those who think this is not possible because of the campaign money that they have for political ads.  Yes, we can.  We don't have to listen to the ads.  We can listen to the facts. This can be done in other states, too.

We can hold rallies in the streets, as is our Constitutional right.  I am not advocating speech that invites violence, just speeches that convey the message that we want career criminals kept in jail.  We can insist that it is insane that the crimanals are better armed than our police officers.  In this incident, the criminal had a .40 caliber Glock semiautomatic with 17 rounds in the clip.  The officers had 9 mms. 

Let's inform our judges that we want the 10-20-Life laws enforced.  Let's outlaw the sale and use of assault rifles.  Don't tell me that it would interfere with your right to have hunting weapons.  The only thing you can hunt with an assault rifle is a human, and they are not fit for eating.  While we are at it, let's take a page from Honduras's gun laws.  Not only do you have to register the gun, but register the ammunition every time you buy it.  And don't tell me that abridges your right to bear arms.  You have to register your car and have a license to drive it, and it does not interfere with your personal property rights

Let's enforce the laws against aiding and abetting and conspiracy and put the mother's behind in jail.  Her son shot two police officers, and in Florida that means everybody involved goes to jail for life without parole.

This animal had the advantage in that he knew what his plan was, but the police officers did not.  He had the advantage because his mother did not warn the officers that he was in the house and had a gun.  The officers had on their vests, but a vest does not stop a head shot, and the criminal had time to aim. 

So, why am I in Trujillo, Honduras, watching a funeral service in Miami?  Because I have a son-in-law who is a police officer.  He is out there every day, putting his life on the line.  I am watching the funeral out of respect for him and for the respect for the slain officers.

Do I feel sorry for Johnny Simms?  Not one bit.  Do I feel sorry for his mother?  I should, as I have lost a son, but no, I don't.  She knew what her son was and she did not do anything to try to stop him.  Do I mourn him.  Never in a million years.

And that is Miss Pittypat's Truth for the day.

So, You Want Better Government, Not More Government?

Do you really want a better government, not a bigger government?  A government that represents you and your vote?  One that does not cater to Big Business and the wealthy people who own it?  So do I.  So, if this is what you want, stop moaning and groaning and start making it happen.  Here's what Miss PittyPat would like to see.

Let's abolish the Electoral College.  While we would like to think every vote counts, we have seen in the past few elections that this is not so.  The Electoral College was established because our Founding Fathers, most of whom were well-educated, did not think the common man could  cast an informed, intelligent vote due to their lack of education.  Therefore everyone is allowed to vote, but the only votes that count are the people sent to the electoral college.  Most of us are educated and able make an informed vote, based on the facts.

Then, we could all demand our men in Congress do an honest job, and work for us.  Make lobbying by Big Business, such as Big Oil, Big Sugar, or Big Fruit, a federal offense. Demand that any Congressman found taking money from a lobbyist or the companies/people they represent  be immediately censured by Congress, arrested and sent to jail.  And not to Club Fed; to real prison, in the real population; along with the other crooks; for a long time. 

While we're at it, have our representatives pass a law that no business, their officers or their employees are permitted to donate money for elections funds.  Do away with PACs.  Rarely do they represent the citizens of this country.

Pass a federal law that any representative of the people and their staff will be out of a job if they do not do their job.  That is every two years for a Congressman and every six years for a Senator, in case you forgot your Civics ;-D.  Let's demand a law that no member, or his staff, of Congress is allowed to EVER take a job with a business they have voted for or against when making laws.  Now they only have to wait 180 days, and then they can be hired or appointed to a place of power.  Sounds like a bribe to me.

Demand that anyone or any business and their officers found defrauding the government of the United States be punished severely.  I don't mean some piddling little fine and a slap on the hand.  I mean, again, real confinement in a real prison, for a long time.  In fact, let's make it a treasonable offense.

One of the first companies that would go under would be Halliburton and all its subsidiaries.  They have been found guilty of overcharging the taxpayers for services, equipment and oil sent to Iraq.  Their fine, over $4.0 mill.  Their profit, almost $200 billion and counting. 

Lest I be accused of bias, second on my list would be any hospital, corporation, or person  who defrauds Medicare and Social Security.  We see a lot of that in Florida.  The offenders sometimes get off with a fine, one that is a drop in the bucket to what they have stolen from the taxpayers. One of the candidates in the present election in Florida fits that bracket.  His corporation was fined for Medicare fraud, and he skated.  Others get off with very light sentences in Club Fed, and when they get out, they are back in business again.  Medicare has almost no oversight, and what it does have is inefficient and does not include medical professionals.  They are more than three years behind in their audits.  Their computers are worthless.  Put doctors and nurses, who know how to spot overcharging on the oversight boards.

Just by implementing a few changes we can have better government. One that is more responsive and streamlined. One that saves the taxpayers, especially the middle class, much of their tax money.  This is what I want to happen.  It never will as long as we sit on our derrieres and do nothing. 

This is Miss PittyPat's truth for today.

Do You Really Think That Bumper Sticker Is Funny?

Cartoon by Dave Walker -
www.weblogcartoons.com

. .

I first saw this cartoon on La Gringa's Blogicito  here .   I never thought I would use it.  Bloggers sometime have to look for things to blog about.  This time one of my friends handed it to me on a silver platter.

I was advised that there is a bumper sticker going around the US saying “Pray for Obama: Psalm 109:8”.  That sounds nice, until you read Psalms 109 in its entirety.  Then it is not so nice.  I am not the only one who thinks so.  If it said "Pray for Bush or McCain " I would still be offended.   I would not care who was President, this is would still be offensive. 

I think this should be conceived as a terrorist threat.  Threatening the President is a felony under Federal law.   If you get arrested, you can be put in jail without a lawyer; without habeas corpus; with no attorney, and they don't have to tell anyone where you are.  Under the Patriot Act, you can be kept indefinitely.  I know that everyone thinks that cannot happen, but it could.  We gave up most of the protection of Bill of Rights when we let the Patriot Act become law.

First, I recommend reading the whole Psalm.   You will see how that seemingly innocuous verse was taken out of context.  People should read the whole chapter in the Bible before pulling out one verse that suits their needs.  Mine favorite is, when I am in a turmoil, "And it came to pass......".  I find that very comforting.  The rest of the verse says, "Verse 41 when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary , the ( babe ) leaped in her womb ; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost

Christian Science Monitor says it is sinister here.  ABC News says while it is offensive, it is protected speech here.   USA Today, in its Faith & Reason column asks,  Psalm 109:8 bumper stickers -- a wrong-hearted prayer for President Obama? and then asks, "In that context, are these folks actually urging us to pray for Obama's death?. here  

The joke is actually on the people who think this is funny.  If you to the beginning of the Psalm, you see that this is David praying  to God and asking him to help him with his accusers, probably Saul and his advisers.

Psalms 109:1-3

(1) Hold not thy peace, O God of my praise;  (2) For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of deceit have they opened against me: They have spoken unto me with a lying tongue.  (3)They have compassed me about also with words of hatred, And fought against me without a cause.

Sound familiar?  How about the accusations that President Obama is a socialist and trying to socialize the government?  Not so.  He is a Democrat, and he is a liberal.  He is a man who was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth with a sliver spoon in his mouth.   He knows there are many working poor who do not have basic health insurance because they cannot afford it. How about the accusations that it is his fault that the economy is so bad?  Not so.  The economy started to bottom out in 2008 before his term.   How about the one that he is spending money faster than any president before him?  Not so.  The fiscal year for the US is from October-September.  This is George Bush's budget until September 1, 2010.  Then we will have an Obama budget, and he vows to make cuts. 

In verse 6-7  David asks God to put an evil man over the accuser and let him be brought to justice.

Verses 8-20  are the scary part, Particularly verses 8-10. 

Verse 9-10:   (9) Let his children be fatherless, And his wife a widow.  (10. Let his children be vagabonds, and beg; And let them seek their bread out of their desolate places.

Verse 9 is definitely a call for assassination.  There is no other way for his children to be fatherless and begging in the streets and their mother, his wife a widow.  Verses 10 is a curse on his children .

Verses 21-31 are verses of praise (psalms) to God, and asking God's blessing on him (David).  I won't bore you with the various commentaries, but you can read them here .

One of my readers sent me these verses from 1 Timothy 2:1-4.  According to her comment, Nero was in power when this was written.  If St. Timothy could ask his flock to pray for Nero, we can pray for whomever in is the oval office, whether it be Democrat or Republican.

 

(1) I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; (2 ) For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. (3) For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; (4)Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.  KJV  (Italics are not mine)
 
If someone put that on a bumper sticker I would buy one, even if no one here in Honduras could read it.
 
If you still think that horrible bumper sticker is funny, I will pray for you, that your eyes might be opened.
 
Tomorrow, I promise I won't quote the Bible so much.  I do have something in mind.
 
This is Miss PittyPat's Truth for today

The Bible Mandates Respect for Our Government and our President

I said in my introduction that this blog would be controversial.  I promised I would touch on religion, politics and other hot topics.  With this post I will probably do all three.  If I make you mad, I'm sorry you're mad;  I'm pretty good at making people mad.  I hope you got mad enough to read this all the way through, check my sources out, and see for yourself.   I sincerely hope you will make comments that will urge people, including me, to think.

If you believe, as I do, the Bible was written by man, but inspired by God, and is the True Word of God, you should find the following interesting..

I will start with two commentaries, the first from John Wesley, 6/1703 - 3/2/1791.  John Wesley was an Anglican cleric.  He founded the Methodist movement, which became the Methodist Church.  He established several churches in Georgia.  The second is Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary.  Henry (10/18/1662 - 6/22/1714) was a Presbyterian Minister who wrote several commentaries on the Bible, and is studied in modern times..


Romans 13:1-2  New American Standard Bible (©1995)
Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God.  Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves
 
Wesley's Comments:    Thou shalt not revile the gods -  That is, the judges and magistrates.  Princes and magistrates are our fathers, whom the fifth commandment obligeth us to honour, and forbids us to revile.  St. Paul applies this law to himself, and owns that he ought not speak evil of the ruler of his people, no, not though he was then his most unrighteous persecutor.
 
Whosoever resisteth the power - In any other manner than the laws of the community direct. Shall receive condemnation - Not only from the magistrate, but from God also.
 
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary: The grace of the gospel teaches us submission and quiet, where pride and the carnal mind see only causes for murmuring and discontent.  Whatever the persons in authority over us themselves may be, yet the just power they have, must be submitted to and obeyed. In the general course of human affairs, rulers are not a terror to honest, quiet, and good subjects, but to evil-doers....
.......Thou hast the benefit of the government, therefore do what thou canst to preserve it, and nothing to disturb it. This directs private persons to behave quietly and peaceably where God has set them....The lesson here taught it becomes all Christians to learn and practise, that the godly in the land will always be found the quiet and the peaceable in the land, whatever others are.  (Italics are mine)
 
You can read all the comments here:  
 http://bible.cc/romans/13-1.htm
 http://bible.cc/romans/13-2.htm
 
There are many other supporting Bible verses.  I could quote them all night and not get finished.  Here is one I really like:
 
New American Standard Bible (©1995)
Furthermore, in your bedchamber do not curse a king, and in your sleeping rooms do not curse a rich man, for a bird of the heavens will carry the sound and the winged creature will make the matter known.
 
I think the Bible is pretty clear on showing respect for the government and the people in power.  Yes, The verses say Princes, judges, magistrates, but the Romans, to whom St. Paul wrote, did not have Presidents, we do. 
 
Romans 13:2 says we cannot resist a leader "In any other manner than the laws of the community direct."   If you want to remove a President from office in the US the only ways are impeachment, voting him out of office, or proving he is mentally unfit.
 
You can protest in a lawful manner. You can campaign for those whom you think represent your ideals.  You can vote for candidates you like.  You can educate voters.  You can provide rides, babysitting and other services on election day.  There are many ways to get your voice heard without making yourself look bad when you are seen screaming like a banshee, refusing to allow people to speak by shouting them down.  . This clearly says, to me, that placards and comments of a racial nature, and showing President Obama as a monkey fall directly into that category, are against God's Word. So is making fun of his wife, or his children.
 
To my friends in the conservative Christian right, and I do have some.  When I see the above behavior, I think to myself that if you were the only model I have for what a Christian is all about I would turn and run in the other direction.  I am sure there are others who feel the same way, because I have heard them say so.  That was was caught my eye in Henry's comment, where he wrote:   The lesson here taught it becomes all Christians to learn and practise, that the godly in the land will always be found the quiet and the peaceable in the land, whatever others are. (Italics are mine)
 
Sending all these nasty emails that are not true is in violation of of the 6th Commandment, "Thou shalt not bear false witness against your neighbor".  It is so easy to just hit the forward button on your email program, but before you do, how about taking a couple of minutes to go to http://www.factcheck.org/ or http://www.snopes.com/,  or any other fact checking sight you want that is unbiased, and check it out.  If it is false, and all of the ones I have received have been false, then stop it right there on your desk.  
 
The last one I received was labeled something like, "don't let the Post Office fool you with pretty stamps."  It went on to say that the Post Office was going to issue a stamp with butterflies on it to commemorate a Muslim holiday, and this stamp was being pushed on the Post Office by President Obama.
 
It turns out that this stamp was issued 8 years ago, 1 year and 3 months after 9/11, and was approved by GWB.
 
"Bush himself marked Eid al-Fitr with an address at the Islamic Center of Washington, D.C., Dec. 5, 2002, in which he praised the spirit of the day:

George W. Bush, Dec. 5, 2002: The spirit behind this holiday is a reminder that Islam brings hope and comfort to more than a billion people worldwide. Islam affirms God’s justice and insists on man’s moral responsibility. This holiday is also an occasion to remember that Islam gave birth to a rich civilization of learning that has benefitted mankind.

Bush issued statements of personal greetings to Muslims in connection with the Eid al-Fitr holiday not only in 2002, but again in 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007 and his final year in office, 2008."

http://www.factcheck.org/2009/09/muslim-stamp/

Note that I did not take anything out of context, so I would appreciate that you do me the same courtesy.

This is Miss PittyPat's Truth for today

Welcome to Miss PittyPat's Truth

Welcome to Miss PittyPat's Truth.  This the place where I will look for and publish truths in refute of the many emails I get that are full of misinformation, the posts I see elsewhere that promote discord, and the things I seen the news that make me angry..  I promise to be fair to both sides of an argument, but I will state what I think is the truth, and give you the documentation so you can do your own research. 

This blog is meant to be confrontational.  Subjects that will  be covered will be all those that your mother told you not to discuss with your friends. Well, here is the place to discuss them. Religion, politics, all of them.


Some people will be uncomfortrable and others willl be greatly offended.  I apologize if you are offended, but not for what was said.  I hope most of you will be incited to do your own research, and come to your own truths.

I invite you to read what I have to say, and urge you to make comments, as long as they are civil in nature.  Any comment that is abusive will be deleted and the author will be asked to resubmit his comment in another form.