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Kennedy Is Making A Final Press For Universal Healthcare, From His Sickbed
LATimes ^ | July 25th 2009

Posted on 07/25/2009 9:07:17 PM PDT by Steelfish

Kennedy is making a final press for universal healthcare, from his sickbed

As Congress wrestles with legislation to give Americans access to quality care, which the Democrat worked toward for 46 years, the senator is sidelined with brain cancer, but not out of the game.

Faye Fiore and Noam N. Levey July 25, 2009

Reporting from Washington -- Ted Kennedy wakes up mornings in his house on Cape Cod to a packet of news clippings put together by his wife. If there's a hearing going on in Washington, he watches on his computer.

Five hundred miles away, Congress is wrestling with historic legislation to give every American access to quality healthcare. It is the moment the Massachusetts Democrat has worked toward for 46 years. But instead of marshaling the crowning achievement of his political career, he is sidelined, battling brain cancer.

"He has lived for this day when America would finally extend this right to every citizen. There's no doubt if he could, he would be here in the thick of this," Kennedy's son Patrick, a Democratic congressman from Rhode Island, said in a recent interview, sitting on a bench on the Capitol grounds with tears in his eyes.

But history's third longest-serving senator isn't out of the game yet. Exerting what influence he can from his sickbed, he advises his aides in Washington over the phone. He has made himself the poster child of what he calls "my life's cause," and is using his illness in a final press for universal health care.

Kennedy, 77, seems determined not to miss this. He has outlasted medical expectations since doctors diagnosed a malignant tumor last spring, and is not above expending every last bit of his political capital to deliver the bill he will be most remembered for.

(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: 111th; barf; barfalert; bhohealthcare; braincancer; kennedy; tedkennedy
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To: Steelfish

War Crimes and Crimes against Humanity

By Noam N. Levey. Los Angeles Times. January 14, 2007.

WASHINGTON — Emboldened by President Bush’s deeply unpopular proposal to send more troops to Iraq


61 posted on 07/25/2009 10:01:17 PM PDT by kcvl
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To: Boiling Pots
TEDDY IS A DRUNK
62 posted on 07/25/2009 10:05:52 PM PDT by odin2008 (Everything in the universe is subject to change.)
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To: kb2614
He'll continue "voting" long after he's dead and buried.

Weekend at Teddy's!!
63 posted on 07/25/2009 10:05:56 PM PDT by The_Sword_of_Groo (Dum spiramus tuebimur - "While We Have Breath, We Will Defend")
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To: kb2614

Kennedy won’t stop voting until you pull the vote-clicker from his cold, dead fingers.

Eh, he’s a Democrat. He’ll continue “voting” long after he’s dead and buried. He’ll be a representive for the zombie lobby, which is a powerful voting block for the Dems. :-)


Gee, I only thot that happened in Chicago?!


64 posted on 07/25/2009 10:09:09 PM PDT by Freedom56v2 ("If you think healthcare is expensive now, just wait till it is free! "~ PJ O'Rourke)
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To: kcvl

The LA Times as a matter of full public disclosure need to print a short bio of its ultra left-wing staff writers before offering this propaganda to its readers. Or place a label “Beware What You Read-It May Not Be Objective Reporting”


65 posted on 07/25/2009 10:09:35 PM PDT by Steelfish
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To: oneolcop

If Teddy dies... how would we know? For the last 40 years, he’s been pretty much a human pickle.


66 posted on 07/25/2009 10:10:33 PM PDT by odin2008 (Everything in the universe is subject to change.)
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Comment #67 Removed by Moderator

To: Steelfish

The dem leaders would bring him in for a vote, even if he was contained in a quart jar.


68 posted on 07/25/2009 10:24:55 PM PDT by Gator113 (It's about stupidity, stupid.)
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To: Steelfish

Take the blue pill and be quiet.


69 posted on 07/25/2009 10:37:07 PM PDT by taxesareforever (Quick justice for the senseless killing of Marine Lance Cpl. Robert Crutchfield.)
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To: Steelfish

Just follow the light, swimmer- you have our permission.


70 posted on 07/25/2009 10:42:17 PM PDT by matthew fuller (FUBHO)
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To: Steelfish

When Ted finally dies, he will find himself in heaven, atop a majestic cloud, with a hazy vision of the Creator seemingly just ahead of him. But when he steps forward, he will realize that it is not God almighty he sees looming before him, but Mary Joe Kopechne holding what looks like a lever. She will then say “Psych!” and pull the lever, whereupon the cloud will give way, and Ted will find himself falling far and falling fast, towards he true eternity that awaits him.


71 posted on 07/25/2009 10:51:56 PM PDT by FreepShop1
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To: Steelfish

Free flotation devices for all!!!!


72 posted on 07/25/2009 11:13:35 PM PDT by rawcatslyentist (Ifanationexpects tobe ignorantandfree,inastateofcivilization,itexpects whatneverwas andnever will be)
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To: Frank_2001

Brilliant!


73 posted on 07/25/2009 11:41:08 PM PDT by green pastures (Soylent green? More like solvent green: health care reform to kill folks and 'save' social security.)
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To: TYVets
Why if there no Barf Alert for this thread????

It's part of an effort to reduce redundancy.
74 posted on 07/25/2009 11:44:58 PM PDT by green pastures (Soylent green? More like solvent green: health care reform to kill folks and 'save' social security.)
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To: CatDancer

Yoohoo— ultimate hippocratic hypocrisy thread here...


75 posted on 07/25/2009 11:54:08 PM PDT by green pastures (Soylent green? More like solvent green: health care reform to kill folks and 'save' social security.)
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To: Steelfish
So ironic that he's this narcissistic. The current healthcare system has kept him alive this long so that he can install Obamacare that would cut everyone else's lives short.

It's the mark of a sociopath. Sociopaths do make the most successful politicians in terms of longevity because they can lie constantly, pursue power and pleasure as the only goals, and are willing to kill others to prevent their downfall.

76 posted on 07/25/2009 11:58:06 PM PDT by TheThinker
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To: Steelfish

only the good die young....


77 posted on 07/26/2009 12:07:16 AM PDT by tina07 (In loving memory of my father,WWII Vet. CBI 10/16/42-12/17/45, d. 11/1/85 -Happy B'day Daddy 2/20/23)
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To: bushwon
Gee, I only thot that happened in Chicago?!

We're all living-in-Chicago now!

78 posted on 07/26/2009 3:06:05 AM PDT by C210N (A patriot for a Conservative Renaissance!)
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To: kcvl

“Racism Continues in the South”
**********************************

FYI...Racism has taken up residency in the White House. We now have a racist First Family...now that’s something for the record books!

Take your blinders off Babe...the Obama’s are the most blatantly obvious racists in America!


79 posted on 07/26/2009 3:26:54 AM PDT by Curious George1978
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To: All

.

ATTENTION FELLOW TEXANS:

Governor Rick Perry may invoke the 10th Amendment over Obama’s health care bill (Vanity)
7/23/09 | Cowtowney
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2299225/posts?q=1&;page=51

Say no to Obama’s DeathCare.
Send a message; DON’T MESS WITH TEXAS healthcare!
No! NO you don’t, you muzzie pos. You’re not denying our seniors deserved health care while insuring millions of illegal aliens and while Demorats are REJECTING Obamacare for themselves and their families!

Join organizations who fight ObamaCare.

This is a good organization:
The Alliance of Texans Against Government Controlled Healthcare:
http://www.notintexas.org/

office (972) 466-2915
fax (972) 466-2965
toll-free (866) 377-1300

From the website:
We are currently contacting Governor Rick Perry by fax and mail!

We have made it easy for you to help. Click here to display the letter and contact information.
http://www.notintexas.org/Letter_rick_perry.htm

Petition to STOP government controlled healthcare in Texas
Read and sign the petition
http://www.notintexas.org/Letter_to_Reps.htm

Print and sign the letter
(feel free to make changes if you wish)

Fax the letter to the fax numbers

Mail a hard copy to the addresses

Call their offices

Dear Governor Perry,

On March 30, 2009 the Texas House of Representatives passed HCR 50 affirming that the State of Texas claims sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment.

You have publicly supported this bill, and stated that attorney generals from all over the union could be getting ready to sue the US Government.

We are asking you to take the lead.

We are asking you to order the Texas Attorney General to publicly begin working on a law suit under Article IV, Ninth, and Tenth Amendment of the Constitution.

We are asking you to protect the citizens of Texas that we will not stand for government controlled healthcare in our state.

Under your leadership we can effectively kill the proposal of this administration and allow Texas to be a state free from socialism and collectivism.

Be the voice of reason in the national debate and allow Texans the ability to solve the problems of our state.

Thank you,

(Signature Date)

Lookup your state representatives

FREE FAX SERVICSES:
http://www.gotfreefax.com/
http://faxzero.com/
or google ‘free fax’

Contacting Rick Perry

Office of the Governor
P.O. Box 12428
Austin, Texas 78711
Phone: (512) 463-2000
Fax: (512) 463-1849

Washington Office:
122 C St., NW, Ste. 200
Washington, DC 20001
Phone: (202) 638-3927
Fax: (202) 628-1943

Contact Budget Planning and Policy

Address:1100 San Jacinto
Austin, Texas 78701
Phone: (512) 463-1778
Fax: (512) 463-1975
Gregory S. Davidson
Constituent Communication Division Director and
Executive Clerk to the Governor
Phone: (512) 463-1873

Office of the General Counsel
Department Mailing Address
P.O. Box 12428
Austin, TX 78711
Phone: 512.463.2000
Fax: 512.463.1932

Press Secretary
Allison Castle, Press Secretary
P.O. Box 12428
Austin, Texas 78711
Phone: (512) 463-1826
Fax: (512) 463-1847

Contact Texas Health Care Policy Council
P.O. Box 12428
Austin, Texas 78711
Phone: (512) 463-1778
Fax: (512) 463-1975

Sign up. Become a member.
Sign petition against Obamacare!
See member interview with Cavuto!

____________________

From ‘Texans Against Government Controlled health Care’
http://www.notintexas.org/

To all Texas elected officials:

“Don’t Mess with Texas” has been a proud motto in the Lone Star State. Now with Government controlled socialized healthcare appearing inevitable, we say “NOT IN TEXAS!” We ask our elected officials to cite the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution as the reason why Texas rejects and will not accept the U.S. Government takeover of our healthcare system!

The 10th Amendment states: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”

States’ rights, in the United States, is political doctrine advocating the strict limitation of the prerogatives of the federal government to those powers explicitly assigned to it in the Constitution of the United States, and reserving to the states all other powers not explicitly forbidden them. The doctrine of states’ rights has been the cause of bitter controversy at several periods in U.S. history.

The impending death of free market healthcare is an important issue that will again cause bitter controversy.

If the cause of defending our free market healthcare is a worthy cause, we in Texas must stand up and say: “NOT IN TEXAS”.

We in Texas will not stand idly by and allow the U.S. Federal Government to eliminate our free market healthcare system by incrementally changing and ultimately replacing it with a Government controlled socialized Healthcare system.

“NOT IN TEXAS”

Where are the Texas politicians?

The Alliance of Texans against Government Controlled Healthcare is insisting upon the immediate action of all Texas Politicians. Tell the U.S. Government: Government controlled healthcare may be adopted in other states, but…NOT IN TEXAS.

Tell the U.S. Government that Government Controlled Healthcare will never be allowed in Texas. Texans still believe in individual freedom and individual responsibility.

The saving of our free market healthcare system is one of the most important tasks ever to face Texas.

When are we going to hear Texas politicians saying: “The Government Controlled Socialized Healthcare stops at the Texas border!”

The Texas citizens are waiting to hear from you. We don’t have much time. President Obama wants a healthcare bill out by August 1st.

Tell the news media loud and clear: “NOT IN TEXAS”

We hope to see and hear your stand in the media in the next days to come.

P.S. Once Texas politicians make their stand, you will see other states standing up for State’s rights. Let the Lone Star state of Texas stand first.

.

From Texans Against Government Controlled Health Care

http://www.notintexas.org/

Facts about the 10th Amendment:

The Tenth Amendment (Amendment X) of the United States Constitution, which is part of the Bill of Rights, was ratified on December 15, 1791. The Tenth Amendment restates the Constitution’s principle of Federalism by providing that powers not granted to the national government nor prohibited to the states are reserved to the states or the people.

Why Texans should fight National Healthcare:

When all of America’s top health insurers and providers met at the White House this week and pledged to save $2 trillion over the next decade in health costs, they were pledging to sabotage our medical care. The blunt truth, which everybody (the politicians and healthcare providers) agreed to keep quiet, is that the only way to reduce these costs is to ration healthcare, thereby destroying our system. http://www.notintexas.org/Front_4.htm

>Cutting Doctors’ fees will reduce access. Your doctor may not accept the government health plan. Congress is wanting to cut Medicare fees by 21 percent. Cuts in Medicare reimbursements will spill into the government health plan and ultimately limit the number of doctors and hospitals that will accept the government plan.

>Much like the HMO’s of the 80’s your doctor access will be restricted to the few doctors who will accept the socialized plan.

>Limiting the availability of doctors and hospitals will have many devastating effects. Most threatening are:

>Over crowding waiting rooms

Backlog of medical testing i.e. CAT scans, MRI, PET scans etc...

>Rationing of Health Care

>Reduction of quality college students choosing medicine as a profession.

>With our aging population, quality health care providers needed now more than ever.

>We can pay with our lives. The federal government want us to believe they can “mandate away” 2 trillion dollars of medical expenses. We have learned from our friends from the north (the Canadians), the best way to reduce cost is to ration care.

>Government bureaucrats will pour over data and decide what the best means of care will be for the largest number of patients.
If medical condition differs from the government guidelines, it will NOT be paid by the government.
Should your doctor(s) decide the government allowed treatment is not for you, your doctors hands will be tied. If you don’t have the financial means to pay for your treatment elsewhere, it could cost you your life.
In Canada, colonoscopies are rationed for colon cancer. Canada’s colon cancer rate is 25 percent higher than in the U.S. even though Canada’s population is smaller.

>We know from history, once a government program of this nature is passed, whether it is a total failure or not, it will NEVER be rescinded.

Solution:

Texans can reject, and refuse to pay for, the federal government health plan. Texas will attract the BEST trained, MOST experienced doctors (and upcoming doctors) in the country. Texas will be the envy of every state in the union.

The truth about government controlled healthcare:
Government healthcare is failing miserably in Massachusetts
If you think a government run healthcare system can work and be more affordable, read this... http://www.notintexas.org/Front_5.htm

Article from the Washington Examiner 1/11/09:
“Obama’s health policy advisers should take a good look at the smoldering wreckage in the Bay State before trying to impose any such “universal coverage” on the rest of the nation.” Link http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/Universal_coverage_First_look_at_the_disaster_in_Massachusetts_011109.html

More interesting reading - Free Market Cure
http://www.freemarketcure.com/

Medicare - What is all the fuss about?
Medicare (and health insurance) is a political football. The aging baby boomers are currently contributing more tax dollars to the Medicare Trust Fund than they ever will again in our lifetime. In 2011, the first baby boomers will become eligible for Medicare, and many of them will retire, no longer contributing to the tax base.
Instead, they will become consumers of the Medicare system and begin to tap into the very funds they contributed to Medicare for more than 40 years. Within a few decades, we will suffer massive deficits caused by Medicare, Medicaid (welfare—long term care) and Social Security.
There is simply not a way to finance the Medicare system long term by raising taxes. Even if taxes were raised by 50 percent of the current rate, there still would not be enough money to fund the Medicare Part A Trust Fund for the long term.
The current Part A trust is expected to pay more than it takes in by 2019, and some are estimating this will begin to occur as early as 2016.

HCR 50 HAS PASSED THE HOUSE 99-36!
Affirming that the State of Texas claims sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States over all powers not otherwise enumerated and granted to the federal government by the U.S. Constitution, serving notice to the federal government to cease and desist certain mandates, and providing that certain federal legislation be prohibited or repealed.

Take Action! Before it is too late!


80 posted on 07/26/2009 7:22:09 AM PDT by patriot08
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