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The Public Health Care Experiment in the 1950s

We once had a Public Health Care Program.

It was in the 50s.

We needed it because our children were dying. And those that didn’t die were often disfigured and horribly crippled.

And it affected rich and poor alike. Those with and without insurance, jobs, and money.

In fact, it is still a threat in the third world.

As you can tell, that Health Care Program was a failure….because nobody remembers.

It was Polio, Infantile Paralysis.

One Reason I support Universal Health Care

There was a time when most Americans had no medical insurance. It was as recently as in the 1950s. You got sick: you dealt with it. You treated yourself. You lived with it.

My mother was born in 1918. She got polio in the same year as Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Her Medical provider was Shriner’s Hospital in Chicago. They tried the latest techniques to help her walk and stand. My grandmother even begged them to take the muscles from her own legs and give them to my mother so she could walk.. Modern medicine still cannot do that.

This is not to denigrate Shriner’s or any hospital, but the theory was that since one of her legs was weaker than the other, it would be a good thing to strengthen the weak one. They did this by breaking it and setting it so that the bones would thicken and strengthen. They broke both long bones in her leg. Unfortunately, the next day it was discovered that the wrong leg had been broken, So they broke the bones in her other leg and set them. The scars on her thighs resembled huge railroad tracks from all the surgeries done to get her to be able to stand.

Burris: IOKIYAR!

Also posted at Kos

Roland Burris spoke to Rod Blagojevich! Name a Politician in Illinois who hasn’t? We all knew he was lying…but in the matter of lies…this was a tiny one.

Heck Bill Clinton lied too and he got Impeached!

George Bush lied….so what.

The difference was, “under oath”!

Bush testified, but not under oath, with no transcripts and with Cheney to help him out.

Burris got videotaped.

Maybe he needs to change parties.

Academic Freedom and a Republican County

Also posted at Orange here

At first glance, the problem with the College Board election in DuPage County, IL seems like a traditional spat over not filling out the petitions correctly. However, delving a little deeper and remembering that DuPage County has been Republican controlled for 135 years, one sees a little different slant to the objections. It seems that those who are being challenged in their opportunity to run for the four open seats on the DuPage College Board are Democrats! And those who question their petitions’ legality are not only present Board Members who are also running for those open seats, but Republicans.

Then there is the innocuous little matter of the board wanting to adopt the “Academic Bill of Rights” written by David Horowitz for the college without discussion and in its entirety.

Rolando Cruz was railroaded

cross posted at kos

There has been a lot made of whether Roland Burris wanted Rolando Cruz dead rather then alive in 1992.

I do not know whether he did or not.

But I do remember the Jeannine Nicarico case.

Little Jeannine, age 10, stayed home from school one day because she was sick. Someone broke into her home, removing the door from its hinges and robbed it. She hid under a bed but was discovered and taken. Her body was found several days later in a wooded area. Her head smashed in and she had been raped, probably postmortem.

Don’t Cry for the News

also posted at Kos

I do not feel any pity for Newspapers. They have done it to themselves. Gone are the days of the Muckrakers and the “yellow press”. Gone are the journalists. The Jack Andersons of yesteryear were replaced long ago by the Judith Millers. Even Bob Novak sold his soul(what little he had) for access to the White House. Newspapers are irrelevant.

So what if the Chicago Tribune has a decline in sales….what news is garnered from its pages? So what if I can subscribe and get the Sunday Trib and two weekdays for one dollar a week. What is the point? The news is already old by the time it is printed. And so what if the New York Times is having a cash-flow problem, aren’t we all? Suck it up, the shills for this Administration should all feel the pain!

Letting the Foxes watch the Henhouse

Honestly what did they expect?

The bailout is a mess!!!! Who would have thought?

The guys who brought us this mess are still in charge….what makes anyone think that they have any rational answers that will correct anything???

I say, get out the Circular Firing Squad….get rid of them all so change can commence.

More Voter Fraud Discovered in DuPage County!

OMG! Who would have thought! Registering voters is fraud! Especially with an intent to deceive!

In late June, Downers Grove, IL had their Heritage Fest Days! Lots of food, games, rides, and booths! Including informational booths, designed to help out the good citizens of Downers Grove! Besides businesses with $5.00 off coupons, and $5.00 lemonade made with real lemons, there were political booths! The Democrats were there, the Libertarians, and, across from the Libertarians, were the ever helpful Republicans decked out with all their flags and signs!

I Made a Mistake and I Need to Apologize Now!

Cross posted at kos

I wasn’t going to write this because I didn’t want to jeopardize anyone else any more than I already have.

You are all at risk! And it is all my fault! So Please forgive me.

I wasn’t entirely truthful and now you are in danger!

You are all doomed…..and it is because I am here that you are doomed.

Will the Real Radicals Please Stand Up? (with Update!)

Alice Palmer had a Party, a coffee club meeting at a home in Hyde Park. It was to introduce her successor, Barack Obama. She was running for the 2nd Congressional District and was annointing Obama to be her replacement as a State Senator. The home, one of several coffee meeting places, happened to be the home of Bill Ayers and Bernadine Dohrn. This is the “fundraiser” the neocons are raving about????? The upshot is that she lost, Jesse Jackson won. And Barack Obama will be our next President who has to deal with the shambles the neocons have made of our country.

I Got Promoted!!!!

Finally! Gosh! There ya go! Well, doggone it! You Betcha! Also!

Uh, it’s not what what you think. I’m retired….so with all the other old geezers, I’m an Election judge. Gets me out of the house, what can I say?

I’m a YOUNG Election Judge! So I get to put together all the booths and set up the Optiscan and Accuvote machines….and get to play around with the “voter Blackberry” named AskEd. The others like to do the ballot counts and pass out the voter sheets and check the registrations. I also get to handle all the forms like Provisional Ballots and Signature Capture.

So I got the news….the Election Commission called and asked if I would be the Technical Judge!!! I told them sure, I’m doing it already. They were so happy!???? Now what am I in for?

The Gods Must Be Crazy

Cross posted at dkos

After the stellar week that was the Democratic Convention it was only natural that the following week would be a profound disappointment.

Every day of the Democratic Convention went off without a hitch. Each speech was better than the last. Each speaker gave the speech of a lifetime. The fireworks went off on cue unlike the memory of the balloons that got stuck, and people cried with joy, happiness and pride for what their country could produce.

I watched every day and was enthralled by the ability of every speaker to deliver a well-crafted, inspiring speech.

The Republicans could not match it.

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