This is pretty awesome.  We all know about the health insurance companies that pay for Viagra, but refuse to pay for contraception for women.  That’s not only not right, it’s downright sexist!

But a side effect of the new healthcare law?  Apparently because of a panel recommendation, health insurance companies will be required to offer contraception coverage, as well as a whole slew of other items (HIV testing, breast pumps, etc) that they don’t now.

Now THAT is good news!  For the consumer, obviously.

The internet is a wonderful thing – for people like me who like to dig around to find things.

Previously, I’d posted a story from Minnesota.publicradio.org that talked about Michele Bachmann, among others, who used taxpayer dollars for a political rally.  You can read that story here.  Then I decided to go digging through her website.  And I found something quite interesting.

If you go through her website (use this link) you’ll find the following archived stories for 2009. Here’s an image (clickable):

Now, if you’re familiar with the wonderful thing that is the Internet Wayback Machine (http://www.archive.org), you can plug that same website into the search engine, and it takes us back to how her website looked less than a month after the supposed “press conference” took place.  Here’s what you’ll see (clickable):

Wow… There’s an article there from November 2nd, 2009.  Wonder why that’s been removed, eh?  So let’s just take a gander.  You can click here to read it (or, just in case she gets it deleted), a cached copy here:

So, Michele?  Since when do Congressmen have press conferences WITH ACTORS AND REPUBLICAN TALK RADIO HOSTS?  Umm, never?  No – never.  This wasn’t a press conference.  It was a Republican Tea Party rally, plain and simple.

You and the other three representatives (Tom Price R-GA, Steve King R-MO, and Todd Akin, R-MO) need to EACH cough up $3,407.50.  I don’t think you’d like it if Barney Frank (D-MA) used public funds for a Democratic rally, and neither would I.  A political rally should be paid with POLITICAL dollars, not TAXPAYER dollars.

Okay, I have to admit that at times, I can be a control freak.  But it is only because when I see something is misguided and not firing on all cylinders, I want to make it right for all those concerned.  It’s this reason that I want to go to the White House and be put in charge of our healthcare planning.  Here is what I would do:

First thing that happens is to empower every single person that is visible, and even those that aren’t considered in visible positions, to go out and make a push for healthcare.  I don’t care if you run the White House briefing room, or if you are a staff person.  You should push for healthcare.

And what about the push itself?  It would have to be a concert of the same message coming out of every single person’s mouth.  I want to hear the same thing coming from Obama’s mouth that I hear coming from Sebelius’, Rahm’s, and Clinton’s.  A powerful message that says that healthcare is a right, and that the plan that puts people before insurance companies is what is on the table – and it is non-negotiable.

Next, I would develop a set of vocabulary, and I would lead with the all powerful word LIE.  I want the word “lie” to be in every single person’s speech at least a dozen times.  Like, “You know when the Republicans are trying to scare you, all they are doing is lying.  That’s it.  All a lie.”  That word is POWERFUL.  It calls out the bastards for what they’re doing, and it makes the public do the Scooby Do “Rwah?” and pay attention.

How about attacking the right-wing polls and calling them out for what they’re doing?  You know like, “When polled, Americans overwhelmingly want a public option.  But these politically-slanted polls that trick the public with mis-directing questions and then get picked up by the health insurance companies as “evidence” – that’s a bunch of bullcrap.  And they know it.”

Put Obama and other high profile officials at retirement communities.  Tell the seniors that we protected them with Medicare back in 1965, and we will continue to protect them and their GOVERNMENT SPONSORED Medicare program now and in the future.  Then say, “We give every senior healthcare now.  Isn’t it our moral obligation to help your kids and your grandkids, too?”.

Last, I would make a set of phrases and ultimatums.  You know, like GWB did.  “You’re either with us, or you’re with the profit-driven insurance companies.”  That would be a good one to start with.  Then I would go after the Republicans saying, “We tried, we compromised, and it did no good.  Now you can see for yourself that it’s only the Democratic Party that’s working for your families healthcare.”

Apparently not, at least to Republicans.  Take a look at this video.  The “I’m just a local mom” lady is a Republican plant, who worked on the campaign of the Republican trying to defeat the Democratic Representative in the last election.

Just a mom?  No.  But maybe a Mother…

Have you seen the new DNC ad?  It explains how the RNC attacks on Obama and healthcare are purely for political reasons, and the public “outrage” at town hall meetings is bought and paid for by the RNC.

Watch it here – and tell us what you think.

Had a discussion with a friend on Facebook on healthcare.  They were not sure about it, and wanted to know the reasons FOR and why would someone NOT want healthcare.  I put together the following, and thought I should share here as well:

The only things I’ve heard are: A) namecalling (SOCIALISM!) B) we’re rushing things and C) it costs too much. One at a time:

A) Namecalling is CHILDISH. Have a cogent argument and stop the namecalling. We already have THREE forms of “socialist” healthcare in the United States and those would be 1) Medicare for the elderly 2) Medicaid for the infirm/disabled 3) the Veterans Administration for our soldiers. Have an elected official try and take away Medicare, Medicaid or the VA and see how fast they are run out of office.

B) President Truman called for national health insurance in 1948, and Democrats have been trying to get it passed ever since. 61 years is NOT rushing things.

C) The Bush tax cuts for the wealthy cost the US $1.3Trillion in funding. The war in Iraq has cost at least $1Trillion and estimates are that it would be $3Trillion by the time all is said and done. Healthcare for all would cost $1Trillion over ten years. Tax cuts for the wealthy but no healthcare?!?!?

And then furthered the conversation, when asked “can you explain to me like I am a five year old”, with:

Okay – problems with Medicare. First off, Bush “stole” surplus from the Medicare funds to use in the general budget. That should be illegal, but it’s not. It put Medicare in a bind. If we used a similar system of funding healthcare for all, we would need to make sure that could not be done.

Currently Medicare taxes come out of your check, but the withdrawals stop at about $102,000. So a person making $30,000/year always pays into Medicare but a person making $500,000/year only pays into Medicare for the first $102,000 they make. Removing that ceiling will save Medicare. And making sure the same ceiling doesn’t exist for healthcare for all will do it.

Healthcare for all would be a boon to the health insurance industry UNLESS there was a public option. Medicare, Medicaid, VA have about a 3% overhead whereas private insurance has 20% to 25% overhead. So, if you own stock in Aetna, Blue Cross, etc, it would truly suck because they would be forced to bring in costs and lower profits.

That’s it.  Arguments for healthcare, combating the arguments of those against it, and revealing the true motives of those against it.  Questions?

…then this is the first type of commercial that I would be putting out right now.  You can click here to find it on YouTube.