An Ol' Broad's Ramblings
Archive for August 2009
“A New Day”
WWGD? (What would the government do)
This post got me thinking about another scenario.
This baby was born at 28 weeks gestation. For those of you who don't like math, that means he was born three months premature. His parents didn't get to hold him at birth, as he was whisked away by doctors and nurses. When the doctors came to talk to the parents, the news was frightening. They were told that if this little boy survived, there was a very real possibility that there would be mental and/or physical abnormalities. Over the next few days, a machine helped that child breathe. He was fed through a tube. He was hooked up to all manner of machinery.
Over the next few weeks many tests were done. The parents were told that in a baby that premature, particularly a boy (don’t know why, but prematurity affects boys more severely than girls), there was a high likelihood that there would be bleeding on the brain which could lead to brain damage. The child also had a condition called Retinopathy of Prematurity which will have one of three outcomes 1) it would correct itself…2) he would need glasses as a toddler or 3) he would go blind. The baby’s birth weight was 3 lbs, 3 oz but dropped dangerously to 2 lb 5 oz.
Months later, that baby went home, but his parents had more than a year of follow-up with various doctors, physical therapists, what have you.
If we had government run health care, would the decisions that were made by the parents and the doctors have been the same? Or would the bureaucrats in Washington have decided that the financial risk on this child was too high?
Meet that baby, my son, 12 years later.
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He is a happy, healthy, normal 12 year old boy. Well, as normal as one can be with me as a mom!! It makes me physically ill to think what may have happened had we not had the freedom to decide what is best for our son. It literally brings tears to my eyes as I write this to think that had it been up to the government, my beautiful son may have been "too high a risk" for the healthcare system to save.
Think about it friends. It can happen to you.
Be Prepared!
Go Flag Yourself!
Flag THESE!
This is How Little Politicians Think of WE, The People
And that’s just the start. Add in the occasional Weasel Time, and we’ve got a major MOB going on here!
Now, if you dipwads in D.C. are finished playing “victim”, can we get back to the issue, which is this absurd bill? Oh, and while you’re at it, you guys might want to put yourselves on that “flag” list, cuz 99.9% of what y’all are spewing is more than just a little “FISHY”. It stinks like last night’s dead skunk!
Liberal Stupidity
But I repeat myself.
Bwack! Bwack! Bwack!
‘Tea Party’ protest to go on without Rep. Jim Cooper
A “Tea Party” protest that was originally meant to confront U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper at an event to welcome students and parents to West End Middle School on the first day of school will go on as planned, organizers said Wednesday, despite the fact that Cooper decided not to attend.
There is more and more indication that these so called representatives have completely forgotten who pays their salaries.
After Cooper received word about the potential protests, coming amid a rash of heated clashes at town hall meetings across the country, the Fifth District congressman canceled his appearance, saying he did not want to cause a disruption for students or parents on the first day of school.
What’s the matter? Couldn’t find enough bus loads to come in to counter your actual constituents? As long as there aren’t any Dhimmicrat ‘plants’, there wouldn’t be much ‘disruption’, could there!
“I am proud of you people going to these town halls; I am swelling with pride watching you in action.
This is American civic activism at its best.” -Rush
The people are showing up. Shame their employees are too cowardly to join them.
New Discovery!
Ok, it’s new to me, cuz I’d never heard of ‘em. Did you know there was such a thing as pluots? I sure didn’t. A hybrid fruit! Well, I knew there were hybrid type fruits, although, I can’t think of any right at this point in time, cuz they brain doesn’t want to get a cramp. These things are pretty dadburn good! 
Tax and Control
If you have not read this absurd bill, HR 3200, please do so. If nothing more than a few pages at a time, that should be enough to clue you in on just how cumbersome this bill actually is. One of the biggest problems we have in D.C. right now, other than the obvious weasels, is it’s filled with lawyers. Do they have a special class in law school to teach them how to speak in an alien language?
After you get past all the titles of the bill, you get this: The purpose of this division is to provide affordable, quality health care for all Americans and reduce the growth in health care spending.
Well, the problem with this one sentence is that the rest of the entire bill disputes it! Seriously. Read the bill!
The Washington Times gives you a bit of why you should educate yourself on this bill.
Obamacare’s tax hikes
Orwellian doublespeak hides nature of health care bill
Please check out page 203 of the main House version of health care reform. It contains all the evidence you need that the entire bill is a nasty bait-and-switch.
“The tax imposed under this section shall not be treated as tax imposed by this chapter. …”
Yes, it really says that. The tax shall not be considered a tax. Or at least not “… for purposes of determining the amount of any credit under this chapter or for purposes of Section 55.”
Gee, that really clears things up. It is especially helpful to know that the bill itself does not even contain a Section 55; the bill begins with a section numbered 101. (Section 55 apparently refers to the Internal Revenue Code, which it wouldn’t do if the health care bill were not a tax bill, too.)
Godspeed Miss Ole
Viola M. “Ole” Sheppard, of 995 Birch Tree Lane, Fond du Lac, died at her home on Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2009.
She was born on March 31, 1924, to Robert and Margaret Boeder.
In 1945, she was legally adopted by Mrs. Lena Krueger of Watertown, in whose home she had been raised since 1933. Her sisters by this adoption were the late Misses Alice and Anita Krueger.
On June 25, 1949, she was married to H. Mark Sheppard, who preceded her in death on July 10, 1974.
Mrs. Sheppard graduated from Watertown High School in 1942, and from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1946, with a Bachelor of Science Degree in education. She taught Latin and Spanish at Oshkosh High School from 1946 to 1950. She taught one year at Rosendale High School from 1961 to 1962. She was a foreign language and English teacher in the Fond du Lac School District from 1962 until her retirement in 1985.
She was a lifetime member of NEA and WEAC, a member of the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese, the Wisconsin Association of Foreign Language Teachers, the Fond du Lac Area Retired Educators’ Association, and the Delta Kappa Gamma Society International, in which she served as state president from 1992 to 1995, and as local chapter president for three terms. She was a member of the Fond du Lac County Republican Party and the Fond du Lac County Federation of Republican Women, the latter in which she served as treasurer for several years. She was a former member of the Fond du Lac Literacy Council and served as secretary of the Fond du Lac County Adult Literacy Program. She was also a former member of the Sunset Stitchers Quilt Guild. Mrs. Sheppard was a member of Redeemer Lutheran Church, Fond du Lac.
She is survived by her children, daughters, Mary (Al) Dullinger; Deborah Kiser (Jim, and their children, Holly and Ivy to whom she was especially close), and with whom she made her home since 1985; her sons, Leath (Maureen); and Tim (Beth); 15 grandchildren, Erica, Garritt, Micah, Karen, Al, Mark, Jodi, Angela, Tom, Teri, Jeremy, Holly, Ivy, Eric, and Lauren; and 17 great-grandchildren. Also surviving her are one brother-in-law, Howard Abbe of Dundee, Ore.; two sisters-in-law, Edith Stepanski (Jack) of Oshkosh, and Kathleen Boeder of Seguin, Texas; nieces and nephews.
Preceding Viola in death were her brother, Donald Boeder (2008) of Seguin, Texas; and her sister, Roberta Abbe (2007) of Dundee, Ore.
Cremation has taken place.
# Services: A memorial service will be held at Redeemer Lutheran Church, 606 Forest Ave., Fond du Lac, at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 14, 2009. The Rev. Fred Toppe will officiate.
# Visitation: The family will receive visitors on Friday, at the church, from 3:30 p.m. until the time of services at 5:30 p.m.
Memorials may be directed to Redeemer Lutheran Church, to Hospice Hope, or to The Delta Kappa Gamma Society International, Alpha Theta Chapter.
I will remember this wonderful gracious lady, for her kindness, her strength and her fiery spirit. I know she is walking with the Lord in Heaven now, so I know she’s found peace.
Seriously Creepy!
Ok, I’m not much for the off the wall, “below the grid” type conspiracies, but this is just down right bizzarre. Remember all the talk about the “FEMA camps“, and the many body type plastic boxes the video showed? Well, it turns out those boxes are actually Multi-functional Cremation Containers.
Just plain creepy!
Ann Gives Parker A Smack Down
Kathleen Parker: The Barry Lynn of The South
by Ann Coulter
Just as the left pioneered “AstroTurf” protesters — homeless people lured to demonstrations with the offer of a free T-shirt and a box lunch — liberals have also specialized in producing fake “insiders” denouncing their alleged group.
There were the “winter soldiers” — fake Vietnam veterans claiming to have personally disemboweled babies in Vietnam. It took 30 years and the publication of the book “Stolen Valor” to establish that the bulk of them were utter frauds who had never seen combat — some had never seen Vietnam. (Shockingly, to this day, the Wikipedia entry on the winter soldiers treats their phony war records as legitimate.)
Then there’s Barry Lynn, alleged “Christian minister,” whose stock in trade is to denounce any mention of religion anyplace, anytime. Look, I’m a Christian minister, but even I have to admit that the sight of a kindergartner praying is terrifying to most folks. (The first person to post Barry Lynn’s bar mitzvah photos or birth announcement (mazel tov!) wins a free copy of my latest book, Guilty: Liberal ‘Victims’ and Their Assault on America.)
The latest fake insider/whistleblower is Kathleen Parker, the Barry Lynn of the South. Fresh off her mainstream media tour as a Sarah Palin-hating “conservative,” Parker is now a self-proclaimed Southerner blaming opposition to Obama’s policies on the region’s reputed racism.
Uncannily, this claim struck a chord with Northern liberals!
Weasel Time
Waiting For Justice
Dismissals sought in Toste slaying
Defense attorneys hope a judge’s list of 14 concerns about a grand jury indictment in a downtown Santa Rosa slaying means he’ll be sympathetic to their bid to have the case dismissed.
Attorneys for five defendants in the 2006 shooting of Matthew Toste will make their final pleas Wednesday seeking to have the indictment thrown out or amended.
Petitioning for dismissal of a case on the eve of trial is standard procedure. Trial for the five men charged with killing Toste is set to begin Aug. 28.
But defense attorneys have particular objections to the case because of the district attorney’s decision to bypass normal public charging procedures in favor of a secret grand jury where only prosecutors present evidence.
It’s been nearly 3 years! Why hasn’t the prosecution done their job? Why aren’t those responsible for this young man’s death swinging from the highest tree?
I cannot imagine what Sally, Cathy, Thad and Bob have been going through, but for this sort of continued delay, I’ve no doubt, have taken their toll on all of them. I keep them in my prayers daily.
I Beg Your Pardon????
China’s national flag to go up in White House on Sept 20
The national flag of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) will be hoisted at the South Lawn of the White House in Washington on September 20, media reported Sunday.
Chinese associations in the United States had applied to hold a ceremony in front of the US President’s residence to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the founding of PRC.
Chen Ronghua, chairman of Fujian Association of the United States, told reporters that their application was approved not only because of the sound Sino-US relations but also because China is a responsible country.
“Many Americans admire China due to the success of last year’s Beijing Olympics,” said Chen.
More than 1,000 people will attend the ceremony and the performances held after it, according to Zhao Luqun, who will direct the performances.
Zhao said the performances will demonstrate the friendship, magnanimous spirit and kindness of modern Chinese people.
This story is from mid July. Why have we not heard a thing about this offense to the American people? Now, I’m not saying that the Chinese flag is the offense, would I say such a thing???? 
I mean, after all, what’s to be offensive about a COMMUNIST country’s flag, right? What I’m saying is raising the Chinese, or any other nation’s flag at OUR White House, and it IS OUR HOUSE, is an offense. BIG TIME!
H/T: Beth via Facebook
Health Care – It’s Personal
by Paul Miller
Emotions are running high in America as the country is entrenched in the debate over health care. Conventional wisdom dictates that rational thinking must always prevail over irrational judgment that almost always accompanies human emotion. However, as a victim of child-hood cancer, I can tell you as I live and breathe today, it is our humanity that must triumph in our national discussion that may ultimately decide who lives — and who dies.
Twenty-four years ago this month I found myself on an operating table in a suburban Chicago hospital undergoing what was supposed to be routine surgery. Doctors were removing a mass of calcified tissue that was present for a few years in my right arm, but finally, the growth had caused this 14-year old baseball fanatic to lose the zip on his fast-ball, or so it would seem.
When I awoke from surgery, I learned that I didn’t have a harmless calcium deposit – I had cancer.
The decisions and actions taken after the diagnosis would determine if I would live or die. My fate would ultimately be transcended by choices that were made by my parents and doctors.
The cancer discovered was described by doctors as “rare, mean and deadly.” It was almost unheard of to be found in a teenage boy. My pediatrician advised my family and me to seek treatment at Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago. I transferred there the next day. A team of oncologists reviewed my case and they recommended I see “one of only two doctors in the country that have ever treated this type of cancer.” This time my path to survival would take me to the University of Chicago.
In less than a week’s time after my cancer diagnosis, countless medical professionals, including some of the finest medical minds in Chicago, had reviewed my case and advised my family how to save my life. Every step of the way, my parents and I were always given options, ultimately allowing us to have control and make the final decisions.
Amputation or Radiation Treatments were the choices presented and explained to me by the doctor that countless of other medical professionals agreed was my best hope for survival. My doctor and his team took into consideration numerous intangibles such as age, type of cancer, location in my body, but possibly most important; my quality of life.
When my family and I made the decision to proceed with Radiation therapy I was fully aware that if my cancer returned (reoccurrence) an amputation would most likely be required to save my life.
Two years later my cancer returned and my right arm was removed.
Over twenty years later I’m alive, married with two beautiful boys and lying awake at night knowing that if my medical care in 1985 was left to politicians and bureaucrats, I most likely would be pushing up daisies and my children would have never been a twinkle in their mothers eye.
If America was under government-controlled health care when I was first diagnosed twenty-four years ago, would I have received the medical care necessary to save my life? No.
No honest-thinking person would ever claim that government is efficient or personable. Imagine the bureaucratic nightmare my parents would have had to endure if they had to go through a system that is derived from the same service mentality that created the Internal Revenue Service or Department of Motor Vehicles. Wasn’t my family suffering enough? Didn’t they have enough to worry about after learning their first-born son had cancer? Wouldn’t a humane society like ours embrace what is the fastest and most efficient manner to save a human beings life and not try to add to the suffering already taking place?
Read the rest here.
Kinda makes you think, doesn’t it? I sincerely do NOT understand the so-called intelligent people who think that this is a good idea. Do they not understand that ultimately, if Obamacare passes, that the government will have the power to decide who lives and who dies? Do you really want the government using some sort of ridiculous “formula” to determine whether it’s financially worthwhile for your loved one to receive the treatment he/she desperately needs to save his/her life?
Friends, this is beyond scary.
H/T Real Debate
