How do you think we treat poor white people? We consider poor people of color as "disadvanatged," but even today's liberals turn up their noses and contemptuously define poor white people as a collection of ignorant, right wing yahoos. "Trailer trash" is the term they use for many of the low-income, and just orginary "white trash" for the masses of homeless poor. Many noticed.

Well, from another perspective, we can note that there is one segment of the population that is so despised, that we stripped them of a list of fundamental civil and human rights: America's poor. The majority of these are white. We got so tough on them that the overall life expectancy of the US poor has already fallen below that of every developed nation. This is treated as an issue of no significance.

Beyond that, yes, we've seen a remarkable surge of blatant racism, white against black, black against white, with a resurgence of anti-Semitism way too reminiscent of the 1930s. Thrown into the mix is a wave of anti-Russian propaganda, rooted in absurd stereotypes, with a daily barrage of allegations that defy logic and the facts. Put together, this defines this era.

While the Republicans are really showing their cards, the Trolls like Dianereyenold and OU812 have disappeared.

Legend:

I'm not sure what you are trying to say....you've provided the reference, how about some substance.

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

"Remember I said Republicans don't think health care is a right, it's a privilege." TH

Newsflash for Thom. Health care IS NOT a right. Stating so reveals a total lack of understanding of what rights are and where they come from, on your part and many other liberals.

K2

#12,

Thank you for your response, I was concerned that any LGBT might take unintended offence, and it's definatly not meant that way.

I was done when Bill C shook his finger in our faces.

Nice wordpress articles.

I have found writting our Dem leaders pretty useless,

Did you know that on medi cal when they covered dental they would send dental impressions back and forth to Florida prisions to make the dentures, it could take a year or more to get a partial that fit....I have a friend who went through the process.

Obamacare is not single payer because they could not get the votes. Joe Lieberman (IND) from CT was the swing vote. It did a lot of good things but is Corporate for profit insurance. Dealing with for profit medical industry. But ask yourself, what have Republicans done for healthcare compared to Democrats?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patient_Protection_and_Affordable_Care_Act

HotCofee: I'm a gay activist myself, of many years (as well as a progressive) and couldn't agree with you more! Obama is just a brand, a corporate shill. I have zilch faith in our party any more. In fact, I lost faith back in 1996, when Clinton was in office and signed DOMA and DADT, and threw the poor under the bus, to become a puppet for major corporations, as a "Centrist Democrat." It is during his term that "Republican Lite" was coined. I remain an independent to this day.

It is a misnomer to imply that Medicaid is free to those poor enough to be eligible. In fact, even most of our blue states with Obamacare's Expanded Medicaid, still require their clients to pay such an exorbitant share of cost (SOC), that they cannot afford it. This is not the case in a few (or several or a bit more) states, such as Minnesota, which does not charge any SOC if your income is around $1,300 or less. However, dental care is not covered.

Now here in my home state, California, SOC was established in 1989...and is based on that year's cost of living, which is a humble $600! And since that cost has never been adjusted over the years, this means someone on Medi-Cal who collects a monthly Social Security income must pay the remainder of that income beyond $600, for any month he or she uses Medi-Cal, which only covers any expenses /over/ that amount.

This means that many, if not most, Medi-Cal recipients cannot afford to pay the SOC, thus must go without the vital health care they need and deserve. (I also want to point out that no one so poor as to be eligible for Medicaid should ever be required to pay /any/ SOC in the first place!) We Californians have had a Democratic governor for some years now (Jerry Brown), yet he has neither addressed nor rectified this egregious ripoff to the poor...who must, as a result, continue to live with more misery, pain and early death, thanks to an astronomical, MONTHLY Medi-Cal fee. If you doubt my claim re. high SOC, see:

http://www.shareofcost.com/state-assistance/share-of-cost-california.html

--from which I quote:

Share of cost is calculated on a monthly basis by deducting a set amount called a "maintenance need level" from the net income. That is, Share of cost = Net Income - Maintenance Need. A Medi-Cal beneficiary’s share of cost is the difference between her income after allowable deductions and the Maintenance Need Level (MNL), which is a set amount allocated for her living expenses.

The MNL has not changed since 1989 and is $600 for an individual. Thus, anything an individual earns over $600 a month becomes that individual’s share of cost. For example, if an individual earns $1,100 a month, that person must incur $500 in medical costs each month before receiving any coverage from the Medi-Cal program. For consumers with a high share of cost, Medi-Cal provides little more than catastrophic coverage and does not enable them to access health care services. --end

In my online research, I've discovered other blue states that also charge an exorbitant SOC, including Washington and Oregon. And it seems that the majority of blue states are guilty of this denial of basic health service to the poor. Medi-Cal's own site once had a page where they admitted this terrible arrangement, but they have since taken it down, and replaced it with a very deceptive statement, making it look like no one is charged too much for their care. And that is why I had to find another site, to verify my claim.

I don't know why alternative (progressive) news sites and whistle blowers like Thom Hartmann never seem to bring this matter to the public eye. I have emailed my Medicaid grievance to many popular alternative news sites, as well as to notable liberal and Democratic politicians. Yet not a single one ever got back to me, or has covered this issue. The important thing that comes out of this, is:

The Democratic Party is just as culpable for hurting the poor in a most vulgar way (because invisible)...and it has been going on in many states for a long, long time. To point one's finger solely at Republicans is not just a misnomer: it is a shame of the worst kind. Yet the Democratic Party bigwigs are patting each other on the back, over the "miraculous" achievements of Medicaid.

You may read my original letter of outrage to the progressive media and politicians (including Nancy Pelosi) here:

http://zekeblog.wordpress.com/2015/06/09/obamacare-defecates-on-the-poor/

Thom:

With this conservative takeover, you certainly have a lot to write about. But it must be disheartening to see all that you have worked for as a writer to be dismantled before your very eyes.