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Wanna Resist Trump? Defeat Trumpcare.

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By Ian Reifowitz / Daily Kos

This is it. The battle over Trumpcare (and the fact that the White House doesn’t want you to call it that is all the more reason to do so) is the mother of all battles. If you want to resist Donald Trump, now is the time and this is the place. Progressives need to harness the energy demonstrated by the people who took to the streets—not to mention airports—to express their opposition to Trump’s agenda.

There are a lot of us. The Women’s March drew at least three times more people to Washington, DC—even though they were also held all over the country on the same day—than did the inauguration of popular vote loser Donald Trump. Counting all locations, the Women’s March appears to have been our country’s largest single-day protest ever. The long-term success of those marches will be measured in terms of increased engagement with the political process, because it is through politics—i.e., pressuring elected officials and, ultimately, winning elections—that progressives can stop Donald Trump right now.   [Read more…]

Darrell & Duncan Staging Saturday Town Halls in Oceanside & Ramona

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Persistence pays, I think the woman said. Two previously shy Congressmen have now scheduled forums where constituents will (maybe) have the opportunity to share their thoughts on the destruction of guardrails along the road towards Making America Great Again.

GOP Representative Darrell Issa made it official yesterday, pulling permits for a Saturday morning forum at Junior Seau Recreation Center in Oceanside. One hour sessions are scheduled for 8:30 & 10am, with reservations for residents of District 49 being accepted at Issa’s website starting at noon on Thursday.

Rep. Duncan Hunter’s town hall, announced on February 24, is also scheduled for Saturday, March 11. It is being held at the Ramona Mainstage, a venue best known as home for the local Tea Party affiliate. Doors are scheduled to open at 9:15; the Congressman will answer question cards collected from the audience in advance starting at 10am.   [Read more…]

Planned Parenthood Says No to Trump; Women’s Right to Choose is “Non-Negotiable”

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Trumpcare effectively destroys access to affordable women’s healthcare services

By Lauren McCauley / Common Dreams

Women’s healthcare providers are readying for a fight. Refusing to back down from its commitment to women’s choice, Planned Parenthood is now at risk of losing nearly 40 percent of its funding—and is calling for a massive mobilization to resist the attack on women’s health.

Ahead of the official release of House Republicans’ the American Health Care Act (AHCA) on Monday evening—which guts funding for any healthcare organization that “provides for abortions”—Planned Parenthood reportedly rejected an offer from the White House to stop terminating pregnancies in exchange for the group to continue receiving federal funds for other essential services.

“Offering money to Planned Parenthood to abandon our patients and our values is not a deal that we will ever accept,” said Dawn Laguens, executive vice president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, according to the New York Times. “Providing critical health care services for millions of American women is non-negotiable.”   [Read more…]

Republicans Big Hurry to Ruin Healthcare for Millions

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Like a dog finally catching up with the car it’s been chasing, the Republicans are now faced with the question of “what do we do now?” when it comes to Obamacare, also known as the Affordable Care Act.

Each of San Diego’s Congressional districts has roughly 30,000 people covered, thanks to the provisions of the law. There are 121,500 people employed in the healthcare industry locally, contributing $17.2 billion annually to the area’s economy. So any changes to the way the system currently functions are bound to have a broad social and economic impact.

The text of the GOP’s replacement health care plan was reportedly finalized over the weekend, with House Speaker Paul Ryan, Energy and Commerce Chairman Greg Walden, OMB Director Mick Mulvaney, HHS Secretary Tom Price, among others, hashing out details via a conference call on Saturday.   [Read more…]

GOP So Worried Public Will See Healthcare Bill They Hid From Lawmakers, Too

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A ‘bipartisan wild goose chase’ on Capitol Hill made for great comedy on Thursday, except that it seems to be part of a House leadership plan to keep their Obamacare repeal in the shadows

By Lauren McCauley / Common Dreams

Amid reports that House Republicans are keeping their draft healthcare legislation in a secret location, Congressional lawmakers on Thursday convened an actual search party to find the Affordable Care Act (ACA) repeal and replacement bill.   [Read more…]

Repeal and (Don’t) Replace

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“Repeal and Replace” Just a Slogan

Republicans were fine with the way it was for the health care system before Obamacare went into effect. So why not just go back to the good old days when a pre-existing condition was enough to let an insurance company reject you from coverage? The good old days when price gouging by insurance companies was the order of the day. The good old days when pharmaceutical corporations could charge whatever they want for life saving drugs. Oh, that part is still true under Obamacare.

The “Repeal and Replace” mantra was always nothing more than a slogan. Republicans have had 8 years to suggest a different system or enhancements to the one currently in effect.   [Read more…]

A Deplorable Deplorable: Rep. Tom Price as Secretary of Health and Human Services

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Hillary Clinton jumped the gun when she called out Donald Trump’s more extreme supporters as ‘deplorables.’ Now I am having trouble finding a better word to describe the new President’s cabinet choices.

As I’m writing this, Georgia Congressman Tom Price is appearing before the Senate Finance Committee, which in theory is vetting him over whether he’s qualified to lead the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Despite criticism from Democrats based on a bipartisan memo to lawmakers by Senate Finance Committee staff disclosing even more red flags concerning the congressman’s tax returns and financial disclosure statements, Price will ultimately be confirmed.   [Read more…]

Trump Executive Order Vandalizes Obamacare

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While the press obsesses over Alt-Truths (the same kinds of lies being told all along), the deconstructing of the United States safety net has begun.

Our thin-skinned President has busied himself between tantrums by signing executive orders inspired by likes of the Heritage Foundation, which has long held that our national wealth would be better served if it were in the pockets of the very wealthy.

First up will be the elimination of government spending on anything other than national security and corporate welfare. Second up will be privatized replacements for programs deemed irreplaceable wrapped in the swaddling of alternative truths about how beneficial this will be.   [Read more…]

Health Care Reform Town Hall Meeting In Sizzling Spring Valley With Rep. Susan Davis

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Editor Note: The Republican plan to repeal and replace Obamacare is much harder and less popular to do than to simply promise it. Republicans were recently confronted by constituents demanding continuation of their ACA healthcare at rallies across the country. This article from the OBRag archives from 2009 is a reminder of the pitched battle that took place in San Diego to support health care reform. Obamacare, which so many loved to hate has suddenly become a program so many now hate to lose.   [Read more…]

Resistance Rises as Trump Inauguration Nears

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On Saturday, supporters of immigrant rights at rallies around the U.S. denounced President-elect Donald Trump for his anti-immigrant rhetoric along with his pledge to build a border wall and discriminate against Muslims entering the country.

On Sunday, Supporters of the Affordable Care Act gathered to protest the health care law’s repeal in rallies across the country.

And throughout the holiday commemorating the late Dr. Martin Luther King rallies and marches from coast-to-coast called out the implicit and explicit racism of the incoming administration.   [Read more…]

Adios Chargers: Don’t Let the Door Hit You Where the Good Lord Split You

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The San Diego Chargers are headed to Los Angeles. Halleluja!

“After much deliberation, I have made the decision to relocate the Chargers to Los Angeles,” team owner Dean Spanos wrote in a press release and letter to season ticket holders. “Today we turn the page and begin an exciting new era as the Los Angeles Chargers.”

The slightly less than 44% of the voters who supported the team’s plan for a downtown stadium in the last election combined with the ‘only’ $375 million final offer involving monies from the County, the City and San Diego State University for some future venue were certainly factors in the decision to move.   [Read more…]

My Neck

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I love Nora Ephron’s book, “I Feel Bad About My Neck”. I have been feeling bad about my neck since I was about 55. As the years passed, my feelings grew as my weight increased and my necked sagged. All my photos are full face – no side shots allowed.

At 62 I had a consult with a plastic surgeon. When I told him I wanted to lose weight, he told me to wait on the surgery until I reached my weight loss goal – no point in sucking out the fat, cutting the muscles and stretching the skin just to have it sag again on an otherwise svelte neck – assuming I actually lost the weight.

Soon I’ll be 68 and my weight loss goal is almost complete (btw, eliminating alcohol can do that for you). So I decided it was time to head back to the plastic surgeon (who btw, seemed to have gained the weight I lost). I learned that the procedure would cost $8500 and I’d need to spend at least 2 weeks recovering. Incisions would be made to suction out the fat, tighten the muscles and pull back the skin. There would be pain and suffering and I’d have to keep my head bound and elevated even during sleep – assuming I was lucky enough to catch a few winks in such an altered state.   [Read more…]

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