Voters also fail to realize that Health Care is a fundamental aspect of the Economy and Jobs’ Creation as per the below referenced Harvard Study that was published by Business Week:

“……Medical problems caused 62% of all personal bankruptcies filed in the U.S. in 2007, according to a study by Harvard researchers. And in a finding that surprised even the researchers, 78% of those filers had medical insurance at the start of their illnesses, including 60.3% who had private coverage, not Medicare or Medicaid……”

In effect, the Mass Vote result, is akin to a mis-informed electorate that is now celebrating with a face that is devoid of a self-mutulated nose.

+ ‘…The attention-span of two-year olds can retard the progress of any nation… no matter how great…’ E.N. … Jan 19, 2010

+ ‘…The maturity of democracy can be measured by when a voting populace might have learnt to differentiate form from substance, and politics from statesmanship… This requires enlightenment on a mass scale. It further requires an attention-span that is beyond that of a two-year old…’
E.N….  Jan. 19, 2010

Cheers and be well!

The earth may have come to an age of natural calamities. Some of these are unavoidable. Yet some are, and may be occasioned by, man-made challenges on the earth’s ecological balance. Even more numbing are the instances of man’s unprovoked destruction of human lives. Taking these as givens, Humanity must begin to prepare for worst-case scenarios. Today it is Haiti… Tomorrow, it will be some other place, with similar catastrophic results.

It is not a question of if, but when, and where.

The present tragedy is a further reminder as to the need for some kind of Global Comprehensive Health Care (see www.myspace.com/inbeathealth).  It is also a reminder as to the need for a standing Hemispheric First Response Intervention Force(F.R.I.F. circa-2002) as to shorten reaction times in the event of catastrophic Calamities. The response of the Global Community relative to Haiti, led by U.S.A., has been swift and commendable… But such a response, and the constant need for same in the future, must not be lost to short-term memory over time.  Rather, it should serve as an impetus to work constantly in the best interest of Humanity on a Global Scale, starting with Hunger Eradication, Comprehensive Health Care Initiatives, and setting up Hemispheric ‘FRIFs’.  In the case of FRIF, and as it relates to USA that has the wherewithal, a good start might be to convert at least 3 decommissioned Naval Carrier Ships into Mobile Surgical Hospitals that could be deployed readily in times of natural calamities, similar to the Surgical “Comfort” Naval Vessel. Other decommissioned vessels could also be converted into residential quartering for displaced populations in times of crisis.

People should not forget that there are more Earthquakes, Tsunamis, and Hurricanes that are yet to come… Not to talk of future Wars that may yield Refugees.

Our collective hearts go out to Haiti and her people.  Our collective thanks go out to all those entities that are currently helping Haiti.

Stay strong!

E.N.  … Jan. 14, 2010

If the red shirt thing is new to you, read below how it went for a man…

Last week, while traveling to Chicago on business, I noticed a Marine sergeant traveling with a folded flag, but did not put two and two together..

After we boarded our flight, I turned to the sergeant, who’d been invited to sit in First Class (across from me), and inquired if he was heading home.

No, he responded.
Heading out I asked?

No. I’m escorting a soldier home.

Going to pick him up?

No. He is with me right now. He was killed in Iraq , I’m taking him home to his family.

The realization of what he had been asked to do hit me like a punch to the gut. It was an honor for him. He told me that, although he didn’t know the soldier, he had delivered the news of his passing to the soldier’s family and felt as if he knew them after many conversations in so few days.

I turned back to him, extended my hand, and said, Thank you Thank you for doing what you do so my family and I can do what we do.

Upon landing in Chicago the pilot stopped short of the gate and made the following announcement over the intercom.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to note that we have had the honor of having Sergeant Steeley of the United States Marine Corps join us on this flight He is escorting a fallen comrade back home to his family. I ask that you please remain in your seats when we open the forward door to allow Sergeant Steeley to deplane and receive his fellow soldier. We will then turn off the seat belt sign.”

Without a sound, all went as requested. I noticed the sergeant saluting the casket as it was brought off the plane, and his action made me realize that I am proud to be an American.

So here’s a public Thank You to our military Men and Women for what you do so we can live the way we do.

Red Fridays.

Very soon, you will see a great many people wearing Red every Friday. The reason? Americans who support our troops used to be called the “silent majority.” We are no longer silent, and are voicing our love for God, country and home in record breaking numbers. We are not organized, boisterous or overbearing.

Many Americans, like you, me and all our friends, simply want to recognize that the vast majority of America supports our troops. Our idea of showing solidarity and support for our troops with dignity and respect starts this Friday — and continues each and every Friday until the troops all come home, sending a deafening message that … Every red-blooded American who supports our men and women a far, will wear something red.

By word of mouth, press, TV — let’s make the United States on every Friday a sea of red much like a homecoming football game in the bleachers. If every one of us who loves this country will share this with acquaintances, coworkers, friends, and family, it will not be long before the USA is covered in RED and it will let our troops know the once “silent” majority I s on their side more than ever, certainly more than the media lets on.

The first thing a soldier says when asked “What can we do to make things better for you?” is. “We need your support and your prayers.” Let’s get the word out and lead with class and dignity, by example, and wear something red every Friday.

+ ‘…INBEAT can show the well-spring of better-life to her Membership, but it is wholly up to individual Members to recognize such opportunities and drink from said well-spring…’  E.N.

Over time, INBEAT has been quietly building the capacity and sagacity to be of greater service to her Citizens. In the course of more that a year, INBEAT has launched a number of Initiatives and Communities with a view toward actualizing her Global Vision.

In the process, INBEAT has assembled a size-able number of highly accomplished Global Musicians and Poets… And with the creation of both the International Beat Songs Initiative(www.myspace.com/inbeatsongs) and the INBEAT Poetry Community(www.myspace.com/inbeatpoetry), INBEAT is now well equipped to offer song writing services for a fee and/or for a percentage of earnings (fees will be slightly subsidized for Citizens of INBEAT). Proceeds from this endeavor shall go toward the INBEAT Global Fund that would be mostly used to facilitate the INBEAT Global Humanitarian Initiatives.

Please contact if you are interested:

inbeatsongs@myspace.com/inbeatsongs

Goldsmith - Melting Metal to My Will

The Magic of Fire

AbbeyLane Photos - Thru Lens Eyes

_______________
AP Poll: Gov’t health plan divides public
By ERICA WERNER, Associated Press Writer Erica Werner, Associated Press Writer
Wed Nov 18, 6:12 am ET

WASHINGTON – Tell Americans that letting the government sell insurance in competition with private industry would be cheaper for them, and a majority is in favor.

Tell them the government would be making decisions about what medical care they could get, and support sinks.

The findings from an Associated Press poll come as lawmakers struggle to advance President Barack Obama’s signature health care overhaul, with the final shape of any government insurance plan very much in doubt. The issue has been the biggest flash point in the health care debate, and the poll results underscore that how it is defined can make a big difference in the public’s response.

Politicians know that. It’s why when Republicans talk about letting the government sell health coverage in competition with private carriers, they cast it as a government takeover that would destroy private industry. Democrats talk about choice, competition and “keeping health insurance companies honest.”

The AP poll, conducted by Stanford University with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, suggests that when such messages are heard, they have an effect.

Half of the 1,500 participants in the AP poll were told that a government insurance plan “would be less expensive than other insurance plans, because the government would not need to make a profit the way businesses do and because the government is able to negotiate lower prices with doctors and hospitals than insurance companies can.”

Fifty-two percent said they favored such a plan, while 35 percent were opposed and 12 percent neither favored nor opposed it.

“I fundamentally feel that the private insurance industry basically holds all the market power” and could use some competition from a nonprofit alternative, said Robert Baulch, 58, of North Chatham, Mass.

The goal is “covering a lot of folks that just can’t get coverage and reducing the cost overall,” he said.

The other half of the people polled were told the government plan would be less expensive, but they were also told that “the government would run the insurance plan and decide which medical care would be paid for and how much would be paid, like insurance companies do.”

That version of the question found 44 percent in support and 38 percent opposed, while 15 percent neither favored nor opposed the idea.

“They would decide which medical care would be paid for,” said Jeff Anderson, 43, of Burlingame, Calif. “If you have a tumor growing inside you that needs to be removed or you’re going to die, and they decide, well, we don’t cover cancer or we don’t cover other types of diseases — you know, that’s just wrong.”

So while both questions elicited more supporters than opponents for a public insurance plan — bearing out the results of past polling that has shown the public generally supportive — the plan commanded majority support only when cast in positive terms that emphasized benefits to consumers over government control.

The poll also sought to elicit views of the government insurance plan design under consideration by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., as he finalizes a health care bill to bring to the Senate floor.

Legislation passed by the House this month included a public plan available nationally for small businesses and, mostly, self-employed people. Under Reid’s version, individual states would be able to opt out of the public plan.

Poll participants were asked whether government insurance should be available to all, or whether state governments should be able to decide not to offer it. Seventy percent favored making it available nationally while 25 percent said state governments should be able to decide.

Overall, the poll found the public split on Congress’ drive to enact sweeping legislation extending coverage to tens of millions of uninsured Americans. Opinion was also evenly divided on Obama’s handling of the matter, and participants expressed concerns and confusion about costs and various other aspects of the issue.

Despite the controversy surrounding the public plan, it would affect a small number of people. A Congressional Budget Office analysis of the House bill estimated that about 6 million people would sign up for the public option in 2019, once it was fully phased in. That represents about 2 percent of Americans under age 65. (Older people are covered through Medicare.)

The overwhelming majority of the population would remain in private health insurance plans sponsored by employers. Others, mainly low-income people, would be covered through an expanded Medicaid program.

The budget office also said that “a less healthy pool of enrollees” would probably be attracted to the public option, drawn by the prospect of looser rules on access to specialists and medical services. As a result, premiums in the public plan would actually be higher than the average for private plans, according to the budget office.

In the AP-GfK poll, the differently worded questions on the public plan each had a sampling error margin of plus or minus 3.6 percentage points. The poll interviewed 1,502 people from Oct. 29-Nov. 8 with an overall sampling error margin of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points.

The interviews were conducted by GfK Roper Public Affairs & Media. Stanford University’s participation in the project was made possible by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

___

AP Polling Director Trevor Tompson and Associated Press writers Ann Sanner and Natasha Metzler contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2009 Yahoo! Inc