Healthcare’s Groundhog Day
Well, we’re back to the Groundhog Day fire drill about access to health care again. I’m so glad. Really. I was getting so complacent thinking that we’d all be fine since maybe the Affordable Care Act covers radiation poisoning. You know, just in case the Rocket Man gets mad enough at the dotard and launches a missile our direction. This may be that “sick of winning” feeling we were warned about. Strangers are emailing me to tell me to urge Sen. Lisa Murkowski to vote against the newest death panel offering called the Graham-Cassidy bill. Jimmy Kimmel is begging people…
AAUGHH… Wait. Lisa Did the Right Thing?
For decades, people have wondered what Charlie Brown would have done if he had ever gotten to kick the ball Lucy had been tricking him with for years. I suddenly feel qualified to answer this question definitively. Charlie did the happy Snoopy dance! His eyes may have been a bit wet and he may have whooped too loud for neighbors at 2 a.m., but his joy was known. OK. Maybe that was me during the vote to defeat the repeal of “Obamacare.” There have been many times I believed Sen. Lisa Murkowski would do the right thing for Alaska and…
Alaska’s Two Senators Need To Stand Up To Their Party
Have you noticed how the most recent crop of mosquitoes have the attack and dodging capabilities that you really only see at a military air show? The swallows have fledged and baby ravens are screaming, “WHAT?” at the top of their lungs. WHAT? WHAT? Well, for starters, could you babies give it a break until at least 6 a.m.? The blueberries have some strange blight and the salmonberries are dragging their heels. After their amazing performance last year, well, it’s fine that they slept in this year. An eagle got laid on his back by a mama sandhill crane. Protective…
Obamacare VS. Trumpcare
Maybe you didn’t follow the day-in and day-out of the Affordable Care Act legislation. It was presented in July 2009 when the silvers were just showing up. It took months of amendments and rewrites and hearings for it to be signed into law. Actually, it wasn’t passed until March 23, 2010. That was what stood for “cramming it down our throats” back then. I didn’t like “Obamacare.” That’s what the Republicans started calling it before they voted to repeal it more than 50 times. I got quite a few lectures from Democrats in high office about compromise. What’s the point…
Send in the Clowns, the Circus is in Session
Are you still following the news? It’s OK if you’ve glazed over. You’ve got a life and it’s pretty frustrating if you’re trying to live it at the same time you’re following the latest national crisis. Every few hours feels like opening one of those Russian nesting dolls and a new “are you kidding me?” pops out. Special counsel convening, subpoenas turned down, leaked secrets, you’re fired, who knew and when did they know it, and then you realize it’s almost lunchtime. When you try to catch up on local news you get the dreary prospect of the state going into…
From ObamaCare to Trump Don’t Care
Well, it’s a brand new day for my white Alaska friends who have been under the oppressive regime of “Obamacare,” otherwise know as the Affordable Care Act. Finally, after promising for seven years to repeal and replace it, congressional Republicans have introduced Trumpcare as a solution. Included in the pushback is the 10 percent tax on tanning beds. As a person of such blinding whiteness this time of year, I feel liberated. The Joint Committee on Taxation estimates that just this change will cost $600 million over the next 10 years. For those of us who nerd out and actually read bills,…
Sen. Murkowski, Stand True To Your Word
Many of us are counting the days down for America to be great again. I still haven’t heard an answer to the question of when it stopped being great, but being great sounds, well, great! So let’s do it. First things first. We have got to get rid of that health care disaster that has enslaved millions of Americans by creating access to a doctor. Enough! Because of Obamacare, college-age kids have been rafted up to their parents’ policies like parasites. Those pre-existing conditions — the warning flags to companies that don’t want your sick behind dragging down their profits…
UPDATE: It’s Come To This: Denying Grieving Families Benefits
Updated 10-10-13 4pm AK Time Just received this e-mail from IAVA – and for once it’s excellent news. Big news on the government shutdown. Washington is finally starting to listen. Because Americans came together and raised hell, the families of those killed in action will get their death gratuity benefits on time and be able to travel to Dover to receive their loved one. We’re thankful to the Fisher House Foundation for stepping up and taking care of the military families who have made the ultimate sacrifice. We’ve updated our Shutdown FAQ feed on our site with today’s news and…
The GOP “Shut that whole thing down”
It’s official. The federal government has been shut down as of midnight, October 1. House Republicans decided they were so mad at voters, the law of the land, the Supreme Court, and the way the country works that they have thrown a stone in the gears. The Senate passed a clean Continuing Resolution to keep the government open, but the House responded by stomping their feet and passing a Continuing Resolution that guts women’s health care, and adds a special amendment to block contraceptive care. That’s right, it’s all because of lady parts. There are few things quite so scary…
Death Threats, Swear Words and Hostage Negotiations… Alaska’s Republicans on Social Media
Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Rep. Don Young are both in an odd position during the government shutdown – both oppose ‘ObamaCare,’ but not enough for the crazies in their party. Nothing outside of strapping c4 to your body with a dead mans trigger is enough for them. But at the same time, they’re staying the Republican course and not speaking out against the extremists with whom they share their representative bodies, and trying to figure out how to shift the blame to the other party. It’s not working well for them, and their social media pages are showing it. I’ve had…