Knowledge Creates Power: LET'S START OVER

Showing posts with label LET'S START OVER. Show all posts

Monday, September 28, 2009

Details – Kill ObamaCare Bill - Support For ObamaCare Hits New Low But Obama and Congress Press Forward

Friends,

As you know, Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, and Harry Reid are dead set on forcing America into accepting their plans for socialized health care.

They think that we can't stop them -- but in fact, we know HOW to stop them cold.

It's a way that has worked in the past, and it can work TODAY -- but we need YOUR help to MAKE it work!

TELL CONGRESS TO KILL THE OBAMACARE BILL BY EXPOSING THE DETAILS: SELECT HERE!

Let me explain. In 1993, the new Clinton administration was itself dead set on ramming through their OWN version of socialized medicine -- what came to be known as "HillaryCare" since Hillary Clinton was leading the public charge for it. The Democrats had the votes to pass it right through -- they controlled Congress AND the presidency. The American people were about to be FORCED to swallow this bitter pill of socialism.

Sound familiar?

So what happened to STOP them? Something incredibly simple -- because it exposed the incredibly complicated web of details of the proposed plan.

What stopped "HillaryCare"... was a CHART.

You read that right. A government takeover of healthcare was moving on a fast track to passage... and then GOP Representatives and Senators took to the floors of Congress and made speeches, using a chart to show the tangled maze of new bureaucracies that the plan would create, and which would bury average Americans with a tsunami of government regulations.

That chart, created by Former House Majority Leader Dick Armey and his staff, was captioned "Simplicity Defined." Sen. Arlen Specter (a Republican back then) displayed the chart in the Senate, and on Larry King Live in 1995 he declared, "I was one of the leaders in the Senate that defeated [Clinton's] health care plan. You might remember my chart... which showed what a tax and spend policy it was."

One of Hillary Clinton's comments after the defeat of HillaryCare was, "We never overcame the chart." Sen. Bob Dole showcased the memorable spaghetti-like visualization during his 1994 response to President Clinton's State of the Union address, and it was a powerful warning against the sales pitch that preceded it.

In 1993, the radical Left's attempt to force a government takeover of healthcare in America was defeated by a CHART. Now, in 2009, we can defeat the new attempt from the Left... with a NEW chart, full of the socialistic, bureaucratic mess of a maze that is "ObamaCare." But to do that, we need to FORCE Congress to LOOK at it -- and we need YOUR help to do that!

TELL CONGRESS TO KILL THE OBAMACARE
BILL BY EXPOSING THE DETAILS:
SELECT HERE!

As reported in National Review, "When it became clear that another effort would be made at overhauling the nation's health-care system, House Minority Leader John Boehner and other Republicans asked the Joint Economic Committee to draw up another chart, depicting how the system would work under House Democrats' draft legislation. Each staff economist was directed to go through the bill, spotlighting new agencies, mandates, and regulations. Then the bill was dissected a second time, line by line, to ensure that all the parts were accurately represented."
It was Rep. Kevin Brady and the GOP staff of the Joint Economic Committee who finally charted the byzantine health care structure that would be established by the House Democrats' version of the ObamaCare bill. Needless to say, this "panorama of jelly beans on top of a computer's circuit board" isn't pretty; to the average American, it looks like a maze that they'll have to navigate before receiving medical care. AND IT IS -- the parts in white already exist, and the colored boxes are the new entities, offices, requirements, reports, and subsidies the Democrats' bill would create.
THIS IS THE SILVER BULLET THAT CAN KILL THE OBAMACARE BEAST!
In recent weeks, we've begun to see this new chart appear on the floor of the House of Representatives. Rep. Steve King (R-IA) refers to the old Hillarycare chart regularly in his floor statements, declaring that it "hung on the office in my construction office throughout that entire decade and probably past the change of the millennium. It hung there because it scared the living daylights out of me, as an employer who was providing health insurance for my employees and, of course, my family as well... [This chart] sunk HillaryCare, because the people in this country did not want to create all of this bureaucracy and give all of this control and authority over to the government."
Rep. King is correct -- that chart DID sink HillaryCare. But that chart looks TAME compared to what Obama, Pelosi and Reid are now proposing -- which is why the NEW chart could sink ObamaCare even FASTER than was done before... IF we can force every Member of Congress to LOOK at it!

TELL CONGRESS TO KILL THE OBAMACARE
BILL BY EXPOSING THE DETAILS:
SELECT HERE!

How can we be sure that this chart can be the turning point in killing off the far Left's latest attempt at socialized healthcare? Because even THEY are trying to keep it hidden!
According to the Congressional newspaper Roll Call, the Democrats are so spooked by the idea that their constituents might learn some of the details of their health care plan that they are trying to block Republican Congressmen from mailing out the chart!

You read that right! According to reports, "Democrats are preventing Republican House Members from sending their constituents a mailing that is critical of the majority's health care reform plan, blocking the mailing by alleging that it is inaccurate." And as Rep. Brady has responded, "The chart reveals how their health care bureaucracy works, and people are frightened by it... So this is their effort to try and discredit" the chart. "Hiding the truth about wildly unpopular policies is a Democrat specialty," said one GOP aide. "I'd like to see the flow chart on how Speaker [Nancy] Pelosi plans on implementing the open and transparent government she keeps promising everyone."

Don't hold your breath. Once again, the Democrats are using their majority power like they're dictators, trying to keep the TRUTH from the American people and their Representatives in Congress. We MUST not let them succeed! That's why we've set up our site to enable you to send "blast faxes" to every single Senator and Representative on Capitol Hill, demanding that they read every line of the ObamaCare bill, look at every single detail exposed by this new chart, and KILL this new attempt at a government takeover of American healthcare!

Please don't delay -- Congress is in session right now, and if we don't stand up and FIGHT against the radical Left, there might be nothing left of the America we know and love for our children! Take action now!
Sincerely,

Alan M. Gottlieb
Chairman, AmeriPAC
P.S. Rep. King has stood strong on the floor of the House in opposing ObamaCare, saying, "I would put it out this way: This is the HillaryCare plan. This is 1993 HillaryCare, the flowchart that I think sunk HillaryCare. The chart that scared the American people and mobilized them to ring the phones off the hook then, to run ads and raise their resistance because they did not want to have a government-run plan that took away their freedom. That's HillaryCare. This is ObamaCare. If you hated HillaryCare, you can't like ObamaCare... [The Democrat leaders] believe in censoring, but the American people cannot be censored. We have Internet. We have Twitter. This kind of a chart can be forwarded all over this country, and by tomorrow morning it could be on every computer if the American people just decided they wanted to make sure that you could see it. You can't understand this health care program if you read the print, but if you look at this chart on your screen, you will pick up the phone, and the American people will be scared enough, I think, to jam the phone lines again in field offices."

THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN! We need to completely overwhelm every single Congressman and Senator's office, DEMANDING that they look at the details of ObamaCare, and KILL THE BILL. But we need YOU to take action NOW to make it happen!

TELL CONGRESS TO KILL THE OBAMACARE
BILL BY EXPOSING THE DETAILS:
SELECT HERE!

Please make checks payable to AmeriPAC:
American Political Action Committee (AmeriPAC)
PO Box 1682
Dept Code 3026
Bellevue, WA 98009-1682

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Single Payer System Nightmare… Just Doesn’t Stop

Political Cartoon by Michael Ramirez

One Day After accusing Republicans of slowing down the process the Senate Finance Committee voted not to post the full Senate (Baucus) Healthcare Reform Bill online for at least a full 72-hours for the public and all Senators to read it before a vote… as they rumbled about how hard they were working and how they would work all day Saturday (9/26/9) and how posting the bill would slow things up… the Senate called it a day, a half-day yesterday (Friday 9/25/09), (for the Jewish Holiday) and now won’t be back until Tuesday from another long weekend…

Does anyone want to yell… stop with the b.s.? Stop with the untruths (lies)? Stop pushing what most people in America don’t want????? People really don’t want to read the Baucus Bill… they want it scrapped.

Hit the RESET Button!!!

(Then start working on some real healtcare reform that people want and that will save money, improve services and cover more people… which is not ObamaCare!)

One Single Payer System (CUTE SONG) From MisterDregs

The reasons given not to post the full Baucus HC Reform Bill online for 72-hours before a vote, so people could actually read it were…

1. The people wouldn’t understand it. (They think we are stupid)

2. It would take too long to translate into laymen’s language. (This bill could and should have been written so everyone can understand it in the first place)

3. It will slow up the process of getting it passed. (They are hiding not just one thing, but a long list of things and intend to ram this through to promote Obama’s bigger agenda no matter what Americans really want!!)

On Tuesday they are going to take up the Public Option again… And they won’t tell us what it costs. Big RED Flags!

Once any part of a Public Option… whether it is called a government-run co-op or a trigger, the Camel’s nose will be in the Tent, and it will only be a matter of time before we are on a single payer (socialized medicine) plan, and there will be turning back.

Neither Healthcare Reform or Cap and Trade have anything to do with improving the lot and life of Americans!! Both have everything to do with (in President Obama’s own words 5-days before the election) “Fundamentally changing America!”

The Fight For American Freedoms and Real Healthcare Reform is now!!

---------

Solution to the Healthcare Reform…

Address and Clean Up Fraud in All Areas of Medical Care! – Billions are lost and wasted in fraud each year. Read: Stop Paying the Crooks
Serious Tort Reform – The lawyers are the winner in Obamacare! Tort Reform is not even being addressed
Change Intra-State Insurance Laws; allow true competition to sell and purchase insurance across state lines.
Make Health Insurance Portable.
Reward Doctors for Results Not Numbers of Procedures.
Allow the self-employed and small business owners to form private co-ops to purchase health insurance to cut down costs.

8. Natural supplements and alternative or holistic treatments and preventative measures should also be covered and encouraged instead of forced out by Big Pharma and the AMA.

ObamaCare is or will eventually be socialized medicine, so we need to fight and stop it now. There will be no going back later.

A Govt-Run Co-Op is the same as a Public Option and a Trigger will end up being a Public Option… the Answer has to be No to all!

Call, email, fax and write your Congressman, Senator and all the fence sitter and radical today and everyday!

Call the United States Capitolswitchboard today... everyday at (202) 224-3121 or (202) 225-3121

Senators from your State.

Call the White House at 202-456-1111 and tell President Obama you have had enough!

ObamaCare heads to (in) committee>>>>

Next week, the Senate Finance Committee will consider the latest version of ObamaCare. Click here for 11 reasons to oppose it.

Please contact the Senators who sit on the committee and urge them to oppose this bill and to start over on real reform that most Americans want and need!

DEMOCRATS
Baucus (MT)
Rockefeller (WV)
Conrad (ND)
Bingaman (NM)
Kerry (MA)
Lincoln (AR)
Wyden (OR)
Schumer (NY)
Stabenow (MI)
Cantwell (WA)
Nelson (FL)
Menendez (NJ)
Carper (DE)

REPUBLICANS
Grassley (IA)
Hatch (UT)
Snowe (ME)
Kyl (AZ)
Bunning (KY)
Crapo (ID)
Roberts (KS)
Ensign (NV)
Enzi (WY)
Cornyn (TX)

RINObamaCare petition tops 20,000

Our national petition calling on Republicans to hold firm against ObamaCare topped 20,000 signatures this week.

President Obama has been inviting select Republicans to the White House as part of his ongoing campaign to get them to cave. We must keep up the pressure.

Help SCF continue to this campaign.

Related Resources:

On, 09/22/09, the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee held a forum to highlight the urgent need for comprehensive health insurance reform. Wendell Potter, Former Communications VP/Spokes... Wendell Potter

CBO Adjusts Their Numbers On Cost of ObamaCare After White House Meeting

ObamaCare: Losing Everyone

Here is a video commentary - the case against ObamaCare with explanation on how to beat it by Dick Morris

To access the video - Go here!

Senators are negotiating on Senator Max Baucus' ObamaCare 6.0 proposal and it hasn't even been written yet.
Of course, to state the obvious, the fact that they're negotiating on something that hasn't been written means no one has read it yet either.
And, to add even more insult to injury, it’s now clear they have no intention of letting you read it.
You read that right. On an almost straight party-line vote, Democrats in the Senate Finance Committee squashed an amendment by Senator Jim Bunning that would have required Baucus’ ObamaCare bill to be posted on the Internet – for all Americans to read – for 72 hours prior to the Committee voting on it.
Not only that. Bunning’s amendment also called for requiring the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office’s official tally of how much Baucus’ ObamaCare 6.0 will cost the American people and what the real impact will be on health costs to be released before the it was voted on.
It's as plain as the nose on your face.
They're leaving the door wide-open to pass Baucus' ObamaCare 6.0 proposal in the dead of night... under the cover of darkness… without even telling you and other concerned Americans what it will cost and how it will affect your health care.
But what really takes the cake is that even after those shenanigans, some Senate Republicans are still going out of their way to play Let’s-Make-A-Deal on Senator Max Baucus’ ObamaCare 6.0 socialized health care scheme.
They're actually fighting tooth-and-nail, not to stop ObamaCare but to negotiate a so-called compromise on this Obama-Baucus scheme to socialize the nation’s health care system.
And that's just one more reason why we must tell our elected officials, right here and right now, that the American people don't want any more negotiations or deals or compromises.
We want ObamaCare off the table and we want it off the table now.

Use the hyperlink below to send your urgent Blast Fax messages to each and every Republican Member of the United States Senate - or alternately to President Barack Obama and each and every member of the House and Senate.
Demand that they listen to the American people and defeat ObamaCare once and for all. Tell them that no amount of so-called "compromise" will make government-run health care acceptable to the American people. Let them know that if they spent the same amount of energy to defeat ObamaCare as they are spending negotiating, the job would be done. Demand, once and for all, that they stop negotiating and win this fight against socialized health care for the American people.

If the button above does not work, please use this hyperlink.

ObamaCare 6.0: A Stunning Assault On Liberty.

If the previous versions of government-run ObamaCare made you angry… Senator Max Baucus’ ObamaCare 6.0 is likely to make your blood boil.
Much like its predecessors, the Baucus health care reform plan is chock-full of provisions calling for new government mandates, higher taxes, increased spending and government-dictated, rationed health care.
In fact, it’s so bad that Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl said of Baucus’ plan: “This is a stunning assault on liberty!”
Senator Kyl is right. And, the really sad part is this:
As previously stated, the Baucus bill hasn’t even been written yet, much less read by the Senators who are doing the negotiating.
It’s nothing more than a 200-plus-page shell of ideas to be rammed down the throats of the American people with all deliberate speed... before you and other concerned Americans have the time to find out what hit you.
Senator Lindsay Graham, speaking on FOX News, probably gave the best explanation of what exactly is going on: “[T]he Baucus bill… literally changes everyday… we’re making this up as we go… they’re trying to buy votes… the vision here is to pass something… they don’t give a damn what it is and nobody understands what they’re doing.”
These so-called leaders just don’t get it. Republicans and Democrats are quibbling over what type of government-run health care they believe to be best for you and your family and no one is fighting for the American people.
The American people for months have been sending the message loud and clear that they want no part of ObamaCare, period, regardless of what form it takes. The American people have been telling politicians in Washington that no amount of so-called "compromise" will make Obama’s government-run health care scheme acceptable or palatable.
And yet, one of the only things keeping ObamaCare alive is the fact that some Republicans, under the veil of “negotiations,” are keeping it alive.
It’s time for these politicians to finally get the message. The American people do not want them to “fix” ObamaCare… no more so-called “ObamaCare compromises”… the American people want ObamaCare gone… never to be heard from again.

They Don't Want You To Read The Bill, But Will They Read The Bill?

The Baucus plan, right now, as you read this letter, is rapidly advancing in the Senate – even though the bill hasn’t actually been written and none of the Senators working on it have actually read it.
And, as previously stated, it’s now clear they have no intention of letting you read it either. Here’s what Michael Franc wrote on the Heritage Foundation’s blog, The Foundry:
“During the Senate Finance Committee mark up of the Baucus health bill … Senator Bunning of Kentucky put forth an innovative amendment. This amendment stipulated that before voting on the measure in Committee, legislative language would have to be accessible to the public for 72 hours and that the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) would need to publish an official tally of how much this bill will cost the American people and what the real impact will be on health costs."
Franc continued:
“The amendment failed 11-12 on nearly a party line vote. Senator Blanche Lincoln (AR) was the sole Democrat to support this attempt at transparency. The bottom line: when the committee completes its work on this re-make of one-sixth of our economy, Senators will have voted on a phantom - a bill that does not exist with costs that are unknowable until, that is, the unelected legislative draftsmen write the real bill in some back room on Capitol Hill.” [Emphasis Mine]
Remember what Senator Graham said: “the vision here is to pass something… they don’t give a damn what it is and nobody understands what they’re doing.”
Fortunately, the American people are one step ahead of of our elected officials this time around.
They believe they can work behind closed doors and try to repackage government-run health care and seal it with a nice pretty bow.
But in the end, the American people are on to their game, we won’t be fooled and we can stop them.
No more "negotiating"… no more "compromising"… it’s time to stop ObamaCare once and for all.

Socialized Health Care Delivered Under A Christmas Tree Filled With Pricey Ornaments…

FOX News anchor Neil Cavuto summed up the mad dash to pass government-run health care – and specifically Baucus’ ObamaCare 6.0:
“Christmas may be months away but that ain’t stopping Senators from trying to outdo each other on health care… all sorts of pricey ornaments… 564 amendments… the pace of this is startling.”
Like the alcoholic who swears he will never take another drink, only to succumb to temptation the very next day, politicians in Washington lead us to believe that they got the message loud and clear... they lead us to believe they would stop ObamaCare.
But instead of stopping ObamaCare cold, they rushed to make deals and propose amendments the second Senator Baucus unveiled his proposal.
Even Senator Hatch, while calling for a so-called “bi-partisan solution” to ObamaCare, inadvertently stated the case as to why continued negotiations on ObamaCare are a dangerous thing:
“Everything is geared to try to get us to a single payer system… if they can’t do it automatically… they’ll do it in increments… a one size fits all health care system right out of Washington.”
Simply put, any compromise that is reached… any deal that is negotiated will simply lead us down the road to government-run, rationed health care for all.
Some will try to tell you that negotiation is simply a strategy… that it is perhaps the only way to stop ObamaCare.
But the truth of the matter is, ObamaCare never needs to come out of the Senate Finance Committee… it never has to see the light of day.
Rule 4 of the Rules of Procedure for the Senate Finance Committee reads: “Rule 4. Quorums. - (a) Except as provided in subsection (b) one-third of the membership of the committee, including not less than one member of the majority party and one member of the minority party, shall constitute a quorum for the conduct of business.”
That means, at least one Republican Senator on the Finance Committee needs to be in attendance in order to pass any legislation out of committee.
In other words, 10 Republican Senators (Charles Grassley, Orrin Hatch, Olympia Snowe, Jon Kyl, Jim Bunning, Mike Crapo, Pat Roberts, John Ensign, Mike Enzi and John Cornyn) could stop ObamaCare cold right now by simply saying they will not support it under any circumstances.
If those 10 Senators would simply say “no,” and deny Democrats on the Finance Committee a quorum; ObamaCare would be done… finished… it would die in committee... but you won’t hear that on the nightly news.
And yet, instead of finding a way to convince these 10 Republicans to stand firm in their opposition to ObamaCare, we’re told it’s more prudent solution to negotiate and make a deal with the opposition and hopefully cushion the blow of something that never has to happen in the first place.
Only in Washington D.C. does such a thing seem even remotely rational. It’s time to tell these Senate Republicans to get serious about stopping ObamaCare.

Where Have We Seen This Insanity Before?

If this dysfunctional willingness on the part of Republican Senators to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory... to "compromise" on a battle that could be won outright... sounds familiar, it should.
It's happened before. It seems like only yesterday that our elected officials tried to ram amnesty for 12-20 million illegal aliens down the throats of the American people.
Back then, the American people, in resounding numbers (Republicans, Democrats and Independents), told our elected officials to just say "no" to amnesty.
And each time the American people spoke up, our elected officials tried to produce so-called "compromise legislation" ... and they alternately tried to sell it to us or ram it down our throats.
But the American didn't let them get away with it. We all knew that each so-called “compromise” was just as egregious as the first amnesty bill... a few words were changed but every proposal essentially led to amnesty for millions of illegal aliens.
Do you remember their very last attempt to sell all of us on so-called "compromise legislation?"
Do you remember seeing that photograph in the paper of that group of Senators uproariously laughing and slapping each other on the back as they emerged from their closed-door negotiations?
It was almost as if, when they emerged from that room, they were really laughing at all of us.
Of course, back then, you took decisive action... you called... you faxed... and together we finally broke the back of those bogus amnesty compromises.
You did it before. You can do it again. Now is the time to show your outrage. Make your voice heard now and we will defeat ObamaCare once and for all.

Yours In Freedom,

Jeff Mazzella
President
Center for Individual Freedom

Neither Healthcare Reform or Cap and Trade have anything to do with improving the lot and life of Americans!! Both have everything to do with (in President Obama’s own words 5-days before the election) “Fundamentally changing America!”

Contributing to send out the blasts is probably the most efficient, but if you choose not to go that route, you can contact Washington yourself… or do both until they realize that we will not stand for this betrayal!!

Call, email, fax and write your Congressman, Senator and all the fence sitter and radical today and everyday!

Call the United States Capitol switchboard today... everyday at (202) 224-3121 or (202) 225-3121 (House and Senate)

Senators from your State.

Call the White House at 202-456-1111 and tell President Obama you have had enough.

The Member of the European Parliament below, Daniel Hannan, became quite well known for his speech denouncing the economic practices of Gordon Brown's Labor government in Britain. This speech has received over 2 million hits, and I have included it below. Watch it and you will see why…

Click Here to view

Hannan has said several times he cannot understand why Americans would voluntarily move to socialized medicine and that once me did… because of the tremendous infrastructure, there would be no going back. He also cannot understand that Americans are not standing up for their Constitution… their Freedoms, of which he is a great admirer and advocate.

Please continue to contact all the Senators on the Finance Committee list above plus your own state Senators.

Source: Knowledge Creates Power & the Daily Thought Pad

Posted: True Health is True Wealth – Cross-Posted: Marion’s Place

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Fascinating Perspective: Princess Diana's Death Offers Lessons for Health Care Debate, 12 Years Later

In Britain's Beloved Royal's Death, Experts Find Guidance in French Health System

The Mercedes 600 carrying Princess Diana and her companion Dodi Fayed was traveling more than 85 miles per hour when it hit a concrete pillar head-on in the Place D'Alma underpass, crumbling like an accordion.

A look back to the hours after the death of Princess Diana 10 years ago.

Both were killed, as well as the driver, Henri Paul -- later proven to have been under the influence of alcohol.

The Paris accident -- just before 12:30 a.m. local time 12 years ago today -- ended the life of one of Britain's most celebrated royals, unleashing a torrent of emotion in that historically stoic culture and catapulting Diana to near sainthood status.

In the days that followed, she was memorialized as the "People's Princess," as those devastated by her loss turned on the nation's out-of-touch monarchy, whom they blamed for her tragedy.

Conspiracy theories, all unsubstantiated, abounded. Had she been assassinated by the royal family so her estranged husband, Prince Charles, could marry his longtime love Camilla Parker-Bowles? Did the British Secret Intelligence Service bump her off because she was pregnant with Egyptian Fayed's Muslim child?

But the most baffling question was whether doctors could have done more to prevent Diana, 36, from dying.

The horrific accident illustrated the difference between the French and U.S. approaches to emergency care -- a relatively small piece of the French medical system, but deemed by some people to be the best in the world and often cited as a model for U.S. health care overhaul.

When rescue workers arrived, Diana was conscious, uttering, "My God" and "Leave me alone" to the swarming paparazzi. Although she had suffered internal injuries, she did not arrive at the Parisian hospital for 110 minutes -- too late for the surgery that some speculated could have saved her life.

Diana's last hour -- in cardiac arrest and bleeding to death -- was spent in a mobile medical unit parked a few hundred yards from Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, where an emergency team followed French protocol and administered treatment at the scene of the accident and en route to the hospital.

At the time, many people surmised that had a U.S. ambulance responded, Diana would have been rushed to the nearest emergency room, where a full set of professionals and diagnostic equipment might have revived her.

Colloquially known as "scoop and run," the U.S. system is grounded in studies that show a trauma victim's best chance for survival is reaching the operating room within 10 minutes.

Under the French system, "stay and play," a fully equipped medical ambulance with a doctor stabilizes the patient and then directs him or her to a specialized hospital, even if it is miles away.

PHOTO The scene of the car crash which killed Diana Princess of Wales, shown in this file photo, her companion Dodi Al Fayed and their driver Henri Paul is shown, August 31, 1997.

The scene of the car crash that killed Diana, Princess of Wales, in this file photo, her companion, Dodi Fayed, and their driver, Henri Paul, Aug. 31, 1997. (Getty Images)

Car Crash Victims Served 24/7

"When a patient rolls into the American system, they have a level-one trauma center that runs 24/7, with every specialty and myriad resources for a patient in a car crash," said Dr. Preeti Jois-Bilowich, emergency room doctor at the University of Florida's Shands Hospital.

Two or three paramedics focus on the ABCs of first responder care: airway, breathing and circulation. Each state has different licensing requirements for its emergency workers and ambulance services.

In France, the government-run Service d'Aide Médicale d'Urgence (SAMU), or Emergency Medical Assistance Service, provides more uniform care, coordinating the mobile resuscitation units. Teams always include one doctor, usually an anesthesiologist or emergency room physician, and a driver who serves as a technician and a nurse paramedic.

In Diana's case, a doctor who was passing by was the first on the scene and called for the ambulance, which arrived in seven minutes. He saw no visible injuries and treated her for shock with oxygen.

Fayed and Paul both died at the scene and were taken directly to the mortuary.

The SAMU team spent an hour treating her in the tunnel. Then, following French emergency standards aimed at not further injuring the victim, they drove slowly to the hospital about 4 miles away.

Yards from the hospital, her blood pressure dropped and the ambulance stopped again to revive her.

Diana Delayed 110 Minutes Before Death

Diana didn't arrive until after 2 a.m. -- 1 hour and 45 minutes after the crash -- and underwent an emergency thoracotomy. Coroners pronounced her dead from hemorrhaging that resulted from major chest trauma and deceleration that caused a rupture of the left pulmonary vein.

Later, surgeons said that her heart had been displaced from the left to the right side of her chest.

In the 1998 book, "Death of a Princess," Time magazine reporters Thomas Sancton and Scott MacLeod were critical of the French system, arguing that Diana could have been saved in a hospital operating room. SAMU was so upset with the indictment, according to the authors, that they threatened to sue.

But Sancton and MacLeod later rescinded their theory, based on evaluations of the medical records, in a 2004 Vanity Fair piece on the British inquest into Diana's death.

"I have actually revised my conclusions based on a fascinating series of interviews with a trauma specialist in Houston," Sancton wrote in an e-mail to ABCNews.com. "The bottom line is, whatever the merits or demerits of the French emergency medical system, poor Diana was a goner from the beginning because of the particular nature of her deceleration injury."

Defenders of the French system say that major road accidents like Diana's represent only about 12 percent of all emergency calls. Most are falls, domestic accidents, cardiac arrests and neurological problems.

And even Jois-Bilowich of the University of Florida, who did her medical internship with SAMU in Paris in 2006, sees its advantages.

French Emergency Workers Treat and Leave

"A lot of time, you get to the scene and you realize you can treat the patient right there," she said. "You can reassess in about 20 minutes and probably leave. Somebody who has diabetes in the morning and didn't eat and had a hypoglycemic episode -- their sugar comes up and is good and you leave.

PHOTO The Prince of Wales, Prince William and Prince Harry look at floral tributes to Diana, Princess of Wales outside Kensington Palace, in this September 5, 1997 file photo in London, England.

From left, Prince Charles, Prince Harry and Prince William look at floral tributes to Diana, Princess of Wales, outside Kensington Palace, in this Sept. 5, 1997, file photo in London, England. (Anwar Hussein/Getty Images)

"Here, they get transported to the emergency department and adds one more patient to an already overburdened emergency room.

"In France, you have physicians available and you treat it right there," she said. "You take the drug bag to the scene, it has just about anything you can imagine. It's a mini-crash cart. It's kind of like a mobile emergency department, with limitations."

But those limitations can be significant without X-ray or sonogram capability onboard. Jois-Bilowich recalled one Paris call during her internship in which a man collapsed at an apartment construction site.

The team set up a mini-emergency room and, for 45 minutes, ran an EKG, did CPR and began medication for a heart attack.

Without full emergency room diagnostics, doctors had to make an educated guess on the drugs. They were right, he survived but, had he ruptured an aorta, the drugs could have caused more problems or death. "You make judgment calls," Jois-Bilowich said.

The French emergency care reflects the overall health attitudes of that nation -- delivering basic primary care and health education to everyone will mean fewer expensive emergency room visits and hospitalizations later on.

Amid the health care debate here, some Americans are taking notice.

The French, at 10.7 percent of the gross domestic product, spend less than Americans do on health care at 16 percent of their GDP, according to 2009 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development health data.

French Health Care Tops World

The World Health Organization recently rated the French system as the best in the world. By comparison, the United States rated 37th. The average life expectancy in France is 79.4 years, two years fewer than in the United States.

Both countries are struggling with rising drug costs, aging populations and unemployment, but about 65 percent of all French citizens, compared with 40 percent of all Americans, are happy with their medical care, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

The French can choose their own doctors, see specialists and have access to some of the most sophisticated research and medical technology in the world, according to Victor Rodwin, professor of health policy and management at New York University.

"The American and French system share similar dimensions," he told ABCNews.com. "They are both based on fee-for-service practices, there is a large element of private provision and they also have a small equivalent of the gap supplement insurance like Medicare. It's a public-private mix."

In France, everyone is covered, regardless of their ability to pay, with an emphasis on primary care to prevent long-term illness.

"What we do is quite different," Rodwin said. "We take care of people, but not everyone, and we do it once they get very sick. We take diabetics with flare-ups and asthmatics in the emergency room, but we don't do primary care or health education as well for the poor.

"Our population is much sicker compared to France," according to Rodwin, whose research finds that Americans have the highest rates of avoidable hospitalizations -- two and a half times higher than the French -- for treatable conditions like pneumonia, asthma, diabetes and congestive heart failure.

That's according to a 2008 study from the National Institute of Public Health and the Environment. "The French have a term -- solidarity," Rodwin said. "Since World War II, the system is grounded in the philosophy that everyone should have access to health care. That doesn't mean everyone is treated equally. There are those who are more educated or higher socio-economic groups that use more specialty care and probably have access to better quality care, but everyone has access to the minimum."

Mary, a freelance writer who did not want to use her last name, lives in Paris and is a "big booster of the French system."

The school nurse called the fire department after her son had an asthma attack several years ago.

"Soon after, I received a call from a doctor on the scene telling me exactly what was going on and what treatment Luke was getting at the school," she said. "He suggested taking Luke to the hospital for a few hours of observation, after which I could pick him up."

U.S. Emergency Rooms 'Tangle of Forms'

"I find the emergency room responses the most dramatic change from the U.S.," Mary said. "I've always had excellent health insurance in the U.S. and I've found every American emergency room visit a tangle as I fill out form after form and sign over my first born before anyone will even look at an injured or sick kid.

"Here, because everyone is insured, there's never any questions in hospitals that people will be treated, and treated quickly, because there's no worry someone's going to be stiffed with the bill."

Jois-Bilowich agreed that the French system is more cost-effective and that most people admitted to U.S. emergency rooms are treated and then released. But, she argues, the U.S. system of trauma care is superior.

As for the ill-fated accident that took the life of Diana, she won't venture a guess at what her outcome might have been in the United States, noting that even simple trauma cases can "crash" on the operating table.

"I, personally, really hate the retroscope," she said. "We weren't there and we didn't know the circumstances. Every patient is an individual human being and not a computer system, and so many things can confound what you think is a simple situation."

This does example, however, brings us back to the same end as much of the ObamaCare debate. In the end… with the good and bad, there is no better system than the American healthcare system. We survive and virtually everyone gets treated. The cost is too high because there is fraud in several arenas, too many frivolous lawsuits, Big Pharma and the AMA put money before patients is certain instances and line their pockets and they and the Insurance industry is not regulated enough in some areas, like being allowed to exclude people because of previous conditions and over regulated in other areas like not being able to sell insurance across state lines. But fixing those things and insuring everyone except illegals that are truly indigent and not paying for unnecessary elective surgeries and abortions is a heck of a lot cheaper than ObamaCare and keeps the government out of our lives (anymore than it already is) and the crucial medical decisions where they belong…. between doctors and patients and their families.

Let’s Start Over On Health Reform

No on ObamaCare – Yes on Incremental Common Sense Reform

No public option of any kind (which includes the new buzz word co-ops, single-payer, or new government run program)
No rationing
No centralized government database of patients
No coverage of illegals – we can’t afford it (and that will get rid of the need to supply free translations services, taxation of citizens and not illegals for services, and forcing ‘legal’ aliens into a government option)
No abortions paid for by taxpayer money
No cuts in Medicare and Medicaid
No Mandatory End or Life or Duty to Die Discussion with the Elderly, Wounded Veterans or Parents of Special Needs Kids/People
Yes on Tort Reform
Yes on Fraud and Record Duplication reform of Medicare and Medicaid
Yes on Fraud and Record Duplication Reform of Veterans and Reservation Programs
Yes on Insurance Reform including No more Previous Condition Restrictions
Yes on Inter-State Health Insurance Sales
Yes on Allowing individuals, the self-employed and small businesses to form and join consortiums to qualify to buy insurance at lower group rates
Yes - Payment System based on outcome instead of number of procedures
Yes - Inclusion of coverage of natural supplements and holistic methods and procedures

I Read the Health-Scare Bill & Obama Is Lying!

'STOP OBAMACARE' PETITION

HR-3200 - full report

Friday, August 21, 2009

Senator Jon Kyl: GOP (and Most Americans) Opposes Democrats Approach to Healthcare – “Let’s Start Over!”

Trojan Horse... or Donkey?

Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) said Tuesday that Republicans remain opposed to the Democratic approach on healthcare even when the legislation excludes a public insurance option, signaling the difficult road ahead for a bipartisan bill.

In a conference call with reporters, Kyl, a member of the Senate Finance Committee that is currently drafting a health bill, suggested Democrats start over in September with a “different approach” rather than continue debating ideas that are unlikely to win more than a handful of Republican votes.

The White House and congressional Democrats have signaled in recent days that they would drop the contentious public insurance option in favor of a plan creating co-operatives. But Kyl said Republicans still have too many problems with the bill's cost and scope.

"I think it's safe to say there are a huge number of big issues that people have," Kyl said. "Let's start with the cost of it. There's no way that Republicans are going to support a trillion-dollar-plus bill."

Kyl predicted the idea of a government co-operative plan wouldn't receive any significant Republican support because the party still objects to the premise behind it.

"As Democrats have said, it doesn't matter what you call it — they want it to accomplish something that Republicans are opposed to, and that is a step toward government-run healthcare in the country," Kyl said. "It's by another name, and it is a Trojan horse, and therefore no, I don't believe that Republicans will be inclined to support a bill because of that one relatively insignificant section in the House bill.”

Kyl said Republicans prefer a narrower approach that targets costs and the factors behind the costs, but that Democrats voted down those proposals in committee debates. The GOP would prefer to see ideas such as medical malpractice lawsuit limits, an expansion of private healthcare tax breaks and the abandonment of employer-mandated healthcare. The Democrat-led approach to healthcare also doesn't include enough allowances for states to experiment with their own healthcare ideas, Kyl said.

The Arizona senator rejected the suggestion that Republicans were to blame for any "scare campaigns" designed to derail healthcare, stating that the party instead is simply reflecting public sentiment. Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) used her Facebook page last week to ignite a national charge that President Barack Obama's intentions for healthcare include government-run "death panels," based on a provision in a House bill that called for publicly funded doctor-family consultations on end-of-life care.

Kyl noted that many of the organizations that opposed health reform during the Clinton administration in the 1990s have now been "neutralized" by the Obama administration. The American Medical Association and AARP are among the groups that support the Democrat-led reform efforts. A House bill calls for voluntary consultations between a doctor and a family, although Kyl said the payment is compulsory if a doctor reports the counseling session.

“Because of public opposition to that provision, I think there's no question that it's going to be dropped,” he said. “I totally reject the notion that the only reason the American people oppose this is because somebody on the Republican side has deliberately spread misinformation about the plan.”

“let’s Start Over” seems to be the new Healthcare Battle cry from moderate and conservative politicians and the majority of Americans. Congressman Emanuel Cleaver – Democrat from Missouri's Fifth District said the same thing earlier today.

Americans want to fix what is wrong with the present healthcare system and keep what is good… not throw it out and start over!! Tort reform and fraud control, plus some sensible changes in the medical insurance rules like portable coverage, focus on prevention, inclusion of alternative and holistic medicine and supplements, no more exclusion for pre-existing conditions, allowing the self-employed and small businesses to form and buy insurance as consortiums, allowing inter-state sales of insurance and tighter regulation of Big Pharma and the AMA would pretty much take care of the uninsured and spiraling costs. Take out covering people who are in the U.S. illegally and paying for abortions and unnecessary elective surgeries and allowing ideas from the Republicans and any politicians and companies who have made positive changes in healthcare or learned from trial and error and we could reform American healthcare without destroying the best coverage in the world or giving up our freedoms.

The answer is throw out all 5-bills presently being considered and start over with focused reform instead of destroying a system that works for over 85% of Americans and Legal Residents. So “let’s Start Over” on this reform!

Posted: Knowledge Creates Power

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Monday, September 28, 2009

Details – Kill ObamaCare Bill - Support For ObamaCare Hits New Low But Obama and Congress Press Forward

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Single Payer System Nightmare… Just Doesn’t Stop

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Fascinating Perspective: Princess Diana's Death Offers Lessons for Health Care Debate, 12 Years Later

In Britain's Beloved Royal's Death, Experts Find Guidance in French Health System

Car Crash Victims Served 24/7

Diana Delayed 110 Minutes Before Death

French Emergency Workers Treat and Leave

French Health Care Tops World

U.S. Emergency Rooms 'Tangle of Forms'

Friday, August 21, 2009

Senator Jon Kyl: GOP (and Most Americans) Opposes Democrats Approach to Healthcare – “Let’s Start Over!”

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