Trayvon Martin's mother, Sybrina Fulton, speaks at the National Urban League.

Trayvon Martin's mother, Sybrina Fulton, speaks at the National Urban League.

GOP Admits to Sabotaging Obamacare - Call Your Reps

Since the GOP is admitting that they are DELIBERATELY not helping their constituents who want to know about Obamacare, Balloon Juice had a good idea:

IF your Congressman/Woman is a GOPer, call them up with a generic set of questions. Keep track of those that they don't answer.

From Balloon Juice

As mentioned two days ago, GOP reps face a tough dilemma between serving their constituents and hating the Affordable Care Act like it shot their dog. At the same time the pary as a whole needs the ACA to fail in every possible way, a lot of single Reps will have a hard time with re-election if people see them playing political games with the health and livelihood of individual constituents. I can think of several terrible Republicans at the Senate level, Jesse Helms and Rick Santorum being two, who stayed afloat not in small part due to a reputation for great constituent service.

There are three ways that a GOP Rep can go with this. Some of them will talk tough to the press but do their job like a grownup when real constituents call with real problems to address. Some other faction, most I would guess, will punt either by not answering or passing the caller off to HHS. Most of all we need to keep an eye out for the fabricators, liars and true believers whose staff genuinely believe the pap in the morning blast fax from Glenn Beck.

October is still some time off, so let’s start with questions that everyone should know. Say that I have a pre-existing condition and cannot get an individual market plan for any price. Can I buy one in October? How would I do that? The correct answers are yes and it depends on the state; in most cases we do not know the full details yet. If you feel like testing their bad faith, tell them you heard there will be death panels. I will not offer a script because you should really use your own words for this. Staffers’ interest often ratchets way down when they start hearing the same wording twice. Try being polite but a little slow and ask for clarification when possible.

Many thanks to readers for offering links to the excellent summary of the ACA from the Kaiser Family Foundation. You can find a lot of useful questions, no doubt including some that are relevant to your own situation, at their FAQ.

The Kaiser Family Foundation has an excellent collection of true answers that you can use to score your Rep.

Does that sound good? Yes? Now make it happen. One call won’t change the world but a lot of calls to the right people at the right time can move mountains. Trust me on this.

Here is the Phone Directory for Congress.

Once you make the call, please make note of if the Congressman's Office was helpful/truthful in the replies of this post. Be sure to leave the name and district of the Congressman.

President Obama Speaks about Trayvon Martin

George Zimmerman found Not Guilty. Trayvon Martin=2013 Emmitt Till

Complete with the ALL-WHITE JURY.

Still alive

I guess I should update this blog. Planning to completely redesign this thing at some point. Lately I haven't even had the time to update it as is. Lost some of my passion for blogging over the last few months.

Currently in the process of moving, still looking for jobs (actually starting a new job within the next month after languishing at the same place for 19 years), & a bunch of other things.... so blogging has fallen several spots on my list of things to be concerned with. It will be quite some time before I will be able to write again on a regular basis.

I will attempt to post once per week or so. There are too many events.... occurring too fast. But I keep track of everything. Still a news/information junkie. I would love to get the opportunity to write for other publications.... Haven't had any luck yet. That may be a goal I can add to my list for 2014.... that's if Obama & Co can avoid the temptation to start another war or if some other economic disaster doesn't do us in first.

Will be turning 40 in a matter of days. Feels strange. Have been reflecting on a lot of things (part of why blogging here dropped on the list of importance). 20 & 25 year olds have gotten more out of life than I have at 39/40. I am constantly trying to figure out how my circumstances (including race) have contributed to things not going as planned for the 1st half of my life. Have missed out on so much.

Don't get me started on the dating front. Once things settle down.... (will be a year or so)... I will probably tackle that one. I haven't been on a date in 10 years....and that was only briefly. Haven't had any interest in that (I know what my priorities are thankfully...and women have not been in the top 5 in terms of situations to fix or to get in order). I have the same problem that I have always had as a halfway intelligent, decent, man of color. 1.) Black women (on the whole) are looking for athletes, entertainers, rich guys, thugs, meatheads, and criminals. Many of them want Tupac clones of some sort. (Not all of course). They seem to lust for guys with a certain image...and since i'm usually the antithesis of what they typically want, there is usually no match. I just don't have the time to deal with that kind of madness. 2.) Non-black women typically want well-to-do, successful, upwardly mobile white men. In some cases... the issue may have to do with parents/family who would not accept a black guy (I have actually been told this personally). Unless you have a lot of money... dating interracially is a challenge. So on that front...I have had the same problem for 20 years. The dating scene is a horrible mess for a guy in my situation. Should I move to Brazil? I have pretty much lost all hope on the dating front...and I recently accepted the fact that I will likely never have a family of my own.

That being said...it will be interesting to see what the rest of 2013 has in store...

P.S.

My e-mail had been down for a couple of months. It is now working again (have not had time to check the messages...but will). If you sent something and I didn't respond.... it either means that I didn't see it...or was not interested in the proposal. More than likely though... it means I did not see the message.

Happy 15th Birthday to Malia Ann Obama!

Today is Malia Ann Obama's 15th Birthday!

She's a true American Beauty.

"What does the Fourth of July Mean to the Negro?"

"What does the Fourth of July Mean to the Negro?"

In 1852, abolitionist, speaker and journalist Frederick Douglass delivered the speech, "What does the Fourth of July Mean to the Negro?" The speech speaks to the contraction of the celebration of American Independence that was simultaneous with the enslavement of Africans.

The First Family Continues in Tanzania

Many thanks to The Obama Diary:

The First Family Continues their trip to Africa in Tanzania.



President Barack Obama and Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete walk in front of First Lady Michelle Obama and Tanzanian First Lady Salma Kikwete greeting the cheering crowd as they arrive at the State House in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, Monday, July 1, 2013.

----AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, Pool

The First Family in Tanzania

Many thanks and appreciation to The Obama Diary for their hat tips.

One final photo from South Africa. Pete Souza took this picture of the First Family in Nelson Mandela's Prison Cell on Robben Island.

The First Family continues their overseas trip in Africa. Next stop - Tanzania.