Quote Thom Hartmann: Hospitals have gone out of their way for years to hide their procedure price lists, almost as if they were national secrets. But not anymore, because the cat is finally out of the bag.

That's for sure! I remember when my father passed away I got a bill for the AARP supplemental copay in the mail 6 months later for almost $700 for a one night stay. I called the insurance company to tell them my father passed away and I had to pay the bill; but, before paying I'd like to see an itemized invoice. They refused, saying, "Only your father can request such an invoice." I said, "Then maybe you can dig up my father and have him pay your bill."

They were most unreasonable. Finally, they insisted that if I could prove that I had power of attorney over his estate, or were his legal guardian then I could request the invoice. Shocked, and far beyond pissed-off, I complied. Apparently, being his son, and he being dead, meant nothing to these imbeciles.

Then I recieved the bill. Mind you this was just an overnight stay, he died early the following morning after being admitted the night before. He had previously requested in writing not to be connected to any life support or have any procedures to artificially prolong his life. He had an oxygen mask, a gown, a bed, and sedatives provided only. The full bill paid by his insurance, $40,000.

So to those of you who don't think we can afford Obama care, ask yourself if you can afford to die without it.

DAnneMarc: Hey, man, thanks for all those supportive quotes! By the way, I don't think that JessieV is Jesse Ventura...because the name is spelled differently and because Jesse Ventura was born in 1951. JessieV says that he went to the University of California/Berkeley in the early 50s. I really like Jesse Ventura though...even know where he lives in Baja Mexico when he lives there. And thanks, JessieV for that information.

JessieV ~ You wouldn't happen to be Jessie Ventura, are you?

Loren Bliss ~ Please don't mention it! Thank you!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4Stk2yejNk

Quote Palindromedary:Remember, it was the REPUBLICANS, the BUSH ADMINISTRATION, that gave us their 911 conspiracy theory of 19 box cutter wielding Muslim hijackers who, despite not even being able to fly Cessna planes very well, managed to hijack and steer those huge airliners all the way to New York, or the Pentagon in Virginia, and accurately hit those WTC towers and the Pentagon.

Funny you should mention that my friend. I remember going to work the days following 911. One of my engineering colleagues joked for months when we met together in the warehouse. He would grab a box cutter and point it at me and say, "Give me your plane." We would both break out in laughter at the absurdity of the idea that any one or group could hijack a plane with merely box cutters. Let's face reality...In a closed confined space like a plane, nothing short of a gun is going to give anyone an advantage over a large group of people--or for that matter the three pilots in the cockpit. Remember, this wasn't a library, this was a plane and people are already fearing for their lives after takeoff. People summon vast amounts of courage when their lives are threatened. I just don't think a box cutter is going to trump that fear. Sorry, Ken Ware.

I haven 't followed the Bengahazi attacks a lot but I clearly remember Hillary and Barack standing in front of the world telling eveyone the attack was because of a video. In my opinion, that was one of the most embarassing moments in US history!!

Quote 2950-10K: Democrats forever the persecuted party, always cowering in the corner.....what a bunch of whimps.

You are so right, my friend. However, I would love to ask Senator Bernie Sanders about the Secret Society issue spoken of so well by President Kennedy. I wonder as to what extent that Secret Society has "expanded its sphere of influence" inside the halls of Congress. After all, if after being elected you were approached with an offer you could not refuse; such as, do what you are told and reap riches, disobey and die, what would you chose?

It certainly seems to be, from what I have witnessed going on within these esteemed walls that there is an unseen hand of unwarranted and unsought influence in effect that we should try to identify and eliminate--either by purely legal means, or by physical public insistence of Campaign Finance Reform and the repeal of Citizen's United.

DAnneMarc (in belated reply to your comments on my posts of 3 May apropos the collapse of the United States into regional republics): thank you for your response. Given the givens, I suspect you might also appreciate my blog, Outside Agitator's Notebook, at lorenbliss.typepad.com. It is a unique hybrid of political commentary, photography, history, and memoir, typically refreshed once per week, usually on Thursdays, though this weel's post will probably not go up until tomorrow due to the huge anger that prompted it, which necessitates both some technical work on a photograph and a lot of editing on the text.

Quote Palindromedary: See, that's how they (the Republicans) play the game..keep Democrats always in a defensive posture. Maybe the Democrats should finally attack the Republicans for their Bush administration high treason against the country on 911.

Yet again you are right my friend. After all, that is what Barack Obama promised the American people on his first campaign tour. In fact, he won my vote when he was asked straight out, "If elected would you investigate the Bush administration for war crimes?" He said, "yes".

Then he gets elected and says, "Let's put the past behind us." I haven't felt as betray or as screwed since Nixon resigned and Ford pardoned him for all crimes. B. S. We the People deserve better from our elected officials than a bloody puppet show.

Outback: I seem to remember the initial flight paths, as shown on TV, and then they showed a bit of an erratic pattern right after the alleged hijacking, which would "seem" to show that someone inexperienced had indeed hijacked the plane. I don't know how much we can really rely on those displays on TV because they may have just been some sort of artists rendition of what the artist thought might have occurred. But aside from that, after reading all of the quotes from the trainers at the flight schools that these "hijackers" went to...it is just very difficult to believe that they were able to even get the planes back to the areas of the attacks let alone actually pilot them, at those speeds, to hit their targets.

Quotes from flight instructors as reported by SweetLiberty.org

On Atta and Al Shekki:

"The instructor said neither man was able to pass a Stage I rating test to track and intercept. After offering some harsh words, the instructor said, the two moved on .... "We didn't kick them out, but they didn't live up to our standards."

On Alhazmi and AlMidha:

"Last spring, two of the men visited Montgomery Field, a community airport ... and sought flying lessons. They spoke to instructors at Sorbi's Flying Club, which allowed them to take only two lessons before advising them to quit.

"'Their English was horrible, and their mechanical skills were even worse,' said an instructor, who asked not to be named. 'It was like they had hardly even ever driven a car .....'

"'They seemed like nice guys,' the instructor said, 'but in the plane, they were dumb and dumber.'" ("San Diegans See Area as Likely Target," Washington Post, September 24, 2001, pg. A7.)

But the masterminds would not need competent pilots -- if they had Global Hawk technology.

On Hanjour

"Marcel Bernard, the chief flight instructor at the airport, said the man named Hani Hanjour went into the air in a Cessna 172 with instructors from the airport three times beginning the second week of August and had hoped to rent a plane from the airport.

"According to published reports, law enforcement sources say Hanjour, in his mid-twenties, is suspected of crashing the American Airlines Flight 77 into the Pentagon.

. . . "Hanjour had his pilot's license, said Bernard, but needed what is called a 'check-out' done by the airport to gauge a pilot's skills before he or she is able to rent a plane at Freeway Airport which runs parallel to Route 50.

"Instructors at the school told Bernard that after three times in the air, they still felt he was unable to fly solo and that Hanjour seemed disappointed.

. . . "Published reports said Hanjour obtained his pilot's license in April of 1999, but it expired six months later because he did not complete a required medical exam. He also was trained for a few months at a private school in Scottsdale, Ariz., in 1996, but did not finish the course because instructors felt he was not capable.

Yet this is the man the FBI would have us believe flew Flight 77 into the Pentagon "with extraordinary skill." He could not even fly a Cessna 172!

Yes, maneuvering a Boeing 757 into a 270 degree turn under tense conditions (remember, the culprits were outmanned and had crude, non lethal weapons) demanded the skill of a fighter pilot. But why would those bad, bad, Muslims want to do such a thing?

By shifting the plane's position so radically, Flight 77 managed to hit the side of the Pentagon *directly opposite* the side on which the offices of the Secretary of Defense and Joint Chief of Staff were located. (Coincidentally, Flight 77 hit the offices of Army operations (U.S. News an World Report, Sept. 14, 2001, pg. 25).

Recall, it was the Army that warned of the possibility that Israel's Mossad might make a terror attack against the US.) The masterminds of Operation 911 were prepared to sacrifice the rank and file, but carefully avoided touching a hair on the head of the brass.**

It reminds one of Operation Northwoods, doesn't it? Remember the rank and file sailors who were to be sacrificed on a US Naval vessel in Guantanamo Bay, in order to justify war with Cuba? No, neither Hanjour nor any other Muslim suicide pilot was at the controls of this plane. It had been fitted with Global Hawk technology and was being remotely controlled.

http://www.sweetliberty.org/issues/war/op911.htm

** The Army's School of Advanced Military Studies (SAMS ) thinks Israel is capable of doing exactly that. On September 10, 2001, The Washington Times ran a front page story which quoted SAMS officers:

"Of the Mossad, the Israeli intelligence service, the SAMS officers say: 'Wildcard. Ruthless and cunning. Has capability to target US forces and make it look like a Palestinian/Arab act.'" ("US troops would enforce peace under Army study," Washington Times, Sept.. 10, 2001, pg. A1, 9.)

Just 24 hours after this story appeared, the Pentagon was hit and the Arabs were being blamed.

Funny, I just dont see the effort from Democrats to counter the attacks from the republiCONs. They are both in this together and the only ones benifieting from all of this.

I really dont want to hear any more about Clinton running. Both of them would sell their mothers for $5.00 just like they sold US out.

The Chinese are right. We are governed by war mongering idiots.