I Challenge YOU to Educate the Low-Information Voters Who Are Hurting Themselves and the Rest Of The Country – Really, This is a Challenge, You Game?

Most of us wonder how people can vote in political candidates and incumbents into, or back into elected office that clearly do not represent their own personal interests. How do women vote for a Governor that clearly is attacking women’s rights? Like when a Governor wants to force any woman who wants an abortion to be raped by requiring them to endure a trans-vaginal ultrasound even though no medical doctor prescribed it, or even says that it is not necessary, or any of the other disgraceful ways the TeaPublicans have attacked women and their rights. How do people who don’t/didn’t have any healthcare, whose state already gets much more money from Washington D.C. then it sends to the government, vote for politicians who refuse to expand Medicaid (which wouldn’t cost their state a dime for the 1st 3 years and then only 5-10% percent of the costs after that) and/or refuse to set-up healthcare exchanges to help those who can’t afford reasonable healthcare get affordable healthcare? After speaking to many people and getting a lot of feedback from people who actually live in those areas, like the Southeast, I found that we don’t understand something. It reminds me of a story I saw on the news many years ago that I still can’t, or won’t, forget. There was a 14 year old boy, attending Public School, in New York City, it was discovered that his parents were making him live in a coffin, whenever he wasn’t in school he would have to stay in a coffin. When he returned from school he had to get into his coffin, he had to eat, wash, and yes defecate in the coffin! When it hit the news the first question was obvious, “Why didn’t you tell anyone?” His answer? He was surprised by the question, “I thought everyone lived the same way I did.” Understandably the child was severely introverted and had no friends so he really didn’t talk to anyone unless he had to. But it made me realize that if you brought up a son or daughter in a green room for 5 years and told that child the color of the room was blue, what do you think that child would say the color of a green traffic light was? That’s why people in areas that receive more in social welfare like disability, food stamps, Social Security, and so forth, vote for politicians that claim the government is a socialist one and is bad! So why don’t they just get smarter? Watch more news? Read more? Well, some of them do, but what they are seeing, hearing, and reading is total bullcrap because the ultra-rich are controlling what they see, hear, and read. Did you know that the Koch Brothers went as far as paying off a State College in Tallahassee, Florida (FSU) to have the final word of who the economics department hired! Yea, no lie! Charles Koch Buys Rights To Control Who Florida State University Hires in their Economic Dept. The amount of money being spent on corrupting our politicians, elections, and on media (written, TV, internet, and other outlets) is absolutely insane. Why do they spend this money? Because it gives the 1% power, power through influence. What can we do? We can make sure that those people who “only watch Fox (faux – false) news” and only see, hear, and read, the misinformation they are being fed, that are told that the room is blue, get the facts, the truth, that the light is GREEN! We must find a way to get the truth to the “low-information voters,” whom many are not to blame for being wrong, and we must do it without the advantage that the ultra-rich billionaires have, which is billions of dollars. I want to challenge each and everyone of you who actually read this post. I want to challenge you to start a massive information blitz telling the facts, the truth, and get it out there in every way you know, in hopes of some of the information getting to those people who are only being told the room is blue. I thought I would try something. We know that those low-information people see very limited information, they may not read a lot, or watch much other than a source that misleads them, so we have to do something that is simple, interesting, and will appeal to those who can’t be bothered researching information. The information must be served in a way that will catch their attention. If enough of the information makes it to these people, perhaps we can get them to see that they are hurting themselves. That’s why I’m asking you, challenging you in fact, to join me in an information campaign targeting those low-information voters. Whatever you create and get out there, remember that it must be something that the target audience will relate to. For instance, I want to target the red states (9 out of 10 of the poorest states are Republican states) in the Southeast, so I’m going to start making memes (pictures with something you write on them) and I’m going to use NASCAR pictures. Here’s my 1st idea on how to start getting information to these people: I challenge each and everyone of you to the make and distribute the best meme, to educate the misinformed, one that will get widespread attention and circulation, so much so that it will make it’s way into the areas where these voters are, and to get widespread distribution of that meme so that it will reach our target audience. Don’t know how to make a meme? “No problem it’s not only easy, it’s fun. Below, I give you a couple really easy ways of doing it, and showing your creativity and sense of humor. So what do you say? Hey, if you share this and my blog post and get others involved we could have millions of these target oriented information memes circulating everywhere! Some of them are bound to reach our target audience and change some minds, AND VOTES! O.K. Let’s see what we can do. Contact me if you have any questions, and please involve as many people as you can by sharing this. Thanks so much for your anticipated cooperation.

How to Make a Meme

There are numerous free sites to assist you in your quest to make a meme, whether you want to be funny, creative, a mix sending a serious message and being a creative, funny, teacher. The site I’m going to recommend here is one that I found to be the easiest and quickest. You will make a meme in a few minutes, I promise. Go to quickmeme by clicking on the colored word (link) quickmeme in this sentence. This is what you will see:

Quickmeme – A Meme Generator

Step 1: On the black on top, instead of seeing a picture of me you will see the word “Login.” You will need to click this and register/Login, if you are on Facebook you can just click Log in with Facebook, or simply type in whatever information you need to, to create an account.

Step 2: Your ready to make a meme. You can use any of the pictures you see, or you can browse the web, or your personal photos, and “upload” a picture (more on uploading in a minute.) Pick a picture by simply clicking on the picture you want to use. I’ve picked one as an example, I chose one that they call “Condescending Wonka” this is what you’ll see:

Condescending Wonka from quickmeme

Step 3: Your almost done! Now put your creative, humorous thinking cap on and fill in the prompts; 1st think of a title, the title will only be seen when your meme is listed with other memes for people to see. Then fill in the “Top Caption, this is what will appear at the top of the picture. Finally fill in the “Bottom Caption.” Suggestion: The Top Caption should be the set-up for the point you want to make, the Bottom Caption should be the punchline to drive your point home. See what I’ve done here (mind you, I never claimed to be good at humor.):

quickmeme instruction on filling in the content of a meme

Step 4: Click “Create” Congratulations! You just made your very first meme! Don’t leave yet, you need to save your work! You can click on “File” and save it, or you can share it to Twitter or Facebook and then “save it as a picture” from there. Done!

Now that your an expert you may want to try other meme generators that give you a little more control, like picking what size the text is, and other options. I suggest you try Imgur.

I promised to tell you about “uploading” your own pictures. It’s very simple. If you’ve ever saved a picture on your computer it was shared into a “file” the default file would be “pictures” or “My Pictures”. If you want to use your own picture, instead of clicking on one of the pictures the meme generator offers, like when I picked Wonka, simply click on “Upload” a picture. that will bring you to your files on your computer, one of which is where you saved your pictures. Simply navigate to the picture you want to use and double click on it, or click on a picture and then click on “save” or “open”, your picture will be uploaded to the meme generator like Wonka was and you can do the same steps as before to create a meme.

Finally, and this is the best, if you have an idea for a meme and have a picture in mind that you would like to use, type the topic into your “search” box on the top of your browser and then click images, it will give you a bunch of pictures to choose from, then save it. This is a picture of my browser:

Google Screenshot

You’ll notice in Google the big white bar near the top of the screen, that’s the address bar. To the right of that is the “search box”, you can type in there whatever you want to find a picture of, ex: fire engine and hit enter, that will give you a list of articles on fire engines, but above the list of articles you’ll see the word “images”, simply click on that and you will have a number of pictures of fire engines. Save one into “pictures by right clicking on the picture you want, then left click “Save Image As” and it will open up your library of folders. click on the “Pictures” folder to open it, then name the picture in the box that says “File Name” and then click “Save”. You then have a picture you can upload to use in a meme. Note: instead of the search box you can click on the word “images” on the google screen, it’s just below the search box, then click in what picture you want to find.

GOOD LUCK! ENJOY! And PLEASE join this challenge so we can educate those who are being fed the ultra-rich garbage so we can keep the Senate and take back the house. If you have any questions use the “Contact Me” button on my blog ay www.Medic3569.com thanks for helping take back our Republic.

The “SGR and Modernization of Medicare Act of 2014” will be Acted Upon Very Soon, Have you Decided if You Would Like them to Fix the Problem Permanent? Now’s the time

I’ve found that I don’t blindly trust any organization including AARP, I certainly don’t agree with a number of things they lobby for as it appears to me, they too can be influenced by money.  The AMA is understandably bias for what is best for medical professionals and medically related organizations and businesses. I’ve researched many sources to find out what the “Sustainable Growth Rate” is all about since it most probably will be voted on this week. I like to call, and/or email my representatives know let them know where I, a constituent stand on that issue. I use my blog and Facebook page http://www.Facebook.com/StoptheObstructionistTeaParty to encourage people to make their voice heard because I think the last shred of having any influence on actions that our Senators and Congressmen/women take is accomplished by flooding their offices with contacts.

Click the GovTrack.us link below for the GovTrack.us Log in page

To contact your U.S. Senators (the site will find your Senators by your zip code,) and your U.S. Congressmen/women (it will find the to, you may have to enter your address,) and the site will supply a template for your call along with connecting you to there office. The site I’m recommending is GovTrack.us and can be accessed through our main page by clicking “Find/Track Politicians, Bills, Voting Records” or by clicking this link. There are many sites that I provide on the page for the purposes of contacting your Representatives, GovTrack.us   is great for locating and contacting your U.S. Senators and Congressmen and women. Congress.gov is exceptional for finding out what’s going on with the calendars, floor actions, and Roll Call votes, while VoteSmart.org is best for locating and contacting your State Senators, Assembly members and local politicians. POPVOX is a good site to show whether you “Support” or “Oppose” a bill and see what organizations are endorsing the bill. You can also get to POPVOX by clicking on the “Take Action” button on our main page.  OpenCongress and OpenSecrets are very interesting sites to see the truth and insight into bills and politicians.

You can also call your legislators using the AMA’s toll-free grassroots hotline: (888) 434-6200

The SGR Repeal and Medicare Provider Payment Modernization Act of 2014 — H.R. 4015 in the U.S. House and S.2000 in the Senate — fixes a big problem with the current system by once and for all repealing the so-called “Sustainable Growth Rate” formula.

Screenshot of GovTrack.us page for Tracking H.R. 4015 SGR Repeal and Medicare Modernization Act of 2014

The SGR is the flawed funding formula which threatens seniors with serious disruptions in the Medicare program year-after-year. For over a decade Congress has fallen back on temporary patches to keep the SGR from taking effect; costing American taxpayers more than $150 billion … without addressing the real problem.

H.R. 4015/S. 2000 is a bipartisan bill that stops this wasteful cycle and clears the way for meaningful reforms that will modernize Medicare and transform it into the 21st century model of care that patients deserve.

Members of Congress need to know that the American people recognize that H.R. 4015/S. 2000 is the right thing to do for Medicare recipients and the fiscally responsible way to do it.

We can’t allow our elected leaders to stall on this critical legislation and keep physicians and patients alike handcuffed to the current, broken system. Call your U.S. Representative and Senators today at (888) 434-6200 and urge them to pass H.R. 4015/S.2000.

First you may want to research more on these bills:

The Medicare Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) is a method currently used by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in the United States to control spending by Medicare on physician services.^[1] Enacted by the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 to amend Section 1848(f) of the Social Security Act, the SGR replaced the Medicare Volume Performance Standard (MVPS), which was the previous method that CMS used in an attempt to control costs

After years of legislative wrangling and last-minute patches, expectations are high among physician groups, lawmakers and Medicare beneficiaries that Congress could act this year to permanently replace the current Medicare physician payment formula. While committees in both chambers have approved their own “doc fix” proposals, the approaches have yet to be reconciled, and none have identified how they would pay for a repeal.

Below are some frequently asked questions and answers about the formula – known as the “sustainable growth rate” – and how Congress may change it.

Q: What is the sustainable growth rate?

A: Known as the SGR, the formula was created as part of a 1997 deficit reduction law designed to rein in federal health spending by linking physician payment to an economic growth target. For the first few years after it was created, Medicare expenditures did not exceed the target and doctors received modest pay increases. But in 2002, doctors reacted with fury when they came in for a 4.8 percent pay cut. Every year since Congress has staved off the scheduled cuts. But each deferral just increased the size – and price tag – of the fix needed the next time.

Your voice can help spur Congress to fix Medicare now!

Q: When is Congress expected to act?

A: Just before leaving town for a holiday break in late December, lawmakers in both chambers voted to extend the current SGR fix until March 31, avoiding the scheduled 24 percent cut that was set to go into effect Jan. 1. Advocates say Congress can find consensus – and money – to move a permanent SGR repeal by the end of March.

Baucus, who has been nominated to be the U.S. ambassador to China, is eager to get the SGR repeal done before his likely Senate confirmation. But even if that doesn’t happen, the bipartisan, bicameral interest in a permanent SGR fix – plus continued heavy pressure from physician groups – may be what’s needed to push the measure through Congress and onto the president’s desk.

You must ACT SOON to get your voice heard.

How Fair Are Our Elections? Do the Democrats Have a Chance of Winning Back the House?

Thursday, January 16, 2014

 Gerrymandering, Voter ID Laws Created for a Virtually Non-Existent Problem, Voter Suppression, Disenfranchising Voters, How Fair Are Our Elections?

Original meme by http://www.Facebook.com/StoptheObstructionistTeaParty and http://www.Medic3569.blogspot.com

 Republicans have passed “Voter ID” laws in 34 states that often address things other than preventing people to vote when their not eligible. Laws that restrict early voting hours, types of ID acceptable, not extending voting hours when their are long lines, limiting the number of voting stations in particular areas (where Democrats are more likely to vote,) all suppress, and disenfranchise the vote of minorities and other specified voting demographics. 

 A twitter friend of mine @HenryStradford  tweeted this: “The only true Democracy is India…imagine that! 1+Billion people…consider the logistics of holding elections. Yet, they do..” I have to wonder if he’s right.

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The following is from a Center For American Progress Action Fund article on January 16, 2014:

With election administration delegated to officials and boards in more than 3,000 counties and localities in the United States, the ease with which one exercises his or her right to vote can depend on where he or she lives. Not only do state voting laws differ across the nation, even within a state, county-based election administration varies widely.

Take, for example, Florida’s Duval County, which during the 2012 election had provisional ballots cast at a rate four times higher than the state average. This is particularly alarming given that Duval County also rejected more than 34 percent of the provisional ballots cast in the county during the 2012 election. Similarly, voters in Indiana’s Tippecanoe County cast provisional ballots at a rate more than seven and a half times the state average. While provisional ballots are legally prescribed and serve as a fail-safe mechanism that allow voters to cast a ballot when questions regarding his or her eligibility to vote arise, both examples raise questions as to why these counties issued provisional ballots at rates so much higher than their state’s average.

Read the Report: http://www.scribd.com/doc/200129107/Unequal-Access-A-County-by-County-Analysis-of-Election-Administration-in-Swing-States-in-the-2012-Election
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Anything Different in the Upcoming Elections?

(CNN) — The midterm elections are around the corner. The big question will obviously be what happens to control of the House and Senate. But control of Congress is only one part of the equation. There are a series of issues that will shape the individual races that will tell us a lot about which way American politics is heading.

Former Ohio Rep. Steven LaTourette and the Main Street Partnership, a group with strong backing from the corporate world, are trying to counteract the power of the tea party, which they believe is damaging the standing of the GOP. “We want our party back,” LaTourette explained to the The New York Times.

The most visible battle between a mainstream Republican and tea party Republican is taking place in Kentucky, where Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is facing a challenge from Matt Bevin in the primary. In Texas, the controversial right-wing Rep. Steve Stockman is running against Sen. John Cornyn.

There are certain must-wins for Democrats if they are to show that they are capable of taking advantage of this moment. In Florida’s 13th District, Alex Sink, a well-known and well-respected Democrat, is attempting to win the seat of long-term Republican veteran Bill Young, who recently died, leaving  open this highly competitive district. If Democrats can’t win this special election on March 11, it will signal trouble. Read More of CNN.COM’s Five Big Questions on 2014 Elections

Retirements Hurt Democrats’ House Prospects

AP Photo

The Democratic quest to win the House majority has always been something close to mission impossible. A procession of lawmakers opting for retirement is pushing the prize even further beyond the party’s grasp.
Seventeen seats shy of the majority and confronting an electoral landscape tilted against them, Democrats have virtually no room for error in the November midterms. Yet the problems they’re encountering of late are coming from within their own ranks. Read More Politico – House Democrats Retiring

Democrats Will Need to Get Out the Vote To Have Any Chance

 With all the Republicans efforts to tip the elections in their favor through Voter ID laws, suppressing votes, disenfranchising voters, gerrymandering, and the backing of the ultra-rich and corporations, it will be very difficult, to say the least, to keep control of the Senate, much less, to win back the House.  If the U. S. Supreme Court sides with McCutcheon in the McCutcheon v FEC, which it heard arguments for on October 8, 2013, it will be that much harder and a total disaster for our beloved country. The U. S. Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United decision created “Corporate Personhood” and removed limits on how much corporations could contribute to political campaigns, and donors could be kept unanimous. As you can see in the meme below top donors from the fossil fuel industry contributed  over $11M in the 2012 election cycle. If the court sides with McCutcheon those same donors could contribute over $312M, or, 27x more.

Fixing a Big Part of the Problem – Taking Money out of Politics

Overturn Citizens United

There is a growing movement across the country that is calling for the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision, in the 2010 Citizens United v FEC case to overturn it through one or more amendments to the U.S. Constitution.

There are currently Constitutional amendments pending in the Congress that would overturn Citizens United by (1) making it clear that corporations do not have constitutional rights, such as “free speech,” which are only for natural persons; and by (2) restoring Congress’ and the states’ authority to limit campaign gifts and spending. See H.J. Res 20 and  H.J. Res 21.

Overturning the disastrous Citizens United decision is NOT a partisan issue, it is an Across-the-Aisle effort. In a 2010/2011 Peter Hart poll 79% of Americans, including 68% of Republicans, 82% of Independents, and 87% of Democrats “support a Constitutional amendment that would overturn the Citizens United decision and make clear that corporations do not have the same rights as people.”

Furthermore, a 2012 Associated Press poll found that 83% of Americans, including 81% of Republicans, 78% of Independents, and 85% of Democrats believe “there should be limits on the amount of money corporations, unions, and other organizations can contribute to outside organizations trying to influence campaigns for President, Senate, and U.S. House.”

Free Speech For People has compiled:

• 111 Republicans who have called for an amendment to overturn Citizens United;
• 9 Republicans who have criticized Citizens United for it’s claim that corporations have constitutional   rights; and
• 10 more Republicans who have criticized Citizens United in more general terms.

Information in this section of the post, some which has been reprinted was provided by Free Speech For People. 

More than 120 National Organizations — have endorsed the United for the People collaborative’s unified Call to Action for a Constitutional amendment. For information click the link above or go to www.United4ThePeople.org.

 Find an organization operating in your area. Get involved For A Better America and make your voice heard by contacting your;

U.S. Senators and Congressmen and women through GovTrack.us. and

State Assemblymen/women and State Senators at VoteSmart.org

Organizations involved in the effort that you should look at are:

Democracy is for People                        and as a resource: Siena College Moreland Commission poll

Move To Amend                                                                Huff Post Politics – Pearl Korn: Mission is Clear

United For The People