Ode to Gort42

I was sorry to see read earlier this week about Gort42 transitioning out of his blog.  Although the move may only be temporary, the final decision remains to be seen.  I think we all go through blogging slumps or blocks.  Like Gort42, the Phillies and election results both hit us like a ton of bricks. Even the NEPArtisan went through some post election blues.  I got over the Phillies pretty fast knowing they will be competitive and a Philadelphia team will always be in the wings ready to break your heart and mine.

Gort42 once told me challengers don't win elections, incumbents lose elections.  I hit this blog hard in the beginning of 2007 as a poll watcher working for Chris Carney in 2006 and trying to pass colon cancer screening legislation in PA.  I guess it was the questioning by candidate Marino of Carney being at home with his wife during cancer surgery in late August that had some people think, but for the most part Marino never had to answer for the comment.  Mr. and Mrs. Carney and myself have all have had our bouts with the "devil".

I am in the process of finishing my second novel by author P.F Kluge of Eddie and the Cruiser and Dog Day Afternoon fame.  Kluge states that his goals of writing are:

to make what matters to us matter to others, to make an audience of strangers care.

For Gort42 and NEPArtisan, there is still something out there that matters.

Carney Receives Thumbs Up!!!!

Local leaders and law enforcement gather in Sunbury's Cameron Park to endorse Congressman Chris Carney 3rd term reelection bid.

Carney was recently attacked by Republican challenger Tom Marino on Carney's long time stance on abortion.

Borrowing from Bob Cesca,

It's also worth noting at this point that the Republican plan for fixing the economy is, 1) Muslims can't be trusted, 2) Mexican babies can't be trust, and 3) Married gay people can't be trusted.

Mass Amnesia!!!

For some reason our country is moving toward a mob rule mentality than looking at the facts. The final signatures have been put on the the Health Care Bill and many people claim to be up in arms. Our last century has seen mass suicide in Jonestown, while this century has bred mass fear and hysteria. Please add mass amnesia to the list.

While the Health Care Bill passed and the naysayers are asking who is going to pay? The last time health care had any legs was in 1993 and where have your premiums gone? For the most part, this is Health Care reform but Health Insurance Reform. I would like to see a public option somewhere down the line. If it were truly socialized takeover the law would have said Medicare for everyone.

If you want to look at some spending in case you forgot, we continue to spend on wars in Iraq and Afghanistan at a 12 BILLION dollar a month clip thanks to Big Dan. With thanks to conservative Pre-Brief, if we would only spend 20% more on defense, we will outspend the rest of the world combined on military expenditures.

In case your keeping score over the last century here is the scorecard of the party of "No":

SOCIAL SECURITY ACT OF 1935 372-58.
THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964 290-130.
VOTING RIGHTS ACT OF 1965 333-85.MEDICARE 307-116.
CLEAN WATER ACT 305-115.

according to Lulac.
Before the Social Security Act of 1935, women were not allowed to collect a pension!!!!

I will have to hand to the PR machine of the "Party of No". They are amazing in convincing a massive amount of people that something bad for them is actually good for them. If you want to roll the dice in November and bring back the party who brought down Glass-Steagall and nefarious oversea adventures costing billions a month do so at your own peril.

Special kudo's go out to Congressman Carney for taking a stand in the 10th and Kanjorski in the 11th. However, Kanjorski tripped when he could have added Carney to appropriations.....so much for seniority.

Carney Courted by the Darkside.

Chris Carney (D-PA10th) was asked by John McCain to join the Republican Party.

With Malcolm Derk of Union County being the first to throw his hat into the Republican Party, there are several questions to ask? Do the national Republicans have or want to throw any money into this campaign. In 2008, Dan Meuser and Chris Hackett were well funded and lost a district McCain won by 9 points.

Could they be strong arming Carney with a threat of big money? Stay tuned.

Malcolm Derk Throws His Hat in 10th CD Race

Snyder County Commissioner Malcolm Derk announced his plans to run for the Republican nomination in the 10th Congressional District in a seat held by Chris Carney of Dimock, PA. Here are some of the places you can learn a little bit about Derk:

Malcolm Derk

Facebook

Draft Derk for Congress

In today's Daily-Item, Derk contends that raising money will be difficult and Carney is well funded.

In 2006, Kathy Scott came within 12 points of incumbent Don Sherwood for the GOP nod while only spending $5000. Although a late night neck massage made the race closer.

Some quotes from the Daily-Item article:

“I feel passionately that it’s not government’s role to create jobs,” Derk said. “That is something that businesses and entrepreneurs do.

“They are the engines that fuel the economy, and they will ultimately get us out of the recession.”

Throwing money at a problem hasn’t helped, Derk said.

“We were promised unemployment wouldn’t hit more than 8 percent; we hit 10 percent last month. This proves the funding priority of Nancy Pelosi and the House Democrats didn’t work. And as a county commissioner, I know that the jobs we were promised never came.”

Derk, at age 27, downplays his age and cites his experience on city council and as commissioner.

It seems from GOP central, if we forget the last decade maybe everyone else will. While Derk was only 18 and entering college. George W. Bush signed The Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001. This was 1.35 trillion dollars out of the gate. When entering office the debt stood around 5 trillion which he doubled in 8 years.

Did we get any valuable returns out of the 12 billion a month(still counting) we are spending in Iraq and Afghanistan???

Here are some staggering investment numbers from the Wall Street Journal.

For those of you who like charts, here is a good one to compare income, net worth and job growth.

I have some ideas for Mr. Derk. Run against Chris not Nancy. Have some creative ideas for job growth and taxes. Don't take the daily GOP fax (Fox) marching orders. Stand up to the heathcare cartel.

In the end, I wish Mr. Derk well. As a young man of 27, he is a great example to get involved and not be apathetic about the country's plight.

Healthcare bails out Northumberland County?

Two top headlines dominated lower Northumberland County yesterday. First was the sale of the Mountain View Manor (county owned) to it's operation manager for 16.5 million and the townhall meething by Congressman Carney in Sunbury.

"The Deal"

Carney on the Fence

Carney agrees that pre-existing conditions and portability should be key. He is not sure on the public option.

Surprisingly 70% of the audience were for some kind of healthcare reform.

The rumblings I heard from current Manor and county employees yesterday is what will happen to my healthcare. On the hotseat is Northumberland County Commissioner Vinni Clausi who promised that he would never sell the Manor when he met with employees when first elected.

The way the debate is going on healthcare will be something similar to car insurance if passed. It will be manadatory to purchase. This is why a public option is needed. If 48 million subcribers are delivered to the insurance industry where will the competition lie???

Carney in 2008!!!

Video of Carney in Lewisburg on November 1st.

In 2006, I supported Chris Carney wrestle the 10th Congressional seat away from Don Sherwood. In 2008, is effort to lead the fight for the Central Susquehanna Valley Thruway Project and his twice voting no to the 700 billion dollar bailout has earned my vote.

The Thruway Project regardless of Carney though is facing a difficult time due the financial crisis. The Bailout deserved a no vote due to first too much power to Henry Paulson and then too much pork from the Republican side of the Senate aisle. "Sweeping the House", friend Greg Maresca informs fellow readers the original bill went from 3 pages to 425 pages filled of pork. In that 3 pages were 32 words that were very dangerous:

Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency.

With the current track record of our executive branch a no-vote was a no-brainer.

Other are still upset by the VA Clinic being located in Snyder County and not Northumberland. Check out this Letter to editor. Do you think Don Sherwood would have addressed this issue at all?

In the 11/2 print edition of the Daily-Item, Chris Hackett says the Paxinos manufacturer Fleetwood Motor Homes moved to Indiana because it is cheaper because of Indiana's state tax situation. No Chris, Fleetwood moved because they make a big-ticket item that no one is buying due to price of gas. They don't need two plants open at this time. By the way, Fleetwood's stock (FLE) was trading around 70 cents when the decision to close Paxinos was made. As of 10/31/2008, the stock closed at 45 cents and gained 9 cents on Friday to do it.

Chris Caney Against Thievery

Once again Chris Carney (10th PA) stood up for the taxpayers against Paulson (Sheriff of Nottingham).

Thanks Chris.

The Bill HR 1424 passes 263-171 anyway.

Here is the Roll Call

Carney Video

Carney is backing Clinton

US Congressman Chris Carney had decided to back Hillary Clinton in his status as superdelegate. The Daily-Item has the story. The 10th voted 70 to 30% in favor of Clinton.

Republican Family Values

Who knows if this story has legs or not. Check out Congressman Vito Fossella's (R-NY) woes.

Jobs coming to 10th?

With four different prison complexes in the 10th Congressional District, the 2008 Defense Authorization Act made it a little hard for the federal government to procure goods from Federal Prison Industries. Read the whole story in the Federal Times.

1.8 million dollars lost it's buying power

Chris Hackett will face Chris Carney in November in the 10th Congressional District. Dan Meuser is out.

Saying Goodbye to 2007 and Hello to 2008!

These two images are defining 2007 and 2008 in their own different way. The above photo show's legendary Shamokin iconic business Nash's Bakery. The Nash family decided to close it's doors after many years around Thanksgiving Day. My first visit to the bakery was it's last day in business under the Nash family. The bakery may open with the same recipes, but under different management. Notice the "Closed Temporarily" sign in the window.

The bottom photo shows Senator Max Cleland stumping for Chris Carney in Sunbury in 2006. Carney is up for reelection in '08 and there is a presidential election that could be a witness to history. Cleland was one of the original victims of "swift boat" type campaign ads.

Relay for Life Weekend

This past weekend I devoted part of my Friday and Saturday making people aware of advocacy for the American Cancer Society's Cancer Action Network. I thought the attendance at the Shamokin Relay was a little down, but the Relay received tremendous financially support reaching their goal.

It was actually great to see another Relay in Selinsgrove, PA held at Susquehanna University. I actually got to see Congressman Chris Carney since his debate with Don Sherwood before the November Election.

Becca's Story

In case anyone forgot why we do Relay for Life, here is a good fighter's story. It is the story of Rebecca Babcock, a youthful 20-something, who should be free to enjoy all the aspects of life that come with her education and youth. However, colon cancer has provided her with some roadblocks. Here is the direct link to Becca's Blog.

This past weekend, Becca was in upstate New York preparing to be a model in the 2008 Colondar. A project brought about by Molly McMaster inspired by Erika Kratzer to bring awareness to the masses of young people under 50 years old that suffer from colon cancer.

With the permission of Becca, I have cross-posted some of her blog. Her story gives a tremendous insight of young people who suffer from cancer in general and trying to keep it all in perspective.

Monday, April 30, 2007

Defeated
I think for the most part I've tried to refrain from posting on here when I'm really angry or upset about something.I figure then it'll just sound like me whining. And even though my nickname as a child used to be "Becca-Whiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnneeerrrrrrr", I really hate whining.When I do it, I hate the sound of it coming out of my mouth. So I've attempted to not come on here and gripe like it's my fourth grade journal.But I'm just in about the foulest mood you could ever imagine right now. There isn't much else to do BUT whine in this instance.Here's the scenario. I don't have health insurance. I had COBRA insurance from my former employer before getting diagnosed. It was crappy crappy coverage, but it was still coverage. However, COBRA ran out in February (coincidently just about when I finished chemotherapy. although that didn't really matter much b/c the COBRA benefits had been maxed out for months prior to that).I cannot NOT have insurance. I need follow up PETscans and Upper Endoscopies pretty much indefinitely. So it was imperative I get insurance. I can't get it through my current employer b/c I am parttime, they are non-profit, etc etc.So I hear about this program through the state of Illinois called ICHIP (Illinois Comprehensive Health Insurance Program). If you're approved, you can get covered, with no pre-existing condition, etc etc.I applied, and got approved. Great news right? All worries solved for now?HA.The premium is $425ish a month. A MONTH?!? I can BARELY make $350 a month for rent, let alone regular utility bills, cell phone bill, and we're not even looking in the direction of my more than $40,000 in student loans. Nor am I even thinking about the way more than $125,000 still remaining in medical/surgical/treatment bills.I just don't get it. I truly just can't see a solution. I do not have this amount of money. I do not have the option for making anywhere near enough at my current job. I am struggling to find a second job, or just a whole new job all together, due to the demands and constraints of this new plumbing system I had installed. I can't seem to be able to work a normal 8 hour shift with regularity. I'm lucky that my current employer is so understanding and flexible and has been there with me through it all already.I don't apparently qualify for Social Security, SSI, Disability, Medicaid, etc. For who knows what reason.I just don't understand. I feel very defeated. Very discouraged.I don't know how people do it. How am I expected to pay this? It'd be one thing if I was just a normally broke fresh out of college kid. But I don't get a fresh start on this. I get to be held back by a year of treatment and surgery, barely able to work, and of course incruing massive debt well beyond even the most well established persons income. (let alone that I was not well established previously)You always hear how a medical crisis just shatters people, not merely emotionally and psychologically, but financially as well. And I know the stories. But it's hard to fathom when it's you in that position. It's hard to dig yourself out of that pit of worry, anxiety, and fear. This wierd obligation I have. I've never imagined the statement "stuck between a rock and a hard place" to ever be so true. though for me it's essentially a life or death kinda true.And well. That's it. I don't even have anything more to say. I barely can muster the energy to be angry. it's just too heavy. I'd rather just sink into a corner and disappear. money, insurance, the health care industry...all be damned.
Posted by Becca at 12:03 PM 5 comments
Wednesday, April 4, 2007

The after effects no one mentions
I know i know i know....i'mma bad bad blogger.I've been on a itty bitty break. Sorta forgot bout writing. No real good reason. Other than maybe, trying to get back to living.It's cool seeing all the comments on here though. Sometimes people comment and I realize I have no way to answer em back. Which is sorta sad.I want you guys all to know I do read every comment and I'm so honored, flattered, touched, surprised, embarrassed, and humbled that anyone even reads what I have to say.It was really cool that I got a comment on my last entry from a nurse that I had at Cleveland Clinic in September for my surgery. It feels awesome that they not only remember me, but actually got online to see how I was doing.And for that...to anyone that I've come across in this mad journey that is cancer...I'm doing well. I think about lots of the nurses and fellows and doctors I've come in contact with often. Believe it or not.I remember one nurse (or nurse aid?) at cleveland clinic who sat in my room when my mom was out doing errands, and talked to me for the longest time about her sister, and their quest to decorate her sisters house by going to every yard sale they could find.And I remember the Radiation Therapist who would buy at least 2 of my "CANCER SUCKS" bracelets every time she saw me (and seeing as I was there mon-fri for five weeks straight...that's alot of bracelets). She single-handedly outfitted almost every person working in radiation and the CT Scan dept.And I remember the Stoma nurse from Cleveland emailing me months after surgery to see how I was doing, and to say how great my stoma looked.And not even just in the medical area. From the first day I told people at work what was going on, the person that runs the cafe in my job decided there wasn't alot he could do to help me, but the one thing he could do was feed me for free the entire time I was in treatment. I didn't even realize til I came back from surgery and having not worked for two months how much of a help this was to me.A friend who I didn't even know for too long, or too well at the time found out what was going on and singlehandedly organized, and executed an amazing classical concert as a fundraiser for me in a city that I had never lived or visited, on a school campus which I never attended, nor had any connection to.And the Radiation Doctor who ended up leaving to a new hospital right on my last day of radiation, but made sure she was the one who saw me on my final day, and then gave me her personal cell phone number in case I had any problems later on.A nurse that my mom works with, but whom I've never met decided her family and her would not give each other presents this christmas, but instead take money they would have bought presents with, and donated it to my fundraising.There were so many people I crossed paths with that made the experience just a bit more bearable, and helped me continue to feel like a person rather than a number or a disease. This teeny tiny blog entry doesn't touch on even half. I wish I could detail out for you all how many amazing things that have happened due to such an awful diagnosis.I felt I needed to take a sec to reflect on some of the more positive notes and all the great people I'm lucky enough to have in my life. Since I'm not in the greatest of moods right now, and my next entry will probably be a wwwwwhhhoooooollllleeee lot more negative.but first...sleep is an order.obrigado gentes