Daily Kos: State of the Nation

http://www.dailykos.com/

Hi All-
If you say you don't care, there is something inherently wrong with you.
If you say you do care then you will be either condemned or applauded.

While the rest of these are not a surprise to anyone who pays attention, (and you should), I am having a real problem seeing that the #'s for people that are "likely to vote" are so dang low!
That says something awful about the ignorance and the apathy of our American public.

XOXO
Me

Perhaps 'apathy' should be a pre~existing condition???


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ABOUT DAILY KOS

Founded in May 26, 2002, Daily Kos is the premier online political community with 2.5 million unique visitors per month and 215,000 registered users. It is at once a news organization, community, and activist hub. Among luminaries posting diaries on the site are President Jimmy Carter, Senator Barack Obama, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, and dozens of other senators, congressmen, and governors.

Even more exciting than that however, are the hundreds of thousands of regular Americans that have used Daily Kos to shape a political world once the exclusive domain of the rich, connected, and powerful.

Daily Kos has eight paid staffers and continues to ramp up its features, from top-tier independent polling (about 100 polls in 2008, double that scheduled for 2009) to its groundbreaking Electoral Scoreboard.

Daily Kos Weekly State of the Nation Poll

Research 2000, Adults MoE 3%,
Mar 01, 2010 - Mar 04, 2010 (last week's results in parentheses)

Full Crosstabs

	FAVORABLE	UNFAVORABLE	DON'T KNOW	NET CHANGE
PRESIDENT OBAMA	53 (55)	43 (40)	4 (5)	-5
PELOSI:	36 (38)	56 (52)	8 (10)	-6
REID:	27 (23)	66 (67)	7 (10)	5
McCONNELL:	21 (20)	63 (62)	16 (18)	0
BOEHNER:	19 (20)	62 (62)	19 (18)	-1
CONGRESSIONAL DEMS:	37 (39)	61 (59)	2 (2)	-4
CONGRESSIONAL GOPS:	24 (19)	67 (65)	9 (16)	3
DEMOCRATIC PARTY:	39 (40)	57 (55)	4 (5)	-3
REPUBLICAN PARTY:	30 (29)	66 (62)	4 (9)	-3

© Kos Media, LLC

Site content may be used for any purpose without explicit permission unless otherwise specified.
"Kos" and "Daily Kos" are registered trademarks of Kos Media, LLC


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Daily Kos Weekly State of the Nation Poll

Research 2000, MoE 2.8%, Mar 01, 2010 - Mar 04, 2010

Previous

BARACK OBAMA

	FAV	UNFAV	NO OPINION
ALL	53	43	4
MEN	46	51	3
WOMEN	60	35	5
DEM	89	8	3
REP	14	82	4
IND	49	46	5
WHITE	45	52	3
BLACK	90	5	5
LATINO	62	30	8
OTH/REF	65	26	9
18-29	64	31	6
30-44	56	40	4
45-59	49	47	4
60+	46	51	3
NORTHEAST	74	22	4
SOUTH	35	62	3
MIDWEST	55	41	4
WEST	57	39	4
REST OF USA	61	34	5

NANCY PELOSI

	FAV	UNFAV	NO OPINION
ALL	36	56	8
MEN	22	73	5
WOMEN	50	39	11
DEM	76	17	7
REP	8	85	7
IND	23	68	9
WHITE	33	60	7
BLACK	49	38	13
LATINO	42	50	8
OTH/REF	44	47	9
18-29	42	48	10
30-44	38	56	6
45-59	33	58	9
60+	32	60	8
NORTHEAST	46	38	16
SOUTH	28	65	7
MIDWEST	34	59	7
WEST	40	57	3

HARRY REID

	FAV	UNFAV	NO OPINION
ALL	27	66	7
MEN	23	74	3
WOMEN	31	58	11
DEM	51	41	8
REP	10	87	2
IND	19	72	9
WHITE	25	70	5
BLACK	34	48	17
LATINO	31	56	13
OTH/REF	33	51	16
18-29	35	57	8
30-44	29	66	5
45-59	25	68	7
60+	20	70	10
NORTHEAST	36	54	10
SOUTH	21	74	5
MIDWEST	25	68	7
WEST	29	65	6

MITCH MCCONNELL

	FAV	UNFAV	NO OPINION
ALL	21	63	16
MEN	26	59	15
WOMEN	16	67	17
DEM	7	88	5
REP	52	15	33
IND	14	72	14
WHITE	26	59	15
BLACK	5	81	14
LATINO	10	68	22
OTH/REF	8	72	20
18-29	12	72	16
30-44	22	65	13
45-59	23	60	17
60+	25	58	17
NORTHEAST	8	79	13
SOUTH	34	47	19
MIDWEST	20	65	15
WEST	16	69	15

JOHN BOEHNER

	FAV	UNFAV	NO OPINION
ALL	19	62	19
MEN	24	57	19
WOMEN	14	67	19
DEM	6	87	7
REP	50	14	34
IND	11	71	18
WHITE	24	58	18
BLACK	4	78	18
LATINO	8	67	25
OTH/REF	7	72	21
18-29	11	71	18
30-44	19	63	18
45-59	21	59	20
60+	22	57	21
NORTHEAST	7	76	17
SOUTH	32	46	22
MIDWEST	18	64	18
WEST	14	68	18

CONGRESSIONAL DEMOCRATS

	FAV	UNFAV	NO OPINION
ALL	37	61	2
MEN	29	69	2
WOMEN	45	53	2
DEM	62	35	3
REP	12	87	1
IND	33	65	2
WHITE	32	66	2
BLACK	61	36	3
LATINO	41	56	3
OTH/REF	43	53	4
18-29	47	50	3
30-44	38	60	2
45-59	34	64	2
60+	33	65	2
NORTHEAST	46	50	3
SOUTH	31	68	1
MIDWEST	36	62	2
WEST	38	60	2

CONGRESSIONAL REPUBLICANS

	FAV	UNFAV	NO OPINION
ALL	24	67	9
MEN	33	61	6
WOMEN	15	73	12
DEM	8	86	6
REP	56	27	17
IND	17	76	7
WHITE	29	63	9
BLACK	8	87	5
LATINO	14	70	16
OTH/REF	11	75	14
18-29	13	80	7
30-44	24	69	7
45-59	27	63	10
60+	29	60	11
NORTHEAST	13	80	7
SOUTH	32	53	15
MIDWEST	24	69	7
WEST	22	73	5

DEMOCRATIC PARTY

	FAV	UNFAV	NO OPINION
ALL	39	57	4
MEN	31	66	3
WOMEN	47	48	5
DEM	66	30	4
REP	12	85	3
IND	34	61	4
WHITE	34	63	3
BLACK	64	30	6
LATINO	45	50	5
OTH/REF	46	49	5
18-29	49	47	3
30-44	41	56	3
45-59	36	60	4
60+	34	61	5
NORTHEAST	49	45	6
SOUTH	32	65	3
MIDWEST	38	58	4
WEST	40	56	4

REPUBLICAN PARTY

	FAV	UNFAV	NO OPINION
ALL	30	66	4
MEN	39	59	2
WOMEN	21	73	6
DEM	13	84	3
REP	66	31	7
IND	24	73	3
WHITE	36	62	2
BLACK	7	85	8
LATINO	17	69	14
OTH/REF	16	72	12
18-29	19	78	3
30-44	30	68	2
45-59	33	62	5
60+	35	60	5
NORTHEAST	18	78	4
SOUTH	39	53	8
MIDWEST	30	68	2
WEST	28	70	2

Direction

QUESTION: Do you feel the country overall is heading in the right direction or wrong direction?

	RIGHT	WRONG	NOT SURE
ALL	38	60	2
MEN	31	68	1
WOMEN	45	52	3
DEM	64	34	2
REP	12	87	1
IND	34	64	2
WHITE	33	66	1
BLACK	62	32	6
LATINO	45	52	3
OTH/REF	45	51	4
18-29	48	50	2
30-44	40	59	1
45-59	35	63	2
60+	33	65	2
NORTHEAST	48	49	3
SOUTH	31	67	2
MIDWEST	37	61	2
WEST	39	59	2

Generic Congressional Ballot

QUESTION: Would you like to see more Democrats or Republicans elected to Congress in 2010?

	DEMOCRATS	REPUBLICANS	NOT SURE
ALL	45	42	13
MEN	39	48	13
WOMEN	51	36	13
DEM	90	5	5
REP	3	94	3
IND	35	40	25
WHITE	38	50	12
BLACK	76	4	20
LATINO	55	33	12
OTH/REF	57	30	13
18-29	58	17	25
30-44	46	43	11
45-59	42	48	10
60+	38	50	12
NORTHEAST	62	17	21
SOUTH	33	59	8
MIDWEST	45	43	12
WEST	46	41	13

*** Voter Likelihood

QUESTION: In the 2010 Congressional elections will you definitely vote, vote, not likely vote, or definitely will not vote?

	DEFINITELY	VOTE	NOT LIKELY	DEF NOT	NOT SURE
ALL	21	23	22	3	31
MEN	24	26	19	2	29
WOMEN	18	20	25	4	33
DEM	19	20	26	4	31
REP	24	25	19	2	30
IND	21	24	21	3	31
WHITE	24	25	20	2	29
BLACK	11	17	28	6	38
LATINO	13	17	25	5	40
OTH/REF	12	16	27	8	37
18-29	16	17	28	5	34
30-44	20	22	23	4	31
45-59	23	25	20	2	30
60+	24	27	19	2	28
NORTHEAST	19	21	24	4	32
SOUTH	23	25	19	2	31
MIDWEST	21	24	22	3	30
WEST	20	21	24	3	32

Demographics

Men	574	48%
Women	626	52%
Dem	385	32%
Rep	298	25%
Ind	517	43%
White	899	75%
Black	145	12%
Latino	97	8%
Oth/Ref	59	5%
18-29	193	16%
30-44	359	30%
45-64	467	39%
65+	181	15%
NE	253	21%
South	371	31%
MW	301	25%
West	275	23%

GEOGRAPHIC BREAKDOWN:

Northeast:
DC, ME, VT, NY, MD, PA, CT, DE, MA, NH, RI, WV, NJ

South:
FL, NC, SC, AL, MS, GA, VA, TN, KY, LA, AR, TX

Midwest:
IL, MN, MI, OH, WI, IA, MO, KS, IN, ND, SD, OK, NE

West:
NM, CA, OR, WA, AK, HI, MT, ID, UT, NV, AZ, WY, CO

SCRIPT:

For favorability questions, respondents are asked: "Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of _______?"

Methodology

A total of 1200 adults nationally were interviewed by telephone. A cross-section of calls was made into each state in the country in order to reflect the adult population nationally.

The margin for error, according to standards customarily used by statisticians, is no more than plus or minus 2.8% percentage points. This means that there is a 95 percent probability that the “true” figure would fall within that range if the entire adult population were sampled. The margin for error is higher for any demographic subgroup, such as gender, race, or region.

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Hmmm... Aside from bookmarking this site, what say you?
When will we learn?  Why have we not been taught to vote?

Exclusive: RNC document mocks donors, plays on 'fear'

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0310/33866.html
Ben Smith - POLITICO.com

I was heading offline, and will be shortly... But I wanted to make you aware of this.

I was directed to this link by way of our "Intelligent Debate" site.
Thank you TroyJ!

XOXO
Me

___________________________
By BEN SMITH | 3/3/10 4:23 PM EST

The Republican National Committee plans to raise money this election cycle through an aggressive campaign capitalizing on “fear” of President Barack Obama and a promise to "save the country from trending toward socialism."

The strategy was detailed in a confidential party fundraising presentation, obtained by POLITICO, which also outlines how “ego-driven” wealthy donors can be tapped with offers of access and “tchochkes.”

The presentation was delivered by RNC Finance Director Rob Bickhart to top donors and fundraisers at a party retreat in Boca Grande, Florida on February 18, a source at the gathering said.

In neat PowerPoint pages, it lifts the curtain on the often-cynical terms of political marketing, displaying an air of disdain for the party’s donors that is usually confined to the barroom conversations of political operatives.

The presentation explains the Republican fundraising in simple terms.

"What can you sell when you do not have the White House, the House, or the Senate...?" it asks.

The answer: "Save the country from trending toward Socialism!”

Manipulating donors with crude caricatures and playing on their fears is hardly unique to Republicans or to the RNC – Democrats raised millions off George W. Bush in similar terms – but rarely is it practiced in such cartoonish terms.

One page, headed “The Evil Empire,” pictures Obama as the Joker from Batman, while House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leaders Harry Reid are depicted as Cruella DeVille and Scooby Doo, respectively.

The document, which two Republican sources said was prepared by the party’s finance staff, comes as Chairman Michael Steele struggles to retain the trust and allegiance of major donors, who can give as much as $30,400 a year to the party.

Under Steele, the RNC has shifted toward a reliance on small donors, but the document reveals extensive, confidential details of the strategy for luring wealthy checkwriters, which range from luxury retreats in California wine country to tickets to a professional fight in Las Vegas.

The 72-page document was provided to POLITICO by a Democrat, who said a hard copy had been left in the hotel hosting the $2,500-a-head retreat, the Gasparilla Inn & Club. Sources at the event said the presentation was delivered by Bickhart and by the RNC Finance Chairman, Peter Terpeluk, a former ambassador to Luxembourg under President George W. Bush. 

The RNC reacted with alarm to a question about it Wednesday, emailing major donors to warn them of a reporter’s question, and distancing Steele from its contents.

“The document was used for a fundraising presentation Chairman Steele did not attend, nor had he seen the document,” RNC Communications Director Doug Heye said in an email. “Fundraising documents are often controversial.

“Obviously, the Chairman disagrees with the language and finds the use of such imagery to be unacceptable. It will not be used by the Republican National Committee – in any capacity – in the future,” Heye said.

The most unusual section of the presentation is a set of six slides headed “RNC Marketing 101.” The presentation divides fundraising into two traditional categories, direct marketing and major donors, and lays out the details of how to approach each group.

The small donors who are the targets of direct marketing are described under the heading “Visceral Giving.” Their motivations are listed as “fear;” “Extreme negative feelings toward existing Administration;” and “Reactionary.”

Major donors, by contrast, are treated in a column headed “Calculated Giving.”

Their motivations include: “Peer to Peer Pressure”; “access”; and “Ego-Driven.”

The slide also allows that donors may have more honorable motives, including “Patriotic Duty.”

A major Republican donor described the state of the RNC’s relationship with major donors as “disastrous,” with veteran givers beginning to abandon the committee, which is becoming increasingly reliant on small donors.

The party’s average contribution in 2009, according to the document, was just $40, and the shift toward a financial reliance on the grassroots may help explain Steele’s increasingly strident tone toward the Obama Administration.

While the crude portrayal of Obama may be - as Steele ‘s spokesman put it - “unacceptable,” other elements of the presentation may be of equal interest to close political observers. 

The RNC plans to raise $8.6 million from major donors alone in 2010, less than 10% of its total 2009 fundraising take, which was primarily from small donors."

The center of that plan is an extensive, and colorful, schedule of events. Along with traditional fundraisers with conservative luminaries including Weekly Standard Editor Bill Kristol and former presidential candidate Steve Forbes, the party plans to raise $80,000 for a trip to London to meet David Cameron, the British Conservative Party leader, on September 17.

The RNC’s “Young Eagles” – younger major donors and the only group, according to a major donor, continuing to pull its weight financially – are invited to a “professional bull riding event” in October, expected to raise $50,000, and to a no-holds-barred Ultimate Fighting Championship fight in Las Vegas the same month, expected to raise $60,000.

The RNC’s aim, according to one section of the document: “Putting the Fun Back in FUNdraising.”

CORRECTION: The RNC raised a total of $81 million in 2009. An earlier version of this story understated that figure.

"It's Time to Act"

"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."



Good Morning Everyone;
I have been silent on the HealthCare issue for quite some time. It became almost a non~issue for me with the deletion of The Public Option.
BUT... Since there is still minor hope for The Public Option, of course I have much to say about it all.

Casey and I did watch that Health Care summit last Thursday. We were very proud when President Obama (found his gonads and) finally stood up to the blatant disrespect; even while keeping the agenda on Health Care.

We were just 2 of the following people.
"Some had the audacity to hope that the Republicans would come to the table to work with the President to solve problems like health care. Now, it’s clear they are putting insurance industry profits above the health of America’s families."

D. Bhargava, from "The GOP Health Plan: A Cruel Joke"

We found it odd that "the leading Republican spokesperson for their new plan, Congressman John Boehner has pocketed nearly a million dollars from the insurance special interests." (Cited above).

Perhaps "odd" isn't the correct word.
"Par for the course" would be more fitting.

Read on- As always, I have cited my sources.

______________________________

Anthony Mason, CBS News, quoted below

"As Washington tries to write a new prescription for HealthCare, American business says it can't afford to be left in the waiting room"

• Some of you are getting by.
  
  • somehow.
    
    
• Some have lost their jobs already.
  
  
• Still others do not have the money for food.
  
  
• Some are working- having their hours and wages cut.
  
  • "Benefits" is a gold mine to an employee
  • And an obscene word to an employer
    
    
• Some are working two jobs
  
  • and still trying to raise their children.
    
    
• Some still believe they can sit on a pedestal and literally or figuratively, denigrate those that cannot even 'see' the pedestal.
  
  • Those pedestals will crack!
    
    • If they haven't begun to crumble already
    
    
• Many of us (on my pages) are ill or incapacitated in some manner. 
  
  • (Through no fault of our own).
    
    
• Some even are fortunate enough to know what they need,
  
  • but lack the funds necessary to have their medicines,
    
    • or the surgeries that would save them.

To those that are still working...

• Does your job offer security?
• Do you really feel safe?
• Should you?

"Every 10% rise in HealthCare costs the economy 120,000 jobs." Source: Rand

• How much has your health insurance gone up?
• Do you even have your employer based insurance anymore?

I wonder now, how many people [that were originally so against this plan[ have since lost their jobs? (IMHO, knowing one of these people, I have to say that even their arrogance couldn't save them).
* Pea, I am not talking about you- You are not arrogant. You are kind. You are wise.

Some grand companies are even dropping health insurance and not telling their employees. Click for that story.
Talk about deception!

What one angry commenter said: "The American People have NOT said they do not want this Health Care Bill, it is the biased media in certain large cities and states reporting that the people don't want it, NOT the people saying they don't want it, some group has taken over and is trying to convince people that they don't want it.
STOP and think, who was it at the Tea Bag Parties, and at the town hall meetings that were on the news networks???
90% of those that spoke out against it are retired and already on medicare!!! They were convinced to assemble and speak out against an issue that did not even concern them. Did they ask the currently employed people that DO NOT have health care? NO..... Did they ask the unemployed? NO. Who did they ask?
As many people as they could that the health care bill would not affect whether it passed or not. "
End quote

While I may disagree about this mans comment about the Tea Baggers, this article did make me wince- First from it's obvious language, then from the fact that he may possibly be correct.

Still, reeking of Nixon's Silent majority is not what my blog is about.

This is: "Most Americans would like to see a "public option" in health insurance reform but doubt anything Congress does will lower costs or improve care " end quote.
Thomson Reuters PULSE Healthcare Survey

There are questions still.
Like, has your senator taken a stand on the public option?  Click.
120 House members signed their support also. Click.
Note: "Statements are only counted if they make clear that the senator will vote yes if the House version of the public option (or stronger) is brought up for a vote in reconciliation."

Also quoted, "If 100 senators are not on board for a public option and true reform, then NONE of them is listening to the American people." end quote

"Capitalism, when you're shopping for a TV or a car, is fine; [but] when necessities are involved, capitalism is pure evil. We should aspire to something better. If you want to call that socialism, which I define as caring about people, that's fine with me."  end quote
I could not agree more!


"This is preeminently the time to speak the truth, the whole truth, frankly and boldly. Nor need we shrink from honestly facing conditions in our country today. This great Nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and will prosper. So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself"


If you, for any reason, are not hearing these truths, may you be safe and secure in the knowledge that you did nothing to help while the deaths and lives of many fellow Americans are summarily hanging in the balance.

What do these words mean to you? As taken from The Preamble to the US Constitution at the top, "promote the general welfare"

Here are your options...

1. Please define "security" for me.
2. Then define "health" for me.
3. How is YOUR health?
4. More importantly, how will your health be tomorrow?

Sleep well my friends.

XOXO
Me

"It's time to act" from President Obama's most recent health care speech
click

Also (ALL from whitehouse.gov).

• March 4, 2010 at 11:23 AM EST

  What Reform Would Mean for Laura Klitzka

  Includes Video
• March 3, 2010 at 8:38 PM EST

  Watch, Discuss, Engage at 3:40: HHS Secretary Sebelius & Health Reform Director Nancy-Ann DeParle

• March 3, 2010 at 3:32 PM EST

  Moving Forward to Put the American People Ahead of Insurance Companies

• March 3, 2010 at 11:16 AM EST

  Incorporating the Best Ideas from Both Parties

• March 2, 2010 at 12:55 PM EST

  President Obama Follows Up on Thursday's Bipartisan Meeting on Health Reform

• February 27, 2010 at 6:00 AM EST

  Weekly Address: The Olympic Spirit, the Spirit of Bipartisanship, and Health Reform

Glenn Beck and California Cows

Rating:
Category:	Other

Good Morning Everyone!
Just a wee bit of commentary here...

"Wow."
-It's about all I can say to the disinformation- (which is NOT to be confused with misinformation).   -Definitions below

While watching the TV last night, Glenn Beck was on the Fox news channel.
Yes, I was trying to garner an image, (better than the negative one I have), of him.

He was 'trying' to make a point, and I don't even recall about what.

He had $7.00 in one hand and a gallon of milk in the other.

And his line of thought(?), went something like this...

What will you pay for this milk when the truck drivers have to pay $7.00 for a gallon of diesel, and the farmers pay $7.00 for the gallon of fuel.
How much do you think they will charge us for the milk?

Mr. Beck, I have never known any farmer that could set his own price.
I changed the channel shortly after I realized my mouth was hanging open.

XOXO
Me,  aka "The Flintville Farmers Daughter"

PS
California cows?  Those commercials are funny.
No offense, but dairy cows actually produce more milk in cooler climates.
Talk about a bum steer! HAHAHA! ... Click.


Click on the words below:

* disinformation 
* misinformation

The difference clearly lies with intent.

"To Be Loved, and to Be Wanted"

"I realize now that 30 years ago my presence was the reason for much heartbreak and sorrow.
I have been apologized to, cried over, and agonized over; where there should be no apologies, tears or pain.
I have found that open door, and have been embraced by the open arms behind it. I have come to learn that life goes on; and that indeed, life is good.
There are no promises, no guaranteed answers in an adoption, yet there will always be the inevitable questions."

"This is not something you do simply because you want to- it is something you do because you have to."

"I am 'more'-
And "of the 'more' who have found love and acceptance beyond their wildest dreams.
And it is the realization of one simple and shared dream.
It is a dream of completion."

"My dream has come full circle!
I have found that it is -as it was all those years ago in my childhood; it is enough just to be loved and to be wanted."
©1988 aly


Good Morning All;
Master Gabriel's adoption was finalized yesterday. Where I thought I would have a very hard time, I found I did not. It was an afternoon of prayers answered for our little man. I believe through my own prayers I became more than calmed-
A certain calm I didn't realize I possessed inside.
I spent a while online this morning searching for a unique tidbit to describe adoption. I found none dear enough-  and have settled for the words above, written by me - part of my story for Catholic Social Services, some two decades ago.



Congratulations Kristin and Steve, and oh so precious family.
.
.


"It's a Boy!"   .....-4 not pictured-  March 2, 2010
.....
My dream for all of you is such a simple one, just all the very best of everything.
You are more special to me than my words can describe.

My love always.

XOXO
Grandma Anne

PA. man dies during storm when 911 calls unheeded

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100228/ap_on_re_us/us_snow911_death

How sad, how scary, is this?



Not only because of our close connection with pancreatitis- perhaps because of it, I found this story to rip out my heart...

COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE!

_________________________________________

By DAN NEPHIN, Associated Press Writer Dan Nephin, Associated Press Writer – Sun Feb 28, 1:19 pm ET

PITTSBURGH – With her boyfriend in severe abdominal pain, Sharon Edge called 911 for an ambulance in the early morning hours of Feb. 6. Heavy snow was falling — so heavy it would all but bring the city to a standstill — and Curtis Mitchell needed to go to a hospital.

"Help is on the way," the operator said.

It never arrived.

Nearly 30 hours later — and 10 calls from the couple to 911, four 911 calls to them and at least a dozen calls between 911 and paramedics — Curtis Mitchell died at his home. His electricity knocked out, his heat long off, the 50-year-old former steelworker waited, huddled beneath blankets on his sofa.

"I'm very angry, because I feel they didn't do their job like they supposed to," said Edge, 51. "My man would still be living if they'da did they job like they was supposed to ... They took somebody that I love away."

Mitchell, on disability for depression, had a history of pancreatitis, an inflammation of the pancreas, Edge said, and had spent nine days in a hospital in late January. He had been home about a week when he was overcome with pain. Autopsy results are pending, awaiting toxicology test results, authorities said.

Now Pittsburgh officials have ordered an investigation and reforms of the city's emergency services system as Mitchell's case highlighted key shortcomings:

• Details of Mitchell's calls weren't passed on from one 911 operator to another as shifts changed, so each call was treated as a new incident.

• Twice, ambulances were as close as a quarter-mile from Mitchell's home but drivers said deep snow prevented the vehicles from crossing a small bridge over railroad tracks to reach him. Mitchell was told each time he'd have to walk through the snow to the ambulances; in neither case did paramedics walk to get him.

• Once, an ambulance made it across the bridge and was at the opposite end of the block on the narrow street where the couple lived — a little more than a football field's length. Again, paramedics didn't try to walk.

"We failed this person," said Michael Huss, the city's public safety director.

To be sure, Mitchell's ordeal unfolded as the storm dumped nearly two feet of snow on Pittsburgh; the 911 system was swamped with more than twice as many calls as usual and overall emergency response was hampered.

Regardless of how deep the snow was, Huss said it was unacceptable that paramedics didn't walk to help Mitchell. If they had, Huss believes Mitchell may have survived.

"... You get out of that damn truck and you walk to the residence," Huss said. "That's what needed to happen. We could have carried him out."

The six paramedics on the three ambulances could be disciplined, Huss said. He declined to say what that might be.

Paramedics or firefighters will now be required to go to a caller's door.

"Everyone needs to get a response," Huss said Thursday.

That Mitchell died waiting to get to the hospital is a cruel coincidence.

Edge and Mitchell met eight years ago in an emergency room. Both were getting their medications under control for their mental illnesses, she said. He was being treated for depression; she has bipolar disorder.

"We've been stuck together ever since, like glue," Edge said.

Several years ago, they moved into a small red brick rowhouse in Hazelwood, the riverside neighborhood that was home to Pittsburgh's last working steel mill, which shut down a dozen years ago.

Sitting on the tan and blue fabric sofa where Mitchell died, Edge described him.

He enjoyed watching TV, particularly westerns. They hoped to get married by a justice of the peace in April, then celebrate with a little party.

"He did for his friends," she said. "He looked out for other people when they needed stuff. He was there to help."

They didn't have a car. During the storm, a neighbor offered to drive them to a hospital but he couldn't get his car shoveled out.

Edge is a little sketchy on details of Mitchell's worsening condition and death. Then again, she didn't think she'd need to relive them. She thought they first called 911 on the night of Feb. 5, but records indicate the first call was made about 2 a.m. on Feb 6. Sometime Friday night, the storm knocked out their power and the couple sought warmth under blankets as the house got colder.

Edge said Mitchell had begun to feel stomach pains during the week, but he tried to deal with it. By Friday morning, he woke up in pain. Still, he tried to manage with medication, she said.

A review of the 911 calls by the Associated Press shows no anger in Mitchell's or Edge's voices. There was no screaming. Conversations with operators were cordial and the couple seemed to understand the difficulties the snow posed.

Still, Mitchell and Edge let them know he was in pain.

"My stomach man, it's real messed up. It's killing me," he tells a 911 operator about 11:15 a.m. on Feb. 6.

About 8 p.m. that night — in the eighth call to 911 — Edge tells an operator: "My boyfriend called for an ambulance. He's in a lot of pain and we've been waiting for a couple hours now."

At one point, Mitchell can be heard exclaiming "Oh man, what?" when Edge relayed to him that they would have to walk to the ambulance because of the snow. It was not clear when that conversation took place.

In all, three ambulances were dispatched at separate times. In each case, Mitchell was told he'd have to walk to them — and he canceled the calls.

As the hours went by, Mitchell's pain intensified and he began to have shortness of breath. Because he complained of abdominal pain, which is generally not considered life-threatening, he was initially ranked as a medium priority. About 11:20 a.m. Saturday, his priority level was upgraded, but not as an emergency.

Mitchell tried to sleep. He took his prescriptions — oxycodone for pain and sleeping pills for his insomnia. Edge gave him the medication and closely followed the dosage, she said.

"All that time, he was dying and I didn't even know it," Edge said.

Shortly before 8 a.m. on Feb. 7, Edge made her last 911 call.

"I think my husband's dead. Oh God, oh God," she sobbed.

The 911 operator told Edge to calm down and asked for the address and phone number.

"I've been trying to get an ambulance here for three days. He's been having stomach pains," Edge said.

The operator talked Edge through a check to see if Mitchell was breathing. Try to get him onto the floor on his back, the operator said.

But Mitchell's body was cold. Edge couldn't wake him.

"Oh God, he can't leave me ... Curtis? Curtis?" Edge said, struggling to move him.

The operator assured Edge that paramedics were on the way.

"He's dead," Edge said.

"No, no, no. You're going to stay with me," the operator said, continuing the checks on Mitchell.

Finally, someone came to the door.

"Who is it?" asked Edge. "Is it the medics?"

"Yes."

"All right," said the operator. "You did a good job. I'm going to hang up now. Let them in. Good bye."

The snow had long since stopped falling. It took firefighters two minutes from being dispatched to reach the couple's home.

They checked for a pulse, but it was too late.

"They said he was gone," Edge said.

It would be five more hours before workers from the medical examiner's office came for Mitchell's body.

A police officer waited with her. Edge sat on the sofa with the body.

"I kissed and hugged him," she said of Mitchell. "But it was all I could do."

_________________________________________

I shared this story with Casey as soon as I'd read it on our group.
We were both in tears as we related to each of these people.
My own thoughts are that possibly this man had been ill longer than what anyone has thought- and perhaps like Casey, his other organs had begun to shut down.
Add the new pancreatitis attack and he had a perfect recipe for disaster.
His heart? His lungs? His liver? (All surmised of course).

I hope to God he wasn't one of the people whose amylase and lipase levels remain consistent... He was just IN the hospital!
Given his age, and disease it is an awful thought to even consider. Like I have reiterated many times, your amylase and lipase levels do not always show a true or late stage pancreatitis attack.

I feel for this lady- who had to watch her man die.
For those of us who are the watchers, we have all felt that we are watching too- rendered helpless, seeing the pain our own loved ones are in.

May God bless and keep us all.

XOXO
Me

Day Late(r) than written...

Hi All
I really did blog yesterday... Three times to be precise.
1st two eaten-
3rd time (the charm, right?  Wrong)! 
Hit post (thankfully after saving it), and got the message that Multiply was down; that they would have me back in an hour or two.

Thus almost 24 hours later you are seeing my blog...
Yahell reincarnated? I sure as heck hope not!



.
Happy March Monday Everyone!
It has come in like a lamb- A very bright lamb too!
The sun is shining everso brightly, and I am itching to get outside.

Waking a little before midnight, I have began 2 blogs- Each one 'lost, even in my wordpad... Mad about that, but am determined to not lose this one. Besides, it might help that I gave this little machine a badly needed 4 hour break... (I went right back to bed after that).

3 of you have written to ask about Miss Lori.  Her mother writes every night with an update of her progress. Lori is doing well- Those days were a blur to me when Casey had her own TP/AIT, and it is nice to be reminded of so many things.
Yes, I have been on-site at one of the pancreas' groups. Lots of information about pancreatitis there. But I do try to correct the wrong info.  There are others, much like myself that do not allow erroneous information on our site, and that is a very good thing. I am very grateful to read their wealth of experiences and to know there are many like Casey, and many parents much like myself.

And then there is always the weather...

The gospel according to Punk is that the snowmobile trails are closed for now. This is good for me, as she is much like her Mama Milly and does not care for those beasts to be flying across the fields.  (Perhaps because when she runs to chase them she gets very mired down in the snowdrifts). hehehe

But she is still "Queen of the hill"...

.
.
.
 
.
.
And still eats snow... (the clean stuff)...
.
.

Ice cream headache!  Dare I "hehehe"?.
.
.
.
She still runs around crazy, until she runs out of gas...
.
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.
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Break time over, and it's time to "fetch" some more...
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Casey had to pick up a prescription for her tummy last week Friday.
Another sunny day-  The river was open already...


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Fort Howard/Georgia Pacific Paper Mill (Whatever it's called now), in the background
.
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With the advent of warming sunshine, the road crews are already out.
.
.

 
(As is the bridge)... hehehe 

What you don't see is the 2 oncoming lanes were backed up over 2 miles.
Some chick even needed 2 or 3 squad cars to pull her over.  How does THAT happen anyway?
.
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Then there are the driveway markers...
.
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At the Sears lot. No wonder they are going under?!!
.
.

As always when Punk is out and about she begs to go to Petco.
.
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Didn't happen...
.
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Casey and Greg came out yesterday.

Casey did her logic problems...
.
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(With Sputty's help of course)...
.
.

...while Greg did the Sunday crossword.
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Punk hates to see the sun go down every day.
But gets to watch the bunny 'wabbits' as it gets dark.
.
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Just closing my eyes for a moment, I opened them again...
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¡¿¡ And Casey had turned into the dog !?!

Yes, they had left- (Sorry Mo, for falling asleep on you both).
Punk gravitates to wherever Casey was, she loves her Casey so much!
As we all do of course.

I love sunshine too, so am going to get outside now.

Hope your weekends were "wunnaful"
Mine was!

My love to all.

XOXO
Me

Odd that everyone else could see my site but me...
Still mad about that!
And I am not going to wait for the pictures to upload- just going to hit post and hope all will work today.
Let me know...

OMG, I am here again! Thank you for contacting Multiply for me. Blog coming soon! XOXO, Me

Death Panel.

Rating:	★★★★★
Category:	Other

This is probably the best definition of "death panel" that I have seen to date.

XOXO
Me


"A death panel is when your wife has cancer, and in the middle of chemo treatments the insurance company finds out that she had cancer years earlier, calls it a pre-existing condition and cuts off the insurance.
{Thus} leaving us with the choice of saving her life or losing everything we worked for. Or letting her die and being able to keep my kids in their home.
Yes, she lived!  We lost everything, and had to live with friends until we got back on our feet. Funny thing though, the insurance company had no problem taking our money month after month.

Maybe, just maybe, a government run option will not give me all the coverage I want but they also will not cut me off and leave me to die so they can make a buck."

end quote.



 ♫  I HEAR THAT TRAIN A COMING-
ITS COMING DOWN THE TRACKS
IT IS CARRYING TRUTH, HONESTY AND LEADERSHIP AND WE ARE NEVER GOING BACK. ♫

Clearly...

Sounding out the words is not enough.
It is not enough to simply teach our children/adults HOW to read.
Far more reaching, we must also teach them to comprehend -and to understand, what they are reading.

XOXO
Me

American Indian reservation reaping oil benefits - Yahoo! News

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100224/ap_on_bi_ge/us_tribal_oil;_ylt=AlC8LqzL9ctRXJ7vKkhxFdF0fNdF
Good Morning All;
As I have read my news, I found this wonderful news story.
I believe this to be the very best case of Native American recovery that I have ever heard of!
DC has nothing better than this!  hehehe







Hats off to the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara tribes! I am thrilled for you all.
Best of luck.

XOXO
Me

__________________________________

American Indian reservation reaping oil benefits

By JAMES MacPHERSON,

Wed Feb 24, 5:45 pm ET

NEW TOWN, N.D. – An oil boom on American Indian land has brought jobs, millions of dollars and hope to long-impoverished tribal members who have struggled for more than a century on the million-acre Fort Berthold Indian Reservation.

In little more than a year, oil companies have put dozens of money-producing rigs on remote rolling prairie and sprawling badlands that are home to small cattle ranches and scattered settlements of modular housing. Although other tribes around the nation have oil interests, industry officials said none has likely experienced a recent windfall of this scale.

The reservation is occupied by the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara tribes, known as the Three Affiliated Tribes, who were placed in west-central North Dakota by the federal government in the 1800s — long before anyone knew of the oil.

"If they knew there was billions of barrels of oil here, they would never have put us here," said Spencer Wilkinson Jr., general manager of the Four Bears Casino on the reservation.

"There is probably more opportunity here than people have had in their lifetimes," said Marcus Levings, chairman of the Three Affiliated Tribes. Roads are now sometimes clogged with traffic, including Hummers and expensive pickup trucks. The local casino is buzzing with free-spending locals. And tribal members who had moved away to find work are now moving back for the abundant good-paying jobs.

Tribal officials say the oil has helped right a wrong done to the tribes in the 1950s, when more than a tenth of the reservation was flooded by the federal government to create Lake Sakakawea, a 180-mile-long reservoir.

Oil companies are now drilling beneath the big lake, using an advanced horizontal drill technique. Recently completed regulatory paperwork removed the last obstacle.

Since the boom began, lease payments of more than $179 million have been paid to the tribe and its members on about half of the reservation land, tribal record show. Millions of dollars more in royalties and tax revenue are also rolling in.

Levings said the tribe will use its money to pay off debt, and bankroll such things as roads, health care and law enforcement.

The reservation contains portions of six counties, covering more than 1,500 square miles. It lies atop a portion the oil-rich Bakken shale formation, which the U.S. Geological Survey estimates holds 4.3 billion barrels of oil that can be recovered using current technology. The agency said the Bakken was the largest oil deposit it has ever assessed.

In addition to the oil money, the tribes get $60 million to $70 million in federal aid annually from the federal government.

"This is an opportunity for us to help ourselves as much as we get help," Levings said. About 4,500 of the approximately 12,000 tribal members live on the reservation, one of about 300 in the United States.

State demographer Richard Rathge said 28 percent of people on the reservation were living in poverty in 2000, the latest figures available. More than 40 percent did not have a job at that time.

The opening of the casino in the 1990s added about 200 jobs. But oil's impact has been huge. "Anybody who wants to work can work," said Levings, with jobs available on rigs and in support industries such as oil supplies and trucking.

The reservation was the last area to be targeted by companies in the state's oil patch because of onerous federal requirements. But a 2008 tax agreement standardized the rules for oil drilling.

Dozens of wells have been drilled and more than 500 could be operating within five years.

Lovina Fox hopes at least one winds up on her land near Mandaree, a town of about 500 on the reservation. Lights from nearby drill rigs and flares burning off excess gas already illuminate her home.

"Everybody knows everybody here," she said. "If people are getting rich they're not saying anything and keeping it hush-hush. But it's not hard to figure out who's getting money — it's the people who have haven't worked in years and all the sudden, they're driving new vehicles."

Tribal member Rose Marie Mandan, who admits to earning "a nice little cushion" from oil payments, said she moved away from the reservation more than 50 years ago to find a job, then returned after retiring. "In the 1950s there were no jobs here," said Mandan, 80. Now she's seeing tribal members moving to the reservation for work.

Chuck Hale worked as a roughneck in other states before returning to his home near New Town to take a good-paying oilfield job. "It's tough work and it's damn cold," Hale said. "But it's worth it."

Mandan worries about the effects of the instant wealth. "It can be good but only if people know how to use the money," she said.

Wilkinson Jr., the casino general manager, said casino revenue jumped from $4.5 million in 2008 to $7.2 million in 2009.

He said he had advised tribal elders "to have fun at the casino but don't spend it all there. I've told them to invest it in something useful, like ... their house and kids and grandkids, and send them to college."

***

say  "YAY!"