The Great Thing About the Health Care Law That Has Passed? It Will Save Republican Lives, Too

One more letter to share, this one which arrived in the wee hours of the morning, at 3:38 AM, on March 22, 2010. A feisty one that's probably kinder than I could be, considering all we have suffered at the hands of the lunatic fringe that has run and ruined the conservative party. Mind you, my entire family was proudly Republican. Not any more.

To My Fellow Citizens, the Republicans:

Thanks to last night's vote, that child of yours who has had asthma since birth will now be covered after suffering for her first nine years as an American child with a pre-existing condition.

Thanks to last night's vote, that 23-year-old of yours who will be hit one day by a drunk driver and spend six months recovering in the hospital will now not go bankrupt because you will be able to keep him on your insurance policy.

Thanks to last night's vote, after your cancer returns for the third time -- racking up another $200,000 in costs to keep you alive -- your insurance company will have to commit a criminal act if they even think of dropping you from their rolls.

Yes, my Republican friends, even though you have opposed this health care bill, we've made sure it is going to cover you, too, in your time of need. I know you're upset right now. I know you probably think that if you did get wiped out by an illness, or thrown out of your home because of a medical bankruptcy, that you would somehow pull yourself up by your bootstraps and survive. I know that's a comforting story to tell yourself, and if John Wayne were still alive I'm sure he could make that into a movie for you.

But the reality is that these health insurance companies have only one mission: To take as much money from you as they can -- and then work like demons to deny you whatever coverage and help they can should you get sick.

So, when you find yourself suddenly broadsided by a life-threatening illness someday, perhaps you'll thank those pinko-socialist, Canadian-loving Democrats and independents for what they did Sunday evening.

If it's any consolation, the thieves who run the health insurance companies will still get to deny coverage to adults with pre-existing conditions for the next four years. They'll also get to cap an individual's annual health care reimbursements for the next four years. And if they break the pre-existing ban that was passed last night, they'll only be fined $100 a day! And, the best part? The law will require all citizens who aren't poor or old to write a check to a private insurance company. It's truly a banner day for these corporations.

So don't feel too bad. We're a long way from universal health care. Over 15 million Americans will still be uncovered -- and that means about 15,000 will still lose their lives each year because they won't be able to afford to see a doctor or get an operation. But another 30,000 will live. I hope that's ok with you.

If you don't mind, we're now going to get busy trying to improve upon this bill so that all Americans are covered and so the grubby health insurance companies will be put out of business -- because when it comes to helping the sick, no one should ever be allowed to ask the question, "How much money can we save by making this poor bastard suffer?"

Please, my Republican friends, if you can, take a quiet moment away from your AM radio and cable news network this morning and be happy for your country. We're doing better. And we're doing it for you, too.

Yours,
Michael Moore
MMFlint@aol.com
MichaelMoore.com

"When we finally pass health care reform and when people understand what's in the bill and what benefits there are for them, they are going to say 'What took you so long?' " --Senator Edward M. Kennedy

According to his wife Vicki, that's what he often said. He considered health care reform the cause of his life, and fought for it fiercely for over 40 years.

A most beautiful House indeed

The United States House of Representatives, 1920

I'd like to share with you an email I received tonight, Sunday, March 21, 2010 9:19 PM, from a very good friend of mine:

Thank you, Melanie

For the first time in our nation's history, Congress has passed comprehensive health care reform. America waited a hundred years and fought for decades to reach this moment. Tonight, thanks to you, we are finally here.

Consider the staggering scope of what you have just accomplished:

Because of you, every American will finally be guaranteed high quality, affordable health care coverage.

Every American will be covered under the toughest patient protections in history. Arbitrary premium hikes, insurance cancellations, and discrimination against pre-existing conditions will now be gone forever.

And we'll finally start reducing the cost of care -- creating millions of jobs, preventing families and businesses from plunging into bankruptcy, and removing over a trillion dollars of debt from the backs of our children.

But the victory that matters most tonight goes beyond the laws and far past the numbers.

It is the peace of mind enjoyed by every American, no longer one injury or illness away from catastrophe.

It is the workers and entrepreneurs who are now freed to pursue their slice of the American dream without fear of losing coverage or facing a crippling bill.

And it is the immeasurable joy of families in every part of this great nation, living happier, healthier lives together because they can finally receive the vital care they need.

This is what change looks like.

My gratitude tonight is profound. I am thankful for those in past generations whose heroic efforts brought this great goal within reach for our times. I am thankful for the members of Congress whose months of effort and brave votes made it possible to take this final step. But most of all, I am thankful for you.

This day is not the end of this journey. Much hard work remains, and we have a solemn responsibility to do it right. But we can face that work together with the confidence of those who have moved mountains.

Our journey began three years ago, driven by a shared belief that fundamental change is indeed still possible. We have worked hard together every day since to deliver on that belief.

We have shared moments of tremendous hope, and we've faced setbacks and doubt. We have all been forced to ask if our politics had simply become too polarized and too short-sighted to meet the pressing challenges of our time. This struggle became a test of whether the American people could still rally together when the cause was right -- and actually create the change we believe in.

Tonight, thanks to your mighty efforts, the answer is indisputable: Yes we can.

Thank you,

President Barack Obama

Thank you, President Obama. Thank you.

only thing in the pot is paint

...but it's a'cookin, as I'm painting about 9 12 hours a day now. Couldn't get going until I got rid of stuff, so I donated to charity. Lots. Most was perfectly good but, hey, it's not a waste of money if someone else can benefit from it, right? Who knows, it could even find it's way home with one of you. Just take pictures, okay? Now if you'll excuse me I gotta give that pot a stir and fry me up a messa Benjamin Moore Moonlight White...

see it up close

see it up close

Why do I bother showing you these digital paint chips? Because I love writing HTML code, I reckon. Since every monitor displays colors differently, it's impossible to make these chips look consistent, let alone accurate. I can tell you that you would never know these are the same colors in my house, so I'll try to describe them.

Moonlight White

WALL - Moonlight White is a definite bright white with hints of beige, gray, and olive. On my monitor this chip looks more medium warm beige, like the old wall color in the photo above, but that ain't it. Go figure.

Simply White

TRIM - Simply White is a very bright white with almost no discernable color to it. Not true, of course, but it certainly doesn't look pink like the chip above.

Silhouette

ISLAND - Silhouette is a deep dark charcoal that looks almost black in my kitchen, with a decidedly olive/brown cast. It's a gorgeous color, kind of dark aged bronze with lots of complexity. Doesn't look anything like the color in the photo, does it? I rest my case. Actually, the photo in my previous post is a better representation of the island color. Take a look.

lighten UP

Workstead
Design Within Reach

Hubbardton Forge

Restoration Hardware

In between brushstrokes, I've been hunting down an iron or bronze light fixture to hang over my kitchen island. Something that visually connects with the iron curves of my stools. Nothing special, mind you, just a major statement in an early Edison sort of Victorian industrial era Steampunk style, that's all. The island is integral to the main living area, and the first thing you see when you walk in the door, so a statement it must make. It also must make adequate light for kitchen work. Oh, and one more must - I have a thing against incandescent lightbulbs yellowing my paint colors. I know I should be using those fluorescent environmental bulbs, but they're worse. They're as yellow as bug lights and repel me faster than they repel bugs. (Maybe I'm just buggy to begin with.) So of course I only use the expensive burn-out-after-24-hour Reveal bulbs. The whiteness of their light is pure sunshine. Somebody better have a light bulb go off in their head and invent a hybrid so I don't have to feel guilty anymore, that's all I've got to say.

This, then, is my kitchen island, my steampunk stools and my missing light fixture. Which of the following would you hang here? Like Proud Mary, we're gonna start out easy, then we're gonna finish nice and rough...

1. Restoration Hardware

2. Ballard Designs

3. Ballard Designs

4. Martha Stewart

5. Pottery Barn

6. Erin Martin Design

7. Barn Light Electric

8. Erin Martin Design

9. Ballard Designs

10. Pottery Barn

11. Rejuvenation

12. Rejuvenation

13. Moormann Berge

14. Tonic Home

15. Pottery Barn

16. Lindsey Adelman Studio

17. Lindsey Adelman Studio

18. David Trubridge

19. Anthropologie

20. Pottery Barn

21. Hubbardton Forge

Early Electrics

Snowmageddon!

YouTube user 'amandareckonwith' posted this time lapse video showing the massive snowfall in Washington DC on February 5 and 6. The user writes that the video was made with a "Nikon D200 set to make an exposure every 5 minutes. 328 frames at 12 fps."

Eames Chair debuts on television in 1956

Eames chairs brochure, 1946, originally uploaded by ouno design.


Charles and Ray Eames show their then-new masterpiece on the Arlene Francis "Home" show broadcast on the NBC television network in 1956.

Don't forget to turn off my music gadget or you'll hear overlapping sound tracks. If you'd like to see more videos on Charles Eames, just click the YouTube icon.


Part 1



Part 2