President Obama speaks out at Grand Junction Town Hall Meeting

President Barack Obama visited Grand Junction for the second time in a year, this time as President of the United States, near 300 days in that office. 

President Obama noted that, in answer to all those who do not want government meddling in their health care, he did not want this either and he certainly did not want insurance companies' bureaurcrats "meddling in your health care either."

He pointed out that President F.D.Roosevelt, when trying to pass social security, and Presidents J.F.Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson, when pushing for the creation of Medicare, always faced the contest "between hope and fear."

As I write this, most people have watched the event on television and or, read the local news, perhaps the Denver Post and more. Thus what I write isn't exactly news and I have injected my personal feelings into my piece as well.

Perhaps someone out there can make sense of the apparent huge effort to shoot down reform as insurance companies spend millions daily paying for groups to torpedo Obama.

President Obama made no bones about the lies that are being spread to the point where otherwise intelligent people believe them, such as the "kill granny clause" and Palin's "death board."

It is amazing, to say the least, that a Republican legislator actually got a clause in a bill, included in the Bush era which called for free counseling for elderly when they became sick. This counseling was meant to help them and their loved ones have time to really sort out what might be most comfortable for them at such a time in life. This same legislator supported this idea until a year ago. then he worked to withdraw that same clause.   Doesn't figure....

A member of the audience asked why people couldn't work together, using the name calling and spread of misinformation as an example. The unidentified man felt this was tearing the country apart and wished it would stop, Obama remarked that this was the time to work together and stop the partisianship so prevalant, hope versus fear.

With Limbaugh publically touting that "I hope he fails," and with so many Republican legislators working so hard to use any thing to slam Obama such as the ignorant "birthing" rumors which have been proved absolutely false, time and time again, one wonders just who and just what organization stands to gain by breaking the move for health care reform. There have been racisit signs and remarks. 

A student from CU was prepared to stomp the President with his statement; "I do not understand how having a public option competing against private care can be fair."

Obama pointed out that such an option was up to the Congress, that if it were a reality, the government insurance option would not be funded by the government but instead would have to compete with its own resources against the private industry. He noted that the Fed Ex and UPS, private companies, compete against the government sponsored Post Office and are doing well

In light of the greed of Corporate CEOs and their shareholders, I for one, do not understand how we can go without public option. for if we do not have this, those companies will continue to hike costs as they make great profits for those shareholders. Look at the gas and oil companies and their "wow" profits. It was the fall in the commodity market that caused them to move from Colorado. They will soon be back.

As a retired person myself, I was amused to see that the Daily Sentinel quoted  Dr. Gregory Doyle, who claimed to have carefully read every page in the proposal and  felt that limits on repeat hospital admissions and other changes would increase overhead and less pay for doctors. Yes, the good doctor is worried about money. He was actually one of four doctors I tried to get to take me as a patient when my doctor retired. There were four "no" answers.

Let's see, his receptionist quickly responded, "We already have too many medicare patients, They do not pay..." with out bothering to address supplementary insurance which some retirees pay dearly for. Go figure.
It was interesting to see a quote from our ambitious candidate for governor and presently state Senate Minority Leader, Josh Penry, in the Denver Post, calling the President's approach to health care reform a "sledgehammer" that would also wreck what is right with the system. Let's see, premiums up 50 percent, and this yearly, if you meet your cap, you are dropped or otherwise penalized, insurance executives, not doctors decide when to deny treatment, how many un-insured people are trying to survive. people going bankrupt because they cannot cover hospital bills or cancer treatment costs, etc. Oh yes, let's keep the status quo. There are more so-called leaders I won't bother naming or quoting because they belong to the party of "no." 

With the help of volunteers who worked with
the group  in charge of organizing everything for the visit of the president, the event went very smoothly.

 There were ticket holders who were not allowed to enter, when the gymnasium was filled to capacity. Evidently public officials had been given tickets which they passed out, thus taking seats of otherwise ticketed individuals. Whether one was lucky enough to get in or not, the big thing is that this president is trying to make positive change. Would that those who are working so hard to defeat any health care reform would work together with all Americans to form the program that will actually solve all the horror stories we hear every day about denial of treatment, hiking of health care insurance costs, being dropped from the policy,  dying because they could not afford treatment and on and on.

President Obama noted that over  half of  the nation's budget is spent on social security, medicare and medicade and defense. He told the audience that the only way to balance the budget would be to solve the problem of health care. He reminded all that the budget was something he inherited from eight years of Bush, at which point a heckler shouted something, but the crowd applauded the President. I would say "How soon some forget...two wars, illegal spying on Americans, and much more, including signing a law which made himself immune to following any law he signed, and on and on.

Again, how short the memories of some are, how convenient.

Hope versus fear.