(from the link): Listen to the speeches by the Republican heavyweights who have agreed to take the stage in Cleveland; not one of them has put forth an actual idea that makes sense in terms of how to govern the United States. That’s because governance has long ceased being relevant to the Republican coalition. What holds it together is nothing more than nostalgia for a more oppressive America and resentment toward those who refuse, any longer, to sit on the back of bus.
This GOP convention is like a bunch of teenage girls having a Mean Girls Club to see which one can say the most outrageous comment about their perceived enemies.
I didn’t know Hillary Clinton had that much power to control everything these Republicans have accused her of doing….and all around the globe.
As you all know – I am not a big fan of Ted Cruz. But I do have to give him credit for not being a sell-out or a hypocrite when it comes to his feelings about Trump.
I watched this speech and I could tell something was brewing towards the end. And then the booing started – and the announcer stated that Ted’s wife had to be escorted from the building because she had just been verbally attacked by some delegates.
Being the cynical person I have always confessed to being – I wonder if this entire thing was staged by Trump?
Trump knows the GOP is not supporting him.
What if Trump invited Ted Cruz to speak – knowing full well that he was not going to endorse him – so, when Ted Cruz did exactly what he told Trump he would do – the GOP delegates had their new villain – in Ted Cruz. Of course, after the first day of the convention when Ted Cruz’ delegates were throwing their hissy fits and other Dump Trump delegates were questioning the GOP rules – Trump knew he had to do something to turn the tide of this convention and he had to come out looking like the Good Guy.
But – then again – if Ted Cruz had just declined the offer to speak – none of this would have happened. I suspect Ted Cruz did this for two reasons: 1) his ego demanded it and 2) he is thinking about 2020 when the GOP will be looking for another possible winner – after Trump falls to Hillary this November.
And with their new villain Ted Cruz – these same Sheeple would line up behind their White Savior – The Donald.
If I could buy Republicans for what they are worth and sell them for what they THINK they are worth – I would have those billions that Trump only claims to have.
The only thing Republicans have is the constant spread of fear. We heard it last night from Trump – the country is in dire straits and everyone is in fear for their lives. Nobody is safe in their homes anymore.
When you combine spewing fear 24/7 and Trump’s own description of his followers – the uneducated – there is only one outcome. Especially when those same folks are the ones with the most guns.,
This article is from about 10 years ago – where the father and the son paid out a huge settlement for similar B.S.
Just to show how small a world truly is – I am posting these two articles for two reasons:
1) To show this type of corruption that has gone on for a long, long time.
2) The father – Morris Esformes – is the owner of the nursing home that was my husband’s first Nursing Home Administator’s job.
That was in 1977 – just imagine how much money has been defrauded from Medicare in all that time – and not by him, but by a lot of folks.
But I will say – it was the 1980’s (Reagan’s reign of power) that we saw more and more for-profit corporations get into the nursing home business. And these corporations were not health care people – a lot were from the motel/hotel business.
Sorry, Charley, nursing homes should never be run like a motel/hotel. People’s lives are at stake and you’re responsible for their health care.
Another thing – when corporations took over nursing home business – these corporations started this chess game. Homes would be bought and sold without any thought – just get the cash while you can and get the hell out.
Nursing homes are federally and state regulated – which means they are surveyed at least once a year.
One nursing home I worked at about 20 years ago (here in Wichita) had a an awful record of past violations. The worst was the plumbing system in the entire building was in terrible shape – flooding and sewage problems inside the building. The cooling/heating/electrical system was also bad – to which point I watched as a nursing home resident on Hospice was actively dying and the nurse had to run an extension to the nearest working outlet in order to plug in a fan to keep the man cool because we were in the middle of August in Kansas. She had to use several sets of extension cords to find the only working electrical outlet.
But when surveyors came in – on repeat survey to see corrected issues – it was announced this home was being sold to a different corporation.
With that new information – the surveyors could do nothing further because the new corporation is not responsible for the old owner’s actions.
Hmmm…..so that meant any time major problems came up and the owners did not want to pay for repairs – all they had to do was to sell that home and they were off the hook. But they got to keep all that money they had billed Medicare and Medicaid.
The kicker to this story? The new owners were some lower level fat cats from the old owner’s company. They simply formed their own corporation, gave it a new name and just like MAGIC – they were back in business again.
This has been going on for a long, long time…….
The cherry on top of this story gets even better. Remember the old owner that refused to pay to get all those major issues fixed at the nursing home? The plumbing alone was estimated to cost $75,000.
The owner of the old corporation did find $100,000 cash to give to George H.W. Bush’s presidential campaign. He even bragged about it in the corporate newsletter.
WOW – $100,000 cash for politics is fine – fixing the $75,000 plumbing problem was a No-Go?
I hope there is a special hell for people like this…
Also note – how pharmacy corporations are also involved in this money-making business.
I worked for that Omnicare bunch for a year – and I worked for another closed-door pharmacy for 10 years. I did medical records for both places.
I did notice that when a new patient came in, if they were on one page of med to begin with – by the end of the first 6 months, they had five of 6 pages full of meds.
I wonder why?????
Hmmm…..direct billing to Medicare/Medicaid – could that be the temptation??
BTW – if you think doctors are the first in line to stop this business – who do you think signs all those orders for meds to be filled? Doctors…
Doctors who are being bombarded by pharmacy sales reps who bring in free food for the doctor’s staff….
Hell – the pharmacy staff got free food all the time – and we were just the ones that filled the damn scripts – we didn’t sign them. But we had pharmacists who would pick up the phone and talk to the doctor directly and just like MAGIC – that script got signed.
There were a few doctors that questioned – but not many.
Remember when George W. Bush pushed through the Medicare Drug Program (unfunded, of course) – is it possible this was a big influence on how these nursing home corporations and pharmacies operated?
Let’s not forget something else – it was the Republicans that voted against allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices.
Hmmmm….another interesting question that nobody seems to want to address..
Indy and I both admitted to each other we didn’t know much about Tim Kaine. Here is Jim Wright, Stonekettle Station, to inform us. This is a great piece! I feel GREAT about Hillary’s decision now!
I saw Hillary and Tim this morning on one of the talk shows. HIllary was asked how she plans to respond to Trump’s calling her names like ‘Crooked Hillary’.
Hilllary said she does not wish to respond to name calling and would rather focus on the issues. Hillary added that she plans on pointing out about how Trump has treated people while he does business.
But then Tim Kaine spoke up that unlike HIllary – he plans to respond to Trump’s name calling because most of us gave up name calling in the 5th grade.
That was the moment I realized Tim Kaine IS the right person for Hillary.
It’s nice to know there are two adults in the room…
PrairiePopulistsAndProgressives.net 
I often wonder why Jesus does not return to Earth and just start smacking the shit out of these Republicans.
You always make me laugh! Thanks for that!
(from the link): Listen to the speeches by the Republican heavyweights who have agreed to take the stage in Cleveland; not one of them has put forth an actual idea that makes sense in terms of how to govern the United States. That’s because governance has long ceased being relevant to the Republican coalition. What holds it together is nothing more than nostalgia for a more oppressive America and resentment toward those who refuse, any longer, to sit on the back of bus.
What’s on Display in Cleveland? The Republican Id
http://billmoyers.com/story/whats-display-cleveland-republican-id/
This GOP convention is like a bunch of teenage girls having a Mean Girls Club to see which one can say the most outrageous comment about their perceived enemies.
I didn’t know Hillary Clinton had that much power to control everything these Republicans have accused her of doing….and all around the globe.
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/cruz-says-he-wont-commit-to-voting-for-trump-despite-criticism/ar-BBuBG02?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=iehp
—-
As you all know – I am not a big fan of Ted Cruz. But I do have to give him credit for not being a sell-out or a hypocrite when it comes to his feelings about Trump.
I watched this speech and I could tell something was brewing towards the end. And then the booing started – and the announcer stated that Ted’s wife had to be escorted from the building because she had just been verbally attacked by some delegates.
Being the cynical person I have always confessed to being – I wonder if this entire thing was staged by Trump?
Trump knows the GOP is not supporting him.
What if Trump invited Ted Cruz to speak – knowing full well that he was not going to endorse him – so, when Ted Cruz did exactly what he told Trump he would do – the GOP delegates had their new villain – in Ted Cruz. Of course, after the first day of the convention when Ted Cruz’ delegates were throwing their hissy fits and other Dump Trump delegates were questioning the GOP rules – Trump knew he had to do something to turn the tide of this convention and he had to come out looking like the Good Guy.
But – then again – if Ted Cruz had just declined the offer to speak – none of this would have happened. I suspect Ted Cruz did this for two reasons: 1) his ego demanded it and 2) he is thinking about 2020 when the GOP will be looking for another possible winner – after Trump falls to Hillary this November.
And with their new villain Ted Cruz – these same Sheeple would line up behind their White Savior – The Donald.
If I could buy Republicans for what they are worth and sell them for what they THINK they are worth – I would have those billions that Trump only claims to have.
So everyone can hear the “what difference does it make” comment in context. Hint: It’s used differently than it was said. 🙂
The only thing Republicans have is the constant spread of fear. We heard it last night from Trump – the country is in dire straits and everyone is in fear for their lives. Nobody is safe in their homes anymore.
When you combine spewing fear 24/7 and Trump’s own description of his followers – the uneducated – there is only one outcome. Especially when those same folks are the ones with the most guns.,
http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/healthcare/dollar1-billion-medicare-bust-in-florida-is-biggest-criminal-health-care-fraud-case-ever/ar-BBuFgdT?li=BBmkt5R&ocid=spartandhp
@@@@
Why didn’t Trump mention applying some of that law and order in the direction of the high-end criminals?
Seriously – $1 billion is a lot of money to steal
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-08-06/news/ct-met-esformes-settlement-20130807_1_maureen-nehls-morris-esformes-total-pharmacy
@@@@
This article is from about 10 years ago – where the father and the son paid out a huge settlement for similar B.S.
Just to show how small a world truly is – I am posting these two articles for two reasons:
1) To show this type of corruption that has gone on for a long, long time.
2) The father – Morris Esformes – is the owner of the nursing home that was my husband’s first Nursing Home Administator’s job.
That was in 1977 – just imagine how much money has been defrauded from Medicare in all that time – and not by him, but by a lot of folks.
But I will say – it was the 1980’s (Reagan’s reign of power) that we saw more and more for-profit corporations get into the nursing home business. And these corporations were not health care people – a lot were from the motel/hotel business.
Sorry, Charley, nursing homes should never be run like a motel/hotel. People’s lives are at stake and you’re responsible for their health care.
Another thing – when corporations took over nursing home business – these corporations started this chess game. Homes would be bought and sold without any thought – just get the cash while you can and get the hell out.
Nursing homes are federally and state regulated – which means they are surveyed at least once a year.
One nursing home I worked at about 20 years ago (here in Wichita) had a an awful record of past violations. The worst was the plumbing system in the entire building was in terrible shape – flooding and sewage problems inside the building. The cooling/heating/electrical system was also bad – to which point I watched as a nursing home resident on Hospice was actively dying and the nurse had to run an extension to the nearest working outlet in order to plug in a fan to keep the man cool because we were in the middle of August in Kansas. She had to use several sets of extension cords to find the only working electrical outlet.
But when surveyors came in – on repeat survey to see corrected issues – it was announced this home was being sold to a different corporation.
With that new information – the surveyors could do nothing further because the new corporation is not responsible for the old owner’s actions.
Hmmm…..so that meant any time major problems came up and the owners did not want to pay for repairs – all they had to do was to sell that home and they were off the hook. But they got to keep all that money they had billed Medicare and Medicaid.
The kicker to this story? The new owners were some lower level fat cats from the old owner’s company. They simply formed their own corporation, gave it a new name and just like MAGIC – they were back in business again.
This has been going on for a long, long time…….
The cherry on top of this story gets even better. Remember the old owner that refused to pay to get all those major issues fixed at the nursing home? The plumbing alone was estimated to cost $75,000.
The owner of the old corporation did find $100,000 cash to give to George H.W. Bush’s presidential campaign. He even bragged about it in the corporate newsletter.
WOW – $100,000 cash for politics is fine – fixing the $75,000 plumbing problem was a No-Go?
I hope there is a special hell for people like this…
Also note – how pharmacy corporations are also involved in this money-making business.
I worked for that Omnicare bunch for a year – and I worked for another closed-door pharmacy for 10 years. I did medical records for both places.
I did notice that when a new patient came in, if they were on one page of med to begin with – by the end of the first 6 months, they had five of 6 pages full of meds.
I wonder why?????
Hmmm…..direct billing to Medicare/Medicaid – could that be the temptation??
BTW – if you think doctors are the first in line to stop this business – who do you think signs all those orders for meds to be filled? Doctors…
Doctors who are being bombarded by pharmacy sales reps who bring in free food for the doctor’s staff….
Hell – the pharmacy staff got free food all the time – and we were just the ones that filled the damn scripts – we didn’t sign them. But we had pharmacists who would pick up the phone and talk to the doctor directly and just like MAGIC – that script got signed.
There were a few doctors that questioned – but not many.
It’s enough to make you cry…
One last thing to think about –
Remember when George W. Bush pushed through the Medicare Drug Program (unfunded, of course) – is it possible this was a big influence on how these nursing home corporations and pharmacies operated?
Let’s not forget something else – it was the Republicans that voted against allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices.
Hmmmm….another interesting question that nobody seems to want to address..
Indy and I both admitted to each other we didn’t know much about Tim Kaine. Here is Jim Wright, Stonekettle Station, to inform us. This is a great piece! I feel GREAT about Hillary’s decision now!
http://www.stonekettle.com/2016/07/the-decider.html
I saw Hillary and Tim this morning on one of the talk shows. HIllary was asked how she plans to respond to Trump’s calling her names like ‘Crooked Hillary’.
Hilllary said she does not wish to respond to name calling and would rather focus on the issues. Hillary added that she plans on pointing out about how Trump has treated people while he does business.
But then Tim Kaine spoke up that unlike HIllary – he plans to respond to Trump’s name calling because most of us gave up name calling in the 5th grade.
That was the moment I realized Tim Kaine IS the right person for Hillary.
It’s nice to know there are two adults in the room…