This is a fair warning to all, please do not read any further as the views, opinions and ideas presented in the following text are solely mine and do not necessarily represent those of any other living entity in the known or unknown universe[s].

This is off-topic but I felt it relevant to the current subject matter...

Originally posted by: Darth ChaltabNormally, I don't use language like this...

But that is liberal talking point bull shit and you know it, Rik. You seem smarter than that. The only way America is trying to eliminate the poor is to raise them from the poverty status. Which CANNOT happen with ridiculous government restrictions of on the economy, including high taxes.

Liberal talking points?!?!

I have a medically fragile daughter that requires specialized health care, now this health care is NOT cheap by any means (medical bills are now at $360,000 AFTER Medicaid), I owned my own business and a GREAT insurance policy, BUT to add my daughter (you have to insure the whole family) to the plan was going to add $1200/ month to my policy, BUT since Maddie was born with a genetic disorder which has labeled her disabled and is a “per existing condition” which is NOT covered by the policy, NOW at the time my income was around $1200 a month the thing is AFTER expenses like insurance $250 (needed to operate my business), Housing $700, Utilities $150-200, automotive insurance $80 for two cars, Gasoline for two vehicles $80, Cable connection $70 add the student loans into the mix $100 per month after tuition, books and supplies (my wife was in school full-time to elevate us out of poverty by the way). Now this $1480 output per month does not include food, clothing or entertainment… THAT was all on revolving credit cards SO we had gotten onto Public Assistance which gave us $400+ per month in FOOD STAMPS which was awesome as we honestly really needed the help.

Now at this time (1 year later) Maddi was still under 24 hour watch (severe reflux issues as well as G & J tubes) and required full-time care and as we could not pay for the home health care which was $1500 per month!! MORE then I made but STILL our income was TOO much for Medicaid so we did not qualify for home health care assistance, I took up the training and provide the care myself while Rayna went to school, as I’ve finished my schooling years back and really wanted Rayna to finish up hers (5-8 years). I then broke my ankle (no insurance so I still have $1300 in personal medical bills) and that left me unable to work part-time or odd jobs. Our income then dropped to $100/ month and that was from savings (we save our tax returns and student loans instead of buying HDTV’s or new cars) so shortly after that we were all approved for Medicaid AND thank the maker that Maddi started to get Social Security! Now the SSI honestly covers 90% of our rent and savings covers the remainder. We had to sell a few of my Datsun’s, My Laserdisc player and LD collection (except Star Wars and Blade Runner!!) and drop our home & cell phone services at this point just to keep the electricity and our cable connection on (I was uploading the DVD’s so we needed it!) I was able to return to part-time odd jobs as I could no longer install satellites or HT systems as I’m not insured and in order to be a proper contractor I need to be insured (no $$ for that) and all the local shops & corporate stores only wanted full time or could not accommodate my bizarre on-call child care schedule requirements (with school, doctor appointments & home health care visits) SO Rayna got a part time job and with that now coming in ($400) and my extra income from my newly found Datsun Parts distribution network I was able to manage about $200-$600 a month of tax reported income (I follow the rules). LIFE was good for a few months so we got satellite and telephone service activated again!!

About 8-12 months later we were dropped from the Food Stamp program which was cool as we were able to feed ourselves again (the dinners at our parent’s houses every week did help!) and keep a roof over our heads, then bad news… Rayna ran out of student loans as she had used up the allotted funds (technical loan crap) so she had to drop to part time classes, this meant again that our income would drop a bit but I was able to land a part time job slinging car parts at Autozone (making $7/hr) so about $600 per month still things were great (more or less) then the letter came that both Ray and I were dropped from Medicaid as we made too much money (again) but I couldn’t afford to get insured through the offered HMO as it would have been $500! So I had to absorb the cost of my allergy medication (zyrtec & flonase, I have allergies aggravated by sinusitis) it was only like $40 a month so it was cool until a I got an abcessed tooth which cost a ton of cash ($400) for anti-biotics and the extraction (again no insurance). Things were touch and go after that as we had one full time income of about $700 after taxes and my Datsun parts ran out so had to drop insurance on my car, sell my Krell amps and my NHT SuperZero speakers in order to payoff the Discover card (dentist bill and our cable connection).

Then I had to leave Autozone as they shut down the 24 hours of operation (I worked graveyard on truck nights) so Ray went and got herself a full-time job that paid about $9/hr (good paying jobs are lean here in Albuquerque) still no insurance. NOW today, we cannot afford Ray’s tuition or the cost of books so she’s out of school till fall (with ANY luck) and to top that of she was just laid-off from her receptionist position due to downsizing (she got a small severance package – two months worth) and just after the transmission went out on her car, but I still manage some odd jobs so I take in about $500 bucks a month but that will soon go up as I’m going to start to look for installer work again as I’ll have a 2-4 month period were I can work full-time!! SO, Things are REAL tight around house Blaksvn yet we again manage to scrap by. We were able to get back onto Public Assistance (Food Stamps) but we were cut from $350 to $120 (like most of the other poor people in the U.S. in the last 6 months – there have been major cuts in PA across the country) and EVEN though my family has an annual income of about $9,000 and we are still honestly $11,000 BELOW the current poverty level of $20,000 (http://aspe.hhs.gov/poverty/06poverty.shtml) we were denied for Medicaid again this month as we STILL make to much money!? I had to make an emergency room visit as my sinusitis acting up again so I needed to get anti-biotics (another $500 hospital bill so we can round it all up to $360,500

) So needless to say, I will not be getting my Functional Endoscopic sinus surgery or keep up with my Flonase prescription.

Darth Chaltab, I honestly live some of those so called "Liberal talking points" and more then 70% of the people I know (most of which are college graduates mind you) are in the same boat. Just try to make an income of $1400 cover $2000 in monthly bills (including food & gas) and all without the comfort of medical insurance. I live hand-to-mouth and the funny part is I still have it better off then most of my friends and neighbors.

I have actively voted in my local and national elections since I was 18 and even though I was a provisional voter in 04’ even though I’ve been in the same district for 6 years?!? I had to fill in a ballot and was not allowed to use the voting machine – it made local news as it happened to 6 other voters in my district and we all have been in the same district. Now we had over 5000 provisional voters here in New Mexico and it let to a huge voter fraud investigation (you can google it) I would like to add that I was a republican for 15 years and have volunteered with my party in past national and local elections and I’ve now started to program/underwrite an independent news program (Liberty News TV) on my local Public Access TV station Community Cable Access Channel 27. (this starts in July and will be streamed!!)

I would like to also add that I’m a strong supporter of our military but am currently not serving in active duty in the armed forces as I'm a conscientious objector to the current actions, but I'm an active Militiaman and have sworn to defend the Constitution of The United States of America and the Constitution of The State of New Mexico against All Enemies, Both Foreign and Domestic. IF in the unlikely event that our LANDS were ever invaded I will do my best to uphold my oath to my country and its citizens (thereby becoming an insurgent to the opposing forces of those freedoms).

- end blaksvn tranzmizzion