CONGRATULATIONS SCOTT BROWN -- SENATOR !!!
A BOSTON TEA PARTY !!!!!!!!!!!!
JITODAY.COM, Copyright JC Leahy and Co., LLC Silver Spring, Maryland, JC Leahy, Editor
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Monday, January 11, 2010
Saturday, January 9, 2010
TRAVEL DESTINATION QUIZ
by JC Leahy
Okay, here's the qualifying question: Who played Princess Leia in the 1983 movie Star Wars? Carrie Fisher, yes, you're right! Ohh you are so good!! Now: to double your winnings, here's the next question!! Who were Carrie Fisher's parents? Oh, YES!!!! That's right!!! Famous actress Debbie Reynolds and famous (at the time) singer Eddie Fisher!! You GOT it!!!! You ARE good!! But now for the Triple Bonus Question: When Eddie Fisher left Debbie Reynolds to marry Elizabeth Taylor, where did the couple go for their honeymoon? [music plays....clock ticks] Was it a sensuous cruise on a luxury liner? A grand tour of Europe? A steamy fling in Acapulco? Noooo!! Liz had already honeymooned on the Queen Mary with Nick Hilton. She had honeymooned in Europe with actor Michael Wilding. She had honeymooned in Acapulco with producer Mike Todd. With Eddie Fisher, the honeymoon was at Lookout Mountain!
Lookout Mountain?!
Where the heck is Lookout Mountain and why would Liz and Eddie go there? The Lookout Mountain we're talking about is in Tennessee at the Georgia border. Liz and Eddie stayed at the super-luxury Lookout Mountain Hotel. That hotel is still there today, but it's a dormitory at Covenant College. Liz and Eddie's honeymoon suite is now a student common area, and yeah, you can go see it. The amazing scenery that attracted Liz and Eddie is still there. Modern-day attractions at or near Lookout Mountain include hang gliding schools, mountain views, breathtaking rock formations, unusual train rides, the world class Hunter Museum of American Art, the historic Incline Railway (the steepest railway in the world), the 5-star Tennessee Aquarium, riverboat cruises on the Tennessee River, camping, nature walks, the University of Tennessee Chattanooga Fine Arts Center, the worlds largest concentration of underground caves, overnight caving guided tours, Civil War history, American Indian history, eco-tourism, the Chattanooga City Zoo, and for a certain person I know who revels in admiring other people's things, there are gorgeous mountain top houses set in awesome scenery.
Geologically speaking, Lookout Mountain is not a mountain at all. It is part of a high, wide plateau called the Cumberland Plateau, which stretches 84 miles from downtown Gadsden, Alabama to the St. Elmo neighborhood of Chattanooga. In Chattanooga, the Cumberland Plateau comes to a narrow point that rises about 1,500 fee over the city. This is Lookout Mountain, formerly called Lookout Point. (There is a similar point nearby called Sand Mountain) The word "chattanooga" is actually a Muskegon/Creek Indian word meaning "rock coming to and end." The Creek Indians called Lookout Mountain Chattanooga Mountain There are only 3 miles of the Cumberland plateau in Tennessee. That's the intensely scenic area, where Liz and Eddie went for their honeymoon. It was from this point that Confederate troops shelled Chattanooga when Union troops were trapped there in 1863. Nowadays, the view is as spectacular as ever.
Historically speaking, it was Cherokees who ruled the Lookout Mountain area when settlers established Ross's Landing -- the original name of Chattanooga. Near Lookout Mountain, Cherokee Chief Dragging Canoe established the Chickamauga Confederacy to wage a bloody but futile war against the newcomers. European settlers were, you might say, the Cherokee Nation's version of illegal immigrants. A subsequent Cherokee chief named John Ross, grew up in his father's store at the foot of Lookout Mountain. Like Dragging Canoe, John Ross led the Cherokees in bloody resistance. Ultimately Chief Ross presided over the infamous Trail of Tears, a 1,000 mile forced march of the entire Cherokee Nation to "reservations" west of the Mississippi. John Ross lost his wife Quatie to the brutal conditions of this Trail of Tears. With the Cherokees gone, the State of Tennessee owned the 3-mile Tennessee portion of Lookout Mountain.. In 1840, Tennessee sold it to Colonel John Whiteside. Colonel Whiteside developed Lookout Mountain as a tourist attraction.
THE INCLINE
The Incline Railway is the steepest passenger railway in the world. It was build to allow tourists and patrons to get to facilities on top of Lookout Mountain, including Whiteside Park (now Point Park), and the scenic attractions such as the Natural Bridge and Lake Lula. The transportation network leading up Lookout Mountain began with the Whiteside Pike (1852), then a second road, then Incline #1 (3/1886), then a broad gauge railway, and finally Incline #2 on November 16, 1895. Incline #2 is the only Lookout Mountain railway remaining today. Originally, Incline #2 had cars made of wood and coal-burning steam engines. Electric power replaced coal in 1911. Today, it uses 2 100 horsepower electric motors.
When I rode the Incline Railway I spoke with a woman who commutes daily up the mountain to work at one of the grand residences at the top. She said that others commute on the Incline, too. That being said, it appeared to me that ridership was almost entirely tourists. The ride was spectacular up a 72.7% steep incline to a 100-mile panoramic view from the top.
POINT PARK
After he acquired Lookout Mountain from the State of Tennessee in 1840, Col. Whiteside's concept was to build the lavish Point Hotel (built 1857, destroyed during the Civil War), and a park in a remote scenic location, and then build a road to transport customers. He named the road, completed in 1852, Whiteside Pike, and the park was named Whiteside Park. (It's a wonder that the hotel wasn't named Whiteside Hotel!) The four-hour buggy ride along Whiteside Pike and the $2 toll (which was a LOT of money in those days) must have been effective barriers to all but the wealthy. During the Civil War, the Point Hotel was destroyed. Confederate troops occupied Whiteside Park and used the panoramic view to shell Union troops bottled up in the city of Chattanooga, below. Since the Civil War, Whitside Park has been known as Point Park. The theme is civil-war memorial. The scenic view is just as enchanting as ever. It's located not far from the upper end of the Incline Railway. There is not admission fee. (Above photo: Adali Leahy looks out at the panoramic scenery from the site in Point Park from which Garritt's Alabama Battery shelled Chattanooga.)
ROCK CITY
Depending on your personal "style" you may choose the undeveloped boulder sites at Rocktown and the Zahnd Tract, or the commercial site at Rock City.The top layer of the Cumberland Plateau is sandstone. Over time, sandstone tends to fracture into huge blocks. With the passage of millions of years, and fracturing, and weathering and the wear of wind and water -- the result has been some very impressive natural boulder formations. Rocktown, the Zahnd Tract are two. The 150-acre Rocktown is located on Pigeon Mountain, which is a "peninsula" attached to Lookout Mountain. The Zahnd Tract, 163 acres, is just across the border in Georgia - which is still in the immediate vicinity. Both Rocktown and the Zahnd Tract are on State-owned land. The commercial version, Rock City, is where most tourists go -- because it has developed parking, bathrooms, water, food, a shop, developed pathways and foot bridges, an occasional craftsperson who might, for example, cut your silhouette in paper for framing. In short, Rock City has the creature comforts and diversions that many people appreciate, and it also has spectacular boulder formations and a panoramic view.
RUBY FALLS
Cavers take note: Tennessee has more caves than any other state. There are more than 5,500 of them in Tennessee. Ellison's Cave, which is just over the Georgia border near Lookout Mountain, is the deepest cave east of the Mississippi.
For tourists, the most visited cave in the entire southeastern United States is Ruby Falls, at Lookout Mountain. It has 350,000 visitors per year. Visitors travel 260 feet underground by elevator. There is then a .4 mile walk underground past various rock formations. There is also a 145-foot underground waterfall. Facilities include a gift shop and a topside platform with a good view of Chattanooga. Here's the address and phone number:
Ruby Falls, Scenic Highway
Chattanooga, TN 37409
Tel. 423-821-2544
Driving directions to Ruby Falls" From I-24 take Exit 178. Follow the signs. The main entrance is on TN 148.
COVENANT COLLEGE
There may be some irony in the conversion of a luxury hotel and gambling casino to a Christian college. One thing for certain is that the 360-degree panoramic view of the surrounding countryside which motivated construction of the Lookout Mountain Hotel, is still as breathtaking as ever from Covenant College.
Covenant College is on the Lookout Mountain Parkway just south of the TN/GA border. From I-24, take exit 178 and follow the Ruby Falls signs. When you see a Lookout Mountain Parkway sign, follow it, and then look for the Covenant College sign.
HANG GLIDING
Feeling adventurous? Try the Lookout Mountain Flight Park Training Center and learn to hang glide. The thermal currents in this area make it prime territory for hang gliders. They say you can glide for hours. The local flight-distance record is 154 miles!
Here's the contact data:
Lookout Mountain Flight Park Training Center, phone 706-398-3541. Located 7 miles south of Chattanooga on GA Route 136.
Okay, here's the qualifying question: Who played Princess Leia in the 1983 movie Star Wars? Carrie Fisher, yes, you're right! Ohh you are so good!! Now: to double your winnings, here's the next question!! Who were Carrie Fisher's parents? Oh, YES!!!! That's right!!! Famous actress Debbie Reynolds and famous (at the time) singer Eddie Fisher!! You GOT it!!!! You ARE good!! But now for the Triple Bonus Question: When Eddie Fisher left Debbie Reynolds to marry Elizabeth Taylor, where did the couple go for their honeymoon? [music plays....clock ticks] Was it a sensuous cruise on a luxury liner? A grand tour of Europe? A steamy fling in Acapulco? Noooo!! Liz had already honeymooned on the Queen Mary with Nick Hilton. She had honeymooned in Europe with actor Michael Wilding. She had honeymooned in Acapulco with producer Mike Todd. With Eddie Fisher, the honeymoon was at Lookout Mountain!
Lookout Mountain?!
Where the heck is Lookout Mountain and why would Liz and Eddie go there? The Lookout Mountain we're talking about is in Tennessee at the Georgia border. Liz and Eddie stayed at the super-luxury Lookout Mountain Hotel. That hotel is still there today, but it's a dormitory at Covenant College. Liz and Eddie's honeymoon suite is now a student common area, and yeah, you can go see it. The amazing scenery that attracted Liz and Eddie is still there. Modern-day attractions at or near Lookout Mountain include hang gliding schools, mountain views, breathtaking rock formations, unusual train rides, the world class Hunter Museum of American Art, the historic Incline Railway (the steepest railway in the world), the 5-star Tennessee Aquarium, riverboat cruises on the Tennessee River, camping, nature walks, the University of Tennessee Chattanooga Fine Arts Center, the worlds largest concentration of underground caves, overnight caving guided tours, Civil War history, American Indian history, eco-tourism, the Chattanooga City Zoo, and for a certain person I know who revels in admiring other people's things, there are gorgeous mountain top houses set in awesome scenery.
Geologically speaking, Lookout Mountain is not a mountain at all. It is part of a high, wide plateau called the Cumberland Plateau, which stretches 84 miles from downtown Gadsden, Alabama to the St. Elmo neighborhood of Chattanooga. In Chattanooga, the Cumberland Plateau comes to a narrow point that rises about 1,500 fee over the city. This is Lookout Mountain, formerly called Lookout Point. (There is a similar point nearby called Sand Mountain) The word "chattanooga" is actually a Muskegon/Creek Indian word meaning "rock coming to and end." The Creek Indians called Lookout Mountain Chattanooga Mountain There are only 3 miles of the Cumberland plateau in Tennessee. That's the intensely scenic area, where Liz and Eddie went for their honeymoon. It was from this point that Confederate troops shelled Chattanooga when Union troops were trapped there in 1863. Nowadays, the view is as spectacular as ever.
Historically speaking, it was Cherokees who ruled the Lookout Mountain area when settlers established Ross's Landing -- the original name of Chattanooga. Near Lookout Mountain, Cherokee Chief Dragging Canoe established the Chickamauga Confederacy to wage a bloody but futile war against the newcomers. European settlers were, you might say, the Cherokee Nation's version of illegal immigrants. A subsequent Cherokee chief named John Ross, grew up in his father's store at the foot of Lookout Mountain. Like Dragging Canoe, John Ross led the Cherokees in bloody resistance. Ultimately Chief Ross presided over the infamous Trail of Tears, a 1,000 mile forced march of the entire Cherokee Nation to "reservations" west of the Mississippi. John Ross lost his wife Quatie to the brutal conditions of this Trail of Tears. With the Cherokees gone, the State of Tennessee owned the 3-mile Tennessee portion of Lookout Mountain.. In 1840, Tennessee sold it to Colonel John Whiteside. Colonel Whiteside developed Lookout Mountain as a tourist attraction.
THE INCLINE
The Incline Railway is the steepest passenger railway in the world. It was build to allow tourists and patrons to get to facilities on top of Lookout Mountain, including Whiteside Park (now Point Park), and the scenic attractions such as the Natural Bridge and Lake Lula. The transportation network leading up Lookout Mountain began with the Whiteside Pike (1852), then a second road, then Incline #1 (3/1886), then a broad gauge railway, and finally Incline #2 on November 16, 1895. Incline #2 is the only Lookout Mountain railway remaining today. Originally, Incline #2 had cars made of wood and coal-burning steam engines. Electric power replaced coal in 1911. Today, it uses 2 100 horsepower electric motors.
POINT PARK
After he acquired Lookout Mountain from the State of Tennessee in 1840, Col. Whiteside's concept was to build the lavish Point Hotel (built 1857, destroyed during the Civil War), and a park in a remote scenic location, and then build a road to transport customers. He named the road, completed in 1852, Whiteside Pike, and the park was named Whiteside Park. (It's a wonder that the hotel wasn't named Whiteside Hotel!) The four-hour buggy ride along Whiteside Pike and the $2 toll (which was a LOT of money in those days) must have been effective barriers to all but the wealthy. During the Civil War, the Point Hotel was destroyed. Confederate troops occupied Whiteside Park and used the panoramic view to shell Union troops bottled up in the city of Chattanooga, below. Since the Civil War, Whitside Park has been known as Point Park. The theme is civil-war memorial. The scenic view is just as enchanting as ever. It's located not far from the upper end of the Incline Railway. There is not admission fee. (Above photo: Adali Leahy looks out at the panoramic scenery from the site in Point Park from which Garritt's Alabama Battery shelled Chattanooga.)
ROCK CITY
Depending on your personal "style" you may choose the undeveloped boulder sites at Rocktown and the Zahnd Tract, or the commercial site at Rock City.The top layer of the Cumberland Plateau is sandstone. Over time, sandstone tends to fracture into huge blocks. With the passage of millions of years, and fracturing, and weathering and the wear of wind and water -- the result has been some very impressive natural boulder formations. Rocktown, the Zahnd Tract are two. The 150-acre Rocktown is located on Pigeon Mountain, which is a "peninsula" attached to Lookout Mountain. The Zahnd Tract, 163 acres, is just across the border in Georgia - which is still in the immediate vicinity. Both Rocktown and the Zahnd Tract are on State-owned land. The commercial version, Rock City, is where most tourists go -- because it has developed parking, bathrooms, water, food, a shop, developed pathways and foot bridges, an occasional craftsperson who might, for example, cut your silhouette in paper for framing. In short, Rock City has the creature comforts and diversions that many people appreciate, and it also has spectacular boulder formations and a panoramic view.
RUBY FALLS
Cavers take note: Tennessee has more caves than any other state. There are more than 5,500 of them in Tennessee. Ellison's Cave, which is just over the Georgia border near Lookout Mountain, is the deepest cave east of the Mississippi.
For tourists, the most visited cave in the entire southeastern United States is Ruby Falls, at Lookout Mountain. It has 350,000 visitors per year. Visitors travel 260 feet underground by elevator. There is then a .4 mile walk underground past various rock formations. There is also a 145-foot underground waterfall. Facilities include a gift shop and a topside platform with a good view of Chattanooga. Here's the address and phone number:
Ruby Falls, Scenic Highway
Chattanooga, TN 37409
Tel. 423-821-2544
Driving directions to Ruby Falls" From I-24 take Exit 178. Follow the signs. The main entrance is on TN 148.
COVENANT COLLEGE
There may be some irony in the conversion of a luxury hotel and gambling casino to a Christian college. One thing for certain is that the 360-degree panoramic view of the surrounding countryside which motivated construction of the Lookout Mountain Hotel, is still as breathtaking as ever from Covenant College.
Covenant College is on the Lookout Mountain Parkway just south of the TN/GA border. From I-24, take exit 178 and follow the Ruby Falls signs. When you see a Lookout Mountain Parkway sign, follow it, and then look for the Covenant College sign.
HANG GLIDING
Feeling adventurous? Try the Lookout Mountain Flight Park Training Center and learn to hang glide. The thermal currents in this area make it prime territory for hang gliders. They say you can glide for hours. The local flight-distance record is 154 miles!
Here's the contact data:
Lookout Mountain Flight Park Training Center, phone 706-398-3541. Located 7 miles south of Chattanooga on GA Route 136.
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Sunday, December 20, 2009
LEAHY HEALTH CARE REFORM VISION - ALTERNATIVE TO DEMOCRATIC HEALTH CARE REFORM PLAN

by JC Leahy
Current Democratic health care "reform" proposals, including both the Senate and House health care bills, assume that (1) everyone needs health insurance, (2) competition occurs when consumers have choices among health care insurance plans (3) health care spending in America is at PROBLEM levels and needs to be reduced (beginning with a $500 billion medicare hit on our parents) (4) an amazingly huge Federal bureaucracy is needed to manage distribution of health care resources, and (5) the Federal Government is capable of safeguarding our funds to pay for health care.
By contrast, the Leahy Health Care Reform Vision assumes that (1) everyone needs access to health CARE, (2) health care spending is a GOOD thing as long as the consumer is getting a good value for his/her money, (3) individual people and their families are the best judges of good value, (4) competition occurs when patients select specific health care services and products DIRECTLY FROM PROVIDERS based on benefits and PRICES (5) paying a huge, expensive Federal and insurance bureaucracy to spend our very own health care money would be fundamentally stupid, and (6) money for helath care is best safeguarded by private ownership.
Here are some advantages of the Leahy Vision:
** Complete portabality when you change jobs.
** No exclusion of pre-existing conditions
** Patients, not bureaucrats, decide what is covered.
** No new Federal bureaucrats are required.
Current Democratic health care "reform" proposals, including both the Senate and House health care bills, assume that (1) everyone needs health insurance, (2) competition occurs when consumers have choices among health care insurance plans (3) health care spending in America is at PROBLEM levels and needs to be reduced (beginning with a $500 billion medicare hit on our parents) (4) an amazingly huge Federal bureaucracy is needed to manage distribution of health care resources, and (5) the Federal Government is capable of safeguarding our funds to pay for health care.
By contrast, the Leahy Health Care Reform Vision assumes that (1) everyone needs access to health CARE, (2) health care spending is a GOOD thing as long as the consumer is getting a good value for his/her money, (3) individual people and their families are the best judges of good value, (4) competition occurs when patients select specific health care services and products DIRECTLY FROM PROVIDERS based on benefits and PRICES (5) paying a huge, expensive Federal and insurance bureaucracy to spend our very own health care money would be fundamentally stupid, and (6) money for helath care is best safeguarded by private ownership.
Here are some advantages of the Leahy Vision:
** Complete portabality when you change jobs.
** No exclusion of pre-existing conditions
** Patients, not bureaucrats, decide what is covered.
** No new Federal bureaucrats are required.
** Medicare is strengthened and preserved, not raided.
** Our childrens' future is not mortgaged to the Chinese .
** Employers become freed to create jobs.
** Health care prices are controlled by supply and demand.
** Wealth is safeguarded by private ownership.
** Without regard for private-pay status, everyone pays fair prices.
12-Point, 2-Page, Leahy Health Care Reform Vision:
1. Reform Health Care Cafeteria Plans – Step one is to remove the use-it-or-lose-it provisions of health care cafeteria plans! (See earlier Journal article for an explanation of health care cafeteria plans.) All you have to do is allow unused balances at the end of every year to carry forward, and allow them be managed exactly like 401k’s.
2. Create Corresponding Plans for the Self Employed
3. Mandate Health Care Savings - Collectively, the plans contemplated in #1 and #2 we will call, Neighbor Bill Accounts. Every man, woman, and child in America who is legally employed will be highly incentivized to contribute not less that 9% and not more than 15% of gross earnings to a Neighbor Bill Account. Every self-employed person will be likewise incentivized to deposit the same percentages to Neighbor Bill Account based on Schedule C gross margin, but only to the extent that there is a business net profit.
4. Provide for Management and Expenditure of Health Care Savings - We will employ a special VISA-like debit card to spend from our Neighbor Bill Accounts. This debit card will be spendable exclusively at places that exclusively sell health care services or products. For example, your VISA debit card could be used at a hospital, a doctor’s office, a healthcare-only website, or a healthcare-only counter at a local pharmacy. Using a simple VISA card will free doctors and hospitals of their claims-processing nightmare. Insurance administration costs will fall to near zero.
5. Provide for Control by the Little People - At their owners’ discretion, Neighbor Bill Accounts may be used to pay for one’s own health care expenses – or one’s spouse, or child, or brother, or niece, or mother-in-law, or lover, or significant other, or even for the health care expenses of a neighbor. The only restrictions will be that (1) funds may only be used for health care, (2) with an important exception I’ll detail below, funds may not be used to pay health insurance premiums, and (3) the owner of the funds may not receive any sort of goods, services, tax deductions, or other kickbacks for paying others’ health care expenses. The reward for such payments is simply not to be in this world.
6. Tax Employer-Provided Health Insurance - Currently, if an employer provides health insurance to employees, the employer is allowed a tax write off for 100% of the insurance cost; and, the employee does not have to include the corresponding amount in his taxable income. This asymmetry is unusual in the tax code and amounts to a special subsidy of employer provided third-party-reimbursement-type health care. This subsidy has created the current, insane societal reliance on employer-provided health insurance. Remove the subsidy. This will gradually free employers of their nightmarish burden of health care costs In the meantime, it will also generate tax revenues.
7 Mandatory Catastrophic Health Care Insurance - Every man, woman, and child in America who has a Neighbor Bill Account must pay for private catastrophic health care insurance. This is the only type of insurance premium that may be paid out of Neighbor Bill Account funds. People with families must have policies that cover their children and non-working spouses. Health care expenses in excess of a high deductible amount will be covered in full by these insurance policies. The annual deductible amount will be $2,000 per person or 5% of the beginning-of-year balance of their Neighbor Bill Account, whichever is higher. The $2,000 amount will be indexed for inflation each year. This universal, mandatory private catastrophic health care insurance will protect the little people from financial wipe-out. The cost to Government will be around zero.
8. Simple Tort Reform - A shockingly large percent of health care services are performed not for clinical expediency but to shelter providers from malpractice trial lawyers. Congress will reform this paradigm by legislating that if you sue anyone in Federal court for malpractice or negligence, and you fail to win on at least one, single point, you will pay half of the defendant’s legal fees and other associated costs. In this way, litigants with slam-dunk-valid claims will be free to pursue them in court, but others will think twice before filing frivolous lawsuits. We, the Clark Kents of America, must force our individual state governments enact that identical rule for state courts.
9. Restrict Employer Write off of Health Insurance Expenses - Currently, certain business expenses are not fully deductible for income taxes. For example, business meals generally are only 50% deductible. In like way, make the employer’s expense for employee health insurance only 50% deductible. This will produce tax revenues and gradually encourage the shift away from employer-provided third-party-payment plans to individually-controlled-and-safeguarded Neighbor Bill Accounts.
10 Abolish the Self Employed Health Insurance Deduction - The Neighbor Bill Account deduction replaces the Self Employed Health Insurance Deduction. The former encourages third-party-payment plans, while the latter is individually controlled.
11. Maintain and Strengthen Medicare-Medicaid - Medicare and Medicaid are in danger of eventual collapse because (1) the population is aging, and (2) they are third-party-payment plans. We can save Medicare and Medicaid with the following just and simple rule: Anyone who has a balance in a Neighbor Bill Account must use those funds before tapping Medicare or Medicaid. This will relieve pressure on Medicare-Medicaid resources, and save the safety nets for those who need them.
12. Establish a commsssion to evaluate existing barriers to the education of physician specialists, and to propose solutions to free medical students to enter the spcialty of their choice.
The Leahy Vision will gently transform our failed health-care financing system dominated by institutional players and third party payers, to a system of individuals and families in control of their own destinies and empowered by their own resources. The royalty of the health care financing bureaucracy will be de-throned. The future will be free to blossom. Vast sums of money will be set aside for health care and safeguarded by vigilant owners. These sums of health care money with stay with its owners no matter how often they change jobs -- providing complete portability. It will always be available to cover preexisting conditions. Catastrophic health insurance will protect us from financial wipe-out. Medicare and Medicaid will protect the poor and the elderly. Most payment processing will be as simple as swiping a VISA card. The little people will spend and save health care resources as they think wise. They will never again be told, like my late neighbor Bill, that treatment they desperately need is not covered by the plan, or can only be obtained by lengthy waiting for complicated appeals. Employers will no longer stagger under the burden of health care costs. Job-creating small employers will get their second wind from a reduction of their income and self-employment taxes. Large employers, over time, will have the crushing burden of employee health care expenses lifted from their shoulders. Medicare and Medicaid will be secured. Doctors and hospitals will be cured of the expensive headache of filing and collecting insurance claims. They will, however, need to produce price estimates and bills that patients can understand and accept.
The future is exciting. It only requires is that you – personally – somehow, in your own way, with your own talents, stop masquerading Clark Kent, get off your haunches and make it happen – starting now, starting today. To Nancy Pelosi, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, we must say: YES WE CAN!!!!
ACTION NEEDED:
Contact your senator and congressional representatives. Tell them to scrap the current bills. Demand they study the Leahy Health Care Reform Vision.
Raise awareness: Email a link to this article to everyone you know.
Today, please.
JC Leahy
** Health care prices are controlled by supply and demand.
** Wealth is safeguarded by private ownership.
** Without regard for private-pay status, everyone pays fair prices.
12-Point, 2-Page, Leahy Health Care Reform Vision:
1. Reform Health Care Cafeteria Plans – Step one is to remove the use-it-or-lose-it provisions of health care cafeteria plans! (See earlier Journal article for an explanation of health care cafeteria plans.) All you have to do is allow unused balances at the end of every year to carry forward, and allow them be managed exactly like 401k’s.
2. Create Corresponding Plans for the Self Employed
3. Mandate Health Care Savings - Collectively, the plans contemplated in #1 and #2 we will call, Neighbor Bill Accounts. Every man, woman, and child in America who is legally employed will be highly incentivized to contribute not less that 9% and not more than 15% of gross earnings to a Neighbor Bill Account. Every self-employed person will be likewise incentivized to deposit the same percentages to Neighbor Bill Account based on Schedule C gross margin, but only to the extent that there is a business net profit.
4. Provide for Management and Expenditure of Health Care Savings - We will employ a special VISA-like debit card to spend from our Neighbor Bill Accounts. This debit card will be spendable exclusively at places that exclusively sell health care services or products. For example, your VISA debit card could be used at a hospital, a doctor’s office, a healthcare-only website, or a healthcare-only counter at a local pharmacy. Using a simple VISA card will free doctors and hospitals of their claims-processing nightmare. Insurance administration costs will fall to near zero.
5. Provide for Control by the Little People - At their owners’ discretion, Neighbor Bill Accounts may be used to pay for one’s own health care expenses – or one’s spouse, or child, or brother, or niece, or mother-in-law, or lover, or significant other, or even for the health care expenses of a neighbor. The only restrictions will be that (1) funds may only be used for health care, (2) with an important exception I’ll detail below, funds may not be used to pay health insurance premiums, and (3) the owner of the funds may not receive any sort of goods, services, tax deductions, or other kickbacks for paying others’ health care expenses. The reward for such payments is simply not to be in this world.
6. Tax Employer-Provided Health Insurance - Currently, if an employer provides health insurance to employees, the employer is allowed a tax write off for 100% of the insurance cost; and, the employee does not have to include the corresponding amount in his taxable income. This asymmetry is unusual in the tax code and amounts to a special subsidy of employer provided third-party-reimbursement-type health care. This subsidy has created the current, insane societal reliance on employer-provided health insurance. Remove the subsidy. This will gradually free employers of their nightmarish burden of health care costs In the meantime, it will also generate tax revenues.
7 Mandatory Catastrophic Health Care Insurance - Every man, woman, and child in America who has a Neighbor Bill Account must pay for private catastrophic health care insurance. This is the only type of insurance premium that may be paid out of Neighbor Bill Account funds. People with families must have policies that cover their children and non-working spouses. Health care expenses in excess of a high deductible amount will be covered in full by these insurance policies. The annual deductible amount will be $2,000 per person or 5% of the beginning-of-year balance of their Neighbor Bill Account, whichever is higher. The $2,000 amount will be indexed for inflation each year. This universal, mandatory private catastrophic health care insurance will protect the little people from financial wipe-out. The cost to Government will be around zero.
8. Simple Tort Reform - A shockingly large percent of health care services are performed not for clinical expediency but to shelter providers from malpractice trial lawyers. Congress will reform this paradigm by legislating that if you sue anyone in Federal court for malpractice or negligence, and you fail to win on at least one, single point, you will pay half of the defendant’s legal fees and other associated costs. In this way, litigants with slam-dunk-valid claims will be free to pursue them in court, but others will think twice before filing frivolous lawsuits. We, the Clark Kents of America, must force our individual state governments enact that identical rule for state courts.
9. Restrict Employer Write off of Health Insurance Expenses - Currently, certain business expenses are not fully deductible for income taxes. For example, business meals generally are only 50% deductible. In like way, make the employer’s expense for employee health insurance only 50% deductible. This will produce tax revenues and gradually encourage the shift away from employer-provided third-party-payment plans to individually-controlled-and-safeguarded Neighbor Bill Accounts.
10 Abolish the Self Employed Health Insurance Deduction - The Neighbor Bill Account deduction replaces the Self Employed Health Insurance Deduction. The former encourages third-party-payment plans, while the latter is individually controlled.
11. Maintain and Strengthen Medicare-Medicaid - Medicare and Medicaid are in danger of eventual collapse because (1) the population is aging, and (2) they are third-party-payment plans. We can save Medicare and Medicaid with the following just and simple rule: Anyone who has a balance in a Neighbor Bill Account must use those funds before tapping Medicare or Medicaid. This will relieve pressure on Medicare-Medicaid resources, and save the safety nets for those who need them.
12. Establish a commsssion to evaluate existing barriers to the education of physician specialists, and to propose solutions to free medical students to enter the spcialty of their choice.
The Leahy Vision will gently transform our failed health-care financing system dominated by institutional players and third party payers, to a system of individuals and families in control of their own destinies and empowered by their own resources. The royalty of the health care financing bureaucracy will be de-throned. The future will be free to blossom. Vast sums of money will be set aside for health care and safeguarded by vigilant owners. These sums of health care money with stay with its owners no matter how often they change jobs -- providing complete portability. It will always be available to cover preexisting conditions. Catastrophic health insurance will protect us from financial wipe-out. Medicare and Medicaid will protect the poor and the elderly. Most payment processing will be as simple as swiping a VISA card. The little people will spend and save health care resources as they think wise. They will never again be told, like my late neighbor Bill, that treatment they desperately need is not covered by the plan, or can only be obtained by lengthy waiting for complicated appeals. Employers will no longer stagger under the burden of health care costs. Job-creating small employers will get their second wind from a reduction of their income and self-employment taxes. Large employers, over time, will have the crushing burden of employee health care expenses lifted from their shoulders. Medicare and Medicaid will be secured. Doctors and hospitals will be cured of the expensive headache of filing and collecting insurance claims. They will, however, need to produce price estimates and bills that patients can understand and accept.
The future is exciting. It only requires is that you – personally – somehow, in your own way, with your own talents, stop masquerading Clark Kent, get off your haunches and make it happen – starting now, starting today. To Nancy Pelosi, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, we must say: YES WE CAN!!!!
ACTION NEEDED:
Contact your senator and congressional representatives. Tell them to scrap the current bills. Demand they study the Leahy Health Care Reform Vision.
Raise awareness: Email a link to this article to everyone you know.
Today, please.
JC Leahy
Saturday, December 19, 2009
STRANDED
Hi Everyone!!! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!!! Dali and; I went to Tennessee
this past week for our daughter Jessica's nursing school graduation -- which went smoothly. Yeah!! Yesterday, we cut our trip short to try to race back to Maryland ahead of the blizzard. It caught us before we could even get out of Tennessee!!! We traveled 8 miles in 9 hours. Dozens upon dozens of other cars slid off the road into ditches and onto the snowy roadside. Eighteen wheelers one after another came to a stop witout even pulling off the roadway. We finally managed to limp into a (thankfully) large and comportable Marriott convention center at 4am this morning and got the LAST available room. This afternoon, Interstate 81 is closed to the north of us, and according to the news, some motorists have been in their cars for 24 hours. We'll stay here until the roads seem safe -- probably leaving Sunday or
Monday. When we get back, we'll play catch-up on Christmas preparations. I'm going to make my famous whiskey bread pudding -- which is always well received and fasteaten. :)
Happy Holidays! Stay well, and if you can, stay off the roads during this blizzard.
Yours sincerely,
JC Leahy
this past week for our daughter Jessica's nursing school graduation -- which went smoothly. Yeah!! Yesterday, we cut our trip short to try to race back to Maryland ahead of the blizzard. It caught us before we could even get out of Tennessee!!! We traveled 8 miles in 9 hours. Dozens upon dozens of other cars slid off the road into ditches and onto the snowy roadside. Eighteen wheelers one after another came to a stop witout even pulling off the roadway. We finally managed to limp into a (thankfully) large and comportable Marriott convention center at 4am this morning and got the LAST available room. This afternoon, Interstate 81 is closed to the north of us, and according to the news, some motorists have been in their cars for 24 hours. We'll stay here until the roads seem safe -- probably leaving Sunday or
Monday. When we get back, we'll play catch-up on Christmas preparations. I'm going to make my famous whiskey bread pudding -- which is always well received and fasteaten. :)
Happy Holidays! Stay well, and if you can, stay off the roads during this blizzard.
Yours sincerely,
JC Leahy
Thursday, December 17, 2009
from the mailbox...

I will be making a conscious effort to wish everyone
A Merry Christmas this year ...
My way of saying that I am celebrating
The birth Of Jesus Christ.
So I am asking my email buddies,
If you agree with me,
To please do the same.
And if you'll pass this on to
Your email buddies, and so on...
Maybe we can prevent one more
American tradition from being lost in the sea of
"Political Correctness".
From: PHYLLIS STANLEY
Monday, December 14, 2009
REMEMBER: HOLIDAY SHOPPING ON AMAZON.COM TO SUPPORT THE JOURNAL
.
You can support the Journal and simultaneously save money, hassle, gasoline and carbon footprint. Simply do your shopping at Amazon.com and ALWAYS enter Amazon.com through any of the Amazon links on the Journal's website (type www.jaitoday.com or http://jcleahy.blogspot.com). It's that simple! You get easy selection, rock-bottom prices, free shipping and generally no sales taxes. At no cost to you, your whole shopping session will generate a sales referral commission paid to the Journal.
Thank you!
JC Leahy
You can support the Journal and simultaneously save money, hassle, gasoline and carbon footprint. Simply do your shopping at Amazon.com and ALWAYS enter Amazon.com through any of the Amazon links on the Journal's website (type www.jaitoday.com or http://jcleahy.blogspot.com). It's that simple! You get easy selection, rock-bottom prices, free shipping and generally no sales taxes. At no cost to you, your whole shopping session will generate a sales referral commission paid to the Journal.
Thank you!
JC Leahy
FREE BOOK: CURRENCY TRADING FOR DUMMIES
I ran across this link to a free version of Currency Trading for Dummies. Sounds interesting. I've only scanned my copy, but it looks like a good read, so I'll pass it on to you. Let me know what you think.
The the link was sponsored by Forex.com -- which, of course, wants to facilitate your international currency trading.
JC Leahy
Sunday, December 13, 2009
CONTACT EMAIL ADDRESSES FOR U.S. SENATORS
A
AlabamaShelby, Richard C. (R)senator@shelby.senate.gov
Alaska
Stevens, Ted (R)senator_stevens@stevens.senate.gov
Arizona
Kyl, Jon (R)info@kyl.senate.gov
McCain, John (R)senator_mccain@mccain.senate.gov
Arkansas
Bumpers, Dale (D)senator@bumpers.senate.gov
Hutchinson, Tim (D)senator.hutchinson@hutchinson.senate.gov
C
California
Boxer, Barbara (D)senator@boxer.senate.gov
Feinstein, Dianne (D)senator@feinstein.senate.gov
Connecticut
Dodd, Christopher J. (D)sen_dodd@dodd.senate.gov
Lieberman, Joseph I. (D)senator_lieberman@lieberman.senate.gov
AlabamaShelby, Richard C. (R)senator@shelby.senate.gov
Alaska
Stevens, Ted (R)senator_stevens@stevens.senate.gov
Arizona
Kyl, Jon (R)info@kyl.senate.gov
McCain, John (R)senator_mccain@mccain.senate.gov
Arkansas
Bumpers, Dale (D)senator@bumpers.senate.gov
Hutchinson, Tim (D)senator.hutchinson@hutchinson.senate.gov
C
California
Boxer, Barbara (D)senator@boxer.senate.gov
Feinstein, Dianne (D)senator@feinstein.senate.gov
Connecticut
Dodd, Christopher J. (D)sen_dodd@dodd.senate.gov
Lieberman, Joseph I. (D)senator_lieberman@lieberman.senate.gov
D
Delaware
Biden, Joseph R., Jr. (D)senator@biden.senate.gov
F
Florida
Graham, Bob (D)bob_graham@graham.senate.gov
G
Georgia
Coverdell, Paul (R)senator_coverdell@coverdell.senate.gov
H
Hawaii
Inouye, Daniel K. (D)senator@inouye.senate.gov
I
Idaho
Craig, Larry E. (R)larry_craig@craig.senate.gov
Kempthorne, Dirk (R)dirk_kempthorne@kempthorne.senate.gov
Illinois
Moseley-Braun, Carol (D)senator@moseley-braun.senate.gov
Iowa
Grassley, Chuck (R)chuck_grassley@grassley.senate.gov
Harkin, Tom (D)tom_harkin@harkin.senate.gov
K
Kentucky
Ford, Wendell H. (D)wendell_ford@ford.senate.gov
McConnell, Mitch (R)senator@mcconnell.senate.gov
L
Louisiana
Breaux, John B. (D)senator@breaux.senate.gov
M
Maine
Collins, Susan (R)senator@collins.senate.gov
Snowe, Olympia J. (R)olympia@snowe.senate.gov
Maryland
Mikulski, Barbara A. (D)
email: senator@mikulski.senate.gov
DC Office:
Phone: (202)224-4654
FAX: (202-224-8858
Annapolis District Office:
60 West Street, Suite 202, Annapolis, MD 21401-2448
Phone: (410)263-1805 or 410-269-1650
Baltimore District Office:
1629 Thames Street, Baltimore, MD 21231
Phone: (410)962-4510 or (410)962-4512
Greenbelt District Office:
6404 Ivy Lane, Suite 406, Greenbelt, MD 20770-1407
Phone: (301)345-5517
Hagerstown District Office:
32 West Washington Street, Room 203, Hagerstown, MD 21740-4804
Phone: (301)797-2826
Cardin, Benjamin L. (D)
DC Office:
500 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC (202)224-4524
senator@cardin.senate.gov
Massachusetts
Kennedy, Edward M. (D)senator@kennedy.senate.gov
Kerry, John F. (D)john_kerry@kerry.senate.gov
Michigan
Abraham, Spencer (R)michigan@abraham.senate.gov
Levin, Carl (D)senator@levin.senate.gov
Minnesota
Grams, Rod (R)mail_grams@grams.senate.gov
Wellstone, Paul D. (D)senator@wellstone.senate.gov
Mississippi
Cochran, Thad (R)senator@cochran.senate.gov
Missouri
Ashcroft, John (R)john_ashcroft@ashcroft.senate.gov
Bond, Christopher S. (R)kit_bond@bond.senate.gov
Montana
Baucus, Max (D)max@baucus.senate.gov
Burns, Conrad R. (R)conrad_burns@burns.senate.gov
N
Nebraska
Kerrey, J. Robert (D)bob@kerrey.senate.gov
Nevada
Bryan, Richard H. (D)senator@bryan.senate.gov
Reid, Harry (D)senator_reid@reid.senate.gov
New Hampshire
Gregg, Judd (R)mailbox@gregg.senate.gov
Smith, Bob (R)opinion@smith.senate.gov
New Jersey
Lautenberg, Frank R. (D)frank_lautenberg@lautenberg.senate.gov
New Mexico
Bingaman, Jeff (D)senator_bingaman@bingaman.senate.gov
Domenici, Pete V. (R)senator_domenici@domenici.senate.gov
New York
D'Amato, Alfonse M. (R)senator_al@damato.senate.gov
Moynihan, Daniel Patrick (D)senator@dpm.senate.gov
North Carolina
Faircloth, Lauch (R)senator@faircloth.senate.gov
Helms, Jesse (R)jesse_helms@helms.senate.gov
North Dakota
Dorgan, Byron L. (D)senator@dorgan.senate.gov
O
Ohio
DeWine, Mike (R)senator_dewine@dewine.senate.gov
Oklahoma
Nickles, Don (R)senator@nickles.senate.gov
Oregon
Wyden, Ron (D)senator@wyden.senate.gov
P
Pennsylvania
Santorum, Rick (R)senator@santorum.senate.gov
Specter, Arlen (R)senator_specter@specter.senate.gov
R
Rhode Island
Chafee, John H. (R)senator_chafee@chafee.senate.gov
S
South Carolina
Hollings, Ernest F. (D)senator@hollings.senate.gov
Thurmond, Strom (R)senator@thurmond.senate.gov
South Dakota
Daschle, Thomas A. (D)tom_daschle@daschle.senate.gov
T
Tennessee
Frist, William H. (R)senator_frist@frist.senate.gov
Thompson, Fred (R)senator_thompson@thompson.senate.gov
Texas
Hutchison, Kay Bailey (R)senator@hutchison.senate.gov
U
Utah
Bennett, Robert F. (R)senator@bennett.senate.gov
Hatch, Orrin G. (R)senator_hatch@hatch.senate.gov
V
Vermont
Jeffords, James M. (R)vermont@jeffords.senate.gov
Leahy, Patrick J. (D)senator_leahy@leahy.senate.gov
Virginia
Robb, Charles S. (D)senator@robb.senate.gov
Warner, John W. (R)senator@warner.senate.gov
W
Washington
Gorton, Slade (R)senator_gorton@gorton.senate.gov
Murray, Patty (D)senator_murray@murray.senate.gov
West Virginia
Byrd, Robert C. (D)senator_byrd@byrd.senate.gov
Rockefeller, John D., IV (D)senator@rockefeller.senate.gov
Wisconsin
Feingold, Russell D. (D)senator@feingold.senate.gov
Kohl, Herb (D)senator_kohl@kohl.senate.gov
Wyoming
Enzi, Mike (R)senator@enzi.senate.gov
Thomas, Craig (R)craig@thomas.senate.gov
DC Office:
500 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC (202)224-4524
senator@cardin.senate.gov
Massachusetts
Kennedy, Edward M. (D)senator@kennedy.senate.gov
Kerry, John F. (D)john_kerry@kerry.senate.gov
Michigan
Abraham, Spencer (R)michigan@abraham.senate.gov
Levin, Carl (D)senator@levin.senate.gov
Minnesota
Grams, Rod (R)mail_grams@grams.senate.gov
Wellstone, Paul D. (D)senator@wellstone.senate.gov
Mississippi
Cochran, Thad (R)senator@cochran.senate.gov
Missouri
Ashcroft, John (R)john_ashcroft@ashcroft.senate.gov
Bond, Christopher S. (R)kit_bond@bond.senate.gov
Montana
Baucus, Max (D)max@baucus.senate.gov
Burns, Conrad R. (R)conrad_burns@burns.senate.gov
N
Nebraska
Kerrey, J. Robert (D)bob@kerrey.senate.gov
Nevada
Bryan, Richard H. (D)senator@bryan.senate.gov
Reid, Harry (D)senator_reid@reid.senate.gov
New Hampshire
Gregg, Judd (R)mailbox@gregg.senate.gov
Smith, Bob (R)opinion@smith.senate.gov
New Jersey
Lautenberg, Frank R. (D)frank_lautenberg@lautenberg.senate.gov
New Mexico
Bingaman, Jeff (D)senator_bingaman@bingaman.senate.gov
Domenici, Pete V. (R)senator_domenici@domenici.senate.gov
New York
D'Amato, Alfonse M. (R)senator_al@damato.senate.gov
Moynihan, Daniel Patrick (D)senator@dpm.senate.gov
North Carolina
Faircloth, Lauch (R)senator@faircloth.senate.gov
Helms, Jesse (R)jesse_helms@helms.senate.gov
North Dakota
Dorgan, Byron L. (D)senator@dorgan.senate.gov
O
Ohio
DeWine, Mike (R)senator_dewine@dewine.senate.gov
Oklahoma
Nickles, Don (R)senator@nickles.senate.gov
Oregon
Wyden, Ron (D)senator@wyden.senate.gov
P
Pennsylvania
Santorum, Rick (R)senator@santorum.senate.gov
Specter, Arlen (R)senator_specter@specter.senate.gov
R
Rhode Island
Chafee, John H. (R)senator_chafee@chafee.senate.gov
S
South Carolina
Hollings, Ernest F. (D)senator@hollings.senate.gov
Thurmond, Strom (R)senator@thurmond.senate.gov
South Dakota
Daschle, Thomas A. (D)tom_daschle@daschle.senate.gov
T
Tennessee
Frist, William H. (R)senator_frist@frist.senate.gov
Thompson, Fred (R)senator_thompson@thompson.senate.gov
Texas
Hutchison, Kay Bailey (R)senator@hutchison.senate.gov
U
Utah
Bennett, Robert F. (R)senator@bennett.senate.gov
Hatch, Orrin G. (R)senator_hatch@hatch.senate.gov
V
Vermont
Jeffords, James M. (R)vermont@jeffords.senate.gov
Leahy, Patrick J. (D)senator_leahy@leahy.senate.gov
Virginia
Robb, Charles S. (D)senator@robb.senate.gov
Warner, John W. (R)senator@warner.senate.gov
W
Washington
Gorton, Slade (R)senator_gorton@gorton.senate.gov
Murray, Patty (D)senator_murray@murray.senate.gov
West Virginia
Byrd, Robert C. (D)senator_byrd@byrd.senate.gov
Rockefeller, John D., IV (D)senator@rockefeller.senate.gov
Wisconsin
Feingold, Russell D. (D)senator@feingold.senate.gov
Kohl, Herb (D)senator_kohl@kohl.senate.gov
Wyoming
Enzi, Mike (R)senator@enzi.senate.gov
Thomas, Craig (R)craig@thomas.senate.gov
Source:
http://www.surrogacy.com/legals/senators.html
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