Health Care Reform Passes in the House

I am so happy to read this news this morning. Thanks to Jim Cooper, my representative from the 5th Congressional District in Tennessee, who voted for the measure. I placed many calls to Rep. Cooper’s office the past few months. I just emailed him a Thank You for his positive vote.

Today’s Headline

From the New York Times:

Broader Measure of U.S. Unemployment Stands at 17.5%

Friday, the 13th of November, marks my first anniversary of unemployment. I never thought that this would happen in my lifetime.

Health Care Reform Is Near

The rumors proved to be true. Both AARP and the AMA have endorsed the Democratic health care bill. Go here for comparison of Democratic and Republican plans.

Obama Victory Celebration Bash

We attended an Organizing for America party last night which celebrated the 2008 victory for Obama. There is much work to do to pass healthcare legislation. Please call Jim Cooper’s office today to encourage him to vote the health care reform bill. It is reported that Bart Gordon, another Democratic Tennessee congressman, is voting against the bill. So much for blue dogs.

It is rumored that AARP will openly endorse the bill. Yeah, AARP. Although we are watching our spending due to unemployment, I renewed my AARP membership. I’m glad I did. I had heard that some over 50s had canceled their membership due to AARP’s push for health care reform this year. I did not want my not renewing be construed in that camp. Plus I enjoy their benefits and publications.

Vote for health care for all.

One Year Later

I’ll be watching the HBO documentary tonight, BY THE PEOPLE: THE ELECTION OF BARACK OBAMA. Tomorrow night, I’ll be at a local 12th South hangout celebrating the anniversary of the election with other Obama supporters. It has been a bittersweet year for me, as I have struggled with my husband’s and my unemployment.

While I have had a hard year, it has been a good year. I explored alternative types of employment: commission sales, self employment as a pet sitter, and now modeling and acting. Yes, that is right. Hey, I’m already unemployed like most actors. Why not take a chance? I shot one local TV commercial this year.

I have met a whole new group of survivors this past year: ladies who have taught me invaluable lessons in life. Thanks, Barbara, Ruthie, Tina, Becky, as well as others.

What have I learned during the past year? Move outside my comfortable boundaries. Maybe that is what every Americans should have tried this past year. I am glad that I had the chance.

Yesterday, my monologue that I performed at my talent agency quoted Maude, a Holocaust survivor: Reach out. Take a chance, Get hurt even. Play as well as you can.

I am starting each day of year two in unemployment with a positive mantra. Thanks, Maude, that I stumbled onto your monologue this past week.

One Year of Full-Time Unemployment Approaches

I am approaching my first year of no full time employment in two weeks. Last night I had these dreams defining the past year.

In dream one, I was cycling on a deserted highway (such as Highway 70S). I believe that there were one or two walkers on the road. I approached a part of the road under water and had to turn back. I warned the walkers that the road was not passable.

In dream two, I was on the side of a road (I think Charlotte Pike) that was backed up with cars. I  was attempting to climb up and walk along the side of the road and avoid being hit by cars. I had a very thin roadside to walk along. Part of the roadside was covered with plowed snow that I had to brush aside to walk.

I think that pretty much describes the experiences my husband and I have had the past year.

Explain This To Me

Our government pays some drug trafficker money, but we haggle over giving our citizens a public option for healthcare:

Breaking News Alert
The New York Times
Tue, October 27, 2009 — 9:10 PM ET
—–

Brother of Afghan President Is on C.I.A. Payroll, Officials Say

Ahmed Wali Karzai, the brother of the Afghan president and a
suspected player in the country’s booming illegal opium
trade, gets regular payments from the Central Intelligence
Agency, and has for much of the past eight years, according
to current and former American officials.

The agency pays Mr. Karzai for a variety of services, and
those financial ties and the agency’s close working
relationship with him raise significant questions about
America’s war strategy, which is currently under review at
the White House.

From the Tennessee Democratic Party

This quotation from the late Hubert Humphrey explains perfectly why I am a Democrat:

Tennessee Democrats want dignity, equality and respect for everyone. To achieve that end, we will work tirelessly in our communities to promote initiatives that create good jobs, better schools and a cleaner environment. We are fortunate to live in a prosperous society, but we sometimes forget those who are left behind.

Hubert Humphrey once said, “The moral test of government is how it treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the aged; and those in the shadows of life, the sick, the needy and the handicapped.”

We agree. We become stronger as a community, as a state and as a nation when we help all segments of society prosper.

Letter to Lawmakers

This morning I sent a version of the following letter to my federal lawmakers: Rep. Jim Cooper, Sen. Lamar Alexander and Sen. Bob Corker. I am awaiting their response. I know that I will receive a canned letter. In sending the letter to Cooper and Alexander, I noticed that unemployment was not listed on the pull down menu for subject of the letter. Only for Corker could I write in my issue, unemployment.

Both my husband and I are unemployed. John lost his job in September 2008; then six weeks later, I lost my job in November.

We have benefited from unemployment, the stimulus package and extensions to unemployment. I have benefited from the government picking up part of my payment for COBRA coverage. My husband has no insurance. When the government COBRA coverage expires, I will need to find an affordable option for insurance.

Collectively, we made over $XXXXXX in 2008. We have a fixed rate mortgage which we are paying through my retirement savings. We paid in federal taxes last year about what we are making this year with unemployment checks. Aren’t you as a legislator concerned about that tax deficient? There are many others like us.

I’ve tried to sell promotional products on commission and have just opened a pet sitting service for our neighborhood. I will probably net a negative income after expenses.

We need help. As a fifty-something, I sense that my age and my former income are detriments to me getting a job. My husband is in his late 40s. He cannot find employment because of his degree, although he has been willing to do unskilled labor jobs.

We have good health for now. We are not homeless. We have college degrees. What we do not have is confidence for our future.

Are there federal training programs available to us to help us get new employment? We want to be taxpayers, not government recipients.

Story on Unemployment in the Tennessean

My husband was quoted in a story about unemployment in our local newspaper this morning:

Laid-off workers in the Nashville area say they’re often finding hundreds of their fellow jobless submitting applications for the same positions.”I had one (human resources) manager tell me she got 1,000 resumes for that one job,” said John Mathieson, 46, of Bellevue, about a sales and marketing post in Brentwood that he wanted.

The former hotel bellhop captain has been out of work for 13 months, and he estimates he’s applied for 300 openings. It’s been almost a year since his wife lost her job, as well.