You Are Letting My Mother Die

Hi from my mom, and the filibuster continues

2009-10-29T22:08:00.001-07:00

***Email me your story - PublicOptionNOW@aol.com***

I'd like to quickly preview this post by thanking the many, many people that have spread the word about what I'm doing and have been so kind and supportive. I'm a bit overcome by it. I've heard kind words from family and friends, which has been amazing, but I've also seen some of my messages passed on my complete strangers via twitter, facebook, and in their own blogs. On filibuter night I had several hundred views per hour at one point, and people were following through and contacting Joe the Petulant. Thank you so much. By the way, my filibuster continues. I'm forging ahead either way, and I hope you stay with me. I'm not laying off of Lieberman. It will not be in vain.

I've also had some battles with some folks who don't agree with what I'm fighting for. I've seen a few negative responses, which is to be expected, but I don't care. Won't be bothered by those who ignore logic and the call of compassion, and won't be bothered by those who can laugh off the suffering of any person, let alone millions. More than anything, I pity you. As a great friend and former roommate would say: You can't fade me.

Moving on...

Dear Senators:

Max Baucas
Evan Bayh
Maria Cantwell
Tom Carper
Kent Conrad
Dianne Feinstein
Mary Landrieu
Joe Lieberman
Blanche Lincoln
Bill Nelson
Ben Nelson
Mark Pryor
Ron Wyden
Chuck Grassley
Orrin Hatch
Jon Kyl
Jim Bunning
Mike Crapo
Pat Roberts
John Ensign
Mike Enzi
John Cornyn

You are letting my mother die.

I will start off by welcoming Senator Bayh into the arms of the hopeful. Senator Bayh, I'm keeping you on here, just in case you start to wander again. I'm glad you've decided not to filibuster, but I can't say I trust you. Never can be too sure.

Senator Lieberman, today you reaffirmed that you will do anything you can to mess this up and attract lots of attention for yourself all at the same time. I applaud your conviction, but that's about it. I question your motives and your reasoning entirely. I understand that you've received $2.5 million in contributions from the insurance industry. Wow, that sure could pay for a lot of funerals. Or preventive care. I've been emailing and faxing you incessantly for the past two days - during lunch breaks, while watching TV, when I should be sleeping, etc. From appearances, a lot of people were doing the same after I cc-ed everyone I could find on the internet. I'm not going to stop. You haven't done much to defend your stance as of yet. You also haven't given me even a token response, which is no surprise at all. I'll be in New York and away from my computer this weekend, but I'll be sure to find time to say hello.

Senators, I have yet to receive a single response from any of you. Granted it has only been a week or so, but I'm saddened. I thought, at the very least, I'd get a form letter of some sort from one of you. You are very much increasing the likelihood that I may want to gather as many of my friends as possible and come visit you in D.C. Especially if this filibuster nonsense continues. I'm glad to see a public option on the table, but I'm underwhelmed by it. It's turning more and more into a public option by name only. And yet most of you can't even fully support this watered down version. I guess we'll never understand each other.

As for my mom. You may remember that last week she went in for some heart tests and we were worried that any bad news might jeopardize her coverage. Well, we're actually still waiting for results. No new is good news, I suppose. She was supposed to find out days ago, but we don't have much luck lately with efficiency. An inefficiency that we pay thousands upon thousands of dollars per year for. She also recently got a bill for around four thousand dollars for some lung tests that her doctor ordered for her "stat." The doctor's office had to fight for permission from our conglomo insurance company, apparently not grasping that "stat" means "urgent." Funny that people worry about the government "taking over" (gasp!) health care. Do we control our care anyway? Do I worry about a doctor answering to the government at a rate I can afford when the doctor is already answering to a suit who is buys their jets with my grocery money? We're begging for permission as it is... and we're REALLY eager to see how much of the tab they pick up for those tests.

As for lupus, that battle is daily. She is tough, and she hangs in there. Today she went to the grocery store and struggled to bend down to get things off the lowest shelf. She came home with chest pains and difficulty breathing. She had to endure that while helping look after my sick grandmother. She also spent the evening researching and trying to find somewhere that she can afford the medicine her lupus doctor is recommending. She tried this medicine once before and it didn't help much. It also had severe side effects, was very expensive, and required even more expensive blood tests. We pay full cost for medicine, so you can imagine we like it better when the medicine actually works. At any rate, she is giving it another go, if we can find an affordable way to access it. If only we lived in a wealthy nation that could help its citizens get affordable care...

On the financial front, Mom's insurance premium is due at the end of the week, which required some financial dancing on my part. Have you ever had to decide between paying rent or paying your mom's insurance? As a side note, here in Illinois we just learned that UniCare is leaving our state, greatly reducing competition between insurance companies here. Aren't you the ones touting the importance of competition in the marketplace? We sure could use some. Come out and play! As a last note, I couldn't help but notice that the "too expensive" Nancy Pelosi plan will cost less over the next 10 years than the wars have cost over the last 7 years. Pay to kill abroad, and withhold to kill domestically. Nice work.

Thinking of you always,
J

P.S. Still no court date for disability benefits

Joe the Petulant: Fill a Buster's inbox and voicemail and mailbox and blah blah read the phone book

2009-10-27T17:12:00.001-07:00

Dear Senator Lieberman,

You are letting my mother die.

For just a moment I am going to give a break to your esteemed colleagues who normally receive these letters along with you. I'll be writing them later. I mean, I expect this behavior from conservatives, but you and I need to talk.

I'll cut to the chase. It's been one day, and already you're insistent upon a filibuster. One day! You are willing to let debate begin on a bill that contains the public option, but you won't let it end until the public option is dead. I admire your courage, Senator. To so bravely stare down the threat of an already completely watered down version of something that so many citizens are begging for. Do they give medals for this? A lot of us, like myself, want single payer. The public option is a compromise, not radical! And now we've compromised further, with an "optional public option" that does not yet even exist anywhere but on the lips of some Democrats. I have such little faith in you and your colleagues that even the option of an option of a maybe seemed too amazing to be real when it was announced yesterday. Harry Reid is backing complete weak garbage, to be honest. But that is still too much for you to allow. You have to threaten to halt government so that you can oppose the mere idea that an optional public option even go to a vote. You are willing to bring the Senate to a halt over a possibility of a maybe of a chance of something that might happen, and that every state could then opt out of a year later. Such valor.

I tend to prefer not to officially affiliate with a party (particularly the GOP), so when you went independent I admired that. But today, honestly, you're just killing me. The first time I ever voted as an 18 year old American was when I voted for Gore/Lieberman in 2000. Right now, I almost wish I could go back in time and undo that. Didn't matter anyway, right?

Well, Senator, filibuster if you may. The independent man from the tiny, tiny state up there, hellbent on causing trouble.

Because I can filibuster, too.

From here forth I will address those of you who are copied on this message, namely everyone in America that I can get to read it. Upon completion of this letter, on the evening of October 27, 2009, I will begin my own filibuster of Senator Lieberman. I will continue to send emails and call his office in DC relentlessly. I encourage you to do the same. Now, on his website Mr. Lieberman reminds us that he can only respond to citizens of Connecticut, due to the volume of message he receives. That's okay, because I'm not looking for a response. That isn't what a filibuster is about, is it? You clearly don't want to hear us. Well, we don't want to hear you. Despite the suggestion of Senator Lieberman, I will not take this up with my own Senators, because they aren't the ones threatening to screw this up.

If you'd like to reach Senator Lieberman via email, WHICH I STRONGLY RECOMMEND, do so here: http://lieberman.senate.gov/contact/index.cfm?regarding=issue The beauty of his email form is that you can continue clicking "back" after you send and then just resend your message without having to type anything again. Many, many, many times per minute. So many, Joe. Which is how I will spend my evening. Use whatever body content you see fit, but it's more fun if you make it clear that it is a filibuster. If you'd like an example, here is the message I will be sending over and over tonight. Several thousand times:

"FILIBUSTER

YOU ARE LETTING MY MOTHER DIE
YOU ARE LETTING MY MOTHER DIE
YOU ARE LETTING MY MOTHER DIE
YOU ARE LETTING MY MOTHER DIE
YOU ARE LETTING MY MOTHER DIE
YOU ARE LETTING MY MOTHER DIE
YOU ARE LETTING MY MOTHER DIE
YOU ARE LETTING MY MOTHER DIE
YOU ARE LETTING MY MOTHER DIE
YOU ARE LETTING MY MOTHER DIE
YOU ARE LETTING MY MOTHER DIE
YOU ARE LETTING MY MOTHER DIE
YOU ARE LETTING MY MOTHER DIE
YOU ARE LETTING MY MOTHER DIE
YOU ARE LETTING MY MOTHER DIE
YOU ARE LETTING MY MOTHER DIE
YOU ARE LETTING MY MOTHER DIE
YOU ARE LETTING MY MOTHER DIE
YOU ARE LETTING MY MOTHER DIE
YOU ARE LETTING MY MOTHER DIE
YOU ARE LETTING MY MOTHER DIE
YOU ARE LETTING MY MOTHER DIE
YOU ARE LETTING MY MOTHER DIE
YOU ARE LETTING MY MOTHER DIE
YOU ARE LETTING MY MOTHER DIE
YOU ARE LETTING MY MOTHER DIE
YOU ARE LETTING MY MOTHER DIE
YOU ARE LETTING MY MOTHER DIE
YOU ARE LETTING MY MOTHER DIE
YOU ARE LETTING MY MOTHER DIE
YOU ARE LETTING MY MOTHER DIE
YOU ARE LETTING MY MOTHER DIE
YOU ARE LETTING MY MOTHER DIE
YOU ARE LETTING MY MOTHER DIE
YOU ARE LETTING MY MOTHER DIE
YOU ARE LETTING MY MOTHER DIE
YOU ARE LETTING MY MOTHER DIE
YOU ARE LETTING MY MOTHER DIE
YOU ARE LETTING MY MOTHER DIE
YOU ARE LETTING MY MOTHER DIE
YOU ARE LETTING MY MOTHER DIE
YOU ARE LETTING MY MOTHER DIE
YOU ARE LETTING MY MOTHER DIE
YOU ARE LETTING MY MOTHER DIE
YOU ARE LETTING MY MOTHER DIE
YOU ARE LETTING MY MOTHER DIE
YOU ARE LETTING MY MOTHER DIE
YOU ARE LETTING MY MOTHER DIE
YOU ARE LETTING MY MOTHER DIE
YOU ARE LETTING MY MOTHER DIE
YOU ARE LETTING MY MOTHER DIE
YOU ARE LETTING MY MOTHER DIE
YOU ARE LETTING MY MOTHER DIE
YOU ARE LETTING MY MOTHER DIE
YOU ARE LETTING MY MOTHER DIE
YOU ARE LETTING MY MOTHER DIE
YOU ARE LETTING MY MOTHER DIE
YOU ARE LETTING MY MOTHER DIE
YOU ARE LETTING MY MOTHER DIE
YOU ARE LETTING MY MOTHER DIE
YOU ARE LETTING MY MOTHER DIE
YOU ARE LETTING MY MOTHER DIE
YOU ARE LETTING MY MOTHER DIE "

If you have a free nights on your phone plan, as a I do, you can call him in DC at (202) 224-4041.

You can send him snail mail, which he prefers you do not, to:

706 Hart Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

I urge you to join me. Away we go. Good evening to you.

And to Senator Lieberman - there is no time left for games. We can't wait any longer, and we can't wait around for you to play Jimmy Stewart and read the phone book. It's 2009 - no one uses a phone book anyway. That's why I'll be reading random Google search results into your voicemail. Oh, by the way, you letting my mother die.

Sincerely,
J

cc: America

Joe the Patient

2009-10-26T00:37:00.000-07:00

Dear Senators:

Max Baucas
Evan Bayh
Maria Cantwell
Tom Carper
Kent Conrad
Dianne Feinstein
Mary Landrieu
Joe Lieberman
Blanche Lincoln
Bill Nelson
Ben Nelson
Mark Pryor
Ron Wyden
Chuck Grassley
Orrin Hatch
Jon Kyl
Jim Bunning
Mike Crapo
Pat Roberts
John Ensign
Mike Enzi
John Cornyn

I can't sleep because you are letting my mother die, so I thought I'd get back out of bed to write you. I'm anxiously awaiting results from my mother's heart tests, which we expect sometime today. As I mentioned earlier, we're not really sure what is going on, and we have low confidence in our ability to afford any treatment. Further, we're fearful that her insurance won't cover her potential heart issues. I'm still trying to figure out why you are okay with this.

While doing some research tonight, I came across a sad story that I'd like to share with you. It's about a young man named Joe. I know that politicians like catchy buzz phrases and characters, so we'll call him Joe the Patient. That might catch on! This story relates to a lupus patient, like my mother. Of course many millions with many other health issues are being screwed by our health care system, but you can imagine why I feel particularly connected to Joe the Patient.

Joe was a 29 year old man battling lupus. A rare case, as 90% of lupus patients are women. Joe, like my mother, battled for years to get disability benefits to help with his care, and was denied. He could not access or afford adequate treatment. He went to a free clinic once, and was given a steroid and told to take it when he didn't feel well. Having seen lupus for so long, I'm guessing he didn't fell well on a daily basis. And those steroids to insane things to you if you take them all the time. Really not supposed to take them all the time. Anyway, Joe eventually went into organ shut down due to his lupus, and suddenly the SSA decided he was disabled. He was approved and began getting help with his treatment. It was too little, too late. Joe died at the age 0f 29, a victim of lupus and of our pathetically broken health care system.

Joe's story is so jarring. He was about my age and died from a disease that my mother has. And he died because decision makers like you let it happen. I've been unable to determine where he lived, but it may have been in one of your states. It was definitely in your country. You let Joe die. You are letting my mother die. Stop it.

Goodnight,
J

P.S. If you would like to learn more about Joe, see his story here: http://101-healthcare.com/battle-lost-lupus-health-care-system-rip-joe.html?utm_campaign=twitter

additions to "already down a day"

2009-10-25T22:42:00.000-07:00

When sending an electronic copy of the last letter, I had to add this to the end of my message to Senator Wyden of Oregon.

"P.S. Chicago is located in Oregon until your website allows us to choose another state for our contact information. Sorry we couldn't bring home the 2016 games for the good people of Oregon."

This addendum was attached to the message to Senator Pat Roberts of Kansas

"P.S. I hope "health care costs" was the proper category to choose for this message. I assumed it made sense, since your stance is costing people their lives."

Another addition. This one went to Senator Mike Enzi of Wyoming.

"P.S. I read your "10 Steps Health Plan." I offer you my counter-proposal:
1. Stop killing my mom
2. Stop killing my mom
3. Stop killing my mom
4. Stop killing my mom
5. Stop killing my mom.
6. Stop killing my mom
7. Stop killing my mom
8. Stop killing my mom
9. Stop killing my mom
10. Stop killing my mom"

Just sharing in the interest of transparency.

already down a day

2009-10-24T11:57:00.000-07:00

It starts

2009-10-22T19:28:00.000-07:00

Welcome. Below I've posted a letter that I have sent to the most vocal opponents of the public option in the Senate. That's about all I need to say, I think. Everything else about that letter explains itself.

This is an effort I'm beginning on my own, and I hope others will join me. In fact, I beg you to do so. I will be writing these people everyday, just as I threaten to do in this first letter. If you feel even one shred of what I feel, you should do the same. Or, send your stories to me. Email me at publicoptionNOW@aol.com I will post them here. What is there to lose? For most of us - nothing.

*******************************************************************

Dear Senators:

Max Baucas
Evan Bayh
Maria Cantwell
Tom Carper
Kent Conrad
Dianne Feinstein
Mary Landrieu
Joe Lieberman
Blanche Lincoln
Bill Nelson
Ben Nelson
Mark Pryor
Ron Wyden
Chuck Grassley
Orrin Hatch
Jon Kyl
Jim Bunning
Mike Crapo
Pat Roberts
John Ensign
Mike Enzi
John Cornyn

You are letting my mother die.

There is nothing subtle about that statement, but that is ultimately appropriate. Because there is nothing subtle about the need for a public option in any health care reform that eventually comes to pass. Yet you have vocally opposed such a measure, to the chagrin of many millions of Americans. I am particularly miffed by your stance because of my mother's experience, as you may gather from my opening line. My mother is 52 years old. As a teenager she was diagnosed with lupus. Since you believe the government should not be involved in medicine, I will assume you know absolutely nothing about the disease. Lupus is an autoimmune disease, meaning the afflicted person's body is constantly attacking itself, similar to HIV/AIDS. It causes damage to all organs, extreme pain, poor resistance to infections, and many other major complications. There is no known cause. There is no known cure. There have been no new medicines approved for treatment in 50 years. Some experimental drugs are now being worked on, but the hope is still dim. Her body will continue to fight a war against itself until she is dead, and with each passing year her decline hastens exponentially. Thank you so very much for not caring about any of that.

She is my hero, and you are letting her die. For over three decades my mother has battled just to survive and to complete tasks that may seem menial to many in the general public - the healthy and fortunate, such as yourself. She struggles, and she cannot access affordable and useful insurance. She pays for private insurance from the only big company that did not deny her, and I assume it was a mistake on their part. She has pre-existing conditions that are not covered. She has, for her entire life, been too ill to maintain a job, so that path to insurance is also obstructed. My father's insurance covered her until their divorce seven years ago. I've helped her fight for two years to try and get disability benefits from the SSA. She has been rejected twice, we have appealed twice, and we're still awaiting a date to go before an administrative judge and beg for someone to believe that she is sick enough to get help. In our quest over the years to get her adequate health care, one official even went so far as to tell her that if she wanted help so badly she should have endured her failing marriage just to stay on my father's insurance. This is the plight of the sick in the America that you want to perpetuate. My siblings and I do our best to pay out of pocket for insurance that is exorbitant and, in many ways, useless. But, unlike you, we are not willing to let her die. No poor choices led to her getting sick. Not junk food or alcohol or drugs. Her reality is no fault of her own. She was born sick, but not born to quit. So, just as she pre-existed, she exists. And we fight with her. We are young, and already battling debt, but we are more willing to fight than you are. We are not complacently perched on Capitol Hill. My hope is that, soon, neither will you be. I suppose it is up to you to decide whether that means you are longer complacent, or no longer in the Senate. Based on your current stance, millions of us would accept either fate for you.

A public option is something we've long hoped for. I remember how taken aback I was when I first learned in school that publicly funded medical care was the norm in so many places. How could that not be the case in the richest nation in the world? Public health care has never seemed so possible as it does right now. Yet people like you want to thwart it. Over childish and made up fears of "socialism." Over fears of losing votes. Over budgetary concerns that may prove to be false in the long run anyway. Over the false notion that, by passing on a national debt, this generation will be any different from every generation in the history of this country. But mostly because somewhere along the line you decided that the health of human beings is a question of finance and not a question of compassion, of justice, of strengthening our individuals so as to strengthen our society. That the right to life and the pursuit of happiness does not include the right to stay alive - unless you are wealthy. Honestly, I just feel bad for you. Every wealthy nation has figured this out, and yet you cannot grasp it. You do not see the injustice. You do not see possibility. You do not see that this is an insult to the ambition of what we call America. Well, I aim to help you with that. This is the first in a series of letters that I will be sending you, chronicling the daily struggles that come along with my mother's health issues. Her struggles to function. Our struggles as a family to survive financially. The doctors who turn her away not because they can't help her, but because she is a financial risk. The bill collectors. The shame. The next time her legs give way while she is walking, you'll know. The next time she succumbs to chest pain, you'll know. And the next time I hear her say that she is afraid of getting tests done because her insurance company will terminate her coverage, you will know. It's all real to us, as it is to many. The sad reality is that I know just how much worse it is for SO many Americans. Given how terrible it is for us, I can't imagine what that must feel like. Or that people like you, in a position to end senseless suffering, can turn a blind eye to it.

So, this is just the beginning. You'll be hearing more from me. Everyday? I will do my best. I'll be sure to educate you about lupus, in addition to my mother's crippling arthritis, her severe hypertension, the aneurysm on her heart, her cancer scares, hematuria, biopsies. All of it. I'll define all those terms for you later, since you aren't the medical type. And I'll teach you about the problems that manifest themselves in the lives of regular Americans like my mother. I'll even enlighten you about the economic impact of the webs that build themselves around those who can't afford the insurance they so desperately need. For every sick person who suffers needlessly, a moral issue, there are people like me, my brother, and my sister, who keep our dollars out of the marketplace and put them into PPOs, an economic issue.

In addition to sending the letters to you, I will send them to all of your colleagues who share your misguided stance. And to print media. And visual media. I will be posting them on my blog, which you can find at
www.youarelettingmymotherdie.blogspot.com. I will use every avenue of social media to rally others who share our experience. Many of you in Congress are on Myspace and Facebook and Twitter these days. I am, too. And I am fully aware that I am just one person, but so are you. And I am one person who is young, energized, angry, intelligent, and feeling pressured to fight for my family. I am all too eager to be a thorn in your side, and in 2009 that is very, very easy to do. I will not rest. You may want to hire an extra person to sort your mail. Because...

You are letting my mother die.

I hope you sleep well tonight. I will not.

Sincerely,
J