THE NEW HEALTH CARE LAW MUST BE UPHELD
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"THIS AND THAT"
"THIS AND THAT"
OBAMA'S HEALTH CARE LAW
SUPREME COURT DECISION
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SUPREME COURT DECISION
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Barack ObamaIt is a shame that everyone is fighting about Health Care. No matter what anyone says, Americans need a good Health Care system that includes everyone. It may not be perfect, but Barack Obama has done the right thing and improvements will be made.
The Supreme Court I hope does the right thing. Everyone is fighting that it is not legal to make people buy insurance. Well no matter what anyone says, one fact that no media outlet has picked up on is we already have been required for many, many years to buy insurance.
It's called automobile insurance. Aren't we forced to buy this? If you are pulled over by a cop and you do not have, you will get a ticket and fined. Isn't this the same premise for this health care law? If you do not have, you will get fined. I see no difference here.
THE REPUBLICANS ARE ONE SICK BUNCH
Homophobic Mitt Romney
These Republicans are the worst I ever saw in my life, and I am a Republican my whole life. The past few years they have gotten so bad, the Democrats always get my vote. They are just sick, plain and simple. They are anti-gay, they fight for the rich and they are just plain dishonest. They really are. These guys lie and lie, depending on what state they are in. They have no shame. They really believe they have the answers. Look what George Bush did. September 11th happened on his watch. The wars were started on the George Bush watch. The crooks of Wall Street, with the help of the laws created by the Republican party destroyed our economy. On the Republicans watch, the housing market collapsed, the banks were allowed to steal and everyone got away with it. There are no jobs because of the George Bush Republicans. The rich got richer because of the Republicans and the middle class got destroyed. My rich friends have more than they ever did.Now they have the balls to blame all this on Barack Obama and to go state to state slinging their bulls**t. Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum are sick. They are so out of touch with America. Newt Gingrich is right along with them, and I like Newt personally, I had drinks with him at Broadway Langans, next door to Fox News. But these Republicans think they have the right to judge us.
I also like Ron Paul personally. Many years ago, he was at my house in Glen Cove Long Island when he first started to run for President. He really is a nice guy, he is also very funny. Out of all the Republicans, he is the only one that makes some kind of sense on many issues. But the Republicans will never nominate him, so I hope he runs as a Independent to take away votes from the real Republican losers. These guys are smoking better marijuana than me, if they think they have any chance to win the Presidency.
Needless to say, I am waiting for the New York Primary, I will vote for Ron Paul and then I am switching my party affiliation to the Democrats. Barack Obama is a good President, if only these Republicans would let him do his job. I always have voted for the right person, it never mattered what party they were. Barack Obama wants to do the right thing, but the Republicans will risk destroying the country to win a election and to help their rich friends. They are really sick!
LAUGH OF THE WEEK FROM LANDLORDS OFFICE
I have to say, Seth Lamar from my landlords office called yesterday to discuss some problems in the building. I did not care for him when he was director of this building, but since they moved him to the main office, I get a kick out of him. I think we could have been friends in another life.
Today he told me I was their favorite tenant, they loved me. This really cracked me up, considering I am under the weather this week. I send endless e-mails on a regular basis to them telling them about problems here and the things that need to be dealt with. The other day, I was not a happy camper when I was once again woken up by this bathroom they built for employees over 4 years ago. Yes, I have been fighting over this for 4 years or more now. Anyway, when I was rudely woken up once again, I marched downstairs to yell at everyone in management. I noticed Seth was in the building and when he saw me, he made a dart to the front door.
I am not a pretty sight when I am woken up so early. My hair is up in the air, I always throw on something that makes me look like a hobo, and I look a mess. But this never stops me when I am so pissed off at being awakened from my beauty sleep. Not missing a beat, I made my way outside after Seth to yell about this bathroom. I followed him all the way down the block to the deli. I know I looked like a nut, but the aggravation caused by this employee bathroom is enough now. It's been over 4 years of hearing this bathroom door slamming. It's not fair. There are employee bathrooms all over this building and my life has been hell because of it. It has to go.
But at least I got a laugh this week, I am the favorite tenant here!
PUBLICISTS STEALING PHOTOS
It really amazes me how many e-mails I get from publicists, with photos enclosed. They are promoting their fashion clients, their Vodka or their car company account. Some of the photos have watermarks on them, showing the owner of the photo and I always e-mail these people back and ask them if they own rights to the photo. If I do not know the publicist, I double and triple check to see if they own rights. Most of the time I get a stupid e-mail back saying they don't and they tell me where I can purchase them.
Are they nuts? First of all, I am not going to buy a photo to promote their client. Second of all, I can imagine how many websites and media outlets assume they do own the rights and use them. These publicists are stealing and creating possible lawsuits to many media outlets.
If you want to promote your client, you need to buy the photo. You need to do your job right, and not steal from hard working photographers to save a buck.
Being a photographer myself, I know how hard it is to make a buck in this business these days. The days of the 50 thousand dollar photos are gone, your lucky if you can get a hundred bucks for a shot these days, and by these publicists stealing, photographers make even less.
I get very tired of bad shots too. I have so many publicists who have high paying clients and they send out the worst shots, because they do not want to spend the money on a good photographer. I can't tell you how many stories I refuse because of bad shots. It amazes me that these publicists and even their own clients would want some of these bad shots even seen. When I explain to them that a bad photo makes my site look bad and worse, it makes their paying client look bad, they still do not understand. They will argue with me, like their story is world breaking news and I need to publish it.
I really find myself getting nasty these days towards these people. It kills me even more, when the local PR people send me some famous photographers work and it is garbage. They yell at me telling me "do you know who took this photo?" Like I care. I have had every cover across the world and I have been on every TV show talking about the art of being a celebrity photographer, or commenting as a celebrity expert. I know great shots. It kills me even more, knowing they paid big bucks for this well known photographer and they could have hired me and gotten what they paid for. Even worse, I am expected to photoshop their high paid photographers work. The untalented photographer gets paid and they expect me to mop up the mess and get nothing.
I tell you, the photography business has just gotten worse and worse. Every moron with a digital camera, thinks hes a photographer. It's not just pushing a bottom and taking a picture. You have to control your subject so you get the shot you need. You tell them how great their outfit looks, how much you loved their last movie, or tell them a funny story on the last time you photographed them. This will make the celebrity stand there and talk to you while you are snapping shot after shot and almost always you will end up with that one great photo to use worldwide. This is a talent very few of the new breed of photographers have. Great photography takes more than pushing a camera button!
Photos By: Scott Harrison/RD/Kabik/Retna
Comments
The issue brought before the Supreme Court is not whether the healthcare bill will or will not be beneficial to the American people but whether or not the clause known as the individual mandate, which forces each individual to purchase health insurance or face a penalty, is Constitutional.
Car insurance requirements came up during the oral arguments before the supreme court and the first thing that must be noted is that states, not the federal government require that if you drive a car you must purchase liability insurance. The question before the court is whether the powers enumerated in the Constitution allow the federal government to force individuals to buy a product. In addition, no one is forced to buy a car and no one is forced to purchase anything by the federal government in the name of the commerce clause. What has been brought before the Supreme Court is the Constitutionality of the “individual mandate”. No matter the merits or demerits in one’s own view of the healthcare law the provision in the law that forces every individual to purchase healthcare or pay a penalty is the what is under review by the Supreme Court.
The following exchange of words transpired between Attorney Paul Clement (who was arguing against the healthcare mandate for Florida as well as 25 other states) and Supreme Court Justice Sotomayor.
MR. CLEMENT: But, Justice Sotomayor, what I think is different is there are lots of people in Manhattan, for example, that don’t have car insurance because they don’t have cars. And so they have the option of withdrawing from that market. It’s not a direct imposition from the government.
So even the car market is different from this market, where there is no way to get outside of the regulatory web. And that’s, I think, one of the real problems with this because, I mean, we take as a given -¬
JUSTICE SOTOMAYOR: But you’re — but the given is that virtually everyone, absent some intervention from above, meaning that someone’s life will be cut short in a fatal way, virtually everyone will use health care.
MR. CLEMENT: At some point, that’s right, but all sorts of people will not, say, use health care in the next year, which is the relevant period for the insurance.
The question is whether the federal government has the power to force people to buy things. Even, if people agreed to this particular mandate the precedent would be set and then allow the feds to force people to buy other things, that is at the heart of the issue and why the law has been brought before the Supremes.