Well, he printed it after all.

[IrishAyes]

The editor/publisher of our wide-ranging local weekly, I mean. The letter I thought might've finally ticked him off too much because he'd sent me a first-ever email requesting verification of an obvious matter. That was crystal clear, but in hindsight I wish I'd simplified my sentences a bit more for the general readers. When I get going, my love for compound sentences can run away with me. Never met a compound sentence I didn't like.

Anyway, before I share the text of my letter which did make this week's edition, I'll say this: At the library this afternoon, where I go to read the papers once a month or so, I came across one of the editor's editorials about economomics, and it brought home to me quite sharply how even this man has no earthly idea of the difference between micro- and macro-economics. I gave up trying to explain the difference to people who don't believe there is a difference. It's just all plain old economics, usually from a piggy bank perspective.

But here's my latest letter on the ACA; sorry I can't claim it's my best, but as I said, I was fired up:
..................................................................................................................................

About the ACA - You know I had to say something sooner or later, so here it comes. No more waiting for the shoe to drop.

First, remember that the admittedly botched rollout and the ACA itself are actually two different things.

The company entrusted to design the healthcare.gov website turns out to have contributed heavily to GOP finances in the past. Also a denial of service tool has been widely distributed by right wing social media and certain websites best left unnamed at this point. This is not internet rumor; look for yourself on the DHS (Dept. of Homeland Security) website if you don't believe me. This DOS tool supposedly carries no viruses or malware but allows users to overwhelm a tarteted website with illegally expanded requests for service from one individual. And there are many participants. Sadly this has become a frequent tactic of unscrupulous operators.

Somehow - surprise, surprise! - at least three different major insurers are either under federal scrutiny and/or private lawsuits for their part in the mess. They've exploited the grandfather clause meant to allow people to keep their current plans if they like them, by either lying outright to their customers or slyly changing those plans to make sure they wouldn't pass the new regulations. This alone should remind us why the insurance industry in general needed tighter regulation in the first place.

(I want to stress that I'm not pointing fingers at any of our local insurance agents who provide a valuable service and are likely a good cut above some elsewhere. I particularly respect and trust my own insurance agent, both as a professional and a person.)

So the healthcare.gov website was designed and 'verified as ready' by a company with suspiciously close ties to the worst enemies of Obamacare and the President himself. It has suffered heavy assault by those employing the Denial of Service tool - I know the name and where it can be found, but I'm not about to publicize that location! Perhaps worst of all, certain major insurance giants have stirred the pot even more by changing grandfathered plans beyond compliance, outright lying to customers to push them into much costlier alternatives, and even sending out scary cancellation notices to current customers when they had no legal right to do so. And of course they're fighting President Obama's effort to fix that with an extra year's extension on cancelled plans - they claim it can't be done! Well, they had no trouble changing things to rook people, and they can certainly roll back their illegal activities too! In fact, they'd jolly well better if they want any chance to stay out of court.

Now on to the ACA itself. Before telling President Obama you want to keep your old JUNK policy, think about this: Why cling to something the insurance company can jack up the price on as much as they want, whenever they want? How has that been working for people so far? Dr. Phil would ask. Why let fear of change or even hatred of President Obama himself cause you to choose something the insurance company can cancel anytime they want to, typically when you need it most? If you get sick and need to be hospitalized, history's proved you have a high chance of having to declare bankruptcy even though you're "insured, baby!"

Why turn your nose up at the ACA when there's a marketplace full of ACA-compliant policies that prevent the above disasters from happening while they also provide free preventive care, lower co-pays, the possibility of receiving tax subsidies, and many other benefits? Is your resentment of a Democrat actually achieving legislation based on Romney-Care in Massachusetts which was borrowed directly from a Heritage Foundation plan going to cause you to cut off your nose to spite your face?

Oh, right. At the moment there are enrollment difficulties at healthcare.gov, which are seeing improvement but maybe not quick enough to suit everyone's needs. By now you know I have a suggestion for that also. There's an excellent, well-established and long-vetted website called valuepenguin.com which can help you compare ACA plans. You might still need to sign up directly with the company/plan of your choice, and/or sign up some place other than healthcare.gov for subsidies you might be due, not to mention seeing to your own IRS tax credits. More steps but currently better working software. For now. Most people can still do better with the recently reworked healthcare.gov website.

But regardless of which path you choose, there's no reason to panic. The worst problems with the ACA website are not with ACA itself or even the federal website, but rather insurance industry perfidy plus misperceptions and outright lies peddled by the media such as Faux News and sadly, even CBS now that it's being run by a Faux alumni. Let's not leave out continuous GOP obstructionism either - that's what the government shutdown was about, and it continues even now; for instance with Darryl Issa's letters to major technology giants demanding to know if they were among those offering to help fix the federal website bugs and strengthen it against massive Denial of Service attacks. Intimidation plain and simple.

I'll close with a nod of respect and appreciation, however, to the growing number of Republican leaders who realize they've been so grieveously on the wrong side of history but are now trying to make amends by doing such wonderful things as requesting federal exchanges for their own states, etc. You know who they are; some of the ones the Tea Party screams are traitors!
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Between us on DU, I have my serious doubts as to the true motives of the Republicans I mentioned. I still wouldn't suggest turning our backs on them for one second. Hell will freeze over before I can ever trust another Republican about anything.

[NYC_SKP]

1. Recommended.

Never turn your back on a Republican.

And keep your eye on the rest of 'em, too!

K/R

[Warpy]

2. 1980

That's the year I realized that even if Ed Brooke were to run again, there was no way I could vote for him. He was a Republican, a fine one, a Yankee Republican where they were still the party of Lincoln.

Reagan changed the game when he handed the party over to the religious lunatics. While that also sowed the seeds of their eventual self destruction, it also meant that life for American workers would be miserable until it did destruct.

That's a good letter but you realize it will be slashed to ribbons if they publish it, even if you did give them the name of the DDOS program and where to find it.

[IrishAyes]

3. Oh, the letter did make this week's edition.

I've decided one reason he prints my letters is because he knows the firestorm they draw, which helps circulation. Sometimes I tell people, "Hey, I was 5'11 when I moved here!" (5' now) Threats have been made to my face though not in the paper of course. But a typical response came from a particular guy who started out his letter this way: LYING HYENAS OF SOCIALISM! He tells the truth about as well as McConnell. He preaches about FEMA death camps, secret Muslim Kenyan armies being trained by Obama, they're coming to round us up, folks! Take all our guns and freedumbs just like the Nazis! The total failure of ObamaCare is God's punishment on the President for plotting genocide of the white race! All that crap. And his letters always follow mine. I suppose he thinks he's putting me in my place but good!

Wonder why I'd bet your house he's in the alleged-Patriot militia? Well, he's known where I live ever since 2005, and I'm still here. Who knows how long, but I can't worry about that.

[Warpy]

5. Nobody would take that bet. I live in a shabby fixer

in a part of town called the war zone. However, I would think you're right about that. Or if he's too old to march without a walker, he probably sends them money.

[IrishAyes]

6. Those people tend to be more numerous in extremely rural areas such as this.

When the GOP took the House, a bunch of militia loaded up in the back of a truck with their firearms and parked in front of my house, honking the horn and hooting like owls. I went out waving and smiling with a camera and started to take pictures - or so they thought, the camera hasn't worked in years - and they left, never to return. They know I've contacted the Secret Service before about actionable threats to the President's safety, and somewhere a rumor got started that I'm really retired from the FBI. Maybe because when one of them yelled at me, "Why did you move here anyway?" I answered back, "Maybe I was sent by the feds to keep an eye on you!" Dumb thing to say even though I didn't claim to BE a fed, but the guy made me mad and I popped off with the first thing that entered my mind, whatever I thought would make him angriest. That's what I do, scared or not, but especially when scared. I lean in.

[Warpy]

7. I think that's a great thing to do

because, being stupid, they'll never be quite sure.

I know what you mean about broken cameras, my 1970 SLR chased away a lot of bad guys here.

[IrishAyes]

8. I'm nowhere near above playing PT Barnhum with them.

When I had to go to the county building soon after moving here, I made a point of dropping a card I had with FBI in big letters on it. Not even my picture, which might be crossing legal lines. The small print was a joke disclaimer, but all I gave the clerk a chance to see was the big print. She wouldn't know a real FBI ID anyway if it bit her on the rump. I scooped up the card quickly, put it away, and said very sternly, "Forget you saw that." She was white as a sheet. After only a few weeks here I knew I'd have to strike a balance for my own safety.

You're right, a lot of these people (not all!) are dumb as dirt. One guy used to keep bragging on his intellectual girlfriend who almost made it through 11th grade in high school.

[IrishAyes]

4. Oh, and btw

I only added that nod to defecting GOP officials just to razz the local teabaggers about such defections.

[sheshe2]

9. Fantastic Irish!

Get the word out in your Blood Red State. One day, some day, they might just stop and listen. They might one day stop and hear.

[Cha]

10. Good on ya, Irish! It totally makes sense why the editor would publish

your letters no matter how against the grain they are of the community.

I especially like your ending..

"I'll close with a nod of respect and appreciation, however, to the growing number of Republican leaders who realize they've been so grieveously on the wrong side of history but are now trying to make amends by doing such wonderful things as requesting federal exchanges for their own states, etc. You know who they are; some of the ones the Tea Party screams are traitors!"

[IrishAyes]

11. Well, while I appreciate what those few Republican leaders have done, I still distrust

their motives. At best they're just trying to get their tails out of a crack. I wrote that last paragraph mainly to throw arrows at the TPs because nothing makes them angrier than traitors. Had to rub it in.

Yes, sometimes in some ways toward some people, I can be a little harsh. But only when I think they really need it for a reality check.

Oh, what the hell - I do it because it's fun.

[Cha]

12. That's what I'm talkin' about..

"I wrote that last paragraph mainly to throw arrows at the TPs because nothing makes them angrier than traitors."

[freshwest]

13. Outstanding LTTE! No wonder he prints them - I'll bet they surpass his own writings and that of many

other LTTE's in the paper. That is a wonderful, very inclusive piece. And I don't think it was harsh, either. Some of the readers, sadly, may have to look to the dictionary for some of the words, but I'm hoing the readers of print media are still a bit more informed than those who listen to Faux. Kudos!