I lived in Blytheville, AR, for over 5 years back in the 70s and enjoyed frequent trips down I-55 to Memphis. With that said, that was a stupid question to ask a presidential candidate. The only president who tried to transplant his organ in the White House was Bubba Clinton!

OK Jackson, you asked for it. I developed a plan to cure the organ shortage but couldn't get anyone to listen. Then I decided to craft a plan to run for president so folks would listen. Tancredo was justifiably distracted by the question. So I forgive him for thinking I wanted to clone people for body parts. I had no such intention. And here's how I'm approaching the problem: The latest polls just out say that Republicans are looking for more choices for President. And I understand their frustration. The big boys in the race are taking lots of different positions on the issues. That’s understandable as they try to distinguish themselves in the marketplace. The win-win aspect to this is that our candidates will refine the party’s stand on the major issues and in the end, by the time of our convention, we will be unified. I’m sure of that. And that’s why I am focussing my candidacy solely on the issue of solving the shortage of organs for transplant purposes. This is designed to give my fellow Republicans another choice in the contest as it continues to evolve. As the presumptive party nominee, I have committed myself to adopt the positions of the number 2 contender who runs on all the other issues. In other words, he or she will have best expressed the consensus of the party’s view on all the big issues. And I’ll happily adopt those views as mine. In addition I will ask that person to serve as my vice-presidential running mate. Here’s the beauty of all this: With me as the nominee and a vice president whose views I will enhance and support -- along with supporting the party platform -- we will have a unified party going into the general election. And we will have a candidate who can seriously attack a real problem that is currently - and unnecessarily - causing the deaths of 6,900 U. S. citizens annually. These people die because not enought organs are available for transplant. My organ plan is a real solution to a real problem. It does not contemplate any sale of a kidney from a living person. There are risks in having such surgery and for that reason and others, we set that aside and take no position on that question. In point of fact, the need for kidneys will be adequately supplied with adoption of my plan. The shortage of organs is taking the lives of 6,900 people unnecessarily each year. Donation is good. It is the highest altruistic step that a person can contemplate. However, for a number of reasons, many people are not willing to donate. The solution is to provide a regulated system allowing the organs of cadavers to be sold as follows: 1. The Federal Organ Transplant law needs to be changed. A futures contract can provide that when a person has decided, for whatever reasons, not to donate organs, he or she (hereafter: the provider) can commit to a plan to have the organs sold if and when the provider is brain dead. This contract will also be signed by the next of kin, spouse or nearest living relative so that that party understands the purpose of the contract and agrees that they will not oppose its implementation when the provider dies. A provider's option to cancel the contract at any time prior to the provider's death will be included in the contract.. 2. The sale of organs can be conducted by a broker, attorney or individual designated by the provider. Appropriate compensation to that party, such as a commission for services provided, would be set forth in the contract. The rest of the money will go to the provider’s estate. 3. The party designated by the provider must maintain a public record (like a broadcaster's operating log which is available for public viewing) specifying the individual who gets the organs, how much is being paid and the identification of the provider. This transparency will eliminate the need for a black market, and will stimulate public awareness. If there is a public record, as soon as organ sales begin, the news media will write articles about it pointing out how much money was involved in the transactions and stressing how much money goes to the heirs. This will persuade a lot of additional people to agree to such a contract, thus increasing the supply exponentially. Through the action of the law of supply and demand, the increased supply will cause prices to decrease to a level most people will consider reasonable. Unless you allow prices to be set by the market process you put a limit on the number of organs that might become available. Any fixed price, set by government or a special agency, would diminish the supply which would defeat the goal of making the most organs available. That would cause some individuals to decide not to participate. But if they knew that the organs they might provide are going to bring whatever the market process allows, they’ll have every incentive to take part. 4. The organs would have to be sold only for transplant to U. S. citizens in order to avoid foreigners from bidding up the price and reducing the supply to Americans. Of course, if other countries should adopt model legislation such as ours then we could reciprocate and become partners with them since their organ supply could be shared with ours. 5. The poor will not be discriminated against. They will have access to organs because the law will provide that, just as in Medicare or Medicaid presently, the government will pay for any medical procedure or supplies that the patient needs, upon a doctor’s certification that it is medically necessary. The government would buy organs on the market for those with Medicare or Medicaid unless donated organs were available. The same principle will apply for those with health insurance. And the wealthy, who may choose to be self insured, would be free to arrange for organs in the same market. Of course, people would still be free to donate organs. And participation by providers in the futures contracts would be entirely voluntary. 6. The use of this law will allow the provider to leave an estate to his heirs or a designated charity. A provider, with few or no assets, might otherwise have little to leave when he or she passed. The proposal I’m offering will be, of course, subject to improvement and modification by the federal legislature. Meanwhile, I welcome and will entertain seriously any changes suggested so long as they do no damage to this essential requirement: We have to let the law of supply and demand work in order to maximize the number of organs that will be made available.

Heh Heh Heh... he said "my organ plan."

Presidential Debate; It’s my proposal not yours! On Tuesday, October 7th, In Nashville, Tennessee, the second presidential debate was held. At this Town Hall debate, economy was the most discussed topic. "The last president to raise taxes during tough times was Herbert Hoover," said John McCain, linking Barack Obama to the Depression-era president. Indeed, Mr. Obama said, "we are in the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression," but he blamed the "failed economic policies of the last eight years" that President Bush authored and Mr. McCain supported. Economy is definitely what us Americans want addressed, considering stock markets are staggering, this credit crisis has spread globally and of course, retirees have lost $2 trillion. Voters at Tuesday’s debate at Belmont University were asking question after question about the $700 billion Wall Street bailout. People were very upset and even scared it would not work, they sought reassurance and a solution. McCain announced that as president he would immediately order the treasury secretary to start buying mortgages from owners of homes that are now worth less than they owe, avoiding foreclosures at all costs to stabilize neighborhoods. The plan would cost $300 billion – out of the $700 billion approved last week by Congress – and could add to the national debt, his aides said. "It's my proposal, it's not Senator Obama's proposal, it's not President Bush's proposal," Mr. McCain said. Obama made no effort to rebut his statement. But after the debate, his aides pointed out that Congress already gave the Treasury the authority Mr. McCain says he would invoke, and they noted that Mr. Obama voiced support two weeks ago for direct mortgage purchases. So if it is McCain’s new proposal, why have steps been taken to buy back mortgages before he even proposed it at the debate claiming he is the only one with this idea? Post Courtesy of Personal Money Store Professional Blogging Team Feed Back: 1-866-641-3406 Home: http://personalmoneystore.com/NoFaxPaydayLoans.html Blog: http://personalmoneystore.com/moneyblog/