ThinkFast: July 17, 2008
ThinkFast: July 17, 2008
In 2003, top administration officials rejected “a list of five candidates to lead the Justice Department Office of Legal Counsel” offered by then-Attorney General John Ashcroft, and installed “a loyalist” who would continue the President’s “coercive interrogation techniques and broadly interpret executive power.” Ashcroft is scheduled to testify before the House Judiciary Committee today.
Former Vice President Al Gore is set to give a major energy policy speech today, in which he will challenge “the nation to produce every kilowatt of electricity through wind, sun and other Earth-friendly energy sources within 10 years, an audacious goal he hopes the next president will embrace.”
“Despite spending $230m an hour on health care, Americans live shorter lives than citizens of almost every other developed country. And while it has the second-highest income per head in the world, the United States ranks 42nd in terms of life expectancy,” a new report by Oxfam American, the Conrad Hilton Foundation, and the Rockefeller Foundation finds.
Late Wednesday, the Department of the Interior “made 2.6 million acres of potentially oil-rich territory in northern Alaska available for energy exploration,” while deferring “for a decade any decision to open 600,000 acres of land…that is the summer home of thousands of migrating caribou and millions of waterfowl.”
Pentagon leaders announced yesterday that a surge in forces in Afghanistan will occur “sooner rather than later.” The moves are expected to happen within weeks, as officials prepare to lower troop levels in Iraq.
On the trail today: Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) is in Chicago, and has no scheduled public events. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) will host a town hall meeting in Kansas City, MO at 12:30.
Yesterday, the Senate voted 80 to 16 to approve legislation that would “triple funding to fight AIDS and other diseases around the globe, rejecting efforts to pare down the bill’s $50 billion price tag.” The House approved a similar bill in April.
Citing the Defense of Marriage act, “which prohibits the federal government from recognizing as a marriage the union of anyone but a man and a woman,” and ignoring the fact that “gay marriage is legal in Massachusetts and California,” the U.S. Census Bureau will count all “same-sex partners in both states who list themselves as spouses will be recorded as ‘unmarried partners.’”
And Finally: MSNBC’s Morning Joe host, Joe Scarborough, complained again yesterday about the “Cheeto eaters…blogging in their basements” who have recently attacked Joe Lieberman for his hawkish stance on Iran. It’s unclear where Scarborough gets the impression that bloggers spend their days munching on Cheetos, but he may be speaking from experience, as he himself blogs intermittently for the Huffington Post.
What did we miss? Let us know in the comments section.
Mayors Make Good Move On Health Care
It didn’t get much attention last week— the country’s obviously preoccupied with the state of the economy and out-of-control oil prices — but there was a significant development in the growing movement to fix the broken American health care system.
For the first time, the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the high-powered national organization that met here in the summer of 2002 and gathered this year in Miami, adopted a resolution at its annual convention supporting national single-payer health insurance.
The resolution, adopted unanimously by the mayors, specifically calls on Congress to enact H.R. 676, the bill sponsored by Rep. John Conyers of Michigan and 90 other members of Congress including the 2nd District’s own Tammy Baldwin.
“This is a major achievement, a qualitative change in the movement for genuine health care reform,” said Dr. David Prensky, a member of the Chicago-based Physicians for a National Health Care Program. “It shows that our country’s mayors now support the kind of approach that every other industrialized country has — an approach that guarantees health care for everyone at an affordable cost.”
A single-payer system similar to Medicare is the fairest and most economical way to correct this long-neglected problem. It’s free of the costly layers of insurance bureaucracy and easy for people to understand. Nothing is more frustrating than trying to sort out the complicated ifs, ands and buts that mark our current system. Band-Aids have been placed over Band-Aids, saddling our health care system with incomprehensible rules and exceptions that require a law degree to navigate.
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/07/16/10394/
This is another great issue that the media ignored. Instead, my local newspaper made sure I knew that Angelina delivered twins. I agree with Zweifel, that this bill won’t be fully addressed til after the elections. It seems our Mayors are looking out for us in better ways than our Congress has done this last session. With this additional push and new members in Congress, it will be easier for Obama to solve our Health Care Crisis once he is elected President.
July 17th, 2008 at 9:13 amEmployer Doesn’t Pay You? Under Bush Wage and Hour Dept., You’re Out of Luck
Two new reports by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) show the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division, especially under the Bush administration, is conducting fewer and less thorough investigations in allegations of employer wage theft.
Over the past decade, the number of investigations into employers’ refusal to pay minimum wage, overtime or even any wages at all, has dropped from 47,000 in 1997 to just 30,000 last year. And when investigations are launched, sometimes investigators drop their probes simply because an employer hangs up on them or asserts, without proof, they can’t afford to pay the workers what they are owed.
Yesterday, the U.S. House Education and Labor Committee heard some glaring examples of the Wage and Hour Division’s lax enforcement efforts that in most cases hurt low-wage workers the worst. Said committee Chairman Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.):
Wage theft affects everyone from poultry workers to construction workers, nursing home employees to retail workers, farm workers to landscapers….and in too many cases, investigators from the Wage and Hour Division simply drop the ball in pursing employers that cheat their employees out of their hard-earned wages.
Interfaith Worker Justice (IWJ) Executive Director Kim Bobo told the committee:
The number one problem addressed by these centers is wage theft….Millions of workers have wages stolen each and every year. Workers are confused by the laws and unsure which agencies can help them. Employers understand that the consequences of stealing wages are negligible.
http://blog.aflcio.org/ 2008/ 07/ 16/ employer-doesnt-pay-you-under-bush-wage-and-hour-dept-youre-out-of-luck
This is so distressing on many levels. First, the chances of employers being investigated are slim and, if you are, the penalties are so low there is no reason to worry. If you don’t pay your taxes to the IRS, they will put a lien on your home and freeze your checking account this discourages people from doing this. Under the Bush Administration, the unlikely pursuit and prosecution of these offenders is causing a great hardship to many families in different fields of employment. They also need to charge larger penalties and beef up investigations for better determent of unprincipled employers.
July 17th, 2008 at 9:16 amInflation in Zimbabwe at 2.2 mio percent
US inflation as high as not seen in 27 years
July 17th, 2008 at 9:22 amFormer Vice President Al Gore is set to give a major environmental policy speech today, in which he will challenge “the nation to produce every kilowatt of electricity through wind, sun and other Earth-friendly energy sources within 10 years, an audacious goal he hopes the next president will embrace.”
Damn! Now that is a Race, though I question the audacity of asking fo EVERY kilowatt. But it is BOLD to say the least. Think of all the jobs it will create?
July 17th, 2008 at 9:24 amOh sorry, Ummm, Renewable energy is not good for the e-c-o-n-o-m-y. It hurts corporations’ bottom line. It does not help the e-n-v-i-r-o-n-m-e-n-t. It is bad, bad, bad.
There, now traitor-in-chief georgie dinkledoofus, sh|thead boooosh has spoken.
Former Vice President Al Gore is set to give a major environmental policy speech today, in which he will challenge “the nation to produce every kilowatt of electricity through wind, sun and other Earth-friendly energy sources within 10 years, an audacious goal he hopes the next president will embrace.”
Mr. Gore would have made such a great president. I’m glad however that he has tried to effect great change in our nation for the better. He reminds me of Kucinich, no matter how many people try to discourage them they are presistant in their goals of making the US a better place to live.
July 17th, 2008 at 9:29 amCiting the Defense of Marriage act, “which prohibits the federal government from recognizing as a marriage the union of anyone but a man and a woman,” and ignoring the fact that “gay marriage is legal in Massachusetts and California,” the U.S. Census Bureau will count all “same-sex partners in both states who list themselves as spouses will be recorded as ‘unmarried partners.’”
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Once the country sees that the world isn’t falling apart in Massachusetts or California, I expect other states to legalize gay marriage or civil unions over time. What’s the federal government going to do when a majority of the states recognize these relationships? Will they still pretend they don’t exist?
July 17th, 2008 at 9:29 amYesterday, the Senate voted 80 to 16 to approve legislation that would “triple funding to fight AIDS and other diseases around the globe, rejecting efforts to pare down the bill’s $50 billion price tag.” The House approved a similar bill in April.
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I am assuming that because nothing was said about it here, nor in the linked article, that Elizabeth Dole’s attempt to get this bill named for Jesse Helms died a very quick and silent death.
July 17th, 2008 at 9:42 amUSE IT OR LOSE IT
I like it. Democrats have found a slogan the Republics would use to dumb down the increased oil drilling efforts.
If leased lands aren’t being drilled already, get the Hell out of the way & let someone else drill there.
July 17th, 2008 at 9:44 amDespite spending $230m an hour on health care, Americans live shorter lives than citizens of almost every other developed country.
With the war criminal Bush as our president, a shorter life is welcome, believe me. Sheesh, our suicide rate (due to embarrassment) has no doubt increased a trillionfold.
More positive news brought to you by the GOP!
July 17th, 2008 at 9:45 amFormer Vice President Al Gore is set to give a major environmental policy speech today, in which he will challenge “the nation to produce every kilowatt of electricity through wind, sun and other Earth-friendly energy sources within 10 years, an audacious goal he hopes the next president will embrace.”
It will happen if Gore is receptive to taking a cabinet position in the Obama Administration that allows him to chair and oversee the policies and processes to getting there.
I truly hope he is. We need him more than ever.
July 17th, 2008 at 9:47 amThe US Is On The Verge Of Utter Financial Collapse And Martial Law
by William Cormier
Rob Kall at Op-Ed News ran an interesting poll, and it does appear that Congress could dramatically improve their ratings, however, based on my personal interpretation of that poll and the subsequent comments, it appears that Nancy Pelosi allowing impeachment hearings to go forth and allow Bush and Cheney to be impeached are the key to Congress improving its ratings. It is the will of the American people, the population is tired of Bush and Cheney, their constant war rhetoric, and the destruction of the American economy while the wealthy of America are increasing their wealth - and the rest of us are going down in flames. It’s no longer a matter of speculation, but documented fact that Wall Street and America’s corporations, devoid of real oversight by the government, are raping and plundering the American and even the global economy.
Sadly, our own corporations have turned a blind eye to the American people, and in order to enhance their own wealth, have outsourced anything and everything to other countries to bolster their own bottom lines while the American economy is withering and dying before our eye - and it’s happening at a pace that is shocking and spells the eventual bankrupting (if we’re not already there) of our own economy. Other countries are getting richer, building-up armies and becoming prosperous off the backs of Americans - and our Presidency, Congress, and especially corporate America are allowing this to happen for only one reason - money. When we forsake our own countrymen and pour hundreds of billions of dollars in economies of countries that are not our friends, use the money to build weapons specifically designed to counter American weapon systems, it takes greed to the level of treason, at least in this writer’s opinion. Some large corporations that are not benefiting from this outsourcing binge are beginning to fight back, and the people should join them and understand that we cannot help others if we place ourselves in a position that we can’t help ourselves.
Must read this:
http://www.opednews.com/ articles/ The-US-Is-On-The-Verge-Of–by-William-Cormier-080714-510.html
**I know – doom and gloom but I am beginning to think that the only way we are going to get to fix things is to let things go so we can start over and do things right this time. I can’t wrap my mind around why there is such disparity between our own financial markets and what is now going on globally. It’s almost like (at times) the worse the news the higher the markets here. We have ruined human rights agreements, the environment, financial markets etc. throughout the globe and somehow just plug along like nothing is wrong. I am baffled. We have got to be the most despised nation right now. Not just because of what has been going on but because our legislators appear to be complicit in all of it.
July 17th, 2008 at 9:48 amFormer Vice President Al Gore is set to give a major environmental policy speech today, in which he will challenge “the nation to produce every kilowatt of electricity through wind, sun and other Earth-friendly energy sources within 10 years, an audacious goal he hopes the next president will embrace.”
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Ten years is an extremely lofty goal, and some people might consider that unrealistic. But even if we don’t meet this goal in 10 years, it’s definitely the direction we must take, so I say go for it.
Shoot for the moon, and even if you miss you’ll land among the stars.
July 17th, 2008 at 9:48 amLate Wednesday, the Department of the Interior “made 2.6 million acres of potentially oil-rich territory in northern Alaska available for energy exploration,” while deferring “for a decade any decision to open 600,000 acres of land…that is the summer home of thousands of migrating caribou and millions of waterfowl.”
To quote Daryll: “BLASPHEMY!!!”
This is unacceptable and utterly unethical. Where’s Congress?
July 17th, 2008 at 9:49 amJohn McCain is 72.
July 17th, 2008 at 9:50 amPentagon leaders announced yesterday that a surge in forces in Afghanistan will occur “sooner rather than later.” The moves are expected to happen within weeks, as officials prepare to lower troop levels in Iraq.
The Cons keep criticizing Obama’s policies - right before they go and do exactly what they criticized him for saying! Freaking hypocrites…
July 17th, 2008 at 9:53 amObama Aides Ecstatic Over $52 Million Haul
There is a sense of elation in the Obama campaign as it was announced that their candidate raised $52 million in June. It’s a massive haul for the presumptive Democratic nominee — $3 million short of the historic mark he hit earlier in the cycle but much larger than the $22 million that John McCain brought in this past month.
The majority of donations, Obama’s campaign manager David Plouffe wrote in an email to supporters, were of the small variety, with the average amount being $68.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ 2008/ 07/ 17/ obama-aides-ecstatic-over_n_113239.html
July 17th, 2008 at 9:56 amunbelievable Says: John McCain is 72.
By the looks of his skin, I’d say he’s been dead for years.
We know he’s brain dead; no one could come up with the lame policies & flip flops exhibited by this Congress Critter.
This man has never had a job in the private sector. 50+ years on the government payroll is enough…time for a CHANGE!
July 17th, 2008 at 9:56 amDear Freb,
It’s our individual liberty to refuse to pay employees what they’re owed for their services. It’s ok for businesses to freeload, but deplorable for an individual to do so. Let the free markets be free to act as unethically as they choose.
The guvmint cannot infringe on my freedom to work an employee for eighteen hours per day and pay him/her a premium rate of $0.18 an hour.
Leave the guvmint out of this, Freedom Rebel. Let the free markets be free.
July 17th, 2008 at 9:56 amAnd of course Al Gore will barely make a dent in the mass ignorance of low information voters.
As long as millions of dollars are spent to continue confusing the American people about the issue of global warming, there will be those who will continue to live in the dark.
If Al Gore wants to change minds, he should release advertisement and just spit the straight facts on tv with a link to websites. The only way to reach the masses of LIV is by going to the area where they nest—television.
July 17th, 2008 at 9:57 amScary Thought: Is Condi Rice Our Last, Best Chance for Peace?
Here’s a scary thought: Condoleezza Rice might be our last, best chance for peace — or at least for avoiding another disastrous war in the Middle East.
Vice President Dick Cheney is said to be very hot for “hot conflict” with Iran – to the point of cozying up to al-Qaeda-linked groups in Iran. As for Bush, who is unfettered by concerns about his political future, he is, according to Bill Kristol, more likely to strike Iran if he thinks Obama is going to win.
John McCain has called war with Iran “a possibility that is maybe closer to reality than we are discussing.”
With all the tumblers for war falling into place, the question becomes: What will Condi do? Will she reprise her pitiful performance as Bush’s National Security Adviser during the run up to the war in Iraq? Or will she fulfill the mission of her current office (she is, after all, Secretary of State)?
This time around, it’s not going to be enough for Rice to keep her head out of the line of fire. Her lack of effective diplomacy as Secretary of State has been a disaster. And trotting out lines about only listening and not talking at the negotiating table is simply laughable.
If she doesn’t want to fall into the same trap as her predecessor Colin Powell — who now claims he was privately anguished about letting himself be used in the run-up to Iraq but publicly carried Cheney’s water (and that vial of fake anthrax) — she needs to do something dramatic. Either convince the president what a catastrophe attacking Iran would be. Or, failing that, break with the administration and do the noble thing by resigning while it still might make a difference (see Powell, George Tenet, and Scott McClellan for an object lesson in speaking out when it no longer makes a difference).
Condi Rice has frequently been called the “most powerful woman in the world.” It’s time for her to do the world a favor and prove it.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ arianna-huffington/ scary-thought-is-condi-ri_b_113187.html
It would be wonderful to see Condi rise to the occasion and live up to being Secretary of State. To use diplomacy as a means to solve problems. But she has proven to be only a “loyalist” to Bush instead of the United States and it’s citizens. It’s a great dream that Arianna has, but it’s just that. I don’t think she will do any better than Colin Powell. Her legacy will not be for the greater good, but the promotion of lies and criminal conduct.
July 17th, 2008 at 9:58 amnothing personal here, but, this:
Mr. Gore (Kucinich, et al) would have made such a great president.
makes me crazy….
woulda, coulda, shoulda…
i wish progs would quit whining and get behind the democratic
July 17th, 2008 at 9:58 ampresidential nominee to make sure that this neoCON republicRAT
regime is removed from office…
And while it has the second-highest income per head in the world, the United States ranks 42nd in terms of life expectancy,” a new report by Oxfam American, the Conrad Hilton Foundation, and the Rockefeller Foundation finds.
Wait a minute here. I thought that we had the greatest health care system that money could buy. I thought that people want to come here from countries with free medical care to avail themselves of our marvelous system of medical care.
There are two reasons for other countries having longer live expectancy. The first is that people get preventative care for diseases and proper testing to discover illnesses before they are life threatening. The second is people in those countries can seek care for illnesses before they are life threatening.
As I have said before, my sister lives in England. They have a list of standard tests and preventative measures that everyone in England is expected to avail themselves of. And according to my sister, they are relentless in making sure you avail yourself of these services. My sister hates getting pap smears. She says that their public health service nurses hound her until she gets in and gets it done.
Wouldn’t it be nice to live in a country that actually cares about your health. Countries like England and most other industrialized nations see their citizens as an asset rather than a liability and they view health care as a right, not a privilege.
July 17th, 2008 at 10:00 am“…Americans live shorter lives than citizens of almost every other developed country. And while it has the second-highest income per head in the world, the United States ranks 42nd in terms of life expectancy…”
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Hmmm…I wonder why this is.
Is it because we have higher smoking rates? Nah — England, France, Russia, and many other countries have a higher percentage of smokers than we do.
Is it because Americans engage in more high-risk activities? It’s true that we have some people in our country who behave recklessly, but morons exist all over the world, so I don’t think this would cause a significant statistical difference between our country and the rest.
Is it because we exercise less? Possibly. We HAVE been sitting on our butts a lot more — especially after the invention of the remote control.
Is it because we’re fatter than people in other countries? This could be a real factor — obesity in the fast-food driven United States is reaching epidemic levels.
Is it because health care is unaffordable and therefore inaccessible to so many of us, whereas virtually every other country provides health care to all its citizens? Bingo. And it beats me why the nay-sayers continue to ignore this data.
July 17th, 2008 at 10:00 am“Despite spending $230m an hour on health care, Americans live shorter lives than citizens of almost every other developed country.
I doubt that is the amount that is spent on health care. I’m sure a large part of that figure is what we pay for the privilege of getting health care, most of which is profit for the for-profit health insurance industry.
July 17th, 2008 at 10:02 amgitrdone Says:
July 17th, 2008 at 9:57 am
Nail on head, gitrdone.
July 17th, 2008 at 10:03 amTax cheats cost Americans $100 billion
Senate report says offshore tax abuses may cost U.S. $100 billion a year.
WASHINGTON (AP) — European bankers and some of their U.S. clients can expect a grilling from a Senate panel looking into offshore tax abuses that investigators believe are costing American taxpayers about $100 billion a year.
The questioning, expected at a hearing Thursday, follows the release of a report by the Senate panel accusing the banks of helping commit massive tax evasion and urging tougher laws to combat offshore tax havens around the world.
The 109-page report by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs investigations subcommittee took aim specifically at Switzerland’s UBS AG (UBS), among the world’s largest wealth managers, and Liechtenstein’s LGT group, owned by the principality’s royal family.
Representatives from UBS and LGT were scheduled to testify, along with some of LGT’s U.S. clients.
A federal judge ruled this month that the Internal Revenue Service could serve legal papers on UBS in an expanding probe of U.S. taxpayers who may have used overseas accounts to hide assets and avoid taxes. UBS has said it is cooperating with Swiss and American investigations and will disclose records involving U.S. clients who might have broken tax laws. It also has banned its Swiss bankers from traveling to the United States.
Read the rest:
http://money.cnn.com/ 2008/ 07/ 17/ news/ tax_evasion.ap/ index.htm?postversion=2008071704
**The investigation is in progress. You can watch/listen live through the committee link: http://hsgac.senate.gov/public/
July 17th, 2008 at 10:05 amPop the popcorn (if you can afford it!)
Bilbo,
I read a study a while back that said that England beats the US on health at all income levels even though their diet and exercise are worse. The study said the reason for this was their universal healthcare and preventative healthcare.
I lived there for twelve years, so I know first-hand that their system is better.
July 17th, 2008 at 10:05 amlokidog Says: Sheesh, our suicide rate (due to embarrassment) has no doubt increased a trillionfold.
I learned that the highest rate of suicide is among teenagers and that it has greatly increased in the last few years. You something is terribly wrong with our society when a young person sees no hope in life. Teenagers are usually the most hopeful percnt of the population.
I think a lot of it has to do with unrealistic expectations of them - and for that I mostly blame organized religion. Hell, if you actually believe that snakes, donkeys and “dragons” can talk, a man can come back from the dead to assend bodily into the heavens, and that you actually get your prayres answered by a magical sky wizard, then why can’t you expect that your child will be beautiful, popular, gifted, football or cheerleading captain, debate club President, straight A student, School body President, and Rhodes Scholar by age 18?
July 17th, 2008 at 10:06 amLate Wednesday, the Department of the Interior “made 2.6 million acres of potentially oil-rich territory in northern Alaska available for energy exploration,” while deferring “for a decade any decision to open 600,000 acres of land…that is the summer home of thousands of migrating caribou and millions of waterfowl.”
Is this something that can be done on the will of the Department. Doesn’t this require Congressional approval? After all, “we the people” own this land. It’s nice to know that they are protecting 600,000 acres. But, you can’t tell me that the 2.6 million acres they have opened up don’t have animals living on it that will be endangered.
Hopefully this is something that Obama can reverse once he gets in office. I feel sorry for him. He is going to have to spend the first six months in office doing nothing but reversing the harmful things Bush has set in motion during the waning days of his occupation of the white house. I have as yet referred to Bush as “president” and I never will.
July 17th, 2008 at 10:06 amZooey, haven’t you forgotten a task elsewhere?
July 17th, 2008 at 10:06 ammisshusseinmolly Says:
Is it because health care is unaffordable and therefore inaccessible to so many of us, whereas virtually every other country provides health care to all its citizens? Bingo. And it beats me why the nay-sayers continue to ignore this data.
July 17th, 2008 at 10:00 am
Miss Molly,
The typical nay-sayer seems to be absolutely terrified that someone else might get something for which they didn’t work “hard enough.” These same nay-sayers also seem to be the only ones who know what working “hard enough” entails.
July 17th, 2008 at 10:07 amFormer Vice President Al Gore is set to give a major environmental policy speech today, in which he will challenge “the nation to produce every kilowatt of electricity through wind, sun and other Earth-friendly energy sources within 10 years, an audacious goal he hopes the next president will embrace.”
I certainly agree, unbelievable, that Al Gore is needed more than ever.
Electricity rates are going up. The national average electricity bill per 1000kwh used was about $112. With the cost of various energy sources needed to operate the power grids spiking, power companies have had to raise rates. My power company recently proposed an 18% rate increase — and recieved approval — from the Virginia State Corporation Commission.
We need these alternative sources widely implemented — fast.
July 17th, 2008 at 10:07 amgummitch Says:
Zooey, haven’t you forgotten a task elsewhere?
July 17th, 2008 at 10:06 am
Nope. Maybe you forgot to look, Mister MicroManager.
July 17th, 2008 at 10:08 am**eyes crossed, tongue out**
Zimzone Says: By the looks of his skin, I’d say he’s been dead for years. This man has never had a job in the private sector. 50+ years on the government payroll is enough…time for a CHANGE!
LOL. Easily!
Can you imagine if he didn’t make it through his first term and we wound up with Bobby “ID” Jindal as President? Even scarier…
July 17th, 2008 at 10:08 amEstimates are that the US would save about $300 Billion every year on administration by switching to single-payer universal healthcare. This does NOT include cutting pay of doctors, nurses or staff—nor even reducing costs of drugs.
July 17th, 2008 at 10:08 amBush Administration Tries to Redefine Contraception as Abortion
The New York Times reports that the Bush Administration’s Department of Health and Human Services is drafting a rule that would place new restrictions on domestic family planning programs. While current law allows health care providers and professionals to refuse to provide abortions based on their religious beliefs, this provision would threaten the funding of organizations and health facilities if they do not hire people who would refuse to provide birth control and defines abortion so broadly that it would include many types of birth control, including oral contraception.
Speaker Pelosi released the following statement on the Administration’s draft proposal:
http://www.speaker.gov/blog/?p=1441
July 17th, 2008 at 10:09 am#24 Bilbo Hussein Baggins Says:
“Despite spending $230m an hour on health care, Americans live shorter lives than citizens of almost every other developed country.
I doubt that is the amount that is spent on health care. I’m sure a large part of that figure is what we pay for the privilege of getting health care, most of which is profit for the for-profit health insurance industry.
Good Morning Bilbo :) You are right, this is not spent on health care.
Why does a multiple risk pool system add to health care administrative costs?
1) Creates a medical loss ratio. Insurance companies make much of their money on what Wall Street calls their medical loss ratio (i.e., how much money they have to spend on actual medical care versus insurance overhead and profit). Many individual policies have a medical loss ratio of 45%, meaning over half the money that is collected into that risk pool goes to insurer profits and overhead, making Wall Street investors happy. Under Medicare, a single payer system in the US, the medical loss ratio is 96%, meaning more money goes to health care instead of insurance stock dividends, making more people healthier. A typical PPO medical loss ratio is 72%. An “individual mandate”(a requirement that everyone must buy insurance) maximizes the number of risk pools, hence greatly increasing insurer profits. This is the reason why health insurance companies have always supported an “individual mandate” on health insurance.
This is very sad what they are doing with our insurance premiums.
July 17th, 2008 at 10:12 amTop story on CNN, Remembering Tony Snow, a man made of ‘goodness’
You have to be shitting me. I remember Tony Snow. He was a lying enabler who is part of the team responsible for killing a lot of innocent people and covering for an evil dictator.
Look a little closer to that “goodness”, see that black slime oozing out of his heart? Methinks the goodness has gone bad.
July 17th, 2008 at 10:14 amThere is a sense of elation in the Obama campaign as it was announced that their candidate raised $52 million in June. It’s a massive haul for the presumptive Democratic nominee.
Wow, that really amazes me. I really thought that the net root’s ire at Obama would have affected his donations. Oh well, he won’t miss my $50 a month which is now going to the ACLU.
I guess I am happy that he did so well. But, why isn’t he starting an advertising blitz? McCain certainly is.
I have been thinking lately and perhaps the Obama campaign is thinking along the same lines. I am thinking that the Republicans are really going to pull a switch at their convention. McCain is seeming much slower lately and he can hardly move his arm. I think that the Republicans will say that McCain is too sick to run and they will chose Romney/Huckabee. Then they will have a fresh candidate two months before the election. That’s probably why we are seeing so much of Romney these days. Perhaps that’s why Obama isn’t spending a lot of money introducing the public to the real John McCain. Perhaps they think there is going to be a switch. Even if that’s the case, the Democrats and Obama need to start running ads against the Republicans, hammering on all the harm they have done to this country. That will help down-stream Democrats and it will help if the Republicans pull a switch.
July 17th, 2008 at 10:14 amSpeaking of electricity rates, I would propose a fee system that rewards those who conserve and charges more for those who use more — regulation that mirrors progressive taxation.
For example — If you want to live in and heat and cool a 3000+ SF home and leave tons of gadgets plugged in, you should be forced to pay more per kwh once you’ve exceed a certain level of usage, than the person who lives in the 1500 SF home and regulates their consumption religiously.
Blanket rate increases place a burden on lower income people and leave just a little bit more to absorb for those in higher income brackets.
July 17th, 2008 at 10:15 amBilbo Hussein Baggins Says: There are two reasons for other countries having longer live expectancy. The first is that people get preventative care for diseases and proper testing to discover illnesses before they are life threatening. The second is people in those countries can seek care for illnesses before they are life threatening.
I’d like to add a third to your list: Equal treatment of women.
Across the board statistics show a direct correlation between the treatment of women and a country’s health/longevity.
Countries with the highest standards of living treat women as equals. Countries with the lowest treat them like they do in the Sudan where diseases like AIDS are rampant.
America would greatly benefit from elevating women to ‘equal with men’ status on many levels, not just health. One first step is to have insurance companies cover birth control as they cover Viagra.
July 17th, 2008 at 10:16 amanother scarborough story:
Scarborough to Lieberman: Don’t you just hate the “angry left”?
http://www.crooksandliars.com/ 2008/ 07/ 16/ scarborough-to-lieberman-dont-you-just-hate-the-angry-left/
July 17th, 2008 at 10:16 amFreedom Rebel Says:
Mayors Make Good Move On Health Care
Good morning Freb
July 17th, 2008 at 10:20 amThanks for this article :)
bilbo - i heard on rachel yesterday that the huckster just signed a year’s contract for his own talk-type show…
doesn’t sound like he’s expecting that VP slot…
i still say it’s going to be romney, who will be president before the 4 years is up… IF mcCREEPY steals the election…
July 17th, 2008 at 10:21 amOn May 29, 2001, when the California energy crisis reached its peak, resulting in rolling blackouts, bankruptcies, and several deaths, Gov. Gray Davis met with Bush and pleaded with him to enact much-needed price controls on electricity sold in the state, which had skyrocketed to more than $200 per megawatt-hour.
Davis asked Bush for federal assistance, such as imposing federally mandated price caps. But Bush refused, saying California legislators had designed an electricity market that left too many regulatory restrictions in place and that it was that which had caused electricity prices in the state to skyrocket.
It was up to the governor to fix the problem, Bush said, adding that the crisis had nothing to do with energy companies manipulating the market.
But Bush’s response appeared to be part of a coordinated effort launched by Ken Lay to have Davis shoulder the blame for the crisis, which ultimately led to an unprecedented recall of the governor and Republican-funded attack ads on Davis’ handling of the energy crisis.
A couple of weeks before the Davis and Bush meeting,
Cheney said. “The problem you had in California was caused by a combination of things - an unwise regulatory scheme, because they didn’t really deregulate. In April 2001, Cheney met with Lay to discuss Bush’s National Energy Policy.
Lay recommended some energy policy initiatives that would financially benefit his company. Of the eight, seven were included in the energy policy’s final draft.
Davis was right in his assessment that energy companies, including Enron, were manipulating the state’s wholesale power market.
July 2008:
July 17th, 2008 at 10:22 amTexas had some of the cheapest power rates in the country when it zapped most of the state’s electric regulations six years ago, convinced that rollicking competition would drive prices even lower.
This summer, electricity there is some of the nation’s priciest.
Power costs are rising in the rest of the U.S., but everything is bigger in Texas — about 40 times the national average.
Prices in Texas have risen since the industry was freed from regulation, but these recent increases have been quite a shock for America’s most audacious experiment in deregulating electric power.
another good link about the HHS/contraception story, via C&L:
HHS Moves to Define Contraception as Abortion
http://www.rhrealitycheck.org/ blog/ 2008/ 07/ 15/ hhs-moves-define-contraception-abortion
July 17th, 2008 at 10:23 amOne first step is to have insurance companies cover birth control as they cover Viagra.
Not much chance, what with so much Idiocracy running amok.
July 17th, 2008 at 10:25 amMcWars Says: We need these alternative sources widely implemented — fast.
Probably what we should have expected electing an “oil” man (I put oil in quotes because, well, he did bankrupt those three companies trying to find oil in Texas…).
Day One, Obama will have to put Al Gore on this. I’d be surprised if didn’t already have him planning for it.
I recently read that new technology has brought the cost of solar panels down to about $1 a watt - which is a one time cost. It’s no longer more expensive than oil. They’ve run out of time on that excuse.
July 17th, 2008 at 10:25 am#43 Exit Stage Left Says:
Freedom Rebel Says:
Mayors Make Good Move On Health Care
Good morning Freb
Thanks for this article :)
Good to see you Exit Stage Left :)
I thought it was a very good article, your welcome. It’s nice to see some of our elected officials trying to make a positive impact.
July 17th, 2008 at 10:27 amFreedom Rebel Says:
Employer Doesn’t Pay You? Under Bush Wage and Hour Dept., You’re Out of Luck
Under the Bush Administration, the unlikely pursuit and prosecution of these offenders is causing a great hardship to many families in different fields of employment.
The bush regime has carried out a premeditated and systematic attack on the working class and people languishing in poverty. The movement of more and more wealth to the few at the top has our economy in shambles and has put our democracy in jeopardy. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.
July 17th, 2008 at 10:28 amBilbo Hussein Baggins Says:Wow, that really amazes me. I really thought that the net root’s ire at Obama would have affected his donations. Oh well, he won’t miss my $50 a month which is now going to the ACLU. I guess I am happy that he did so well. But, why isn’t he starting an advertising blitz? McCain certainly is.
I thought the same thing. Guess we underestimated people’s ability to rationalize his FISA vote. Comments on another liberal blogs were doing that, even though we weren’t here.
On local Atlanta channels, there’s an Obama ad every half hour. I’ve seen only one McCain ad here, and it was on a national cable network. Different strategy here than your state perhaps?
July 17th, 2008 at 10:29 ammisshusseinmolly Says:
Once the country sees that the world isn’t falling apart in Massachusetts or California, I expect other states to legalize gay marriage or civil unions over time. What’s the federal government going to do when a majority of the states recognize these relationships? Will they still pretend they don’t exist?
Support the Human Rights Campaign :)
July 17th, 2008 at 10:30 ammisshusseinmolly Says:
Yesterday, the Senate voted 80 to 16 to approve legislation that would “triple funding to fight AIDS and other diseases around the globe, rejecting efforts to pare down the bill’s $50 billion price tag.” The House approved a similar bill in April.
_______________________________________________________
I am assuming that because nothing was said about it here, nor in the linked article, that Elizabeth Dole’s attempt to get this bill named for Jesse Helms died a very quick and silent death.
Lizzie Borden Dole is a frickin idiot :)~
July 17th, 2008 at 10:32 amDieNowForPeace Says: Not much chance, what with so much Idiocracy running amok.
Six months, 3 days to go…
July 17th, 2008 at 10:33 amunbelievable Says:
On local Atlanta channels, there’s an Obama ad every half hour. I’ve seen only one McCain ad here, and it was on a national cable network. Different strategy here than your state perhaps?
Probably a different strategy since I live in safely blue Oregon. What kind of ads is he running? Any about McCain?
I’m wondering if the money hit will come in July. I had already made my June contribution by the time that I heard about what he was going to do on FISA. Perhaps many donors gave him the benefit of the doubt and donated in June, but not in July. I was actually hoping that he would take a big financial hit and that it would send him a big message.
July 17th, 2008 at 10:36 am#18 McWars Says:
The guvmint cannot infringe on my freedom to work an employee for eighteen hours per day and pay him/her a premium rate of $0.18 an hour.
Leave the guvmint out of this, Freedom Rebel. Let the free markets be free.
Good Morning McWars :) Glad to see you haven’t lost your sense of humor. LOL At this rate we will have to pay the employers to work for them.
July 17th, 2008 at 10:36 ammisshusseinmolly Says:
Ten years is an extremely lofty goal, and some people might consider that unrealistic. But even if we don’t meet this goal in 10 years, it’s definitely the direction we must take, so I say go for it.
Shoot for the moon, and even if you miss you’ll land among the stars.
After the bush regime missed every goal except for corporate wealth, I am also in favor of striving for goals that will benefit us all. Even if we miss this goal by 50%, we’ll still be using wind and solar power for HALF of our energy needs.
July 17th, 2008 at 10:38 amHey Keith, when were you in England and where, and why–hope you don’t mind me asking, I’m just feeling a bit homesick lately for that green and pleasant land.
July 17th, 2008 at 10:42 am#38
More like Tony Snow’s Ghoulness
July 17th, 2008 at 10:45 amBilbo Hussein Baggins Says:
Wait a minute here. I thought that we had the greatest health care system that money could buy.
…the greatest health care system people can over-pay for, if they’re lucky and have enough money (and about 47 million don’t).
There, I fixed it for ya :)~
July 17th, 2008 at 10:46 amFrom #36:
Speaker Pelosi released the following statement on the Administration’s draft proposal:
If the Administration goes through with this draft proposal, it will launch a dangerous assault on women’s health.
The majority of Americans oppose this out of touch position that redefines contraception as abortion and represents a sustained pattern of the Bush Administration to reject medical and sound science in favor of a misguided ideology that has no place in our government.
I urge the President to reject this policy and join with Democrats to focus on preventing unintended pregnancies and reducing the need for abortion through increasing access to family planning services and access to affordable birth control.
Oh excuse Ms Pelosi,
July 17th, 2008 at 10:46 amComplaining by you is off the table.
Bilbo Hussein Baggins Says: Probably a different strategy since I live in safely blue Oregon. What kind of ads is he running? Any about McCain?
Probably :)
They are, of course, conservative-oriented. Waving flags while he’s saying the words ‘faith’ and ‘blessings’, and talking about ‘family values’ and how he believes in the joy that comes from ‘hard work’ (all conservative key phrases).
His biggest hurdle here are the racists. They see black and skin and shut down.
July 17th, 2008 at 10:51 am5th Estate,
July 17th, 2008 at 10:54 amLast ime 1990. I lived quite a few places around London. Mostly around Ealing. I really do miss it. Left because of recession in 1990 and high interest rates (18%?). I hear now that a one-bedroom flat is about $2500 per month and you have to really save up for a restaurant meal. Where abouts did you live?
misshusseinmolly Says:
Shoot for the moon, and even if you miss you’ll land among the stars.
July 17th, 2008 at 9:48 am
_______
Actually, you’ll probably just come back to Earth. It depends on a lot of factors, but the trans-lunar injection burn used to propel a spacecraft from Low Earth Orbit to the moon does not provide enough force to escape Earth’s gravity field altogether.
July 17th, 2008 at 10:54 amEvolution Has Been Disproven
Matt over at [GBG] Atheist News deserves props for making me laugh out loud with this one. I won’t even blame him for the coffee I had to wipe off my keyboard because it was so worth it! It seems that a Christian who came across his blog decided to e-mail him one of the best refutations of evolutionary theory one could hope to find. This is going to set the science world on fire, so make sure you pay Matt a visit and express your appreciation for his willingness to share the gem I have reproduced below.
Here is the e-mail Matt received, unedited and titled “Proof evolution is wrong:
http://www.atheistrev.com/
July 17th, 2008 at 10:56 amThe moon’s only 250,000 miles away. You have to go many trillions of miles to reach the nearest star. Sorry to burst your bubble.
July 17th, 2008 at 10:58 amWhen you go in a doctors office you usually see rows and rows of filing cabinets…well organized and color coded. Do you think that those files contain medical data on the patients? No. They are all financial and insurance information.
Soon, if we don’t do something, you will have to have a credit check to see a doctor.
July 17th, 2008 at 10:59 amunbelieveable,
July 17th, 2008 at 11:01 amThat has to be a parody troll. Noone is that dumb!
#36 unbelievable Says:
Bush Administration Tries to Redefine Contraception as Abortion
Good Morning unbelievable :)
Good post. This one made me so mad that they are bowing to religious extremists again. When religion suppresses women and women’s rights. It never ceases to amaze me that instead of moving forward there are many holy-rollers that want to change that direction and start going backwards.
July 17th, 2008 at 11:02 amRegarding Gore’s Alternative Energy ‘Apollo’ project:
For years now the UK has been offering tax breaks to homeowners to add solar power.
My old home town of Woking (pop. 100,000) has been incorporating solar and geothermal systems in their new public buildings ( and there are a lot of them) for several years now and claims savings of around 35%.
McClaren Racing in Woking has a spectacular headquarters/engineering facility with its own lake from which it pumps water to cool it’s machinery whereupon the now hot water then flows down a sloping cascade (like a mountain stream) which naturally cools the water down before it is returnd to the lake. Simple effective and sustainable. The UK is in the process of choosing the design for a wave-power generator system to be installed at the mouth of the tidal Severn River. One design (15 billion pounds–that’s $26 billion)is expected to produce 5% of total UK energy needs but it looks like it could cause some environmental problems. Another design is $6 billion and expected to produce about 1.5% of UK needs but looks to have almost no environmental impact.
The US is so damn far behind and we have the Bush regime to thank for it.
July 17th, 2008 at 11:06 amha ha!
but i would be anybody’s good money, and mine if i had it, that the “Proof evolution is wrong” piece is totally a parody…
someone with a good sense of humor wrote that just for GBG’s entertainment…
pretty funny though…
.
my daughter told me of a facebook entry of a girl she went to h.s. with, about her family’s visit to the creation museum…
July 17th, 2008 at 11:07 amseems this girl was quite impressed, as her whole family is very religeous… but they aren’t stupid.
BET… i would bet…
July 17th, 2008 at 11:08 amKeith Says: That has to be a parody troll. Noone is that dumb!
You should visit the red state of Georgia some time. I’ll introduce you to several who are, including the ones who run the school district where I used to work. They really are that dumb.
July 17th, 2008 at 11:10 amThanks for the laugh unbelievable, a lot of people will think that the writer was a poor parody of the religious right, but I don’t.
I was discussing evolution with a redneck hunting buddy and he told me that I had my facts and I had my logic, but he had his faith and the two were equal. Then he leans back, takes another sip of Jack and with a smug and superior smile delivers his coup de grace, and I can quote it: “If your theory of evolution is right, tell me this, where do n*ggers come from?”
Needless to say that was the end of that conversation. Where do you start? These people are real. And they vote.
July 17th, 2008 at 11:11 amKeith Says:
unbelieveable,
That has to be a parody troll. Noone is that dumb!
July 17th, 2008 at 11:01 am
______
Really? Noone?
Cause the Pew Research Center says that at least 42% of Americans are that dumb.
July 17th, 2008 at 11:12 am5th Estate Says:
[…]
The US is so damn far behind and we have the Bush regime to thank for it.
gotta go back further… good ol’ ronnie raygun…
his first move was to take down the solar panel from the white house…
July 17th, 2008 at 11:12 amdownhill from there…
The creation museum in Kentucky teaches that dinosaurs died off from overhunting by the cavemen! They think the Flintstones was a documentary!
July 17th, 2008 at 11:15 amFreedom Rebel Says: Good post. This one made me so mad that they are bowing to religious extremists again. When religion suppresses women and women’s rights. It never ceases to amaze me that instead of moving forward there are many holy-rollers that want to change that direction and start going backwards
And they don’t seem to understand that by shackling us, they are hurting themselves in the process. I begin to wonder if these people are masochists.
Fortuntely, we’re only 6 months away from being about to start healing the country and putting it back on the right track.
July 17th, 2008 at 11:17 am#40 McWars Says:
For example — If you want to live in and heat and cool a 3000+ SF home and leave tons of gadgets plugged in, you should be forced to pay more per kwh once you’ve exceed a certain level of usage, than the person who lives in the 1500 SF home and regulates their consumption religiously.
Blanket rate increases place a burden on lower income people and leave just a little bit more to absorb for those in higher income brackets.
Our electric is run by our city, we are one of the lucky ones. They give discounts to lower income and the elderly. Plus the average citizen gets a discount over what we would pay if we had to use the local Electric Company here. Another side benefit they give out free halogens to help people even more save money and kilo watt usage.
July 17th, 2008 at 11:18 amnanlichi Says:
Then he leans back, takes another sip of Jack and with a smug and superior smile delivers his coup de grace, and I can quote it: “If your theory of evolution is right, tell me this, where do n*ggers come from?”
July 17th, 2008 at 11:11 am
______
Wow. I wonder what he’ll say when he learns that we all came from the same place.
July 17th, 2008 at 11:20 amDamn Keith, that is crazy! Everyone knows that a caveman couldn’t kill a dinosaur. Those suckers were huge! And mean! The cavemen hid in their caves and only came out at night.
It was the pyramid building aliens who killed off the dinosaurs.
Sheesh. Kentucky. It figures.
July 17th, 2008 at 11:22 amnanlichi, toasterhead…
well, ok… maybe it IS real…
i tend to think someone that dumb, or stupid, wouldn’t bother with any website though…
incredible…
and that Pew poll is very telling, about race…
even higher than i’d imagined…
you’d think that might pop the clinton balloon too, as far as pennsylvania and ohio go… i always figured it was the racists and limpballs who put her ahead there…
imagine the choice they faced… “jeez… a WOMAN and a n*****… no way the n***** is getting MY vote.”
i really thought we were past that…
July 17th, 2008 at 11:24 amif not for the race-bating-right-wing idjits, we would be…
hussein toasterhead,
I thought about explaining that we all came from Africa and his great-great-great….. grandmother probably looked a lot like Lucy, but except for being dumb as a rock, he’s a pretty good guy and I was pissing up a rope.
July 17th, 2008 at 11:26 amnanlichi Says: I was discussing evolution with a redneck hunting buddy and he told me that I had my facts and I had my logic, but he had his faith and the two were equal. Then he leans back, takes another sip of Jack and with a smug and superior smile delivers his coup de grace, and I can quote it: “If your theory of evolution is right, tell me this, where do n*ggers come from?” Needless to say that was the end of that conversation. Where do you start? These people are real. And they vote.
Holy crap! (Literally….)
If I hadn’t been born into a Christian Republican Military family, I would think these people were parodies as well. But, you’re right - they aren’t.
In fact, I’m still related to a few like that including a brother who pointed at his pregnant wife’s belly and said ‘You liberals want to kill babies. You want to kill that’. I’m pretty sure that that was the last converstion we will have until my mother passes.
These people will not think for themselves or examine any evidence or ever admit they were wrong. They are dangerous and divisive folks. And you’re also right that they always vote.
July 17th, 2008 at 11:27 amI hope lots of wingers go off the deep-end and suicide when Obama gets in. We’ll all be better off.
July 17th, 2008 at 11:29 am#79 Freb, that sounds very progressive and hands-on. I’ve been meaning to place a compact fl. in my lamp socket for some time now (I can’t replace bulbs throughout my apt. with that type because of lease regulations).
You live in Ohio, I assume from your earlier posts? I’d be surprised if you lived in the regressive southern part of the state with those energy policies in place, unless they’re statewide.
I hope you’re doing well.
July 17th, 2008 at 11:30 amHouse Dems Push Oil Legislation
(WASHINGTON) — Seeking to blunt GOP efforts to permit oil exploration off Atlantic and Pacific coasts, House Democrats are pushing legislation they say would spur oil drilling on already available lands in Alaska, the West and the western Gulf of Mexico.
Republicans scoffed that the so-called Drill Act — imposing a tougher “use it or lose it” rule on leases already held by oil companies — would do little to boost oil exploration, saying current policies are aimed at the same goal. A vote was set for Thursday.
http://www.time.com/ time/ politics/ article/ 0,8599,1823786,00.html
July 17th, 2008 at 11:31 amThis is funny, and true (just not in the same sense that he meant it):
“Our world has grown weary of greed, exploitation and division, of the tedium of false idols and piecemeal responses, and the pain of false promises.”
–POPE BENEDICT XVI,
July 17th, 2008 at 11:34 amwarning crowds at World Youth Day in Sydney of the dangers of pop culture
wow… talk about, um, well, this is quite an eye opener…
via C&L blog roundup:
How black Baltimore drug dealers are
using white supremacist legal
theories to confound the Feds.
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2008/0805.carey.html
July 17th, 2008 at 11:37 amEspecially tedious false idols who used to be Nazis.
July 17th, 2008 at 11:38 am#63 Keith.,,
I grew up in a village on the outskirts of Woking in Surrey, in the 60’s. London was half an hour away by train ( it still is :) ) and yet I could step out of the door and go pick wild blackberries and raspberries and get lost wandering the pastures and woods right next to our little suburban development.
The old neighbbourhood hasn’t changed that much but Woking sure has in the last 15 years. It used to be people lived there because it was just there. Now it’s got luxury condos and such. Despite going upscale it is still very diverse in its people and architecture and the public facilities are excellent. The sports center (we don’t have such things here in the US) is in the middle of a large park, three actual theaters and of course ample parking, (just like ‘South Park’!)
The last couple of times I was there I was regularly identified as an American–my old BBC English accent has gone all to hell. The UK has certainly adopted some of the less desirable aspects of American culture, but there’s still a lot left of the old England I remember and a lot to enjoy of the ‘New England’. It all seems enviably ‘balanced’ to me–but of course now I can’t afford to move back!
July 17th, 2008 at 11:39 amThey like tools of this nature. They are devisive which is the only way they can be sucessful in politics.
July 17th, 2008 at 11:42 am#87 McWars Says:
#79 Freb, that sounds very progressive and hands-on. I’ve been meaning to place a compact fl. in my lamp socket for some time now (I can’t replace bulbs throughout my apt. with that type because of lease regulations).
You live in Ohio, I assume from your earlier posts? I’d be surprised if you lived in the regressive southern part of the state with those energy policies in place, unless they’re statewide.
I hope you’re doing well.
I do live in Ohio, McWars. Another great plus we have many underground springs so the city provides all of our water also. We have the best tasting water. City water else where is awful.
Our city was the first in the country to adopt recycling also. Each on us get a rebate (discount)for recycling off of our trash bill. They are very good across the board on everything progressive and I pay less for all my services compared to my mother that lives 5 minutes away in another city. Her water bill is 3 times what mine is. Her electric bill is 25% higher also. And the nay-sayers always tout that it costs more, when my city is a living example that we pay less than all the surrounding communities for utilities.
I’m doing good, thank you. I hope everything is going well for you :) Good to see you as always.
July 17th, 2008 at 11:47 am“Despite spending $230m an hour on health care, Americans live shorter lives than citizens of almost every other developed country. And while it has the second-highest income per head in the world, the United States ranks 42nd in terms of life expectancy,” a new report by Oxfam American, the Conrad Hilton Foundation, and the Rockefeller Foundation finds.
That’s because our healthcare system has less to do with health than it has to do with creating wealth. Why else would Republicans be so insistent on keeping it private.
http://progressiveworldreview.com
July 17th, 2008 at 11:50 am65. unbelievable Says:
“Evolution Has Been Disproven”
Priceless, thanks!
July 17th, 2008 at 11:56 amApparently, Reverend Jackson used the ‘N’ word:
http://www.freep.com/ apps/ pbcs.dll/ article?AID=/ 20080716/ NEWS15/ 80717002&imw=Y
To be fair, this is where he would normally be asking for boycotts or resignations.
But, we should not boycott Jackson or ask him to step down from Rainbow/Push.
We should forgive him. And we should recognize that we are all human and all fallible.
We should also use the opportunity to stop throwing the stones from our glass houses and turn the page on race baiting as an answer to our racial problems.
Hand the reigns of a more serious discussion on race over to a new generation.
Another good reason to vote for Barack Obama.
July 17th, 2008 at 12:19 pm65 - unbelieveable:
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!
Thanks. That was priceless. ;o)
~A
July 17th, 2008 at 1:02 pm, Joe Scarborough, complained again yesterday about the “Cheeto eaters…blogging in their basements”
Why does Mornin Joe hate Mr P, Daryll, trajan, et al?
July 17th, 2008 at 1:16 pmJeebutz, un@#65, ya spose that was Daryll?
July 17th, 2008 at 1:17 pmMissHusseinMolly - on the idea that seeing Mass and CA working will influence the debate.
Sorry to say this, but to the Neocons, Mass and California are already the epitomy of liberal, la la land, etc. In short, already in hell in a hand basket.
July 17th, 2008 at 1:36 pmRednecks, creationists, and those like them are certinly roaming among us and unfortunately they do vote.
The earlier post was either written by a home-schooled child of a backward thinking creationist or it was a parody.
The redneck guy who has his “faith” is a breathing stereotype of ignorance, made dangerous with his weaponry, his blatant racism and belief in his god.
July 17th, 2008 at 1:37 pmThat picture of Ashcroft, I don’t like it.
Why couldn’t they get a shot of him with Justice’s bare titties hanging out behind his ugly mug?
ha ha
July 18th, 2008 at 1:34 am