Californians for Obama

Gov Arnold Scwartsnegger and First Lady Maria Shriver help us with immigration, "Hasta La Vista. We will be back!" "IT will not be like this for long"

Lillene Ebanks — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 19:59:28 EST

First Lady Michelle I asked in a blocg for you to believe with me to move the mountain of injustice! With in days of that prayer God turned the rainbow up ! A dozer can do a lot toward moving mountains but turning a rainbow up has never been done or imagined by post people! God is doing greter than we can think our imagine! Glori Adios! Espitito de Santos! Gracias De Dios! Father we praise You! We worship You! Jehova Jira our Providor we magnigy you Holy Name! Thank You Jesus! Our rainbow is turned up like a smile!

This tribute and Award Goes Out to the Spouses and families of All Entertainers Whose Sacrifice Makes Entertainment Possible!

Lillene Ebanks — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 10:07:53 EST

God bless you with love, security, peace, prosperity and contentment! We love you tooB Maybe one day videos can have spouses as lovers rather than just a pretty model as we fands understant that love comes in a variety of colors, shapes and sizes! So until Entertain gets off of the pretty model idea of profits we will never see Entertaiment that is a true picture of life in the USA! We want reality and we are willing to pay for itB Come on Oprah get our there quickly! Miley Cyrus The Climb yes God turned the rainbow up so let's climp up that mountain! These are the moments God has ordained for US to climb to Constitutional reality in every facet of our lives! ClIMBinG!

Billy Carrington LThat How The County Roll" I feelya B That is how this country girl roll too! My video of the Year!

Lillene Ebanks — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 08:49:35 EST

Thank You Billy Carrington! And keep reeling in prosperity and fun in 2010 Country Boy! President Obama feels you too as he is that kinda of Country Boy and that is how He likes to rollB God bless you both Country Boys! Bless you and turn up your cup in 2010 to receive your blessings that will over flow to everyone around you if you praise Him like God put a rainbow turned up God will fill our cup after we praise God! Thank you Jesus! Glorio Adios ! Espiritos de Santos! Believing to touch the seas in 2010! For He Has Founded it Upon The Seas!

Letter To Tha President

Mr. Diamond — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 21:36:39 EST

Mr. President Obama,

You Can Be More Then Just Tha 1st Black President Of Tha United States Of America. You Can Save Our Nation From Tha Works Of Tha Bush Admin. Have Done To Us In Tha Pass 8 Years And Counting. Here Are Some Keys.

1. Raise Min. Wage By $5 Across Tha Nation. Everyone Will Get A Blessing For Tha New Years. Goverment And Tha People. You Will See Positive Results Within 60 Days. Then Afther 2 Years Raise It To Where It Belongs...

2.Reverse Them INc. Tax Breaks. Our Nation Depends On Them. You Know Tha Ones Tha Bush Admin. Gave Themself In 2000, 2002, & 2004.

3. Give Them Contracts The Bush Admin. Gave Themself To Rebuild What We Are Bombing Do To This War That They Created, Over A Lie. This Way We Will Be Recycle That Money Within Tha United States Of America. We Will Go Over Their And Build. What We Destory. We Could Rotate Citizen Back And Foward. Those At Home Will Train Others At Home To Do Tha Work Necessary To Rebuild Africa. It Will Put Alot Of People, Young People To Work.

4. Put A Cap On Gasoline. Gas Should Never Be More Them $2 A Gallon. From 2000 On Down Gas Has Never Been This High Or Has Raise As High As They Are Doing To Us Right Now. Lets Boycott Tha Gas Pump. Till They Bring Tha Price Of Gas Back To Where It Should Be. Under $2 A Gallon. When Your Gas Note Is Higher Then Your Car Note. Tha Government Has To Bail Tha Auto Companies Out. Cars, Trucks, Get Parked. Gas Should Have Never Gotton This High Anyway. All This Started When The Bush Admin. Kicked In Our Door And Took Over Our Nation. Do Not Forget.

5. Stop The No Child Left Behind Act. It Has Shut Down More Schools Then Anything Within Tha United States History. And It Will Not Stop Till No Child Is Left Behind. Our Education Of Our Citizen Our Nation, Is Worse Now, Then When We Did Not Have The "no Child Left Behind Act".

6. Stop CCA Prision Industries. They Are The Modern Day Live Slave Trade. They Already Do Business With 19 State And Our Capital Washing D.C. They Are Feeding On Our
Nation. INS Is Their New Client. Everyone Is Game Now.

7. Get Me A Meting Wirth Ms. Janet Jackson. So We May Save America. Check Out My Web Pages.

1. http://www.myspace.com/thablacldiamondz

2. http://www.twitter.com/thaBlackDiamond

God Bless America.

Mr. Diamond Mundy

ANGRY Letter to Traitor Lieberman

Jill K from RedondObama Beach, CA — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 21:57:54 EST

12-15-2009

Joseph Lieberman
Via Fax: 202-224-9750

Senator Lieberman,

As a former supporter of yours during your run for the vice-presidency, I am outraged at your utterly despicable hypocrisy.

Did you forget that you are on the record supporting universal health care? That you campaigned on that promise? That modern technology means we can actually find the statements you made during your most recent Senate campaign, including the text from the July 2006 debate, wherein you stated, “What I’m saying to the people of Connecticut, I can do more for you and your families to get something done to make health care affordable, to get universal health insurance”? Did you forget, or are you just a liar who’ll say anything to get elected, then do exactly the opposite.

Did you forget that you very strongly opposed the use of single-Senator filibustering, to the point of being the first to co-sponsor a bill to stop that very practice? Again, did you forget that your words are available to be retrieved by today’s technology? Did youforget that you are on the record stating, “the whole process of individual senators being able to hold up legislation with a filibuster is just unfair,” and “I think the filibuster has become not only in reality an obstacle to accomplishment here [in Washington], but it also a symbol of a lot that ails Washington today”?

Did you forget that you actually proposed allowing people to buy in to Medicare starting at age 55? Did you forget that technology allows us to quote you as stating, “What I was proposing was that they have an option to buy into Medicare early and again on the premise that that would be less expensive than the enormous cost. If you’re 55 or 60 and you’re without health insurance and you go in to try to buy it, because you’re older … you’re rated as a risk so you pay a lot of money.”

That you have the unmitigated gall to single-handedly block health care reform legislation that this nation has desperately needed fordecades is despicable. That you have the audacity to not only ignore your immediate constituents (who overwhelmingly support health care reform with a public option), but the nation as a whole, who favors serious reform, not this watered-down garbage you’re forcing through your hypocritical and childish (maybe even paid-for) actions, is outrageous. You are a disgrace to the seat you hold and the position you’ve been trusted with.

Angrily,

Jill [Last Name]

ANYONE WHO WANTS, CAN COPY AND SEND TO YOUR HEART'S CONTENT. BE MY GUEST!

Christmas Eve is here and Health Care is going to be Passed in the Senate today by 60 democrats despite the delays and unfounded Constitutional violation false allegations as it is a political move not a Constitutional issue!

Lillene Ebanks — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 04:14:54 EST

Good Morning Speaker Pelosi and the Health Care Team I am praying for you as you make one little Step for the Senate but a giant step for Health Care for generations to come!

" My Health Care Reform FLIP-FLOP...I FEEL GOOD !"

Greg Jones' Blacks4Barack ! — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 12:03:33 EST

By Greg Jones
Blacks4Barack
National Director

I, as many of you, have worked for months toward health care reform and lately some have been surprised by my lack of automatic enthusiasm of the bill as being proposed by the Senate. I have had a number of concerns since my primary objective has always been to see that the needs of the 47 million hard-working Americans who are struggling through life without the basic right to access quality health care are met. I have been very vocal about the vital urgency of affordability and how, without it there should be no mandate. I have voiced my disappointment of the secrecy of the Senate's process as well as the reports stating that the bill may not go into a full conference for amendments or changes to be made to the Senate's version, resulting in the bill being signed off basically as-is by Speaker Nancy Pelosi , then sent directly to The President for final signing.

But call it an EPIPHANY. Call it a flip-flop. Call it what you want but the more I see about what this health care reform bill will do for those in need, the more I LOVE IT ! Now don't get me wrong, there are a number of components of the bill that will need to be worked on or improved in the future, but I now truly feel that this is in fact an incredibly historic bill that will save the lives of many. One thing that prompted my transformation and makes me feel very good about the bill is certain things that I heard during last nights debate before the 1AM cloture vote. When I wrote my original draft of this piece I spelled it all out, word for word. Then, after listening to some right-wing radio today, and their declaration to ratchet up any and all obstruction they can muster to block the bill's passing, I deleted my 'breakdown' of what I feel is ahead to make certain of not supplying their much needed ammunition. And forgive my evasiveness but let's just say that I now have a clearer understanding of what Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Ia) meant when he said that the passing of the bill is "like buying the starter home; we're not done". In fact, he is now openly saying " we're going to revisit the public option...next year we can revisit it. There are other ways to get it ". (hope he's not being TOO open)

So I now see the strategy. An incredibly effective move on the part of the Democrats. They're going to push this bill through, possibly having Speaker Pelosi sign-off on the bill with minimal changes to get it to The President's desk as quickly and untouched as possible, and once signed into law, during the formulation period, they plan to slide in some of the changes reflective of what we all want. All hoopla free. Absolutely BRILLIANT.

So yes, I now see the true greatness of what is transpiring here. For the first time in seven Presidencies a health reform bill will be passed that no longer allows insurance companies to refuse coverage to someone because of having a pre-existing condition. For the first time millions of Americans will have access to truly affordable coverage erasing the embarrassing need for traveling, make-shift free clinics like a third-world country. Now, more people who fall in the lower economic bracket will be covered through Medicaid while seniors will have less burden with the so-called doughnut hole they have been forced to deal with. This bill will limit big-buck executive compensation and administrative costs of the insurance profiteers while creating an exchange that will give care seekers various options.

Through the passing of this bill , and thanks to Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) there will be a $10 BILLION investment in community health centers. Sanders has stated that this investment will "help bring about a revolution in primary health care in America and create new or expanded health centers in an additional 10,000 communities. The provision would also work toward creating an additional 20,000 primary care doctors, dentists, nurse practitioners, physician assistants and mental health professionals for expanded mental health counseling". It is also anticipated that the community centers will save Medicaid billions of dollars by providing primary care to those in need. Sanders is also giving a significant hint of future improvements to the bill by saying, "the day after this bill passes we can improve it'.

While those are but a few of the incredible benefits of this historic health care bill, there are still elements of concern. Although many of the pre-existing clauses kick-in immediately (which is great) the start date for the majority of the plan is 2014, longer than I would like to have seen. The Medicaid costs to states could pose a future problem as states struggle financially. Here in Ohio they have just decided to stop giving prisoners coffee as a way to save money. Due to the fact that the Senate bill allows the insurance companies to charge up to 3 times the normal rate for older aged people and those with pre-existings, there will be a need for stern monitoring of this aspect to assure affordability, something that I feel The President will stay on top of due to his mother's personal experience with this issue.

One of the other issues that has been of great concern of mine has been the mandate/law which requires all individuals to purchase coverage or be penalized. My concern had always been the thought of penalizing someone for being guilty of not earning enough money. But we are now getting reports, although unconfirmed, that there is what they're calling a 'hardship clause' in the bill which will make those who truly can not afford coverage exempt from the mandate, a component of the bill that I find to be absolutely great.

One thing for sure is the fact that our current health care system has been terrible. I live in Cleveland, Ohio, home of The Cleveland Clinic, one of the finest medical facilities in all the world. But up until now, due to the lack of health care coverage, a large majority of Clevelanders could only hope for the day that they may be able to access such a fine facility. This bill creates that opportunity and serves as evidence of the Democratic idea that, as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid stating during the cloture debate, "health care is a right" proven by the filibuster proof 60 votes last night which included every Democratic Senator, even those originally labeled as obstructionists like Senators Lieberman, Baucus, Lincoln, Landrieu and even the Blue Dogs, all under the powerful leadership of Senator Harry Reid; all of which-in my opinion-actually deserve a sincere hat-tip.

In my own defense, although I have been a strong supporter of President Obama since 2004, which lead me to create Blacks4Barack in February of 2007 to invigorate and stimulate support toward The Presidency, I will always study the issues to determine what is best for our country and the American people before automatically signing-on. That's just the way I am. And when it comes to this health care bill...I Feel Good !

Throughout the entire campaign and since day one in office, "Yes We Can" has been the driving motto promoted by President Barack Obama. In just 11 months in office he has achieved more than most Presidents have done in 8 years with much more yet ahead. The passing of this historic health care reform bill will not only illustrate the tenacity, vision and determination of a great Leader, but also displays 'The Power of WE'...those who have fought the good fight and will continue to do so, working together in Unity, for The Recovery of America. Very special thanks to all of The Warriors....and Thank You Mr. President. Now, it may not be perfect (yet) but let's get the bill passed !

Greg Jones

B4B

Barack Obama

Walt — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 17:56:15 EST

Born in Hawaii
Of parents disparate
Educated here and abroad
Hawaii, Indonesia, California,
New York and Massachusetts
He worked in the heartland
He organized with a heart
Then he declared his intent
To serve a greater community
Thus he serves us all today
Will his service be rewarded with success?
Only time and tide and you and I will decide.

The case against Chevron in Ecuador

Fire Is Born — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 22:46:48 EST

Chevron Using Six Public Relations Firms to Discredit Indigenous Groups In $27.3 Billion Environmental Case In Ecuador Lobbyists – Mac McLarty, John Breaux, Trent Lott, Mickey Kantor, Carla Hills and Others – Charged With Misrepresenting Facts Amazon Defense Coalition
20 November 2009 - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Karen Hinton at 703-798-3109 or karen [at] hintoncommunications.com
Mitch Anderson at 415-342-4783 or mitch [at] amazonwatch.org

Washington, DC – Chevron has retained at least twelve public relations firms and lobbyists to discredit claims of Amazon indigenous groups on the eve of an expected multi-billion dollar judgment against the oil giant in an environmental lawsuit in Ecuador, according to representatives of the tribes in the U.S.

Although Chevron is near the top of the list of highest-spending lobbyists in Washington, the campaign seems to be backfiring. Politico, one of the most influential publications on Capitol Hill, reported this week that Chevron's lobbying was "drawing fire from environmentalists, media ethicists, state pension funds, New York's attorney general, members of Congress, and even Barack Obama when he was a Senator."

The article also quoted Rep. Linda Sanchez (D - CA) as calling Chevron's lobbying "clumsy" and "very heavy handed". Sanchez - who on Tuesday characterized the Chevron lobbying as "extortion" in testimony before Congress – said she plans to write three letters to Members of Congress, blasting what she called the oil giant's "misguided approach" to dealing with the lawsuit from the indigenous groups.

Separately, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is investigating the company to determine if it is misleading its own shareholders about the financial risk from the Ecuador case, where damages are assessed at up to $27.3 billion, Politico reported.

An American legal advisor to the plaintiffs, Steven Donziger, criticized the public relations and lobbying effort. "Chevron is paying huge fees to lobby the U.S. government to inappropriately quash a legal case brought by indigenous tribes in the country where Chevron asked for the trial to be held," said Donziger, who has been working on the matter since it was filed in U.S. federal court in 1993.

The case, which alleges Texaco dumped billions of gallons of toxic waste in the Amazon from 1964 to 1990, was transferred from U.S. federal court to Ecuador in 2002 at Chevron's request. The oil giant filed 14 expert affidavits in the U.S. court praising Ecuador's court system, but later began a campaign to discredit those same courts once the evidence in the Ecuador trial pointed to its culpability.

The public relations firms working for Chevron include Hill & Knowlton, which represented the tobacco industry and – as it did in the debate over tobacco and cancer – has tried to deny a link between oil contamination and cancer; Edelman Worldwide, which is believed to be preparing a Wal-Mart-style political campaign against the indigenous groups in anticipation of an adverse court judgment; Sard Verbinnem, which handles financial press in an effort to stem a budding shareholder revolt against Chevron management for its handling of the case; Robinson Lerer Montgomery, a well-highly connected New York-based agency; Sam Singer and Associates, which handles the matter in the San Francisco area, where Chevron is located; and the Washington-based CRC Public Relations, which helped create a pro-Chevron video by former CNN correspondent Gene Randall to counteract a highly unflattering 60 Minutes segment on the legal case that broadcast earlier in the year.

The Randall video, which did not mention that it was paid for by Chevron, was blasted by the Columbia Journalism Review for "blurring the line between public relations and journalism." The President of CRC, Greg Mueller, spearheaded the Swift Boat campaign against John Kerry and is a former senior aide to Pat Buchanan.

Viva Bolivia! Victory for indigenous people everywhere!

Fire Is Born — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 02:38:47 EST

AMERICAS, AMERICAS!...................................................

ps. I refuse to buy the "anti-American" verbage in some of the articles below. FIB

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Bolivia's Morales claims election victory BBC News - ‎4 hours ago‎ President Evo Morales has claimed victory in Bolivia's presidential election and appears set to serve a second five-year term. Exit polls suggest Bolivia's first indigenous leader polled at least 61%, defeating his conservative rivals. ...

Bolivia's Mor...

BBC News

Morales Headed for Re-election in Bolivia New York Times - Simon Romero, Andrés Schipani - ‎6 hours ago‎ Supporters of President Evo Morales of Bolivia celebrated his reelection at Murillo square in front of the presidential palace in La Paz on Sunday evening. By SIMON ROMERO LA PAZ, Bolivia — President Evo Morales and legislative candidates from his ...

Morales Heade...

New York Times

Bolivia's Morales claims landslide victory Press TV - ‎53 minutes ago‎ Bolivia's first indigenous president Evo Morales has claimed a landslide re-election victory in the country's presidential poll. According to the latest vote countess Morales has 'easily' won a second term in office. The victory comes as his social ...

Bolivia's Mor...

Press TV

Evo Morales claims landslide victory in Bolivian elections Times Online - ‎4 hours ago‎ Evo Morales, the Bolivian President, claimed a landslide re-election victory last night in elections seen as a referendum on his socialist reforms. Official results were not due until Monday but exit polls gave him 62 per cent of the vote to Manfred ...

Evo Morales c...

Times Online

Exit polls predict landslide victory for Morales Press TV - ‎6 hours ago‎ Three exit polls predict that Bolivian President Evo Morales has won a landslide re-election victory with an overwhelming 61 percent of the vote. His main rival, Manfred Reyes Villa, the candidate of the Progress Plan Party, trailed with around 23 ...

Exit polls pr...

Press TV

Bolivia election spectacle takes to the ring BBC News - ‎Dec 5, 2009‎ As Bolivia gears up for Sunday's presidential poll, the electoral battle is being played out in a La Paz wrestling ring, as the bbc's Andres Schipani reports. In one corner - dressed in blue tights - is "Son of the People" President Evo Morales; ...

Bolivia elect...

BBC News

Morales reaches out to middle class Aljazeera.net - Teresa Bo - ‎Dec 5, 2009‎ "These days some people in the middle class are saying: He is an Indian, he is indigenous but he gives us dignity. That's why I want to tell people in the middle class 'welcome to this revolutionary process'." Those were the words of Evo ...

Morales reach...

Aljazeera.net

Evo Morales on course to win second term in Bolivian elections guardian.co.uk - ‎9 hours ago‎ Bolivian president Evo Morales waves to supporters upon arrival at the polling station in Villa 14 de Septiembre. Photograph: Aizar Raldes/AFP/Getty Images Evo Morales appears on course for a big victory in the Bolivian elections tomorrow, ...

Evo Morales o...

guardian.co.uk

In Bolivia vote, Indian power a central issue The Associated Press - Frank Bajak - ‎Dec 4, 2009‎ CHARAGUA, Bolivia — In Bolivia's biggest municipality, a scrub-brush expanse of cattle ranches and hardscrabble farms, Sunday's national elections aren't all about Evo Morales. With Bolivia's first indigenous president expected to easily win ...

In Bolivia vo...

The Associated P...

Morales highly favored for re-election in Bolivia The Associated Press - Frank Bajak - ‎17 hours ago‎ LA PAZ, Bolivia — President Evo Morales, a coca-grower at odds with Washington but hugely popular at home for empowering Bolivia's long-suppressed indigenous majority, was expected to coast to re-election on Sunday. Such a victory would augur further ...

Morales highl...

The Associated P...

Bolivia's Morales talks tough on eve of election AFP - ‎Dec 5, 2009‎ LA PAZ — About five million Bolivians go to the polls Sunday in an election that is likely to deliver Evo Morales another five-year term in office and consolidate the anti-American president's hold on power. On the eve of the polls, Morales slammed CNN ...

Bolivia's Mor...

AFP

Bolivia's Morales wins new presidential term AFP - ‎19 hours ago‎ LA PAZ — Bolivia's leftist President Evo Morales won a landslide reelection victory in voting that also handed him unfettered control of Congress, according to exit polls. The results mean that Morales, a fiercely anti-US leader in the mold of his ...

Bolivia's Mor...

AFP

Bolivia's anti-US leader poised for re-election AFP - ‎18 hours ago‎ LA PAZ — Bolivian President Evo Morales, a fervent anti-US leader, looked poised to easily win re-election on Sunday thanks to overwhelming support from his country's indigenous majority. Bolivia's five million voters, who started going to the polls at ...

Bolivia's ant...

AFP

Bolivia prepares for national vote Aljazeera.net - ‎Dec 5, 2009‎ Voters in Bolivia are preparing to head to the polls for presidential and congressional elections with Evo Morales, the nation's first indigenous president, expected to win a second term in office. Surveys ahead of Sunday's vote indicated Morales had a ...

Bolivia prepa...

Aljazeera.net

Bolivian leader to change law to jail polls rival AFP - ‎Dec 1, 2009‎ LA PAZ — Bolivian President Evo Morales, seeking reelection in weekend elections, said Tuesday the law would be changed so a conservative opposition candidate and his running mate could be jailed for corruption. "We are going to change the law and the ...

Bolivian lead...

AFP

Morales coasting to new term Washington Times - Martin Arostegui - ‎7 hours ago‎ SANTA CRUZ, Bolivia | Bolivian President Evo Morales appeared headed for a decisive election win Sunday, a victory that opponents fear could lock the country into a socialist system modeled on that of Venezuelan ...

Morales coast...

Washington Times

Bolivia Voted for Evo Morales Hamsayeh.Net - ‎58 minutes ago‎ Dec. 07, 09 (Hamsayeh.Net) - Bolivians hit the voting stations across the country with their hope of re-electing their favorite President Evo Morales for another five-year term. Final results of the elections haven't been announced yet but it is ...

Bolivia Voted...

Hamsayeh.Net

Morales reelected as Bolivian president: exit polls AFP - ‎9 hours ago‎ LA PAZ — Bolivian President Evo Morales was handed a second term in office in elections Sunday, according to various early exit polls that suggested he won 62-63 percent of the ballots. His nearest rival, conservative former governor Manfred Reyes ...

Morales reele...

AFP

Voting begins in Bolivia elections Press TV - ‎17 hours ago‎ Polls have opened in Bolivia's general elections with incumbent President Evo Morales likely to win a second five-year term. Balloting began at 8 am (1200 GMT) amid tight security measures and was expected to continue for eight hours. ...

Voting begins...

Press TV

Landslide victory and Senate majority for Evo Morales in Bolivia MercoPress - ‎4 hours ago‎ Bolivian president Evo Morales won by a landslide majority in Sunday's general elections and according to exit polls has ensured the Senate two thirds majority needed to continue with his reforms program some of them considered controversial. ...

Landslide vic...

MercoPress

Bolivia's Morales set for re-election euronews - ‎18 hours ago‎ The following article has been retrieved from the archive and no longer contains the original video. Bolivia's President Evo Morales is expected to easily win re-election today. Opinion polls predict the leftist leader will take more than 50 percent of ...

Bolivia's Mor...

euronews

Through a Glass Darkly: The Elite Perspective on Bolivian Democracy Salem-News.Com - ‎Dec 5, 2009‎ The NY Times takes cheap shots at a President whose politics may more closely resemble democracy, than our own. (EUGENE, Ore.) - In this article I must take a detour from my normal reporting and instead comment on an article written in the New York ...

Through a Gla...

Salem-News.Com

Bolivians Prepare for Sunday Presidential Vote AS/COA Online - Carin Zissis - ‎Dec 3, 2009‎ For the past few months, polls have placed Bolivia's Evo Morales ahead of rivals in the presidential race. Figures published by La Razón earlier this week showed that the gap is ever widening as the country prepares for its December 6 election. ...

Bolivians Pre...

AS/COA Online

Bolivia to see presidential elections on Sunday RIA Novosti - ‎Dec 5, 2009‎ Bolivia will hold presidential elections on Sunday, with seven candidates expected to run against the incumbent president, Evo Morales. The candidates include three indigenous Americans, one woman, one former military official, a lawyer, ...

Bolivia to se...

RIA Novosti

Bolivian president on course to win second term Irish Times - ‎7 hours ago‎ Bolivian president Evo Morales, whose left-wing economic policies have made him broadly popular with Bolivia's poor but angered business leaders, was expected to win re-election yesterday, allowing him to expand state control over the economy. ...

Bolivian pres...

Irish Times

Assassination plot claim puts Morales in the driving seat Irish Times - ‎Dec 2, 2009‎ BOLIVIA'S FIRST ever indigenous president Evo Morales is set to sweep back into power in Sunday's presidential election after a campaign in which the opposition has been put on the defensive by the government's accusation that it was involved in an ...

Assassination...

Irish Times

Evo Morales Confident in Re-Election Victory on Sunday Periódico 26 - ‎Dec 5, 2009‎ According to the surveys, President Evo Morales is heading for a clear victory to secure his re-election as president of Bolivia until 2015. Surveys conducted by companies such as Ceprode, Ipsos and Mori Support, show that the Movement Towards ...

Evo Morales C...

Periódico 26

Bolivia's Morales and opposition fighting for control of Senate next Sunday MercoPress - ‎Nov 30, 2009‎ Bolivian president Evo Morales is set to win next Sunday's general election and could even manage 24 of the 36 Senate seats thus ensuring the full control of the future Pluri-national Legislative Assembly, according to the latest opinion polls. ...

Bolivia's Mor...

Colombia Reports

1 2

God Please Guide Our Commander In Chief and Grant him Wisdom like Solomon who was the Wisest Leader of Israel and they prospered!

Lillene Ebanks — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 01:45:42 EST

Thank you God in the Might Name Of Jesus Christ Who gave us His Rightousness!

VICTORY!!! The CLASS act is a class act, and ...

Fire Is Born — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 16:22:00 EST

... means not only the dignity for seniors and people with disabilities. It means "JOBS NOW" for the poorest and most deserving workers (like me) who will spend this mony TODAY. This program is billions of dollars in savings on institutional solutions that are never as good as staying home. Why not? I've been in this business for quite a few years, and really had many reasons to think about it. Trust me! Joe, where would you like to be when you get old? Because you will one day soon...

Finally something out there that made me really happy!

Merry Season, everyone! FIB

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Senate preserves long-term care program

By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR (AP) – 22 hours ago

WASHINGTON — Keeping faith with the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, the Senate voted Friday to preserve a new long-term care insurance program to help seniors and the disabled in its health overhaul bill.

But the vote exposed the difficulties Democratic leaders face in persuading their own moderates to stay united behind the sweeping legislation they hope to deliver to President Barack Obama. Eleven Democrats switched and voted with Republicans, warning that the program would turn into a drain on the federal budget and saddle future generations with even more debt.

Republicans fell short in a bid to strike the voluntary insurance plan on a 51-47 vote. They needed 60 votes to prevail. Two leading Democrats who shaped the health care bill, Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus of Montana and Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad of North Dakota, voted with the GOP — underscoring the gravity of the fiscal concerns.

Known as the CLASS Act, short for Community Living Assistance Services and Supports Act, the program would help seniors and disabled people stay in their own homes and avoid going into nursing homes. It had been a long-sought priority for Kennedy, the Massachusetts lawmaker who died this summer of brain cancer.

Workers would pay a modest monthly premium during their careers. If they become disabled, they would get a cash benefit of at least $50 a day. That can help pay for a home care attendant, for supplies and equipment, to make home improvements such as new bathroom railings, or defray nursing home costs. A version of the program is also in the health care legislation passed by the House. The Obama administration supports it.

Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., who led the effort to cut the long-term care plan from the bill, said it would add another unaffordable commitment to a government swamped with debt — and taxpayers would eventually get the bill.

"The CLASS Act is the same old Washington, same old smoke and mirrors, same old games," said Thune. "We are locking in future generations to deficits and debts as far as the eye can see."

But Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., said the program is projected to be fiscally sound for 75 years, based only on the premiums that workers would pay. As a further safeguard, the Senate voted to ensure that funds collected under the plan would only be used to pay out benefits — and not to cover other government obligations.

"This is a very creative idea of using individuals' money to contribute to their own long-term financial security if they're faced with disabilities," said Dodd. "It is a solid program that can make a huge difference for millions of Americans, allowing them to lead independent lives with dignity."

Sen. Joe Lieberman, the Connecticut independent who Democrats are counting on to support the final bill, also voted to strip the long-term care program from the bill.

'Barack Obama: Son of Promise, Child of Hope' by Nikki Grimes

Fire Is Born — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 04:03:47 EST

'Barack Obama: Son of Promise, Child of Hope' by Nikki Grimes

Illustrated by Bryan Collier

$16.99

Buy From Amazon

Why give your kids yet another video game when you can open their minds? Nikki Grimes’s children’s book about President Obama comes with an educational guide and colorful illustrations. (Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing, $16.99)

Obama: More troops for Afghanistan, with exit plan By STEVEN R. Hurst

Fire Is Born — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:10:17 EST

Obama: More troops for Afghanistan, with exit plan By STEVEN R. HURST and DARLENE SUPERVILLE, Associated Press Writers Steven R. Hurst And Darlene Superville, Associated Press Writers 24 mins ago

WEST POINT, N.Y. – Declaring "our security is at stake," President Barack Obama ordered an additional 30,000 U.S. troops into the long war in Afghanistan Tuesday night, nearly tripling the force he inherited as commander in chief. He promised an impatient public he would begin bringing units home in 18 months.

The buildup to about 100,000 troops will begin almost immediately — the first Marines will be in place by Christmas — and will cost $30 billion for the first year alone.

In a prime-time speech at the U.S. Military Academy, the president told the nation his new policy was designed to "bring this war to a successful conclusion," though he made no mention of defeating Taliban insurgents or capturing al-Qaida terrorist leader Osama bin Laden.

"We must deny al-Qaida a safe haven," Obama said in spelling out U.S. military goals for a war that has dragged on for eight years. "We must reverse the Taliban's momentum. ... And we must strengthen the capacity of Afghanistan's security forces and government."

The president said the additional forces would be deployed at "the fastest pace possible so that they can target the insurgency and secure key population centers."

Their destination: "the epicenter of the violent extremism practiced by al-Qaida."

"It is from here that we were attacked on 9/11, and it is from here that new attacks are being plotted as I speak," the president said.

It marked the second time in his young presidency that Obama has added to the American force in Afghanistan, where the Taliban has recently made significant advances. When he became president last January, there were roughly 34,000 troops on the ground; there now are 71,000.

After the speech, cadets in the audience — some of whom could end up in combat because of Obama's decision — climbed over chairs to shake hands with their commander in chief and take his picture.

Obama's announcement drew less-wholehearted support from congressional Democrats. Many of them favor a quick withdrawal, but others have already proposed higher taxes to pay for the fighting.

Republicans reacted warily, as well. Officials said Sen. John McCain, who was Obama's Republican opponent in last year's presidential campaign, told Obama at an early evening meeting attended by numerous lawmakers that declaring a timetable for a withdrawal would merely send the Taliban underground until the Americans began to leave.

As a candidate, Obama called Afghanistan a war worth fighting, as opposed to Iraq, a conflict he opposed and has since begun easing out of.

A new survey by the Gallup organization, released Tuesday, showed only 35 percent of Americans now approve of Obama's handling of the war; 55 percent disapprove.

He made no direct reference to public opinion Tuesday night, although he seemed to touch on it when he said, "The American people are understandably focused on rebuilding our economy and putting people to work here at home."

"After 18 months, our troops will begin to come home," he said flatly.

In eight years of war, 849 Americans have been killed in Afghanistan, Pakistan and neighboring Uzbekistan, according to the Pentagon.

In addition to beefing up the U.S. presence, Obama has asked NATO allies to commit between 5,000 and 10,000 additional troops. The war has even less support in Europe than in the United States, and the NATO allies and other countries currently have about 40,000 troops on the ground.

He said he was counting on Afghanistan eventually taking over its own security, and he warned, "The days of providing a blank check are over." He said the United States would support Afghan ministries that combat corruption and "deliver for the people. We expect those who are ineffective or corrupt to be held accountable."

As for neighboring Pakistan, the president said that country and the United States "share a common enemy" in Islamic terrorists. "We are in Afghanistan to prevent a cancer from once again spreading through that country. But this same cancer has also taken root in the border region of Pakistan. That is why we need a strategy that works on both sides of the border."

The speech before an audience of cadets at the military academy ended a three-month review of the war, triggered by a request from the commanding general, Stanley McChrystal, for as many as 40,000 more troops. Without them, he warned, the U.S. risked failure.

The speech was still under way when the general issued a statement from Kabul. "The Afghanistan-Pakistan review led by the president has provided me with a clear military mission and the resources to accomplish our task," it said. McChrystal is expected to testify before congressional committees in the next several days.

Obama referred to a deteriorating military environment, but said, "Afghanistan is not lost."

The length of the presidential review drew mild rebukes from normally amiable NATO allies. There was sharper criticism from Republicans led by former Vice President Dick Cheney, who said the president was dithering rather than deciding.

Obama rebutted forcefully.

"Let me be clear: There has never been an option before me that called for troop deployments before 2010, so there has been no delay or denial of resources necessary for the conduct of the war," he told his audience of more than 4,000 cadets seated in Eisenhower Hall.

Most of the new forces will be combat troops. Military officials said the Army brigades were most likely to be sent from Fort Drum in New York and Fort Campbell in Kentucky; and Marines primarily from Camp Lejeune in North Carolina.

Officials said the additional 30,000 troops included about 5,000 dedicated trainers, underscoring the president's emphasis on preparing Afghans to take over their own security.

These aides said that by announcing a date for beginning a withdrawal, the president was not setting an end date for the war.

But that was a point on which McCain chose to engage the president at a pre-speech meeting with lawmakers before Obama departed for West Point. "The way that you win wars is to break the enemy's will, not to announce dates that you are leaving," McCain said later.

Obama's address represents the beginning of a sales job to restore support for the war effort among an American public grown increasingly pessimistic about success — and among some fellow Democrats in Congress wary of or even opposed to spending billions more dollars and putting tens of thousands more U.S. soldiers and Marines in harm's way.

Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., and liberal House Democrats threatened to try to block funding for the troop increase.

Sen. Carl Levin, the Michigan Democrat who chairs a military oversight panel, said he didn't think Democrats would yank funding for the troops or try to force Obama's hand to pull them out faster. But Democrats will be looking for ways to pay for the additional troops, he said, including a tax increase on the wealthy although that hike is already being eyed to pay for health care costs. Another possibility is imposing a small gasoline tax that would be phased out if gas prices go up, he said.

The United States went to war in Afghanistan shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, al-Qaida terrorist attacks on the United States.

Bin Laden and key members of the terrorist organization were headquartered in Afghanistan at the time, taking advantage of sanctuary afforded by the Taliban government that ran the mountainous and isolated country.

Taliban forces were quickly driven from power, while bin Laden and his top deputies were believed to have fled through towering mountains into neighboring Pakistan. While the al-Qaida leadership appears to be bottled up in Pakistan's largely ungoverned tribal regions, the U.S. military strategy of targeted missile attacks from unmanned drone aircraft has yet to flush bin Laden and his cohorts from hiding.

___

Steven R. Hurst reported from Washington. AP White House Correspondent Jennifer Loven and National Security Writer Anne Gearan contributed to this report.

Live Blogging Obama’s Afghan Speech

Fire Is Born — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 19:45:25 EST

December 1, 2009, 6:47 pm

Live Blogging Obama’s Afghan Speech

By JEFF ZELENY

Ruth Fremson/

The New York Times West Point cadets waited for President Obama to speak on Tuesday.

Setting the Scene | 7:11 p.m. Sheryl Gay Stolberg, who is on site at West Point, reports:

Many speeches have been delivered at the military academy, but never before have cadets heard orders directly from a commander-in-chief who could send them into a war zone.

There is a sense of anticipation in the air. A West Point official brought a handful of carefully selected cadets – seniors with impressive resumes – to speak to reporters.

Alexandra Rosenberg, 22, of Manhattan, is a Rhodes and Truman Scholar with plans of becoming a doctor. Eric Bernau, 21, of Rochester Minn., is the cadet public affairs officer, who spent a semester studying in China. And Tyler Gordy, 26, came to West Point after serving as an infantryman and getting wounded in Iraq. He is First Captain, supervising 4,000 cadets.

Ruth Fremson/

The New York Times One cadet was reading “The Kite Runner,” a novel set in Afghanistan, while he waited for the president to speak.

The three will be among those seated behind the secretary of state and secretary of defense for Mr. Obama’s speech, which Mr. Bernau described as “the most momentous day in our four years of the academy.”

“I mean, he’s the commander in chief, he’s our boss,” Mr. Bernau said. “It’s kind of like a shareholders meeting where you hear the strategy of the company.”

These cadets will graduate as second lieutenants and platoon leaders.

While Ms. Rosenberg will go to Oxford in the fall, the other two fully expect to be deployed, and have chosen the infantry as where they want to serve.

“This doesn’t make me nervous, it doesn’t scare me or anything,” Mr. Gordy said. “I have known this for five years now. What it does is give me a sense of direction.”

Speech Preparations | 6:47 p.m. President Obama’s address to the nation from the United States Military Academy at West Point will begin at 8 p.m. He left the White House after a daylong series of calls to foreign leaders, followed by a late-afternoon briefing to Congressional leaders.

By now, broad outlines of the speech are known: 30,000 more American troops will be sent to Afghanistan; the goal for beginning to withdraw the first wave of forces will be July 2011; the strategy is aimed at preventing Al Qaeda from returning to Afghanistan, where the Sept. 11 attacks were planned.

It is the president’s burden, of course, to explain why he believes the war in Afghanistan should be escalated.(...)"

Earmarks

Walt — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 11:37:03 EST

I have not made a final decision about earmarks. I suppose that one person's valued project is another person's wasteful spending. The money will be spent and someone must decide how it is spent. In Congress, as in life, it may be necessary to go along to get along. In his book Catastrophe, Dick Morris has a list of earmarks that he disapproves of, I believe. They are listed by title and amount which is insufficient information to decide the merits of the expenditures. One earmark caught my attention, $1,791,000 for swine odor and manure management research in Iowa. Apparently Dick has never lived near a pig farm. I have not either, but I understand the smell is horrific. If he had lived near a pig farm, I am sure he would support increasing the funding.

I sometimes must drive from Southern California to Northern California on Interstate 5. In Central California along the east side of the freeway is a cattle feedlot. The animals are packed tightly and the odor is terrible. Rolling up the car windows and closing the air conditioning vents is insufficient to keep the odor out. All one can do is speed up and hold one's breath. I cannot hold my breath for the five minutes required to escape the odor entirely.

Don't Pull The Trigger

JD from Seal Beach, CA — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 12:40:42 EST

To trigger or not to trigger.

The trigger option for public healthcare insurance is raising its ugly head once again. It is being touted as “the” compromise between the two sides of the democratic caucus. There are some fundamental points that need to be considered when discussing the “trigger”.

First, the idea for the trigger assumes that the status quo is acceptable and that the trigger will only be used if things get worse. The status quo is NOT acceptable. It’s like saying that you will call the fire department if things get worse when your house is burning down.

The House and Senate bills go into effect in 2013 or 2014 and the trigger will delay beyond that any remedy to the current broken system. What do you say to the person who can’t qualify or can’t afford health insurance now?

Quoting Senator Chuck Schumer, "Any reasonable criteria for triggering a public plan has already been met."

Second, triggers don’t work. What most don’t realize is that there is a trigger built into Medicare Part D that allows the government to negotiate lower prescription prices if the costs balloon out of proportion to other costs. Even though drug prices under the program have skyrocketed, with Medicare Part D paying on average 30% more for drugs than regular Medicaid and costing taxpayers over $60 billion extra over 10 years, the trigger has never been triggered.

Let’s be clear. This strategy to make the public option more palatable to blue-dog democrats is nothing more than a sham. To quote Jason Rosenbaum from HCAN:

“The trigger amendment isn’t a fig leaf. It isn’t even a co-op. It’s a plan to kill the public health insurance option outright, and give taxpayer money straight to private insurance companies.”

We must continue to remind our Senators and Representatives that health care insurance reform must be meaningful. And triggers are not acceptable. We have come this far in our fight to get the public option into the final bill.

Let’s not give up now.

...and this is now, not then...

Fire Is Born — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 03:23:07 EST

It's been a while that I watched BMJ. When I began watching tonight in the middle of the program I entered into President Johnson's conversation in 1965 with McNamara on escalation of the war, when the troops there were in the range of 45 thousands. I sat pinned down to my chair till the end of the program.

That "while" wiyhout BMJ was a wasted while. God bless Bill Moyers of the USA! fib

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A Tale of Two Quagmires

This week on the JOURNAL, Bill Moyers looked back some four decades to his experience as a member of President Lyndon Johnson’s administration. At the time, Johnson made a series of fateful decisions to escalate the war in Vietnam, where eventually over two million American military personnel would serve. Estimates indicate that nearly 60,000 U.S. troops – and more than a million Vietnamese – were killed during the course of the conflict.

With an eye on President Obama’s deliberations on whether to deploy more U.S. troops in addition to the 68,000 already in Afghanistan, Moyers presented a montage of recorded conversations and his personal memories of President Lyndon Johnson’s decisions to escalate the war in Vietnam. He said:

“Our country wonders this weekend what is on President Obama’s mind. He is apparently about to bring months of deliberation to a close and answer General Stanley McChrystal’s request for more troops in Afghanistan. When he finally announces how many, why, and at what cost, he will most likely have defined his presidency, for the consequences will be far-reaching and unpredictable. As I read and listen and wait with all of you for answers, I have been thinking about the mind of another President – Lyndon B. Johnson. I was 30 years old, a White House assistant, working on politics and domestic policy. I watched and listened as LBJ made his fateful decisions about Vietnam... Barack Obama is not Lyndon Johnson, Afghanistan is not Vietnam and this is now, not then. The situation is different. But listen – and you will hear echoes and refrains that resonate today.”

The nation is divided about America’s mission in Afghanistan. In a new WASHINGTON POST – ABC News poll, 55% of respondents expressed confidence that President Obama will pick a strategy that will work, but 52% said that the war in Afghanistan has not been worth fighting given the costs versus the benefits.

What do you think?

How does the history of the Vietnam War compare to the present situation in Afghanistan?

What decisions do you think Obama should make regarding Afghanistan? What do you think he's actually going to do? Explain.

A letter from a friend in Kabul

Fire Is Born — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 21:24:41 EST

Some time ago we said good bye to Duston who told us he would be going back to Kabul. So he went. Usually when incidents like the most recent Kabul bombing happen, one thinks of one's friends that could be there, in danger. And so I did as well, thinking he must be well anyway, most likely. Kabul is big (I thought). Not so. It is a small world after all. This is what came yesterday. fib

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Hibiscus Tea and Honey in Berlin

"Dear Friends,

At first, I should offer a quick explanation of this letter: I have not yet read any email replies you may have sent me since my last correspondence back around mid October or so. I am currently drinking Hibiscus Tea sweetened with a little honey in an Army Hospital in Berlin Germany. My Laptop Computer has not had internet for two weeks:

October 28th, 2009 began with a loud bang at exactly 6 AM Kabul time. Actually an explosion at the front gate to the Guesthouse where I was living. I don’t know if it was an RPG or Suicide Bomber, and will truly never know for a fact which one it was. The first explosion was followed by machine gun firing and then an RPG hit the front of the building. The Taleban killed the exterior gate residence guards, entered the front house and proceeded to kill as many UN Election Employees as possible before the Police arrived. A long and intense gun-battle ensued over the next hour and a half and the attackers were eventually killed around 7:30 AM. Some of my friends, and some employees, of the Guesthouse were also killed and many wounded during this incident.

I escaped physically unharmed within 90 seconds of the first sound of the attack.

The media incorrectly portrayed the building as the “UN Guesthouse” whereas technically it was a privately run guesthouse, and I referred to it in earlier email to you as the “Zoo”, because it had lots of animals and birds on the property. I do not know who survived other than I have a “story” of the massacre as I experienced it. I ended up with a large group of UN Election Employees who also survived as we hid together in the neighboring courtyard while the Taleban shot it out with the surviving guards, burned down the place and then shot it out again with the Police.

Around 7:40 AM , I was transferred by the Police to a temporary safe location, and then the Bank security man found me and I was taken to the big famous Hotel ( The Serena ) which is heavily guarded in downtown Kabul. Immediately after I arrived, I was standing in the Hotel Lobby , on the cell phone, calling the Germans who I work for, when a mortar round or RPG hit the Lobby. The glass exploded , and once again, I was not injured and everyone ran to the Hotel bunker to wait for the All Clear sign. The Hotel suffered nothing but broken glass and some jittered nerves, but for me, it was the second attack in less than two hours and I withdrew into my own little brain…..telling myself that no place was safe as it seemed like the terror was following me around that morning in Kabul.

Since then, I have stayed in German Army Hospitals except for the plane rides to Germany where I am now. I am receiving treatment for Psychological Trauma and am getting better quickly. I hope to be released to Outpatient within about 4 days. And then about a month more of Outpatient therapy and then final release back into the employment world when I will be able to totally navigate on my own. The goal is to prevent and reduce the long term possibility or impact of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder ( “PTSB”) which we all heard of with the Korean and Vietnam War Veterans and other traumatic incident survivors.

I shall not assign my survival that day to my training, skills, experience and quick thinking ( although I am told by many that it was a critical part of my actions and movement within the first minute of the attack ). I have been given yet another chance on the Planet by my Higher Power. I am no more “religious” today than I was a minute before 6 AM on October 28th; however I have grown substantially. My spirituality is stronger now than ever; and I am convinced that God has a Plan for me, I just need to follow the Steps and listen for His guidance on a daily basis.

Only once since then have I wanted or seriously thought of taking a drink, and I asked to be relieved of that notion, and it was granted. I take some light weight sleeping medication and hope to reduce the strength soon, then be totally free of it within two more weeks or so depending on what the Doctors say. I am receiving excellent medical care here in Germany, with three Doctors and a bevy of Nurses. I see a Trauma Specialist MD every other day and I am recuperating well.

My employment contracts ends in February so money is temporarily not a problem, and I have good insurance for the hospital expenses. So, for today, all I ask for is another chance to be free of my Weaknesses and Character Defects and look for the next path I am to take.

I totally and unconditionally TRUST.

Work the Steps. Turn it over to God. Clean House. Help Others.

With ALL my Love,

Duston"

Cobblestones

Walt — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:07:03 EST

When sailing ships still used ballast to keep from being blown over by the wind, rock was commonly used as cheap ballast. Then when no longer needed, the rock was used for other purposes. Ships sailing to and from Kabul, Afghanistan, frequently used the local rock for ballast. Upon returning to home ports in Europe, the offloaded stones were dumped in piles in port cities. At some point, someone decided that the stones from Kabul could be put to use paving the muddy streets of those cities. They were Kabul stones that gradually was changed in English to cobblestones.

Life begins with the male as sperm must be smart and have navagation and swimming skills to go up river to locate the one sall egg in that sea of life! 5o not knock women check yourself for preservation of life all you men!

Lillene Ebanks — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 21:37:06 EST

We must fund abortion if we pay for other forms of abortion like contraception, tube tying, and vaceptomies! Why butchure women and fund vactamies and insertion of contraceptives into the body! Men have a God given duty to protect all life from inception in their prostrate! Contraception is a fashionable prolife method of funded abortion! The Bible is very specific requiring men not to kill life from their body! What does the scripture forbid men to do with their sperm? Should sperms be spilled according th God's Word? No! That is God's standard prolifers!Men if you are not preserving all your intelligent live captain sperms and using rubbers you are not a proliger!

Rep. from Louisiana I am proud to see the first LA Oriental in Congress, however you never felt a cell develop in your stomach and remember your eggs are all alive as a fetus and birth control is abortion that you agree with hyprocrit!

Lillene Ebanks — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 19:38:50 EST

When you consider a fetus in a dead woman die as it was only an extention of the mother and had no way of breathing the breath of life with out the mother giving birth or through a surgery! Consider the spearm that are alive as the fetus and can think where to swim to join with an egg!Yes preserve all your sperm before you talk about things that you can never understand feel or do! Yes and do not buture women in the raw after being with a heartless hater to women like you and the rest of the loud mouth Row versus Wade political activists!0make sure your wife do not use contraptives to abort any fetus and keep all your sperm safely in your womb so they will not die a heartless life all you men!

Recovery in Action: Powering up America

EsquireUK — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 13:22:59 EST

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2009/10/31/recovery-action-powering-america

Earlier in the week, President Obama announced the largest-ever investment in the nation’s electric grid—more than $3.4 billion in grants distributed among 100 grantees. Though the immense scale of the investment was clear during the President’s announcement, the flood of reports from news outlets across the country has been overwhelming. A sample of those stories are linked below, detailing new projects in South Dakota, Vermont, California, and several other states:

Arizona, Arizona Republic, 10/27/09SRP gets $56.9M boost from feds for customer 'smart meters’: Salt River Project will receive a $56.9 million grant from the federal Recovery Act to speed up the installation of "smart meters" for customers, the Energy Department announced Tuesday.

California, Sacramento Business Journal, 10/28/09SMUD receives $128M in smart-grid funds: The Sacramento Municipal Utility District has been awarded $127.5 million in federal economic stimulus funds that will go toward a $308 million smart-grid infrastructure investment.

Florida, Orlando Sentinel, 10/28/097 Florida utilities and tech firm to receive $264 million: Energy grants announced Tuesday by President Obama include $264 million for seven Florida utilities and an Orlando technology company, with each grant requiring final negotiations and matching contributions.

Georgia, Atlanta Journal Constitution, 10/27/09$200 million in stimulus funds flows to Georgia to update power grid: More than $200 million in federal stimulus money is expected to flow into projects in Georgia as part of the Obama Administration's plans to upgrade the nation's aging electric grid.

Massachusetts, Journal of New England Technology, 10/29/09Five New England states land $226M for smart meters: At least 832,000 smart meters will be installed across New England as a part of smart grid projects receiving funding from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Smart Grid Investment Grant funding.

Maryland, Daily Record, 10/27/09Federal funds granted for BGE’s smart grid: Baltimore Gas & Electric Co. expects customer costs for its smart grid projects to decrease after winning a $200 million grant from the federal government Tuesday, the company said.

Michigan, Detroit Free Press, 10/27/09Edison, Whirlpool to get stimulus money: Detroit Edison and the Whirlpool Corporation in Benton Harbor will receive $103 million in federal stimulus money to make investments in green technology.

Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Inquirer, 10/27/09Peco Energy gets $200M ‘smart-grid’ grant: Peco Energy Co. was awarded a $200 million federal stimulus grant today that will allow it to speed up deployment of "smart-grid" technology, including 600,000 advanced electric meters in the next three years.

South Dakota, Argus Leader, 10/27/09Two S.D. power companies to share $9M in federal funds to install smart meters (video): Black Hills Power and Sioux Valley Southwestern Electric Cooperative will share in more than $9 million in federal funding to help modernize the nation’s electric system.

Vermont, Bennington Banner, 10/27/09Powerful energy Vermont plan for ‘smart’ meters getting $69M: A Vermont plan to install electricity smart meters and other technologies to improve energy efficiency and reduce energy costs will receive nearly $70 million in stimulus money.

Wyoming, Star Tribune, 10/27/09Smart' grid stimulus funds come to Wyoming: Two Wyoming electric utilities will receive more than $7.5 million combined in federal grants to help modernize their infrastructure.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2009/10/31/recovery-action-powering-america

Thank you Speaker Pelosi for protecting the weakest and most vunerable amoung us and not yielding to greed and contributions of the pharmacutical like the Republicans who sold us down the tube!

Lillene Ebanks — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 16:26:44 EDT

Thank you from the people who elected you to protect us! Getting a Bill ready to vote is an achievement.

Thank you Speaker Pelosi for protcting the weakest and most vunerable amoung us and not yielding to greed and contributions of the pharmacutical like the Repuvlicans who sold us down the tube!

Lillene Ebanks — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 15:41:23 EDT

Thank you from the people who elected you to protect us! Getting a Bill ready to vote is an achievement.

All men do not know what it is to find out you are pregnant so put abortion in our health care bill and do no listen to men who can not talk about pregnancy!

Lillene Ebanks — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 17:29:19 EDT

Shame on you men wanting women to be butchered in allies or to endure a cheap abortion in the raw after spending a night with Letterman to keep a job to stay alive or the likes of him! Who would want a baby with that rude guq who insulted Governor Palin' precious young daughter! What do you think Gov. Palin? Everyone would say it was for money!

OnStar

Walt — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:49:21 EDT

Barack bailed out GM so that the government could install OnStar in all new cars to spy on US citizens and their driving habits. More nonsense from the Right. What do they think that the Bush administration was doing when they monitored everyone's cell and land line phone calls?

Healthcare Phonebanks

Anita Stroud — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 22:41:26 EDT

Please attend your local phonebanks tonight, if you can. Thanks!

Sen. Barbara Boxer - Health Care Reform

Carolyn Jones — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 20:32:47 EDT

Dear Mrs. Jones:

Thank you for writing to me about pending health care reform legislation. I am committed to working with President Obama to ensure that Americans have access to high-quality, affordable healthcare that they can rely on. With the right legislation, I believe we can greatly improve care for our families while containing the growing costs of health care.

As the President made clear in his joint address last week, the status quo is unsustainable. Too many of our fellow citizens are suffering because of the broken promises of a health insurance system that abandoned them when they needed it most.

Americans will spend over $2.5 trillion on health care this year, more than one in every six dollars in the U.S. economy. In all, we spend twice as much per person on health care as other advanced nations, yet the United States ranks near the bottom of the 30 leading industrialized nations in basic measures of health such as infant mortality and life expectancy.

Many families are struggling to afford skyrocketing premiums and increased co-pays and deductibles. Health care premiums have more than doubled in the last nine years, and one respected study shows that, if we fail to act, the average California family will have to spend 41 percent of its income for health insurance premiums by 2016.

The growing number of uninsured is also contributing to higher costs: 46 million Americans do not have health insurance, and every day, another 14,000 Americans lose their coverage when they become seriously ill or lose or change their jobs. As a result, families with insurance are paying an extra $1,100 a year on average in premium costs.

Moreover, poor regulation of insurance companies means that even those with health insurance coverage are not always guaranteed to get the benefits they are promised. In the past few weeks, I have heard from so many Californians who can't get health insurance because of a pre-existing condition, or who are denied the medical treatment prescribed by a doctor because of insurance company bureaucrats. This is wrong, and we have to do better for our families.

That is why I support a strong bill and I will work hard to include a public interest option. I recently signed a letter authored by Senator Sherrod Brown to Majority Leader Reid insisting that the health care bill include the public option because I believe it is the best way to ensure competition in the marketplace. Americans who like their current health coverage would be able to keep it unchanged. But for our families and small businesses that can't afford or can't obtain coverage under the current system, a public interest option would be a safe haven.

We also need stronger regulation and penalties against insurance companies who discriminate against those with pre-existing conditions or drop those who become seriously ill. We must increase investments in prevention and wellness. And health care reform must not add a single dollar to the Federal deficit.

As we move forward, I will fight for a bill that meets these principles.

Again, thank you for writing to me. Please feel free to contact me again about this or other issues of concern to you.

Barbara Boxer
United States Senator

Keith Olbermann

Walt — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 10:08:57 EDT

Tonight Keith Olbermann will repeat his passionate denunciation of healthcare insurers that was so effective the first time it was run. Money is being donated to set up free clinics in cities in the districts of ranking members of Congress who have a big say in healthcare reform legislation. It is an effective way to influence some votes.

World Cup bid unites Hondurans divided by coup

Fire Is Born — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 00:30:58 EDT

Photo 7 of 11

Honduras' Carlos Pavon, right, and Donis Escuber hug after defeating El Salvador 1-0 and classifying for the 2010 World Cup at the end of a qualifying soccer match in San Salvador, Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2009. (AP Photo/Claudio Cruz)

s ago

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras — A soccer victory that clinched Honduras' first trip to the World Cup in almost 30 years is giving its people an exhilarating distraction from the divisive political crisis that has gripped the country for the last 3 1/2 months.

Negotiators are continuing talks on whether to reinstate ousted President Manuel Zelaya. But right now Hondurans are more interested in celebrating Wednesday night's 1-0 defeat of neighboring El Salvador.

Thursday was declared a national holiday and hundreds of thousands of people celebrated outside, many welcoming the team at the airport and others lining the streets to a church where the players attended Mass.

Next year's World Cup in South Africa will be Honduras' first since 1982.

(This version CORRECTS that it will be Honduras' first trip to World Cup in almost 30 years, sted 30 years)

Medicare spending $1,023 higher for the previously uninsured,

Fire Is Born — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 22:51:07 EDT

Expanded Health Coverage Could Save Money LaterAfter 65, previously uninsured have more annual Medicare spending than continuously insured
Oct 6, 2009

TUESDAY, Oct. 6 (HealthDay News) -- Expanding health coverage to adults may result in later savings from reduced Medicare spending on these individuals after they turn 65, especially for the uninsured with cardiovascular disease, diabetes or severe arthritis, according to research published online Oct. 6 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
J. Michael McWilliams, M.D., of Harvard Medical School in Boston, and colleagues analyzed data from 2,951 adults who were continuously insured before the age of 65, and another 1,616 who were continuously or sometimes uninsured before this age. They assessed annual Medicare spending after age 65 for each participant.
The researchers found that total annual Medicare spending was $1,023 higher for the previously uninsured, which was a significant difference. The previously uninsured had higher annual hospitalization rates for complications related to cardiovascular disease or diabetes (9.1 versus 6.4 percent) and joint replacement (2.5 versus 1.3 percent).
"There are good reasons to believe that insurance coverage in the pre-Medicare years would reduce expenditures during the Medicare years, and health reform advocates will certainly take heart from the authors' conclusions. Unfortunately, because the data and methods used in this study are not capable of supporting causal interpretations, the savings to Medicare are unlikely to be as large as this study suggests," writes the author of an accompanying editorial.
The study was supported by the Commonwealth Fund. Several co-authors reported relevant consulting work and legislative testimony.
Abstract
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Copyright © 2009 ScoutNews, LLC. All rights reserved.

The Trust Factor California Governor Muscle Man With A Twenty Seven Percent Approval Rating As Compared to Our Beloved Stick Leg Lau President"s Sixty Eight Percent Approval

Lillene Ebanks — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 19:33:52 EDT

Governor Schwneghneger! During the 2008 election you laughed on TV internationally at Senator Obama's Lstick legs". Welln Governor muscles, mydeported brother and his son both have stick legs, so I will not let your joke go witout the last laugh! Vengence is mine I will repay says the Lord. You see Governor you made your muscles but President Obama"s Lau legs is a gift from God who made everything good! I am loving it!

Capitalist Case For Nonprofit Health Insurance

Fire Is Born — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 13:51:06 EDT

Adviser Soapbox

Capitalist Case For Nonprofit Health Insurance

John E. Girouard 10.12.09, 7:09 PM ET

If you want to know what went wrong with our health care system and the best way to fix it, all you have to do is look back a few decades to a time when health care was a community concern, considered as essential as any public utility. It should be again, not just because it makes sense but also because it's the most profitable way to go.

The irony in the current debate over a "public option" health plan is that we once had a form of socialized medicine. Blue Cross, the most recognizable name, began in 1929 as a tax-exempt insurer covering a community of teachers in Dallas. Blue Shield was started as a tax-exempt insurer to cover employees of mining and lumber companies in the Pacific Northwest, with a group of local doctors providing care through a service bureau.

IPOs have been rare in 2009. LogMeIn, Inc. (LOGM) went public in July at $15. Shares are near $19 now. Click here for Jim Oberweis' guidance on LOGM in the October issue of the Oberweis Report.

We lost the positive aspects of affiliation health insurance starting in the 1960s and through the 1980s when Wall Street discovered there was money to be made turning nonprofit health insurers, hospitals and nursing homes into investor-owned companies. What we got was a massive conflict-of-interest--profit vs. public good--that has culminated in a dysfunctional health delivery system that has undermined our economy, reduced our national wealth and torn our social fabric.

One might argue whether our estimated 47 million uninsured is a moral shame, but there is no argument that millions of people clogging our emergency rooms and other social services because it's their only option is a crime against our economy, both in direct costs and loss of productivity.

A solution that would have something for everyone and meets the test of minimum government intervention would have three tiers of coverage:

1. Primary Care Community Nonprofits: States, regional groups, hospital consortiums and communities would be encouraged to form nonprofit health insurance companies guaranteeing at reduced premiums a primary level of care--ambulatory, emergency room, routine physicals, and so on. Every citizen would be required to be covered.

This would immediately add 47 million new customers generating premium payments into the pool of available revenue. There would be no qualifying exam nor any discrimination based on pre-existing conditions.

Those who paid their mandatory premiums could deduct them on their income- tax returns. Those who failed to pay their premiums might be subject to a minimum tax penalty or some other mechanism to encourage compliance.

These nonprofits might then, like municipalities, be able to turn to the financial markets to raise capital for building projects and other needs, perhaps issuing tax-exempt bonds.

2. Reinsure Catastrophic Risk: Community nonprofits would be required to do what large companies do when self-insuring. They set aside enough reserves to cover their employees up to a set threshold above which they reinsure themselves. Nonprofits could do the same thing, passing risk on to for-profit companies against a financial disaster from big-ticket losses that could result from a single disaster, a disease outbreak, or just having a high percentage of elderly patients needing extensive care.

The for-profit reinsurance business ought to be highly profitable if well-managed. The number of transactions they would have to handle would be vastly reduced, driving down costs. But for this to work, these companies would need to be reinsured as well, much as banks are. That's where government steps in, just as it does in the banking industry.

3. Create a Federal Health Insurance Corporation: Just as we regulate the banking industry because it is essential, requiring banks to pay insurance premiums to guarantee deposits, the role of the federal government would be to act as the insurer of last resort. Such an agency would guarantee claims above a set amount, allowing private reinsurers to calculate their risks more accurately and set competitive, profitable premium rates.

This is not a public option, it is a public imperative. It is what we expect from government after a hurricane or other natural disaster. It seems logical that in the event of a health insurance disaster, Uncle Sam should be ready to step in for the public good. And it seems equally logical that the federal government should be in the business of setting standards and regulating an industry that provides a public service, just as we regulate water, power and public transportation companies.

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This three-tiered approach contains elements that should appeal to most interest groups. The nonprofit primary care level eliminates the conflict of interest that currently exists between profit and the rendering of a crucial public service. Insurance companies would go back to doing what they are supposed to, managing risk instead of managing care.

This system is close to what members of Congress refer to as "the same health insurance we have." Once a year federal employees get to choose who their health insurer is from a list of a dozen or so approved providers. A covered employee with a chronic disease can switch insurers if he or she decides a different company offers a better plan, without an exam and regardless of pre-existing conditions.

This system should appeal to both sides of the "public option" argument.

Liberals who want to see everyone covered and the profit motive taken out of medical decisions would see their aims met as more citizens would likely seek out and receive preventive care instead of waiting until they need to be rushed to an emergency room at enormous expense.

Conservatives who want government to spend less and do more to stimulate the flow of capital and the creation of wealth would achieve their goals in the form of the private financing of nonprofit insurers and in the presumed net reduction in the cost to taxpayers of providing emergency and social services to the uninsured.

John E. Girouard of Washington, D.C., is a financial writer and the author of "The Ten Truths of Wealth Creation."

Hope for a Restored Native America

Fire Is Born — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 20:39:17 EDT

"Dedicated to the seven generations that came before us
and the children of Indian Country today,
so their innocence and laughter may develop into wisdom
as they become the leaders of tomorrow."

Introduction

American Indian and Alaska Native cultures
hold children in a special place of honor. Children
are the gift of the Creator. The birth of a child is
celebrated and honored. Each tribe has its own
world view that tells the children their place
in the cosmos through stories and ceremonies.
The community has a sacred obligation to
instill in them the traditional knowledge of past
generations so their innocence and laughter may
develop into wisdom as they become the leaders
of the future.

For countless generations cradleboards were
used by Indian mothers to keep their infants
secure. Most cradleboards carry an umbilical
cord amulet to connect the child with past and
future generations throughout their life. We
know that in the same way, safe and nurturing
Indian communities enable Native children to
fully achieve their potential so we can honor and
continue the culture and traditions of the past
seven generations.

Unfortunately, all too often Native children
are born into circumstances that may be rich
in culture and love, but fail to meet their basic
needs of health, shelter, safety and education.
Every Indian child should have the right to
community-based, culturally appropriate
services that help them grow up safe, healthy,
and spiritually strong – free from abuse, neglect
and poverty. Our communities – tribal leaders,
parents, grandmothers, grandfathers, aunts,
uncles and families – have a vision of a restored,
safer, healthier Indian Country for our children.
Creating safe and supportive tribal communities
for our children today honors our ancestors as
well as the generations to come.

This FY 2009 Tribal Budget Request highlights key
aspects of the vision tribal leaders have expressed
to create a safe and healthy Indian Country for our
children. In developing these recommendations, we
recognize that addressing the years of under-funding
and backlogs that plague Indian Country will be
accomplished over time. The requests that follow do
not reflect the full need in Indian Country, but rather
are achievable first steps that we believe Congress
and the President should be able to support this year.

Delay

Walt — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 14:51:49 EDT

Delay is used to kill legislation that you are opposed to. Under our system of checks and balances, it is very difficult to pass legislation in Washington DC. Delay has been used time and again in our history to kill reforms. Those opposed to healthcare reform are hoping that the moment for its passage will pass and that support for reform will fade. Barack did not strike when the iron was hot, but I am confident that he has a plan of action that will surprise his critics. Barack is one of the smartest Presidents that we have ever had and Team Obama has shown that it can win repeatedly.

From Senator Clair McCaskill

Fire Is Born — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 11:06:18 EDT

I always liked Senator Clair McCaskill. fib

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The Twilight Zone

I feel that I’m in an alternative universe. For eight years some people called anyone who disagreed with the President’s foreign policy or war in Iraq unpatriotic. Then in the course of two weeks, those same people cheer when the United States does not get selected for the Olympics and boo when our President is the unanimous choice for the Nobel Peace Prize. Go figure.

Congratulations Mr. President for standing up to the scorn and derision of your opponents in the election when you firmly stood for the proposition that strength meant being willing to talk to your enemies, not just your allies. Thank you for the confidence and wisdom to say that a hand will be extended when their fist is unclenched. And thank you for understanding that our national security rests on our principles, the example we set for the world, and our alliances along with the excellence and strength of our military, rather than exclusively the latter. God Bless America.

http://clairecmc.tumblr.com/post/208582433/the-twilight-zone

Free Thursday at the CITA art gallery

Fire Is Born — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 01:22:00 EDT

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OAS leaders in Honduras

Fire Is Born — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 21:46:00 EDT

Honduras talks start, police break up protest

By Frank Jack Daniel Frank Jack Daniel – 2 hrs 17 mins ago

TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) – Talks between representatives of Honduran President Manuel Zelaya and the country's de facto leader began on Wednesday as top envoys insisted the ousted leftist be reinstated and police used tear gas on a protest.

Foreign ministers and diplomats including the head of the Organization of American States are overseeing the highest-level dialogue to take place in the coffee-growing nation since Zelaya was exiled at gunpoint three months ago.

Shortly before the meeting began, police fired volleys of tear gas to clear several hundred people marching past the U.S. Embassy in support of the logging magnate.

Police and soldiers armed with clubs and automatic weapons chased away demonstrators who shouted "Help us, OAS." Two people were injured, one by a rubber bullet and another by a gas canister, a local hospital said.

Zelaya and the OAS mission insist the president's return to power is a non-negotiable demand. De facto leader Roberto Micheletti previously ruled out that option but in recent days has not mentioned it, in a possible softening of his position.

"Those who thought it was possible to depose a president and normalize life in the country before starting an election campaign should realize that this has not been possible," OAS chief Jose Miguel Insulza said, flanked by the envoys.

A representative of Micheletti called for an end to the international isolation Honduras has suffered since the putsch and said sanctions had cost the poor country $400 million.

Honduras has a presidential election scheduled for November 29 but critics say curbs on media and public gatherings imposed by Micheletti mean the campaign will not be fair. The results may not be recognized without a prior agreement ending the crisis.

Zelaya said Micheletti only agreed to the talks to fend off international criticism and keep the de facto government going.

"They do not have the least intention of reverting the coup, they are just playing for time," he told the Telesur television channel from the Brazilian Embassy in Tegucigalpa, where he has been holed up surrounded by troops since slipping back into Honduras two weeks ago.

ZELAYA ON CAMPING MATTRESS

Zelaya was toppled after drawing close to Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez, whom powerful conservatives in Honduras say was advising Zelaya to extend his presidential term.

Micheletti took power after the June 28 putsch and wants his rival jailed. On Tuesday he said political amnesty was on the table but did not mention a return to office for Zelaya.

Peter Kent, Canada's junior foreign minister, said the OAS mission was pushing to have Zelaya live somewhere other than the embassy, where he sleeps on an inflatable camping mattress.

"We are realistic," Kent said. "This is not going to be achieved in a day or two days or perhaps even a week. But we believe there is room for progress."

The de facto government says the ouster of Zelaya, forced from his bed into exile by armed soldiers, is legal because he had violated the constitution.

Pro-Zelaya protests since his return to Honduras have led to clashes with security forces that caused dozens of injuries and the death of at least one protester.

Honduran rights group Cofadeh says 10 Zelaya supporters have been killed since June in violence linked to the coup.

Coups and military governments were common in Honduras for most of the 20th century. U.S. banana importer Sam Zemurray helped bring President Manuel Bonilla back to power in 1912 in return for favorable business conditions.

(Additional reporting by Gustavo Palencia, Miguel Angel Gutierrez and Ignacio Badal in Tegucigalpa and David Ljunggren in Ottawa; Editing by Xavier Briand)

Tonight at the White House (for James)

Fire Is Born — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 20:36:56 EDT

I hope for all of us that the president's job, one day, will include mostly this sort of events. Wouldn't that be a wonderful and normal world? Peace!. fib

ps. Warning: the comments below are from the Earth. Educational, too.

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Obama stargazes from the South Lawn

14 Comments

Recommend

After a three-hour meeting on Afghanistan, President Obama gets to have some fun tonight by stargazing with kids and astronauts.

It's Astronomy Night on the South Lawn, and our Oval colleague Traci Watson describes tonight's proceedings (as well as budget challenges facing NASA):

The president will spend this evening not curled up with briefing books but instead studying the heavens through telescopes. This "star party" on the White House lawn is meant to encourage kids to take an interest in science, and to that end Obama and the first lady have invited 150 local middle-school students to stargaze, too.

Unusually in Washington, Wednesday evening was shaping up to be crystal-clear and cloudless -- perfect for viewing the universe.

Much murkier is what's in store for any students who are inspired to become astronauts. In the next few weeks, Obama will have to decide whether to plow billions of extra dollars into NASA's budget. Without that infusion of cash, America's manned space program could not "continue in any meaningful way," according to a September report by space experts convened by the White House.

At the end of the star party, all 21 telescopes scattered across the backyard of the White House will be trained on the moon. That was where astronauts were headed in 2020 in the space plan announced by President Bush in 2004. Now Obama is rethinking that idea.

"We will certainly go back to the moon at some point," John Holdren, the president's science adviser, said as he toured the star party facilities a few hours before sunset. But he couldn't say when.

If Holdren wanted more expert advice, it was easily available. Also on hand for Obama's astronomy night was Sally Ride, the first U.S. woman in space and one of the experts who warned the administration that without significant new funding NASA's human space program is doomed to irrelevance.

Ride, who said she hadn't been at the White House for at least a decade, was enthusiastic about Obama's initiatives.

"There's not very much doubt about the value of science again" in this administration, she said

Ride, an astrophysicist, won't be the only one at the event who knows her way around a telescope. Amateur observers from the Washington area and professional astronomers will be operating the equipment for the first family and students.

Also on hand will be two high school teachers dressed as Galileo and Newton, operating replicas of the telescopes used by those early stargazers.

"We're either really cool or really crazy," said Dean Howarth, a teacher at McLean High School in McLean, Va., who gets to play Newton. "If we're not here this evening, it's because the people at the front gate wouldn't let us in.

(Posted by Traci Watson and David Jackson; photo by Pablo Martinez Monsivais, The Associated Press)

New Ojamas Ready for Preordering

Ojamas Sleepwear — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 09:08:14 EDT

Our all new Ojamas for 2009-2010 are ready for pre-ordering! If you tried our original Ojamas, you'll be thrilled with the softer, luxurious cotton flannel fabric and improved sizing and fit for ladies in our new design. Throughout the year, we surveyed our customers and the two areas which stood out most were fabric and fit. You told us you wanted softer cotton flannel and that you wanted a better fitting garment for ladies, and that's exactly what we're delivering this year. An overwhelming majority of customers who liked the orginal design with the campaign logo said they wanted to see something more fun with our new President's face, and we've captured that in our new design as well.

As we did last year we'll be producing limited quantities, and demand is expected to exceed supply. We're starting with an introductory pre-order price of $24.99. Once our production cycle nears completion, this price is subject to increase, so we hope you'll take advantage now. During the pre-order period, your credit card will not be charged until we have received our production run and begin shipping orders. If at any time you'd like to cancel your order, you may do so without penalty - no questions asked. Pre-ordering is a no-risk way that ensures you'll be among the first to get your all new Ojamas in time for the holidays. Pre-order your Ojamas today!

United Cerebral Palsy Association advocates for the universal coverage

Fire Is Born — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 16:02:26 EDT

I assure you it is very difficult putting yourself in the shoes of someone with cerebral palsy. fib

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Video about history of the Associaition:

http://www.overstream.net/view.php?oid=ruarngm0uusx

Help fight the Right-wingers with me:

Fire Is Born — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 12:31:11 EDT

*** DEADLINE MIDNIGHT TONIGHT -- ONLY $83,231 TO GO. CONTRIBUTE NOW. ***
They rant. Right wingers all over the country spent much of this summer trying to intimidate us by turning open forums into ugly shout-fests. Republican leaders were perfectly happy to encourage this, and while conservative politicians did not themselves exactly rant, they did distort the same, and yes, lie.

I gave my response to these ridiculous tactics at a public meeting in August, and I have since thought that I might have been too harsh -- on dining room tables.

Now you can reinforce the message I gave and send an even stronger one.

With the media closely watching both parties' third quarter fundraising totals, nothing would put fear in the hearts of the right wing extremists who are propagating this kind of nonsense than for us to out-raise them online. Right now we're just $83,231 away from our Million Dollar Goal.

Show your support for President Obama's health insurance reform. Help us raise just $83,231 more by our Midnight Deadline. For every dollar you give, a group of Democrats will match with two dollars of their own.

The lunacy we saw this summer by the right-wing fringe isn't letting up. Following his contemptible outburst at President Obama, Republican Congressman Joe Wilson raised over $2 million in contributions.

But even worse, Wilson's now taking his act on the road, traveling the country to raise money for Republican House Members and candidates. We have to respond.

This is make-or-break time for health insurance reform. With the media closely watching, President Obama needs grassroots Democrats to stand strong. Your support will help us gain the momentum we need to finish the job on health insurance reform.

Contribute $35, $50 or more by MIDNIGHT tonight and your gift will be triple matched by other Democrats.

Thank you,

Barney Frank

P.S. This is make-or-break time for health insurance reform. The media is closely watching to see which side has the momentum. Please give generously.

*A group of Democrats will match your donation today. For every dollar that you donate, these Democrats will donate two dollars of their own.
If you are having trouble with any of the links, cut and paste the following into your browser:
http://www.dccc.org/barneyfrank1

"I Give You Their Death , Leave Us Their Names" All the Fallen American Indian Herores in Their Holocost and Later in The Trail of Tears Who gave their lives for the Manifest Destiny of the United States of America!

Lillene Ebanks — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 14:02:24 EDT

Where are the crosses in Arlington Cemetary to commemerate the ultimate sacrifice of all the American Indians In their Holicost? It is a shame that the only person who verbalized our Holicost at the G20 Summit was the Venzulian President. Now the injustice continues as American Indians stive to stay near their ancient burial grounds and they are hearded up like cattle and placed in holding jails under the Patriot Act.We Native Americans are the true patriots who made the ultimate sacrifice defending this country against the runaway British invading 0colonists. Now Native Americans are called alians illegally as this land is our land, this land was made for you AND me. Chief Snow, Ice, Rain and Thunder, the great grand daughter of the Cherokee Nation native, Ben Tuk, who fled the Trail of Tairs and became a British pirate to travel on the high seas! Hoist the Jolly Roger and anchors away, the American Indians are coming!

"Heavenly Hugs and Kisses to Caroline Kennedy from your dad, President Kennedy, mama, First Lady Jackie Kennedy and most of all your baby brother, John John: We love you!"

Lillene Ebanks — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 04:05:05 EDT

"We love you Caroline and we are proud of you sis!"

Honduras: Day 86

Fire Is Born — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 14:51:05 EDT

I pray for all Honduran people and for the just peace in Central America. fib

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The Road to Zelaya’s Return: Money, Guns and Social Movements in Honduras

Written by Benjamin Dangl

Monday, 21 September 2009

Nearly three months after being overthrown in a violent military coup, ousted Honduran president Manuel Zelaya has returned to Honduras. "I am here in Tegucigalpa. I am here for the restoration of democracy, to call for dialogue," he told reporters. The embattled road to his return tested regional diplomacy, challenged Washington and galvanized Honduran social movements.

THERE ARE BLACK MEXICANS!

Fire Is Born — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 18:45:39 EDT

TALKING OF RACISM... fib

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Tuesday, Sep. 15, 2009 Blacks in Mexico: A Forgotten Minority By Alexis Okeowo / Yanga

The first town of freed African slaves in the Americas is not exactly where you would expect to find it — and it isn't exactly what you'd expect to find either. First, it's not in the United States. Yanga, on Mexico's Gulf Coast, is a sleepy pueblito founded by its namesake, Gaspar Yanga, an African slave who led a rebellion against his Spanish colonial masters in the late 16th century and fought off attempts to retake the settlement. The second thing that is immediately evident to vistors who reach the town's rustic central plaza: there are virtually no blacks among the few hundred residents milling around the center of town.

Mirroring Mexico's history itself, most of Yanga's Afro-Mexican population has been pushed to neighboring rural villages that are notable primarily for their deep poverty and the strikingly dark skin of their inhabitants. Mexico's independence from Spain and new focus on building a national identity on the idea of mestizaje, or mixed race, drove African Mexicans into invisibility as leaders chose not to count them or assess their needs. Now many blacks want to fight back by improving the shoddy education and social services available to them and are petitioning for the constitution to recognize Afro-Mexicans as a separate ethnic group worthy of special consideration. (See graphics of slavery and the Americas.)

"The two races that are most discriminated against here are the blacks and the indigenous — but it is more accepted against blacks," says Hemeregildo Fernandez, a doctor in Yanga and one of the few blacks still living in town. His office is tucked on a narrow street that juts off the main square, where the rotund man with warm brown skin and salt-and-pepper hair receives a fluctuating stream of patients. The majority of the black Mexican population works in agriculture, fishing or construction, and while, like Fernandez, some have achieved notable positions in coastal towns, he says, "Most blacks have no economic power." (Read a story about the indigenous custom of bride-selling.)

Many of the country's mexicanos negros (black Mexicans), as they are called, know that their ancestors arrived in chains on boats that docked at ports in the sultry, steamy state of Veracruz. But they don't know much else. Indeed, Afro-Mexicans say that much of the history of los mexicanos negros is untaught or ignored by the rest of the country. Apart from Yanga, Afro-Mexicans claim Vicente Guerrero, who served briefly as President in the early 19th century and gave his name to the state of Guerrero, as one of their own, as well as revolutionary José María Morelos, who was executed by the Spaniards in 1815. (Read a story about an indigenous mother who might lose her child because she doesn't speak English.)

Black Mexican activists estimate the population of Afro-Mexicans at about 1 million, but there are no official figures. Earlier this year, they petitioned the National Institute of Statistics and Geography to include the Afro-Mexican population as a separate category in the next census, in 2010. Official statistics do not recognize blacks as a separate ethnic group (56 indigenous groups are officially accredited, the largest ones being the Nahuatl and the Maya, numbering more than 2 million each). As a result, Afro-Mexicans say they have been left out of institutional programs and are without a cultural identity. The group Mexico Negro A.C. is linking with similar Afro-descendant organizations in Latin America that have achieved success in securing better treatment. "We no longer want to be detained by security agents in our own country who say that in Mexico there are no blacks," says Rodolfo Prudente Dominguez, an activist with Mexico Negro.

The Afro-Mexicans face considerable hurdles. Prevailing stereotypes paint the group as happy to live the simple life apart from the rest of society, with no interest in education. The all-black shantytowns near Yanga lack schools, and eager young migrants who move to bigger cities for work complain of blatant discrimination. A report released late last year by Mexico's Congress said that roughly 200,000 black Mexicans who reside in the rural areas of Veracruz and Oaxaca and in tourist cities like Acapulco are out of the reach of social programs like employment support, health coverage, public education and food assistance.

Afro-Mexican culture expert Luz Maria Montiel acknowledges that blacks are particularly marginalized and excluded, to the point that it is impossible to find any mention of them in official records. Yet she argues that it is impractical for blacks to seek constitutional recognition. "It would be impossible to make a law for each of the populations that make up our multicultural nation," she says. Dominguez disagrees: "We are a totally different cultural group from indigenous groups and mestizos of our country, with a particular lifestyle and characteristics that do not respond to public policies that are designed for indigenous grouPS.

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1922192,00.html

I've had it!

Fire Is Born — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 17:51:26 EDT

END WAR ON DRUGS! BASTA. NO SOCIAL REFORMS WILL HELP AS LONG AS THIS GOES ON. fib

ps. as a recovering addict of alcoholic preference, i know how tough it has been to recover from my legal addiction. what hope am i going to offer to my active adict friends? this?! fib

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Gunmen kill 10 at Mexico drug treatment center By ALICIA A. CALDWELL,

Associated Press Writer Alicia A. Caldwell,

CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico – Gunmen burst into a drug treatment center in the northern Mexican border city of Ciudad Juarez and shot to death 10 people, the second such mass killing this month.

Police say nine men and one woman were killed in the attack just before midnight Tuesday at the Anexo de Vida center in Mexico's most violent city. Two people were seriously wounded.

Enrique Torres, a spokesman for Chihuahua state police, said Wednesday the identities of the gunmen and the motive for the attack have not yet been established.

But officials have said in the past that drug gangs may be using treatment centers to recruit dealers, or may be targeting them to eliminate rivals.

Most of the victims are believed to have been recovering addicts staying at the facility.

"Why? Why them?" said Pilar Macias, weeping after she identified the body of her brother, Juan Carlos Macias, 39. "He was recovering, he wanted to get back on the right track and they didn't let him, they didn't give him a chance."

"This is going to kill my mother," Macias said. "She's very sick and this is going to kill her."

Macias said the mother had encouraged her son to enter the facility for treatment of his cocaine addiction three months ago.

Maria Hernandez also had come to the state prosecutor's office to identify the body of her 25-year son.

"He was good, he didn't hang out with gangs, he didn't have 'narco' friends," she said. "He just began with marijuana, and then ... they killed him."

Pools of dry blood and bloodied footprints were visible Wednesday in the courtyard of the drug and alcohol rehab center where the shooting occurred.

The center is located in a poor neighborhood with dirt streets, some of which were impassable due to recent rains.

On Sept. 2, gunmen lined patients against a wall at another rehabilitation center in Ciudad Juarez and then riddled them with bullets, killing 18.

Five men were killed at another rehabilitation center in June, and in August 2008, gunmen barged into a pastor's sermon at a rehabilitation center and opened fire, killing eight people. Authorities have not said if any of the attacks are related.

Ciudad Juarez has seen the worst of the nation's drug violence, with more than 1,300 deaths this year. The bloodshed has continued despite a buildup in troops since March.

Early Wednesday, gunmen burst into a bar in Ciudad Juarez and shot to death five men, police said. They said they knew of no motive for the attack.

Surging gang violence has claimed 13,500 lives since President Felipe Calderon took office in 2006 and deployed extra soldiers across the country to fight cartels.

Also Wednesday, police in the southern state of Guerrero reported they had found the decomposed bodies of four men by the side of a highway. Because of their poor condition, the cause of death and identity of the bodies has not yet been established.

Union membership in California increases despite recession

Fire Is Born — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 14:37:17 EDT

"It's quite amazing that the recession hasn't caused a decline in unionization," said Lauren Appelbaum, lead author of the study.

Recessions tend to batter union jobs, particularly in the manufacturing sector, experts say. In the current recession, however, California manufacturing has fared somewhat better than elsewhere in the nation. Appelbaum said the residential-construction sector, which is relatively nonunion, was hit hard.

Union growth in California has been driven by the state's emergence as a hub of grass-roots organization, especially among low-wage employees like janitors, healthcare workers and security guards, said Appelbaum and Chris Tilly, the institute's director and a professor of urban planning at UCLA.

"Unions have developed strategies that seem to be much more successful, and they're adding members," Tilly said.(...)"

How to Watch the Speech

Fire Is Born — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 07:07:26 EDT

How to Watch the Speech

By David M. Herszenhorn

Charles Dharapak/Associated Press

A meeting on health care reform in Reston, Va.

In his speech to Congress on Wednesday night, President Obama will press his case for major health care legislation, not just with lawmakers in the audience, but also with a deeply wary public watching at home.

And while Mr. Obama will probably talk in clear, plain-spoken terms, decoding his remarks and the reaction he gets will require both a careful ear and a keen eye. Here are some of the main things to listen and look for:

Will he reiterate his support for a government-run insurance plan — or finally state outright that he can accept a compromise that might disappoint liberals?

Will the president give a shout-out to influential Republicans like Senator Charles E. Grassley of Iowa — or threaten to barrel over opponents?

Will centrist lawmakers sit on their hands — or give him a big ovation?

Will Mr. Obama reassure elderly voters worried about Medicare cuts? Can he do that even while explaining how the country can afford to subsidize health coverage for more than 40 million Americans who currently have none?

Beyond those big questions, here’s an armchair guide to watching the president’s big speech at home.(...)"

THE NEW SLAVERY

Fire Is Born — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 12:01:07 EDT

A must see. fib

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

http://www.leap.cc/cms/index.php?name=Web_Links&l_op=visit&lid=152

Killing addicts in rehabilitation centers - recent strategies in the "war on drugs"

Fire Is Born — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 11:08:38 EDT

This has been the fifth attack on a rehabilitaion center in Ciudad Juarez. fib

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Arrest over Mexican drug murders

A senior member of a Mexican drug cartel has been arrested on suspicion of involvement in the murders of 17 people at a rehab centre, reports say.

Jose Rodolfo Escajeda, a suspected hitman and drug smuggler, was held in connection with the murders in the city of Juarez, near the border with Texas.

He has long been on wanted lists held by both the Mexican government and the US Drug Enforcement Administration.

Meanwhile, a state politician and his family were killed in Tabasco state.

The bodies of Jose Francisco Fuentes - a state congressional candidate - his wife and two young sons were found with many bullet wounds at their house in the state capital, Villahermosa, according to state Attorney General Rafael Gonzalez Lastra.

Authorities in the state have in recent days arrested gunmen suspected of working for Mexico's notorious Gulf drug cartel

Turf wars

According to Mexican media reports, Mr Escajeda was arrested by Mexican troops on Friday.

Thought to be a senior figure in the Juarez cartel, he is suspected of involvement in the attack last week in which gunmen stormed into a drug treatment clinic, lined patients up against a wall and killed at least 17 of them.

The BBC's Stephen Gibbs, in Mexico, says the attack shocked even the violence-weary residents of Ciudad Juarez, where there have been an average of 10 murders every day this year.

Juarez is the setting of a vicious turf war, principally between two gangs - the Juarez cartel, and the Sinaloa cartel, which is led by Mexico's most wanted man and reported billionaire, Joaquin Guzman.

The gangs are fighting for control of the local drug market, and smuggling routes into the United States.

About 1,400 people have died in Juarez's drug violence this year.

Thousands of extra police and troops have been deployed in Ciudad Juarez to try to stem the violence.

More than 13,000 people have been killed since the Mexican government ordered the military to take the offensive against the drug gangs in 2006.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/americas/8240213.stm

Published: 2009/09/06 04:17:07 GMT

© BBC MMIX

Speaking of "socialism"..

Fire Is Born — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 10:48:12 EDT

Capitalism: A Love Story

(Documentary) An Overture Films release of a Paramount Vantage, Overture Films presentation in association with the Weinstein Co., of a Dog Eat Dog production. (International sales: Paramount Vantage, Los Angeles.) Produced by Michael Moore, Anne Moore. Executive producers, Kathleen Glynn, Bob Weinstein, Harvey Weinstein. Co-producers, Rod Birleson, John Hardesty. Directed, written by Michael Moore.

With: Michael Moore, Frank Moore.

By LESLIE FELPERIN

By returning to his roots, professional gadfly Michael Moore turns in one of his best films with "Capitalism: A Love Story." Pic’s target is less capitalism qua capitalism than the banking industry, which Moore skewers ruthlessly, explaining last year’s economic meltdown in terms a sixth-grader could understand. That said, there’s still plenty here to annoy right-wingers, as well as those who, however much they agree with Moore’s politics, just can’t stomach his oversimplification, on-the-nose sentimentality and goofball japery. Whether "Capitalism" matches "Fahrenheit 9/11" or underperforms like Sicko" will depend on how much workers of the world are ready to unite behind the message.

Pic reaped mostly ecstatic applause at its first press screening in Venice — no great surprise, given the largely leftist persuasion of film-fest auds, especially in Europe. Still, "Capitalism’s" worldview is resolutely U.S.-centric, apart from the odd approving mention of some foreign nation. Nevertheless, pic is likely to make considerably more offshore, where "socialism" isn’t considered a cuss word, than at home.(...)"

Nobody home

Withfeeling — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 19:51:58 EDT

This is really sad. What a vibrant community this was.

If Barack ever wants to get this community really behind him ever again (in 2010 or 2012), he really needs to get a public option through on the healthcare bill. Not a trigger, not any other lame replacement. Yes, the rest of the reforms are important, but the public option is a litmus test.

Anything less will be considered a Republican victory, or at-least they will say it is (and be heard).

If there is to be vigorous Democratic support in 2010 or 2012 there MUST be a public option passed.

Have Mexican Dishwashers Brought California to Its Knees?

Fire Is Born — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 15:40:25 EDT

Have Mexican Dishwashers Brought California to Its Knees?

Posted by Daniel Griswold

An article published this week by National Review magazine blames the many problems of California on—take a guess—high taxes, over-regulation of business, runaway state spending, an expansive welfare state? Try none of the above. The article, by Alex Alexiev of the Hudson Institute, puts the blame on the backs of low-skilled, illegal immigrants from Mexico and the federal government for not keeping them out.

Titled “Catching Up to Mexico: Illegal immigration is depleting California’s human capital and ravaging its economy,” the article endorses high-skilled immigration to the state while rejecting the influx of “the poorly educated, the unskilled, and the illiterate” immigrants that enter illegally from Mexico and elsewhere in Latin America.

Before swallowing the article’s thesis, consider two thoughts:

One, if low-skilled, illegal immigration is the single greatest cause of California’s woes, how does the author explain the relative success of Texas? As a survey in the July 11 issue of The Economist magazine explained, smaller-government Texas has avoided many of the problems of California while outperforming most of the rest of the country in job creation and economic growth. And Texas has managed to do this with an illegal immigrant population that rivals California’s as a share of its population.

Two, low-skilled immigrants actually enhance the human capital of native-born Americans by allowing us to move up the occupational ladder to jobs that are more productive and better paying. In a new study from the Cato Institute, titled “Restriction or Legalization? Measuring the Economic Benefits of Immigration Reform,” this phenomenon is called the “occupational mix effect” and it translates into tens of billions of dollars of benefits to U.S. households.

Our new study, authored by economists Peter Dixon and Maureen Rimmer, found that legalization of low-skilled immigration would boost the incomes of American households by $180 billion, while further restricting such immigration would reduce the incomes of U.S. families by $80 billion.

That is a quarter of a trillion dollar difference between following the policy advice of National Review and that of the Cato Institute. Last time I checked, that is still real money, even in Washington.

Daniel Griswold • August 26, 2009 @ 11:34 am

Filed under: Immigration and Labor Markets; Trade

Tags: California, Cato, economic benefits, economic growth, economists, economy, federal government, government, growth, hud, illegal immigration, immigrants, immigration, jobs, latin america, legalization, Mexico, money, National Review, regulation, spending, tax, taxes, Texas, the economist, Trade, undocumented workers, washington, welfare, welfare state

President Obama Debunks The Myths

EsquireUK — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 13:52:10 EDT

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/09/08/21/Weekly-Address-The-Moral-Case-for-Health-Insurance-Reform/

President Obama debunks the myths around health insurance reform, and discusses the public option proposal in which many of them are rooted -- but he focuses his address on the stark moral and historical turning point at which we find ourselves: "This is our chance to march forward. I cannot promise you that the reforms we seek will be perfect or make a difference overnight. But I can promise you this: if we pass health insurance reform, we will look back many years from now and say, this was the moment we summoned what’s best in each of us to make life better for all of us. This was the moment we built a health care system worthy of the nation and the people we love. This was the moment we earned our place alongside the greatest generations. And that is what our generation of Americans is called to do right now."

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/09/08/21/Weekly-Address-The-Moral-Case-for-Health-Insurance-Reform/

Positive Lessons Learned from Democratic Congressman Adam Schiff’s Healthcare Reform Town Hall on Tuesday 8/11/2009

Michael from Santa Monica, CA — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 01:03:59 EDT

Please help me figure out how to get this to those that are preparing for future events...

Positive Lessons Learned from
Democratic Congressman Adam Schiff’s Healthcare Reform Town Hall
on Tuesday 8/11/2009

On Tuesday 8/11/2009, I attended a very well run Town Hall event that provided some very clear lessons on how to overcome the organized attempts at disruption and fear/hate mongering led by the radical right and corporate anti-reform supporters.

My thanks and congratulations go to Congressman Schiff and everyone involved in this event. This is the first such event that I have attended, and it was a very positive experience overall. (I was drawn to attend in an attempt to balance out the rowdy anti-reform crowds that I have seen on TV trying to dominate such events.)

The event had at least the expected 2000 people present, and despite the vocal attempts of anti-reform people, the event was kept relatively civilized and constructive.

A large part of this success is due to the obvious efforts of the event organizers to actively manage the event, rather than utilize a normal town hall format, which the anti-reform sponsors have recently managed so well to game to their advantage.

Below I list my observations, which I highly recommend that all Democratic legislators and town hall event planners study before/while planning their own events to discuss healthcare reform.

I also recommend that you contact Congressman Schiff, the event planners at his office and the City of Alhambra, the moderator Dr. Bruce Hensel, and the Alhambra Police Department for their own lessons learned.

Things done right to support a constructive dialog:

Don’t assume that this will be a normal town hall event. Treat this as a unique event with its own necessary preparation steps to ensure success.
The anti-reform sponsors have worked hard to game the format employed by normal town hall gatherings. Do not reward their efforts by passively playing along.
Be very clear on the goals of anti-reform sponsors…

· To agitate the radical right

· To prevent constructive dialog on this topic by disrupting and monopolizing the event

· To limit opportunities for reform supporters to spread their message

· To propagate intentional lies about reform goals/methods

· To intimidate supporters of healthcare reform from participating

· To wear down and intimidate pro-reform legislators

Do not limit attendance.
Attendance limits reward organizers who can bus in their supporters early during working hours so as to claim all available seats. Limits thus penalize people with jobs who find that by the time they can arrive after work and traffic the event is filled and they will not be admitted.
Hold the event outdoors.
This reduces the impact of people shouting to disrupt the event. During the first half of our event a number of anti-reformers attempted to shout non-stop to reduce dialog, but the open air dispersed their volume. They could not effectively compete with the sound system used by the podium speakers, and eventually they gave up and shut up.
An outdoor venue also supports the ability to avoid attendance limits.
Our event was held at a grassy area outside the library at the City of Alhambra Town Hall.
Use a high-quality sound system for the podium speakers.
The sound must be loud enough to be clearly heard by all in the audience, without distortion. Use a professional company for this and test it in advance.
Allow signs
Pro-reform audience members were obviously more polite and less likely to resort to out-shouting their opponents. Signs provided an alternative means for them to make their opinions known.
There will be many crazy signs from the anti-reform movement, such as pictures of Obama with a Hitler mustache. This is acceptable vs. the benefit of providing more civilized members of the audience with a means to communicate.
Use a professional moderator who is knowledgeable about healthcare reform.
Dr. Bruce Hensel, Medical, Health, and Science Editor/Reporter for NBC4 performed this role very admirably at Adam Schiff’s event. I recommend that organizers of similar events contact him to learn his own lessons learned.
The moderator should feel free to guide the discussion with the goal of providing constructive dialog.
Do not provide microphones for audience speakers, have the moderator restate their questions for the audience.
This reduces both the incentive for and impact of grandstanding and attempts to disrupt.
Not hearing amplified ranting also discourages other members of the audience from piling on with more shouting/chanting in an attempt to disrupt/monopolize the event.
It also allows legitimate, but nervous/awkwardly phrased questions to be restated in a manner that supports better dialog.
Have audience members line up to approach the front to ask questions
This is necessary for them to be heard by the moderator and legislator, since they will not be issued microphones. It also allows the moderator to more clearly call on people to come forward and speak.
At our event there was a pseudo line which formed as people moved forward to reach the front where they might be called on. This provided a cooling off period where people are required to behave in a civilized manner before speaking. Make sure that latecomers to the event are able to join the line as well as people that camp it before hand.
Using a line does not mean that the next person to speak is predetermined. At our event the line was a few people wide, and the moderator retained the right select the next speaker. This helps him/her try to balance the questions based on impressions of which side people may support, and to avoid calling on obviously disruptive people.
(I was able to move through the crowd, line up and eventually ask a question, even though by the time I arrived the event was just starting with over 2000 people present.)
Have sufficient room at the front for the selected speaker to step forward away from the line and speak.
Having the person separate themselves from the line makes it more clear who is to speak. It also reduces any potential intimidation from other people in line.
At our event a little girl was able to step up and ask a question without feeling intimidated.
Use a panel format
This allows the moderator to select appropriate experts to speak, and perhaps more importantly will avoid having the legislator get trapped in a cycle of having to continuously defend him/her self. The legislator remains free to speak up as desired though. It also supports the impression that the legislator is not the only person supporting reform.
Do not feel that the panel needs to be overly balanced so as to include people that do not support healthcare reform. The goal should be to support discussion of what type of reform, rather than having panelists attack the very concept.
Panelists should be warned though that due to the contentious nature of the anti-reformers, there may be limited opportunities to have a real debate, and much of the time may be spent simply defending the concept of healthcare reform.
Give the panelists a few minutes each at the beginning to state their positions once they are introduced.
At our event, the panelists were…

· Dr. Benjamin Chu, President, Southern California Region, Kaiser

· Dr. Richard Brown, Director, UCLA Center for Health Policy Research

· Jerry Flanagan, Health Care Advocate, Consumer Watchdog

· Leeba Lessin, President, CareMore Health Plan

Have a visible, but not overbearing, police presence for crowd control, especially near the front.
The Alhambra Police Department is to be commended for very successful crowd control which helped to protect the panelists and audience, as well as the spirit of the event itself. Their firm, but restrained guidance should be seen as a model of police support for civilized debate in a democracy. They were visible, but not at all overbearing. This helped lead to an almost carnival atmosphere where people were confident of their safety, without feeling intimidated by the government.
The 3-4 police between the audience and the podium helped ensure that the “line” of people moving forward to ask questions remained civilized. At one point they were required to step in and handle a minor disruption, but this in no way detracted from the event as it was handled firmly, but with restraint. Once I asked my question, an officer politely, but firmly asked me to step back if I was done with my question. I happily thanked him for his efforts and rejoined the crowd.
Perhaps most importantly, keep a sense of humor, and don’t allow yourself to be intimidated
Congressman Schiff was very good at this, including occasionally joking in a friendly manner with the crowd about their “passionate debate”. He began the event by specifically asking everyone to act in a positive manner, which also helped. He also clearly stated that he was not going to be able to please everyone, while making visible attempts address anti-reform questions. A very impressive balancing act during a challenging event in my opinion.

Potential improvements:
A few minor points might be improved upon…

When asking how many people in the audience are for or against healthcare reform, know that the second side asked will typically be louder than the first.
This is because they have time to prepare themselves, and have the ability to gauge how load they are willing to shout to surpass the first asked side. If you want to even out the chance for the more polite pro-reform side to present their numbers, I recommend that you ask first how many oppose healthcare reform, and then how many support it. At our event, the Congressman’s final question of how many people were undecided produced a predictable, but humorous response of only a handful of people.
Have the front area specifically reserved for people in line to ask questions,
Allowing people to remain in the front area allows more aggressive anti-reformers to crowd the more valuable positions towards the front where they can more effectively disrupt and intimidate.
At our event the crowd was allowed to be a little too close to the podium, which allowed a small mob of anti-reform shouters to have more than their fair share of influence.
Have police expel people that obviously attempt to disrupt the event
As mentioned above, at least one person as able to stand near the front and shout at the top of his lungs non-stop for about half the event.
Obviously the desire to address this has to be balanced with any potential for actual or perceived police intimidation. As stated, at our event, the open air venue and excellent sound system used by the podium speakers eventually caused this person to quit yelling, so perhaps this is not always necessary.
Try not to call on any one panelist too frequently
Mixing it up keeps all panelists involved and reduces the impression that any “pet-panelist” is being given too much attention.
Set the crowd’s expectations by clearly stating that there will be a period of at least ½ hour for the legislator and panelists to introduce themselves and give their positions before questions will be taken from the audience.
This will help control the anti-reformers’ desire to go straight to questions so that they can dominate the event. (It obviously won’t reduce their desire for this, but it will make their chants for questions to begin sound more rude, which will encourage the rest of the audience to discourage them.)
Possibly use a lottery to decide who is initially allowed to be up front for questions.
Assuming that the lottery is held immediately before the event, instead of well in advance, this would keep people from being able to camp the front.
The challenge here would be to come up with a method that would allow this to be done quickly and fairly, so it doesn’t become a distraction.

Disappointed in President Obama's Organizing for America Health Care Forum

Michael from Santa Monica, CA — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 17:37:53 EDT

Billed as a strategy session and “an incredible opportunity to huddle with the President and discuss how we're going to pass real health insurance reform this year”, what we got was preaching to the choir by our Professor in Chief, rather than a discussion of strategies to actually move this forward.

I was ESPECIALLY disappointed to hear the President refer to the select panel as a legitimate negotiating method, and to hear him praise the Republicans on it, including Senator Grassley who has promoted the lies about death panels, as acting in good faith.

Surely Obama can’t be this naïve!!

First of all, how can that panel be legitimate when half of the members are Republican in the first place. This is not the proportion that was elected. Voluntarily giving them equal weight has only prevented any real reform from moving forward. A perfect example of this is how the single payer option was never considered, because these Republicans would never go along with it. This freed them to target any public option as socialized medicine, which it now sounds like we are moving away from as we try to compromise with them.

The American public elected a Democratic majority to get the job done. In giving away our majority to do so, I can only assume that enough Democrats have been bought out by special interests so that no intent to actually deliver effective healthcare reform has ever been intended. Instead apparently we only wanted to sound like we are trying to accomplish it, while at the same time stacking the deck against ourselves.

Secondly, the actions and comments from these three Republicans have shown that they have no interest in passing anything. Grassley himself, after warning people to be afraid for grandma, recently said that he would never support a bill that a majority of Republicans would vote for. Given the underhanded tactics that they and their pundits use, it should be obvious that they have NO interest in a dialog in good faith, and are only negotiating as a means to drag out the process with a series of endless compromises, while they foster an environment of hatred and intolerance for reform.

Wake up Mr. President!!!

Quit letting the Republicans and Blue Dogs play you for a fool.

It’s time to show less compassion and understanding and instead more backbone and righteous indignation.

Call out the liars as despicable and unpatriotic.

Quit trying to convince the Blue Dogs to support reform by watering it down, and instead make it politically impossible for them to act against it.

Stop portraying the anger in America as legitimate debate and instead demonstrate how it is manufactured astro-turf.

If you don’t feel like you can do this and be a nice guy, assign a senior hard-ass to do it for you. The movement desperately needs someone to lead the counter charge.

It also needs more clear organization...

Your discussion today only vaguely stressed the need for people to talk to their friends and neighbors, and offered a couple of talking points in response to a couple of questions.
Lame! We need someone who is actively providing clear instructions on what and how to help.

At a minimum, there should be a 3-5 point bullet list of talking points that everyone is pushing. Shorter, sound bite length talking points, which you can then lecture on to your heart’s content.There needs to be clear instruction on who to contact to help.We need to take the tactics of our opponents, refine them so they are morally acceptable, and then deploy them in a clear fashion.This movement needs a General to guide it.

Now unfortunately, I missed the beginning of the Forum due to internet issues, so maybe the initial speakers provided this leadership and guidance.
If so, I’ll be very, very happy to see more information coming from them in the future.

So far though, this effort seems like a weak, half-hearted attempt to capitalize on the exact same volunteer structure used during the election, without realizing that it needs more focus and clarity to work for an issue-specific movement. And for God’s sake, don’t think that we will win in the end based on the pattern of the election! A lot of the reason that we won convincingly is that the Republicans imploded towards the end of the election.We can’t count on that now, especially given that there are such powerful special interests whose profits are directly threatened by the reform movement.

An open letter regarding Health Insurance Reform to President Barack Obama and the Democratic Members of the United States House of Representatives and Senate

Jill K from RedondObama Beach, CA — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 22:17:46 EDT

August 17, 2009

Dear Honorable Sirs and Madams,

About this time two years ago, Democrats across the country started gearing up for the fight of our lives. Primary elections were just around the corner, and it would be only a year until we would have our candidates for President and Vice President confirmed at our National Convention. Although some said that Democrats could put up an asparagus and beat the Republicans, most of us in the Democratic party knew all too well, after the disastrous results of the 2004 election, that this was going to be a hard-fought battle right to the finish line.

But this was not just about President and Vice President. This was about restoring the Democratic Party to a position of power to enact the legislation we must have to help move this country in the right direction. Millions of us in every state, took to the phones and the streets and the web. We rallied, we phone banked, we pounded the pavement knocking on doors. We talked to our neighbors, friends and business associates. We raised hundreds of millions of dollars, much of it five dollars at a time. And we did this for candidates on the Democratic ticket all across this nation.

We broke our backs, lost our voices, and some of us lost friends or other relationships, so that we could have a majority in both Houses, as well as regaining the Presidency. We gave you a huge majority in Congress and a filibuster-proof 60 votes in the Senate. We handed you the reins on a silver platter!

We did this because our party ran on what is perhaps the most important Domestic issue in many of our lifetimes; Health Insurance Reform. With people filing bankruptcy, losing their homes, and dying every single day from our broken and corrupt system, we don’t have the luxury of time to wait any longer.

You have a grave and serious responsibility before you. NOW is not the time to cave in to the Republican party! You don’t have to! You have an obligation to do the job we sent you to Washington to do – pass Health Insurance Reform, and to do it as you promised you would, with a strong PUBLIC OPTION.

To say that I am perplexed, to say that I am stunned, to say that I am angry would all be understatements. You have allowed Republicans to take over control of the message and hijack this legislation. Their constituents get to go to sleep at night knowing their representatives are fighting tooth and nail on their behalf, while we Democrats go to bed wondering why on earth we worked so hard to put you in the majority, when you’re letting us down when we need you to stand up for us the most!

Make no mistake, this legislation is going to be “make or break” for our party. If you can’t get it done when you have control of the Administration, the House of Representatives and the Senate, what’s the use of working to keep you there in the next election cycle(s)? You seem to have forgotten that you work for us – the people who put you in office, not the Republicans.

While I respect the concept of bi-partisanship, there comes a time when it simply must be abandoned. And in fact, I contend that if you show the Republicans that you will pass legislation with or without them, and they get a bill they don’t like, then next time they’ll be more likely to work with you so their voices are heard, won’t they?

It’s time.

Progressives, and even moderates in our party, you have to start putting the screws to the "Blue Dogs" who are looking more and more like the "Blue Cross Dogs" every day. And to those of you who are the "Blue Dogs", don't forget that you are Democrats. You ran as Democrats, you won as Democrats, and you have an obligation to legislate as Democrats, not moderate Republicans.

President Obama, you need to wrest back control of this message, and if necessary, write your own legislation and make sure it gets passed instead of passing the buck.

You have the power. Use it.

Or lose it.

Sincerely,

Jill K

Redondo Beach, CA

Remorse

Walt — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 12:14:36 EDT

I will not begin to forgive the actions of the previous administration until the following persons start showing some remorse for their actions: George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz, Doug Feith, John Yoo, Condoleezza Rice, Karl Rove and others to numerous to mention.

From Time: 5 truths about health care in America

Fire Is Born — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 01:27:30 EDT

Very interesting and well presented. I wish we learned this much and this way watching television. fib

http://www.time.com/time/2008/health_care/index.html

In 2007 the top .01 percent of American earners took home 6 percent of total U.S. wages, a figure that has nearly doubled since 2000

Fire Is Born — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 12:20:26 EDT

I found this article on a trail of reads that started with CR's post below on the First Family Western touring.That's web browsing for you! Doug, thank you for your passionate posts advocating for the bottom 4% of US to get health insurance too. Here we learn about the TOP "decile". fib

"Though income inequality has been growing for some time, the paper paints a stark, disturbing portrait of wealth distribution in America. Saez calculates that in 2007 the top .01 percent of American earners took home 6 percent of total U.S. wages, a figure that has nearly doubled since 2000. "

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Income Inequality Is At An All-Time High: STUDY

huffingtonpost.com — Income inequality in the United States is at an all-time high, surpassing even levels seen during the Great Depression, according to a recently updated paper by University of California, Berkeley Professor Emmanuel Saez. The paper, which covers data through 2007, points to a staggering, unprecedented disparity in American incomes.

http://digg.com/politics/Income_Inequality_Is_At_An_All_Time_High_STUDY

Are you afraid of the bogeyman?

Eleanor — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 18:57:37 EDT

It always amazes me how easily we get scared by negative information, even when, deep down, we know isn't so. At least, not until we check it out, right? This past week has been full of mudslinging and negative invective--on the airwaves and in Lebanon, Pennsylvania.

Here in Fremont, it's been wonderful, full of people happy to declare their support of President Obama's Three Principles for HealthCare Reform and wanting to get more information about it. I will post photos from the Festival of the Arts, from the Farmers' Market, from our HealthCare Forums and Town Hall Meetings so you can see exactly what I mean . . . .

Health Insurance Reform

Jane Anne Jeffries Johnson — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 11:33:09 EDT

I retired from the Los Angeles Unified School District in February. I felt it was my civic duty to give up my job and live on my retirement, since the economy is struggling. I moved to Friday Harbor, Washington, where the economy is doing better than in California. I am able to keep abreast of the changes President Obama is making toward a more viable society and economy. I urge everyone who voted for him to continue to support him now. The sharks are swarming, and there is blood in the water. It's time to come together as a force for change.

"Is It Now a Crime to Be Poor?"

Fire Is Born — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 11:33:09 EDT

No verbal comment. FIB

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August 9, 2009

Op-Ed Contributor

Is It Now a Crime to Be Poor?

By BARBARA EHRENREICH

IT’S too bad so many people are falling into poverty at a time when it’s almost illegal to be poor. You won’t be arrested for shopping in a Dollar Store, but if you are truly, deeply, in-the-streets poor, you’re well advised not to engage in any of the biological necessities of life — like sitting, sleeping, lying down or loitering. City officials boast that there is nothing discriminatory about the ordinances that afflict the destitute, most of which go back to the dawn of gentrification in the ’80s and ’90s. “If you’re lying on a sidewalk, whether you’re homeless or a millionaire, you’re in violation of the ordinance,” a city attorney in St. Petersburg, Fla., said in June, echoing Anatole France’s immortal observation that “the law, in its majestic equality, forbids the rich as well as the poor to sleep under bridges.”

In defiance of all reason and compassion, the criminalization of poverty has actually been intensifying as the recession generates ever more poverty. So concludes a new study from the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, which found that the number of ordinances against the publicly poor has been rising since 2006, along with ticketing and arrests for more “neutral” infractions like jaywalking, littering or carrying an open container of alcohol.

The report lists America’s 10 “meanest” cities — the largest of which are Honolulu, Los Angeles and San Francisco — but new contestants are springing up every day. The City Council in Grand Junction, Colo., has been considering a ban on begging, and at the end of June, Tempe, Ariz., carried out a four-day crackdown on the indigent. How do you know when someone is indigent? As a Las Vegas statute puts it, “An indigent person is a person whom a reasonable ordinary person would believe to be entitled to apply for or receive” public assistance.

That could be me before the blow-drying and eyeliner, and it’s definitely Al Szekely at any time of day. A grizzled 62-year-old, he inhabits a wheelchair and is often found on G Street in Washington — the city that is ultimately responsible for the bullet he took in the spine in Fu Bai, Vietnam, in 1972. He had been enjoying the luxury of an indoor bed until last December, when the police swept through the shelter in the middle of the night looking for men with outstanding warrants.

It turned out that Mr. Szekely, who is an ordained minister and does not drink, do drugs or curse in front of ladies, did indeed have a warrant — for not appearing in court to face a charge of “criminal trespassing” (for sleeping on a sidewalk in a Washington suburb). So he was dragged out of the shelter and put in jail. “Can you imagine?” asked Eric Sheptock, the homeless advocate (himself a shelter resident) who introduced me to Mr. Szekely. “They arrested a homeless man in a shelter for being homeless.”

The viciousness of the official animus toward the indigent can be breathtaking. A few years ago, a group called Food Not Bombs started handing out free vegan food to hungry people in public parks around the nation. A number of cities, led by Las Vegas, passed ordinances forbidding the sharing of food with the indigent in public places, and several members of the group were arrested. A federal judge just overturned the anti-sharing law in Orlando, Fla., but the city is appealing. And now Middletown, Conn., is cracking down on food sharing.

If poverty tends to criminalize people, it is also true that criminalization inexorably impoverishes them. Scott Lovell, another homeless man I interviewed in Washington, earned his record by committing a significant crime — by participating in the armed robbery of a steakhouse when he was 15. Although Mr. Lovell dresses and speaks more like a summer tourist from Ohio than a felon, his criminal record has made it extremely difficult for him to find a job.

For Al Szekely, the arrest for trespassing meant a further descent down the circles of hell. While in jail, he lost his slot in the shelter and now sleeps outside the Verizon Center sports arena, where the big problem, in addition to the security guards, is mosquitoes. His stick-thin arms are covered with pink crusty sores, which he treats with a regimen of frantic scratching.

For the not-yet-homeless, there are two main paths to criminalization — one involving debt, and the other skin color. Anyone of any color or pre-recession financial status can fall into debt, and although we pride ourselves on the abolition of debtors’ prison, in at least one state, Texas, people who can’t afford to pay their traffic fines may be made to “sit out their tickets” in jail.

Often the path to legal trouble begins when one of your creditors has a court issue a summons for you, which you fail to honor for one reason or another. (Maybe your address has changed or you never received it.) Now you’re in contempt of court. Or suppose you miss a payment and, before you realize it, your car insurance lapses; then you’re stopped for something like a broken headlight. Depending on the state, you may have your car impounded or face a steep fine — again, exposing you to a possible summons. “There’s just no end to it once the cycle starts,” said Robert Solomon of Yale Law School. “It just keeps accelerating.”

By far the most reliable way to be criminalized by poverty is to have the wrong-color skin. Indignation runs high when a celebrity professor encounters racial profiling, but for decades whole communities have been effectively “profiled” for the suspicious combination of being both dark-skinned and poor, thanks to the “broken windows” or “zero tolerance” theory of policing popularized by Rudy Giuliani, when he was mayor of New York City, and his police chief William Bratton.

Flick a cigarette in a heavily patrolled community of color and you’re littering; wear the wrong color T-shirt and you’re displaying gang allegiance. Just strolling around in a dodgy neighborhood can mark you as a potential suspect, according to “Let’s Get Free: A Hip-Hop Theory of Justice,” an eye-opening new book by Paul Butler, a former federal prosecutor in Washington. If you seem at all evasive, which I suppose is like looking “overly anxious” in an airport, Mr. Butler writes, the police “can force you to stop just to investigate why you don’t want to talk to them.” And don’t get grumpy about it or you could be “resisting arrest.”

There’s no minimum age for being sucked into what the Children’s Defense Fund calls “the cradle-to-prison pipeline.” In New York City, a teenager caught in public housing without an ID — say, while visiting a friend or relative — can be charged with criminal trespassing and wind up in juvenile detention, Mishi Faruqee, the director of youth justice programs for the Children’s Defense Fund of New York, told me. In just the past few months, a growing number of cities have taken to ticketing and sometimes handcuffing teenagers found on the streets during school hours.

In Los Angeles, the fine for truancy is $250; in Dallas, it can be as much as $500 — crushing amounts for people living near the poverty level. According to the Los Angeles Bus Riders Union, an advocacy group, 12,000 students were ticketed for truancy in 2008.

Why does the Bus Riders Union care? Because it estimates that 80 percent of the “truants,” especially those who are black or Latino, are merely late for school, thanks to the way that over-filled buses whiz by them without stopping. I met people in Los Angeles who told me they keep their children home if there’s the slightest chance of their being late. It’s an ingenious anti-truancy policy that discourages parents from sending their youngsters to school.

The pattern is to curtail financing for services that might help the poor while ramping up law enforcement: starve school and public transportation budgets, then make truancy illegal. Shut down public housing, then make it a crime to be homeless. Be sure to harass street vendors when there are few other opportunities for employment. The experience of the poor, and especially poor minorities, comes to resemble that of a rat in a cage scrambling to avoid erratically administered electric shocks.

And if you should make the mistake of trying to escape via a brief marijuana-induced high, it’s “gotcha” all over again, because that of course is illegal too. One result is our staggering level of incarceration, the highest in the world. Today the same number of Americans — 2.3 million — reside in prison as in public housing.

Meanwhile, the public housing that remains has become ever more prisonlike, with residents subjected to drug testing and random police sweeps. The safety net, or what’s left of it, has been transformed into a dragnet.

Some of the community organizers I’ve talked to around the country think they know why “zero tolerance” policing has ratcheted up since the recession began. Leonardo Vilchis of the Union de Vecinos, a community organization in Los Angeles, suspects that “poor people have become a source of revenue” for recession-starved cities, and that the police can always find a violation leading to a fine. If so, this is a singularly demented fund-raising strategy. At a Congressional hearing in June, the president of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers testified about the pervasive “overcriminalization of crimes that are not a risk to public safety,” like sleeping in a cardboard box or jumping turnstiles, which leads to expensively clogged courts and prisons.

A Pew Center study released in March found states spending a record $51.7 billion on corrections, an amount that the center judged, with an excess of moderation, to be “too much.”

But will it be enough — the collision of rising prison populations that we can’t afford and the criminalization of poverty — to force us to break the mad cycle of poverty and punishment? With the number of people in poverty increasing (some estimates suggest it’s up to 45 million to 50 million, from 37 million in 2007) several states are beginning to ease up on the criminalization of poverty — for example, by sending drug offenders to treatment rather than jail, shortening probation and reducing the number of people locked up for technical violations like missed court appointments. But others are tightening the screws: not only increasing the number of “crimes” but also charging prisoners for their room and board — assuring that they’ll be released with potentially criminalizing levels of debt.

Maybe we can’t afford the measures that would begin to alleviate America’s growing poverty — affordable housing, good schools, reliable public transportation and so forth. I would argue otherwise, but for now I’d be content with a consensus that, if we can’t afford to truly help the poor, neither can we afford to go on tormenting them."

Barbara Ehrenreich is the author, most recently, of “This Land Is Their Land: Reports From a Divided Nation.”

“Should I Be Tested for Cancer? Maybe Not and Here’s Why.”

Fire Is Born — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 10:58:35 EDT

Dr. Welch's essay touches upon the uneasy grounds of our health business that I have known from my own experience. I am glad somebody elso wrote it first, and is a physician. FIB

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July 28, 2009

Essay

To Overhaul the System, ‘Health’ Needs Redefining

By H. GILBERT WELCH, M.D.

"The Canadians haven’t figured it out. Neither have the Japanese, the French or the British. No health care system has seriously grappled with the question most fundamental to its task: what constitutes health?

As the United States contemplates an overhaul of its system, maybe we should take a stab at it.

For years the question has been deferred to those with a financial interest in the answer — health professionals entwined with pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology firms, manufacturers of medical devices and diagnostic technologies, free-standing diagnostic centers, surgical centers, hospitals and academic medical centers — a group aptly labeled some 30 years ago by the editor of The New England Journal of Medicine as the “medical-industrial complex.”

It’s an industry that has learned a lot over those years. I know, because I’ve been part of it. And increasingly it has settled on a most convenient answer: health is the absence of abnormality.

In the past, people sought health care because they were sick. Now the medical-industrial complex seeks patients. It encourages those with minor symptoms to be evaluated and urges those who feel well to get “checked” — just to make sure nothing is wrong.

So, if health is the absence of abnormality, the only way to know you are healthy is to become a customer.

But healthy people aren’t great customers; they’re like the people who pay off their entire credit card balance each month. The money is in those in whom an abnormality can be found.

The medical-industrial complex has made that relatively easy to do.

It develops diagnostic technologies able to find smaller and smaller abnormalities. So more and more of us are found to have damaged cartilage in our knees, bulging discs in our backs, and narrowed blood vessels throughout our bodies. And far too many are also found to have “spots” or “shadows” that are seldom significant but are said to be “worrisome.” So more and more of us have knee surgery, back surgery, angioplasty and more diagnostic investigation.

And the medical-industrial complex has another way to find more abnormalities: it simply narrows the definition of normal. Take blood pressure. In the past, relatively few were said to have abnormal blood pressure. Now a normal blood pressure is said to be below 120/80. This means that well over half the adult population of the United States is abnormal. The same is true for cholesterol. And although it involves a smaller portion of the population, narrower definitions of normal are expanding the number of people said to have diabetes and osteoporosis. So more and more of us are treated for these conditions.

Finding more abnormalities has been a great strategy for our industry. But it has been a disaster for health-care costs.

Some believe that finding more abnormalities is the right strategy to improve the nation’s health, but how much it reduces death and disability is open to debate. The new abnormalities being found are generally not severe, but mild: they are not life-threatening, and in many patients they won’t ever produce symptoms. When the benefit of treatment is known, it is known to be small — so small that many people, sometimes hundreds, must be treated for one person to benefit. But more often than not, the value of treating these mild abnormalities is simply not known.

What is known is that others are invariably harmed in the process. Admittedly, the harms are often mild — lightheadedness or fainting from too much blood pressure medication, for example. But occasionally they are more severe, even fatal; last year, for instance, a major study of intensive diabetes treatment was stopped because it caused more deaths.

But while these harms are rare, so are the benefits— if they exist at all. Nevertheless, the medical-industrial complex has systematically exaggerated the benefits and minimized or ignored the harms. The reality is more nuanced: whether a strategy does more good than harm is often a much closer call than is ever advertised.

And then there is a larger question. How does “absence of abnormality” affect our perception of health? This construct is both too narrow and too broad. It’s too narrow because there is more to being healthy than striving to avoid death and disease. Health is more than a physical state of being; it’s also a state of mind.

And it’s too broad because all of us harbor abnormalities. The construct drives the system to look for things to be wrong — a search that will be successful in most of us. We then feel more vulnerable. This induced vulnerability undermines the very sense of well-being and resilience that in many ways defines health itself. Viewing health as the absence of abnormality thus conflicts with the desire for a healthier society.

Furthermore, the strategy has created a host of other problems: doctors who are overwhelmed by the number of ailments their patients allegedly have (and who are often distracted from the most important ones); doctors in training who are increasingly confused about who is really sick and who is not; lawyers who increasingly have a field day with the charge of “failure to diagnose”; patients who get too much treatment or lose health insurance because they been given a new diagnosis; and a frazzled, fearful public adrift in a culture of disease. Oh, and did I mention that it has been a disaster for health-care costs?

If you are one of the millions of Americans adversely affected by the unrelenting growth of health costs — an employer that can’t afford insurance or a patient who can’t afford prescription drugs or can’t find insurance at all — you have to take back responsibility for deciding what health really means, not surrender that decision to “experts” with strong financial incentives.

And even if you are one of the few who doesn’t need to worry about money, you still need to take back this responsibility. Your health may depend on it."

H. Gilbert Welch, a professor of medicine at the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice in Hanover, N.H., is the author of “Should I Be Tested for Cancer? Maybe Not and Here’s Why.”

Food for your thought: Why Don't We Globalize Health Care?

Fire Is Born — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 22:34:44 EDT

Since I have been on the move this last decade I have done a lot of medical tourism - in Poland, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. Very helpful, as I was without insurance in this country for a good couple of years. I could not efford to buy COBRA - and Keiser did not want to give it to me in the first place. And I was in a "Let's go!" mood again. Why not globalization? Business is business, after all. FIB

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Why Don't We Globalize Health Care?

By DEAN BAKER

With the rising cost of healthcare now atop the national agenda, one theme rings like a frustrating refrain: healthcare is special, so the tools we use to fix normal economic problems don’t apply. What good is mass production in confronting the complexities of the body? How can cost-benefit analysis grasp the unfixable value of a human life?

There is at least one tenet of modern economic policy, however, that we are excluding from the healthcare debate at our peril: globalization.

It may seem bizarre to suggest that globalization could somehow improve healthcare. After all, the practice of medicine is not only deeply individual, but tightly tied to time and place. Apart from possibly buying drugs from Canada, most people have probably never given any thought to the idea that globalization could have a meaningful impact on healthcare in the United States. But globalization, carefully applied, could reduce costs in the short term and create pressure for the bigger changes our system desperately needs.

There are clear ways to take advantage of lower costs in other countries, making our own system more affordable without diminishing the quality. We could allow more foreign-born doctors to work in the United States, for instance. We could encourage the “medical tourism” that allows Americans to have major procedures performed in other countries, and we could permit Medicare beneficiaries to buy into the lower-cost healthcare systems of other wealthy countries.

From Quinnipac: There is still strong support for critical elements of the Obama/Democratic plan

Fire Is Born — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 21:40:57 EDT

"There is still strong support for critical elements of the Obama/Democratic plan:

* 62 - 32 percent in favor of giving people the option of a government insurance plan;

* 61 - 36 percent for higher taxes on high income earners to pay for health care reform;

* 60 - 32 percent in favor of insurance subsidies for individuals making up to $43,000 and families of four making up to $88,000;

* 54 - 38 percent for requiring businesses to provide insurance or pay the government.

Voters oppose 68 - 26 percent requiring people to have health insurance or pay a fine and oppose 68 - 27 percent taxing employees for health care benefits from employers. Independent voters, perhaps the key voting group, are more worried about the deficit rising than congressional inaction, 54 - 37 percent. These voters say 59 - 36 percent that overhaul should not occur if it would "significantly" increase the deficit. Independents oppose 63 - 33 percent passing a bill with only Democratic votes."

Big Oil moves into Peruvian Amazon

Fire Is Born — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 17:41:48 EDT

Weeks after bloodshed, American oil moves into Peruvian Amazon, putting rainforest, possible archeological site at risk

(08/03/2009) "Barely six weeks after a dozen Amazon natives were gunned down by the Peruvian Army in the oil town of Bagua for protesting the cozy relationship between Big Oil and the government of President Alan Garcia, I find myself on the banks of the Mother of God River in Salvacion, Peru, wondering if all those folks died in vain. Any day now, the bulldozers will be moving in as Texas-based Hunt Oil Company – with the full go-ahead of the Peruvian government -- fires its first salvo in its assault against the million-acre pristine rainforest wilderness of the little-known and largely unexplored Amarakaeri Communal Reserve."

Unions To Take On Conservative Groups Health Care Town Halls

Fire Is Born — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 15:22:42 EDT

huffingtonposthttp://bit.ly/VZVd2 - Unions To Take On Conservative Groups Health Care Town Hallsabout 3 hours ago from API

HealthCare and the ARTS!

Eleanor — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 18:48:08 EDT

This past weekend wes off the HOOK! The Fremont Festival of the Arts is the premier event in this area for wine tasting, food, artwork, crafts and all those things that good health lets us enjoy to the max. True to the good nature of the people of the Bay Area, our message of HealthCare Reform was embraced by the festivalgoers. We chose a low-profile but effective approach: balancing festival wineglasses for declaration signers and encouraging the beer drinkers to bring their friends to the table!

Over 1500 of the 130,000 attendees talked with us, took our four-color flyers featuring the president himself, and promised to stay alert on this important issue. Many thanked us for volunteering while others partied, and at least 175 gave us a written declaration, healthcare story, or signed a postcard indicating their support of the president's three principles.

Here's to your health!

U.S. Can Do More For Honduras

Fire Is Born — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 12:09:14 EDT

As predicted, Barbara Lee D-CA had already signed the letter. I have this telepathic Rep.

How about yours? fib

ps. Honduras needs your opinion! Put your e-pen where your mind and heart is.

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U.S. Can Do More For Honduras

Rep. Grijalva is asking fellow members of Congress to sign a letter to President Obama urging him to increase the pressure on the coup regime in Honduras.

Ask your Representative to sign Rep. Grijalva's letter »

Action Spotlight

Urge Your Rep to Sign Grijalva Letter for More US Pressure on Coup Regime in Honduras

Talks between President Zelaya and the coup regime in Honduras broke down over the coup regime's refusal to accept the international demand for President Zelaya's return. The U.S. has so far failed to sufficiently pressure the coup regime.

Rep. Raul Grijalva is circulating a letter to President Obama, calling on him to denounce the repression in Honduras by the coup regime, and to freeze U.S. assets and suspend U.S. visas of coup leaders. Signers of the letter include Reps. McGovern, Conyers, and Serrano.

Urge your Representative to sign the Grijalva letter calling for more U.S. pressure on the coup regime.

57 progressive leaders stood up for a real public health insurance option. Sign the card to say thanks!

Fire Is Born — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 11:11:59 EDT

I have just thanked my Rep. Barbara Lee, CA. She is precious to have. I don't even have to call her. She knows what people want. fib

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57 progressive leaders stood up for a real public health insurance option. Sign the card to say thanks!

Lynn Woolsey, Raul Grijalva, Carolyn Kilpatrick, Jerry Nadler, Phil Hare, Lucille Roybal-Allard, Keith Ellison, Earl Blumenauer, Mel Watt, Donna Edwards, John Olver, Dennis Kucinich, Laura Richardson, Maxine Waters, John Conyers, Judy Chu, Maurice Hinchey, Hank Johnson, Diane Watson, Jackie Speier, Bill Pascrell, Lloyd Doggett, Marcy Kaptur, Mazie Hirono, Bob Filner, Linda Sanchez, Marcia Fudge, Barbara Lee, Andre Carson, Sheila Jackson Lee, Michael Honda, Jim McDermott, William Lacy Clay, Jim McGovern, Yvette Clarke, Eric Massa, Chellie Pingree, Jesse Jackson, Jr., Elijah Cummings, Bennie Thompson, Gwen Moore, Donald Payne, Fortney "Pete" Stark, Ed Towns, Corrine Brown, Alcee Hastings, Nydia Valezquez, Luis Gutierrez, Grace Napolitano, Albio Sires, John Tierney, Mike Capuano, Chaka Fattah, Jose Serrano, Sam Farr, Bill Delahunt, and Eddie Bernice Johnson.

Single Payer Gets A Vote!!

Fire Is Born — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 02:02:53 EDT

Single Payer Gets A Vote (Updated)

July 31, 2009

"Anthony Weiner is about to be the new hero of the progressive crowd after getting a promise from Nancy Pelosi to debate — and vote — on a single-payer plan to solve health care reform.

Weiner got that promise after he agreed to withdraw an amendment to essentially create Medicare for the whole nation in the Energy and Commerce Committee health care markup session this evening.

The Brooklyn-Queens Rep. looked a little surprised when Chairman Henry Waxman said Pelosi would allow that vote, and made Waxman repeat the deal to be sure it was clear and on the record.

It’s an especially big deal for advocates of a single health care system — who see it as cheaper and simpler than the complicated measure being drawn up — because they have been complaining that they have not even been able to get an airing of their position.

And having the vote of the floor of the House will force members to declare a position, and bring much more attention to the idea.

Update: Weiner, who high-fived Tammy Baldwin after getting the deal, crows in a quick press release:

“It’s a Better Plan and now it’s on Center Stage,” says Weiner

Washington, DC - Congressman Henry Waxman (D-CA), Chairman of the Energy & Commerce Committee announced today that Speaker Nancy Pelosi has pledged to give Single-Payer an up or down vote when healthcare reform is considered before year’s end.

Congressman Anthony Weiner (D-NY), Co-Chair of the Middle Class Caucus and member of the Energy & Commerce Committee who led the effort with Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI); Rep. Mike Doyle (D-PA); Rep. Elliot Engel (D-NY); Rep. Rep. Bobby Rush (D-IL); Rep. Janice Schakowsky (D-IL); and Rep. Peter Welch (D-VT), released the following statement:

“Single-payer is a better plan and now it is on center stage. Americans have a clear choice. Their Member of Congress will have a simpler, less expensive and smarter bill to choose. I am thrilled that the Speaker is giving us that choice.”

- Michael McAuliff"

from my friend Kiki: Time to get FIRED UP about Health Care Reform

Fire Is Born — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 16:52:47 EDT

Sender: Cactus Wren from Tucson
Subject: Time to get FIRED UP about Health Care Reform
Received: 7/28/09 12:59PM EDT

It is a critical time for all of us who voted for change in the country...no matter how discouraged or frustrated you may be, activism is what works. Go to your mybarackobama and sign the pledge to support healthcare, contribute any amount you can to counter the Rs planned million dollar anti health care reform media blitz planned for August.

We can't lose the Public Option!

Use the Women's Law Center (https://secure2.convio.net/...) site to write to your representatives, and get everyone you know back in gear.

This is what we voted for, campaigned for and worked for so hard. Obama can't get this done without us! We can do this if we all come together.

Still working, praying, believing in change - Kiki A.

Please sign the letter on health care to senators!

Fire Is Born — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 16:42:28 EDT

I like the ad too. fib

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http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/o/5649/t/4772/content.jsp?content_KEY=2697&tag=pob_pob_tw1

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Senators,

Some of your colleagues, such as Ben Nelson, are delaying action on President Obama's public health insurance option -- which would force private insurers to compete and lower health care costs for your constituents.

This is the latest tactic from an insurance industry that fears competition: Stop reform by stalling it. Kill momentum at all costs.

While 76% of Americans support the public option, sitting Democratic Senators have received $80 million from the health and insurance interests that oppose it.

Senators, which side will you choose? If you side with your constituents, don't delay reform. Keep working until the public option is passed.

We can't afford to wait.

Sincerely,

Crucial vote on single-payer Medicare for All ( H.R.676 ) today!

Fire Is Born — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 14:49:19 EDT

crucial vote on single-payer Medicare for All ( H.R.676 ) - please call

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One week ago, we eagerly anticipated a crucial vote on single-payer Medicare for All ( H.R.676 ) in the House Energy & Commerce Committee, sponsored by Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY). But then seven BlueDogs waged a highly-publicized war against a "robust public option" and the vote was delayed for a full week.

We just learned the vote will be tomorrow ( Friday ). Based on all of your calls, we have nine single-payer Democrats: Tammy Baldwin, Michael Doyle, Eliot Engel, Anna Eshoo, Gene Green, Edward Markey, Janice Schakowsky, Anthony Weiner, and Peter Welch.

Lean Yes
Diana DeGette CO01 202-225-4431
Jane Harman CA36 202-225-8220
Christopher Murphy CT05 202-225-4476
Frank Pallone NJ06 202-225-4671 @FrankPallone
Bobby Rush IL01 202-225-4372 Five more Democrats are leaning single-payer but still uncommitted. Please call each one and give them one crucial reason to support single-payer from our petition:
http://www.democrats.com/single-payer-petition?cid=ZGVtczU0MTkyNWRlbXM=
(Be sure to sign our petition and forward it if you haven't already.)

Be concise and practice in advance so you can speak quickly (or leave a voicemail) because they are getting swamped. Report the results of your calls here:
http://www.democrats.com/single-payer-committee-whip

Public Option Only (or Won't Say)
Rick Boucher VA09 202-225-3861
Bruce Braley IA01 202-225-2911
G.K. Butterfield NC01 202-225-3101
Lois Capps CA23 202-225-3601
Kathy Castor FL11 202-225-3376
John Dingell MI15 202-225-4071
Charles Gonzalez TX20 202-225-3236
Jay Inslee WA01 202-225-6311 @RepInsleeNews
Doris Matsui CA05 202-225-7163
Jerry McNerney CA11 202-225-1947
John Sarbanes MD03 202-225-4016
Bart Stupak MI01 202-225-4735
Betty Sutton OH13 202-225-3401
Henry Waxman (Chair) CA30 202-225-3976 If you have more time, these 14 Democrats support a "public option" at best. But that "public option" (a new government program to compete with private insurance) was disastrously weakened this week by the BlueDogs. They banned the use of Medicare pricing to reduce costs and thereby expand availability. Try to persuade these 14 to vote for single-payer instead of a worthless BlueDog "public option."

Don't let anyone tell you single-payer can't pass: the Kucinich Amendment for a single-payer "state option" passed by a shocking 25-19 bi-partisan majority in the House Education and Labor Committee on July 17. The Weiner Amendment will pass on Friday if enough Democrats vote for it!

A victory on the Weiner Amendment would make a huge difference. Please call as soon as you get this - night or day.

Thanks for all you do!

Bob Fertik

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Going Public on HealthCare Reform

Eleanor — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 19:28:51 EDT

This past week has been unbelievable! The Oakland Tribune covered our Moss Park event, and my story was told here:

http://www.insidebayarea.com/news/ci_12901657

I was concerned before, but I'm dead serious now. My name, age and definite uninsurability are now out in the public space.

Who would hire me now?

How can we get this done?

The other side of the story is told here, with the Answers provided by my business colleagues on LinkedIn. I was invited to a Council of Economic Advisors webinar based on this report:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/cea/Health-Care-Reform-and-Small-Businesses/

and these are the comments of the other participants:

http://www.linkedin.com/answers/government-non-profit/government-policy/GOV_GPO/517881-50174439

The issue, in my opinion, has spilled over from healthcare to civil rights. Work with me; let's form a group of like-minded professionals to 'link in' the business community (especially the small business community) to the need for serious healthcare reform.

Fundraising for Health Care Reform

Carolyn Jones — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 15:42:53 EDT

Please see the fundraiser on our groups site and contribute any amount you are able to towards change, not just for Health Care but for the Economy and Energy and for a Better America

Carolyn Jones

Military in Honduras Backs San Jose Accord

Fire Is Born — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 02:14:41 EDT

July 26, 2009 Military in Honduras Backs Plan on Zelaya By GINGER THOMPSON and BLAKE SCHMIDT

WASHINGTON — The Honduran armed forces issued a communiqué on Saturday indicating that they would not stand in the way of an agreement to return Manuel Zelaya, the country’s ousted president, to power.

Meanwhile, in Las Manos, a town along the border between Nicaragua and Honduras, Mr. Zelaya made his second symbolic appearance in two days, defying calls from foreign leaders to avoid any moves that might provoke violence in his politically polarized country.

The communiqué was drafted in Washington after days of talks between mid-level Honduran officers and American Congressional aides. Posted on the Honduran Armed Forces Web site, it endorsed the so-called San José Accord that was forged in Costa Rica by delegates representing President Zelaya and the man who heads the de facto Honduran government, Roberto Micheletti.

The accord, supported by most governments in the hemisphere, would allow Mr. Zelaya to return as president, although with significantly limited executive powers. Mr. Micheletti has steadfastly rejected Mr. Zelaya’s return as president.

In its communiqué, the Honduran military added its support to the proposal. Officials involved said it was meant to dispel any perceptions that the military would block civilian efforts to resolve the crisis.

The officials said the military communiqué was significant because it was the first sign of support for the San José Accord by a powerful sector of the de facto government. And the officials said it could make it more difficult for the Honduran Congress and Supreme Court to reject the accord when they consider it.

American officials who met here with the Hondurans said that they were two colonels who were concerned about the tensions generated by the political conflict.

Joy Olson, executive director of the Washington Office on Latin America, a nonprofit human rights group, said she was told that the officers were showing Congressional aides a recording of the day Mr. Zelaya was detained, as evidence that no abuses had been committed against him.

In the meantime, however, thousands of troops had been deployed to tighten security along the border to prevent Mr. Zelaya from returning. And thousands of his supporters defied government curfews and military roadblocks, by abandoning their cars and hiking for hours to reach the remote border post to see him.

Mr. Zelaya vowed to try a third time to re-enter Honduras. "We are ready to take this to its final consequences," he told his supporters. "We are not afraid.”

Ginger Thompson reported from Washington, and Blake Schmidt from Las Manos, Nicaragua.

I liked this comment on Bill Moyers interview with Trudy Lieberman and Marcia Angell on the health care reform

Fire Is Born — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 20:00:19 EDT

"If you don't believe Moyers and my conclusion that Single Payer is the only way to fix our problems, then read "Why must health reform be isolationist?" at Slate.com and then watch PBS's "Sick Around the World." After that, maybe we can get some sanity in the debate.

Some say ours is the best system in the world. It isn't, we rank 37th in the world.

Taiwan looked & rejected our system: "American health care is not really a system at all. It's a market. In a market, people with money can buy what they want & many people are left out. So we thought, no, we don't want market-driven health care. We want a real system, something that covers everybody & doesn't depend on how much money you have. "

Over 50% of bankruptcies & many foreclosures are caused because of health care.

Art Finley, a West Virginian & TV & radio host living in Vancouver, writes:

"I'm 82, & in excellent health. It costs me all of $57 a month for health care, & it's excellent. I'm so tired of all the lies & b.s. I hear about the system up here in the U.S. media. I now have 20/20 vision thanks to Canadian eye doctors. & I haven't had to wait for my surgeries, either. I read a Canadian Doctor's Wall Street Journal op-ed that said 'Everyone in Canada is covered by a single payer -- the government. But Canadians wait for practically any procedure or diagnostic test or specialist consultation in the public system.' That's sheer b.s."

Posted by: Gregory Mann | July 25, 2009 11:14 AM

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I also liked the idea of Maria Angell to introduce the truly universal program incrementally, and start with expanding the Medicare on everyone above fifty five. Well, that would cover me fore sure. I also remember that until I was fifty I often did not know if was insured or not. At 48 my private insurance lowered my premium! because i made no use of the plan. What happened between 50 and 55 is another story, that would fall in the comments to James's post today, but I will tell it another time. I am afraid I get upset and will get migraine (never heard of them before 50, unless badly hangovered).

And I believe in Bill Moyers.fib

Thursday, July 23, 2009 by CommonDreams.org Spinning Healthcare: A Bad Case of Vertigo by Norman Solomon

Fire Is Born — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 16:48:59 EDT

"(...)

Media accounts keep telling us that the current political debate on healthcare is unprecedented and groundbreaking. But an article in the latest edition of the Columbia Journalism Review, by seasoned healthcare reporter Trudy Lieberman, makes a convincing case that little has changed within the frames of media parameters.

The press "has mostly passed along the pronouncements of politicians and the major stakeholders who have the most to lose from wholesale reform," Lieberman writes. "By not challenging the status quo, the press has so far foreclosed a vibrant discussion of the full range of options, and also has not dug deeply into the few that are being discussed, thereby leaving citizens largely uninformed about an issue that will affect us all."

What we're seeing now is a slightly freshened version of a timeworn tap dance that ranges across a constricted media stage. As Lieberman notes: "Absent from the debate are not only single-payer systems like the ones in England and Canada, but other systems with multiple payers, like ones in Germany and Japan -- or, for that matter, any discussion of why a system that relies on competition among private insurers in The Netherlands hasn't resulted in lower prices for consumers, as advocates claimed."

The variety of healthcare delivery systems abroad, in industrialized countries, spans a common assumption -- healthcare as a human right -- an assumption that doesn't cut the mass-media mustard in the United States. "What's common to all these systems," Lieberman points out, "is that everyone is entitled to healthcare and pays taxes to support the system, and medical costs are controlled by limits on spending. The specter of a system that takes a significant bite out of stakeholder profits in the U.S. is the real reason the debate is so restricted."

As Trudy Lieberman puts it, "Reform efforts have danced around this impasse for decades."

That helps to explain why so much media coverage of healthcare reform proposals is apt to be so baffling to most readers, listeners and viewers. When the big elephant (or, if you will, donkey) in the national newsroom is dependent on the insurance, pharmaceutical and hospital industries for financing, there's a distinct shortage of candor about the consequences of such ongoing intrusions. Newsgathering, media debate -- and, of course, healthcare -- suffer the consequences.(...)"

War and peace through the bravest eyes

Fire Is Born — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 13:23:13 EDT

Natalia Estemirova on Chechnya

War and peace through the bravest eyes

Jul 23rd 2009

From The Economist print edition

The testimony of a murdered human-rights campaigner
EPA

IT WAS the kind of scene she had described many times. On July 15th at 8.30am, as she left her flat in Grozny, Natalia Estemirova was forced into a white Lada. She shouted that she was being kidnapped, but those who heard were too scared to report it. By the time her colleagues had found out, she was dead, murdered by three bullets in her chest and a control shot in the head.(...)

"Can communism reform itself?" - Leszek Kolakowski, 1927-2009.

Fire Is Born — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 23:10:05 EDT

Hitchens writes from my native city in my native country and it is tough not to be proud again. fib

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A Sense of Historical Irony

Leszek Kolakowski, 1927-2009.

By Christopher Hitchens

Posted Monday, July 20, 2009, at 12:26 PM ET

WROCLAW, Poland—It was distinctly eerie to learn of the death of professor Leszek Kolakowski just 15 minutes before entering a room in which I was to give a short lecture on his influence. But it was also rather inspiring to be in a country that made the passing of a public intellectual into the front-page headline of every national daily paper the following day.

Meet Russell Means

Fire Is Born — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 18:19:16 EDT

http://www.russellmeans.com/

Negociations in Costa Rica are continiung today, Sunday July 19

Fire Is Born — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 14:51:32 EDT

President Arias had proposed certain points of resolutions to be discussed. In the end, however, it will be the two Honduran delegations to give the final proposal of agreement. Arias said he feels that after yesterday's talks the parties became more flexible. In particular Arias hopes that the agreement will contain the clause that Zelaya would regain power as president but will form a cabinet of reconciliation and unity that would offer security to all Honduran people (“un Gabinete de unidad y reconciliación que le da seguridad al pueblo hondureño”).

The two Honduran parties arived yestarday at 10 a.m. And from the airport directly proceded to the house of Arias.

“The delegation of Manuel Zelaya has in it: Arístides Mejía, the ex-minister of Defense; Milton Jiménez, designated for the Vice-presidency and the ex-chancellor, as well as Enrique Flores Lanza, secretary of the Presidency.

The delegation of mister Roberto Micheletti constitutes of Carlos López, chancellor of the Republic; Arturo Corrales, the president of the Party of Unity and Change (Partido Innovación y Unidad - PINU); Mauricio Villeda, a candidate for the Vice-presidency of the Partido Liberal, and Vilma Cecilia Morales, the ex-president of the Supreme Court of Justice.”

Translation from La Prensa edition Costa Rica by fib

Pic from El Tiempo, Honduran edition:

Health Care Reform

Carolyn Jones — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 14:16:52 EDT

Health Care is desperately needed for all Americans; I do not feel we should insure the illegal immigrant, nor provide illegals with other governmental or state benefits. We cannot continue to ignore the fact that all tax payers are currently paying for everyone that is not insured (or in the country illegally) who is in need of medical treatment. While the uninsured do not go the primary care physicians, they do go to the emergency rooms across the country seeking medical treatment. Not only does this cause a financial burden on the hospital, but all taxpayers are contributing to the care and cost. The cost of providing treatment to the uninsured is 10 times more than providing care to the insured; For example I was hospitalized for 2 days, had surgery and the bill was over $48,000.00 and I only got to go to a room on the ward for 1 night! (I have Coverage, Thank God!) I spent 2 nights in Observation due to no rooms @ UCLA Ronald Reagan Hosp., who no longer has enough beds to accommodate the influx of patients.Hospitals no longer want to treat the uninsured and will refer patients to State run facilities, such as Harbor UCLA, or California Hospital, located in Los Angeles, CA.The Government has been involved in health care since Medicare and Medicaid was developed; we cannot "fear government involvement" We must welcome a "revamping of the system"Insurance companies have denied coverage for pre-existing conditions long enough! It doesn't matter how minor the condition is, nor your age they will deny coverage this is unreasonable, this must end!

Please Support Health Care Reform.

Carolyn Jones

...whatever works for peace!

Fire Is Born — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 19:55:44 EDT

(AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

Thu Jul 16, 7:19 PM ET Prev 1 of 168 Next

A supporter of Honduras' ousted President Manuel Zelaya, from the Garifuna Indian community, burns incense in a bucket near soldiers during a road blockade protest in Tegucigalpa, Thursday, July 16, 2009. The incense is believed to expel bad spirits.

(AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

El Niño arrives in the Pacific Ocean

Fire Is Born — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 01:28:57 EDT

Published online 15 July 2009 | Nature 460, 317 (2009) | doi:10.1038/460317c

News in Brief

El Niño arrives in the Pacific Ocean

US climate scientists last week announced the arrival of El Niño, a cyclical rise in sea-surface temperatures in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean. The event is known to influence fisheries and global weather patterns.

El Niños, which are associated with a weakening in the easterly trade wind, occur every two to five years and typically last for about a year. The current one is expected to continue developing over the next several months and to last through the winter, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Washington DC.

Previous El Niños have seen more rainfall over the central tropical Pacific, drought in Indonesia and powerful winter storms in California as well as flooding and mudslides in Central and South America. The phenomenon has also been linked to less hurricane activity in the Atlantic Ocean and additional winter precipitation in the arid southwestern United States.

Link to OAS.org Organization of American States

Fire Is Born — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 23:02:04 EDT

http://www.oas.org/newsclips/default.asp

2007 declaration of the major indigenous organizations in Honduras - why there is food shortage

Fire Is Born — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 17:54:15 EDT

These organizations totally support the return of Zelaya and condemn the coup. They were critical of certain policies of Zelaya in the past (however short his rule was), especially of his endorsement of the Plan Puebla Panama. However I record reading in the local press when in Honduras that Zelaya just have met with some indigenous leaders in June and promissed his support of their rights to land. The Garifuna leaders were also first to indicate certain rightist American organizations and individuals (Reich) as having hand in the coup, two days after the coup of June 28. OFRANEH found it also telling that the American Ambassador left the country the day prior to the coup.

fib

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DECLARATION FROM DURUGUBUTI

[transalated for RA by Rosalind Gil]

Garífuna, Lenca and Vía Campesina representatives have come together as part of the Foro de Biodiversidad: Territorio y Cultura (Forum on Biodiversity:
Lands and Culture) to declare that we honour the spirits of our ancestors who were massacred seventy years ago during the dictatorship of Tiburcio Crías and we declare that:

Faced with the offensive of the neo-liberal Plan Puebla-Panamá, a plan to reinforce neocolonialism amongst our peoples and to spread the powerful neo-liberal transport and maquila network, we raise our voices once again against the sacking of our lands and the breaking up of our social and political organizations; all of which is designed to expand the domination of the industrialized countries and their multi-national companies in Central America.

Destructive projects for so-called “integration and development” implemented by international financial organizations such as the FMI, BM, BID, USAID, UE, etc. are endangering the life and the cultures of our peoples. The “development” they put forth is based on economic profits that cause an imbalance to nature, which is an intimate part of our cosmology and from which many of us sustain ourselves.

The grave food shortage crisis in our country stems from a policy of agricultural production that is for export only. There is no existing plan for agricultural reform that guarantees a right to the land and to Food Sovereignty for Honduran campesinos.

The appropriation of biodiversity by the trans-nationals seriously endangers our survival. Biodiversity includes water, flora, and fauna, as well as our people’s traditional knowledge concerning conservation and rational use of resources.

The colonial policies put forth by Plan Puebla-Panamá are causing social conflicts that have led to repressive actions on the part of state security forces. These forces have adopted terror as a social-control strategy. The only ones who benefit from this strategy are the powerful elite, the transnational companies and financial organizations that put together the plan for economic domination.

Global warming and the need to satisfy the ferocious appetite of industry have grave consequences for the planet. Industry is responsible for climate change and is affecting us negatively in many ways.

Faced with the large number of totally asymmetrical Free Trade Agreements favouring a system based on exploitation and out of control consumerism that has caused the destruction of the planet:

WE DEMAND:

* Suspension of mega-projects in highly fragile ecological areas such as the Tigre and Patuca Dams (The MesoAmerican Biological Corridor), the Bahia de Tela where tourism is being developed and plans are in place to fill in the Laguna de Micos (RAMSAR 722). As well, efforts should be made to stop the destruction of many rivers and streams throughout the country.

* Immediate suspension of the existing Mining and Forestry law and of attempts to reform the law by trans-nationals and by members of the Congress who are being paid off. Immediate cancellation of the 300 mining concessions that have been granted (the equivalent of 30,000 square kilometers of the country). This will allow us to regain our national sovereignty, environmental balance, as well as respect for the land and cultural rights of the indigenous, black and campesino peoples of Honduras.

* Comprehensive agricultural reform, as well as a strategy for ensuring food supplies for the whole country. This strategy should respond to the needs of the people and not be designed to suit the needs of international financial organizations or the up and downs of the market.

* An indefinite moratorium on exploration and exploitation of hydrocarbons.
As well, a strategy should be developed and put in place to preserve energy.
The litigation process must, in the end, ensure that commitments to the Honduran people are kept. Our sovereignty and dignity must be put ahead of those of the trans-nationals and of the US Proconsul.

* Immediate ratification of the Cartagena Biosafety Protocol to stop the loss of our native seeds, especially corn seeds. Measures must be taken to save our native corn by identifying products made from genetically modified food. And in this way, with the reactivation of corn production, we will stop the massive importation of genetically modified seeds and cereals, and stop the importation and production of genetically modified varieties.

* Faced with global warming and the situation we have had to endure in Honduras since Hurricane Mitch, an increase in the intensity and number of storms, an increase in temperature and long periods of drought, we demand that a strategy be put in place for dealing with global warming and its effects on highly vulnerable areas such as the Caribbean coast, the southern area of the country, and in fact, the whole country.

* Rejection of the Ley Indigena (Indigenous Law) which was put together for the PAPIN-BID consortium and was created behind the backs of the indigenous peoples, violating OIT 169, which, we insist, must be enforced, beginning with the amendment of the Property Law which tries to do away with communal property.

* Faced with the systematic repression that we have had to endure, we, the indigenous peoples, black people, campesinos and environmental activists demand total respect for the human rights of the Honduran people and we demand that criminals be brought to justice.

Despite the on-going aggressions against our people, we are committed to intensifying our resistance. We will continue organizing, spreading information and training, as well as seeking ways of constructing a just and equitable society.

With the spirit of those who were massacred in Durgubuti, Talanquera, Astillero, Horcones and the spirits of Lempira, Etempica, Iselaca, Mota, Barauda and Satuye, we will continue our struggle with dignity.

San Juan Tela, Durugubuti
March 18, 2007.

OFRANEH (Honduran Black People’s Fraternal Organization) COPINH (The Civic Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of
Honduras)
Vía Campesina
Grito de los Excluidos – Honduras

Brothers and Sisters, we invite you to join us by signing up at ofraneh@laceiba.com, copinhonduras@yahoo.es

http://www.rightsaction.org/urgent_com/Garifuna_Alert_042907.html

link to the official OFA blog of Christopher Hass:

Fire Is Born — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 14:08:02 EDT

This is the link to the official OFA blog of Christopher Hass:

http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/blog/obamaforamerica

Has the main Community blog been not accessible since May 26?

Let's regroup and continue our service. fib

When people are standing and police bullets killing - WE SHALL NEVER FORGET!

Fire Is Born — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 13:24:52 EDT

Thank you for the tears and the sunflowers, Obama Doug, my dear Friend!

fib

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PRESS RELEASE

N° 35/09

IACHR CONDEMNS ACTS OF VIOLENCE IN PERU

Washington, D.C., June 8, 2009—The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) strongly condemns the acts of violence that took place on June 5 in Bagua, in northern Peru, which have caused a number of deaths.

According to the information received, at least 30 people have died and others have been wounded, including indigenous leaders and members of the security forces, as a result of an operation by the National Police of Peru to break up a blockade that indigenous groups had maintained on the highway leading to the city of Bagua. The act of protest had been organized by indigenous peoples of the Peruvian Amazon region in response to legislative decrees affecting their property rights over their lands and territories. The Inter-American Commission reminds the State of its obligation to conduct a judicial inquiry into these acts of violence and repair the consequences.

The information received indicates that health centers in Bagua were not equipped to treat the large number of people injured. The IACHR calls on the Peruvian State to take the steps that are necessary to guarantee access to health care for all the injured.

The IACHR also calls on the parties to promote a process of dialogue to seek a solution that respects human rights. It is important to adopt mechanisms to prevent excessive use of force on the part of public agents in marches and protest demonstrations. As the IACHR has stated previously, “Criminalizing legitimate social mobilization and social protest, whether through direct repression of the demonstrators or through an investigation and criminal prosecution, is incompatible with a democratic society in which persons have the right to express their opinion.”

Finally, the IACHR has learned that on May 9 the government had declared a state of emergency. The Commission offers a reminder that Article 27 of the American Convention on Human Rights and Advisory Opinion 9/87 of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights specify the rights that cannot be suspended; these include, among others, the right to life, to physical integrity, and to the essential judicial guarantees necessary for these rights to be protected. In light of information received indicating that a number of people were arrested during the incidents with no report as to their identity or whereabouts, the IACHR calls on the Peruvian State to respect their right to physical integrity and to judicial guarantees.

A principal, autonomous body of the Organization of American States (OAS), the IACHR derives its mandate from the OAS Charter and the American Convention on Human Rights. The Inter-American Commission has the mandate to promote respect for human rights in the region and acts as a consultative body to the OAS in this matter. The Commission is composed of seven independent members who act in a personal capacity, without representing a particular country, and who are elected by the OAS General Assembly.

Useful Links

Read this press release in Spanish / Lea este comunicado de prensa en español

Press contact: María Isabel Rivero
Tel. (202) 458-3867
Cell: (202) 215-4142
E-mail: mrivero @oas.org

To subscribe to the IACHR press release mailing list, please type your e-mail address in this form.

From "Indian Country Today": Indigenous governor assassinated in Colombia

Fire Is Born — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 12:33:28 EDT

Our support for the Columbian government was forged in the eight years of Bush administration.

President Obama's administration should closely monitor all human rights abuses south of our border. Only then our south border will be safeand crime will stop "percolating"al Norte. fib

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Indian Country Today

Print this article

Indigenous governor assassinated in Colombia

Originally printed at http://www.indiancountrytoday.com/archive/48607197.html

"Indigenous Colombian leader Robert DeJesus Gaucheta was beaten to death by unidentified assailants near his home in the southwestern territory of Cauca May 18, several months after he and other officials had requested protection due to receiving numerous death threats.

Gaucheta was the vice governor of the Nasa Reservation of Honduras which extends more than 93,860 acres and includes approximately 7,000 Nasa people. His predecessor, Vice Governor Jose Goyes Santa Cruz, survived an assassination attempt June 8, 2008 in Gaucheta’s home town of Morales. Gaucheta was well-known for his leadership during the large scale national protests called the Minga, or commotion of the peoples in Colombia last year.

According to press statements sent by Vicente Otero, press liaison for the Regional Indigenous Council of Cauca, Gaucheta had long been a vocal critic of the government’s plans to hand over indigenous land to mining interests, and recently spoke out against attempts by unnamed groups to start growing illicit crops.

Sources in CRIC and in the National Indigenous Organization of Colombia reported that since December 2008, Gaucheta and other indigenous leaders had been receiving threats through text messages and phone calls, and they were attributing the threats to the “Black Eagles,” famous in Colombia for being ex-paramilitaries with ties to the drug trade. Otero said indigenous broadcasters, including Alfredo Campo of the “Our Stereo Voice of Morales” radio show, have been and continue to be threatened.

CRIC and other indigenous officials approached the Colombian Interior Ministry and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights about the threats in September 2008. IACHR also approached Colombian authorities to request protection for Gaucheta and 20 other indigenous leaders. According to all of the indigenous sources no protection plans were ever realized.

Indigenous and allied organizations throughout Colombia are renewing their calls for protection, focusing not only on the unsolved beating death of Gaucheta, but also the killing of indigenous resident Nilvany Cruz Zambrano who also lived in Morales. Zambrano was shot to death the day after Gaucheta’s funeral; indigenous sources reported that she was caught in the crossfire between national police and “illegal actors.”

“The Indigenous Regional Council of Cauca joins in the mourning by all indigenous communities of the death of the traditional indigenous leader, Robert DeJesus Gaucheta,” the release said. “…and reiterates its call to the national and international community on behalf of the indigenous communities of Agua Negra, Chimborazo and Honduras. … to urge the cessation of threats by paramilitary groups and to urge the Colombian government to stop avoiding its responsibility and provide sufficient guarantees that are needed to defend the lives and human rights of traditional indigenous authorities and their families, many of whom find themselves in a situation of forced displacement.”

Counting Zambrano’s murder, ONIC says 1,255 indigenous were killed by paramilitaries, drug traffickers and official forces since January 2002, although the Colombian government refuses to acknowledge that official forces have ever assassinated any of the victims. According to the official government tally, 40 indigenous were killed in 2007 and 66 in 2008."

Dying and indigenous: languages

Fire Is Born — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 01:53:24 EDT

SCIENCE MAY ONE DAY, NOT TOO SOON, BE ABLE TO CLONE AN EXTINCT BIRD FROM PLIABLE PRESERVED GENES IN A SPECIMEN.

NO EXTINCT LANGUAGE HAS SUCH A HOPE - IF THE DATA AND A SUFFICIENT DESCRIPTION ARE LACKING. THOUSANDS OF NATIVE AMERICAN LANGUAGES ARE ALREADY GONE FOREVER! WITHOUT TRACE, OR A RECORD OF A FEW WORDS. GONE WITH THEIR PEOPLE.

THE LANGUAGES STILL LIVING ARE SLOWLY GOING AWAY WITH EVERY ELDER PERSON WHO PASSES AWAY WITHOUT BEING RECORDED. I HAVE WITNESSED SUCH DEATHS AMONG THE GARIFUNA IN DIASPORA IN CENTRAL AMERICA'S CARIBBEAN COAST. THESE DEATHS ARE DOUBLY PAINFUL WITH LOSS.

LET'S MAKE THE WORLD AWARE THAT DYING HUMAN LANGUAGES DESERVE THE SAME AMOUNT OF COMPASSION, ADVOCACY AND FINANCIAL SUPPORT AS ALL THE ENDANGERED ANIMAL SPECIES WE ALL KNOW ABOUT. fib
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

http://www.colorlines.com/article.php?ID=545

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

"Having Their Say

By Kari Lydersen

Young marvels at the words that don’t have translations in English, like a word meaning “descending through forest to the sea.”

UNESCO lists almost 2,500 languages worldwide as “endangered,” meaning they are at risk of falling out of use and even disappearing as fluent native speakers die and younger generations fail to take up the language. A bulk of endangered languages are the tongues of indigenous groups who have been colonized or encroached upon by a dominant culture and forced or coerced to give up their native language. In the past, students were beaten for speaking their language in strict boarding schools in the United States and Australia. More recently in parts of the U.S. and countless other regions worldwide, people feel cultural and economic pressure to switch to the dominant language, seeing it as a means of opportunity and feeling a sense of shame in their indigenous identity.

But recent years have also seen a resurgence in the interest to preserve indigenous languages among academics, nongovernmental organizations and indigenous communities. In many cases, young people, who did not grow up speaking their native language, are now studying and embracing it as a way to understand and celebrate their heritage and connect with their elders.

Benjamin Young is a perfect example.(...)"

Dear Barbara Boxer: YOU'RE IT

Madama Ambi — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 15:41:33 EDT

Dear Senator Boxer:

I am a HUGE HUGE HUGE fan not only for your stance on issues impacting women and girls, but also because you're courageous and know how to handle your colleagues and the press with sechel! (I hope I've spelled that correctly.)

I used to live in the Bay Area but am now retired in Phoenix. I am a longtime feminist now getting very vocal in "cyberfeminism." Although there are many capable leaders in women's movement, none of them have the moxie you do, or the leverage. I'm writing to tell you that YOU'RE IT!

Yes, dear Senator, You Are It. You are the obvious person to step forward and speak for women when current events focus worldwide attention on issues that disproportionately affect women and girls. In my review of the landscape, there is no one else who can take the podium or the microphone or the spotlight and do it as skillfully, as eloquently, and as powerfully as you can.

I'm going to mount a campaign to put this idea out to online feminists, and I'll update you on where I'm posting and who else is weighing in on the issue. If you think that other members of Congress should take the podium with you, like Maxine Waters or another woman of color, I hope you will recruit them. If you think that there are men in Congress who should stand with you, please recruit them. Speak for women, Senator Boxer. You're it.

Health Care Reform

Carolyn Jones — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 12:03:54 EDT

The following link will allow everyone to Pledge Support for the President's Plan to Reform Health Care - Please Support

http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/health-care-action-center/

Too Much? Obama Tackles Health Care

Linnie Frank Bailey — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 15:38:45 EDT

Those who say the President is taking on too much, remind me of a group of parents from my kid's school a few years back. They complained that the third grade teachers were assigning too much homework because they expected the students to spend at least 20 minutes a night completing assigned work. Of course, these same parents were concerned with reading and math levels at the school, and some even suggested that foreign-born students were bringing the scores down!

There comes a time when you have to get your priorities straight! With my parents, 'too much homework' would have been an oxymoron! Homework came before all other activities and I was expected to complete it...even if I had to stay up late on occasion (of course, this was usually when I left some work to the last minute...I got punished a lot for this :)

Telling the Obama administration to not tackle our health care problem, is like telling a drowning man to stop trying to get his head above water!

Health care challenges are 'killing us' literally and figuratively. Every family is either struggling with this problem, will be struggling with this problem, or knows someone who is.

We can't afford to get sick, and the American economy can't afford for us to get sick... the way the health care industry currently operates.

Money being spent on escalating health care costs, can't be spent in retail establishments, at car dealerships, for college education, to pay mortgages and debt, to buy gas, ...or most importantly, SAVED!

Doing nothing and watching millions more Americans give up on trying to pay for health care, will only cost us more in the future as they show up at hospital emergency rooms.

I am wondering....who are these people opposing health care reform?

Surely not American families who can't afford rising premiums, deductibles, and co-pays.

Surely not employers who are also faced with escalating costs to insure workers.

Surely not the unemployed who are praying for a job before their COBRA runs out (if they can afford COBRA.)

And, surely not our aging boomers and seniors, some of whom have to choose between food and medicine.

Even with everything on his plate, President Obama has to reform health care to prevent an America full of sick and bankrupt citizens

Gov. of California and his Budget Cuts

Carolyn Jones — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 11:39:58 EDT

This post from the Gov. of California is his way of dealing with the Budget Crisis in California; this is his words on how to keep the rich rich and totally destroy the middle class, poor and disabled in California.

Governor Addresses Joint Session of Legislature Regarding State Budget 6/2/2009

Speaker Bass, Senate Leader Steinberg, Assemblyman Blakeslee, Senator Hollingsworth, my fellow Constitutional Officers and my fellow servants of the people:

Thank you for the gracious invitation to address you today and to address the people of California.

Today I want to talk to you about our financial crisis.

Three months ago, the members of this body came together set aside their ideological differences and did what they believed was best for California.

We solved $36 billion of a $42 billion deficit.

But as you know part of our budget agreement required us by law to go back to the people for approval right at the time the people wanted to send Sacramento a powerful message.

And that message was clear:

Do your job. Don't come to us with these complex issues. Live within your means. Get rid of the waste and inefficiencies. And don't raise taxes.

Now as I stand here today we are in the midst of the greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression.

In the past 18 months one-third of the world's wealth has vanished.

And because of that and because of California's outdated and volatile tax system, our revenues have dropped 27 percent from last year.

We are now back to the same level of revenues we had in 2003.

And when you adjust for inflation and population, we're back to the level of the late 90's.

Today, just three months after our February budget we once again face a $24 billion deficit.

California's day of reckoning is here.

In order to deal with our limited amount of money, I have proposed some dramatic changes in my May Revision.

Those spending cuts represent much more than the hard decisions necessary to balance our budget.

They represent a transformation of what services Sacramento can provide and how those services are delivered.

The immediate task before us is to cut spending to the money available.

And we have no time to waste.

The Controller has told us we have 14 days to act or California is at risk of running out of cash.

I have already used my executive authority to reduce the state's payroll.

And I have proposed the necessary cuts to the three largest areas of our budget: education, health care and prisons.

I know the consequences of these cuts are not just dollars.

I see the faces behind those dollars...I see the children whose teacher will be laid-off...

I see the Alzheimer's' patients losing some of their In-Home Support Services...

I see the firefighters and police officers who will lose their jobs.

People come up to me all the time, pleading, "Governor, please don't cut my program."

They tell me how the cuts will affect them and their loved ones.

I see the pain in their eyes and hear the fear in their voice.

It's an awful feeling. But we have no choice.

Our wallet is empty. Our bank is closed. Our credit is dried up.

I know for many of you, these will be the hardest votes you will ever make.

But the people sent us here to lead not only in times of prosperity but also in times of crisis.

We must make these cuts and live within our means, because what is the alternative.

If we don't act, the state will simply run out of money and go insolvent.

We are not Washington. We cannot print money. We cannot run up trillion-dollar deficits. We can only spend what we have.

That is the harsh but simple reality.

At the same time we cannot make this budget just about cuts.

There are also some great opportunities for structural reform. Winston Churchill said a pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity. An optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.

So let's use this crisis as an opportunity to make government more efficient and find innovative ways to stretch taxpayer dollars.

Can we find a way to provide these services at a lower cost?

For example, I have asked our State Board of Education to make textbooks available in digital formats.

We expect the first science and math books to be digital by this fall.

If we expand this to more textbooks, schools could save hundreds of millions of dollars a year.

That's hundreds of millions of dollars that could be used to hire teachers and reduce class sizes.

In so many areas of government there are opportunities like this for reform.

All we have to do is go out and seize them.

Spending on prisons has nearly doubled in the past five years.

We spend $49,000 per inmate, per year. The national average is $32,000. Other states have privately-run correctional facilities that operate at half the cost. Why can't we?

We must also restructure the relationship between state and local government.

We all hear from local officials about the heavy hand of Sacramento.

If we are providing fewer resources, we have an obligation to cut most of the strings and mandates, and to get out of the way.

Right now we are cutting billions of dollars from schools.

So shouldn't we give districts more freedom and flexibility and not tie their hands with strict rules like who is allowed to mow the lawn or fix the roof or do the plumbing?

I am also proposing once again to eliminate and consolidate more than a dozen state departments, boards and commissions.

These include the Waste Management Board, the Court Reporters Board, the Department of

Boating and Waterways and the Inspection and Maintenance Review Committee.

There is absolutely no reason to hold onto these redundant boards in this crisis.

We should not and I will not cut a dollar from education, a dollar from health care, a dollar from public safety, or a dollar from state parks without first cutting the Waste Management Board.

Every dollar we save from those boards and commissions is a dollar that can be used to help our most vulnerable citizens.

I am also proposing to sell off state property because Sacramento should not be in the real estate business, especially when we are in a fiscal crisis.

Now I know the money we receive for this property won't go directly to our General Fund.

It will go to pay off debt.

But that lowers our debt payments which does help our General Fund.

Everywhere I go, I hear stories about families selling off their boats and motorcycles to make ends meet. They have garage sales and yard sales.

They know that you don't keep a boat at the dock when you can't put food on the table.

All these proposals have been talked about for years, yet they never get done.

I remember in 2004, I talked about blowing up the boxes, and consolidating agencies....

But now we are in a crisis. We have run out of excuses. We have run out of time. And the people have run out of patience.

Earlier this year, we began consolidating all of our IT departments.

My proposal to consolidate all of our energy functions is in legislation before you right now.

So is a proposal to consolidate the departments that oversee financial institutions.

And I will soon send you legislation to merge our tax collection operations.

These are all actions that we can take on our own to save money and make government more efficient.

We don't have to bother the people.

We don't need permission from the federal government.

I know that Senator Steinberg is talking about reforming and restructuring relationships between state and local government.

Senator Hollingsworth and the Republicans have some great ideas about performance-based budgeting.

In July, we should receive the bipartisan recommendations from our Tax Modernization Commission.

This will be a tremendous opportunity to make our revenues more reliable and less volatile and help the state avoid the boom and bust budgets that have brought us here today.

Let's all work together to make it happen.

Now I don't expect every single one of these reforms to happen within the next 14 days.

But we can certainly get them done before this body adjourns for Summer Recess on July 17th.

Now there are other big reforms that I continue to believe strongly in like a spending cap and rainy day fund in order to further stabilize our revenues.

But I'm not going to talk about that today because those reforms require voter approval.

And as we learned a few weeks ago, the voters will never trust us on those issues until we show that we can do our jobs in this Capitol and make the tough decisions.

There is no doubt that the challenges before us are enormous.

They will test our will, our resolve and our leadership.

Many of the things I am proposing are despised by the special interests that rely on the status quo. And we are all familiar with the interest groups and their army of lobbyists.

But let's not forget, it is our job to lobby on behalf of the people and the great state of California.

In the coming days and weeks, the entire nation will be watching how we react and respond.

Last week, Paul Krugman from the New York Times wrote that California is in a state of paralysis...and that our political system has failed to rise to the occasion.

People are writing California off.

They are talking about the end of the California Dream.

They don't believe that we in this room have the courage and determination to do what needs to be done or that the state is manageable.

Let's prove all the pundits wrong.

Let's use this crisis as an opportunity to make big and lasting change.

Let's not think just in the short-term. Let's think about the long-term, let's think big and lay a new foundation for California's future.

Let's meet these challenges head-on without gimmicks.

I don't want to hand these problems to the next governor and I know you don't want to hand them to the next Legislature.

I have faith in all of you.

I have faith in our ability to once again come together for the good of our state.

Let's move forward and put California back on the path to prosperity.

Thank you very much._________________________________________________________

We cannot let the Gov. destroy the health care, education and current welfare system until we have obtained the necessary changes outlined in the President's Reform for Education, Health Care and Energy. The Gov. is making it harder for everyone;

Please contact your Senator's and Representatives by e-mail to object to the cuts recommended by the Gov. instead of cutting health care he can adjust in other areas; He does not have to focus on the disadvantaged and poor!

This link will take you to the House of Representatives to object to the Govenors' Plans to Destroy California: http://www.house.gov/

Carolyn Jones

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