Archive for August, 2009
Homelessness grows in shadow of White House
Homelessness grows in shadow of White House – | McClatchy
“Part of the change in attitudes that I want to see here in Washington and all across the country is a belief that it is not acceptable for children and families to be without a roof over their heads in a country as wealthy as ours.” — President Barack Obama, March 24.
WASHINGTON — At 6 a.m., a block from the manicured lawns of the White House, Poppy Cali starts his days.
The 36-year-old Navy veteran wakes up just after dawn, before the park security can find him sleeping on the steps of the General Services Administration building near the grate that he uses to warm himself in the winter.
He carries two bags, a yellow suitcase and a small black rolling carry-on. In the yellow bag are his shoes; in the other are his clean clothes, underwear, socks, chef jackets and a tie for job interviews. Around his arm is a leather strap with two keys to a safe deposit box where he stores his IDs. His real name he keeps to himself; in the streets he goes only by Poppy.
via Homelessness grows in shadow of White House | McClatchy.
UBS chairman says clients not harmless victims: report
UBS chairman says clients “not harmless victims”: report - | Reuters
ZURICH (Reuters) – Clients of UBS facing disclosure of their accounts to U.S. tax authorities were not harmless victims and legal cases against former UBS bankers did not affect the bank, its chairman told Swiss Sunday newspapers.
“The clients are not just harmless victims. They knew what they wanted to evade,” Kaspar Villiger, chairman of the world’s second-largest wealth manager, said in an interview with SonntagsBlick.
“But they trusted the bank that it would work. Now we have to correct that,” said Villiger, adding it was still not the responsibility of UBS to make sure clients paid their taxes.
via UBS chairman says clients not harmless victims: report | Reuters.
Howard Dean on Face The Nation
Politics Versus Policy
Former DNC Chairman Howard Dean told Bob Schieffer on “Face The Nation” that the health-care co-operative option is purely a political strategy.
via YouTube – Politics Versus Policy.
Latin America Scholars Urge Human Rights Watch to Speak Up on Honduras Coup
Latin America Scholars Urge Human Rights Watch to Speak Up on Honduras Coup – | Just Foreign Policy
On Friday nearly 100 Latin America scholars and experts sent an open letter to Human Rights Watch urging HRW to speak up about human rights violations in Honduras under the coup regime and to conduct its own investigation of these abuses. The letters’ signers include Honduras experts Dana Frank and Adrienne Pine, Latin America experts Eric Hershberg, John Womack, and Greg Grandin, and noted authors Noam Chomsky and Naomi Klein.
The Latin America experts note that if Human Rights Watch took action to shine its spotlight on these abuses, it would be more likely that the Obama Administration would put greater pressure on the coup regime to end these abuses and restore democracy. Such pressure would likely be decisive. The experts argue that “the coup could easily be overturned,” if the Obama administration took more decisive measures, “such as canceling all U.S. visas and freezing U.S. bank accounts of leaders of the coup regime” – as Rep. Grijalva and 15 other Members of Congress called for on August 11. A recent New York Times editorial urged the Obama Administration to exert more pressure on the coup regime if it refuses to accept a compromise for President Zelaya’s return.
Human Rights Watch has not issued a statement or release on the situation in Honduras since July 8, a little over a week after the coup.
This week Amnesty International issued a new report on the coup regime’s violations of human rights in suppressing peaceful protests. The author of the Amnesty International report, Esther Major, said that
via Latin America Scholars Urge Human Rights Watch to Speak Up on Honduras Coup | Just Foreign Policy.
Dying for affordable healthcare — the uninsured speak
Dying for affordable healthcare — the uninsured speak - | The Guardian
At a forum in Delray Beach, Florida, 87-year-old Roberta Crawford stands up for a single-payer health care system.
In a week of claim and counter-claim about the merits of healthcare provision in the US and UK, Ed Pilkington travelled to Quindaro, Kansas, to see how the poorest survive
In the furious debate gripping America over the future of its health system, one voice has been lost amid the shouting. It is that of a distinguished gynaecologist, aged 67, called Dr Joseph Manley.
For 35 years Manley had a thriving health clinic in Kansas. He lived in the most affluent neighbourhood of Kansas City and treated himself to a new Porsche every year. But this is not a story about doctors’ remuneration and their lavish lifestyles.
In the late 1980s he began to have trouble with his own health. He had involuntary muscle movements and difficulty swallowing. Fellow doctors failed to diagnose him, some guessing wrongly that he had post-traumatic stress from having served in the airforce in Vietnam.
via Dying for affordable healthcare — the uninsured speak | Society | The Guardian.
Paul Krugman: We Are In Economic “Purgatory” (VIDEO)
Paul Krugman: We Are In Economic “Purgatory”
Robert Reich: The best that can be said is we’re getting worse more slowly.”
Despite Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s upbeat comments Friday that the U.S. economy is on the cusp of recovery, economists Paul Krugman and Robert Reich remain unconvinced that the outlook has gotten that much better.
Krugman acknowledged that we have seen some better economic numbers recently, but lamented our tendency to view the economy in black and white terms when the reality is more nuanced:
We’ve got a problem with terminology because we usually say either the economy is in recession or the economy is recovering. Either you’re in hell or you’re in heaven. And the trouble is we’re actually in purgatory. We’re actually in a situation almost for sure GDP is growing; almost for sure the business cycle leading committee will eventually decide the recession ended this summer. But almost surely also we’re still losing jobs. The unemployment rate is going to continue to rise. So we’re in that infamous jobless recovery state.
Reich was more blunt in his assessment, telling Stephanopoulos that “anyone who says we’re out of the woods, or even moving out of the woods, has got to be lost at sea. There is no evidence that this economy is doing much better. The best that can be said is we’re getting worse more slowly.”
WATCH:
via Paul Krugman: We Are In Economic “Purgatory” (VIDEO).
GOP Congressman Herger calls Obama plan ‘threat to democracy’ – Mount Shasta, CA – Mount Shasta Herald
Web extra: Congressman Herger calls Obama plan ‘threat to democracy’
Republican Congressman Wally Herger held a health care town hall meeting Aug. 18 at Simpson University in Redding, where a partisan crowd of over 2,000 people loudly cheered Herger’s position that a public option was “unacceptable.”
Although Herger called several times for the audience to “respect each other’s opinions,” those opposed to president Obama’s health care were greeted with cheers while the few in favor were interrupted with catcalls.
Herger did not hold back on his opinion of the health care plan and the administration’s appointment of “czars” to head various departments and task forces.
“Our democracy has never been threatened as much as it is today,” Herger said to a loud standing ovation.
Although there were not the kind of disruptions that have been reported at Democratic representative’s town hall meetings, an altercation in the back of the auditorium resulted in Redding police having to intervene and hustle two people out of the room. Police reported that a woman is alleged to have clawed a man’s face in repose to his having pushed her while arguing over the health care plan. The investigation continues.
How Conservatives Got The Facts Wrong On Their Latest Obsession: The “Death Book” For Veterans
How Conservatives Got The Facts Wrong On Their Latest Obsession: The “Death Book” For Veterans
The latest conservative obsession – dutifully spread via Sarah Palin’s Facebook page – is marked by the same alarmism and factual inaccuracy as the hysteria over “death panels.”
According to this tale, America’s veterans are being steered into ending their lives via a “death book” distributed by the government.
It all started with Jim Towey, the former president of the White House Office of Faith-Based Initiatives under George W. Bush, who penned an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal describing how the Department of Veterans Affairs was using an end-of-life planning document that was aimed at steering veterans toward choosing death.
Towey stated that the message of the veterans’ health-care system to its patients was “hurry-up-and-die” and he contrasted the “death book” with “Five Wishes,” his own advance care planning document.
via How Conservatives Got The Facts Wrong On Their Latest Obsession: The “Death Book” For Veterans.
Grassley Reverses Course: No Death Panels In Bill
OPS: the many faces of a Republican
Grassley Reverses Course: No Death Panels In Bill 
Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) acknowledged on Sunday that the claims he made two weeks ago — that Democratic health care legislation would allow the government to “pull the plug on grandma” — did not reflect the language of the bills.
In an appearance on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” the Iowa Republican admitted that the current legislation being considered by Congress didn’t include the infamous death panel provision that would allow the government to determine who should live or die.
“I know the Pelosi bill doesn’t intend to do that,” said Grassley. “It won’t do that,” he added later.
Grassley’s admission concludes several weeks of speculation as to why the senator, one of three key Republicans negotiating a bipartisan health care bill, would latch on to the infamous myth. The White House insisted that it still wanted to work with Grassley even after he made his remarks. But on Capitol Hill and outside of government, Democrats were furious that the key GOP point person for a bipartisan bill was deploying such toxic rhetoric.
via Grassley Reverses Course: No Death Panels In Bill.
NYT Editorial: The Uninsured
Editorial
The Uninsured - – NYTimes.com
One of the major goals of health care reform is to cover the vast numbers of uninsured. But how vast, really, is that pool of people? Who are they? And how important is it to cover all or most of them?
ritics play down the seriousness of the problem by pointing out that the ranks of the uninsured include many people who have chosen to forgo coverage or are only temporarily uninsured: workers who could afford to pay but decline their employers’ coverage; the self-employed who choose not to pay for more expensive individual coverage; healthy young people who prefer not to buy insurance they may never need; people who are changing jobs; poor people who are eligible for Medicaid but have failed to enroll. And then there are the illegal immigrants, a favorite target of critics. All that is true, to some degree. But the implication — that lack of insurance is no big deal and surely not worth spending a trillion dollars to fix — is not.
via Editorial – The Uninsured – NYTimes.com.
May Be “Impossible” To Tell Runner’s Sex
The Early Show – CBS News
Expert: Tests Extra-Complicated and Could Well Prove Inconclusive; South African Champ’s Backers Call Probe Racist, Sexist
South Africans planned to rally in support of track champion Caster Semenya – celebrating her win in the 800 meters at the world championship, and denouncing questions about whether she should be allowed to compete as a woman as racist and sexist.
The International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) has initiated gender tests on Semenya. The tests are expected to take weeks to complete. They are extremely complex, involving a physical medical evaluation and including reports from a gynecologist, endocrinologist, psychologist, internal medicine specialist and gender expert.
And, said Sports Illustrated staff writer and track and field expert David Epstein on “The Early Show Saturday Edition,” they may never even yield a definite answer about Semenya’s gender.
via May Be “Impossible” To Tell Runner’s Sex – The Early Show – CBS News.
Climate change doubles tundra plant life, boosting shrubs, grasses
Climate change doubles tundra plant life, boosting shrubs, grasses – By Bob Weber The Canadian Press:
Climate change is already having a dramatic effect on plants in the High Arctic, turning the once rocky tundra a deep shade of green and creating what could be another mechanism speeding up global warming.
In a new study to be published in the November issue of the journal Ecology, University of British Columbia geographer Greg Henry has, for the first time, confirmed that rapidly rising temperatures in the Arctic are creating major changes in the plants that live there.
“It’s happening so quickly,” says Henry.
Henry first came to Alexandra Fiord on the east coast of Ellesmere Island in the 1980s to examine plants growing there. He found a harsh landscape covered with tiny Arctic willows, heather, dryas and blueberries, none taller than 10 centimetres.
Since those days, the average temperature in the area has increased by about 2.5 C – “an extremely rapid change,” says Henry.
Those warmer temperatures are making a difference.
via The Canadian Press: Climate change doubles tundra plant life, boosting shrubs, grasses.
Former Dick Armey aide indicted for helping Jack Abramoff
Former Dick Armey aide indicted for helping Jack Abramoff – Raw Story »
A one-time aide to former Congressman Dick Armey has been indicted on five felony counts related to charges that he defrauded the government in exchange for favors from disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
According to Politico, “The indictment alleges that Cooper took from Abramoff and his associates more than $5,000 in tickets to sporting events and concerts between 1998 and 2001 while working for Armey.”
As early as 1996, Cooper and two other top aides to Armey had been among the first Congressional staffers to travel to the Marianas Islands on Abramoff’s dime, along with an adviser to then-Rep. Tom DeLay and the then-chief of staff to Rep. John Boehner.
via Raw Story » Former Dick Armey aide indicted for helping Jack Abramoff.
Swine Flu Campaign Waits on Vaccine
Swine Flu Campaign Waits on Vaccine - -washingtonpost.com – By Rob Stein
Only Third of Supply Is Expected for First Round of Vast Effort
Government health officials are mobilizing to launch a massive swine flu vaccination campaign this fall that is unprecedented in its scope — and in the potential for complications.
The campaign aims to vaccinate at least half the country’s population within months. Although more people have been inoculated against diseases such as smallpox and polio over a period of years, the United States has never tried to immunize so many so quickly.
But even as scientists rush to test the vaccine to ensure it is safe and effective, the campaign is lagging. Officials say only about a third as much vaccine as they had been expecting by mid-October is likely to arrive by then, when a new wave of infections could be peaking.
via Swine Flu Campaign Waits on Vaccine – washingtonpost.com.
Competition lacking among private health insurers
Competition lacking among private health insurers – The Associated Press: – By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR (AP)
1 or 2 companies dominate most regions; public plan would save billions.
WASHINGTON — One of the most widely accepted arguments against a government medical plan for the middle class is that it would quash competition — just what private insurers seem to be doing themselves in many parts of the U.S.
Several studies show that in lots of places, one or two companies dominate the market. Critics say monopolistic conditions drive up premiums paid by employers and individuals.
For Democrats, the answer is a public plan that would compete with private insurers. Republicans see that as a government power grab. President Barack Obama looks to be trapped in the middle of an argument that could sink his effort to overhaul the health care system.
Even lawmakers opposed to a government plan have problems with the growing clout of the big private companies.
“There is a serious problem with the lack of competition among insurers,” said Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine, one of the highest-cost states. “The impact on the consumer is significant.”
via The Associated Press: Competition lacking among private health insurers.
Extraordinary rendition for … white-collar criminals?
Extraordinary rendition for … white-collar criminals? - Raw Story »
LEBANESE MAN FIRST TARGET OF OBAMA-ERA RENDITION
Opponents of the practice of extraordinary rendition are growing increasingly vocal about the case of Raymond Azar, a Lebanese construction contractor who was picked up by the FBI on allegations of bribery, shackled, blindfolded and flown to the United States for trial.
It’s a case that the Los Angeles Times referred to Saturday as the “first rendition under [President] Obama.”
In affidavits filed in federal court, Azar says he was denied food, placed in a freezing room and threatened with never seeing his family again unless he confessed to the charges, the Times reports.
The FBI denies only the claim that Azar was told he would never see his family again. The bureau says it followed “standard operating procedure” in bringing him to the United States.
via Raw Story » Extraordinary rendition for … white-collar criminals?.
CIA report to reveal agency conducted mock executions
CIA report to reveal agency conducted mock executions – By Muriel Kane – Raw Story »
Update (at bottom): Reporter says revelations coming Monday will be ‘pretty explosive’
The long-delayed release of a CIA inspector general’s report has been scooped by Newsweek, which obtained details from one source who has read a draft of the report and another who was briefed on its contents.
A version of the report with newly declassified details is expected to be released on Monday.
According to Newsweek’s sources, the report will reveal that the CIA interrogators of suspected USS Cole bomber Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri brandished a gun in front of him in an attempt to make him believe he was going to be shot — thus violating a federal law against threatening a detainee with “imminent death” — and also threatened him with a power drill.
via Raw Story » CIA report to reveal agency conducted mock executions.
Without reform, health insurance rates to nearly double in 11 years
Without reform, health insurance rates to nearly double in 11 years – Raw Story » 
Insurance rates will rise 94 percent by 2020 if cost-saving reforms to the US health care system aren’t enacted, a new study from the Commonwealth Institute finds.
The 90-year-old non-profit health care charity released an analysis of health care costs and forecasts that says employer-sponsored family plans will rise from an average cost of $12,298 in 2008 to $23,842 in 2020.
By contrast, the same coverage would have cost around $9,200 in 2003.
via Raw Story » Without reform, health insurance rates to nearly double in 11 years.
While advocating bipartisanship, Baucus admits GOP leadership is trying to ‘kill’ health care reform.
While advocating bipartisanship, Baucus admits GOP leadership is trying to ‘kill’ health care reform. – Think Progress »
baucus2In a recent interview with the editorial board of a local Montana paper, Senate Finance Committee chair Max Baucus (D-MT) continued his advocacy for a “bipartisan” approach to health care, arguing that “it’s better for the country.” Yet, he also admitted that the GOP leadership is putting “intense political pressure” on his committee colleagues Olympia Snowe, Chuck Grassley, and Mike Enzi to defeat any health care bill:
“The Republican leadership in the Senate and in the House is doing its utmost to kill this bill,” he said. “They are putting intense political pressure on Chuck Grassley, Olympia Snow and Mike Enzi, to bow out, because they want to kill it. So I’ve got a challenge ahead of me to work out all this on policy as we go through these meetings.
“The other thing is the politics of it: ‘People, this is the right thing to do for America. I know you’re under intense political pressure, but do the right thing. I know it’s easy for me to say right now, because I’m getting beat up by both sides, but not nearly as much as you are by the Republican hierarchy.’ ”
Shimkus: Republican mantra to everything should be ‘Just Say No!’
Shimkus: Republican mantra to everything should be ‘Just Say No!’ – Think Progress »
Progress Illinois’ Josh Kalven reports that at an Illinois state fair this past week, Rep. John Shimkus (R-IL) fully embraced the GOP’s “party of no” obstructionist strategy. Shimkus stated that the Republican “chant for now until Election Day” should be “Just Say No!” “We’ve been saying no for a long time,” he noted. “When President Obama was on the ballot, the Republican response was, ‘Just say no!‘” Watch it:
via Think Progress » Shimkus: Republican mantra to everything should be ‘Just Say No!’.
Lieberman: ‘There’s No Reason’ To Deal With The Uninsured Until After The Recession
Lieberman: ‘There’s No Reason’ To Deal With The Uninsured Until After The Recession - Think Progress »
Last week, Sen. Mike Enzi (R-WY), the most conservative member of the so-called bipartisan “Gang of Six” working on the Senate Finance Committee’s health care bill, stated that he preferred that Congress deal with reform incrementally. “I think the only way it will happen is we need to break it down into smaller parts than we have now and put it through one at a time,” he said.
Today on CNN, Sen. Joe Lieberman (CT), an Independent who caucuses with the Democrats, embraced Enzi’s idea. “Great changes in our country often have come in steps. The Civil Rights movement occurred, changes occurred in steps,” he argued. Lieberman added that Congress should address the nearly 50 million uninsured at some point down the road:
via Think Progress » Lieberman: ‘There’s No Reason’ To Deal With The Uninsured Until After The Recession.
Citizens Not Sharing the Government’s Optimism
Citizens Not Sharing the Government’s Optimism - Craig Harrington -economyincisis.org
Once again, the growth prospectus is being pinned on an unproductive industry – in this case, realty – as opposed to productive sectors like manufacturing.
According to the National Association of Realtors, the annual rate of home sales in the United States increased by the largest amount since 1999. Sales of existing structures climbed 7.2 percent to an annual rate of 5.24 million units. The last time the United States had a similar annual volume was August 2007.
Many analysts have looked at this jump as a clear signal of recovery, but it makes the faulty assumption that this strong annual rate will continue and propel the economy. On December 1, 2009 the “< href=”http://www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com/2009/index.html”>First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit” will expire, and in so doing it will dampen sales forecasts.
Many of the units which are moving in the housing market are only doing so because the government is offering up to $8,000 for families and individuals who are buying their first home.
via Economyincrisis.org – America’s Economic Report – Daily.
American Manufacturing Can No Longer Compete
American Manufacturing Can No Longer Compete - Thomas Heffner – economyincisis.org
Over the past 20 years 3.7 million manufacturing jobs has been lost. These figures are a grim reminder that America can no longer manufacture competitively.
Today there are fewer manufacturing employees than in 1955, and over the past 20 years 3.7 million manufacturing jobs has been lost. These figures are a grim reminder that America can no longer manufacture competitively.
How did this happen? Two causes stand out: low international wage rates in countries like China and Mexico that America will not and can not compete with, and America’s abandonment of capital and knowledge intensive industries.
American workers can not and should not have to compete with third world wage rates. Some Chinese manufacturers are paid 33 cents an hour according to a 2005 AFLCIO report. This cents-an-hour pay in many countries around the world has caused American companies and entire industries to move abroad (see the lost industry list here). It also lead Princeton economist Alan Blinder to estimate 42-56 million jobs could potentially be sent overseas.
via Economyincrisis.org – America’s Economic Report – Daily.
WTO Bleeding American Economy Dry
WTO Bleeding American Economy Dry - Dustin Ensinger – economyincisis.org
Editor’s note: This article originally ran in 2008, but is just as relevant today.
The World Trade Organization is an undemocratic organization run by the rich, for the rich. The bylaws of the organization supersede our own Constitution . If America is to recover economically it must either renegotiate or completely withdraw from the WTO.
The Constitution states that all treaties made under the authority of the United States become supreme law of the land. The U.S. invited the WTO to rule over us when our government signed the treaty, and now we have no choice but to conform U.S. laws, regulation and administrative procedures to the agreement.
In October 2008, Pascal Lamy Director General of the WTO, made a visit to the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, where he openly exulted the benefits of unfettered free trade and discounted the abundance of overwhelming evidence pointing to the fallacies of “free trade.”
via Economyincrisis.org – America’s Economic Report – Daily.
Watching the Globe Recover
Watching the Globe Recover – Craig Harrington -economyincisis.org
The world was once dependent on the sponge of American consumerism for its collective growth. Now the world is growing – albeit slowly – in spite of American consumerism.
While the United States is bogged down by credit markets, stock fluctuations, unemployment, health care, and any number of other things which distract and detract from the economy; other nations of the world are getting back on their feet.
Germany and France have each declared growth during the past fiscal quarter, officially ending their respective recessions. Japan, just days later, did the same. China, while its growth rate had slowed, was never even in a recession. The same goes for developing nations like India and Brazil.
Robert Samuelson, writing for The Washington Post described this phenomenon in his August 17 article. Before there can be recovery in the U.S. there has to be growth elsewhere. Our economy is too integrally connected to the international markets for it to exist alone.
via Economyincrisis.org – America’s Economic Report – Daily.
State GOP may restrict primary to party members
OPS: The mantra remains – You’re either with us, or against us.
State GOP may restrict primary to party members – SFGate.com
California Republican Party leaders, in a move that could reshape state primary-election politics, are preparing a move to bar decline-to-state voters – now 20 percent of the electorate – from casting a GOP ballot in statewide and legislative primaries.
The proposed bylaw to the state Republican platform, which delegates will decide at the party convention next month in Indian Wells (Riverside County), has riled some business leaders and Republicans.
They say it could be disastrous for the party’s future and could relegate Republicans in the state to “permanent minority” status by keeping independent voters from supporting Republicans in primary elections.
Flashreport.org publisher Jon Fleischman, the Southern California state party vice chair, said his proposal, which would take effect in 2010, would strengthen the GOP. It calls for extending a ban on independent voters in presidential primaries to all statewide elections, including the gubernatorial and U.S. Senate races.
via State GOP may restrict primary to party members.
Will Obama’s Abandonment of the Public Option Take Congressional Democrats Down In 2010?
Will Obama’s Abandonment of the Public Option Take Congressional Democrats Down In 2010? – | Black Agenda Report
Presidents run every four years, but Congress is elected every two. This president said we should judge him by whether he delivers comprehensive, affordable, accessible health care to every American in his first term. Team Obama’s relentless opposition to single payer, a position he once supported, and his recent abandonment of even a watered down public option, and a health care plan that doesn’t cover any of the uninsured till 2013 may not affect the president till his own re-election. But House Democrats must face the people in 2010.
by BAR managing editor Bruce A. Dixon
By the time last weekend when Barack Obama and his team formally relinquished their commitment to the health care “public option,” it had been effectively dead for months.
At its best, the “public option” was never more than a half-hearted, hypocritical pretense at compromise in the direction of the Medicare For All single payer system that a majority of American doctors and a majority of the American people have long favored.
When the public option was first conceived, it was as a government-created but privately administered health care insurance plan open to everyone that would cover more than 120 million Americans, not just the fifty million currently uninsured. Since it would be run by private insurance people on contract it would never achieve the overhead savings of Medicare, but its sheer size would enable it to bargain the prices for drugs and procedures and for insurance itself downward.
In the minds of those heavily invested in the myth of their president as a progressive, the public option was an incremental step toward Medicare For All, an illusion which has protected the president from criticism thus far. As late as last month, Howard Dean appeared on Democracy Now to cynically assure its audience that the public option was “…best thought of as Medicare.” But it never was.
EPA Agrees to Set Limits on Fertilizer and Animal Waste Pollution in Florida
EPA Agrees to Set Limits on Fertilizer and Animal Waste Pollution in Florida
New policy contrasts with inaction by Bush administration
Tallahassee, FL — In a major step forward for the environment, President Barack Obama’s administration has signed a consent decree in which it agrees to set legal limits for the widespread nutrient poisoning that triggers harmful algae blooms in Florida waters.
“This is a refreshing change of policy after almost a decade of foot-dragging by the Bush administration,” said Earthjustice attorney Monica Reimer. “It is a real milestone in the struggle to safeguard lakes, rivers and estuaries throughout Florida.”
via EPA Agrees to Set Limits on Fertilizer and Animal Waste Pollution in Florida.
Baucus does not represent his state, say Montanans
Baucus does not represent his state, say Montanans - Daily Kos
by kos
Baucus does not represent his state, say MontanansTweet this submit to reddit Share This
Research 2000 for Daily Kos. 8/17-19. Likely voters. MoE 4% (No trend lines)
Do you approve or disapprove of Senator Max Baucus’ actions on health care?
You want “bipartisan”? A quarter of Republicans want a public option.
via Daily Kos: State of the Nation.
The Guns Of August NRA And The Health Care Insurance Lobby!
OPS: There is a serious connection here.
The Guns Of August NRA And The Health Care Insurance Lobby!
by: Hillbilly – Hillbilly Report::
Wonder why the Health Care Town Hall participants are packin’. Well I suggest it’s a coalition whether formal or informal, and I believe it will prove to be formal, between the NRA and the Health Care Lobby.
It’s, in my opinion, nothing more than 3rd world dictatorship style intimidation, provided by corporate American lobbyist. These folks are serious and we had better start paying attention!
It’s hard for me to believe the Health Care Lobby and the NRA aren’t in bed together to defeat Health Care Reform when I see stuff like this posted on the NRA site:
Hillbilly :: The Guns Of August NRA And The Health Care Insurance Lobby!
Now Is The Time To Make Yourself Heard At Town Hall Meetings!
Congress has now adjourned to start the Summer District Work Period and will return after Labor Day. During this Summer District Work Period, your Senators and Representative will be back home in their states and districts.
Many lawmakers use this time to hold town hall meetings, and take questions from their constituents. These meetings offer a tremendous opportunity for you to personally voice your strong support for the Second Amendment.
The NRA is, in my opinion, taking this to a new level by making calls to Rural Americans to escalate the anger at Health Care Reform Town Hall meetings. I received the following call from the NRA today from this phone number 703-656-9940:
Today I received a call from the NRA 703-656-9940. I was asked to participate in a questionnaire and I said OK. The caller then asked me to listen to a recorded message from Wayne LaPierre, Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Rifle Association of America, and I agreed. I listened to Mr. LaPierre’s , what I consider, diatribe about Hillary Clinton, the UN and Mexico all conspiring to take our guns away. When Mr. LaPierre’s recorded message was over, a real live person asked me the following, as I remember it. I don’t have the recording: Should 3rd world dictators & Hillary Clinton be allowed to dictate gun ownership in the US? I couldn’t believe what I was hearing and responded by saying that’s a loaded question and as a multiple gun owner a question like that insults my intelligence. The NRA person told me he disagreed with my opinion and I told him this was still a free country and he could disagree with what ever he wished, and so could I.
It’s this sort of stuff that’s firing up the right wing base and don’t be surprised when a NRA member actually shoots to kill those that disagree with him or her.
via Hillbilly Report:: The Guns Of August NRA And The Health Care Insurance Lobby!.
The Guns of August
The Guns of August - – NYTimes.com
If Obama Keeps His Enemies As Friends, He Will “Waste His Opportunity To Effect Real Change”
Frank Rich
“IT is time to water the tree of liberty” said the sign carried by a gun-toting protester milling outside President Obama’s town-hall meeting in New Hampshire two weeks ago. The Thomas Jefferson quote that inspired this message, of course, said nothing about water: “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.” That’s the beauty of a gun — you don’t have to spell out the “blood.”
The protester was a nut. America has never had a shortage of them. But what’s Tom Coburn’s excuse? Coburn is a Republican senator from Oklahoma, where 168 people were murdered by right-wing psychopaths who bombed a federal building in Oklahoma City in 1995. Their leader, Timothy McVeigh, had the Jefferson quote on his T-shirt when he committed this act of mass murder. Yet last Sunday, when asked by David Gregory on “Meet the Press” if he was troubled by current threats of “violence against the government,” Coburn blamed not the nuts but the government.
“Well, I’m troubled any time when we stop having confidence in our government,” the senator said, “but we’ve earned it.”
more…………
via Op-Ed Columnist – The Guns of August – NYTimes.com.
Additional Information:
#1I’d like to refer Frank Rich to this: http://www.buzzflash.net/story.php?id=1031670
Hillbilly has found a link between the Anti-reformers and the NRA that should be publicized far and wide. The fact that this organization is whipping up it’s already unstable membership to make an aggressive show of force in public places is dynamite.
Much of the commentary has used the words Double Standard to contrast the reaction of the Secret Service and other law enforcement over this Vs, the Bush years. And it’s stark. A T-shirt or bumpersticker on the car that dropped people off to a rally was enough to get those people ejected from Bush events, but people with firearms are allowed to stand in protest at Obama events.
I’d make the argument that neither is a Standard.
Bush’s security measures strangled any kind of free expression no matter how meek, while allowing firearms to be openly carried at a politicaly charged event is an invitation to disaster.
It’s also a testimony to the different levels of courage of these two presidents. I don’t believe we’ve ever had a pResident as chicken as Bush.
Pulling the plug on Wolf Blitzer and CNN
Pulling the plug on Wolf Blitzer and CNN
Wolf Blitzer who is well known for caving in against right wing pressure did a piece on healthcare the other day called ”the public outrage” over the public option.
via Pulling the plug on Wolf Blitzer and CNN.
Larry Vs The Plutocrats
Larry Vs The Plutocrats - | Antemedius 
Larry Flynt, known to many Americans as an outspoken, fearless champion of the First Amendment, and pornography entrepreneur as the publisher of Hustler Magazine and various other enterprises, is speaking up about his belief that the American government has “…been taken over by Wall Street, the mega-corporations and the super-rich” in an item he wrote for the Huffington Post, titled “Common Sense 2009“.
While there are likely plenty of people who would disdain Flynt for the reputation he developed and the methods that he employed to amass his personal wealth. Many people who would consider him morally corrupt for his role in bringing extreme pornographic images to newsstands and screens, or as an uneducated, crass, obscenity shouting miscreant (once having been ordered arrested by the Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court for contempt). Flynt does have some admirable attributes.
Some of Flynt’s attributes are that he has never been afraid of hard work. While his career choices may be at odds with many people, and at times walking a thin line between being legal or not so legal, they all involved his laboring long and hard. He came from humble beginnings, from a family that he has termed destitute in rural Kentucky, he is someone, despite building a business empire that grosses hundreds of millions of dollars per year, who has never forgotten his beginnings, and who has been engaged in challenging “the system” his entire adult life. He has won some and lost some, in business, and in court, but possibly his strongest personal attribute is that he despises hypocrites.
While Larry Flynt may not be someone who’s total package an average American might ever embrace whole heartily, he is someone who should garner our respect and attention, to at least listen to, and consider for his views on the hypocrisy of the plutocracy and how they would suck the last breath out of all of us common folk, as they grasp at every opportunity to build their own, selfish, treasure chests:
In America, corporations do not control the government. In America, corporations are the government.
This was never more obvious than with the Wall Street bailout, whereby the very corporations that caused the collapse of our economy were rewarded with taxpayer dollars. So arrogant, so smug were they that, without a moment’s hesitation, they took our money — yours and mine — to pay their executives multimillion-dollar bonuses, something they continue doing to this very day. They have no shame. They don’t care what you and I think about them. Henry Kissinger refers to us as “useless eaters.”
via Larry Vs The Plutocrats | Antemedius.
My brain and the Ontario health-care system
My brain and the Ontario health-care system - The Reaction:
Special guest post by Paul E. Barber
Ed. note: The following was written by a friend and colleague of mine here in Toronto. It is a response to the various right-wing attacks on Canada’s, including Ontario’s, health-care system — one in which there is a real “public option,” one in which basic government-funded coverage is universal. Supplementary private coverage can be provided through one’s employment or otherwise acquired in the market, but there isn’t a two- or multi-tier system that divides us based on how much money we have. There is choice — I selected my family doctor, for example — but we all go to the same hospitals. At the very least, there is health care for all. And excellent health care, as Paul explains in this very personal piece. I encourage you to read it in full. — MJWS
**********
You may have seen the stories about the television ad with first person testimony from a woman who claims she had a brain tumour and was unhappy about her care in the Ontario health-care system, part of the ongoing assault on “Obamacare.” Five years ago, I actually had a brain tumour and dealt with the Ontario health-care system. The truth about our system is much different than the misinformation spewing forth over the Internet and the airwaves. This is my story.
I am not the type of person who would be described as a hypochondriac. I am more likely to dismiss aches and pains as of no consequence. Thus when I developed some peculiar head and neck symptoms in early 2004, I did not pay much attention to them at first.
Even when I called for an appointment with my GP in March, I was asked by the receptionist if it was urgent and I said no. The GP said he was puzzled by my condition and referred me to a neurologist. I saw him in early April. His assessment included some physical tests, all of which I passed with flying colours. This is perhaps not surprising, as throughout this period I was regularly Scottish country dancing, a physically and mentally demanding form of exercise that no doubt kept me in decent shape.
more…..
via The Reaction: My brain and the Ontario health-care system.
Additional Information in comments HERE
What’s in their wallets? Health plan executives bring home the bucks
American Medical News
Executive pay is still rich, but various pressures might lead it to a decline. Just don’t expect that savings to flow to health care or physician reimbursement.
more…..snip….
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Paychecks, pensions and perks
1. H. Edward Hanway, chair, CEO, Cigna
Base pay: $1,110,000
Bonus/Nondeferred incentive pay: $17,999,970
Stock awards: $452,886
Option awards: $4,626,316
Retirement/Pension contributions: $1,618,584
Other compensation: $32,021
Total: $25,839,777
2. Ron Williams, chair, CEO, Aetna
Base pay: $1,095,785
Bonus/Nondeferred incentive pay: $1,900,000
Stock awards: $5,309,197
Option awards: $12,887,276
Retirement/Pension contributions: $1,749,414
Other compensation: $104,162
Total: $23,045,834
3. Dale B. Wolf, CEO, Coventry Health Care
Base pay: $925,000
Bonus/Nondeferred incentive pay: $3,821,226
Stock awards: $1,688,743
Option awards: $7,846,664
Retirement/Pension contributions: $122,860
Other compensation: $465,330
Total: $14,869,823
4. Stephen Hemsley, president, CEO, UnitedHealth Group
Base pay: $1,300,000
Bonus/Nondeferred incentive pay: $3,635,000
Stock awards: $0
Option awards: $8,134,691
Retirement/Pension contributions: $0
Other compensation: $94,838
Total: $13,164,529
5. Mike B. McCallister, president, CEO, Humana
Base pay: $973,558
Bonus/Nondeferred incentive pay: $1,950,000
Stock awards: $0
Option awards: $2,438,685
Retirement/Pension contributions: $4,438,993
Other compensation: $511,321
Total: $10,312,557
6. Angela F. Braly, president, CEO, WellPoint
Base pay: $922,769
Bonus/Nondeferred incentive pay: $588,311
Stock awards: $2,160,159
Option awards: $5,240,149
Retirement/Pension contributions: $3,706
Other compensation: $179,677
Total: $9,094,771
7. Jay M. Gellert, president, CEO,Health Net
Base pay: $1,180,769
Bonus/Nondeferred incentive pay: $0
Stock awards: $1,425,243
Option awards: $949,406
Retirement/Pension contributions: $0
Other compensation: $130,812
Total: $3,686,230
Source: Company filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission
Honduras: Military Coup Engineered By Two US Companies?
Honduras: Military Coup Engineered By Two US Companies?
by John Perkins
In writing my new book Hoodwinked (Random House, Nov 2009 publication date), I recently visited Central America. Everyone I talked with there was convinced that the military coup that had overthrown the democratically-elected president of Honduras, Manuel Zelaya, had been engineered by two US companies, with CIA support. And that the US and its new president were not standing up for democracy.
Earlier in the year Chiquita Brands International Inc. (formerly United Fruit) and Dole Food Co had severely criticized Zelaya for advocating an increase of 60% in Honduras’s minimum wage, claiming that the policy would cut into corporate profits. They were joined by a coalition of textile manufacturers and exporters, companies that rely on cheap labor to work in their sweatshops.
Memories are short in the US, but not in Central America. I kept hearing people who claimed that it was a matter of record that Chiquita (United Fruit) and the CIA had toppled Guatemala’s democratically-elected president Jacobo Arbenz in 1954 and that International Telephone & Telegraph (ITT), Henry Kissinger, and the CIA had brought down Chile’s Salvador Allende in 1973. These people were certain that Haiti’s president Jean-Bertrand Aristide had been ousted by the CIA in 2004 because he proposed a minimum wage increase, like Zelaya’s.
I was told by a Panamanian bank vice president, “Every multinational knows that if Honduras raises its hourly rate, the rest of Latin America and the Caribbean will have to follow. Haiti and Honduras have always set the bottom line for minimum wages. The big companies are determined to stop what they call a ‘leftist revolt’ in this hemisphere. In throwing out Zelaya they are sending frightening messages to all the other presidents who are trying to raise the living standards of their people.”
It did not take much imagination to envision the turmoil sweeping through every Latin American capital. There had been a collective sign of relief at Barack Obama’s election in the U.S., a sense of hope that the empire in the North would finally exhibit compassion toward its southern neighbors, that the unfair trade agreements, privatizations, draconian IMF Structural Adjustment Programs, and threats of military intervention would slow down and perhaps even fade away. Now, that optimism was turning sour.
via Honduras: Military Coup Engineered By Two US Companies?.
Waxman insurance probe began in July
Waxman insurance probe began in July
House Energy and Commerce Chairman Henry Waxman raised eyebrows this week when he launched a financial probe into the nation’s largest insurance companies, which are at the center of the health reform battle.
Now POLITICO has learned that Waxman’s recent investigation began almost a month earlier than previously thought — with letters to the insurance industry’s powerful trade group and its consultant regarding grassroots tactics.
A committee spokeswoman defended the probes — saying lawmakers need to know that private insurance money is being spent effectively as part of the effort to control costs. But the trade group, America’s Health Insurance Plans, is crying foul, saying Waxman is merely trying to bring it in line behind his version of the Congressional oversight is not a tool that should be used to chill dissent,” said AHIP spokesman Robert Zirkelbach. “These investigations are nothing more than politically motivated, taxpayer-financed fishing expeditions designed to intimidate and silence health plans.”
via Waxman insurance probe began in July – Yahoo! News.
Jeremy Scahill Exposes Blackwater
Excerpt of news story provided under fair use as commentary on political events. Excerpt exposes the details of Blackwater’s apparently unconstitutional operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Uploading for private reference & commentary review.
For commentary purpose only on the political ramifications of this privately operated, publicly funded military group and its effect on our government’s control over operations in foreign countries.
via YouTube – Jeremy Scahill Exposes Blackwater – News & Political Commentary.
Comparing Single-Payer with the Public Option
- Healthcare-NOW!
There has been considerable confusion about the differences between single-payer healthcare, which Healthcare-NOW! supports, and the healthcare reform options, including President Obama’s “public option,” being introduced by the House and Senate.
So we’ve collected the following resources to clarify the difference:
Report Card for Single-Payer and “Public Option” (.pdf)
More of the Same Is Not Health Care Reform, It’s a Placebo – By Leonard Rodberg, PhD
Hold out for single payer – By Nick Skala
Bait and switch: How the “public option” was sold – By Kip Sullivan
The “Public Plan Option”: Myths and Facts
Health Policy Q & A with PNHP Co-founders Drs. David Himmelstein and Steffie Woolhandler (.pdf)
Tell them why they’re wrong when they say single-payer is not politically viable! (.pdf)
Single-Payer Teach-In
Dr. Len Rodberg, of Physicians for a National Health Program, made a great presentation on single-payer and the “public option” at a teach-in in New York City.
via Comparing Single-Payer with the Public Option – Healthcare-NOW!.
Why the Gang of Six Is Deciding Health Care for Three Hundred Million of Us
Why the Gang of Six Is Deciding Health Care for Three Hundred Million of Us
Robert Reich
Last night, the so-called “gang of six” — three Republican and three Democratic senators on the Senate Finance Committee — met by conference call and, according to Senator Max Baucus, the committee’s chair, reaffirmed their commitment “toward a bipartisan health-care reform bill” (read: less coverage and no public insurance option). The Washington Post reports that the senators shared tales from their home states, where some have been besieged by protesters angry about a potential government takeover of the nation’s health care system.
It’s come down to these six senators. The House has reported a bill as has another Senate committee, but all eyes are fixed on Senate Finance — and on these three Dems and three Republicans, in particular. But who, exactly, anointed these six to decide the fate of the nation’s health care?
I don’t get it. Of the three Republicans in the gang, the senior senator is Charles Grassley. In recent weeks, Grassley has refused to debunk the rumor that the House’s health-care bill will spawn “death panels,” empowered to decide whether the sick and old get to live or die. At an Iowa town meeting last Tuesday Grassley called the president and Speaker Nancy Pelosi “intellectually dishonest” for claiming the opposite. On Thursday Grassley told the Washington Post that Congress should scale back its efforts to overhaul health care in the wake of intense anger at town hall meetings. But — wait — the anger is largely about distortions such as the “death panels” that Grassley refuses to debunk.
via Robert Reich: Why the Gang of Six Is Deciding Health Care for Three Hundred Million of Us.
Tell Your Rep in Congress to Support Single Payer
Single Payer Committee Whip – | Democrats.com
The crucial battle for single-payer healthcare is in the House Energy & Commerce Committee (E&C). On Monday, Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) tried to offer a single-payer amendment but chairman Henry Waxman ended the meeting early to avoid a vote.
On Monday we asked our 600,000 subscribers to call E&C Democrats and below are the results you reported. Keep calling everyone who isn’t in the “support” column! Hill staffers tell us your calls are “very helpful.” And send our single-payer petition to your own Representatives.
more……
via Single Payer Committee Whip | Democrats.com.
Manufacturing Consent by Noam Chomsky/Edward Herman
The classic Canadian documentary Manufacturing Consent based on the Noam Chomsky/Edward Herman book by the same name. Explores the the propaganda model of the media.
Thought provoking documentary on propaganda and mass media. Noam Chomsky explores through a series of lectures and interviews how todays modern democratic government favours the select few elites running the large corporations. This documentary is a tough watch but well worth the time. Very eye opening and … action inciting.
via Manufacturing_Consent.wmv.
Calling Out Whole Foods: Whole Foods Quietly Cutting Employee Free Choice
Calling Out Whole Foods: Whole Foods Quietly Cutting Employee Free Choice – | CommonDreams.org – by Annie Shattuck & Zoe Brent
While Whole Foods CEO John Mackey recently publicly inflamed the health care debate, behind the scenes Whole Foods has been quietly dismantling a key piece of legislation that would make it easier for workers who want to form a union to do so.
Whole Foods and Starbucks are backing a “compromise” to strip the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) of a key provision. The so-called “card-check” provision would require employers to recognize its employees’ union once a majority has signed union authorization cards. Currently, employers often refuse to recognize new unions even if all their employees have signed up. New contracts often take years to negotiate, meanwhile workers are frequently subject to harassment and sometimes fired. The card-check provision is so central to this legislation, it has been called “the card-check bill.”
Food industry giants from WalMart, to meatpacking titans Smithfield, and Hormel, to McDonalds have sent out an army of lobbyists to fight the pro-union bill. WalMart has spent $10.5 million in federal PAC spending since 2000, plus contributions to other corporate front groups lobbying against the bill.
via Calling Out Whole Foods: Whole Foods Quietly Cutting Employee Free Choice | CommonDreams.org.
Warning: Co-op Kool Aid Is Bad for Your Health
Warning: Co-op Kool Aid Is Bad for Your Health - | CommonDreams.org
by Wendell Potter ( formerly Vice President of Corporate Communications for the CIGNA corporation.)
I’m beginning to think that the Kool-Aid being served at meetings of the Senate Finance Committee’s soon-to-be infamous Gang of Six is coming from either fantasy land or the health insurance industry.
For those of you who might not be following the sorry machinations of health care reform in the Senate Finance Committee, the Gang of Six is a group of three Democrats and three Republicans hand-picked by Committee Chair Max Baucus, who is one of the three Democrats. The gang meets often, supposedly drafting a bipartisan bill. In reality, if such a bill emerges, it will be a gift to the insurance industry because the gang includes some of the industry’s best friends on Capitol Hill.
Thanks to gang member Kent Conrad, a Democrat from North Dakota, the gang reportedly is giving serious consideration to replacing the good idea of a public insurance option with an idea that is sheer fantasy: a few nonprofit co-operatives that would be expected to compete with the cartel of giant for-profit insurance companies and “win in the marketplace,” to use a favorite term of my former CEO and cartel heavyweight, H. Edward Hanway.
via Warning: Co-op Kool Aid Is Bad for Your Health | CommonDreams.org.
On Wall St: US bonds give insight into long-term prospects
On Wall St: US bonds give insight into long-term prospects – FT.com
US government bond yields dipped quietly to their lowest levels in a month this week, suggesting that some investors are distinctly less bullish than the ones that drove Wall Street to its highest levels of the year.
In a week when many equity investors were watching the trading action in Shanghai (a closed casino of a market and subject to the dictates of China’s policymakers) it may be that the real market to have watched was the Treasury arena. In spite of some selling pressure on Friday, which pushed the yield on 10-year paper back above 3.50 per cent, the benchmark note sits well below the high near 3.90 per cent posted this month.
via FT.com / Markets / On Wall Street – On Wall St: US bonds give insight into long-term prospects.
AT&T can block cheap net calls on iPhone
AT&T can block cheap net calls on iPhone - FT.com
Telecom giant has veto power over some applications
The terms in AT&T’s exclusive US contract to provide connections for Apple’s iPhone give the telecommunications giant the power to veto online store applications that use AT&T to launch cheap calls through the Internet, the companies disclosed late Friday.
So far, the alliance has limited the use of approved Voice over Internet Protocol applications, including Skype’s, to WiFi hotspots, so as not to undercut AT&T’s model of charging for calls. But AT&T said “We plan to take a fresh look at possibly authorizing VoIP capabilities on the iPhone for use on AT&T’s 3G networks.”
via FT.com / Companies – AT&T can block cheap net calls on iPhone.
$2 trillion higher deficit projected
AP sources: $2 trillion higher deficit projected - AP sources
The Obama administration expects the federal deficit over the next decade to be $2 trillion bigger than previously estimated, White House officials said Friday, a setback for a president already facing a Congress and public wary over spending.
The new projection, to be announced on Tuesday, is for a cumulative 2010-2019 deficit of $9 trillion instead of the $7 trillion previously estimated. The new figure reflects slumping revenues from a worse economic picture than was expected earlier this year. The officials spoke only on the condition of anonymity ahead of next week’s announcement.
Ten-year forecasts are volatile figures subject to change over time. But the higher number will likely create political difficulties for President Barack Obama in Congress and could create anxiety with foreign buyers of U.S. debt.
via AP sources: $2 trillion higher deficit projected.
Afghanistan Contractors Outnumber Troops
Afghanistan Contractors Outnumber Troops - - WSJ.com
Despite Surge in U.S. Deployments, More Civilians Are Posted in War Zone; Reliance Echoes the Controversy in Iraq
Even as U.S. troops surge to new highs in Afghanistan they are outnumbered by military contractors working alongside them, according to a Defense Department census due to be distributed to Congress — illustrating how hard it is for the U.S. to wean itself from the large numbers of war-zone contractors that proved controversial in Iraq.
The number of military contractors in Afghanistan rose to almost 74,000 by June 30, far outnumbering the roughly 58,000 U.S. soldiers on the ground at that point. As the military force in Afghanistan grows further, to a planned 68,000 by the end of the year, the Defense Department expects the ranks of contractors to increase more.
via Afghanistan Contractors Outnumber Troops – WSJ.com.
News Corp. Looking To Unload Dow Jones Industrial Average
OPS: Parts is parts
News Corp. Looking To Unload Dow Jones Industrial Average
The Dow Jones Industrial Average could get a new name.
The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that its publisher, Dow Jones & Co., is considering selling its stock-market indexing business and has reached out to potential buyers. A sale of the unit would open the door for the new owner to rename the 125-year-old Dow Jones Industrial Average, one of the world’s best-known stock-market benchmarks.
The Journal, citing unnamed sources, said the process is still preliminary, and could result in a joint venture or no sale at all.
Dow Jones & Co. is owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. In an e-mail message, Dow Jones spokesman Howard Hoffman said, “We’re not commenting on speculation of this sort.”
The sale of a prime Dow Jones asset would be among the first since News Corp. bought the publisher in 2007 for $5.7 billion after a long effort to persuade the families that controlled Dow Jones & Co. Since then the value of the business has plunged, with the newspaper industry suffering huge declines in advertising.
via News Corp. Looking To Unload Dow Jones Industrial Average.
Senator seeks data on health insurer profits
Senator seeks data on health insurer profits – | | Reuters 
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A U.S. Senate Democrat asked the top 15 health insurers to explain what portion of premiums go to profits versus patient care, putting further pressure on the companies to explain their business practices as Congress considers sweeping health reform legislation.
In letters to the companies on Friday, Sen. John Rockefeller also asked for information about how insurers disclose financial practices to customers.
Earlier this week, senior Democrats on the House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee asked dozens of health insurers for details about executive compensation and other practices.
“Too often consumers are not getting a fair deal for what they pay, they are not getting the protections they deserve, and the insurance companies are awash in profit,” Rockefeller, chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, said in a statement.
The letters were sent to companies including UnitedHealth Group, Wellpoint and Aetna, the committee said.
via Senator seeks data on health insurer profits | Politics | Reuters.
ELCA votes to allow gay pastors
ELCA votes to allow gay pastors - | StarTribune.com
The 559-451 vote allows for gay pastors without the church’s former stipulation that they remain celibate.
In a historic change, noncelibate gays and lesbians can now lead parishes of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).
On a 559-451 vote taken Friday in Minneapolis at their biennial conference, delegates repealed the ELCA ban on gay clergy unless they agree to remain celibate. It makes ELCA, with 4.8 million members nationwide and 830,000 in Minnesota, the largest denomination in the country to welcome gays into the pulpits without restriction.
The vote did not surprise Ryan Schwarz from Washington, a member of Lutheran CORE, a group that opposed the motion. Nor did it dampen his interest in running for vice president, the highest lay position within the ELCA. That vote will be taken today.
via ELCA votes to allow gay pastors | StarTribune.com.
Government’s Tamiflu advice is wrong, says WHO
Government’s Tamiflu advice is wrong, says WHO - - The Independent
Only seriously ill and vulnerable patients should be prescribed antiviral drugs to help them to get over swine flu, the World Health Organisation said yesterday, in advice which conflicts with the decision taken by the British Government to prescribe Tamiflu to everyone with swine flu.
Most people will recover from swine flu within a week, just as they would from seasonal forms of influenza, the WHO said.
“Healthy patients with uncomplicated illness need not be treated with antivirals,” the WHO concluded in guidance issued on the internet. “Worldwide, most patients infected with the pandemic virus continue to experience typical influenza symptoms and fully recover within a week, even without any form of medical treatment.”
via Government’s Tamiflu advice is wrong, says WHO – Health News, Health & Families – The Independent.
Major Factor In Obama’s WaPo Poll Slide: Liberals
Major Factor In Obama’s WaPo Poll Slide: Drop Among Dems, Liberals
A major factor in President Obama’s slide in today’s big Washington Post/ABC News poll, which is preoccupying the political classes today, is his surprisingly sharp drops among Democrats and even liberals, according to crosstabs that were sent my way.
Much talk today has focused on Obama’s difficulties with independents. But the drop among Dems and liberals is also a key driving factor in the President’s skid, according to WaPo polling analyst Jennifer Agiesta, who graciously provided the additional data.
This suggests Obama’s conciliatory approach to the GOP, and his lack of clarity around the public option — both of which are presumably alienating Dems and liberals — could be key factors driving his dip.
The numbers tell the story: In three key cases where Obama has dropped significantly, he’s also dropped by sizable margins among Dems and liberals. Let’s take the major findings driving the discussion today, and compare them with his drop among Dems and libs:
via Major Factor In Obama’s WaPo Poll Slide: Drop Among Dems, Liberals | The Plum Line.
Has Obama lost the trust of progressives, as Krugman says?
Has Obama lost the trust of progressives, as Krugman says? – Salon.com
Glenn Greenwald
Paul Krugman has an excellent column today arguing that progressives have backlashed so intensely over the prospect of Obama’s dropping the public option because — for reasons extending far beyond specific health care issues — they no longer trust the President. Citing Obama’s steadfast continuation of Bush/Cheney Terrorism policies, the administration’s extreme coziness with crisis-causing banks, and the endless retreats on health care, Krugman says that “a backlash in the progressive base . . . has been building for months” and that “progressives are now in revolt. Mr. Obama took their trust for granted, and in the process lost it.”
Krugman contends that while “the fight over the public option involves real policy substance,” it is at least as much “a proxy for broader questions about the president’s priorities and overall approach.” That’s the argument I made the other day about why the health care fight is so important regardless of one’s views of the public option. The central pledges of the Obama campaign were less about specific policy positions and much more about changing the way Washington works — to liberate political outcomes from the dictates of corporate interests; to ensure vast new levels of transparency in government; to separate our national security and terrorism approaches from the politics of fear. With some mild exceptions, those have been repeatedly violated. Negotiating his health care reform plan in total secrecy and converting it into a gigantic gift to the pharmaceutical and insurance industries — which is exactly what a plan with (1) mandates, (2) no public option and (3) a ban on bulk negotiations for drug prices would be — would constitute yet another core violation of those commitments, yet another bolstering (a major one) of the very power dynamic he vowed to subvert.
via Has Obama lost the trust of progressives, as Krugman says? – Glenn Greenwald – Salon.com.
Vaccinations
Vaccinations - Arizona Alternative Medicine
Vaccinations are one of the most controversial issues in children’s health. On one side, you have the Centers for Disease Control who advocates a schedule for vaccinations that starts within minutes of the baby’s birth with the administration of the hepatitis B vaccine and follows through childhood with a recommended schedule of 29 vaccinations by the age of 12 months, and 55 vaccinations by the age of 18 years. [1]
On the other side, you have a growing number of parents and homeopathic physicians like me who feel many of these vaccines do more harm than good.
And you might say there is a third side to this picture: history. It suggests that polio, diphtheria and other infectious diseases had pretty much run their course before vaccinations started. The defeat of infectious disease, according to many historians, was due much more to the rise of modern sanitation.
In June 2007, a study financed by Generation Rescue, shows a clear connection between neurological disorders and vaccinations. The study found that more than twice the number of vaccinated children had autism than those who had not been vaccinated. When you look beyond autism to other neurological disorders, the rates of children damaged by vaccinations are even higher. The study can be found at http://www.generationrescue.org/survey.html
via Vaccinations | Vaccines | Arizona Alternative Medicine.
McAuliffe Comes Out Swinging: Without Public Option, Health Care A “Failure”
OPS: Thank you Terry.
McAuliffe Comes Out Swinging: Without Public Option, Health Care A “Failure”
Former Democratic National Committee Chair Terry McAuliffe is demanding his party take a stand on health care legislation that the president and many others aren’t willing to take: Pass a bill with a public option for insurance coverage or don’t pass anything at all.
The long-time adviser to the Clintons, striking an atypically progressive tone, urged the White House to get more assertive in its handling of health care reform and described a bill without a public plan as a “failure.”
“If we don’t have the public option, we are wasting our time,” McAuliffe told the Huffington Post. “To chalk something up and get something that is not the right thing to do is morally wrong… To pass something just so you can go home and go into election saying we passed something is not why lawmakers are sent to Washington.”
via McAuliffe Comes Out Swinging: Without Public Option, Health Care A “Failure”.
Over 90 Experts Call on Human Rights Watch to Speak Out on Honduras Abuses
Over 90 Experts Call on Human Rights Watch to Speak Out on Honduras Abuses – | CommonDreams.org
WASHINGTON – August 21 – 93 scholars and Latin America experts from institutions such as Yale, Harvard, and New York University sent an open letter to Human Rights Watch today urging the organization to highlight various human rights violations in Honduras under the coup regime, and to conduct its own investigation. The signers, who include well-known experts on Latin America such as Eric Hershberg, John Womack, Jr., and Greg Grandin, Honduras experts such as Dana Frank and Adrienne Pine, and well-known authors including Noam Chomsky, John Pilger, and Naomi Klein, note that Human Rights Watch could help force the Obama administration to denounce the abuses and put greater pressure on the regime. Highlighting “politically-motivated killings, hundreds of arbitrary detentions, the violent repression of unarmed demonstrators, mass arrests of political opposition, and other violations of basic human rights,” the letter notes that Human Rights Watch has not issued a statement or release on the situation in Honduras since July 8, a little over a week following the June 28 coup d’etat.
The signers write, “…the coup could easily be overturned, if the Obama administration sought to do so, by taking more decisive measures, such as canceling all U.S. visas and freezing U.S. bank accounts of leaders of the coup regime.”
The letter comes just a day after Amnesty International issued a new report on the coup regime’s violations of human rights in cracking down on protests, and as the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (part of the Organization of American States) wraps up a fact-finding delegation to Honduras. The author of the Amnesty International report, Esther Major, has stated
that the report was released to call on the international community to take action to “prevent a human rights crisis occurring in Honduras.”
The full text of the letter follows:
via Over 90 Experts Call on Human Rights Watch to Speak Out on Honduras Abuses | CommonDreams.org.
‘Death Panel’ Myth Creator Betsy McCaughey Resigns From Medical Board
‘Death Panel’ Myth Creator Betsy McCaughey Resigns From Medical Board – The Washington Independent »
Betsy McCaughey — an outspoken proponent of the myth that Democrats’ health care reform proposals will lead to the creation of “death panels,” as well as a former lieutenant governor of New York and adjunct fellow at the Hudson Institute — has stepped down from her position as a director of Cantel Medical Corp., which bills itself as a “leading provider of infection prevention and control products in the healthcare market.”
From a press release:
CANTEL MEDICAL CORP. (NYSE: CMN – News) announced that on August 20, 2009 it received a letter of resignation from Ms. Elizabeth McCaughey as a director of the Company. Ms. McCaughey, who had served as a director since 2005, stated that she was resigning to avoid any appearance of a conflict of interest during the national debate over healthcare reform.
McCaughey found herself the subject of widespread ridicule after an appearance on “The Daily Show” Thursday, during which host Jon Stewart aggressively challenged her positions on health care reform.
via The Washington Independent » ‘Death Panel’ Myth Creator Betsy McCaughey Resigns From Medical Board.
Montanans Not Backing Baucus’ Work On Health Care
Montanans Not Backing Baucus’ Work On Health Care
Montanans are not terribly keen on the job that home state Senator Max Baucus is doing on health care reform, according to a new Daily Kos/Research 2000 poll.
Only 42 percent of Montana residents — and 34 percent of Democrats — said they favored the work Baucus had done in shepherding health care legislation through the Senate Finance Committee. Forty-four percent of respondents said they disapproved, according to the poll of more than 600 people in the state.
The results may be partially attributable to Baucus’s apparent decision to craft legislation without a public option. Within Montana, 47 percent of the public supports creating a “public health insurance option,” while 43 percent oppose it. Looking closer at the numbers, slightly less than one-quarter of Republicans (23 percent) support a public plan. Forty-eight percent of independents and 78 percent of Democrats support the provision.
via Montanans Not Backing Baucus’ Work On Health Care.
9/11 FEMA videographer at Ground Zero goes public [Voltaire]
9/11 FEMA videographer at Ground Zero goes public
As official videographer for the U.S. government, Kurt Sonnenfeld was detailed to Ground Zero on September 11, 2001, where he spent one month filming 29 tapes: “What I saw at certain moments and in certain places … is very disturbing!” He never handed them over to the authorities and has been persecuted ever since. Kurt Sonnenfeld lives in exile in Argentina, where he wrote “El Perseguido” (the persecuted). His recently-published book tells the story of his unending nightmare and drives another nail into the coffin of the government’s account of the 9/11 events. Below is an exclusive interview by The Voltaire Network.
Introduction
Kurt Sonnenfeld graduated from the University of Colorado (USA) with studies in International Affairs and Economics, as well as in Literature and Philosophy. He worked for the United States government as official videographer and served as Director of Broadcast Operations for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)’s National Emergency Response Team. Additionally, Kurt Sonnenfeld was contracted by several other governmental agencies and programs for classified and “sensitive” operations at military and scientific installations throughout the United States.
On September 11, 2001, the area known as “Ground Zero” was sealed from the public eye. Sonnenfeld, however, was given unrestricted access enabling him to document for the investigation (that never took place) and provide some “sanitized” pool video to virtually every news network in the world. The tapes that reveal some of the anomalies which he discovered at Ground Zero are still in his possession.
via 9/11 FEMA videographer at Ground Zero goes public [Voltaire].
CJD found in recalled blood donations from USA & BSE untested meat got into food supply in UK
CJD found in recalled blood donations from USA & BSE untested meat got into food supply in UK
Why are untested donated blood products and/or cattle being exported? In the USA, the FDA recent noted there were numerous recent blood recalls of donated blood headed for humans, due to the risk of variant CJD (Jacob-Creutzfeldt disease).
Read the books, Dying for a Hamburger: Modern Meat Processing and the Epidemic of Alzheimer’s Disease by MD Murray Waldman and Marjorie Lamb (Hardcover – Jun 30, 2005) or Brain Trust: The Hidden Connection Between Mad Cow and Misdiagnosed Alzheimer’s Disease by Colm A. Kelleher (Hardcover – Oct 19, 2004). Also see: Food for Thought: The Debate over Eating Meat (Contemporary Issues ([person id=3881]Prometheus[/person])) by Steve F. Sapontzis (Paperback – May 2004).
In the USA, the Enforcement Report for August 19, 2009 noted that the products include: 1) Red Blood Cells Leukocytes Reduced, Recall # B-1451-09; 2) Plasma Frozen, Recall # B-1452-09 CODE 1) and 2) Unit: W053308507669. The recalling firm/manufacturer is the Community Blood Center, Inc., Appleton, WI, notified of recall by letter or electronic notification on February 6, 2009. Firm initiated recall is complete.
The reason for the recall is the following: The blood products, collected from a donor who was at risk for variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD), were distributed. The volume of the product in commerce, 2 units. Distribution was to Switzerland, AL.
via CJD found in recalled blood donations from USA & BSE untested meat got into food supply in UK.
Harvard Study: Taxing Job-Based Health Benefits Would Hit Working Families Hardest
Harvard Study: Taxing Job-Based Health Benefits Would Hit Working Families Hardest – On The Hill:
As the debate over health care reform continues to unfold in town hall meetings and on Capitol Hill, a new study by two Harvard researchers has found that taxing job-based health benefits would heavily penalize insured, working families.
The study, titled “The regressivity of taxing employer-paid health insurance,” appears in the August 19 online edition of the New England Journal of Medicine. It was written by Drs. David Himmelstein and Steffie Woolhandler, professors at Harvard Medical School and primary care doctors at Cambridge Hospital in Massachusetts.
The taxation of employer-sponsored health benefits has been advocated by many health economists and lawmakers, including some members of the influential Senate Finance Committee, which is now drafting health care reform legislation. President Obama has said he has not ruled out such a tax to fund his reforms.
via On The Hill: Harvard Study: Taxing Job-Based Health Benefits Would Hit Working Families Hardest.
Wastewater from food plants getting into wells
Wastewater from food plants getting into wells - - Boston.com
When empty-nesters Kari and Ron Craton moved a few years ago to a more rural area of southwestern Michigan, they were seeking a more rustic life.
What they got was more rust.
Government officials say food-processing plants that turn raw crops into products have contaminated the water-supply wells of the Cratons and other property owners in agricultural areas of Michigan and could do the same in other states. Residents claim increased amounts of metals in water drawn from their wells have killed their pets, ruined their plumbing and made their houses impossible to sell or rent.
“It’s going to take years to clean up this mess,” says Kari Craton, who persuaded environmental advocate Erin Brockovich to help her and her neighbors.
A few years ago, acting on residents’ complaints about foul odors and flies near wineries and cheese factories in the San Joaquin Valley, regional water officials in California started requiring food processors to install monitoring wells near the fields where they disposed of their production wastewater. Elevated levels of salts and nitrates, which in extreme cases can reduce blood oxygen in infants, were found near some fields.
via Wastewater from food plants getting into wells – Boston.com.
Ban guns from public political events
Ban guns from public political events
David Sirota
Those of us living in the Rocky Mountains are steeped in America’s famous gun culture – and we therefore know well the binary debates surrounding the Second Amendment. Firearm enthusiasts – the vast majority of whom use weapons responsibly – believe the Constitution protects their right to bear arms. Gun control advocates counter that the Constitution doesn’t give anyone the inalienable right to wield automatic weapons that can kill scores of people in seconds.
This is the stultified freedom-versus-safety quarrel that seemed to forever define gun politics – that is, until anti-government activists started bringing firearms to public political meetings. In early August, a protester came to a raucous Tennessee congressional forum packing heat. Days later, President Obama’s health care event in New Hampshire was marred by a protester posing for cameras with a pistol and sign reading, “It is time to water the tree of liberty” – a reference to a Thomas Jefferson quote promising violence. And this past week, 12 armed men – including one with an assault rifle – not only showed off their firearms at Obama’s Arizona speech, but broadcast a YouTube video threatening to “forcefully resist people imposing their will on us through the strength of the majority.”
These and other similar examples are accurately summarized with the same language federal law employs to describe domestic terrorism. The weapons-brandishing displays are “intended to intimidate or coerce a civilian population.” Yes, the gun has been transformed from a sport and self-defense device into a tool of mass bullying. Like the noose in the Jim Crow South, its symbolic message is clear: If you dare engage in the democratic process, you risk bodily harm.
via Ban guns from public political events.
GOP now wants ’superfilibuster’ for healthcare reform
GOP now wants ’superfilibuster’ for healthcare reform - - Raw Story »
Two Republican senators are now calling for a 75 to 80 vote majority to make healthcare reform “bipartisan,” effectively demanding a supermajority of senators to vote in favor of the proposal for it to be called legitimate.
In essence, their proposed threshold demands that the Senate approve the measure by beating back a “superfilibuster” of 75-80 senators, rather than the usual 60.
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) told Fox News’ Greta van Susteren that a few Republican votes — which could beat back a filibuster — would not make for a bipartisan bill.
The Republicans’ comments may also signal they think Democrats have sixty votes to pass a healthcare reform bill, and are setting a higher standard so that the majority party can’t declare victory even if legislation passes. Democrats are reportedly considering splitting the bill into two parts, one of which would be less controversial and potentially win some Republican support.
This video is from MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show, broadcast Aug. 20, 2009.
via Raw Story » GOP now wants ’superfilibuster’ for healthcare reform.
‘Just say no to everything’ the new GOP chant?
‘Just say no to everything’ the new GOP chant? – The Raw Story »
Rep. John Shimkus (R-IL) wants you to say “no.”
Just “no” in general, like as a response. To everything.
In fact, he’s calling “no” the new Republican mantra.
“This is going to be our chant from now until election day,” he boasted Thursday. “In fact, we’ve been saying ‘no’ for a long time. When President Obama was on the ballot, the Republican response was, ‘Just say no!’ When the Democrat leadership came to Washington saying let’s bail out Wall Street, the Republican position was, ‘Just say no!’ When an omnibus bill was sent to us with billions of additional dollars of spending, 9,000 earmarks, the Republican position was, ‘Just say no!’”
Of course, when it came to the bank bailouts, initiated by President George W. Bush, the Republican position was “yes, unreservedly!”
When it came to spending trillions to invade a country that had not attacked the United States, the Republican position was “yes, unequivocally!”
When it came to changing bankruptcy laws to further trap middle-class Americans in debt, the Republican position was, with very little debate, “yes, absolutely!”
When a Democratic political strategist sees this video, their answer to making a commercial out of it will very likely be, “Yes, do it now!”
via The Raw Story » ‘Just say no to everything’ the new GOP chant?.
Gang of Six Ignores Leadership Threat, Agree to ‘Take Time to Get Health Care Right’
OPS: read… “…to get it right for the Corporations” 
Gang of Six Ignores Leadership Threat, Agree to ‘Take Time to Get Health Care Right’ – | TPMDC
The three Democrats and three Republicans negotiating health care reform legislation in the Senate Finance Committee convened on a conference call last night–and from all accounts, it seems as if they’re ignoring, at least for now, Majority Leader Harry Reid’s threat that he’ll break health care reform legislation into parts and pass some of them through the filibuster-proof reconciliation process.
According to the Washington Post, one participant said the group reached a consensus to “to take your time to get it right,” and to lower the already cut-rate cost of their bill below $900 billion.
“Our discussion included an increased emphasis on affordability and reducing costs, and our efforts moving forward will reflect that focus. We have come a long way, will continue our work throughout August and plan to meet again before the Senate returns in September,” said Finance Committee chairman Max Baucus in a statement after the call. The negotiators have no plans to convene again until a week before the Senate comes back into session in September.
via Gang of Six Ignores Leadership Threat, Agree to ‘Take Time to Get Health Care Right’ | TPMDC.
Texas to revise history textbooks: liberals out, Limbaugh and Gingrich in.
Texas to revise history textbooks: liberals out, Limbaugh and Gingrich in. – Think Progress »
The Texas State Board of Education review committee is preparing to vote on a draft of proposed standards for history textbooks. Noting that the draft has “nothing about liberals,” the Houston Chronicle reported:
The first draft for proposed standards in United States History Studies Since Reconstruction says students should be expected “to identify significant conservative advocacy organizations and individuals, such as Newt Gingrich, Phyllis Schlafly and the Moral Majority.” [...] Others have proposed adding talk show host Rush Limbaugh and the National Rifle Association.
The 15-member committee, stacked with 10 Republicans, is expected to vote along party lines. Earlier this year, a panel of right-wing “experts” produced a report urging the committee to remove biographies of George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Stephen F. Austin, César Chávez, and instead add history about the “motivational role the Bible and the Christian faith played in the settling of the original colonies.”
via Think Progress » Texas to revise history textbooks: liberals out, Limbaugh and Gingrich in..
Study: Longer Wait Times for Emergency Rooms
Study: Longer Wait Times for Emergency Rooms - : NPR
A new study describes a disturbing trend in hospital emergency rooms: longer wait times, even for very sick people. That finding follows a recent report from the Institute of Medicine that described emergency rooms as being at the breaking point.
via Study: Longer Wait Times for Emergency Rooms : NPR.
William Calley apologizes for My Lai massacre
William Calley apologizes for My Lai massacre – - -
William Calley, the former Army lieutenant convicted on 22 counts of murder in the infamous My Lai Massacre in Vietnam, publicly apologized for the first time this week while speaking in Columbus.
“There is not a day that goes by that I do not feel remorse for what happened that day in My Lai,” Calley told members of the Kiwanis Club of Greater Columbus on Wednesday. His voice started to break when he added, “I feel remorse for the Vietnamese who were killed, for their families, for the American soldiers involved and their families. I am very sorry.”
In March 1968, U.S. soldiers gunned down hundreds of civilians in the Vietnamese hamlet of My Lai. The Army at first denied, then downplayed the event, saying most of the dead were Vietcong. But in November 1969, journalist Seymour Hersh revealed what really happened and Calley was court martialed and convicted of murder.
via William Calley apologizes for My Lai massacre – News – Ledger-Enquirer.com.
Cook Report: Dems Have Lost Control Of The Debate
Cook Report: Dems Have Lost Control Of The Debate - | TPMDC
The newest analysis from the Cook Political Report — one of the most respected political commentators out there — finds that the Democrats have lost control of the political environment, and that current trends could point to significant Congressional losses in 2010:
These data confirm anecdotal evidence, and our own view, that the situation this summer has slipped completely out of control for President Obama and Congressional Democrats. Today, The Cook Political Report’s Congressional election model, based on individual races, is pointing toward a net Democratic loss of between six and 12 seats, but our sense, factoring in macro-political dynamics is that this is far too low.
Many veteran Congressional election watchers, including Democratic ones, report an eerie sense of déjà vu, with a consensus forming that the chances of Democratic losses going higher than 20 seats are just as good as the chances of Democratic losses going lower than 20 seats.
Cook cites some examples of national polling data, to show that the Democrats are no longer untouchable. President Obama’s approval rating is now consistently hovering just above 50%. There is also heavy disapproval of Congress, with 70% disapproval among the key independent voters in the latest Gallup poll. It should be noted that there isn’t anything in the way of race-specific data, which doesn’t really exist and wouldn’t be of much use at this early point in the cycle.
via Cook Report: Dems Have Lost Control Of The Debate | TPMDC.
Militarization of Swine Flu Preparations
Militarization of Swine Flu Preparations – by Alex Newman
New American – 2009-08-14
The increasing militarization of preparations for an outbreak of swine flu is proceeding rapidly and without very much public debate, despite the relatively mild nature of the disease so far and the fact that many experts believe the panic has been overblown.
Earlier this week, Republican Representative Paul Broun of Georgia warned a town hall meeting that a “socialistic elite” may be preparing to declare martial law in the United States using a pandemic disease as the pretext. “They’re trying to develop an environment where they can take over,” he told attendees according to an article in the Athens Banner-Herald. “We’ve seen that historically.”
In another alarming development this week, National Guard troops are involved in a drill to take over a high school in Maine to deal with potential riots and panic over distribution of treatment for the H1N1 virus, the Maine Sun Journal reported Thursday. “The National Guardsmen will take on the roles of panicked citizens and military police and practice what they would do, such as using tear gas, in the case of a riot,” said the newspaper article entitled “National Guard Drill at High School to Prepare for Possible H1N1 Riot.” The story also noted that local law enforcement would be involved.
This is all despite the fact that the Maine Center for Disease Control has reported just one death tied to the swine flu, and the man actually died from “underlying conditions complicated by H1N1,” according to Dr. Dora Mills, the center’s director.
“This is just a component of moving the stuff from point A to B,” assured the director of Oxford County’s emergency management agency, Scott Parker. He told the Sun Journal that the plan would only be put in place “if needed.”
Apparently concerns about panic and disorder were raised during a conference in April, so the governor and the adjutant General of the Maine National Guard decided to formulate a plan to bring in military police.
via Militarization of Swine Flu Preparations.
What’s the Danger of Swine Flu Vaccinations?
What’s the Danger of Swine Flu Vaccinations? - by Dr. Anders Bruun Laursen
There seems to be quite a lot of uncertainty about the technical nature of Swine Flu (H1N1) vaccines.
As a medical doctor, I wish to clarify a number of improtant issues: First, we should talk about vaccines instead of vaccine, since the vaccines vary as for their compositions and even their ways of being dispensed: some by injection, another by the nose.
I think the fears as for the vaccines can be referred to:
1. the adjuvants – in particular squalene which was in all probability responsible for the Gulf War syndrome,
2. the virus antigen´s condition (dead, attenuated, live)
3. a deeply rooted mistrust in our politicians and the vaccine producers´ motives and morals: e.g. Baxter´s live bird flu virus last Winter (12), the Bayer AIDS haemophiliac product scandal (15).
First it is necessary to understand, that pandemic vaccines are made according to two procedures:
via What’s the Danger of Swine Flu Vaccinations?.
The vaccines are far more deadly than the swine flu
The vaccines are far more deadly than the swine flu - by Dr. Mae-Wan Ho and Prof. Joe Cummins
Institute of Science in Society – 2009-07-27 
The vaccines are far more deadly than the swine flu. Mass vaccinations is a recipe for disaster Dr. Mae-Wan Ho and Prof. Joe Cummins
This report has been submitted to Sir Liam Donaldson, Chief Medical Officer of the UK, and to the US Food and Drugs Administration
A swine flu outbreak occurred in Mexico and the United States in April 2009 and spread rapidly around the world by human-to human transmission. The new type A H1N1 influenza virus is unlike any that had been previously isolated [1, 2], judging from the first data released in May.
It is a messy combination of sequences from bird, human and swine flu virus lineages from North America and Eurasia. A senior virologist based in Canberra, Australia, told the press he thought that the virus could have been created in a laboratory and released by accident [3]. Some analysts even suggest, without corroborating evidence, that it was made intentionally as a bioweapon [4], while others blame the intensive livestock industry and extensive trafficking of love animals over long distances, which provide plenty of opportunity for generating exotic recombinants [5].
But what worries the public most is the mass vaccination programmes governments are putting in place to combat the emerging pandemic, which could well be worse than the pandemic itself.
Watchdog opposes fast-track vaccine for school children
via The vaccines are far more deadly than the swine flu.
Medical Fraud’s Staggering Price Tag
Medical Fraud’s Staggering Price Tag
U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders
As the nation engages in a contentious debate over health care, one thing that almost everyone agrees on is the need to fight rampant fraud. Rip-offs add billions of dollars a year to the tab for health care in America. How much money could be saved by eliminating fraud? “It’s just an extraordinary sum,” Malcolm Sparrow of Harvard University told National Public Radio. Unsure if fraud costs $100 billion or $600 billion, Sparrow told NPR he is sure that whatever the first digit is, it has 11 zeroes after it. To address the problem, the Senate health committee on July 23 voted 23 to 0 for an amendment by Senator Bernie Sanders that would double penalties for health care fraud. “What we have seen for many years is the systemic fraud perpetrated by private insurance companies, private drug companies, and private for-profit hospitals ripping off the American people and the taxpayers of this country to the tune of many billions of dollars,” Sanders said.
Sanders’ amendment would authorize double the current penalties under the False Claims Act for fraudulently billing new health exchanges created by the reform bill. Convicted companies would face fines of up to six times the amount of the fraud. “I worry very much that for many international corporations getting hit with treble damages may well be worth it and passed along as a cost of doing business,” Sanders said. “What we have to tell these big multi-national corporations is that if they are going to engage in fraud they’re going to pay for it dearly.”
Virtually all of the major hospital chains, private insurance companies, and pharmaceutical companies have been involved in massive health care fraud over the past decade, the senator added. He also pointed to a string of criminal and civil cases against many of the leading corporate health care providers in the country, including:
via U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders | United States Senator for Vermont: Newsroom.
The world’s first cocaine bar
The world’s first cocaine bar – | | The Guardian
Route 36 has turned La Paz, Bolivia into a hotspot for drug tourism, tempting backpackers from all over the world
“Tonight we have two types of cocaine; normal for 100 Bolivianos a gram, and strong cocaine for 150 [Bolivianos] a gram.” The waiter has just finished taking our drink order of two rum-and-Cokes here in La Paz, Bolivia, and as everybody in this bar knows, he is now offering the main course. The bottled water is on the house.
The waiter arrives at the table, lowers the tray and places an empty black CD case in the middle of the table. Next to the CD case are two straws and two little black packets. He is so casual he might as well be delivering a sandwich and fries. And he has seen it all. “We had some Australians; they stayed here for four days. They would take turns sleeping and the only time they left was to go to the ATM,” says Roberto, who has worked at Route 36 (in its various locations) for the last six months. Behind the bar, he goes back to casually slicing straws into neat 8cm lengths.
La Paz, Bolivia, at 3,900m above sea level – an altitude where even two flights of stairs makes your heart race like a hummingbird – is home to the most celebrated bar in all of South America: Route 36, the world’s first cocaine lounge. I sit back to take in the scene – table after table of chatty young backpackers, many of whom are taking a gap year, awaiting a new job or simply escaping the northern hemisphere for the delights of South America, which, for many it seems, include cocaine.
via The world’s first cocaine bar | World news | The Guardian.
Kent Conrad’s Long Opposition To The Public Option
Budget Buster: Kent Conrad’s Long Opposition To The Public Option
Kent Conrad, the Democratic Senator who declared the public health insurance option dead on Sunday, portrays his activism on behalf of health insurance cooperatives as the conscripted service of a pragmatic warrior.
The public option, he has said over and over, just doesn’t have the 60 votes he thinks are needed to overcome a filibuster in the Senate.
The accuracy of that supposed whip-count aside, Conrad’s opposition to offering consumers a government-run alternative to private insurance companies goes deeper than political pragmatism.
Though he has refused to take a public position on the matter, in private meetings with colleagues and staff dating back to the beginning of the year, Conrad has repeatedly expressed his opposition to a public option, four top Democratic aides who’ve sat in meetings with him told the Huffington Post.
Conrad, they say, sees the public option as a dangerous expansion of federal responsibility for health care spending. “His position seems based on ideology more than practicality,” said one of the aides.
via Budget Buster: Kent Conrad’s Long Opposition To The Public Option.
Americans: Serfs Ruled by Oligarchs
Americans: Serfs Ruled by Oligarchs
By PAUL CRAIG ROBERTS
“In a little time [there will be] no middling sort. We shall have a few, and but a very few Lords, and all the rest beggars.” R.L. Bushman
“Rapidly you are dividing into two classes–extreme rich and extreme poor.” “Brutus”
Americans think that they have “freedom and democracy” and that politicians are held accountable by elections. The fact of the matter is that the US is ruled by powerful interest groups who control politicians with campaign contributions. Our real rulers are an oligarchy of financial and military/security interests and AIPAC, which influences US foreign policy for the benefit of Israel.
Have a look at economic policy. It is being run for the benefit of large financial concerns, such as Goldman Sachs.
It was the banks, not the millions of Americans who have lost homes, jobs, health insurance, and pensions, that received $700 billion in TARP funds. The banks used this gift of capital to make more profits. In the middle of the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, Goldman Sachs announced record second quarter profits and large six-figure bonuses for every employee.
via Paul Craig Roberts: Americans: Serfs Ruled by Oligarchs.
Picket Whole Foods Friday
Picket Whole Foods Friday - « Single Payer Action
Last week, Single Payer Action called for a nationwide boycott of Whole Foods.
Why?
Because with 60 Americans dying every day from lack of health insurance, the CEO of the company, John Mackey penned a diatribe against a single payer health insurance reform — the only health insurance reform that will both control costs and insure everyone.
Mackey took to the pages of the Wall Street Journal and insulted not only many of his customers, but many of his own employees.
The response to that call for a boycott was remarkable.
via Picket Whole Foods Friday « Single Payer Action.
Return of $9bn in Lehman claims delayed
Return of $9bn in Lehman claims delayed - By Anousha Sakoui – FT.com
Judge rejects PwC asset recovery scheme
Clients of Lehman Brothers’ European operations face further delay in recovering up to $9bn of assets after an English judge decided he could not approve a scheme that would have helped expedite the winding-up of the collapsed bank’s complicated operations.
PwC, administrator of the defunct bank’s main European operations, had proposed a scheme of arrangement that would have divided more than 1,000 clients into three classes and allowed the administrators to deal with claims by class rather than individually.
via FT.com / Companies / Financial Services – Return of $9bn in Lehman claims delayed.
Depression-era inequality, only worse
Depression-era inequality, only worse – By Zach Carter, TMC MediaWire
A new study by Economist Emmanuel Saez revealed this week that income inequality in the U.S. is more severe today than at any time since World War I, and the current recession is taking its heaviest toll on the worst-off members of our society. As our government rebuilds the financial sector using taxpayers’ money, it’s important to remember that both financiers and the government are responsible to our communities, not just bank shareholders. If we want to strengthen our country’s economic foundation, we need to demand better wages for workers and an end to all kinds of predatory lending.
Saez’s new data on income inequality is, as Paul Krugman put it, “truly amazing.” Saez, who teaches at the University of California at Berkeley, found that the top 0.01% of U.S. earners had 6% of total U.S. wages, more than double the level in 2000. Earners in the top 10%, meanwhile, took home an astonishing 49.7% of all wages. That gap is larger now than during the Great Depression or the Gilded Age of the Roaring ’20s.
“We’re seeing Depression-era inequality again–only now it’s slightly worse,” writes Steve Benen for The Washington Monthly. Benen also notes that this level of inequality is not an inevitable consequence of a market economy: It’s an extreme historical aberration. In the U.S., prosperity for much of the 20th Century was shared. But in 2007, at the economic bubble’s peak, the wealthy simply got wealthier.
via ISS – VOICES: Depression-era inequality, only worse.
Obama’s deafening silence on Honduras
Obama’s deafening silence on Honduras - | Mark Weisbrot || guardian.co.uk
Seven weeks after the coup in Honduras, the US is hindering efforts to restore President Manuel Zelaya to power
Seven weeks after the Honduran military overthrew the democratically elected president of Honduras, the divide between the United States and Latin America continues to grow.
The strategy of the coup regime is obviously to run out the clock on President Manuel Zelaya’s remaining months in office. A presidential election, in which Zelaya is not eligible to run because of Honduras’ one-term limit, is scheduled for 29 November.
In response to that strategy, the Union of South American Nations (Unasur) issued a declaration on 10 August that it would not recognise any government elected under the coup regime. It is worth noting that this was a unanimous decision. Even close US allies Colombia and Peru approved the declaration.
Then on 17 August, President Lula da Silva of Brazil, who has grown increasingly impatient with the delaying tactics, issued a joint statement with President Felipe Calderon of Mexico saying the same thing. Calderon is a rightwing president and was one of President George Bush’s few allies in the region.
via Obama’s deafening silence on Honduras | Mark Weisbrot | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk.
Nadler: Obama Violating Law By Not Investigating Bush
OPS: Pelosi and Reid too
Nadler: Obama Violating Law By Not Investigating Bush
Even as the issue of torture appears likely to burst back onto the public agenda next week — thanks to the much anticipated release of an internal CIA report — one of the most progressive voices in Congress is arguing that the Obama White House has a legal obligation to investigate the Bush torture legacy.
New York Congressman Jerry Nadler, a senior Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, told the Huffington Post that he believed that President Obama would be breaking the law if he decided to oppose launching investigation into the authorization of torture.
“If they follow the law they have no choice,” Nadler said in an interview this past weekend.
The logic, for Nadler, is straightforward. As a signatory of the convention against torture, and as a result of the anti-torture act of 1996, the United States government is obligated to investigate accusations of torture when they occur in its jurisdiction.
The alternative, Nadler said, “would be violating the law. They would be not upholding the law; they would be violating it.”
via Nadler: Obama Violating Law By Not Investigating Bush.
US Jews protest Catholic document on salvation
US Jews protest Catholic document on salvation
NEW YORK — Major Jewish groups and rabbis from the three largest branches of American Judaism said Thursday that their relationship with Roman Catholic leaders is at risk because of a recent U.S. bishops’ statement on salvation.
Jewish groups said they interpret the new document to mean that the bishops view interfaith dialogue as a chance to invite Jews to become Catholic. The Jewish leaders said they “pose no objection” to Christians sharing their faith, but said dialogue with Jews becomes “untenable” if the goal is to persuade Jews to accept Christ as their savior.
“A declaration of this sort is antithetical to the very essence of Jewish-Christian dialogue as we have understood it,” Jewish leaders said in a letter to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The signers were the Anti-Defamation League, the American Jewish Committee and rabbis representing the Orthodox, Conservative and Reform movements.
The statement fueling the tension was issued by the bishops in June to clarify a 2002 document called “Covenant and Mission.” The bishops said the earlier document mistakenly played down the importance of sharing the Gospel and was therefore misleading.
via US Jews protest Catholic document on salvation.
Life to order: Man-made organisms will be here in four months, say biologists
Artificial life will be created ‘within months’ as genome experts claim vital breakthrough – | Mail Online
Artificial life will be made to order in the laboratory within four months, a controversial biologist has claimed.
U.S genome expert Craig Venter, said his team have overcome a vital obstacle in the development of new man-made organisms. The scientist, named as one of the most influential people in the world, said the first ‘synthetic species’ could be created this year. Scientists at the J. Craig Venter Institute, in Rockville, Maryland, successfully transplanted an entire synthetic genome from one bacteria into another for the first time.
They believe the ‘gene swap’ experiment will help scientists alter bacteria to perform a range of ambitious applications.
via Life to order: Man-made organisms will be here in four months, say biologists | Mail Online.
Kyl: “I Don’t Think A Single Republican” Will Support Health Care Reform
Kyl: “I Don’t Think A Single Republican” Will Support Health Care Reform
In an interview with Fox News’ Neil Cavuto, Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) affirmed that neither health care reform bill currently in circulation will get any Republican support. “For either the bill that passed the House Committee or the bill that passed the HELP committee in the Senate, I don’t think a single Republican in the Senate would support either of those bills,” he said confidently. Kyl went on to say that negotiations between Republicans and Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee have become “very difficult because” of “liberals in both the House and the Senate.” Later he suggested, “Let’s start over.”
WATCH:
via Kyl: “I Don’t Think A Single Republican” Will Support Health Care Reform.
Stocks jump as Bernanke says economy near recovery
Stocks jump as Bernanke says economy near recovery
Stocks surge after Bernanke declares economy on verge of recovery, home sales jump
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has told investors what they wanted to hear: The economy is indeed on the verge of recovery.
Major stock indicators surged more than 1 percent in early afternoon trading Friday and hit new intraday highs for the year. The Dow Jones industrial average briefly surpassed the 9,500 mark, a level it hasn’t seen since November 5.
Meanwhile, Treasury prices tumbled, pushing yields sharply higher, as investors no longer needed the safety of government debt.
“The prospects for a return to growth in the near term appear good,” Bernanke said at an annual Fed conference in Wyoming. He did warn, however, that lending is not back to normal, and that the difficulty consumers and businesses are having obtaining loans will be a challenge.
A bigger-than-expected jump in home sales also gave stocks a boost and helped send bonds lower. The National Association of Realtors said sales of existing homes rose 7.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.24 million in July, from a pace of 4.89 million in June.
via Stocks jump as Bernanke says economy near recovery – Yahoo! Finance.
Idaho GOP leader who helped spur coup arrested
Idaho GOP leader who helped spur coup arrested - Idaho Statesman
BOISE, Idaho — An Idaho Republican Party leader who helped oust the state GOP chairman in 2008 faces charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after an altercation escalated while he photographed a home with a delinquent mortgage.
Challis McAffee, 33, the GOP chairman from the Boise suburb of Garden City and one of 231 voting members of the Idaho Republican Central Committee, was arrested after being accused of pointing a gun at the homeowner. He was released from Ada County jail on Thursday after family members and friends posted a portion of the $50,000 bond.
McAffee works for a contractor hired by Wells Fargo & Co. to document the condition of homes where mortgages are past due or in foreclosure. A Wells Fargo spokesman condemned McAffee’s behavior, calling it “horrific and absolutely inexcusable.”
via Idaho GOP leader who helped spur coup arrested | Idaho | Idaho Statesman.
Shelby: defeating Obama on healthcare in GOP’s political interest
Shelby: defeating Obama on healthcare in GOP’s political interest
t would be in the GOP’s interest to see President Obama suffer politically by defeating the healthcare reform bill the president has pushed, Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) acknowledged Thursday.
Shelby, during an appearance of Fox News Radio, concurred with host Brian Kilmeade’s suggestion that it would open up opportunities for Republicans on issues to let Obama “go down with the healthcare ship.”
“I think it’s always in our interest to let anybody go down when we think they’re philosophically wrong, and I believe he’s totally wrong on this healthcare,” Shelby said.
Democrats had pounced on suggestions by Republican lawmakers that defeating the bill would be to their political benefit. Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) was most notably castigated for saying that defeating healthcare would be Obama’s “Waterloo.”
via The Hill’s Blog Briefing Room » Shelby: defeating Obama on healthcare in GOP’s political interest.
WHO predicts ‘explosion’ of swine flu cases
WHO predicts ‘explosion’ of swine flu cases
The global spread of swine flu will endanger more lives as it speeds up in the coming months and governments must boost preparations for a swift response to a coming “explosion” of cases, the World Health Organization said Friday.
Many countries could see swine flu cases double every three to four days for several months until peak transmission is reached, once cold weather returns to the northern hemisphere, said WHO’s Western Pacific director, Shin Young-soo.
“At a certain point, there will seem to be an explosion in case numbers,” Shin told a symposium of health officials and experts in Beijing. “It is certain there will be more cases and more deaths.”
via WHO predicts ‘explosion’ of swine flu cases.
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Republicans Don't Care about Voter Fraud....owa Republicans are trying to dismiss claims that the vote count in Tuesday's Iowa Caucus was wrong. An Iowa voter told a local TV station yesterday that he noticed a 20-vote discrepancy in the count - and that Rick Santorum was the real winner of the Caucuses. Republican Party officials, though, are sticking to their first count - showing Mitt Romney as the winner by 8-votes - and there will be no recount.The Republican Party has launched a war on voters around the nation this year with strict new laws that will disenfranchise over 5 million Americans. They claim these laws are necessary to combat so-called voter fraud. Yet in Iowa - where there are no such laws - and where a very, very close and questionable election was just held - Republicans don't seem to care at all about getting it right.Clearly - the war on voters isn't about making sure the people's voices are represented accurately - it's about making sure poor people, young people, and minorities who tend to vote for Democrats - can't vote at all.-Thom(Who do you think won? Tell us here.) -
LEGALIZE Democracy
" We the corporations" On January 21, 2010, with its ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, the Supreme Court ruled that corporations are persons, entitled by the U.S. Constitution to buy elections and run our government. __________
MOVE to AMEND
a project of the CAMPAIGN TO LEGALIZE Democracy
Help end Corporate personhood
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The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. 
