"Sarah Palin-the road to nowhere"with a sub-title....
" I can see myself from here"
Reality Receding
public James Howard Kunstler
on September 14, 2009 6:33 AM
...........We have to dismantle things that have no future and rebuild things that will allow daily life to function. We have to say goodbye to big box shopping and rebuild Main Street. More people will be needed to work in farming and fewer in tourism, public relations, gambling, and party planning. We have to make some basic useful products in this country again. We have to systematically decommission suburbia and reactivate our small towns and small cities. We have to prepare for the contraction of our large cities. We have to let the sun set on Happy Motoring and rebuild our trains, transit systems, harbors, and inland waterways. We have to reorganize schooling at a much more modest level. We have to close down most of the overseas military bases we're operating and conclude our wars in Asia. Mostly, we have to recover a national sense of common purpose and common decency. There is obviously a lot of work to do in the list above, which could translate into paychecks and careers -- but not if we direct all our resources into propping up the failing structures of yesterday.
full article
Conservatives and Republicans have longed waged a campaign against ACORN, focused mainly on the group's voter registration activities. During the 2008 cycle, ACORN, by its own tally, helped register over 1.3 million low-income, minority, and young -- in other words, predominantly Democratic -- voters across the country.
A coalition of Bellingham and Whatcom County organizations are sponsoring the Bellingham Health Care Reform March at noon on September 12 at Maritime Heritage Park at 500 W. Holly in Bellingham. The public is invited.
The Whatcom Democrats, United for National Healthcare, MoveOn Bellingham Council, Organizing for America, Jobs with Justice, Whatcom Peace & Justice Center & other local groups are participating in the march. All of these groups support sweeping reforms in the current health care system. Some of these groups support private health insurance reform, others support a national single payer health care system, and still others support a mixed system with private insurance and a national public insurance option.
Christians for the Mountains presents
The Mountain Mourning Collection
produced by B. J. Gudmundsson
Portraits of the Human Spirit featuring Traditional Appalachian Music
Includes “Mountain Mourning,” “Look What They’ve Done,”
and “Keeper of the Mountains.” View Previews
In the Southern Appalachian Mountains, a coal-mining process known as Mountaintop Removal is devastating God’s creation. And global warming is being accelerated by Mountaintop Removal. Demand for electricity overshadows weak environmental laws. Coal industry profits outweigh quality of life. As our oldest mountaintops vanish, the people are left behind. Having paid the highest price – they are abandoned in what is called “the sacrifice zone.” These are their stories.
Christians for the Mountains is a non-profit, grass-roots organization that encourages the preservation of God’s Earth and its human communities. We call upon Christians, church communities and people of conscience to join us in advocating for personal responsibilities and public policies that conserve the use of earth’s resources and address abusive coal extraction processes.
“The Mountain Mourning Collection” is a powerful viewing experience. For those who are familiar with mountaintop removal these films evoke strong emotions while being affirming and hope inspiring.
“Mountain Mourning” is the feature film of the collection. It gives an overview of the basics of mountaintop removal within the context of the Appalachian culture.
“Look What They’ve Done” and “Keeper of the Mountains” included on the DVD, are stories told by persons directly affected by mountaintop removal mining. Mountaintop removal is not an abstraction. It adversely affects the lives of real human beings. These films capture Maria Gunnoe’s and Larry Gibson’s love of mountains and mountain folk and also their pain and anguish over the devastation of the land and its people. These films should break a heart of stone.
Also on this DVD
“A Call to Action” which is a short message from Christians for the Mountains co-founder, Bob Marshall.
“Bringing Down the Mountains” excerpts. The film is a project by Pennsylvania high school students that can inspire young people to engage pressing issues of our time in order to make a positive difference for their future.
Christians for the Mountains provides more information about their efforts to stop mountaintop removal as well as a Viewing Guide and “5 Ways You Can Make a Big Difference” on their website:
ChristiansfortheMountains.org
info on DVD here
Standing Up For The Public Option
by Blue America
Distributed among the recipients below
These are the progressive members of Congress with the guts to stand up to Big Insurance, Big Pharma and to the pressure from their own party bosses. They stood with the American people and ordinary working families when push came to shove and both political parties decided propping up a disastrous health care system and a corrupt Insurance Industry was more important than keeping the promise made over and over to working families. These were the men and women who promised to vote against any health care reform bill that didn't include, at the minimum, a robust public option. 60 signed a letter to Secretary Sebelius and 18 took the FDL Pledge.
Democratic members of Congress need to understand that a healthcare reform bill with a Public Option is simply not an option-- it's a requirement. The congressmembers on this list have said in no uncertain terms that they will not vote for a bill without a public option all the way through Conference. That takes courage, and we need to show them how much we appreciate them for doing so. Please make a contribution-- and thanks for everything else you're doing for the public option.
Please Help Us Fight the Teabagger Army from Derailing Health Care
The lobbyists are packed six deep into every nook and cranny on the Hill, and it's going to take everything to fight this. Americans are dying. At the same time, corporate-funded teabaggers are trying to shut down all debate.
We need to raise $250,000 to fund our fight to stop the teabaggers from derailing health care. After two months of your hard work, 65 members House drew a line in the sand: no public option, no health care reform. Now that we've shown progressives in the House it's possible to stick together, it will be our job to make sure these members hold the line on a strong public option.Will you help us fight the insurance industry lobby in the battle for affordable health care for all? Contribute what you can below. Thanks for all you do.
Eve Gittelson NYCEve
Jane HamsherFiredoglake.com
Well said Vern!
This is about us paying for us to have healthcare. Administrative costs for Medicare are about 3% as opposed to for profit health insurance, which can be 30%. We should be opting to pay for our healthcare. We can save enormous amounts of money. We can hire good people (our fellow citizens), accountable to us, to administer the payment to good people (our fellow citizens), accountable to us, to provide our healthcare.
Standing in the way of this are 13 senators (from both parties) sitting on the Finance Committee and Commerce Committee who have been bought and paid for by the for profit health care industry and big pharma. And what a bargain, most come from small states and rural areas representing 13 million people (4% of the U S population). It only cost the profiteers about $12,000,000 in campaign contributions. That is on a par with the annual compensation of one bargain CEO of some these same organizations. Many of these greedy profiteers are collecting far more. (Don’t forget to breath when you see their take when they collect their stock options.) Hmmm, I’m no math whiz, so correct me if I’m wrong, I believe it would take, 100 humans paying $10,000 a year in premiums to get the first $1,000,000 to pay one CEO. The cheap ones go for over $5,000,000 in annual compensation, not counting stock options. These are the same folks who brought us the bloated, big slobbery kiss to themselves, Medicare part D. People should have been out in the streets when our children and grandchildren were gifted with that legacy.
At least 46 million of our fellow citizens now have no health insurance. We all pay when people are forced to get healthcare at expensive units of hospitals designed to provide emergency care. And good luck getting well care there to prevent and get early detection of serious or life threatening illnesses.
I would feel a lot safer in my community if I knew all the humans I come in contact with as I go through my day had healthcare. Healthcare profiteering is right up there with war profiteering. I want healthcare by doctors and healthcare professionals, not wall street.
Remove the profit from primary healthcare. We are humans, not consumers.
Medicare for all! That’s a real bargain !!
Friday, July 17, 2009
Discussion With Rick Larsen's Office Staff
by Karl Uppiano -[I posted this comment over at the Bellingham Herald Politics Blog -- KU]
A few of us from the Tea Party protest went upstairs to Congressman Larsen’s office to make sure our voices were heard. Standing on the street below doesn’t guarantee that anybody will pay attention.
We had a polite, but direct conversation with Rick Larsen’s office staff. They seemed surprised to hear that we want no government involvement in our health care at all. It seems that most of the people they deal with, who object to the bill, simply want parts of it “tweaked” to provide more benefits for them specifically. They were not prepared to deal with the concept that health care is not a legitimate function of the federal government under the Constitution. They kept offering various “what ifs” and options that they hoped would satisfy us.
They mentioned that the current system varies state to state — as if that were a flaw. They blinked when I pointed out that what they were calling a flaw, represents states’ rights, diversity and individual choice. If we don’t like the system in our state, we’re free to try to change it, or move to a state that better suits us. If the federal government enforces uniformity in all states, then we lose our freedom to choose. It was as if they had never heard that argument before. I thought it was a discouraging
conversation.
(http://bhamteaparty.blogspot.com/2009/07/discussion-with-rick-larsens%20office.html)
DNC Web Ad: "Enough of the Mob"
One Year Ago Today...
By Coury Turczynon July 27, 2009 10:24 AM
...Knoxville experienced a nightmarish attack when Jim David Adkisson decided to strike out against liberals and "kill them where they gather." He chose the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church as the site of his rampage--on a day when children were performing Annie Jr. Greg McKendry and Linda Kraeger were killed, and six others were wounded. It could have been even more horrific were it not for the brave liberals who tackled Adkisson.
Today at 7 p.m., the TVUUC is holding the "Instruments of Peace" concert as a thank-you for the support it received from the Knoxville community. Folk musicians Guy and Candie Carawan are performing. ...
"Know this if nothing else: This was a hate crime. I hate the damn
left-wing liberals. There is a vast left-wing conspiracy in this country &
these liberals are working together to attack every decent & honorable
institution in the nation, trying to turn this country into a communist state.
Shame on them....
"This was a symbolic killing. Who I wanted to kill was every Democrat in
the Senate & House, the 100 people in Bernard Goldberg's book. I'd like to
kill everyone in the mainstream media. But I know those people were inaccessible
to me. I couldn't get to the generals & high ranking officers of the Marxist
movement so I went after the foot soldiers, the chickenshit liberals that vote
in these traitorous people. Someone had to get the ball rolling. I volunteered.
I hope others do the same. It's the only way we can rid America of this
cancerous pestilence."
"I thought I'd do something good for this Country Kill Democrats til the
cops kill me....Liberals are a pest like termites. Millions of them Each little
bite contributes to the downfall of this great nation. The only way we can rid
ourselves of this evil is to kill them in the streets. Kill them where they
gather. I'd like to encourage other like minded people to do what I've done. If
life aint worth living anymore don't just kill yourself. do something for your
Country before you go. Go Kill Liberals.
Nicely done, Messrs. Hannity, Goldberg, Limbaugh, Savage and O'Reilly -- and all your lesser brethren who keep the hate speech spewing 24/7/365 across every field and into every shop in the country. There is no more debate to be had, no more doubt about it: What you did in the name of "entertainment," and for the sake of the almighty ratings, raised and animated a monster like Jim Adkisson, gave him a list of targets ("the 100 people in Bernard Goldberg's book"), and was directly responsible for the deaths of two brave and decent people. Adkisson was clearly angry and crazy -- but his "manifesto" draws the clearest, brightest line possible between the media he consumed and his actions that terrible Sunday morning.
Progressives should take three lessons away from Knoxville:
One: we are no longer safe, not even in our own houses of worship. It's ironic that progressives -- the subgroup of Americans who were most determined not to abandon reason and succumb to overblown fears of Islamic terrorism in the wake of 9/11 -- now have good, serious reasons to fear real domestic terrorism against themselves.
Two: A significant part of this country's media infrastructure is thoroughly devoted to inciting people to commit horrific acts of violence against us -- and now, we know for a fact that people are acting on those incitements. It's time to start taking this far more seriously. What goes out across our airwaves these days isn't all that different from what went out over Radio Rwanda a decade ago, spurring that country to genocide. At this point, it's only a difference of degree.
Three: The right wing has, as usual, grossly underestimated our courage and our commitment. The members of Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist quickly and effectively disarmed and captured this man within seconds after he opened fire. Adkisson expected fear; what we got was determined resistance. It's why he's still alive today, and why more UUs aren't dead by his hand. The TVUUA congregation should be our enduring example of liberal grace under fire.Adkisson's "manifesto" should end any doubts we ever had about how virulent and dangerous hate talk is, or whether or not that talk will eventually translate into action.
KGMI - Morning News Extra for 7/24/09 - Congressman Rick Larsen
Congressman Rick Larsen talks about the reasons why he wants health care reform in America, and the recent criticisms he has heard from local groups on both sides of the debate.
Listen to the podcast
Reforming Health Care: Larsen Pushes Fair Deal for Washington StateJuly 13, 2009Washington, D.C. — As Congress works to reform health care to bring down costs and ensure, quality affordable health care, U.S. Representative Rick Larsen (WA-02) is working to get a fair deal for Washington state. Specifically, Larsen is pushing to protect access to health care for Washington state patients by ensuring that Washington state is rewarded, not penalized, for providing high-quality, low-cost patient care.
“Lower Medicare payment rates mean fewer providers in Washington state, and fewer providers mean less access to care for local seniors and other patients,” said Larsen. “Washington state should be rewarded, not penalized, for providing quality, efficient care. That is why I’m working to get a fair deal for our state and make it easier for local seniors and other patients to see a doctor when they need to.”
Larsen is pushing for stronger reforms to help Washington state by changing the way health care is delivered to reward “value not volume” – value for the patient, not volume of tests or procedures. To that end, Larsen has sent a bipartisan letter to House leadership along with 27 of his House colleagues led by Rep. Betty McCollum (MN-04) urging action to fix Medicare geographic disparities in reimbursement.
Washington state is one of several states in which the quality of care exceeds the national average and Medicare costs per patient are substantially lower than the national average. For example, the average federal Medicare payment per patient in Everett, Washington is $6,905 while McAllen, Texas averages $14,946. Studies have shown that increased spending per patient has no correlation with quality of care. While the quality of care in Everett is the same if not better compared to McAllen, medical providers there get paid more than twice as much, costing taxpayers more than twice as much. So while Washington state provides higher-quality, lower-cost care in many cases and delivers better results for patients, Washington state is penalized by the current Medicare reimbursement formula.
Larsen has joined a number of his colleagues to request a meeting with House leadership to restore fairness for Washington and other states before the bill comes up for a House vote. Democratic leaders have agreed to meet with Larsen and his colleagues, but a date has yet to be set.
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Whatcom County Democrats
P.O. Box 3095, Bellingham, WA 98227-3095
• Phone: (360) 647-7661 •
Office Location: 215 W. Holly Street, Suite B-27, Bellingham, WA 98225
- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -
*Whatcom Democrats Disappointed With Congressman Larsen's Stance on Health Care Reform*
The Whatcom County Democratic Party passed a resolution at their July membership meeting expressing profound disappointment with Congressman Rick Larsen's statement that he would not support the public option in current health care reform legislation.
Whatcom County Democrats are in complete agreement with President Obama's stance that a public option is essential to increase competition and keep insurance companies honest. The opportunity to pass meaningful health care reform is at hand and lesser issues such as Medicare reimbursement rates can be dealt with later in separate legislation.
The Whatcom County Democratic Party platform endorses a national single-payer health care plan with privately-delivered services that cover all medically-necessary services.
However, since single payer health insurance legislation is not currently being considered in Congress, Whatcom Democrats consider inclusion of a public health insurance option an essential part of any Health care reform Bill.
A new NBC/Wall Street Journal poll shows that 76 percent of the American public feel it is important to "give people a choice of both a public plan administered by the federal government and a private plan for their health insurance.", which shows that Whatcom County Democrats views on a public health insurance option are completely in line with an overwhelming majority of the American public.
"While Congressman Larsen's dedication to securing more equitable Medicare compensation for Washington state physicians and hospitals is commendable, tying his vote on a public option to changes in Medicare rates is a baffling stance that is counter to his previous stated goal of seeing health insurance coverage for all Americans", said Whatcom Democrats Chair Natalie McClendon.
Chairwoman McClendon also said that Whatcom County Democrats sincerely hope Congressman Larsen will reconsider and vote yes on the public health insurance option while continuing to pursue fair Medicare compensation for Washington state physicians and hospitals.
###
ANNOUNCEMENT: After over 60,000 votes cast, you chose Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) as the #1 target for our public option accountability campaign. The PCCC & DFA will air the below TV ad in Montana. Our goal is to keep the pressure up for the next critical two weeks.
Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, stated that "the overwhelming majority of the budget deficit that the Republicans are now complaining about is directly attributable to President Bush's policies. The additional deficit for 2009 that it is attributable to President Obama's efforts to fix the disastrous economy that he was handed by President Bush is trivial in comparison, as can be clearly seen."
Here's my slightly enhanced version of Baker's graph:
today on behalf of Don Siegelman who is facing more prison time as a result of this travesty of "justice" perpetrated by the previous administration and if there ever needed to be change this is screaming for attention.....Tim Kaine Chairman, Democratic National Committee, 430 S. Capitol St.
SEWashington, DC 20003 202-863-8000 email
andRahm Emanuel (Hon. Rahm Emanuel, Chief of Staff to President Obama,
The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW Washington, DC 20500 202-456-1111 fax:
202-456-2461 email
Dear Hon. Tim Kaine
i am writing to ask you to please help to ensure that President Obama's, not bush and roves procecuters, decide the fate on Don Siegelman.
Please do everything possible to influence Eric Holder to remove the partison prosecuters involved.
remove Leura Canary and her prosecutors NOW....please
thank you
Dear Rahm Emanuel.,
i am writing to ask you to please help to ensure the President Obama's, not bush and roves procecuters, decide the fate on Don Siegleman.
remove Leura Canary and her prosecutors NOW....please
thank you
R-71 monitoring plan draws Eyman fire
by David Ammons June 26th,2009
Initiative promoter Tim Eyman is taking aim at potential harassment of signature-gatherers and people who sign their petitions. One feature of his new initiative says the names, signatures and addresses of people who sign initiatives and referenda would be blacked out before petition sheets are made public by the state Elections Division.
This grows out of announced plans by some supporters of a new “everything but marriage” domestic partnership law to put online the names and addresses of all who sign petitions for Referendum 71. The referendum is sponsored by people who oppose the new law, Senate Bill 5688, and seek a public vote this fall.
Some opponents of R-71 say they want to create a database of the names and addresses so that opponents can talk with them about the ramifications of the
referendum. The referendum sponsors, though, say it amounts to bullying and that the threat of publicizing the signers is aimed at suppressing signatures.
Eyman’s “Protect the Initiative Process” measure, filed Friday with the state Elections Division as an initiative to the 2010 Legislature, says redacting the names and addresses from petitions that are made public would “ensure the safety of individuals … and protect them from and make them less susceptible to, intimiation, retaliation, harassment and identity theft.” His measure also includes other protections for signature-gatherers and would extend the amount of time sponsors have to collect signatures.
Eyman will have until the end of the year to gather about 241,000 valid voter signatures to win a place on the Legislature’s agenda.
Lawmakers could pass his plan, ignore it and allow it to go to the ballot, or send it and a legislative alternative to the ballot. Another route is for Eyman to switch his goal and try to send it directly to the 2010 ballot and not go through the Legislature.
R-71 sponsors have until July 25 to turn in at least 120,577 valid signatures. The Elections Division has said it has no authority to withhold or redact petitions from review as a public-records request.
UPDATE: Tim Eyman says this proposed initiative is “one of several ideas we’re doing R&D (research and development) on as an initiative in the future,” possibly as an initiative to the people next year. If history is a guide, a 2010 initiative to the voters would be far more likely than Eyman actually pursuing signatures this year for a plan he would route through the Legislature. He says he hopes his proposal will generate discussion about the issue, and that he will announce specific plans once they firm up. He notes that he went through more than a dozen drafts of his current I-1033 before actually going to the street to get signatures. That one deals with revenue limits at state, county and city levels, with any excess collections going to property tax relief.
A President Breaks Hearts in Appalachia A mountaintop coal mining site at Kayford Mountain in West Virginia. (By Jeff Gentner -- Associated Press)
By Robert F. Kennedy Jr.Friday, July 3, 2009
Mountaintop removal coal mining is the worst environmental tragedy in American history. When will the Obama administration finally stop this Appalachian apocalypse?
A mountaintop coal mining site at Kayford Mountain in West
Virginia. (By Jeff Gentner -- Associated Press)
If ever an issue deserved President Obama's promise of change, this is it.
Mining syndicates are detonating 2,500 tons of explosives each day -- the
equivalent of a Hiroshima bomb weekly -- to blow up Appalachia's mountains and extract sub-surface coal seams. They have demolished 500 mountains -- encompassing about a million acres -- buried hundreds of valley streams under tons of rubble, poisoned and uprooted countless communities, and caused widespread contamination to the region's air and water. On this continent, only Appalachia's rich woodlands survived the Pleistocene ice ages that turned the rest of North America into a treeless tundra. King Coal is now accomplishing what the glaciers could not -- obliterating the hemisphere's oldest, most biologically dense and diverse forests. Highly mechanized processes allow giant machines to flatten in months mountains older than the Himalayas -- while employing fewer workers for far less time than other types of mining. The coal industry's promise to restore the desolate wastelands is a cruel joke, and the industry's fallback position, that the flattened landscapes will provide space
for economic development, is the weak punchline. America adores its Adirondacks and reveres the Rockies, while the Appalachian Mountains -- with their impoverished and alienated population -- are dismantled by coal moguls who dominate state politics and have little to prevent them from blasting the physical landscape to smithereens.
full post
By Brad Friedman on 7/3/2009 9:45AM
WSJ Whackos in Denial: 'Franken Stole It (and So Did Gregoire in '04!)'
Debunking evidence-free, sore-loser wingnuttery from John Fund and fiends. Again...
Thursday, June 25, 2009So, as we get a further peak behind the curtain, we see more proof that the 'Tea Party' is nothing but a front for the same old bunch of rightwingers.
Tea Party Planning Meeting Tonight
by Karl Uppiano
Reminder, the final meeting before the July 4th Tea Party will be this evening from 5:15 to 6:30 at the Building Industry Association of Whatcom County.
The right wing's big gorilla
The Building Industry Association of Washington is an organization that not only is ruthless to the point of consciencelessness, it also has become an extraordinarily significant player in Washington state politics. They are, in fact, one of the most powerful funders of the conservative movement's agenda here.
And, perhaps unsurprisingly, they also boast a history of dalliances with (and underwriting of) right-wing extremism, particularly the Patriot/militia movement of the 1990s. ...
A dark history
If you go back even farther, though, you can find an even darker side to the BIAW. As Jay Taber at Skookumgeoduck has explained at some length, the BIAW has been involved in some of the ugliest political organizing in Washington state, including the formation of militias back in the early 1990s.
During this time, Taber also worked with my old friend Paul deArmond, who compiled an exhaustive record of this activity at his Public Good Special Reports site. DeArmond was recording in detail many of the same events I was observing and reporting on as a newspaper reporter back then.
What we saw happening was, in response to the state's passage of a Growth Management Act in 1990, a bevy of so-called "grass-roots" reactionary movements who were actually being underwritten and organized by a network of industry organizations, with the BIAW in a lead role. These movements ran the gamut from "property rights" groups to county-secession efforts to antitax agitation to anti-New World Order militia organizing, all under the larger umbrella of "Wise Use." ...
Fox caught with its pants down on ABC attacks
Posted Jun 18,2009, 12:52 PM PT by Jed Lewison
As Think Progress noted, despite Fox’s whining about ABC’s upcoming special on health care reform which will include a town hall conducted in the White House, it turns out that when George W. Bush was President, Fox did exactly what they are accusing ABC of.
Here’s a video mashup of what Fox is saying now — and what it reported then, including footage from its fawning specials on both Bush and Cheney.
Minuteman leader Shawna Forde has been arrested in Arizona for masterminding the murder of a nine year old girl and her father. The motive was robbery and "The proceeds, it seems, would go toward funding their on-going anti-immigrant 'activism' and, more ambitiously, instigating a race war to overthrow the US government. "It's true that every one of the nine right-wing terrorists who've made the news since January 20 had a history of mental illness, domestic violence, and/or drug abuse. Several were veterans who were having a really hard time adjusting to civilian life. None of these people could reasonably be considered sane; and, for whatever twisted reasons, they made a personal choice to do what they did.
But it's not true that they were acting alone. People who are dealing with these kinds of demons are often drawn into movements that offer a strong narrative that helps them make sense of a world that never seems to add up right for them. They're usually drawn into organizations like Operation Rescue or the Minutemen that are nominally non-violent; but which also indoctrinate them into a worldview that justifies and motivates people to commit terrorist acts. They come to believe that they must do this to save the world, to serve God, and to be the heroes they desperately want to be.
They're already walking sticks of dynamite. But it takes the heat of that apocalyptic, dualistic, eliminationist, pro-violence narrative to light their fuses and make them explode.
Whatcom County Republican Party Platform:So the simple question is, will the Whatcom GOP remove that plank in their platform and renounce terrorism?
64) WE SUPPORT the private citizens, known as the "minutemen", who are donating their time and equipment to help with border enforcement.
Congressman Rick Larsen visited Whatcom County yesterday. In the afternoon he held a townhall meeting in Ferndale.Mary Landrieu Opposed To Public Health Care
Option
Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) said on Tuesday that she is opposed to the creation of a public health care plan patients could opt into that would compete with private insurance."No, I'm not open to it. I'm not open to a public option," said Landrieu. "However, I will remain open to a compromise, a full compromise. Public option is not something that I support. I don't think it's the right way to go."
full post
PRESS RELEASE May 27, 2009
‘BREAK UP THE BANKS ‘ RALLY
On Wednesday, June 10th , 4-6:30pm at the Federal Building, Magnolia and Cornwall, “A New Way Forward” will present a streetcorner forum on the subject of bank bailouts and the failed economy, and what we the people can do to break up the financial oligarchy. Special guest speaker will be Kristi Laguzza Boosman of ANWF and KLB Community Consulting in Twisp, Washington on her “Plan B”, a discussion of real structural change of Wall Street.
We are a grassroots organization of volunteer local leaders, begun in March ’09 primarily over anger about the financial crisis provoked by the large deregulated banks and their Wall St. partners, who then gamed the system to profit even more off the crisis they caused. The bailouts are widening the gap between rich and poor. Our government has spent trillions to prop up a banking system that has failed the
country. We demand that Treasury Department break up the insolvent banks and
never again let them get so big that they distort our politics and corrupt the economy.
The Bellingham chapter leader is Dianne Foster, RN and Democratic PCO, but ANWF is nonpartisan, appealing to all of us affected by the economic collapse. Our position is that the “zombie banks” are draining public dollars indefinitely, only a few having passed the low-bar “stress tests”. Because “a crisis is a terrible thing to waste”, we need to move on this opportunity to restructure the banks and put the public well-being above that of the financial elite. This move is supported by economists like Paul Krugman, Princeton professor and ’08 Nobel Laureate in economics, Joseph Stiglitz,
Columbia professor of economics, ‘01 Nobel Laureate in economics and former director of the World Bank, Simon Johnson, professor at the Sloan School of Finance and former chief economist of the IMF, William Grieder, former editor of the “Nation”, economics journalist for the Washington Post, David Sirota, Dean Baker, and many others.
We demand the following:
1. Nationalize the big banks - experts agree on the means - the FDIC has the power to do this – insolvent banks that are “too big to fail” must incur a temporary FDIC intervention - no more blank check taxpayer handouts. (See Krugman on
nationalization).
2. Reorganize – current CEO’s and board members must be removed and bonuses wiped out. (see Simon Johnson on reorganizing). Johnson interview here
3. Decentralize - banks must be broken up and sold back to the private market with strong new regulations and antitrust rules in place - new banks, managed by new people. Any bank that’s “too big to fail means it’s too big for a free market to function (see Mike Lux on de-centralization). It’s not enough to patch up the current system; we need serious reform that fixes root problems in our political and economic system: excessive influence of banks, dangerous compensation systems, massive consolidation , and usury.
Petitions will be available to sign to our representatives and the President. 94% of Americans don’t agree with the bailouts, more than 50% support bank nationalization. Join us in communicating to our leaders!
Contact: http://www.anewwayforward.org/, Dianne Foster: vefoster@earthlink.net.
Bill O’Reilly has said that far left zealots are exploiting the death of Dr. George Tiller by making a connection to right wing hate speech. Has right wing talk radio encouraged the kind of violence that reproductive health clinics and abortion providers have experienced over the years? And should they be held responsible? David Neiwert says there is a connection and in his new book, The Eliminationists: How Hate Talk Radicalized the American Right, looks at the relationship between hate speech and acts of violence.
Hi Friend,
Two weeks ago, we did an experiment in which you submitted questions to members Congress, and members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus got up on the floor of the House and answered many of them.(See http://e2ma.net/go/2071306265/1895478/70467339/goto:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kO5l-YVzjL8 for some highlights!)
We're doing it again this week, with more members and more questions.
Tomorrow, immediately after the regular business of the House of Representatives is done, Congressional Progressive Caucus members will answer your questions from the floor of the House, on C-SPAN, and in the official Congressional Record.
The topic of the day is a very timely one: as healthcare reform makes its way through Congress, the progressives are fighting hard to ensure that the American people will be able to choose a public plan that guarantees quality, affordability, and coverage. As they go into negotiations with the House leadership and President Obama, they are focused on making sure that they are very clear about how such a plan has to be legislated to be meaningful.
But they're fighting some tough battles. The insurance companies will do nearly anything to undermine this process and make sure that Americans can't choose a public plan. And Rick Scott - a crook who defrauded the government of a stunning amount of taxpayer money and was made to pay the largest fine related to healthcare fraud in history - is the chief villain.
So here's what I am asking you to do: go to http://e2ma.net/go/2071306265/1895478/70467343/goto:http://feedback.progressivecongress.org/ and ask questions about healthcare reform, the public plan, and the battle the progressives are fighting in Congress. Make sure you're educated about what the stakes are. And then talk to your friends and your family about what is shaping up to be an epic battle between some actual heroes and some pretty awful villains. Ask them to submit their questions. And commit to being involved in this messy business of democracy: we need you!
Darcy
