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"Brunch with Bernie" with Senator Bernie Sanders, Independent of Vermont. You can sign up for his newsletter. Nicotine to be regulated by the FDA after 10 years of effort. Health care reform. The cost of gas and oil are soaring. It is disgraceful how tobacco companies hook kids, good for the people who have stood up for kids. Disease prevention. 400,000 Americans die each year from tobacco related deaths. With health care the devil will be in the details, the terms don't mean a lot. If we want affordable universal comprehensive quality health care with freedom of choice done in a cost effective way the only way is through a single payer system. Eliminate the major health companies whose major function in life is not to provide quality health care to people but to deny it. There are 1,300 private health care companies with thousands of plans. It is an enormously complicated and bureaucratic morass of plans which result in us spending hundreds and hundreds of billions in administration and hounding people for money and advertising costs and denial of benefits while CEOs get exorbitant salaries and benefits. In California the estimate is that one in three health care dollars go in administration. Meanwhile there is crisis in primary health care with not enough nurses, dentists, medical personnel. The cost of prescription drugs is much too high.
A single payer system says that if you are an American, you are entitled to health care, you go to the doctor you want, you go to the doctor you want. The administrative costs will be much lower - the are currently almost double that of any other country. Bernie is in a distinct minority in the Senate, there is more support in the house, so single payer will not happen.
The fall back is that a strong public plan is one of the options that the public can choose. That is under assault, at this point there is no Republican that supports that and a number of conservative Democrats do not support that. They are coming up with other ideas. Pay a lot of attention to that debate because it is of huge significance to the welfare of the American people.
The rapidly escalating cost of gas and oil. Thom and Bernie's generations learned in economics 101 that what drives the free market is supply and demand. If there is a lot of supply and limited demand, prices go down. If there is a lot of demand and limited supply prices go up. There is currently a lot of supply, two weeks ago the inventory was the highest on record and demand was at a ten year low, so prices should have go down, but they went up. Wall Street is addicted to greed, investing heavily in oil futures. They are demanding that the Commodities Futures Trade Commission (CFTC) headed by Gary Gensler use their emergency powers to end excessive speculation. Bernie has introduced legislation, and Bart Chilton of the CFTC agrees with it.
The compounds that are added to tobacco to make it go through the blood brain barrier faster and become more addictive. Freebasing. Nicotine treated that way is 5 times more addictive than heroin. The affect of legislation of alternative nicotine products. Personalize a la Terry Schaivo. Use stories of people who lost jobs, health care. Bernie needs stories. 20,000 died. Malpractice victims who can't get back to work, get health insurance. They used to have not-for-profits and built one of the best systems. HMOs. Blue Cross Blue Shield. There are two parts to health, insurers and providers.
Bumper Music: Truth, Amos Lee.
Bumper Music: Stand, Rascal Flatts.
Article: Has Kent Conrad Solved the Public Plan Problem? An Interview., Ezra Klein.
"(Earlier today, Sen. Kent Conrad, the North Dakota Democrat who chairs the Senate Budget Committee, introduced a "potential compromise" on the public plan: A system of federally-chartered co-ops that could offer a non-profit alternative to the for-profit insurance industry. In this telling, the co-ops preserve the central feature of the public plan -- they're a competitor to the traditional insurance industry -- but are free from the baggage of government control.
I spoke to the Senator this evening about the co-op model, and he said a few things that surprised me. First, his search for an alternative was on behalf of the G-11 -- the key Senate power brokers on health care. Second, it proceeded from the premise that the public plan doesn't have the votes. All Republicans are opposed and, according to Conrad, "at least three Democrats." And third, he thinks reconciliation is basically out as a viable option for comprehensive health reform. A lightly edited transcript follows.)
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Kent Conrad said they do not have 60 votes. There is no way we will get single payer. Bernie disagrees. Reconciliation. Bernie does not want a weak bill. Call Conrad. Democrats have 59, plus Al Franken soon hopefully, there are some decent Republicans, the president's support. If not now, when? Insurance, etc, dollars. Who is the single payer? If they all reduced deductibles to $100 each, people could get insurance? They have the polls yet not the votes?
Article: How to Stop Socialized Health Care By Karl Rove.
"It was a sobering breakfast with one of the smartest Republicans on Capitol Hill. We can fix a lot of bad stuff President Barack Obama might do, he told me. But if Mr. Obama signs into law a "public option," government-run insurance program as part of health-care reform we won't be able to undo the damage.
I'd go the Republican member of Congress one further: If Democrats enact a public-option health-insurance program, America is on the way to becoming a European-style welfare state. To prevent this from happening, there are five arguments Republicans must make.
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Article: Fact-Checking Karl Rove’s Attacks Against The Public Option, Igor Volsky .
"Today, Karl Rove penned an editorial in the Wall Street Journal attacking the public health care option. Rove’s ‘myths’ echo the poll-tested talking points of Frank Luntz and other conservatives determined to protect the private insurer’s monopoly over coverage and deny Americans choice."
Article: Dobson And Disgraced WH Staffer Pay Bush Tribute: He Was ‘The Instrument In God’s Hand’ That Kept Us Safe.
Article: Boehner: Republicans ‘took it in the shorts with Bush-Cheney.’
Guest: Christy Harvey, Director of Strategic Communications at the Center for American Progress, MicCheckradio.org. Health care. Rick Scott. Karl Rove in the Wall Street Journal yesterday, repeating all the myths taken from the Luntz memo, their point by point reputation. The decline of the Wall Street Journal. She once worked for the Wall Street Journal. What the FDA will do with its new powers. Light/low tar cigarettes are banned, there is no such thing as safer cigarettes. They will have to list the ingredients. James Dobson is back, saying "George Bush was an instrument in God's hand". Boehner with Stephanopoulos said "we took it in the shorts with Bush/Cheney". Boehner was part of it. USA Today on the recession, working people not spared, their statistics yesterday. 20 million kids are now eligible for free or reduced lunch, for some it is their daily meal. The New York State Senate flipped to Republicans, fascinating story, chaos, donor, Blackberry. The army is letting people tweet, etc, in the US.
Bumper Music: Crazy, Gnarls Barkley.
Article: Dog doesn't just say no and gets 'stoned' at park.
Article: Man: Wrong house demolished.
"He said the demolition company told him the work crew's paperwork and GPS coordinates had led them to the home."
Health care. Pass a Constitutional amendment to declare health care a right? 30 out of 19,00 amendments passed, it takes years.
The Democrats should have gone in with single payer, and allowed a compromise to public option, starting with the public option left them no room for negotiation?
Bumper Music: Zoloft, Drive-By Truckers.
Bumper Music: Brain Damage, Pink Floyd.
Article: Drunk Tennis Player Beats Up Groundsman For Running Lawnmower.
Article: Woman spots man in bra rummaging through her car.
Article: Man Jumps Off Bridge To Meet Friend.
Health care, Obama wants bipartisan support, will he water it down to get it?
Thom received emails about how freebasing by adding ammonia works. Alkaloids like nicotine and cocaine have amino groups, often in a salt form. By adding ammonia or another base the amino group is no longer in the salt form but is in a much more volatile form (there's an article here).
"Threshold".
There should be a Senate resolution declaring Obama is a citizen?
The donor who flipped the New York State Senate, how he runs his business.
Vitamin D.
Article: Deputy fires Taser at 72-year-old speeder.
Pat Buchanan, racism. But he does get some things right and has been on the show.
Time to stand up against those Democrats who are letting us down. Jonathan Tasini has just announced he will stand against Kirsten Gillibrand, Hillary Clinton's appointed successor. Primary challenges are good and important things and we need to keep pushing them. Max Baucus, Kent Conrad, health care. Go to opensecrets.org to see where politicians get their money, and how much.
Raising CAFE standards would be moot if gasoline tax was raised. We would have to protect truck drivers.
Health care problems, single payer. Go to Physicians for a National Health Program.
Ford has been making 44 mpg cars for years. Campaign finance reform, state by state, city by city. Control of the media, who broadcast hate speech. The news reporters who lost their jobs for refusing to lie. The need for localism, which is beginning to come back. Enforce the Sherman Anti-Trust Act.
Why not have state run medical supply stores like state run liquor stores? It would not be necessary under single payer.
Who pays for health care for senators and Congress people? Is it socialized? Their employer, the government provides them with free health insurance, and they can choose from several plans, similar to executives.
Gun control, 2nd amendment, militia, standing army.
Coretta Scott King vs. Lloyd Jowers, 1999.James Earl Ray.
Book: "Legacy of Secrecy: The Long Shadow of the JFK Assassination".
Many democratic issues, if we did not have the Senate, only the House, many would have been addressed sooner? Could we bypass them and bring about change through the states? There is no national referendum. The Senate filibuster rule should be blown up. Corporate control, because running for Senate is far more expensive, needing a state-wide campaign. Campaign finance reform. The English system limits the money spent on campaigns.
The Powell Memo or Manifesto.
Article: Chamber Of Commerce Launches $100 Million Campaign ‘To Defend And Advance Economic Freedom’.
First National Bank of Boston v. Bellotti.
Bumper Music: You Got Me, Tristan Prettyman (video).
Article: Notoriety's Missing Links: Online Files Scrubbed After Museum Shooting. James W. von Brunn.
Article: Why Not Single-Payer?. By Bernie Horn.
But we progressives are not the ones who need to be convinced. In any great national political debate, there are partisans on our side and partisans against us. To achieve victory, we have to persuade people in the middle—and they don’t know what we know about health care.
Consider three central facts:
- Nearly all persuadable voters—those who don’t automatically side with or against us—have health insurance. (In fact, about 94 percent of voters are insured. The uninsured, unfortunately, don’t tend to vote.)
- About 3/4ths of insured Americans are satisfied with their health insurance.
- When Americans hear about a health care proposal, they immediately think “how is it going to affect me and my family.” That’s their overarching, overwhelming concern.
That means when average American voters consider a new health care policy, their paramount concern is that the policy allows them to keep the health insurance they have. Union members—who usually can be counted on to support progressive policy—are among the most adamant that they be permitted to keep their health insurance. Why? Because unions tend to negotiate better insurance for their members than the rest of us have!
George pointed out that Wal-Mart is a single payer, Wal-Mart without the profit would be so inexpensive...
A Canadian had to return to Canada for breast cancer treatment at no cost, no waiting line, no worry. Her friends here can't go to Canada, she worries about them.
In Europe there are Smart cars everywhere, and windmills, and expensive shops seem to be doing very well. According to the Financial Times France reported that consumer spending has risen.
The Senate finance committee is making decisions, could be decided soon, please call their offices, there are 13 Democrats on the committee.
Bumper Music: What a Wonderful World, Louis Armstrong. Thanks.
Article: North Korea's Kim Jong Il Chooses Youngest Son as Heir.
"North Korea's ailing leader has chosen his youngest son as heir to the family dynasty that rules the secretive state, South Korea's intelligence service told lawmakers in Seoul.
Kim Jong Un, 26, who attended a Swiss boarding school and reportedly admires basketball great Michael Jordan, is the third son of Kim Jong Il, the "Dear Leader" who suffered a stroke last summer and who has since appeared thin and frail. He is the grandson of the late Kim Il Sung, the "Great Leader" and founding dictator of North Korea.
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Article: ENERGY POLICY: Markey opposes expansion of U.S. transmission authority.
" "I think we need to look closely and skeptically whether such a step is warranted at this juncture," Markey said at a subcommittee hearing on the issue. "Precipitous action could result in a policy that is ill-suited to address the problems at hand and could lead to perverse consequences." "
Article: Coal Ash Spills Too Dangerous To Reveal To Public, Says DHS (VIDEO).
Ellen Ratner of Talk Radio News. Iranian elections, their Iranian reporter does not know how high the turnout was, there will likely be a runoff next week. Obama thinks there will be reform whoever wins. North Korea is going with youngest son, calling him "brilliant comrade". Where was he educated? His oldest brother was caught trying to sneak out of the country to go to Disneyland Japan. Treasury $25 billion in bonds. The tobacco bill went through. Congressman Edward Markey (D-Mass.), federal control of electricity transmission, said they need to look closely and skeptically at proposals. Boxer criticized homeland security, it won't let her disclose 44 tar ash sites. Patrick Kennedy, Ted's son, in Mayo clinic.
Call Kent Conrad.
Coming up Monday, Thom will challenge Carrie Lukas, Vice President for Policy and Economics, Independent Women's Forum about "cash for clunkers"...we'll find out why she has a problem with it...
