The Public Option....on Life Support?
By Louise
It's being reported that Harry Reid pushed for a public option that would allow states to opt out in a meeting with President Obama yesterday. Nancy Pelosi reportedly doesn’t have the votes for a robust public option while, one Democratic source said Obama is leaning to a “trigger” option, like the trigger currently in Medicare Part D that might one day in the mystical future be pulled to allow the government to negotiate lower prices with drug companies rather than being forced to buy drugs at full retail. This as Bloomberg is claiming Maine Senator Olympia Snowe is rejecting the public option and indicating that health reform may not be completed by the end of this year. This would all be so much easier if bribery of our politicians by corporations was illegal here like it is in most democracies.
In Strange News....Two German physicists claim to have broken the speed of light, potentially changing our entire understanding of space and time. Some guy named Einstein said to do such a thing would require an infinite amount of energy but these two scientists say they may have debunked a major part of that theory. We'll see, but if true, the world of Star Trek may be just around the corner.
Comments
#2
Retired General Slams Cheney As "Incompetent War Fighter"
Retired General Paul Eaton, senior adviser to the National Security Network, has hit back hard at Dick Cheney a day after the former vice president criticized the Obama administration again for "dithering while America's armed forces are in danger." In a speech Wednesday night, Cheney said, "President Obama now seems afraid to make a decision, and unable to provide his commander on the ground with the troops he needs to complete his mission."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/22/national-security-network_n_330...
Cheney should be careful in what he says; Obama may decide not to continue to block investigations into crimes of the Bush Cheney administration.
#3
McCain introduces bill to block Net neutrality
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) introduced a bill in the Senate on Thursday that would effectively allow Internet service providers to slow down or block Internet content or applications of their choosing.
The move came the same day as the federal government decided to move forward on an official Net neutrality policy that would prevent ISPs from making those types of decisions.http://rawstory.com/2009/10/mccain-net-neutrality/
#4
Under the Radar
The Progress Report
HEALTH CARE -- FIFTY-FIVE REPUBLICANS WHO ARE 'STEADFASTLY OPPOSED' TO A PUBLIC OPTION ARE CURRENTLY ON MEDICARE: Yesterday, the office of Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) released an internal study showing that 151 members of Congress "currently receive government-funded; government-administered single-payer health care -- Medicare." Of those 151 members, 55 are Republicans who also happen to be "steadfastly opposed [to] other Americans getting the public option, like the one they have chosen." Included on Weiner's list are anti-public option crusaders Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ), Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL), Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK), Sen. Mike Enzi (R-WY), Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC), and Rep. Peter King (R-NY). Weiner explained that the purpose of this study is to "point out some of the hypocrisy of this debate." "Even in a town known for hypocrisy," Weiner said in a statement yesterday, "this list of 55 Members of Congress deserve some sort of prize. They apparently think the public option is ok for them, but not anyone else." Back in July, Weiner, an outspoken proponent of single-payer health care reform, offered an amendment that would have given these 55 people a chance to end their own public option by eliminating Medicare once and for all. According to Weiner, it was "put-up or shut-up time for the phonies who deride the so-called 'public option.'" Of course, no one voted for the measure. Yet now "you have members of Congress thumping their chest how they’re against government health care," Weiner noted, adding, "and yet when it's time for them to accept Medicare, they're like, 'Sign me up!'"
#5
i need help ....................please post more 'additions' to my list and email to everyone! thanks!!! we need to start progressive viral emails!!!
Remember when …..
Remember when TV was free? When you didn’t need cable or a converter to watch?
Remember when the government taxed you to put in the lines for cable, internet and telephone lines to keep the costs low to you, and it did cut the costs?
Remember when postage was low? Before they decided to make the postal service stand alone and profitable so companies like UPS and FedEx, who have limited area coverage, could be allowed to compete in the most profitable parts of the market?
Remember when tariffs paid for all funding required by the Federal government? This worked for over 100 years to protect American jobs and support our country.
Remember when corporations had to prove that they were a benefit to a state annually in order to exist? Remember when states didn’t have to beg, extend tax exemptions and bribe corporations to come or stay in the state, in competition with other states?
Remember when laws and rules were made in our government and not by trade treaties, like WTO, GATT, etc, that give up our rights without our input or representation?
Remember when you couldn’t lie on TV without facing oversight, fines and judgments by the court or by government agencies to protect consumers (us)?
Remember when one income could support a family, with a nice house, a new car every 3 years and pay for college for the kids?
Remember when Unions achieved the changes for no child labor, weekends off, overtime pay, originally provided health care for its members, and increased the pay scale for similar jobs and benefits for white collar workers?
#6
My Health Plan:
01. Create: ³ Americare, Medicare for all²
02. Have the federal government become self-insured. Insurance companies
would administer the program much like they do for corporations today.
03. Americare would be for those Americans that are under 65 years old. Once
you reach 65, you would transition on to Medicare. When your Medicare
starts, you no longer have any costs. No Co-pays or medicine casts. We would
finally take care of our seniors.
04. With this new system, if you work for an insurance company you would
still be employed. As a matter of fact insurance companies would be hiring,
as more and more Americans would need their assistance to get on the system.
With everyone covered, insurance companies would have to depend on their
customer service to keep their clients.
05. AmeriCare would be deducted from your paycheck much like FICA is today.
The more money in you paycheck the more you would pay. It¹s based on a
percentage. Set co-pays at $10.00 for meds and for doctor visits. ($10.00 is
just a sample number to make it simple.)
06. If you are unemployed or unable to work you would have the coverage for
free. There would have to be a certain salary level that would also fall
under this plan.
07. Small businesses would no longer suffer with providing health care for
employees.
08. Large corporations would no longer be in the insurance business. They
too would save billions of dollars administering and providing health care.
They would have more monies on the bottom line and maybe they could retain
more American workers.
09. Under this plan, you could go to any hospital, any doctor. Any test
needed would be performed. You can never be denied the heath care you need.
If an American needs a procedure they would get it.
10. To make this program become reality it has to be simple. You have to
eliminate the amendments, the pork and all other distractions. Americans are
already suspicious of their government. If you keep it simple that can¹t
argue against it.
Perry Faciana
Thom's Blog Is On the Move
By webmaster
Hello All
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New jobless claims rise more than expected to 531K
The number of newly laid-off workers filing claims for jobless benefits rose more than expected last week, after falling in five of the past six weeks, as employers remain reluctant to hire even with the economy showing signs of recovery.
The Labor Department said Thursday that new jobless claims rose to a seasonally adjusted 531,000 last week, from an upwardly revised 520,000 the previous week. Wall Street economists had expected only a slight increase, according to Thomson Reuters.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_ECONOMY?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=HOME