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Republicans have been on a mission beginning the day Obama was sworn into office which was to follow the marching orders issued by Corporate America, Wall Street, and other enemies of State such as the Koch Brothers. They were successful in 2010 by dramatically winning control of the House of Representatives by blaming Obama for no jobs and an economy headed for a depression by simply accepting no blame, despite having totally orchestrated the crash of our economy, and blaming Obama on wanting to take everything away from the white people to give to the people of color. No one seems to have paid attention to the fact Republicans helped ship millions of jobs over seas, blocked every attempt by Obama or Democrats to pass legislation to add jobs or improve the economy, blocked passage of a bill to increase the debt ceiling resulting in a decline in our credit rating. The fact remains Republicans have no choice. They are so bought and paid for they have no choice but do as told or the funds will disappear. The money people are betting all of their chips on winning the 2012 elections to make slave labor legal, eliminate all penalties for destroying our land, air, and water, removing all penalties for corporations caught in fraud, etc. They have only one thing to fear in 2012. That is the possibility enought people will understand what dumb asses they have been in buying into the B.S. and voting against their own interests and comprehend voting for the Republicans is a vote for a Third World Country. The question is will enough Americans wake up and understand they have been used as pawns by the wealthy and the people of color aren't their enemy, women who want the right to an abortion are not their enemy, people out of work due to no fault of their own is not their enemy, children who want a good education are not their enemy, our older Americans who rely on Social Security to survive are not their enemy, and so forth.
I must agree with scarrino. Simply to blame Republicans for the lack of testosterone on the Democratic side is incomplete analysis. Like blaming a fox in the hen house. The weakness on the Democratic side has done nothing more than encourage Republicans. Sometimes I wonder if the Dems have not joined sides with the Republicans in some grand scheme the rest of us commoners
can't see.
There is no peaceful end for the Grand Oligarch Partnership.
colorado kid.
You lost all creditability when you said "Medicare is a good government run program. Medicare fraud is estimated at $60 to 80 Billion /year. If that's a good program, I'd hate to see a bad one. Here is the article. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22184921/ns/nightly_news/t/blatant-medicare-fraud-costs-taxpayers-billions/
Thank you for reading my comments. I know that FDR worked in a different time and under different circumstances. When the Supreme Court in FDR's time tried to block his every move, FDR tried to increase the court from 9 to 15 justices (packing the court). He was, of course, blocked from doing that, but he TRIED something and he pushed for it. He didn't just give up. The heat some of those 1930's justices took forced them into early retirement and allowed FDR to appoint new justices. He led from the front with ideas and concrete actions. He didn't just make a political speech and disappear like President Obama. I don't feel that President Obama believes his own rhetoric and is just faking his speeches. I voted for him, but am at a loss to explain his actions and inactions as President. One labor leader whose union is not going to back Obama this time said: "He campaigned big but he governs small." The country needed more from him than he is willing or able to give.
I love David Abbot's "well, for me single payer"! It has just about every good reason why ALL Americans should want single payer. If only more people could grasp that with a good government run program, like Medicare, the cost to administer the program is only about 3%. The overhead on private plans runs from about 15% overhead to about 20%. This difference of about 12% to 17% is a back-breaker! Don't forget the egregious behavior of United Healthcare, I believe, where Froma Harrop, the syndicated columnist from Providence reported the CEO was paid $1.6 billion, yes that's right, $1.6billion!! for the year 2008, if my memory serves me right. If the Supreme Court (anything's possible with these Republican/Fascist bums on the court) turns down Obama's healthcare plan I think states like Washington should come up with their own single payer plan. A few years after implementation citizens living in other states would demand their own single payer plan, or move to states that have single payer. Oh, by the way, I love it when the various plans say they only make about 3% PROFIT!!! That's after taking out highly paid executive salaries and bonuses - just enough to get down to about 3% "profit." What a crock! They are a perfect example of the saying; "Figures can lie and liars can figure."
I agree that Democrats and Obama as the leader have from the start been naive about "reaching across the aisle". This administration has miscalculated; and, because of that, the bullies are in the majority, the blue dogs feel no consequences for their action, and Obama has been check-mated. It seems to me that you cannot try to change politics in DC unless you are willing to admit that it is politics. While it would be great to try to bring civility back to DC, unless, someone is strong, sticks to their principles, and thenm can rally the country,. we will have this chaos. It's personal; and, i don't think Obama is willing to admit that. It's personal for all of us who feel betrayed by his performance. As Roosevelt said, and I am paraphrasing: "The other side hates me. I welcome their hatred; and...." And, he got down and played their game. Of course it was different time; of course, FDR was not the first African-American to be president; and, Obama did have a majority and did have millions of people new to the system behind him when he took office.
Well, it is encouraging to know that the majority who responded here, believe it WILL happen! (Our) thoughts do preceed actions, after all! We must focus & work even harder for what we want, not what we don't (yet)have! Remain positive, despite what appears to be the odds against us!
It is too simplistic to just blame the Republicans. The Republicans dominate the government whether they are in the minority or the majority with the full acquiesence of the Democrats. On each and every issue, Democratic Presidents and the Democratic party wash their hands and do nothing. They never put up enough of a fight to make legislation a fair, square or honest deal for the people and the country. When the Supreme Court gave corporations the same rights as individuals, our elected representatives on both sides of the aisle jumped up and down for joy, salivating over receiving unlimited corporate money. In its current form, the government is corrupt and broken beyond repair. As a member of Tom Delay's gang, John Boehner literally handed out checks as well as promises of campaign money to buy votes while voting was taking place on the floor of the House. No Justice Department investigation. No House ethics charges. No one cared enough to pursue the truth and now Boehner is the leader of the House. There is no truth, justice or decency left in Washington, D.C. and the American people don't care either. It's up to the young, university students to try to change this mess. After all, they are the ones who will have no social security or help when they need it.
I don't really see anything changing until we have another Great Depression. Or maybe another World War. We'll have to hit rock bottom before we can climb out of the hole we've dug.
Corporate America is so entrenched in American Government that it doesn't matter what politcal party is elected, as they are both unduly influenced by special interest money, and pass laws and policy accordingly. As long as corporations are accepted as persons, and as long as the people running the corporations have no other mandate except to the bottom line of the shareholders, the greater good of society will be ignored. What's a million dollar fine to a multi-billion dollar company? The cost of doing business. Why create manufacturing jobs in America when you can greatly increase your bottom line by moving overseas?
Our economy is based on CDOs, futures, and other abstract, economic terms that to most people have little tangible meaning, and is itself a bubble that will one day burst.
Interstingly enough, the Supreme Court decision which led to the legal fiction of corporate personhood, set a legal precedent not intended by the court or any of the justices. In Santa Clara v. Southern Pacific Railroad, 1886, the Railroad, a 30 million dollar company, was refusing to pay $30,000 worth of taxes, because of a dispute regarding the assessment of the railroad's property by Santa Clara Couty. Among other defenses, the Railroad was attempting to claim personhood status under the 14th amendment's equal protection clause. The SCOTUS had presided over several other similar cases involving the legal fiction of corporate personhood, and had struck the idea down each time.
This court ruled in favor of the Railroad, but the merits of the case were decided on the fact that the county assessed taxes that it was not entitled to assess. Accordingly, the court never ruled on the issue of personhood status. End of story. Except for one thing: The court recorder added this little jewel to the headnote of the case:
"The defendant Corporations are persons within the intent of the clause in section 1 of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which forbids a State to deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."
He entered this note because of a misunderstanding over comments made by Chief Justice Waite. It was never a factor in deciding the case. It DID NOT carry the weight of law, and it WAS NOT the offical position of the court. Yet, it was referred to, time and time again by other courts deciding issues of corporate personhood, and so became law.
A detailed account can be found here:
http://www.truth-out.org/unequal-protection-the-deciding-moment68397
Here's Marilyn's blog post.
http://www.thomhartmann.com/forum/2011/09/white-house-we-people-open
Or if you want to go directly to the petitions: https://wwws.whitehouse.gov/petitions
Once you get to the White House's site, you need to click on "View Recent Petitions" under the big yellow circle. After that, the process is a bit muddled. The names of the petitions' authors are not given, and I don't know what category Marilyn's is under. But any petition you like is worth signing. There are only 111 there right now, so it looks like people are understanding that it's better to sign an existing petition than to create a new petition that's similiar to an existing petition, which could split the pool of signatories.
My unemployment benefits are paid to me now on a Bank of America debit card. Isn't this new debit card fee just another way for banks to take advantage of us?
Bumper Sticker mode: "I'll believe corporations are people when Texas executes one."
Republicans 2012:
Keeping Millions Out Of Work
To Put One Man Out Of A Job
I want to add another candidate , Screaming Lord Such , even though he died in 1999 . That shouldn't be a deterrent when compared to the Republican candidates already in the race.
Screaming Lord Such was the leader of the Monster Raving Loony Party ( in Britain ). One of his promises if elected was to tow Britain to the Mediterranean Sea to take advantage of the weather , a promise that many Brits ( I know a lot ) had embraced . I'm sure you can google a picture of him with Tony Blair and the other candidates in one of the general election campaign photos in the 1990's .
My New Jersey's Governor Chris Christie would likely promote a system like Canada's if he thought it would break the Teacher's Union.
American could have already replaced SickCare with Single-Payer healthcare, but a 99% supermajority comprised of liberals and conservatives regularly voting in solidarity together for the corporate (R) & (D) party's candidates reliably votes against Single-Payer in national elections.
In the 2008 election there were two POTUS candidates (The Green Party's McKinney, and the independent Nader) who would have energetically and firmly used the power of that office to provide Single-Payer... rather than make SickCare even sicker, like Obama did.
Perhaps the reason the liberals claiming to be Single-Payer advocates refused to vote to get Single-Payer for All when they could have provided a near 70 million majority popular vote mandate for it was because both of the Single-Payer advocate POTUS candidates also **ACTUALLY** oppose Americas wars of aggression that liberals keep voting for more of (provided the both dumb and criminal wars are liberal comforting relabeled "necessary" or "humanitarian").
Or, perhaps the reason that liberals claiming to be Single-Payer advocates refused to vote to get Single-Payer for All when they could have was because both of the Single-Payer advocate POTUS candidates also **ACTUALLY** oppose the eco-destructive desperate fossil-fuel addiction extraction processes, like mountaintop removal that became "sustainable economic development" when Obama's EPA continued to permit it. Now Democrats, like NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo, hanging on the coattails of Obamamania, are MovingOn to "safely" use Halliburton's even more desperate and truly insane fracking process, that permanently contaminates vast amounts of water to rip the tiniest remnants of fossil-fuel from stone.
Everything that's outrageously insane becomes calmingly sane for liberals, when Democrats do it.
We could all have had a better and sustainable world now, and our children could have had a future, if there weren't so many millions of corporate party member liberals (D) dedicated to preventing it.
See The "Principles" of Liberal Voters:
http://www.chenangogreens.org
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I SO agree with you !!! Why is so hard for people to realize it's the for-profit-ness and the insurance companies that are doing nothing to make health care better and are simply siphoning off $ that could go for HEALTH SERVICES? There is plenty of money in the system if those things are eliminated. Non-profits can STILL pay employees/practitioners VERY WELL. It's just that CEO's and stockholders would not be getting profits for nothing. As long as that doesn't change, health care costs will never come down and everyone will be paying more and more and more. So...people might as well stop whining about the cost of their health care premiums until they are willing to have a single payer system with non-profit delivers of service. That includes drug companies, hospitals and nursing homes as well as doctors. The beauty of non-profits is they aren't run by government. They can still have their creativity, their personality and their choices of what services to offer and how.
Almost 40 percent of Americans cannot or do not read. Most of the Tea Baggers fit into this group. Until they can figure-out what they are - exactly - angry about, nothing will happen to ensure single payer healthcare at the federal level. Hopefully more progressive states will vote out the insurance companies.
It's foolish for average hard working citizens to be wealth creators for an industry that by law should be nonprofit. We simply can't afford it anymore. Most of us already agree some type of universal, single- payer plan is the most affordable way to go. I suggest nonproductive health insurance CEOs make themselves useful and go to med school if they want to make money off the misfortune of others.
Well, for me single payer would be a problem, because I have had so much fun making fun of the corporate _____s who want everyone to pay through the nose for worse than third world healthcare, that I just don't know what I would do with myself if we got single payer health care. Don't get me wrong, I'm in favor of single payer, and the first politician in Washington State who comes out in favor of it and really pushes it through will have a guaranteed life-long career of getting elected to office, and people will be healthier and live longer and the government will save billions of dollars a year and the corporate thieves will be able to steal only a small portion of the money that they are accustomed to stealing. And I know I should be grateful, but if this goes through, who am I going to make fun of?
Oh wait, I can still make fun of the war profiteers, the hypocrites who just love killing foreign people but want to interfere in women's reproductive rights in the name of "respecting life," the pharisee bankers who fraudulently kick widows out of their houses while claiming to be "Christians," the gay-bashers who claim to be channeling a very odd God, and the psychotically "Christian" republicans who think that people of color shouldn't be allowed to vote, and the "family values" people who want a huge fence to keep out the illegals even though they have illegals working in their houses as virtual slaves.
Ok, I guess I'm alright with single payer health care.
Not possible in short term. I live in Texas which is controlled by the Republicans which have been sued by the Justice Dept. for new re-districting plan. Whites are now in the minority in Texas and I believe in time Texas will return as a democratic state. Texans have yet to learn the price they are paying for the Republican rule under Perry. Under Perry, Texas has failed to enforce EPA requirements and allowed business to pollute our land, air, and water. Actual results are almost impossible to attain. Business are operating with taxes and in return thousands of teachers, firemen, and police officers have been laid off. School budgets have been slashed. Services have been slashed. Perry is a real Republican. He has been bought and paid for. I support single payer but think it could take 8 to 10 years for us to get a Democratic controlled government back in the state to make it possible.
The Idea of medicade was to become single payer for the nation. the big money has stalled it sence the 60's. the people are despraite and the time is now. we will have it the way canada got theirs. state by state here.
I wish Ohio would. I have Medical Mutual of Ohio, and I learned today that my yearly mammogram, which is supposed to be free and covered without copay under wellness, or so I thought, is covered ONLY IF nothing is found. So now through the mammogram and physician exam it has been discovered that I have a suspicious lump in my breast and that I NOW have to pay for a mammogram that was doing its job and was supposed to be free. Medical Mutual tells me that anything coded as "diagnostic" has to be paid for by the insured--so I don't get my FREE YEARLY checkup unless NOTHING is found. What kind of bullcrap is that!!!???