http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/category_rss/healthcare Cancer doc (left) tops bureaucrat (right) on cancer recs ( WUSA ). HHS Head Sibelius Says, Ignore Panel, Get Checked Michael Collins "The (task force) recommends against routine screening mammography in women aged 40 to 49 years." U.S. Preventative Services Task Force, Nov. 17, 2009 "My message to women is simple. Mammograms have always been an important life-saving tool in the fight against breast cancer and they still are today. Keep doing what you have been doing for years - talk to your doctor about your individual history, ask questions, and make the decision that is right for you."  Kathleen Sebelius, Health and Human Services Secretary,  Nov. 18. Talk about a short news cycle.  A Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) appointed "best practices" task force dismissed the value of "routine" mammograms as a cancer prevention technique for women 40 to 49 years on Tuesday, November 17 . A day later, Wednesday, Nov. 18, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius issued a statement dismissing the committee recommendations. http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/mcollins/CZhg http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/mcollins/CZhg/commentary#comments Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:52:54 EST http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/mcollins/CZhg Michael Collins http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/0f4307568de17110c5_xdbmv2rzb.jpg Michael Collins 0 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CZhg/ October 27, 2009 Dear Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow: Far be it from me to say or do anything to defend Sarah Palin, however her claims to the Obama Administration in creating “death panels” is far from wrong. The “death panels” were created by a Republican Congress and Senate under the Bush Administration with their creation of the Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Benefit(?). As a diabetic, it is important for me to take my insulin regularly to keep my blood sugar readings as normal as I can. The Part D Prescription Drug Benefit works very well for the first half of the year. However, come August and September, I deplete my benefit and enter what they call, “the Donut Hole” where we pay full price until we reach the third tier of catastrophic coverage. My insulin alone during this “donut hole” is $358.00, which I cannot afford to pay. I rely on my Doctor to have insulin samples on hand to help me out until January of the next year. More than half the time, my Doctor does not have any samples probably because there of a lot of people in my predicament. This has taken a mighty toll on my body in that I am losing my eyesight, my kidneys are overworked and I run the risk of kidney failure. I have diabetic neuropathy in both my lower legs and numb areas in my feet which make it feel as though I am walking on gravel. I stand a good chance of having an amputation or two in the near future. The sad thing about this is that I am 49-years of age. That Republican Congress and Senate under that Republican Bush Administration have already signed my death certificate. They are the true death panel that Sarah Palin wants to blame on President Obama. I know there are probably several “hundred” thousand retired and disabled individuals in this dilemma. The average Social Security Benefit is more than $100.00 LESS THAN my own personal benefit which means if I can’t afford my insulin or prescription during the “donut hole” period, there are MANY more that can’t get theirs either. Thank you Republicans. And you wonder why your party is in such a mess. Respectfully, Brian Lund Colorado Springs, CO Cc: President Barack Obama, White House Senator Harry Reid, Washington DC Representative Nancy Pelosi, Washington DC Colorado Springs Gazette Colorado Springs Independent http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/belboi/CZR4 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/belboi/CZR4/commentary#comments Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:31:17 EST http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/belboi/CZR4 belboi http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/5ec4e717fba4f06d57_94m6iicqj.jpg belboi 0 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CZR4/ Senator Michael Bennet was one of 30 signatories on a letter to the Senate leadership demanding that the HELP Committee's optional public insurance plan be included in the final bill. The next day, Senator Bennet, Senator Udall (not ours, but his cousin from New Mexico), and others joined Senator Brown on the floor to press for the public option in person. http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelditto/CZnS http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelditto/CZnS/commentary#comments Sat, 10 Oct 2009 17:19:14 EDT http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelditto/CZnS Michael Ditto http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/f660dc8ce688a8bfdc_5fmmv2i99.jpg Michael Ditto 0 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CZnS/ Early on Kristoff suggests that Congress eliminate insurance for 15% of their members and let that 15% take their children to an emergency room for care. NOT going to happen, however he will incur apoplectic reaction from the jingoists for "demeaning" the holiness of 9/11. Forever waving the bloody flag of 9/11, never stopping to consider those responsible for allowing it to happen, the unconscionable attack of Iraq, our unlawful and horrific violations of human decency, the civilian casualties ("We don't do body counts"). The most cowardly concept that "fighting them over there.........." by recruiting our economically disadvantaged citizens and green card immigrants was somehow noble and justified defilement of the Constitution, death and disfigurement to innocents. A most arrogant display to the rest of the world of what we are actually capable of. For a country that spends $600 Billion on "defense" allowing a 58 minute attack on three different targets was absurdly incompetent. The absurdity of what we spend is a whole other can of worms. "............We accept that life is unfair, that some people will live in cramped apartments and others in sprawling mansions. But our existing insurance system is not simply inequitable but also lethal: a very recent, peer-reviewed article in the American Journal of Public Health finds that nearly 45,000 uninsured people die annually as a consequence of not having insurance. That’s one needless death every 12 minutes. When nearly 3,000 people were killed on 9/11, we began wars and were willing to devote more than $1 trillion in additional expenses. Yet about the same number of Americans die from our failed insurance system every three weeks. The obstacle isn’t so much money as priorities. America made it a priority to provide tax breaks, largely to the wealthy, in the Bush years, at a 10-year cost including interest of $2.4 trillion. Allocating less than half that much to assure equal access to health care isn’t deemed an equal priority............." Complete Op/Ed at The NY Times http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZnM http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZnM/commentary#comments Thu, 08 Oct 2009 12:50:51 EDT http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZnM Mike Collins http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/bcdcfd97be4d93f8d2_izvrmv8p8.jpg Mike Collins 0 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CZnM/ I've been a little depressed lately, the Michael Moore movie seems to have intensified the despair. Much has been said to marginalize the so called "left wing" of the Democrat Party. In reality, the left wing is the "right" wing, meaning that it is the segment of the party that is mostly correct in it's philosophies and promotes academic, logical introspection and solutions. Most of all they are somewhat unselfishly devoted to truth, justice and the idea that America is duty-bound to strive for a more perfect union. That liberty and justice for all applies to our law and most certainly to economic equity. I am afraid that conservative/blue dog Democrat thought implies no room for improvement or reflection and a preference for a balance that is in their favor. The Right Wing of the Democrat Party seems the most "Christian" in its opinions and deeds. However, they are less likely to belong to an organized religion, they carry within them the only law that matters when dealing with most human, animal and earthly interaction. The Golden Rule is at once logical and effortless, what else could qualify as "self-evident" if not the Golden Rule. Where are we as a nation? From the Declaration of Independence comes a profound clue, an indication that we are in fact sheep, the status quo is undemanding of social responsibility or activism: "accordingly all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed." The Declaration of Independence "When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bonds which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed............................." In the words of Ann Richards in answer to, "What must Democrats do in order to win" she answered, "You (All of us) must find the courage to talk to the people you don't know and tell them things they may not want to hear." Michael Moore has that kind of courage. I wish I had asked Governor Richards if there was a cure for complacency. MC CONFORMITY We are discreet sheep; we wait to see how the drove is going, and then go with the drove. - Mark Twain's Autobiography Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to reform (or pause and reflect). Mark Twain- Notebook, 1904 Conformity-the natural instinct to passively yield to that vague something recognized as authority. Mark Twain- "Corn Pone Opinions" TREACHERY Gratitude and treachery are merely the two extremities of the same procession. You have seen all of it that is worth staying for when the band and the gaudy officials have gone by. Mark Twain- Pudd'nhead Wilson TRADITION ...scrap heap of unverifiable odds and ends which we call tradition. Mark Twain- Speech, 5/25/1908 JUSTICE The rain ...falls upon the just and the unjust alike; a thing which would not happen if I were superintending the rain's affairs. No, I would rain softly and sweetly on the just, but if I caught a sample of the unjust outdoors I would drown him. - Mark Twain, a Biography TRUTH Familiarity breeds contempt. How accurate that is. The reason we hold truth in such respect is because we have so little opportunity to get familiar with it. Mark Twain- Notebook, 1898 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZSY http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZSY/commentary#comments Sat, 03 Oct 2009 14:58:31 EDT http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZSY Mike Collins http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/bcdcfd97be4d93f8d2_izvrmv8p8.jpg Mike Collins 0 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CZSY/ Great writing and video clips What "Capitalism" Is Not By Terrance Heath Created 10/02/2009 - 11:26am If I were to summarize message Michael Moore's new movie, Capitalism: A Love Story in one sentence, it would be this: Capitalism is not a form of government. That's the answer to the question posed at the beginning of the movie, via 1950s educational/propaganda films. Capitalism is not a form of government. It is a tool we've allowed to be used as a weapon. We threw out the instructions and rules for its usage, and it became a weapon — much like a hammer can be used to build a house or smash a skull, depending on whether it's wielded by a carpenter or a psychopath. Moore spends the rest of the movie showing us how we not only tossed out the rules, but junked every other tool in our collective toolbox, and left ourselves with the hammer. But everything is not a nail, and the hammer isn't suited to every aspect of the task in front of us. Moore gives us until the end of the movie to figure out what that seemingly abandoned task might be. Capitalism is populated by people whose names we know and people whose names we don't — all characters in what Michael Moore has subtitled "a love story." We know the speeches of the former, and the stories of the latter, because we've watched those same stories unfold in our own communities in the last couple of years. The speeches were intended to arouse our passions, by retelling part the most recent chapter in the story of how we got here — the part that happened on Wall Street and in Washington. Continued Campaign for America's Future http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZSs http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZSs/commentary#comments Fri, 02 Oct 2009 22:02:16 EDT http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZSs Mike Collins http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/bcdcfd97be4d93f8d2_izvrmv8p8.jpg Mike Collins 1 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CZSs/ I saw the movie tonight at a special showing at Chez Artiste. Mr. Moore has done it again, he has taken pure, unadulterated truth and made it an art form. Moore expressed a desire to be a priest in his early days, I think he became one for all intents and purposes. Bravo, Mr. Moore, you are a priest in every sense of the word. http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZSP http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZSP/commentary#comments Fri, 02 Oct 2009 01:08:48 EDT http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZSP Mike Collins http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/bcdcfd97be4d93f8d2_izvrmv8p8.jpg Mike Collins 0 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CZSP/ "Democrats have been far too timid in taking on the right wing's arguments against government. They have been defensive when they should be going on offense by insisting that government can expand human freedom and give people options they would not otherwise have." The Centrist Public Option By E.J. Dionne Jr. Thursday, October 1, 2009 The strangest aspect of the debate over a public option for health coverage is that the centrists who oppose it should love it. It doesn't involve a government takeover of the health-care system. The idea is that only consumers who want to enroll in a government-run health plan would do so. Anyone who preferred private insurance could get it. The public option also uses government exactly as advocates of market economics say it should be deployed: not as a controlling entity but as a nudge toward greater competition. Fans of the market rightly oppose monopolies. But in many places, a small number of insurance companies -- sometimes only one -- dominates the market. The public option is a monopoly-buster. Centrists tell us they want to hold down spending and fight deficits. Strong versions of the public option, as the Congressional Budget Office showed in its scoring of Sen. Jay Rockefeller's proposal, cut the costs of insuring everyone. Unfortunately, the debate over the public option has rarely concentrated on the substance of the idea. Instead, it has been almost entirely ideological. Because opponents know from polling that the public wants the chance to choose a government plan, they move the discourse to abstract and often demagogic ground. The most revealing "argument" during the Senate Finance Committee's public-option debate on Tuesday came from Sen. Chuck Grassley. "The government is not a fair competitor," Grassley said. "It's a predator." Grassley was then forced to explain how he felt about Medicare. Is it predatory for government to pay health bills for the elderly? Is Social Security, which lives side by side with private pension and savings plans, predatory? Is it predatory for government to regulate, well, predatory lenders or stock swindlers or bank boodlers? Democrats have been far too timid in taking on the right wing's arguments against government. They have been defensive when they should be going on offense by insisting that government can expand human freedom and give people options they would not otherwise have. Continued at the Washington Post http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZS7 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZS7/commentary#comments Thu, 01 Oct 2009 20:07:25 EDT http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZS7 Mike Collins http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/bcdcfd97be4d93f8d2_izvrmv8p8.jpg Mike Collins 0 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CZS7/ The Finance Committee is discussing a proposal for a government-run insurance plan. the four senior Senators on the committee Jay Rockefeller, Max Baucus, Charles Grassley and Orrin Hatch. ***The four Senators represent 8.52 million people. That is 2.7 percent of the 305 million people in America. None of those states match the population of Colorado- 4,939,000 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZSz http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZSz/commentary#comments Tue, 29 Sep 2009 13:24:58 EDT http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZSz Mike Collins http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/bcdcfd97be4d93f8d2_izvrmv8p8.jpg Mike Collins 0 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CZSz/ I am no liberal, I am not in the middle, nor am I a conservative. I am an American with the ability to think rationally and analyze effectively just like everyone else on either side of this debate. Unfortunately for all of us we, as people, tend to let our emotions slow down our ability to think rationally and remain calm when our "buttons are pushed". What I am hoping to achieve with this blog is an open, honest dialogue about our health care system. Let me start with these question and we'll go from there: 1) Why do you think we are the ONLY industrialized nation on the planet that does not have a national health care system? 2) Why do you think that we have the highest infant mortality rate and the lowest life expectancy of ANY industrialized nation? Please state your opinions with respect and civility. Thanks http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/zachariahmarshall/CZSQ http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/zachariahmarshall/CZSQ/commentary#comments Wed, 23 Sep 2009 17:46:07 EDT http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/zachariahmarshall/CZSQ User from Sterling, VA User from Sterling, VA 1 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CZSQ/ Starts Friday, October 2 at the Mayan Theatre and Greenwood Village In Capitalism: A Love Story, filmmaker Michael Moore (Sicko, Fahrenheit 9/11, Bowling for Columbine, Roger & Me) tackles an issue he has been examining throughout his career: the disastrous impact of corporate dominance on the everyday lives of Americans (and by default, the rest of the world). Moore explores the root causes of the global economic meltdown and takes a comical look at the corporate and political shenanigans that culminated in what he has described as the biggest robbery in the history of this country—the massive transfer of U.S. taxpayer money to private financial institutions. http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZSr http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZSr/commentary#comments Mon, 21 Sep 2009 19:11:32 EDT http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZSr Mike Collins http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/bcdcfd97be4d93f8d2_izvrmv8p8.jpg Mike Collins 1 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CZSr/ September 20, 2009 Op-Ed Columnist Even Glenn Beck Is Right Twice a Day By FRANK RICH "IF only it were just about the color of his skin. With all due respect to Jimmy Carter, the racist component of Obama-hatred has been undeniable since the summer of 2008, when Sarah Palin rallied all-white mobs to the defense of the “real America.” Joe Wilson may or may not be in that camp, but, either way, that’s not the news. As we watched and rewatched the South Carolina congressman’s star turn, what grabbed us was the act itself......" ".......................Beck frequently strikes the pose of an apocalyptic prophet, even insisting that he predicted 9/11. This summer he also started warning of domestic terrorism in the form of a new Timothy McVeigh. On this, one fears he knows whereof he speaks. For all our nation’s unfinished business on race, racism is not Obama’s biggest challenge during our unfinished Great Recession. He — and our political system — are being seriously tested by a rage that is no less real for being shouted by a demagogue from Fox and a backbencher from South Carolina." http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/20/opinion/20rich.html?hp http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZSq http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZSq/commentary#comments Sun, 20 Sep 2009 14:24:34 EDT http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZSq Mike Collins http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/bcdcfd97be4d93f8d2_izvrmv8p8.jpg Mike Collins 0 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CZSq/ Yesterday I sent out an e-mail encouraging people to contact their congresspeople and encourage them to support the President's healthcare plan, including a public option . Predictably, the hate mail rolled in. Here's a best-of: [profanity warning...to say nothing of birther stupidity] [ emphasis added ] http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelditto/CZSX http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelditto/CZSX/commentary#comments Sat, 19 Sep 2009 16:12:02 EDT http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelditto/CZSX Michael Ditto http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/f660dc8ce688a8bfdc_5fmmv2i99.jpg Michael Ditto 0 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CZSX/ I just had to throw this chart in. According to these statistics, 95 percent of all American wage earners are chumps for change, pocket change that is. And the point of the rat race is? Michael Moores email below the chart. MC For Tax Year 2007 Percentiles Ranked by AGI AGI Threshold on Percentiles Percentage of Federal Personal Income Tax Paid Top 1% $410,096 40.42 Top 5% $160,041 60.63 Top 10% $113,018 71.22 Top 25% $66,532 86.59 Top 50% $32,879 97.11 Bottom 50% http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZSp http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZSp/commentary#comments Tue, 15 Sep 2009 18:40:56 EDT http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZSp Mike Collins http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/bcdcfd97be4d93f8d2_izvrmv8p8.jpg Mike Collins 0 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CZSp/ Sign me up, I'm a "Liberal" If your elected Democrat doesn't talk and think like this, you have a problem and perhaps you should encourage that "Centrist" to switch parties. I certainly wouldn't contribute my money or time to a person just because they use a "D" by their name. People who pretend to be liberal can get elected in Colorado, e.g. Ken Salazar, a liberal Hispanic, Bill Ritter, a liberal, law and order, Catholic kind of guy ("Law and Order" types scare me, they usually consider "prison building" a solution). Ben NightHorse Campbell, a liberal Native American. Liberals can get elected in Colorado, even if they are DINOs. MC "What do our opponents mean when they apply to us the label 'Liberal'? If by 'Liberal' they mean, as they want people to believe, someone who is soft in his policies abroad, who is against local government, and who is unconcerned with the taxpayer’s dollar, then the record of this party and its members demonstrate that we are not that kind of 'Liberal'. But if by a 'Liberal' they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people — their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, and their civil liberties — someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a 'Liberal', then I’m proud to say I’m a 'Liberal'." John F. Kennedy Wikipedia http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZSM http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZSM/commentary#comments Sat, 12 Sep 2009 14:04:19 EDT http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZSM Mike Collins http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/bcdcfd97be4d93f8d2_izvrmv8p8.jpg Mike Collins 0 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CZSM/ Ben Nelson, Max Baucus, et al., all DINOs. Anti-tax, anti-prosperity and anti-justice for all is anti-American. Look no further than the peamble of the US Constitution or the beauty of the concept, "E pluribus unum" "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. " NY Times September 9, 2009 Op-Ed Columnist Our One-Party Democracy By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN Watching both the health care and climate/energy debates in Congress, it is hard not to draw the following conclusion: There is only one thing worse than one-party autocracy, and that is one-party democracy, which is what we have in America today....................................... ...........................The G.O.P. used to be the party of business. Well, to compete and win in a globalized world, no one needs the burden of health insurance shifted from business to government more than American business. No one needs immigration reform — so the world’s best brainpower can come here without restrictions — more than American business. No one needs a push for clean-tech — the world’s next great global manufacturing industry — more than American business. Yet the G.O.P. today resists national health care, immigration reform and wants to just drill, baby, drill. “Globalization has neutered the Republican Party, leaving it to represent not the have-nots of the recession but the have-nots of globalized America, the people who have been left behind either in reality or in their fears,” said Edward Goldberg, a global trade consultant who teaches at Baruch College. “The need to compete in a globalized world has forced the meritocracy, the multinational corporate manager, the eastern financier and the technology entrepreneur to reconsider what the Republican Party has to offer. In principle, they have left the party, leaving behind not a pragmatic coalition but a group of ideological naysayers.......................” Continued at the NY Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/09/opinion/09friedman.html http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZSx http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZSx/commentary#comments Sat, 12 Sep 2009 10:01:04 EDT http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZSx Mike Collins http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/bcdcfd97be4d93f8d2_izvrmv8p8.jpg Mike Collins 0 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CZSx/ What will not be simple, prosecuting Baucus, Grassley, et al.. Enemies of the state, fascists, monopolists and of the mind that democracy has no place in the America they envision and nurture. Corporate welfare is good, the welfare of the people won't fill the campaign coffers. MC It's Simple: Medicare for All By George S. McGovern Sunday, September 13, 2009 For many years, a handful of American political leaders -- including the late senator Ted Kennedy and now President Obama -- have been trying to gain passage of comprehensive health care for all Americans. As far back as President Harry S. Truman, they have urged Congress to act on this national need. In a presentation before a joint session of Congress last week, Obama offered his view of the best way forward. But what seems missing in the current battle is a single proposal that everyone can understand and that does not lend itself to demagoguery. If we want comprehensive health care for all our citizens, we can achieve it with a single sentence: Congress hereby extends Medicare to all Americans. Those of us over 65 have been enjoying this program for years. I go to the doctor or hospital of my choice, and my taxes pay all the bills. It's wonderful. But I would have appreciated it even more if my wife and children and I had had such health-care coverage when we were younger. I want every American, from birth to death, to get the kind of health care I now receive. Removing the payments now going to the insurance corporations would considerably offset the tax increase necessary to cover all Americans. I don't feel as though the government is meddling in my life when it pays my doctor and hospital fees. There are some things the government does that I don't like -- most notably getting us into needless wars that cost many times what health care for all Americans would cost. Investing in the health of our citizens will enhance the well-being and security of the nation. We know that Medicare has worked well for half a century for those of us over 65. Why does it become "socialized medicine" when we extend it to younger Americans? Taking such a shortsighted view would leave nearly 50 million Americans without health insurance and without the means to buy it. It would leave other Americans struggling to pay the rising cost of insurance premiums. These private insurance plans are frequently terminated if the holder contracts a serious long-term ailment. And some people lose their insurance if they lose their jobs or if the plant where they work moves to another location -- perhaps overseas. We recently bailed out the finance houses and banks to the tune of $700 billion. A country that can afford such an outlay while paying for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan can afford to do what every other advanced democracy has done: underwrite quality health care for all its citizens. If Medicare needs a few modifications in order to serve all Americans, we can make such adjustments now or later. But let's make sure Congress has an up or down vote on Medicare for all before it adjourns this year. Let's not waste time trying to reinvent the wheel. We all know what Medicare is. Do we want health care for all, or only for those over 65? If the roll is called and it goes against those of us who favor national health care, so be it. If it is approved, the entire nation can applaud. Many people familiar with politics in America will tell you that this idea can't pass Congress, in part because the insurance lobby is too powerful for lawmakers to resist. As matters now stand, the insurance companies claim $450 billion a year of our health-care dollars. They will fight hard to hold on to this bonanza. This is a major reason Americans pay more for health care per capita than any other people in the world. The insurance executives didn't cry "socialism" when their buddies in banking and finance were bailed out. But to them it is socialism if the government underwrites the cost of health care. Consider the campaign funds given to the chairman and ranking minority member of the Senate Finance Committee, which has jurisdiction over health-care legislation. Chairman Max Baucus of Montana, a Democrat, and his political action committee have received nearly $4 million from the health-care lobby since 2003. The ranking Republican, Charles Grassley of Iowa, has received more than $2 million. It's a mistake for one politician to judge the personal motives of another. But Sens. Baucus and Grassley are firm opponents of the single-payer system, as are other highly placed members of Congress who have been generously rewarded by the insurance lobby. In the past, doctors and their national association opposed Medicare and efforts to extend such benefits. But in recent years, many doctors have changed their views. In December 2007, the 124,000-member American College of Physicians endorsed for the first time a single-payer national health insurance program. And a March 2008 study by Indiana University -- the largest survey ever of doctors' opinions on financing health-care reform -- concluded that 59 percent of doctors support national health insurance. To have the doctors with us favoring government health insurance is good news. As Obama said: "We did not come to fear the future. We came here to shape it." George S. McGovern, a former senator from South Dakota, was the Democratic nominee for president in 1972. The Washington Post http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/11/AR2009091102406.html http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZSg http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZSg/commentary#comments Fri, 11 Sep 2009 23:28:45 EDT http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZSg Mike Collins http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/bcdcfd97be4d93f8d2_izvrmv8p8.jpg Mike Collins 0 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CZSg/ It seems the Supreme Court is poised to rule that corporations are truly “people” under the law and as such, are protected by the First Amendment’s right to free speech. This will overturn over one hundred years of legal precedent and create a political imbalance of seismic proportions. The current ability of large corporate interests to influence legislators through their lobbyists will pale in comparison to the ability to directly participate in partisan politics that a Supreme Court ruling would allow. Literally billions of dollars could flow into efforts to defeat legislators who do not toe their line, thus drastically changing our nation’s political landscape. The voices of average citizens, non-profits and even labor unions would be buried under an avalanche of corporate cash. If the Supreme Court decides that a corporation has First Amendment rights, protected by the Constitution the same as a natural born person, then it follows that a corporation should be extended all other rights a person has under the Constitution. This should include the right to vote in local, state and federal elections, in addition to the individual voting rights of the officers and stockholders of the corporation. If and when the Supreme Court issues the expected ruling, a sympathetic corporation should attempt to register as a voter and when registration is denied, file a federal lawsuit. A creative mind could imagine many more rights that personhood would bestow upon corporations. Such actions would be viewed as frivolous by Federal Courts but would be newsworthy and serve to draw attention to the issue and hopefully spur an expanded debate. The time has come for a Constitutional Amendment that would redefine the status of corporations. A campaign to advance such an amendment would have the advantage of the simple sound bites and simple mantras that every voter could understand. After our near financial collapse caused partly by corporate greed, now may be the perfect time to introduce such a measure. Support may never be this high again. Something must be done quickly. Such a ruling would effectively usurp the current moderate, liberal, progressive voting majority in this country and replace it with a permanent right wing majority in Congress and a permanent “lock” on the White House…beginning as soon as 2010 and 2012... all bought and paid for by major corporate interests. The establishment of a corporate state was a central tenant of our enemies in WWII. The threat to our Representative Democracy should be apparent to all. http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/DarrylEskin/CZNR http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/DarrylEskin/CZNR/commentary#comments Fri, 11 Sep 2009 21:00:29 EDT http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/DarrylEskin/CZNR Darryl Eskin http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/078fe461d1d51def72_wwnmv2yq7.jpg Darryl Eskin 1 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CZNR/ It is a fact that every day, health insurance companies wrongfully deny claims, deny coverage to those with preexisting conditions and cancel policies when policyholders get sick. The only point that could be debated is how many...hundreds each day, thousands? There are millions of Americans who idolize Rush Limbaugh. They believe all his lies and the lies of the right wing mouthpieces on Fox News. Many of them have been incited to disrupt townhall meetings and some have even been incited to intimidate health care reform supporters and Democratic legislators by brandishing loaded pistols and assault rifles at those meetings. Logic dictates that a certain number of them have since joined the ranks of those whose claims have been denied or whose policies have been canceled. There must also be some who now face financial ruin as a result. How many of these souls have changed their tune? How many have seen the light? It would certainly be interesting if some of these folks could be identified and consent to be interviewed on camera for the purpose of relating their tales of woe. For those moderate Americans who are still on the fence concerning health insurance reform, it would be a most enlightening experience to see and hear such interviews. Just a thought. http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/DarrylEskin/CZSC http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/DarrylEskin/CZSC/commentary#comments Fri, 11 Sep 2009 01:08:15 EDT http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/DarrylEskin/CZSC Darryl Eskin http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/078fe461d1d51def72_wwnmv2yq7.jpg Darryl Eskin 0 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CZSC/ A concept that most lawmakers have little interest in - accountability and especially not fiscal responsibility. Look no further than Democratic and Republican votes on obscene supplemental funding for our two wars. $687 Billion for Iraq and $228 Billion for Afghanistan, more than enough to kick start national health care. MC "And here's what you need to know. First, I will not sign a plan that adds one dime to our deficits -- either now or in the future. (Applause.) I will not sign it if it adds one dime to the deficit, now or in the future, period. And to prove that I'm serious, there will be a provision in this plan that requires us to come forward with more spending cuts if the savings we promised don't materialize. (Applause.) Now, part of the reason I faced a trillion-dollar deficit when I walked in the door of the White House is because too many initiatives over the last decade were not paid for -- from the Iraq war to tax breaks for the wealthy. (Applause.) I will not make that same mistake with health care. Second, we've estimated that most of this plan can be paid for by finding savings within the existing health care system, a system that is currently full of waste and abuse. Right now, too much of the hard-earned savings and tax dollars we spend on health care don't make us any healthier. That's not my judgment -- it's the judgment of medical professionals across this country. And this is also true when it comes to Medicare and Medicaid." http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZN5 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZN5/commentary#comments Thu, 10 Sep 2009 12:26:35 EDT http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZN5 Mike Collins http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/bcdcfd97be4d93f8d2_izvrmv8p8.jpg Mike Collins 0 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CZN5/