"I hope it is true that these companies intend to be a positive force in health reform efforts, but I tend to be cautious when the fox starts drawing up plans for a new henhouse"
Following along with the launch of "Health Care for America NOW! (HCAN)" initiative, AHIP (American Health Insurance Plans, a special interest group for the health insurance industry) has launched their own initiative for expanding health insurance coverage (and profits?) called "Campaign for an American Solution (CAS)". Their plan is a mixed bag that throws a few bones to progressives while trying to change the current (profitable) system as little as possible. HCAN has come out against the CAS plan:
"Americans understand that (the industry) puts profits before people and is not interested in the health of America. The last thing we can do is trust the health-care industry to fix the health-care mess," said Richard Kirsch, the national campaign manager of Health Care for America Now.
Dear John: You are not fit to be president. Mentally, intellectually or diplomatically.
You repeatedly lower the quality of discourse in American politics. The man who ran in 2000 has disappeared, unrecognizable, the face of Bush 44 has taken his place with these "Rovian" low blows. It is you who has always been the fair-haired boy of the press.
John, you have made a long series of substantial factual errors that will become a series of major issues every day until November 4. Whether the problem is age or sloppiness, partisanship or tiredness, on issue after issue you say things that are factually incorrect. You have flip/flopped on every single issue that is important to the 2008 election. You don't even know what you're for or what you're against, anymore.
John, the people who run your campaign are a who's who of the fleecing of America. You are measured by the company you keep and your company stinks to the lower depths of hell.
Yesterday, you as much stated that Barack Obama has committed sedition by advocating the loss of a war. Your statement was unforgivable and not the kind of behavior expected of a would-be president. You are disqualified. Go home to Arizona. Do America a favor, resign your senate seat. Retire in solitude. We're tired of your antics.
Last night on The Daily Show Obama's overseas journey to Iraq was covered in hilarious fashion as Jon waits eagerly for his first gaffe which never comes. They do however, play McCain's geography gaffe.
Colbert also covers Obama's trip thus far and gives some satirical commentary on the charges of media bias being leveled by people like FOX News' Chris Wallace and Steve Doocy.
The Colbert report also had one of the funniest interviews I've seen in months when he sat down with someone from the Sierra Club group of environmental lobbyists. While I consider myself an environmentalist, this interview was hysterical - especially the part with the polar bear (you gotta see it to understand).
John McCain is criticized for running a presidential campaign built around lobbyists, but maybe we're not giving him enough credit. When a pharmaceutical company wants to put a toxic new drug on the fast track to approval it sends a lobbyist over to the FDA to plead its case. When an oil company craves to drill a stretch of pristine coastline its lobbyists stalk the halls of Congress until they get what they want. You’re a tobacco company, and you don’t like a cigarette tax? Call your lobbyist. The same goes for polluting industrialists fighting environmental regulations, exploitive retailers battling labor laws, and defense companies bidding on lucrative Pentagon contracts. If you’re rich and powerful and you want something from the government, you put your lobbyist on the case.
It’s an uncomplicated system that works extremely well for those who can afford it.
This is breaking political news and the details will be forthcoming later today. Once again, McCain's association with Abramoff, whether direct or through channels is brought to the fore. This time, one of his top bundlers has an Abramoff association..it's actually a very close association.
I believe that it is now time for McCain's involvement in the Keating 5 scandal to be brought out of the closet and explored again for all to see and scrutinize.
The original version of this essay contained a huge number of references. Check on georgefearing.com in the near future for the annotated version.
The Speaker of the United States House of Representatives rarely presides over proceedings in the House chambers, but instead delegates this prerogative to a Member of the same political party. In the early morning of November 22, 2003, House Speaker Dennis Hastert delegated his presiding officer role to a loyal attendant, my congressman, Doc Hastings.
At exactly 3 a.m., Saturday, November 22, 2003, Richard "Doc" Hastings (R-WA), presiding over the House of Representatives, announced that time for debate on President Bush's Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act had expired. "Members will have 15 minutes to record their votes," Hastings declared. Nevertheless, Hastings’’ forecast missed the mark as Hastings reneged on his deadline and delayed the vote’s ending so that Republican leadership could manipulate votes.
At the end of fifteen minutes, the vote was 210 in favor and 224 opposed to the Medicare drug bill. 17 Republicans voted to defeat the measure. Hastings, at the prompting of Republican leaders, refused to end the vote, however.
Al Franken has come out with a new ad in his embattled Minnesota Senate bid:
The gist of it is responding to the question of how to deal with the epidemic of ex-politicians using their contacts and influence to make obscene amounts of money after their political careers.
I have just read one of the best pieces of medico-political journalism I have ever encountered, and I urge you all to read it as well. Not only does it provide more evidence (as if it were needed) of John McCain's hypocrisy and political cowardice, it contains vital information about the dangers of melanoma and how to prevent it, the incredible increase in incidence, and how the FDA caved into the cosmetics industry on the issue of sunscreens after lobbying by John Roberts (remember him -- head of the SCOTUS).
Please read Brian McKenna's McCain's Melanoma Cover-Up piece immediately, especially if you have children. I lost a dear friend to melanoma about one year ago (he was 40 years old with a child). Learn the basics of protection, and learn how McCain is acting, as usual, as an ass. Some excerpts after the jump.
Note: McKenna is a 16-year survivor of melanoma. He writes brilliantly, and knows what he's talking about.
It looks as though John McCain is really just a front man for a group of Republican power brokers who already pull his strings and will continue to do so if elected, hoping that they can secure the White House as puppeteers, just as they have done with George "W"orthless Bush.
Another source for a more complete list of McCain's lobbyists can be found at the link below. The individuals on this chart are all current or former lobbyists who either serve as fundraisers for McCain's campaign or senior aides or advisers. There are currently 134 lobbyists working for or raising money for McCain's campaign.
It looks as though John McCain is really just a front man for a group of Republican power brokers who already pull his strings and will continue to do so if elected, hoping that they can secure the White House as puppeteers, just as they have done with George "W"orthless Bush.
Another source for a more complete list of McCain's lobbyists can be found at the link below. The individuals on this chart are all current or former lobbyists who either serve as fundraisers for McCain's campaign or senior aides or advisers. There are currently 134 lobbyists working for or raising money for McCain's campaign.
Here is a little item from the Wall St. Journal today that may shed some light on our duties to the Obama campaign.
According to the story, the campaign
expressed optimism about their money prospects, even as Sen. Obama touts his campaign's refusal to take money from federal lobbyists and special interests. "I can afford to simply say, 'No, I'm not interested,'" Sen. Obama said recently, asked if his refusal to take public money made him more vulnerable to donors who might have an agenda.
The problem is that this attitude is "turning off Clinton Donors", the Hillraisers, who like the Bush Pioneers, bundle hundreds of thousands of dollars into contributions, in return for access.
That's right. That is what we have today; the best government money can buy.
In case you missed it, this isn't just about FISA, the Constitution, or even about the war. This is about politicians whose votes are bought and sold like cattle at an auction to the highest bidder.
It looks as though John McCain is really just a front man for a group of Republican power brokers who already pull his strings and will continue to do so if elected, hoping that they can secure the White House as puppeteers, just as they have done with George "W"orthless Bush.
Another source for a more complete list of McCain's lobbyists can be found at the link below. The individuals on this chart are all current or former lobbyists who either serve as fundraisers for McCain's campaign or senior aides or advisers. There are currently 134 lobbyists working for or raising money for McCain's campaign.
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. Defense lobbying firm Robison International CEO Richard Ladd. Former RNC Chief Counsel Jill Vogel. Former Senator and current Holland and Knight lobbyist Ben Nighthorse Campbell. Retired Kentucky investor Harold Doran. Florida real estate investor Sidney Lessen. Hearst Magazines CEO George Green.
I'm just trying to compile a list of links to material that proves McCain's numerous flipflops and grievances... stuff not related to Obama at all but just faults of himself and his own campaign. Feel free to suggest any and I'll try to keep it up to date. The more the youtube links, the better. The let man speak for himself.
The idea is that I can just copy/paste or point people to my compilation. Hope you enjoy it in the meanwhile.
Seriously, this guy's like the gift that keeps on giving. Now you might be wondering, "Who exactly is Charlie Black, and why's he like the gift that keeps giving?" That's a fair question, and here's one answer:
H/T to the daily blog gang at Four Freedoms Blog for bringing this up and inspiring this diary..
For a moment, let's set aside the campaign gabbing John McCain made during his recent visit to Canada at the invitation of Tory PM Stephen Harper. Let's set aside the false claims that he made about Obama wanting to abandon NAFTA and claiming the Democratic nominee advocates "...retreating behind protectionist walls..." Let's set aside the words of McCain's adviser, former Cheney spokesman and known energy industry lobbyist Steve Schmidt, who has criticized Obama's choice to use the thousands of individual donations amounting to millions in TRUE public financing, instead of using what I like to call McCain's campaign welfare (another word for the capped matching tax dollars a candidate may receive to fund their campaigns)..
