Day: July 22, 2009

Obama Calls On Bloggers

The president is calling on bloggers to help keep the health care issue on the minds of Americans.

As reported by Sam Stein in the Huffington Post:

“It is important just to keep the pressure on members of Congress because what happens is there is a default position of inertia here in Washington,” the president said during an invitation-only conference call. “And pushing against that, making sure that people feel that the desperation that ordinary families are feeling all across the country, every single day, when they are worrying about whether they can pay their premiums or not… People have to feel that in a visceral way. And you guys can help deliver that better than just about anybody.”

In a roughly 25-minute session with a handful of prominent progressive bloggers, the president also asked for help combating disinformation about his health care plan.

“I know the blogs are best at debunking myths that can slip through a lot of the traditional media outlets,” he said. “And that is why you are going to play such an important role in our success in the weeks to come.”

This is a great idea from a Prez with a wealth of great ideas…..but there is a problem, IMO.  Bloggers like myself and many others have been doing just what the president is asking bloggers to do.  But we are not cheerleaders, while we do make sure that the “whole” story on the issue is examined….but what Obama is doing is asking his bloggers the cheerleader like Daily Kos and reporters with their little blogs.

Sad part is that many bloggers have been doing this type of thing since the beginning of Obama’s rise to power, but since they are not in the right “corner” they are ignored.  While I think that his attempt should be applauded…he should expand his field of bloggers to include those that may not be on the “A” list……for they have been pointing out the BS for a lot longer than some of the mainstream bloggers.

A Sad Consequence Of War

Since I do so much reading I find stories all the time and just cannot find time or space for a post, but this story I saw in Al Jazeera and made room for it.  There are so many consequences of war, the creation of massive poverty, being one such consequence.

Abject poverty across Iraq is fuelling an illegal trade in human organs.

Hundreds of people are believed to have sold kidneys and other organs through dealers in the capital, Baghdad, over the last year.

About 23 per cent of Iraqis live in poverty, meaning that they are forced to survive on $2.2 a day or less, according to government figures.

Unemployment is also high, with at least 18 per cent of the population out of work, UN and government reports suggest. Unofficial estimates have put the figure as high as 30 per cent.

The organ brokers who arrange the deals between the desperately poor and those desperate enough to pay to save the life of a loved one, typically congregate around the hospitals.

Although Iraqi law allows people to donate their organs, their sale is illegal.

However, one of their customers said that he had paid more than $15,000 to one of the dealers outside the hospital.
The majority of customers buying the organs are other Iraqis, but with news of the growing market spreading across the region, there have been reports of people travelling from across the Middle East to secure an organ.