Month: February 2010

What Obama Wants In Health Reform

Tomorrow will be the big meeting of the minds…the health summit between Obama, Dems and Repubs……let us hope that this will not be the circus that I fear it will be……unless these people strat talking to each other instead of the finbger pointing then this will be a huge waste of time and effort….anyway Obama has finally come out with what he will support and they are suppose to go from there…….he wants:

Insurers such as WellPoint Inc, UnitedHealth Group Inc and Aetna Inc overall face increased regulations and payment cuts.

* Insurance plans would face a new federal Health Insurance Rate Authority to help U.S. states review “unreasonable rate increases and other unfair practices of insurance plans.”

* Restrictions on companies that aim to protect consumers are expanded to add new protections, such as prohibiting all annual and lifetime limits, and ban pre-existing condition exclusions, among others.

* Private Medicare plans called Medicare Advantage would see payment changes that aim to compromise between the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate bills. Reimbursement rates for the plans, which can offer more benefits than traditional fee-for-service Medicare coverage at a higher cost, would set benchmark payments at a certain percentage of traditional Medicare and then phase them out.

* Medicare Advantage plans would also see payment adjustments for unjustified billing practices.

* One small positive for health insurance companies: The 10-year $67 billion in fees they would face would be delayed until 2014.

The brand-name pharmaceutical industry faces another $10 billion in fees over 10 years on top of its earlier agreement with the Senate Finance Committee to provide savings and rebates.

* The industry wide fees, to be parceled out among companies such as Pfizer Inc and Merck & Co Inc, will be used to eliminate a gap in Medicare’s prescription drug coverage known as the “doughnut hole.” That could help brand-name companies by getting patients to continue taking their medication rather than switching to a generic or stopping medication altogether.

* In a positive move for the companies, the fees will be delayed by one year until 2011.

Companies that make cheaper, generic versions of brand-name medicines would see an end to lucrative “pay-to-delay” settlements with brand-name drugmakers.

* Obama’s measure gives the U.S. Federal Trade Commission authority to address the settlements and makes it illegal to pay generic manufacturers

“to limit or forego research, development, marketing, manufacturing or sales of the generic drug.”

* Exemptions would only be allowed if the companies can show their settlement would “outweigh the anti-competitive effects of the agreement.”

Medical device makers such as Boston Scientific and Medtronic Inc maintained their earlier win of reducing their costs to $20 billion, down from $40 billion, and won a two-year delay until 2013.

* The industry wide fees were replaced with an excise tax that raises the same amount of revenue over 10 years.

I know a helluva list….but at least we now know exactly what Obama is looking for….read over the list….I do not see many areas for negotiation by the parties if they stick to the line they have held for a year or more…..The summit ought to be a kick in the butt for us political observers….the rest of the world will just tire of the news…and if you will look closely there is still NO elimination of the health industry’s anti-trust exemption….meaning they still control the prices and the screwing of the American people…..there is not tort reform, which will piss off the Repubs and there is nothing in it about ALL Americans….in other words looks a lot like the Senate version that has already passed….so what’s new?

Is Anyone Listening?

That is the question…whether it is easier to face reality or to blow BS out of your butt?  If we listen closely to the news it is apparent that it is the later…….but I digress…..the political theater in the US now is something akin to day care and there appears to be NO adult in charge…….

But in all the lip waging and finger pointing and he said they said….there is an adult…he has always been one of the few in the Washington arena……the adult I refer to is Colin Powell…not the darling of the Right by any means…but at least he acts like an adult….

“It’s a great system but it’s in some disarray right now and the American people are looking for their leaders to fix it,” Powell said Sunday on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”

Congressional leaders need to find ways to “get the country moving and not just scream at each other,” said Powell.

“I think he has done quite a few things well to stabilize the situation,” Powell said. “But I’m afraid he put too much on the plate for the American people to absorb at this time.”

“The American people are looking for their leaders to fix it. They’re looking for the White House to fix it. They’re looking for leaders in both the Republican Party and the Democratic Party in the House and Senate to start finding ways to compromise and get the country moving and not just scream at each other,”

He also spoke on the Obama socialism thing and asked if the country was so weak as to allow a single person to change the entire system…..(a point I would like to hear them address)

I know that the Right has had its problems with Powell, calling a RINO and chastising him when he endorsed Obama over McCain in the early days of the 2008 election thing….Man speaks like an adult that has actually spent sometime on understanding issues and position…instead of doing what others in his party are doing…insulting, name calling and whining….

Maybe if the GOP spent more time working for solutions to problems than is being an obstruction then the country could quite possibly be better off….but then he, Powell, can act like an adult for he is NOT running for anything…he does not need to stay on his knees in front of contributors……

You Say You Want To Participate?

Inkwell Institute

Professor’s Classroom

Subject:  Political Theory/Democracy

Paper #4

Participatory Democracy

To begin with I would like to thank my friend Quin of Quintessential Havoc (go to blogroll to visit his site….a well written and thoughtful site) for the headache that he gave me in writing this paper (BTW, he does know I am joking)….this was a bitch to write for there are so many facets to this subject that I could never write it all…..I try to be concise and use simple terms so that everyone can understand the subject…..yes, it is simplistic but you will get over it…..

Quin and I have had numerous exchanges on the subject of participatory democracy and I thought that if more people could grasp the concept that it would make for a good post…..and hopefully more participation (yes, I had to work that in somehow)……

First of all, just what is participatory democracy all about….wikipedia can help with that:

Participatory democracy strives to create opportunities for all members of a political group to make meaningful contributions to decision-making, and seeks to broaden the range of people who have access to such opportunities. Because so much information must be gathered for the overall decision-making process to succeed, technology may provide important forces leading to the type of empowerment needed for participatory models, especially those technological tools that enable community narratives and correspond to the accretion of knowledge. Effectively increasing the scale of participation, and translating small but effective participation groups into small world networks, are areas currently being studied.

The concept is nothing new…actually the Greeks, especially Athens, had this type of democracy….well some what……but the more modern concept came in part from Jean-Jacques Rousseau….

According to Rousseau there are 4 themes that need to be considered for a more direct democracy……1) discourage the development of interests groups that come between the people and government, 2) citizens need to distance themselves from private concerns and be more concerned with the common good, 3) eliminate large economic inequalities between citizens, 4) individuals active involvement in public life……Rousseau believed that the people should be more educated in the public sphere, because then they would be more thoughtful, more responsible, more sympathetic, less servile and would feel more free and unoppressed….(for the most part I am in agreement with Rousseau)……

People should be consulted on ALL issues that effect their lives because only active, democratic involvement in all matters will truly make the society a truly democratic one….for only when the people make the laws will they be a fully democratic electorate….

Now that I have hit upon the major points of participatory democracy (at least in my mind) I do see there being a problem with it…..let us say the electorate does get involved more in the governance then other areas will suffer, at least that is the theory,….the people will be less concerned with listening to music, talking with others and even watching the tube….in other words they will not be too busy for minor BS…they are concerned with governing themselves…..

While participatory democracy is very attractive….it will preserve freedom and equality and would be less effective advancing prosperity…..at least that is the common belief of those opposed to a more direct democracy…..on a more personal note…I would forgo a lot of stuff to have a more active say in my government and their actions….I think more Americans would appreciate being in control of their government……and in turn, in control of the direction of the country and their lives……

How To Collapse A Government?

That the question that fringe parties or organizations have been asking for centuries, well maybe not that long, but a long time none the less…..they tried armed insurrection….sometimes it works and others it is a dud….then they have used the ballot box….not as effective as a gun, but what the hell not that many people croak in a vote…..so far all attempts have been only minor victories with more problems than they solve….so what is the proper way to collapse a government?

That question could turn into a massive discussion or worse a massive argument….but it seems our friends the Dutch have found a way and it does NOT involve ice skating!

The Dutch coalition government has collapsed amid a political row over whether to extend the country’s military mission in Afghanistan. Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende was due to submit his government’s resignation to Queen Beatrix later Saturday, leaving the future of its 1,600 soldiers stationed there uncertain.

After marathon talks that lasted till dawn Saturday, a visibly upset Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende announced there was in his words not enough trust to continue his three-party alliance, amid a row over the future of his country’s military mission in southern Afghanistan.

Mr. Balkenende told reporters he would offer the resignation of the current cabinet to the Dutch ceremonial head of state, Queen Beatrix. He says that he will offer the resignation of the ministers because there is “unfortunately no way forwards” for the coalition between his Christian Democrats and junior partners, the Labor Party and the Christian Union. He makes clear that Labor Party statements about Afghanistan have not only put the coalition under pressure but also what he calls “the care due” to Dutch men and women in Afghanistan and “the relationship with NATO partners.”

Fascinating!  Americans will look at this and chuckle…..but it is not that funny……that is one way to end a country’s involvement in an unpopular war….IMO, a parliamentary system does have its benefits…It would make US politics a bit more interesting and the possibility of a prolong war all but impossible…….I am sure that there is more to this story but for now it is just fascinating…….Thoughts?

Big Brother IS Watching!

A lot of people have used that term from the book “1984”….it has been used to categorize a lot of stuff the government is doing and how it could effect the people……the Patriot Act comes to mind….there has been a lot of things that have been predicted as Big Brother sticking his nose into ordinary people’s lives….and then there is France……

The lower house of the French parliament has approved a draft bill that will allow the state unprecedented control over the Internet. Although the government says it will improve security for ordinary citizens, civil rights activists are warning of a “new level” of censorship and surveillance.

For members of the French administration, it is a law against digital crime. For civil rights activists and politicians from opposition parties, it is a plan for censorship that excites fear and loathing — and even conjures up the specter of Big Brother and the surveillance state.

The new legislation could in the future force Internet service providers (ISPs) to shut off access to criminal sites, should they be officially instructed to do so. According to the draft legislation, the law “makes it the responsibility of each Internet service provider to ensure that users don’t have access to unsuitable content.”

Now that brings in the question….who will decide what is “unsuitable content”?  This is akin to someone decide which books I am allowed to read….my mother did not do it: government definitely does not have that right…..

I bring this to everyone’s attention because if it succeeds in France it will be coming to a country near you!  Today the French, tomorrow YOU!  Then BIG BROTHER will have his way and you will have your “security”……..While you were sleeping you have been losing your rights slowly but slowly…..Happy Now?

3 Days In February

Not as sinister as the plot of 7 Days in May….but just as entertaining……

It is happening as we speak…..the much anticipated Conservative Political Action Conference….a meeting of the minds on the Right….the richness of the political thought is just astounding (that is called sarcasm)…….any way they are there in Washington to plan out the next year in conservative politics…..

I have been watching and listening, FOX News is very helpful in keeping the meeting on air….the first thing that I noticed was the statement from a group….it is called the “Mount Vernon Statement” and here is the NEW ideas that are coming out of the conference:

  • It applies the principle of limited government based on the
    rule of law to every proposal.
  • It honors the central place of individual liberty in American
    politics and life.
  • It encourages free enterprise, the individual entrepreneur, and
    economic reforms grounded in market solutions.
  • It supports America’s national interest in advancing freedom
    and opposing tyranny in the world and prudently considers what we can and should do to that
    end.
  • It informs conservatism’s firm defense of family, neighborhood,
    community, and faith.

If this is the new direction for the GOP then they are backing up…..nothing new in those principles…

Then there are the speakers at the conference:

Cheney, who served as vice president to President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2009, said this year would be “phenomenal” for conservatives and flatly declared Obama would not win re-election in 2012, calling him a “one-term president.”

“After all the finger-pointing is finished, it has become clear who is responsible for President Obama’s lost year, the 10 percent unemployment year — President Obama and his fellow Democrats. So when it comes to pinning blame, pin the tail on the donkeys,” Romney said.

“You’re intellectually shallow; you’re a romantic; you’re self-indulgent,” former House majority leader Dick Armey said of Obama, calling him “the most incompetent president perhaps in our lifetime.”

President Obama and congressional Democrats “are using this downturn as cover, not to fix America but to try to change America, to fundamentally re-define the role of government in our lives and the role of America in the world,” Marco Rubio said

Just a few of the quotes from the vast array of speakers…..but what does it show?  Nothing had changed….they still do NOT have an answer for problems so they resort back to hatred as weapon…..sorry but a person that does not agree with me politically is just wrong…..but to Repubs they are evil….May I suggest that they, the GOP, put anger aside and start acting like adults and give the American people REAL alternatives to the problems that they say are killing the country….but NOOOOOOOO!…….the Repubs have to have someone to hate and apparently so does the American people and once the USSR collapsed that hatred had to find a new hook….and that is your political opposition……

Three days of accusing the Prez of everything that is bad is a bit excessive…..it could have been boiled down to the caveman mentality that they are playing to…..”Liberals-Bad, Conservatives-Good”……how hard is that?

Can Government Be Co-Oped?

Is there an alternative to the bureaucratic nightmare that is Washington?  I was hoping that I could find an answer like government co-operatives or co-ops……I researched and thought about the possibility and this is what I came up with after many days of headaches and coffee……

After many, many hours of thought and research….my answer to the question….NOT a chance!  I was hoping that I could find an idea that could have help save a dying system…..dying politically…….

There is a close, but NO cigar when it comes to a government co-op–Syndicalism is a type of economic system proposed as a replacement for capitalism and state socialism which uses federations of collectivized trade unions. For adherents, labor unions are the potential means of both overcoming economic aristocracy and running society fairly in the interest of the majority, through union democracy. Industry in a syndicalist system would be run through co-operative confederations and mutual aid. Local syndicates would communicate with other syndicates through the Bourse du Travail (labor exchange) which would manage and transfer commodities.  (thanx to wiki for the definition)

In syndicalism at its core is direct democracy where all levels of government are elected and hence subject to a recall if they are found to be derelict in the duties…..that is from the top down to the lowest entity….it may be distasteful to some, but if you want to have control over your government again…..a bitter pill sort of thing….

I know…but Professor it is a type of socialism…..yes it is….but it is more equatable than some of the systems we have today…..this could lessen the effect that bureaucracy on government…lessen but nothing can eliminate it…it is a beast with little control….

I am sorry but after abusing my brain trying to find an answer to the growing problem of bureaucracy…I have NOT found a suitable way to control or end the reign of terror….the bureaucrats…..

I give myself an “A” for effort but the Cuban eludes me….dammit!  Sorry Quin, I just cannot see a way around all the crap of bureaucracy……

The Games Politicians Play

I have been trying to point out as much of the pure manure that the politicians are spreading…..I do so with the hope that both sides will read it and start asking questions on why they are still in power……why they are so damn partisan…..and why they are ALL hypocrites…..

We all have heard the bitching by the Repubs and some Dems that the stim was a waste of time and money….that it has accomplished very little with the exception of driving up the deficit…..you know…the usual BS….

Thinkprogress.org has a great report:

ThinkProgress has investigated opponents of the Recovery Act, reporting throughout the year that many of the lawmakers who tried to kill the legislation have been returning to their home states to claim credit for popular stimulus programs. In a new research report, ThinkProgress finds that over half of the GOP caucus, 110 lawmakers — from the House and Senate — are guilty of stimulus hypocrisy. Among some of the key findings:

– Top Republican Senate Recruits Are Stimulus Hypocrites: As ThinkProgress reported, Rep. Mike Castle (R-DE), a candidate for Senate, touted over $5 million in stimulus programs he voted to kill. Rep. Mark Kirk (R-IL), the GOP nominee for Senate in Illinois, signed a letter urging Gov. Pat Quinn to provide “Recovery Act (ARRA) funding to expand the Illinois Community College Sustainability Network.”

– GOP Leadership Leads The Way In Hypocrisy: Although he regularly slams the stimulus as a waste while in DC, McConnell has returned to Kentucky to take credit for stimulus programs, even taking time to request more funds. ThinkProgress attended two job fairs held by Cantor, where we found dozens of employers able to hire directly because of the stimulus. Indeed, even Boehner’s office released a statement boasting that the stimulus will create “much needed jobs.”

– The Audacity Of Hypocrisy Knows No Bounds: Many opponents of the stimulus have been quite brazen with their ability to try to claim credit for the program. For instance, Rep. Jack Kingston (R-GA) spent the morning of July 28th railing against the stimulus, yelling “Where’s the stimulus package? Where’s the jobs?” on the House floor. On the same day of his rant, Kingston’s office sent out multiple press releases bragging that he had secured hundreds of thousands in stimulus funds to hire additional police officers in his district. Other stimulus opponents, like Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-GA) — who has called the stimulus a “trillion dollar debt bill” — have printed out jumbo-sized ceremonial stimulus checks to present to local communities to try to garner positive press.

Individually, over half of the entire Republican caucus has hailed nearly every aspect of the stimulus as a success — from infrastructure funds, to food programs, to education grants. But politically, admitting its success might harm the GOP’s chances in November. So with Republicans fixated on winning politically, they have focused on deceiving the public by calling the stimulus a failure, while pretending successful programs aren’t stimulus funded.

Some of us bloggers have been yelling about the hypocrisy in the Congress and now we can see that we were right….too bad others will not see them for what they are….HYPOCRITES!

I wish I could say that was all the silliness that there is to report…but that would be an outright lie….Yes, Irene there is more stupidity!

Stealing a page from President Obama’s transparency book, House Republicans on Wednesday asked Democratic leaders to hold an on-camera meeting with them on the economy and how to create jobs.

“Despite our differences, we believe that it is imperative for us to begin discussions and work together toward a shared goal of putting Americans back to work,” the House’s top two Republicans wrote in a letter to the House’s top two Democrats.

House Republicans want another chance to air their opinions and policy suggestions on public television with their Democratic counterparts.

Does anyone else see the stupidity of this statement and proposal?…..(insert long pause for reflection here)…….waiting….waiting….oh crap that is enough time…..

I believe that the two house of Congress are there for debate and CSPAN is there for transparency……this is just yet another BS move to look like they are being froze out of the process……it is BULLSH*T!…..plain and simple……the crap they want is already at their disposal and they will NOT use it…….

Someone once said, “stupid is as stupid does”….pretty much says it all…..for those that are saying the stupid crap and those that believe the stupid crap……

SCOTUS–Craps In Its Chili!

That is the Supreme Court of the United States….just in case you were wondering just what the hell SCOTUS was……glad to help……

In many recent polls the president has been criticized and his popularity has been waning….reason?…..all the media attention and the political attacks by the opposition.  The Legislative branch is no better off….polls have shown that their approval is in the neighborhood of 24% and that is being generous…….reason?….that is easy…they are DO NOTHING a/holes that work 3 days a week and collect millions from special interests (do not you wish you had that deal?)…….that leaves one branch of government that has a chance to be working properly….the judicial……

My bad!……the recent ruling about campaign financing has shown just how worthless this branch….something it has in common with the other two….in a report on the Daily Beast website:

Looks like the Supreme Court is about as popular as the other two branches of government: A Washington Post-ABC News Poll found that 80 percent of respondents oppose the court’s recent ruling allowing corporations and unions to spend freely on political campaigns. Opposition was bipartisan, with 85 percent of Democrats opposing and 76 percent of Republicans. Senator Chuck Schumer is in charge of the Senate’s efforts to create legislation to limit the court’s decision.

I have said in the past that the system is broken and I thanked the Legislative for that dysfunction…..but it looks like it is EVERY aspect of government that is crapping in its chili…..if all three are broken….why keep pretending everything is fine?

Just maybe some of these vocal protesters have something to say…..maybe we as a nation need to think about a revamp of our system…..personally, I think a new system needs to be tried….one that holds all people are the government not just a bunch of part-time workers that spend more time raising money for their campaigns than they do keeping our political system working…….

All these politicians are doing is making the American people disgusted and turned off of politics which is good for them for they can get the remaining lunatics to keep voting them into office even though they are doing NOTHING good for the country……

And now the Supreme Court has put a price tag on the privilege of serving as a representative of the people….I AM SO PROUD AT THIS MOMENT!  The Supreme Court has proven political theorem correct:  “Disproportionate wealth will give few individuals disproportionate political power”……what to do….what to do?

We have a political hat trick….three for three…..all branches of the government are failing the people……time to punt people…..find a way to make it work and work properly or try something new……which ever you prefer….JUST DO IT!

Those Dirty Little Cowards

Yes…I am sure that by now we all have an opinion on the big story in Washington….the budget deficit……Repubs are outraged at the size of it….Dems are trying to justify it…and the rest of America does  not give a sh*t…they want to WORK…

But there is more to the story than the media focuses on…..for 30 years this problem has been in the making and yet it could have been avoided somewhat…..but NO one had the guts to do anything, which is business as usual for the Congress….in a piece by David Sirota he writes:

For 30 years, Republicans and conservative Democrats have precluded factual debates about spending priorities. They’ve done this for three reasons: They seek to protect defense-industry campaign contributors; they fear an electoral backlash against cuts to mandatory programs like Social Security and Medicare; and they are afraid to antagonize the wealthy with pragmatic tax legislation to shore up these mandatory programs (for instance, they avoid bills that would apply Social Security taxes to all income – not just income below $106,000).

Hence, these lawmakers deviously portray non-defense discretionary programs as the cause of our deficit. Their favored instrument of deceit is the malicious tale of loafers supposedly getting rich off these programs and driving us into debt. A new Rasmussen survey tells the story: When asked if they believe that defense, Social Security and Medicare alone now make up half of all federal spending, 20 percent of Americans said they did not know, and 44 percent said no. That’s two-thirds of national poll respondents too brainwashed to realize the truth. In adding a Democratic president’s name to deceptive propaganda, Obama has helped perpetuate mass ignorance by short-circuiting the national discussion we need to have – the discussion about taxes and defense spending that the country requires and the deficit demands.

The dirty little cowards I speak of are those in the US Congress…..as reported….they have been insincere in their past debates on the budget and the deficits…..they played their little trump cards, like slogans, misinformation and so on, not ever did they approach the budget debate with any idea to have a real conversation to look for real solutions….business as usual……