Brownback Must Have Been Jealous!

My last post was directed at Senator Pat Roberts (R-KS), well, now Senator Sam Brownback is rearing his ugly head regarding Obama's nominee for the Ambassadorship to Iraq. As you might imagine, that position is a bit important... Here's Rachel Maddow:

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So - am I understanding this correctly? The party of the "up or down" vote, is holding important nominations hostage due to their need to keep the transgressions of the Bush Administration hidden? As TexBetsy at Relaxed Politics posted on Friday with more fun from Rachel Maddow - the problem of torture will haunt us for the foreseeable future, unless of course we have the intestinal fortitude to investigate and punish those responsible for this mess. The Capitol Beat has a good article on the need for investigation and prosecution.

It is time for the American people to make our elected officials understand that we will not have torture used in our names, we will not hide their skeletons in our closets and we have a need to know.

Brownback Must Have Been Jealous!

Senator Pat Roberts - Position Paper vs. Response

I have a couple posts I'm working on, but they really aren't ready to see the light of day yet - but I did want to touch base regarding the letter writing campaign.

As you know, I wrote to my Senators & to my Representative last week - regarding my feeling that they should forfeit their taxpayer funded healthcare, if they didn't support government funded healthcare for everyone. This is the response I got from Senator Roberts:

April 2, 2009

Dear Nicki:

Thank you for contacting me regarding health care reform in the 111th Congress. I appreciate your taking the time to get in touch.

I agree. The cost of health care is simply unbearable for many Kansas families. This is why I am working to provide access to quality, affordable health care for all Kansans. As a member of the Senate Health and Finance Committees, I have long supported efforts to give consumers better choices and more control over their health care. I support expanding tax incentives and health savings accounts to help individuals purchase health care. I am working to expand and improve health options for small businesses. I also support efforts to strengthen and improve the Medicare program for Kansas seniors.

We must also take steps to get at the heart of growing health care costs. One such improvement would be the adoption of Health Information Technology (HIT) by health care providers. Congress recently approved, and the President signed into law, P.L. 111-5, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), which included $20 billion for HIT standards development and adoption incentives for providers and hospitals. Although I cosponsored HIT legislation in the 110th Congress, I have serious concerns about the HIT provisions in ARRA which were rushed through Congress so hastily that I fear the $20 billion for HIT will be wasted on initiatives that were not fully considered. In addition, many would argue that these funds, most of which will not be spent until 2011, are not sufficiently timely or targeted to stimulate the current economy.

Comparative Effectiveness Research (CER) is another idea that many have advanced as a way to drive down health care costs. CER is the evaluation of the impact of different treatment options for a given medical condition and a particular set of patients. While I understand that CER holds promise for improving the quality of health care outcomes, I am concerned about the use of CER for the purpose of lowering costs. This strategy has led to the rationing of health care in countries that have adopted it. The ARRA included $1.1 billion for CER, with virtually no directions or restrictions on its intended use. I worry that such vague CER policies will ultimately result in fewer choices for patients and doctors. For these and other reasons, I could not support ARRA or the healthcare provisions contained within that bill.

Again thank you for taking the time to contact me. If you would like more information on issues before the Senate, please visit my website at http://roberts.senate.gov. You may also sign up on my home page for a monthly electronic newsletter that will provide additional updates on my work for Kansas.

With every best wish,

Sincerely,

Pat Roberts

PR:aa

Well, here's my problem Senator Roberts, I wrote to you with a real concern and a real request, I did not request your position paper on Healthcare, I can get that on your website.
Tax incentives don't help people that are choosing between medicine and food, electricity, rent. It is easy to worry about "rationing" when you have access. Most uninsured people do not. The average doctor will not see patients if they know they can't pay. Isn't that "rationing"? Do you really need this explained to you?
Thanks for avoiding my request for you to forfeit your gold plated health care...nice to know you read your letters.
Who exactly is this man representing? Freakin' pathetic. Now of course I have to call his office.

Please take this seriously readers! Write/Call/Harass your legislators - until you get an answer!

Senator Pat Roberts - Position Paper vs. Response

Be Careful.

This morning, in Pittsburgh, PA - a disgruntled man shot and killed three police officers after they responded to what they thought was a domestic disturbance. The man was wearing a "bulletproof vest and armed with an AK-47, a long rifle and a pistol, Poplawski fired about 100 rounds during the standoff". Friends have been reported as saying the suspect (who is in custody) was convinced of a coming gun ban. (For the record, the only "gun ban" that has been mentioned is a ban on assault weapons sales).

Now, where would he get such an idea?

Think Progress has an excellent post this evening dealing with the right-wing hysteria and how it has resulted in an excellent sales for gun shops. The rhetoric coming out of the right has been at a fevered pitch lately. With Glenn Beck and Michelle Bachmann claiming that the world as they know it is going to end at the hands of the evil "liberals". It's no wonder that people get upset, these type of blatant lies and the campaign of misinformation has led to an entire section of the population being convinced of their truth. There are still people fighting the "Obama is not a citizen" fight, for pity's sake.

This reminds me a little bit of the militia activities after the Waco incident in the early 90s. It's always the same, "the government is coming for your guns, they are coming for your jobs and they are coming for you and your family". Then Oklahoma City happens - and it's all denials "Well, that guy was just crazy, I never meant anything like that..."

If I were to write on this blog repeatedly that I thought people who wear blue socks are bad and will be taking over the country and turning us in to a blue socks only nation* - and some lone nutjob read it and went out to kill someone wearing blue socks, I would expect some reprecussions for my rhetoric. But I fear many of the talking heads and a few Congresspeople - do not get that idea.

*This blog in no way endorses violence against blue socks, in fact I have a couple pairs. LOL

Be Careful.

The Fragility of Law

Yesterday, the Justice Department announced that it was moving to reverse the conviction of former Alaska Senator Ted Stevens. The reason was the prosecutorial misconduct of those in the Bush Justice Department. Anyone that has watched much Law & Order can tell you that Jack McCoy can't withhold evidence from the defense attorneys if it is exculpatory in nature. Obviously, the officials in the Bush DOJ should have watched a bit more TV.

Really this incident is just another in a string of disturbing occurances dealing with the rule of law. We had Justice Department lawyers - justifying torture, extraordinary rendition, warrentless wiretapping, permanent detention with out trial...why has no one been disbarred?

We can not claim to be the "shining beacon on a hill" while treating Lady Justice like a cheap whore. I think it's very important that Attorney General Holder establish a new beginning in the DOJ. Annouce publicly that these programs are unacceptable and illegal and will not be used anymore. While a lot of us will never fully trust the government - it's just our tin-foil hatted nature - I want to be able to trust in the intentions of my government and this would be a good place to start.

The Fragility of Law

Healthcare Fairness Update

I've received some pretty good feed back from people regarding this idea...I hope that people are contacting their legislators - if nothing else, just to see what they'll say.

I did have one person point out that Republicans would be wise to forfeit their policies, because they have enough money to buy insurance and they would get political capital from such a maneuver.

My take on that would be, they would have to admit that they would take their ball and go home rather than share with the other kids. That type of attitude is not something we want in our elected government.

Please let me know if you have any ideas for getting the word out!

Healthcare Fairness Update

Sick Around America

This is a really good Frontline...




Please consider reading Healthcare Fairness (yesterday's post). Please take action! It's important!
Please email any responses you receive to healthcarefairness@gmail.com

Sick Around America

Healthcare Fairness

We the people of the United States of America deserve to be secure in our health and well being. As such, we have the RIGHT to low cost, high efficiency health care. Much like that which our Legislators and other elected officials enjoy.

Many of our elected officials seem to feel that we, the people, do not deserve the RIGHT to our health. As such, I respectfully request that they forfeit theirs.

Any elected official that feels that health care is not a RIGHT of all Americans, feels that our "for profit" health care system is fair, should be willing to live by the same standards as their constituents. They must forfeit their government supplied health care policies.

CALL TO ACTION:

I would like my readers that agree with this idea to meet with/write to their elected officials. Letters to the editor/blog posts, etc.. are also encouraged.
If you do not know who your Senators or Representative is please click here.

It is important to make the letter personal. Make sure to include the fact that you feel they should forfeit their policy if they do not support universal healthcare. Explain your circumstances, why this issue is important to you. Many legislators will tell you that form letters get discarded fairly quickly into the "form letter" pile.

It is important that we convey the absolute necessity of this. We must bring equality into the health care process.

I would like to keep a record of those letters sent out, if you use e-mail, please consider a BCC to healthcarefairness@gmail.com Also, please forward any responses you receive to the same address.

STATISTICS/DETAILS:

• Over 46 million U.S. citizens are uninsured. That number is growing every day with layoffs.
• The average family policy cost exceeded $12,000 this year and continues to increase. Who has $1,000/mo plus the cost of medicine?
• Low wage workers do not CHOOSE to be uninsured, it is not economically feasible.
• The United States spends more on health care than other industrialized nations, and those countries provide health insurance to all their citizens.
• Single payer healthcare would increase the competitiveness of U.S. companies on the global market.

EDIT********** Here's a sample of the letter I wrote to my Senators and Representative.

Senator Brownback,

I am writing to you to express my support for single payer health care. As our economy struggles, more and more of your constituents are joining the ranks of the uninsured.

As you can imagine, being without health insurance is a very scary thing. You wake up every day hoping that today isn't the day that something bad happens. You try every home remedy known to man - all because our healthcare system is broken. Personally, I have been forgoing medication for my chronic asthma for over six months, since losing my job.

It is very frustrating to hear members of your party talk about how health care is not a "right". We spend more money on healthcare than any other nation, yet people die because they can't afford access. There is something very wrong with that.

I have a proposal for you. If you truly believe that government provided healthcare is not the best way to answer our growing healthcare issue (not to mention global competitiveness), I ask that you publicly forfeit your taxpayer funded healthcare plan. Senators and Representatives have access to the best healthcare in the world - their constituents should too. If we can't have it, you shouldn't either.

Thank you for your time and I look forward to your response.

Sincerely,
Nicki
Wichita, KS

Healthcare Fairness