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America’s Pro-Choice Majority Speaks Out by Amy Goodman, truthdig.com | February 9, 2012
The leadership of the Catholic Church has launched what amounts to a holy war against President Barack Obama. Archbishop Timothy Dolan appealed to church members, “Let your elected leaders know that you want religious liberty and rights of conscience restored and that you want the administration’s contraceptive mandate rescinded,” he said. Obama is now under pressure to reverse a health-care regulation that requires Catholic hospitals and universities, like all employers, to provide contraception to insured women covered by their health plans. Bill Donohue of the Catholic League said, “This is going to be fought out with lawsuits, with court decisions, and, dare I say it, maybe even in the streets.” In the wake of the successful pushback against the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure’s decision to defund Planned Parenthood, the Obama administration should listen to the majority of Americans: The United States, including Catholics, is strongly pro-choice. read more »War On Contraception: Conservatives Claim "Religious Freedom" Means Freedom To Impose Religion On Workers by Bill Scher, OurFuture.org | February 8, 2012
It was just one month ago when conservatives were complaining that ABC's George Stephanopoulos was displaying his "bias" while moderating a Republican presidential debate by being "obsessed" with contraception and asking Mitt Romney a read more »The Battle for Vermont's Health -- And Why It Matters for the Rest of the Country by Wendell Potter, Huffington Post | February 7, 2012
You can't see them. They're hidden from view and probably always will be. But the health insurance industry's big guns are in place and pointed directly at the citizens of Vermont. Health insurers were not able to stop the state's drive last year toward a single-payer health care system, which insurers have spent millions to scare Americans into believing would be the worst thing ever. Despite the ceaseless spin, Vermont lawmakers last May demonstrated they could not be bought nor intimidated when they became the first in the nation to pass a bill that will probably establish a single-payer beachhead in the U.S. read more »The Success of Romney's Health Care Pander by Jamelle Bouie, prospect.org | February 2, 2012
Not only has Romney escaped any serious harm for his (huge) role in setting the template for “Obamacare,” but his constant denunciations of the law have given him credibility with actual conservatives, who now endorse the former Massachusetts governor’s logic on Romneycare. It’s simply incredible to me that conservatives would buy Romney’s ridiculous logic. But it seems that they trust Romney enough on health care repeal to let the issue slide. Which should put a damper on liberal hopes that, if elected, Romney won’t try to dismantle the Affordable Care Act. For as much as the public is skeptical of politicians, presidents genuinely try to fulfill the promises they made as candidates. If you want to know how Mitt Romney will govern, all you have to do is listen to him. And in that case, a President Romney would cater to the rich, return to the bellicose foreign policy of George W. Bush, and dismantle the social safety net, Obamacare included. read more »Paying For Cancer Treatment for Children in America With a Car Wash, Bake Sale and Fish Fry by Wendell Potter, Huffington Post | February 1, 2012
"It shouldn't be this way," read the subject line of an email I received Friday morning from a conservative friend and fellow Southerner. "People shouldn't have to beg for money to pay for medical care." At first, I thought he was referring to my column last week in which I wrote about the fundraising effort to cover the bills, totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars, that the husband of Canadian skier Sarah Burke is now facing. Burke died on January 19, nine days after sustaining severe head injuries in a skiing accident in Park City, Utah. I noted that had the accident occurred in Burke's native Canada, which has a system of universal coverage, the fundraiser would not have been necessary. read more »Health Care Reform Was The Tea Party’s First Defeat by Richard Kirsch, newdeal20.org | February 1, 2012
With Mitt Romney’s hold on the Republican nomination looking secure, the Tea Party will soon have to face the reality that despite pushing the Republican Party and its nominee to the right, they’ll wind up losing the fight in the end. This isn’t the first time. The Tea Party leapt to national prominence in August 2009, when its activists held angry and often ugly protests in town hall meetings held by Democratic members of Congress. But in the end, the biggest impact was to stiffen Republican resolve to refuse any compromises on health care while the legislation continued to make its way through Congress. read more »Progressive Breakfast by Isaiah J. Poole, OurFuture.org | January 31, 2012
On the menu this morning: MORNING MESSAGE: China Cheats—Push May Come To Shove Trade Battles with China Florida Vote: From SuperPACs to Super Crash More Mortgage Fraud Settlement Fears Freddie Mac's Bets against Homeowners Unemployment Compensation Fight Breakfast Sides read more »How Rick Santorum Nailed Mitt on Romneycare by Michael Tomasky, thedailybeast.com | January 30, 2012
Remember Tim Pawlenty, the corn-pone-ish ex–Minnesota governor who surely wishes he hadn’t dropped out of the presidential race when he did? Remember his coinage “Obamneycare,” which he used in debates starting last June? Of course you remember. And if you don’t, I would expect and hope that this fall, the Obama campaign will start reminding you, because a moment in Thursday night’s debate brought into stark relief just how the issue of health care — which on paper ought to be an absolutely galvanizing issue for conservative voters this November — could instead damage for Mitt Romney this fall. The moment was, of course, the exchange between Rick Santorum and Romney when Santorum was aggressively challenging Romney about health care. read more »The High Cost of Allowing Health Insurers to Continue Keeping Us in the Dark by Wendell Potter, Huffington Post | January 27, 2012
In his State of the Union address this week, President Obama said very little about health care reform, but what he did say was a reminder of how tight a grip the insurance industry has on the U.S. health care system — and will continue to have if the Affordable Care Act is not implemented as Congress intended. And it is largely up to the president to make sure that it is. "I will not go back to the days when health insurance companies had unchecked power to cancel your policy, deny your coverage or charge women more than men," he said. That comment drew applause, although certainly not from the insurance industry's friends in Congress, who continue to call for gutting the law. That's because when and if it's fully implemented, the Affordable Care Act will make many of the most egregious practices of insurers a thing of the past. read more »How U.S. Private Insurance Healthcare Is Failing by Rose Ann DeMoro, The Guardian | January 26, 2012
Chances are you've probably never heard of Amelia Rivera, a three year-old from New Jersey. Chances are better you have heard of 29-year-old Canadian, Sarah Burke, one of the best freestyle skiers in the world. Burke and Rivera don't have a lot in common, but tragically, their families do. Both have been borne the scars of a callous and broken U.S. healthcare system. Burke, the six-time X Games gold medalist, was training in Park City Utah, 20 January, when she crashed and suffered major brain trauma. Burke spent nine days in neuro-critical care before, sadly, she died. As if the grief of her death was not enough, Burke's husband had to start a website to ask for donations to help pay the massive medical bill, estimates ranging as high as $550,000. Amelia Rivera, meanwhile, has reportedly been denied a kidney transplant by a Philadelphia hospital because of mental disabilities she was born with from a rare genetic defect. read more »
The Latest
The GM Debate The US Is Not Having, publicserviceeurope.com | November 13, 2011
Summary:The contamination of Honey by Genetically Modified material without legal authorisation is a case study in the dysfunctional, undemocratic disaster EU Governance has become.
In this article from Public Service Europe you see the fracture between the European Commission and the rule of law. It is nothing laess than the breakdown of democratic con
The submission by successive US administrations and congress to the GM Lobby, illustrated by silence and suppression of arguments against GM proliferation, is gradually being mirrored in Europe. There is life in the old democracy dog yet, but for how much longer? The EU Commission is trying to dispense with the rule of law. Something the US administration did years ago. more »
Transgenic Cotton Harbours Hidden Dangers, ipsnews.net | October 24, 2011
Summary:A disturbing report from Mexico about the out of control spread of Geneticaly Modified Species into the food chain. There will be no chances left soon to take a hold of this brewing biological disaster.
This concern is shared by 16,000 beekeepers in the southeastern state of Yucatán, where U.S. agribusiness giant Monsanto has a pilot plantation o
Source URL:A disturbing report from Mexico about the out of control spread of Geneticaly Modified species into the food chain. There will be no chances left soon to take a hold of this brewing biological disaster. more »
Health Care: Another One Bites The Dust, Huffington Post | October 15, 2011
Summary:
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration Friday pulled the plug on a major program in the president's signature health overhaul law – a long-term care insurance plan dogged from the beginning by doubts over its financial solvency.
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration Friday pulled the plug on a major program in the president's signature health overhaul law – a long-term care insurance plan dogged from the beginning by doubts over its financial solvency. more »Monsanto Herbicide: Why Is Damning Evidence ignored, alternet.org | May 14, 2011
Lawsuit seeks to invalidate Monsanto’s GMO patents, globalresearch.ca | April 18, 2011
Summary:At last........
“A new invention to poison people … is not a patentable invention.” Lowell v. Lewis, 1817
A landmark lawsuit filed on March 29 in US federal court seeks to invalidate Mons
At last a challenge to the Monsanto madness, its been a long time coming.....
“A new invention to poison people … is not a patentable invention.” Lowell v. Lewis, 1817
more »Argentina's Roundup Human Tragedy, i-sis.org.uk | February 5, 2011
Summary:According to the US EPA, Monsanto's weedkiller Roundup “relatively low in toxicity, and without carcinogenic or teratogenic effects.”.
In Argentina science has proven this wrong, and a tragedy has occurred. This is especially important because of the USDA's approval of GM Roundup Ready Alphalpha for introduction to the US food chain
According to the US EPA, Monsanto's weedkiller Roundup is “relatively low in toxicity, and without carcinogenic or teratogenic effects.”.
In Argentina science has proven this wrong, and a tragedy has occurred. This is especially important because of the USDA's approval of GM Roundup Ready (RR) Alfalfa for unregulated introduction to the US food chain. more »
TARP expected to cost U.S. only $25 billion, CBO says, The Washington Post | November 30, 2010
The Troubled Assets Relief Program, which was widely reviled as a $700 billion bailout for Wall Street titans, is now expected to cost the federal government a mere $25 billion - the equivalent of less than six months of emergency jobless benefits. more »
Ruling on Health Law Is Due by End of Year, The New York Times | October 19, 2010
Article Publication Date:10/18/2010A federal judge said Monday that he would rule by the end of the year on the constitutionality of the new health care law, as lawyers for the Obama administration and the Commonwealth of Virginia debated whether the entire 2,700-page act should be invalidated if a key provision is struck down.
Select Democrats Embrace Health Care Law, Politico | October 19, 2010
Article Publication Date:10/19/2010After weeks of avoiding the health care overhaul on the campaign trail, some Democrats are out bragging about the law in the final run-up to the mid-term elections. more »
Yet Again, Health Insurers Seeking Ways to Defy Health Care Law, consumerwatchdog.org | August 13, 2010
Consumer Watchdog and the Center for Media and Democracy have sent a letter to Secretary Kathleen Sebelius calling on her and the administration to investigate the recent dramatic decreases in medical loss ratios by major health care insurers in anticipation of health care reform implementation. The insurers, led by Cigna and its 2nd quarter 6.4% drop, seek to benefit in two primary ways:
