Category Archives: elections

elections

Behind Pittsburgh’s Becoming the G20 Meeting Site

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g20-tentcity

Photo: Protesters’ ‘Tent City’
Camp for G20 Events

Progressive Activists,
Big Business Converge
on Pittsburgh’s G20 Meet

Jeb Sprague
Inter Press Service

PITTSBURGH, Sep 20 (IPS) – As media and government delegates prepare for the G20 Summit to be held Sep. 24-25 in Pittsburgh, local business and activist groups are promoting clashing visions of days to come.

Hit hard over the last quarter of the twentieth century with a collapsing steel industry, recession and falling population, Pittsburgh is still a decent place to live – often highly rated because of low housing costs.

On one side, Pittsburgh government and business leaders say they have reshaped the city to connect with globalization as a hi-tech, financial and medical industry hub.

On the other side, labor, community, youth and environmental groups are fighting for green jobs and clean energy, while calling into question how government and corporate leaders have dealt with the global financial crisis and urban renewal. Continue reading Behind Pittsburgh’s Becoming the G20 Meeting Site →

elections

Cong. Kucinich: Single Payer National Healthcare is only Affordable Solution

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Medicare_for_allKucinich: Take Insurance Industry Profits to Pay for Universal Health Care

Posted Sep 18, 2009 07:00am EDT by Aaron Task

Related: AET, CI, WLP, UNH, ^HCX, ^DJI, ^GSPC

Sen. Max Baucus’ health-care bill got the cold shoulder from Republicans, but the Montana Democrat isn’t making any friends on the (true) left of the political spectrum either.

“The people of the United States deserve a lot better than this,” Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) says of the Baucus plan. “Unless you have a public option there is no way that you can drive down the cost for health care because the insurance companies won’t have any competition.”

We can have it all, according to Kucinich: Universal health care without higher taxes or soaring deficits. How? By taking the profits away from the insurance industry and using them to pay for health care.

“If we take that money” — $800 billion a year by Kucinich’s reckoning – “and put it into care we cover everyone,” he says. “So of course we can afford it. When people know a plan exists where there’s no more premium, co-pays and deductibles, where everyone is covered and where no one has to go broke…I think people will listen.”

You may say Kucinich is a dreamer, but he’s a political realist too and understands the current environment doesn’t support his vision. Still, he’s disappointed with President Obama for supporting what Kucinich calls a “minimalist” approach to health-care reform.

Go here for video of Kucinich interview: http://tinyurl.com/qrko86

elections, health care

Sen. Baucus Declares War on American People – $20 billion in Fines to Uninsured – Tax on Healthcare Benefits

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 Seven Important Facts in the Baucus Bill’s CBO Report
By: Gregg Levine Wednesday September 16, 2009 8:00 pm

http://www.firedoglake.com

Today, Senator Max Baucus (D-MT) released the Chairman’s mark of his health care reform bill along with a CBO report on the legislation. I’ve found seven interesting and important issues in the report.

1. It looked like Baucus purposely left himself a small possible giveaway to liberals. His bill in fact saves $49 billion, which could be used to increase subsidies by that amount while still keeping it budget neutral. A little “look, liberals won something”:

According to CBO and JCT’s assessment, enacting the Chairman’s proposal would result in a net reduction in federal budget deficits of $49 billion over the 2010–2019 period

2. It appears that the CBO agrees with almost every health care reform expert and also concluded that Conrad’s small state-based co-ops are worthless.

The proposed co-ops had very little effect on the estimates of total enrollment in the exchanges or federal costs because, as they are described in the specifications, they seem unlikely to establish a significant market presence in many areas of the country or to noticeably affect federal subsidy payments.

Continue reading Sen. Baucus Declares War on American People – $20 billion in Fines to Uninsured – Tax on Healthcare Benefits →

elections

Watching ‘Capitalism: A Love Story’ with Michael Moore

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moore_500

Michael Moore’s
Labor Fans Hit
Pittsburgh’s Streets
For a Film Premiere



By Carl Davidson
Beaver County Blue

When we heard Michael Moore was going to do a surprise premiere of his new film, ‘Capitalism: A Love Story’ at the AFL-CIO convention Sept 14 and we were all invited, it was a no-brainer—how many names could we nail down in time and how many cars could we get for the drive to downtown Pittsburgh the next day?

We knew union delegates to the convention that could go. But Moore, the California Nurse’s Association, and Leo Girard, head of the United Steel Workers, wanted the area’s battleground fighters for HR 676 ‘Medicare for All’ to have a shot at the seats in the Golden Triangles’ Byham Theater. That qualification certainly fit the 4th CD’s Progressive Democrats of America and its ally, Beaver County Peace Links. They had been working of HR 676 for years at the grassroots, showing Moore’s ‘Sicko’ documentary on health care many times.

For a spur-of-the moment happening, the event was wildly successful. Thousands rallied at the David Lawrence Convention Center, then poured into the evening sunset-lit downtown streets with chants and banners, for a militant and spirited march to the cultural district. Michael Moore, appropriately clad in a bright red shirt and red ball cap, helped carry the front row banner, leading the chants. Continue reading Watching ‘Capitalism: A Love Story’ with Michael Moore →

elections, health care

The Kiss of Death – Sen. Arlen Specter Calls for “Expensive” Public Option in Health “Insurance” Bill

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p971504731by Randy Shannon

September 15, 2009

In his message posted below Sen. Arlen Specter states his support for the hotly debated public option. The public option was originally proposed as a large inexpensive Medicare- administered plan to allow access to good healthcare for the 46 million uninsured and the millions of under-insured. As the White House slowly moves to accomodate the powerful corporate health insurance lobby, opportunists like Specter are climbing aboard offering support with qualifiers that further water down the public option.

Now the public option will only cover a few million persons. And if Specter has his way it will have to cost no less than what the private insurance companies charge. This means it will be unaffordable and offer no competition to hold down the cost of private insurance. The current legislation being considered does not control the rising insurance premiums. It does call for restraining the outlays for Medicare, even though Medicare is the most affordable and most efficient administrator of healthcare outlays.

The bill makes it a crime for an individual not to buy junk insurance. It’s no wonder that Wall Street is already celebrating the victory of health insurance reform over healthcare reform by bidding up the stock prices of their favorite insurance companies and hospitals.

In a recent Pittsburgh Post Gazette article, Congressman Jason Altmire is quoted saying that he will probably vote for the health insurance bill after he voted against it in committee. Mr. Altmire is a former lobbyist for the Federation of American (for-profit) Hospitals and UPMC.  This is another sign that the bill will favor the large corporate entities such as UPMC and hurt the working people of the 4th Congressional District. http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09256/997454-114.stm

See Specter’s message on next page…

Continue reading The Kiss of Death – Sen. Arlen Specter Calls for “Expensive” Public Option in Health “Insurance” Bill →

Community, elections

PA Republican Senator Vogel Instransigent on State Budget Cuts to Children

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Child CareBeaver County Daycare Providers Meet Republican Senator Elder Vogel: Dismayed by His Lack of Concern for Children

By Tina Shannon

September 10, 2009

Last Thursday night, five daycare providers sat down with Pennsylvania 47th District Senator Elder Vogel and his aide Joe Weider to talk over the state budget. I arrived at the Senator’s office in the hilltop neighborhood of upper Rochester about 6:30 pm, even though the meeting didn’t start until 7:00.

Charlie Hamilton, my friend who had helped set up the meeting with Senator Vogel, was waiting . Charlie is a retired postal worker who has extensive experience dealing with legislators.

Several weeks earlier I had gone on an angry rant about the budget proposed by Pennsylvania’s Republican-controlled State Senate. I wanted to have a public meeting denouncing Vogel, who is our newly elected Republican Sate Senator. Charlie counseled restraint. “First you have to give the guy a chance to do the right thing,” he said.

So Charlie graciously set up the meeting.

I contacted several of my colleagues, looking for people who understood the importance of maintaining social services in our county by funding them in the budget. A handful of wonderful women responded. I also brought an articulate impassioned young woman who is one my clients.

Continue reading PA Republican Senator Vogel Instransigent on State Budget Cuts to Children →

elections, health care

The Healthcare Lobby Is Buying Congress – Nancy Pelosi Latest Sellout on Public Option

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Steve Elmendorf - Major Buyer of US Congress
Steve Elmendorf - Major Buyer of US Congress

Hours After Pelosi Backs off on Public Option, Health Lobbyist Announces Fundraiser in Her Honor

By David Sirota, Open Left
Posted on September 11, 2009, Printed on September 12, 2009
http://www.alternet.org/bloggers/http://www.openleft.com/142589/
 

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for the first time yesterday suggested she may be backing off her support of the public option. According to CNN, Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid “said they would support any provision that increases competition and accessibility for health insurance – whether or not it is the public option favored by most Democrats.” When “asked if inclusion of a public option was a non-negotiable demand – as her previous statements had indicated  Pelosi ruled out any non-negotiable positions,” according to CNN.

This announcement came just hours before Steve Elmendorf, a registered UnitedHealth lobbyist and the head of UnitedHealth’s lobbying firm Elmendorf Strategies, blasted this email invitation throughout Washington, D.C. I just happened to get my hands on a copy of the invitation from a source – check out this OpenLeft exclusive:

Continue reading The Healthcare Lobby Is Buying Congress – Nancy Pelosi Latest Sellout on Public Option →

elections

Pres. Obama’s Speech on Healthcare to Joint Session of Congress

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go to next page for parts 2 and 3.

Continue reading Pres. Obama’s Speech on Healthcare to Joint Session of Congress →

elections

Chair of Congressional Progressive Caucus Statement on Obama’s Speech

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CPC Chair Cong. Raul Grijalva
CPC Chair Cong. Raul Grijalva

(note: Progressive Democrats of America continues to fight for national healthcare proposed in HR 676 as the only fair and affordable solution to the nation’s healthcare crisis.)

Congressman Raúl M. Grijalva released the following statement this evening, concerning the President’s address to Congress on health care reform: 

“I am pleased that President Obama made the right choice to recognize the importance of a public option as part of the health care reform legislation.  

“A public option is the most effective way to achieve our goals of controlling costs, eliminating abuses of patients by insurance company abuses, and providing quality health care to all.  

“However, the President needs to be more direct on what the public option means and what it will do for the American people. 

Continue reading Chair of Congressional Progressive Caucus Statement on Obama’s Speech →

elections

President Obama vs. $280 million Health Insurance Lobby

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Obama Speaks Loudly But Carries a Small Stick

posted by John Nichols on 09/09/2009 @ 8:06pm

President Obama spoke loudly but carried a small stick Wednesday night, when he outlined what’s left of his healthcare reform agenda in a rare address to a joint session of the Congress.

Noting that “it has now been nearly a century since Theodore Roosevelt first called for healthcare reform,” the president told skeptical legislators from both sides of the political aisle. “I am not the first president to take up this cause, but I am determined to be the last.”

That was one of several takeaway lines of the night.

Another, delivered to members of the House and Senate who have just returned to Washington after an August of brutal town hall meetings, was: “The time for bickering has passed. The time for games has passed. Now is the season for action. Now is the time when we must bring the best ideas of both parties together… Now is the time to deliver on healthcare.”

Continue reading President Obama vs. $280 million Health Insurance Lobby →