Puget Sound Liberals Weekly Newsletter #221
Enhancing Freedom, Opportunity and Cooperation in
Through informing and networking Liberals and Liberal Organizations.
Our vision is hundreds of thousands of well-informed
Our Website Our Editor To Unsubscribe Table of
Contents * Featured Articles Opportunities Petitions Communication to Our Members Commentaries from Our Members Amelia Kroeger: Compare Different Political Ideologies* Liberals and Democrats Links to the Beef State and Local Links
to the Beef Local
Governments Should Stimulate Job Creation** Martha Koester: Help Liberal Larry Kalb Laurie Jenkins is Running for LD 27 Representative Richard Curtis: Independent for U.S. Senate Dave Reichert on Health Care Reform Nation and World Links to the Beef Featured Advocacy Group: Common Cause Our Liberal Spirit When Opponents Are Making Mistakes* Our
Political Priorities ·
Fair Clean
Elections and Open Government ·
Fair Taxes and
Competent Spending ·
Investment for
Productivity ·
Quality
Health, Education, Jobs, Income ·
Environmental
Protection and Energy Independence ·
Security and
Equal Rights ·
Justice and
Peace Everywhere ·
International
Cooperation and Leadership Conservatives oppose all of these Let’s
End Our National Nightmare
Let’s
Restore Our American Dream More on Conservative opposition to our
American Dream Washington State’s 5 Major Needs · Federal Funding for Health and Education · Substituting
a Progressive Income Tax · Replacing
Conservative Legislators Quote of the Week Never
interrupt your enemy when he’s making a mistake. Napoleon Bonaparte
Calendar of Events
Friday, April 9 at 6 PM at 338 - 10th Avenue, Kirkland
- Making Democracy Work Fundraiser supporting
the Greater Seattle League of Women
Voters.
Saturday, April 10 at 12 Noon at Occidental Park
(Occidental Avenue South and South Main Street, Seattle) - Immigration Reform Rally, with confirmed speakers: Rep. Jim McDermott,
D-Washington, Dow Constantine, King County Executive, Pramila Jayapal,
Executive Director, OneAmerica, Cecile Hansen, Duwamish Tribal Chair, Mike
Gempler, Washington Growers' Association, Carlos Padilla, DREAM Act student and
activist.
Monday, April 19 at 7 PM at Landes Room in City Hall (600 4th
Avenue, Seattle) - SEATTLE SUNNY SIDE
UP: GROSS NATIONAL HAPPINESS FROM BHUTAN TO VICTORIA TO THE EMERALD CITY
What if happiness
were the bottom line for our economy and our policies? What would Seattle look
like then? How would our schools run? What would be workplace policy? How would
the struggle for justice be given a boost? How would businesses be successful?
Would we trust our government more? Be healthier? Take better care of the
environment? On April 19th
we’re launching a campaign to make Seattle a happiness city, with activities
leading up to the Green Festival in June and beyond. Come to the first happiness event and help
shape the new campaign!
Michael Pennock of the Vancouver Island Health Authority, an expert in data research from Victoria BC worked with the tiny Himalayan nation of Bhutan when the Bhutanese decided to make happiness a bottom line. He helped them develop a Happiness Survey they now use to determine policy, including whether to join the WTO (they didn't). Now that survey is being used all over the world.
Gross National
Happiness (GNH) is a framework for decision making that puts people and planet
in the mix with profits. In Brazil it's being applied so far in a university, a
municipality and a corporation.
How could GNH help us here? Learn about the Pennock happiness survey and what happened in Victoria when the city took the survey and created a Happiness Index. You can take the survey yourself there. For a summary of the Victoria results.
Join with other
Seattleites in figuring out how a Gross National Happiness Campaign might work
in our city and what's already underway. Hear some happiness stories,
enjoy some art and music and learn what international research has to say about
what really makes us happy. Become part of the new movement in Seattle
that could help your own GPH... gross (overall) personal happiness. We’ll be forming committees to get a
happiness survey going in Seattle and build future events that will make our
city a leader in this great international effort! John
deGraaf
Saturday, April 30 - May 2 at Seattle Pacific
University in Seattle - Wellstone Action Campaign Management Fundamentals,
including:
· Activist track: For people interested in citizen lobbying,
issue advocacy, and community organizing, this track provides skills in how to
win on issues.
· Campaign track: This track focuses on how to be an effective staff or
volunteer member of a winning progressive campaign.
· Candidate track: This is for people who have made the decision to run
for office.
Varying cost. To
register.
Opportunities
Commentaries
that have addressed major issues
Obtain
a free ‘Corporations Are Not People’ bumper sticker.
Petitions
Tell
EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson to reform our toxic chemicals laws.
Tell your
senators to support clean energy legislation.
Tell
your U.S. Representative to support the Local Jobs for America Act.
Tell
everyone that you support elimination of nuclear weapons.
Communication
To Our Members
My Household Energy
Audit
As a Puget Sound Energy customer, I
qualify for a comprehensive household energy audit costing $150 after a subsidy
of $350. It includes replacement of all
incandescent light bulbs with compact florescent bulbs, which in my case were
worth at least $150 and save me money through lasting longer and using less
electricity than incandescent bulbs.
My 5 hour audit done by Ecofab revealed that energy
leakage could be reduced through:
·
Adding ceiling
insulation
·
Adding wall
insulation
·
Adding caulking
around various windows, doors and other openings to the outside
·
Restricting
outside air required for the furnace to a smaller space around the furnace
·
Replacing some
energy intensive appliances.
I have four reasons for adopting as many
of these recommendations as I can afford:
·
To save money
·
To reduce carbon
emissions resulting from production of wasted energy
·
To create jobs
implementing the recommendations
·
To use previously
disadvantaged workers who have been trained to implement the recommendations
(at least in the case of Ecofab’s workers).
I strongly recommend that everyone (who
can afford it) arrange a similar household energy audit. For
more.
Commentaries
From Our Members
Amelia Kroeger: Compare
Different Political Economic Ideologies
Hi Dave, Is there any chance you have, or know
where I can find comparison charts for the economic theories/principles of
Milton Friedman vs. say one of the more liberal economists like Paul Krugman,
Dean Baker, Simon Johnson, maybe Stigliz.
I found one
but it isn't exactly what I'm looking for.
Thanks. Amelia Kroeger
Reply from Dave Thomas
I find the best discussion of the
differences between Conservative, Liberal and Socialist Ideologies in Paul Starr, 2007, Freedom’s Power, The True Force of Liberalism, a readable book
that I think every Liberal should read.
He basically says:
·
Conservatives
trust private enterprise and distrust government.
·
Socialists
trust government and distrust private enterprise.
·
Liberals
fall in a flexible middle. We recognize
that both private enterprise and government can have benefits and both can be
abusive. So in various different market
situations, Liberals seek the best mix of private enterprise and government
regulation.
Conservatives try to portray Liberals as Socialists. Socialists try to portray Liberals as
Conservatives. They are both wrong in
what they rigidly espouse and in how they try to portray Liberals. Dave
Thomas
Liberals
and Democrats
Health Care Reform
Health
care reform may already be saving lives.
Job Creation
Local governments should note best practices for creating jobs,
including examining the 72 cities which have gained jobs during a recent 6
month period.
The good news is the perception as well as the reality is
improving in some areas of the country. Just 12 out of 384 metropolitan areas
ended 2009 with more jobs than they had at the beginning of the year, but more recently, the numbers have been
looking better. Over the past six months (through January), 72 cities gained
jobs, according to a Moody's Economy.com analysis of data from the U.S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics. That may seem like a slow start, but it's a
meaningful one to people being hired in places like Flagstaff, Ariz., Augusta,
Ga., and Lansing, Mich.
Austin lands on that list too. The central Texas city of 760,000
has a few built-in advantages over other cities. The University of Texas and
the state government — Austin is the capital — provide some economic stability.
And as the Southwest's technology center, Austin is home to many high-growth
(though high-risk) companies. It is also a music mecca and the gateway to Texas
hill country, attributes that help it attract desirable workers. For all these
reasons, it hasn't been battered quite as hard as other cities by the
recession; the unemployment rate was nearly 3 points below the national average
at the end of last year. Still, the metro area has seen big job losses from
major employers, including the computer maker Dell and semiconductor
manufacturers like Freescale and Advanced Micro Devices. It's not hard to find
the desperate stories here that you find throughout the rest of the country:
the woman laid off from book publishing two years ago who hasn't been able to
find a permanent job since; the interior decorator who used to have a
six-figure salary and now sells furniture for $30,000 a year.
Yet
Austin also offers a model of hope. The city's surfeit of computer-programming
talent allowed a video-game outfit to hire 50 developers and designers in the
past two months. A manufacturer is building a new plant north of town to take
advantage of the growing commercial-lighting industry even as its
construction-related business falls off. A pharmaceuticals start-up is looking
for new lab workers. Some companies are expanding, and others — markers of the
city's entrepreneurial spirit — are starting from scratch. Austin is emerging
as one of the first pockets of the country where people are getting back to
work, showing that even in this dreary economic environment, job creation can
happen — and illustrating how it will eventually take root around the nation. For
more. See Local
Governments Should Stimulate Job Creation.
Our
government could also hire young people directly as President Roosevelt did.
The
number of people who get jobs each month is more important than the
unemployment rate. If more people get
jobs, that helps them, the economy and reduces the deficit. If people, who have given up trying to find a
job, start seeking one again, it is because they are now more encouraged that
they can find one. So let’s be
encouraged when employment increases, even if the unemployment rate doesn’t
significantly decrease.
Our
Labor Department is enforcing Labor Law violations, but stiffer penalties are
needed.
General
Motors is maintaining jobs, becoming profitable and repaying loans faster than
expected.
Has
time run out for passing jobs legislation to increase employment before our
fall elections?
Regulating Wall Street
Obama
Administration vows to support stiff financial reform legislation.
SEC
finally charges a big bank with fraud.
Elizabeth
Warren is fighting for an independent Consumer Financial Regulatory Agency.
Many
economists and others support breaking up ‘too big to fail’ banks.
Could
a constitutional convention successfully oppose corporate influence on
congress?
Fiscal Responsibility
Conservatives
argue that Social Security revenues will not allow baby boomers to receive the
benefits that recipients are now receiving.
It is easy to remove their excuse.
We should just remove the cap on the level of income at which people no
longer pay FICA tax. If everyone paid
the FICA tax on all their income, then we could lower the tax rate, so that
there would be enough revenue through the retirement years of the baby
boomers. The result would be that most
people would get a tax reduction, with only the very wealthy having to pay
more. And there would no longer be any
concern about having enough revenue to pay benefits to retired baby
boomers. Notice that changing the FICA
tax to bring in more revenue could be done under reconciliation procedures.
A
new report “Wealth for the Common Good” provides rational for increasing taxes
on wealthy to provide revenue for creating jobs through investing in renewing
our infrastructure. To read the report. This report agrees with my
commentary. For
more. Dave Thomas
Reducing Carbon Emissions
Cap
and Dividends may offer simple way to reduce carbon emissions. Energy companies would bid each year to
purchase permits to emit carbon. The
proceeds would be rebated to citizens. Those
who reduce their consumption of higher priced gasoline would save money.
Coal Mine Safety
Don Blankenship, CEO of Massey Energy
Company. Blankenship is also on the Board of Directors of the US Chamber of
Commerce. In this speech above, he denies climate change, derisively
refers to Speaker Pelosi, Senator Reid, and others as “greeniacs”, and calls
them all crazy. Watch the speech, you’ll see. In his mind, “the greeniacs are
taking over the world.”
Massey Energy Company, Blankenship’s
highly successful strip-mining and mountaintop removal operation is the parent
company of Performance Coal Co, where a tragic
explosion occurred on April 5th. As of this writing, 25 miners have
died and 4 more are still missing. Twenty-five families are without a loved
one. Four more may discover they have lost someone they love too. 29 families
in all, forever changed by one single, violent event in a coal mine. One single
violent event in a coal mine run by a company so obsessed with profit it runs
roughshod over employees’ and neighbors’ health and safety.
Here’s something else about Don
Blankenship and Massey Energy Company: Blankenship spent over $1 million
dollars along with other US Chamber buddies like Verizon to sponsor last year’s
Labor Day Tea Party, also known as the “Friends of America Rally.”
Here’s Massey’s pitch.
Note how he makes it sound like he isn’t one of the corporate enemies of
America. For
more.
While
denying the need to curb carbon emissions, Massey
Energy Company has continually violated safety standards that are supposed to
protect miners. In dozens of its
mines.
EPA
Administrator Lisa Jackson sets limits on mountaintop coal mining.
Here’s the Beef
Will
Republicans suffer from totally opposing health care reform?
Will Republicans suffer from recommending not participating in U.S. census?
State and
Local
I
have sent the following proposal to the Washington Association of Cities and
the Washington Association of Counties, requesting that they forward it to
their members. I also sent it to the
Washington State Economic Development Commission. I also sent it to the Bellevue Reporter. For all the talk that many actions should be
undertaken locally instead of by our federal government, I am not sure that
these local government organizations will take this proposal seriously.
Local Governments Should Stimulate Job
Creation
Local city and county governments should not just wait for our federal
government to spend money to stimulate job creation. Local
governments (working with local media) should also act to stimulate job
creation. For example:
Using Local Entrepreneurs
Local entrepreneurs who are beginning or growing businesses should be
asked how they are doing it, including financing. This should be publicized. These entrepreneurs should be asked to
provide advice to other would be entrepreneurs.
For more.
Assisting Local Lending Banks
Local banks that lend to local entrepreneurs should be identified and
publicized. People should be asked to
switch their savings to these banks to increase their lending capacity.
Exploring Micro-Finance
The public should be asked to report if they would benefit from and
take advantage of micro-finance loans.
If so, a micro-finance system should be established.
Volunteering to Increase Skills and
Resume
Unemployed people don’t spend all their time searching for a job. They should also do volunteer work to help
the community, to increase their skills and increase their resume. Local governments should publicize volunteer
opportunities and volunteers. For more.
Identifying Scam Artists
Scam artists are attempting to rip off people in many ways, taking
money that could otherwise be spent to seek a job or create demand for
jobs. The strategies that scam artists
use should be publicized and crisis type phone lines established for checking
out possible scams.
Maintaining Foreclosed Properties
When foreclosed properties are vandalized and poorly kept, it harms the
value of neighboring homes, causing more foreclosures, homelessness and
unemployment. Holders of foreclosed
properties should be asked to give permission for neighbors to (voluntarily or
for pay) protect and maintain the foreclosed properties.
Assisting the Homeless
Local governments should encourage churches to establish homeless
encampments which provide more stability for their occupants to seek employment
than they would have elsewhere.
Recovering Money from Fraudulent
Realtors
We know that to survive, a significant number of realtors prepared
fraudulent loan documents, which resulted in the toxic assets which initiated
our economic collapse. We can’t believe
that local realtor organizations were unaware of this fraud. Yet none have apologized or attempted to make
any amends. They should be asked to
assign 20% or more of realtor fees to a fund to be used to help people avoid
foreclosure.
Additional Brainstorms
Some of the job creation proposals suggested above may not be
useful. Local governments and news media
should brainstorm to define additional job creation proposals. For more.
Our State Government
Our State Government should promote the adoption of such measures by
local city and governments. It should
maintain a repository of information concerning local government actions. It should provide a website with links to the
local government websites which provide information about the above job
creation stimulus programs.
If our state and local governments working together could add even .5
percent to employment, it would be a big deal.
More might be possible. And this
effort is low cost, adding nothing to the federal deficit.
Move Your Money
I
have advocated that people shift their savings from Wall Street’s speculating
large financial firms to local banks and coops.
The Move Your Money campaign was featured on PBS
News Hour Tuesday evening. Reporter Paul Solman took a look at the pros and
cons of the movement and even went to a local bank to explore whether or not
consumers should move their money to small banks and credit unions. For
more.
Martha Koester:
Help Liberal Larry Kalb Become 2nd
Congressional District Congressman.
Are you tired of Congress
ignoring the will of the 82% of the public to include a public option with
health care reform? Sick of bailing out
Wall Street bankers instead of Main Street?
Fed up with compromises on legislation to attract Republican support
which have failed to get a single Republican voter?
Don’t give up and drop
out—help Democrats from the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party mount
primary challenges against incumbents who pay more attention to the will of
corporations than to the will of the people.
Long-time health care activist
Larry Kalb is running a primary campaign against Rick Larsen in the 2nd
Congressional district. Larry will
work hard for
·
Stable homes and
secure jobs
·
Real financial
reform
·
Bringing our
troops tome
·
Health care for
all, no exceptions
·
Clean air, water,
& land
·
Fair elections
·
Fixing
immigration
If you live in a
congressional district in which there is no real challenge to the incumbent,
phone banking is a very helpful volunteer activity that can be done from
anywhere. Use some of those free
weekend cell phone minutes for a good cause.
If you don’t have time to volunteer, money (in whatever amount) would be
useful as well. http://kalbforcongress.com/contribute.html
No money either? Be a Facebook supporter and help spread the
word.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kalb-for-Congress/308561355228
A REAL Democrat for a Change. This country has been leveraged. Our economy
and lives are suffering as a consequence.
The lives of our citizens cannot be put on hold while we wait for the
nation's balance sheets to reconcile. Martha Koester
Laurie Jinkins is Running for LD 27
Representative
Laurie
Jinkins, Deputy Director of the Pierce County Public Health Department, longtime
Tacoma Community College Trustee, public school mom and noted leader for
equality and human rights, has announced her candidacy for State Representative
in Tacoma's 27th Legislative District. Jinkins, a Democrat, is seeking
the seat being vacated by Dennis Flannigan.
"I'm
running on a simple platform: create jobs and opportunity for hard working
families, protect the safety net of health and human services, and invest in
clean energy and transportation solutions that protect our quality of life and
environment," said Jinkins. "I'm excited for the opportunity to serve
and the outpouring of support I've receiving as we launch the campaign."
Jinkins
enters with the endorsements of prominent Tacoma area elected officials
including State Representative Jeannie Darneille (D-27), former County Chief of
Staff Lyle Quasim, State Auditor Brian Sonntag (D), Senator Rosa Franklin
(D-25), Pierce County Councilmember Tim Farrell (D), Former 27th Dist. Rep. Art
Wang (D) and Tacoma School Board Member Kim Golding. In addition, Laurie
has support from community leaders across the district including Lyle Quasim,
Liz Dunbar, Dawn Lucien, Judie Fortier, Benjii Bittle, Steve Smith, Ron
Lunceford, Artee Young, and Sondra Purcell.
Well
known locally for leadership in public health and as a TCC Trustee, Jinkins
cites this experience as critical to delivering quality, basic services in
challenging economic times. "I've
worked alongside unions, service providers, employers and the community to set
priorities and balance budgets," said Jinkins, who chaired the TCC Board
in 2009. "In this economy, we have to focus on outcomes that serve people
and maximize limited resources. I'll bring that focus on fiscal
management to Olympia to help make the tough choices we face as a state."
Jinkins,
who if elected will be the first open lesbian elected to state office in
Washington history, has a long track record of regional and statewide
leadership on civil rights and domestic partnership issues, including
co-chairing the successful Referendum 71 campaign last year which passed
overwhelmingly in the 27th LD. "As
a mom and Tacoma resident, I see the importance of treating all people with the
respect and dignity they deserve," said Jinkins. "I want all of our
kids to grow up in a world where we recognize that there is strength and
opportunity in our diversity."
Jinkins
plans a volunteer-driven, grass roots campaign similar to those run by
Darneille and Flannigan.
"I'm
going to run a Tacoma style campaign of shoe leather, yard signs, and shaking
hands," said Jinkins. "I'm running to represent the values and
priorities of the city I love, and look forward to a great, energetic
campaign."
Richard Curtis: Independent for U.S. Senate
In news this
week, I was quite disturbed to read the following from Chris Hedges (from TruthDig,
3/29/10):
“The longer
we appeal to the Democrats, who are servants of corporate interests, the more
stupid and ineffectual we become. Sixty-one percent of Americans believe the
country is in decline, according to a recent NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll,
and they are right. Only 25 percent of those polled said the government can be
trusted to protect the interests of the American people. If we do not embrace
this outrage and distrust as our own it will be expressed through a terrifying
right-wing backlash.”
On the same day I
read this
from Seattle Times columnist Jerry Large:
“It’s [the
supposed health care “debate”] become part of a clash of ideologies that can’t
be reconciled, but more than that, the opposition is a vessel for the
expression of anger and fears that are dangerous.”
What Jerry was
getting at is the visceral outrage at literally nothing that has marked
reaction to the new health care law. I think most of us are pretty clear
that this new legislation does very little of any good and very little of
anything at all. To be outraged that it marks a government take over of
something unspecified is sheer insanity, yet it is not random insanity but
rather well organized insanity.
What Chris Hedges
sees that Jerry Large is missing is that the outrageous behavior of opponents
of the legislation is not just ill mannered, much of it illegal, no, it is
proto-fascist and that is the real concern.
Fascism,
according to the guy who popularized the term (his name was Benito Mussolini),
is the marriage of government power and corporate interests. On that most
literal version we have had a fascist state for at least the last half
century. What actually mark the fascist movements of the 20th
century are their beginnings with mobs following fear mongers. For Hitler
in Germany it was the Sturm Abteilung (Brownshirts), for
Mussolini in Italy it was the Squadristi (Blackshirts), for Franco in
Spain it was the Falangistas (Falage was the core fascist group Franco
used when he took power). For would be fascist leaders here it is the Tea
Partiers, Patriot Movement and their ilk.
Any serious
student of history can see the parallels. When angry mobs react to things
that are functionally irrelevant to them or actually useful to them because
they have been riled up by evil demagogues then you can see fascism in
action. To some it may seem outlandish to suggest that people like Glenn
Beck are agitating for a fascist takeover of America, but only if one knows nothing
of history. It is happening. We are, as Hedges is warning us,
seeing the birth of a full blown fascist movement rising up before our eyes.
Most importantly,
Hedges is also warning us that if we rely on the Democrats to provide a bulwark
against this new form of fascism then we are fools. The Democratic Party
is completely out of touch with America and the real life struggles of the
American people to survive (or they are actively a part of this fascist
transformation). Both parties are parties of war and parties of empire,
both lie incessantly to us and themselves. They do not understand or will
not understand modern economic theory. They do not understand or will not
understand modern history. They do not understand or will not understand
basic principles of ethics. To think the Democrats are part of the
solution is to fundamentally misunderstand the nature of the problem. To
think Republicans are part of the solution is simple madness (they can’t even
figure out the basics of political philosophy so why would anyone with more
brains than a flea trust them to run anything?).
Consider these
recent quotes:
Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN): "I want people in Minnesota
armed and dangerous….having a revolution every now and then is a good
thing."
Rep. John Boehner (R-OH): "Take [Democratic Congressman]
Steve Driehaus, for example. He may be a dead man. He can't go home to the west
side of Cincinnati."
Rep. Steve King (R-IA): "Let's beat that other side to a
pulp! Let's take them out. Let's chase them down."
It is not a clash
of ideologies, as Jerry Large would like to believe, but a predictable reaction
to economic and social collapse. The patterns by which fascism operates
are not mysterious to anyone who studies them, but they are quite mysterious to
those who don’t. What we are witnessing is a clash between corporate
dominated culture and human beings. Corporations have taken over our
economic life, cultural life and political life and have wrecked all in the
process. People are struggling and they are afraid. Scared people
often turn to demagogues. It is easier to believe their cheap lies than
to confront the reality of corporate totalitarianism.
This campaign
offers something different. I am not hiding my head in the sand about the
economic depression, I am not hiding my head in the sand about the legal
reality that we are led by war criminals, and I am not hiding my head in the
sand hoping Democrats will save human beings (because we all know they will
save corporations first). The vast majority of the American people agree
with me on these issues. But we do not have a voice since the media is
owned by corporate interests that have always liked fascists when they have
been in power.
Democracy is
hard. It is especially hard when the economy is collapsing. But
there is nothing to do but to fight for democracy. The demagogues will be
all too happy to take over for us, to take us over, but that is not a live
option – it is the folly of fools who do not know history. And it will be
hard to explain to people who follow these demagogues that fascism is not about
helping them – the leadership of these nascent fascist movements don’t care
about people, they want to use and abuse people for profit. They are good
at confusing people and offering the wrong focus for what is very legitimate
anger. People should be angry, but they need to recognize that they have
to stand up for themselves and assert their power over corporations, not fall
for the lies and distortions of the hacks who front for these corporations.
The status quo
never likes change but in the face of economic and environmental collapse we
simply must change our usual way of thinking about politics and
elections. We cannot treat Republicans and Democrats as idols to which we
pray for solutions. Democracy is hard because we must come together
ourselves and forge a renewed America built in the interests of all America not
just corporate Amerika.
All the best, Richard Curtis
Dave Reichert on Health Care Reform
It
is great to be back at home here in Washington State, after an extended stay in
Washington, D.C. Congress remained in extended session to
complete a health care overhaul bill on Sunday, March 21. The legislation,
signed into law on Tuesday, March 23, implements a government-run health plan
estimated to cost more than $1 trillion, slashes Medicare benefits by $523.5 billion,
forces crushing tax hikes of $569 billion on families and job creators, and
takes away the current health plans of many Americans.
With uncertain economic conditions and unemployment hovering around 10 percent,
this is the last thing we need. Congress must work together on real solutions
that begin to bring down the cost of health care and bring it to those who need
it most, but this new law is not the right way to deliver the health care
Americans need and deserve. Yes, we need to reform and strengthen our health
care system, but this should be done without tax hikes in the middle of a
recession, and without cutting $500 billion in seniors’ health care.
Small businesses were penalized with hundreds of billions of dollars in tax
increases in the health overhaul bill, and that doesn’t even account for the
$588 billion tax hike on small businesses if Congress fails to extend the
current income tax rates that expire in December. One third of all
business activity in the United States would be taxed more. That is a
steep price to pay for inaction.
As Congress began to consider a small business incentives bill, I introduced
two amendments which would temporarily extend all of the existing income tax
rates and the capital gains rate for two years. Unfortunately, these amendments
were not accepted, but I will continue to press for job-creating measures that
give relief to small businesses as we work to revive our economy. Dave Reichert
Tom Cramer on Dave Reichert
Conservative Republican Dave Reichert opposes middle
class and working families having the healthcare he has enjoyed all his life at
their expense in favor of his corporate sponsors!
I oppose Dave Reichert for his stance against secure
health care for middle class and working families. He has been on government
run health care all his life, and receiving the best care available in the
world. But as a lawmaker he has hypocritically opposed people having the same
care in favor of the profit making health care corporations. He has received
over a million dollars in contributions from the health care PAC's. His
nickname should be the “corporate PAC man”. The taxpayers of this country and
Washington state have paid for Dave Reichert's health care all his life. Now he
wants to repeal Obama's healthcare bill, causing the loss of coverage for most
people. With this bill more people will have health care and those who have
healthcare will pay less because there will be more people in the health care
pool paying. Less people will need late stage emergency care, so costs will
eventually go down. Also, there will be less people having to declare
bankruptcy because medical care is the major cause of bankruptcy in this
country. There will be less stress on families because they will have safe,
secure and stable health insurance not subject to the whims of greedy
corporations. This is what Dave Reichert and his fellow Republicans want to
repeal: the health of the American people.
Support and vote for me and I will work to extend
Medicare to everyone so we can lower the costs of insurance for all by reducing
the profit's of a greedy corporate profit making industry. Stop these
corporations coming between doctors and patients by denying patients the care
they need. Health care in the last twenty years has become an industry led by
Wall Street and big business, not the nonprofit service it once was. Please
help me bring rational thinking to Washington D.C. and reign in Big Business
and Wall Street from destroying middle class and working families. Please
support me and vote for me. Tom Cramer,
fighting to replace Dave Reichert as Washington’s 8th Congressional
Congressman.
Here’s the Beef
A
Corvallis resident exemplifies living with a low carbon emission lifestyle.
Nation
and World
Featured Advocacy Group
---------------------------------- Common Cause -------------------------------------
Common
Cause seeks to make government more accountable to citizen voters instead
of to lobbyists backed by campaign contributions.
The U.S. Supreme Court just put our
democracy up for sale to the highest bidder.
In a stunning display of judicial activism at its worst, and with no
factual record before it to review, the Court has declared that corporate
political spending does not corrupt elected officials — opening the floodgates
to out-of-control political spending by the wealthiest special interests.
The 5-4 ruling issued Jan. 21 in Citizens United v. Federal Election
Commission overturned decades of settled campaign finance law. And it
needs to be a wake-up call for all Americans concerned about the future of our
democracy.
Hard-won campaign finance reforms. A vibrant, responsive democracy. Government
by, of and for the people. It’s all at
risk of being swept away. Multi-billion-dollar corporations and unions are
already ratcheting up their now-unchecked political spending to buy the 2010
midterm elections.
Please help protect the integrity of this year’s
elections, and all future races for public office, by leading Common Cause’s
popular uprising against corporate democracy. Your support is needed
immediately to press Congress to pass the Fair Elections Now Act without
further delay. This legislation to establish a small donor public financing
system for congressional elections is the only workable solution to the all-out
spending chaos unleashed by the Supreme Court.
Common Cause is working with our allies in the House of Representatives and
Senate to bring the Fair Elections Now Act up for a vote on an accelerated
timetable necessitated by the Roberts Court’s sweeping judicial activism. Even
members of Congress who had not signed on as co-sponsors of this legislation
seem to recognize that corporate political spending must be reined in now. But passage of the Fair Elections Now Act is
far from assured.
Corporate CEOs, Wall Street executives, Big Pharma, Big Oil and all the other
fat cats now free to spend unlimited amounts influencing elections aren’t about
to give up that power without a fight.
So, it’s up to Common Cause members to make sure the voice of the
American people is heard above the growing din of corporate special interests
trying to drown us out.
At the same time, we must expand our essential watch dog role to include
tracking the billions more dollars pouring into the political system.
Corporations and unions could spend as much as $6 billion to directly influence
the 2010 elections. And that’s “only” if they match the amount they already
spend lobbying Congress! The health care
reform debacle is only the latest proof of the corrupting influence of money in
politics. Special interest lobbyists are also blocking the people’s demand for
stronger regulation of the financial industry, a clean energy revolution and a
host of other popular reforms. We cannot
allow five Supreme Court Justices to have the last word on our democracy!
Government Accountability
Common Cause is dedicated to making
government open and accountable. Its founder, John Gardner, said "We want
public officials to have literally millions of American citizens looking over
their shoulders at every move they make." Since we first started
"looking over shoulders" in 1970, Common Cause and our activists have
been at the forefront of ensuring that government officials are acting in the
public interest, not for their own personal benefit or for the benefit of
powerful and influential special interest. Common Cause has worked to shine a
bright light on public officials and lobbyists who prefer to work behind closed
doors and to insist that government officials are held to the highest standards
of conduct.
Stimulus Transparency
On February 17, 2009, President Barack
Obama signed into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
Totaling $787 billion, the Act includes federal tax cuts, expansion of
unemployment benefits and other social welfare provisions, and domestic
spending in education, health care, and infrastructure.
The Common
Cause Stimulus Transparency, Accountability, and Clean Administration project
is an important part of a larger collaborative effort to insure this historic
government spending program benefits needy communities and promotes smart
growth. Common Cause is promoting a model for transparency, accountability, and
clean administration of stimulus spending for all levels of government across
the country by developing state and local coalitions made up of diverse
stakeholders to insist on full transparency of stimulus spending.
Ethics Watchdog
Since our founding, Common Cause has
been on the forefront of the fight for stronger ethics at all levels of
government. We believe that the integrity of government is fundamental to our
democracy. Common Cause will continue to monitor the activities of members of
Congress and state and local lawmakers to assure that they uphold the highest
standards in carrying out their duties and responsibilities.
Abuse of Power
Over the past decade, we've endured
repeated abuses of power by the Executive Branch of our government. Time after
time, we've watched Congress fail to stand up for what's right. We've seen the
very symbols of our democracy tarnished, as our nation's reputation suffers at
home and abroad because of these abuses.
Common Cause is demanding a government that:
·
Ends torture, respects human rights and
restores America’s reputation in the world.
·
Respects the rule of law and fiercely
challenges anyone who seeks to undermine the Constitution and the Bill of
Rights.
·
Roots out corruption, special interest abuses
and partisan prejudice in the administration of justice.
·
Holds to account – without exception – anyone
who breaks the law or violates the public trust.
·
Protects personal freedom by rejecting
warrantless spying and other affronts to individual liberty.
Protecting Whistleblowers
Honest insiders who risk their careers
to blow the whistle on wrongdoing are true heroes of democracy. We are working
to strengthen protections for whistleblowers and help people feel safe coming
forward with information that protects the public from waste, fraud, and abuse.
The Economic Bailout
So far, about $350 billion tax dollars
have been spent or committed to private institutions under the government’s
bailout plan. Virtually none of the money has been earmarked for families
facing foreclosure. The Government Accountability Office has reported that the
program lacks ways to ensure that banks are properly using the money or that
they are complying with limits on executive compensation. It seems their
concerns were well-founded.
The Bush Administration and Congress
failed to oversee government contracting in Iraq and in New Orleans after
Hurricane Katrina. Congress needs to get more engaged in the process of
spending our tax dollars on contractors and recovery efforts than it has been
in the past – and it needs to make sure the bailout is helping ordinary
Americans who are being hurt by the recession.
Open Government
A core element of Common Cause’s
agenda is making certain that government at all levels operates in the open,
with full access for the public to meetings and public records throughout the
legislative and regulatory policymaking process. We are working to make the
best use of new technologies to provide access for the public, including
webcasting of meetings, internet-based public participation and easily
searchable databases of legislation, elected officials’ voting records and
other important public information.
Fighting Government Secrecy
The Bush Administration and many state
governments have placed harsh restrictions on the information available to the
press and public, rolling back important freedoms passed to prevent abuses of
power under the shroud of secrecy. We are fighting to protect the Freedom of
Information Act and reverse the trend toward secrecy under the pretext of
national security.
Improving Disclosure Laws
Laws requiring public disclosure of
lobbying activities, personal financial interests and campaign contributions
are a critical element in ensuring government accountability. Common Cause will
strengthen the hand of citizen advocates and watchdogs by working to beef up
enforcement of financial and lobbying disclosure laws and require lobbyists and
campaign donors to fully disclose their activities and donations instantly on
the Internet.
Fair
Elections Now
Instead of focusing on their constituents and the
important issues of the day, elected officials in Washington spend too much
time raising money from wealthy donors and lobbyists – often from the very
industries they’re supposed to oversee!
It’s time to get our leaders out of the fundraising game and let them do
the jobs we’ve elected them to do.
The best way to do that is to pass the Fair Elections Now Act. Under
such a system, qualified candidates who take no contributions larger than $100
can run for Congress on a blend of small donations and public funds. This bill
already has more than 125 cosponsors. If your Representative is one of them, please thank
him or her. If your Representative has not yet signed on as a cosponsor, please
ask him or her to do so right away! (When you enter your address below, our
system will look up the name of your Representative and his/her co-sponsor
status.)
Election Reform
Broad goals for overhauling the nation’s system of voting include:
·
Access: Increase access to voting by
removing existing barriers, changing registration and voting practices, and
ensuring voting rights for all Americans.
·
Accuracy: Safeguard our voting systems by
passing federal and state legislation to enhance voting machine accuracy and security.
·
Accountability: Hold election
officials accountable by passing legislation prohibiting partisan activity and
establishing strict conflict of interest laws
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here’s the Beef
Immigration reform should
and may happen this year, but it will be difficult to achieve. For
more.
Judge
invalidates patents upon human genes.
Wikileaks acts as a
whistleblower concerning government secrets.
Ten
questions for Robert Rubin and Chuck Prince concerning Citigroup’s speculative
activities.
Since
the Copenhagen Conference, many nations have made new initiatives to cut carbon
emissions.
China will
assist construction of California high speed rail. For a change, we borrow their technology.
Our
Liberal Spirit
When Opponents Are Making Mistakes
Conservatives are in some
disarray:
·
Tea Party
Conservatives and militia hate groups are threatening violence against
Liberals.
·
Republicans are
spending their contributions on luxuries, including a visit to a strip
bar.
·
Republicans say
they will run for congressional seats this fall on an impossible platform of
repealing health care reform.
·
While the
struggle for health care reform was occurring, the Sunday commercial media talk
shows each presented Republican leaders continually telling us the same
untruths. With the passage of health
care reform, only one commercial media talk show this last Sunday featured a
Republican (Arizona Senator Jon Kyl)
·
Some Republicans
suggest that their followers shouldn’t fill out census forms, which may cause
redistricting that hurts their representation.
So what should Liberals
do? If we are afraid that no one will
notice their disarray, we will be tempted to emphasize it, which will then
allow them to deflect criticism by accusing us of playing politics. Better to recognize the truth of Napoleon’s
axiom, “Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.” Even the commercial media are giving full
publicity to the disarray of the Conservatives.
And it appears that this disarray may continue for some time.
Recommended Books – See our list of books for liberals
Liaquat Ahamid, 2009, Lords of Finance: The Bankers Who Broke the
World.
Liaquat Ahamid examines the
speculative bubble and collapses which caused the great depression of the 1930s
and President Roosevelt’s responses.
Unlike President Obama, President Roosevelt continually blamed
speculators and their Republican supporters for causing the depression. He allowed sound banks to continue while
insuring their depositors. He supported
the Glass-Steagall act. He stimulated
the economy, and hired young people managed by the military to make
infrastructure improvements.
I found particularly
interesting President Roosevelt’s defiance of all his advisors to loosen the
gold standard, which successfully began to reflate the economy. I believe President Obama should similarly
defy his advisors by levying taxes and fees on Wall Street and other high income
speculators. Contrary to his advisors,
this would not reduce the enabling of jobs.
It would provide revenue to enable jobs.
President Roosevelt
encouraged unionization. It may be
difficult to now pass card check procedures to enable unionization. But using reconciliation procedures, President
Obama could greatly increase financial penalties and impose upon companies and impose
jail terms upon their employees which illegally resist unionization and
strikes.