Friday, October 22, 2010
WEIRD STUFF:
ONE TENTH OF A MIND:
Molly has had her hands slapped before and done her proper mea culpas about her opinions about the state of the American mind. Now it is no doubt true that the majority of the American population is indeed part of the modern world with all that that implies. Still, I have yet to see anybody present any proof that the USA does not contain the majority of religious sects (yes I include every stump worshipping local cult in the far reaches of the Amazon in this estimate) existent in the world today.
In a field that I am much more familiar with I doubt that anyone could present proof that the USA doesn't contain the majority of the weird political sects that infest the modern world. In term of leftist bullshit it would be hard to find another country which could produce the Weathermen, one of whose "political" tenets was that one should sleep on the floor because "mattresses were white skin privilege". Similarly, and speaking of stump worshippers, it should be noted that the USA is the necrotic centre of the religious revival masquerading as politics known as "primitivism". For those unfamiliar with this cuteness it is a current of thought claiming the "anarchist" label (or claiming to be far superior to it) that says that "civilization" should be abolished and that this is actually some sort of realistic 'program". I'll leave the naive reader to their own devises in imagining what this means because it essentially means nothing except intestinal gas disguised as speech.
But then there is the other side which far outweighs leftist bullshit by several orders of magnitude. Outside of the Middle East and parts of Central Asia the USA is probably the only area of the world where obviously insane nonsense can easily become part of everyday "accepted" politics. Most of this nonsense could be styled "right wing bullshit" rather than the left wing variety of bovine feces. The examples are endless, but I've chosen to present one below. This is the political movement known as the "Tenthers".
Out here in the civilized world this probably has about as much resonance as a dispute about how many Imams there there have been in the Muslim world. Yet, it seems to mean a lot in the country where "Birthers" has a meaning. Believers in this way of politics think that the last 70 years of US politics are illegitimate because the Tenth Amendment to the US Constitution says that "any powers not expressly designated to the federal government are the province of the states or the people". Sounds pretty "libertarian" ? Wrong ! The targets of those who believe in this legal fiction are pretty well exclusively those "powers" whereby a less prosperous segment of the population guards against the exploitation of the more prosperous people. NOTHING is said about the rights of communities (as opposed to states), and NOTHING is said about the legal protection (and how it shouldn't exist) for those who are higher in the class system as opposed to the efforts of those below them. Some "individuals" are more equal than others I guess, and States are more equal than communities.
WSWSWSWSWS
‘Tenthers’ Would Abolish Wage and Child Labor Laws, Social Security, Medicare and More
by Mike Hall, Oct 21, 2010
Most cults are based in some sort of skewed spiritual vision or the worship of a charismatic leader, but there is a re-emerging cult that bows down at the feet of the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Many of them want to bring their cultish beliefs to the halls of Congress and are running for election this fall.
They’re called the “tenthers” and they say federal laws and rules like the minimum wage, Medicare, Social Security, unemployment insurance, the Department of Education, even child labor laws and a laundry list of other federal laws and programs are unconstitutional.
Their rationale—irrationale would be a better word—is that if a federal power is not specifically spelled out in the Constitution, well the government doesn’t have it, according to their view of the 10th amendment.
It’s a view that has long been discredited, but reappears from time to time, such as during FDR’s New Deal era and after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled school segregation unconstitutional in the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education.
Here’s Think Progress in today’s Progress Report:
…because the Constitution doesn’t actually use the word education—it instead gives Congress broad authority to spend money to advance the “common defense” and “general welfare”—Senate candidates like Ken Buck (R-Colo.) and Sharron Angle (R-Nev.) claim that the federal Department of Education is unconstitutional. That means no federal student loan assistance or Pell Grants for middle class students struggling to pay for college, and no education funds providing opportunities to students desperately trying to break into the middle class.
And that’s hardly the worst news tenthers have in store for young Americans. Alaska GOP Senate candidate Joe Miller wants to declare child labor laws unconstitutional—returning America to the day when ten-year-olds labored in coal mines.
Miller told Dermot Cole of the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner that he didn’t believe the federal government had any right to establish child labor laws.
I asked him about whether he also believed that federal child labor laws should be done away with.
He said he is not against Social Security, unemployment benefits, the minimum wage or child labor laws.
But he doesn’t want the federal government mandating any of them.
Tenthers believe the states alone should–or more likely, should not–address these issues. Because states are in such financial straights these days, they can’t even pay for the programs, laws and policies already on their books. Hmmm? You don’t think tenthers are counting on that do you?
Click here to read The Progress Report’s in-depth look at the “tenthers” movement and here for more from Ian Millhiser at The American Prospect.
‘Tenthers’ Would Abolish Wage and Child Labor Laws, Social Security, Medicare and More
by Mike Hall, Oct 21, 2010
Most cults are based in some sort of skewed spiritual vision or the worship of a charismatic leader, but there is a re-emerging cult that bows down at the feet of the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Many of them want to bring their cultish beliefs to the halls of Congress and are running for election this fall.
They’re called the “tenthers” and they say federal laws and rules like the minimum wage, Medicare, Social Security, unemployment insurance, the Department of Education, even child labor laws and a laundry list of other federal laws and programs are unconstitutional.
Their rationale—irrationale would be a better word—is that if a federal power is not specifically spelled out in the Constitution, well the government doesn’t have it, according to their view of the 10th amendment.
It’s a view that has long been discredited, but reappears from time to time, such as during FDR’s New Deal era and after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled school segregation unconstitutional in the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education.
Here’s Think Progress in today’s Progress Report:
…because the Constitution doesn’t actually use the word education—it instead gives Congress broad authority to spend money to advance the “common defense” and “general welfare”—Senate candidates like Ken Buck (R-Colo.) and Sharron Angle (R-Nev.) claim that the federal Department of Education is unconstitutional. That means no federal student loan assistance or Pell Grants for middle class students struggling to pay for college, and no education funds providing opportunities to students desperately trying to break into the middle class.
And that’s hardly the worst news tenthers have in store for young Americans. Alaska GOP Senate candidate Joe Miller wants to declare child labor laws unconstitutional—returning America to the day when ten-year-olds labored in coal mines.
Miller told Dermot Cole of the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner that he didn’t believe the federal government had any right to establish child labor laws.
I asked him about whether he also believed that federal child labor laws should be done away with.
He said he is not against Social Security, unemployment benefits, the minimum wage or child labor laws.
But he doesn’t want the federal government mandating any of them.
Tenthers believe the states alone should–or more likely, should not–address these issues. Because states are in such financial straights these days, they can’t even pay for the programs, laws and policies already on their books. Hmmm? You don’t think tenthers are counting on that do you?
Click here to read The Progress Report’s in-depth look at the “tenthers” movement and here for more from Ian Millhiser at The American Prospect.
Labels: AFL-CIO Blog, American politics, opinion., tenthers, weird stuff
Friday, October 01, 2010
HUMOUR:
POLITICS IN A THEOCRATIC STATE:
Click the graphic for better viewing.
Labels: American politics, cartoons, humour, jokes, This Modern World, Tom Tomorrow
Saturday, September 25, 2010
HUMOUR:
'MAINSTREAM VIEWS' IN THE USA:
Click on the graphic for better viewing and to see what's popular on the American right.
Labels: American politics, cartoons, conspiracy nuts, humour, jokes
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
AMERICAN POLITICS:
THE BRADLEY MANNING SUPPORT NETWORK:
Bradley Manning is the now world famous US soldier who leaked video of a US helicopter shooting unarmed civilians in Iraq to the Wikileaks site. Wikileaks has gone on to even bigger things since then, but Bradley manning still sits in military jail awaiting trial. Needless to say the perpetrators of the war crimes that he exposed have had no charges laid against them.
There has been widespread support for Manning, and one of the primary sources has been the Bradley Manning Support Network who are planning a week of actions on his behalf this week. Here's a brief segment of one of the articles on their site. Go there to see much more and how you can help Manning out.
BMBMBMBMBM
Bradley Manning: An American Hero
by Marjorie Cohn, Professor at Thomas Jefferson School of Law
Army Pfc. Bradley Manning is accused of leaking military secrets to the public. This week, his supporters are holding rallies in 21 cities, seeking Manning’s release from military custody. Manning is in the brig for allegedly disclosing a classified video depicting U.S. troops shooting civilians from an Apache helicopter in Iraq in July 2007. The video, available at www.collateralmurder.com, was published by WikiLeaks on April 5, 2010. Manning faces 52 years in prison. No charges have been filed against the soldiers in the video.
In fact, the actions depicted in “Collateral Murder” contain evidence of three violations of the laws of war set forth in the Geneva Conventions, which amount to war crimes....
Bradley Manning: An American Hero
by Marjorie Cohn, Professor at Thomas Jefferson School of Law
Army Pfc. Bradley Manning is accused of leaking military secrets to the public. This week, his supporters are holding rallies in 21 cities, seeking Manning’s release from military custody. Manning is in the brig for allegedly disclosing a classified video depicting U.S. troops shooting civilians from an Apache helicopter in Iraq in July 2007. The video, available at www.collateralmurder.com, was published by WikiLeaks on April 5, 2010. Manning faces 52 years in prison. No charges have been filed against the soldiers in the video.
In fact, the actions depicted in “Collateral Murder” contain evidence of three violations of the laws of war set forth in the Geneva Conventions, which amount to war crimes....
Labels: American imperialism, American politics, Bradley manning, Bradley Manning Support Network, Iraq, war crimes, Wikileaks
AMERICAN POLITICS:
PASSING THE 'DREAM ACT':
The following appeal is from the American Jobs With Justice Coalition, and it is more for our American readers as it pertains to a specific reform in US immigration policy, reform that is long overdue whatever the xenophobes may think. The orthodox anarchist position, of course, is that there should be no restrictions on the movement of people across the globe, but while awaiting that millennium small reforms are somewhat useful.
APAPAPAPAP
PASSING THE DREAM ACT:The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act - more commonly known as the DREAM Act - would allow undocumented youth raised in the United States who have completed their K-12 education with no criminal record to earn their citizenship through either a college education or military service. Although the legislation has widespread support, the DREAM Act has stagnated in Congress for nearly a decade.
But the long wait could be over! Today at 2:15 ET, the Senate is scheduled to vote on cloture for the defense authorization bill, which currently includes the DREAM Act. If passed today, a vote on the DREAM Act amendment is expected on Thursday.
Call your Senators at 1-888-254-5087 and tell them: Vote 'YES' on the cloture motion for H.R. 5136 and 'YES' on the DREAM Act amendment, and ask them to give a speech on the Senate floor in support of the DREAM Act.
With the DREAM Act passed, qualifying undocumented youth would be given the chance to invest in themselves and their futures through education or the armed services, shattering the glass ceiling impeding these young people from reaching their full potential. Communities, which have already invested so much in these youth through the primary education system, would benefit from a more qualified, better-educated pool of citizens.
Young people have organized a dynamic nationwide grassroots movement to pass the legislation. Just this week alone, young people have made over 34,000 calls to Congress. But Senators who have long supported the bill have not been vocal enough highlighting the importance and need for grassroots efforts to push Senators to vote their conscience, even if it means crossing the party lines. We must firm up the support of DREAM allies in the Senate, and move Senators to vote yes.
This is what the DREAM Act needs from you this week:
1. Call your Senators at 1-888-254-5087 and tell them: Vote 'YES' on the cloture motion for H.R. 5136 and 'YES' on the DREAM Act amendment, and ask them to give a speech on the Senate floor in support of the DREAM Act.
2. Submit a Letter to the Editor to your local papers urging the passage of DREAM.
3. Stay connected and engaged to the DREAM actions taking place all over the country. Text DREAM or SUENO to 69866 to get updates about the DREAM Act this week.
4. Find out what is happening in your area--a list of actions can also be found here.
It's important to remember that every action taken is a step forward in making this DREAM a reality. The fate of this historic piece of legislation, and with it, the hopes and dreams of many, lays in the actions we take this next week. Let us move forward working together.
Labels: American politics, Dream Act, immigrants, Jobs With Justice, petitions
Sunday, September 19, 2010
HUMOUR:
MORE NEWS FROM AFAR:
Click on the graphic for better viewing.
Labels: American politics, cartoons, humour, jokes, religion
Saturday, September 04, 2010
HUMOUR:
RETURN OF THE REPUBLICANS SHOWING SOON AT A THEATRE NEAR YOU:
Labels: American politics, cartoons, humour, jokes, Republican Party
Wednesday, September 01, 2010
HUMOUR:SHOWING THE COLOURS FOR THE REPUBLICANS:
Labels: American politics, cartoons, humour, jokes, Republican Party
Friday, August 27, 2010
HUMOUR:
EXCUSES, EXCUSES, EXCUSES:
Labels: American politics, cartoons, drugs., humour, jokes, war on drugs
Thursday, August 26, 2010
HUMOUR:
THE PHANTOM OF THE TEA HOUSE:
Labels: American politics, cartoons, ground zero mosque., humour, jokes
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
HUMOUR:
PETTY DISPUTES:
Ah the joys of watching American politics from the outside. I'd also suggest, given the religious beliefs of the Oklahoma bomber which cpontributed to his actions that all Christian churches be banned near the remains of the building in OC. Equal time after all.
Labels: American politics, cartoons, ground zero mosque., humour, jokes
Monday, August 23, 2010
HUMOUR:
SCENES FROM THE AMERICAN MEDIA:
Labels: American politics, Barack Obama, cartoons, Fox News, humour, jokes
Sunday, August 15, 2010
INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS:
CLOSING GUANTANAMO PRISON CAMP:
It's coming close to the anniversary of the election of the great white hope (pun intended) Obama in the USA, and his promise to close the Guantanamo prison camp is still unfulfilled. Not that I find this surprising. Politticians do, after all, routinely renege on their promises, and so-called leftist politicians are no different. As we speak the kangaroo court for Omar Khadr is going on down on the US imperial outpost in Cuba. Not that I feel any great sympathy for Khadr or for his scumbag family. If they were to have their way we would be enduring a regime that would make our present governance look all sweetness and light. Still, to prevent our own regime from getting worse, certain rules have to observed. One of those might be that when you invade a foreign country without a declaration of war then you cannot charge people in a home with "war crimes" when armed soldiers break into said home trying (and mostly succeeding) to kill the inhabitants and one of the inhabitants survives. This is bizarre beyond measure.
That is the simple be all and end all of the Khadr case. Whether he threw a grenade or not is irrelevant. How many of the other people in the room survived when foreign invaders attacked with intent to kill them all ? Is this a "war crime" or is an invasion without a declaration of war a "war crime" ? You be the judge.
In any case the American Human Rights First group is campaigning to have the issue of the continued existence of the American prison camp at Guantanamo be an issue in American politics. Here is their statement >>>>
HRHRHRHRHR
Hitting the Campaign Trail to Close Guantánamo
This week marks a new low at Guantánamo, as the United States begins the trial of Omar Khadr, who was picked up in Afghanistan at age 15 and has spent more than a quarter of his life at Guantánamo. International law prohibits the use of children under 18 in armed conflict and requires states to rehabilitate child soldiers by assisting with their physical and psychological recovery and social reintegration. The United States has failed to abide by these obligations; instead it began jury selection in Khadr's trial, undermining a fundamental norm and setting a dangerous precedent for children forced into armed conflict around the world.
This development underscores what we know from our years of observing military commissions at Guantánamo: setting up a trial system that depends on coerced confessions, redefining the laws of war, and violating fundamental human rights standards is not only wrong, it's counter-productive. And in terms of convicting those who have committed terrorist acts, military commissions are a poor substitute for our federal courts. Not only have they failed to guarantee due process, they have only managed to convict four people, while the federal courts have convicted more than 400 terrorism suspects since 9/11.
As the election season gets underway, we're sharing the facts about military commissions with congressional candidates. Next week we will be in Illinois with retired military leaders who continue to speak out against torture and Guantánamo. They will make the case to candidates from both parties that closing Guantánamo and relying on our time-tested federal courts for terrorism trials will make our nation stronger and more secure.
You can join us in Illinois next week by signing our petition which we'll deliver personally to the candidates.
Watch the retired military leaders making the case for federal courts in our video-and join them in Illinois by signing the petition!
Sincerely,
Elisa Massimino
President and CEO
Human Rights First
Hitting the Campaign Trail to Close Guantánamo
This week marks a new low at Guantánamo, as the United States begins the trial of Omar Khadr, who was picked up in Afghanistan at age 15 and has spent more than a quarter of his life at Guantánamo. International law prohibits the use of children under 18 in armed conflict and requires states to rehabilitate child soldiers by assisting with their physical and psychological recovery and social reintegration. The United States has failed to abide by these obligations; instead it began jury selection in Khadr's trial, undermining a fundamental norm and setting a dangerous precedent for children forced into armed conflict around the world.
This development underscores what we know from our years of observing military commissions at Guantánamo: setting up a trial system that depends on coerced confessions, redefining the laws of war, and violating fundamental human rights standards is not only wrong, it's counter-productive. And in terms of convicting those who have committed terrorist acts, military commissions are a poor substitute for our federal courts. Not only have they failed to guarantee due process, they have only managed to convict four people, while the federal courts have convicted more than 400 terrorism suspects since 9/11.
As the election season gets underway, we're sharing the facts about military commissions with congressional candidates. Next week we will be in Illinois with retired military leaders who continue to speak out against torture and Guantánamo. They will make the case to candidates from both parties that closing Guantánamo and relying on our time-tested federal courts for terrorism trials will make our nation stronger and more secure.
You can join us in Illinois next week by signing our petition which we'll deliver personally to the candidates.
Watch the retired military leaders making the case for federal courts in our video-and join them in Illinois by signing the petition!
Sincerely,
Elisa Massimino
President and CEO
Human Rights First
HRHRHRHRHR
THE PETITION:
Please go to this link from Human Rights First to call for the byelection candidates in Illinois to come out for closing the Guantanamo prison camp. You don't have to be an Illinois resident to sign this petition. No matter how absurd this may seem to those of us outside of the USA we should still add our voices to this even if some Americans believe that they can invade a foreign country without a declaration of war, attack a home, kill almost everyone in the home and yet still charge someone who may or may not have thrown a grenade with "war crimes". Others would call it "failed self defence" against an illegal invader. Obviously if Khadr was dead he would not have been charged. As to his "international terrorist importance" that is an absurd joke. Note that his sick family continues to stay in Canada for the money despite their silly religious beliefs. Economics trumps ideology every time.
HRHRHRHRHR
Dear Candidates,
I am writing to ask that you support closing Guantánamo and using our civilian courts to try terrorism suspects.
Congress should preserve the Administration’s ability to bring terrorist suspects to justice in the United States, resettle them abroad, or repatriate them as appropriate. Should you win the seat you are running for, I ask that you support efforts to close the prison at Guantánamo Bay and end military commissions.
Our federal courts have convicted 400 terrorists since 9/11. Military commissions have only convicted four, two of whom have already been released.
Please stand strong against the fear-mongering, listen to national security experts who support the decision to close Guantánamo, and use our tried and true system of federal courts to see justice served.
Guantánamo has been a stain on America’s reputation. It has undermined our values, undercut our counterterrorism efforts and squandered an opportunity to demonstrate the strength of the American justice system. If you win your office, please help us fix this and bring the perpetrators of the 9/11 attacks to justice.
Thank you.
Dear Candidates,
I am writing to ask that you support closing Guantánamo and using our civilian courts to try terrorism suspects.
Congress should preserve the Administration’s ability to bring terrorist suspects to justice in the United States, resettle them abroad, or repatriate them as appropriate. Should you win the seat you are running for, I ask that you support efforts to close the prison at Guantánamo Bay and end military commissions.
Our federal courts have convicted 400 terrorists since 9/11. Military commissions have only convicted four, two of whom have already been released.
Please stand strong against the fear-mongering, listen to national security experts who support the decision to close Guantánamo, and use our tried and true system of federal courts to see justice served.
Guantánamo has been a stain on America’s reputation. It has undermined our values, undercut our counterterrorism efforts and squandered an opportunity to demonstrate the strength of the American justice system. If you win your office, please help us fix this and bring the perpetrators of the 9/11 attacks to justice.
Thank you.
Labels: American politics, current events, Guantanamo, human rights, Human Rights First, international human rights, Omar Khadr
HUMOUR:
OBAMA TRIES TO REVIVE GULF TOURIST TRADE:
Labels: American politics, Barack Obama, BP, cartoons, ecology, environment, Gulf oil spill, humour, jokes
Friday, August 13, 2010
HUMOUR:
WAITING FOR THE RECOVERY WAVE:
Labels: American politics, Barack Obama, cartoons, economic crisis, humour, jokes, recession
Friday, July 23, 2010
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
HUMOUR:
THE PASSING OF BLAME:
Labels: Afghanistan, American politics, Barack Obama, cartoons, humour, jokes, McChrystal
Friday, June 25, 2010
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
AMERICAN POLITICS- ARIZONA:
PROTEST DRACONIAN ARIZONA ANTI-IMMIGRANT BILL
The following appeal to protest the recent anti-immigrant bill passed in the state of Arizona comes from the United Farm Workers Union. This bill will make the state the first in the union to declare that being an illegal immigrant is actually a crime and not just an administrative offense. It also mandates that police can stop and demand documentation from anyone they have a suspicion of being an illegal immigrant. This translates, of course, into "being brown". Sounds something like creeping totalitarianism to me. In addition the bill contains provisions that actually reach the level of bizarre. It will allow lawsuits against the police should any parties feel that they aren't enforcing the law vigorously. No direct injury need be adduced. I challenge anyone to come up with another example of such a provision anywhere in the world. Then there is another section that makes it a crime to knowingly drive an illegal immigrant. There's one exception. Those "driving illegal immigrants to church" are exempt from prosecution. I kid you not. Only in America ! Here's the appeal.
APAPAPAPAPAPAP
Chilling new AZ law could be signed Friday. Take Action Now
Can you help us? An appalling bill with chilling repercussions, especially for Arizona Latinos, can reach AZ Governor Jan Brewer's (R ) desk by Friday.
According to a Los Angeles Times front page story, "The bill, known as SB 1070, makes it a misdemeanor to lack proper immigration paperwork in Arizona. It also requires police officers, if they form a 'reasonable suspicion' that someone is an illegal immigrant, to determine the person's immigration status...Immigrant rights groups say it amounts to a police state." Alessandra Soler Meetze, president of the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona, said, "A lot of U.S. citizens are going to be swept up in the application of this law for something as simple as having an accent and leaving their wallet at home."
This means that anyone, even you, who walks in Arizona can be charged with a misdemeanor if you're not carrying identification to prove you are a legal resident.
The bill has just passed the Arizona House and could be on the governor's desk by Friday. Please send contact Gov. Brewer today and tell her not to sign the bill into law.
http://action.ufw.org/az410
Chilling new AZ law could be signed Friday. Take Action Now
Can you help us? An appalling bill with chilling repercussions, especially for Arizona Latinos, can reach AZ Governor Jan Brewer's (R ) desk by Friday.
According to a Los Angeles Times front page story, "The bill, known as SB 1070, makes it a misdemeanor to lack proper immigration paperwork in Arizona. It also requires police officers, if they form a 'reasonable suspicion' that someone is an illegal immigrant, to determine the person's immigration status...Immigrant rights groups say it amounts to a police state." Alessandra Soler Meetze, president of the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona, said, "A lot of U.S. citizens are going to be swept up in the application of this law for something as simple as having an accent and leaving their wallet at home."
This means that anyone, even you, who walks in Arizona can be charged with a misdemeanor if you're not carrying identification to prove you are a legal resident.
The bill has just passed the Arizona House and could be on the governor's desk by Friday. Please send contact Gov. Brewer today and tell her not to sign the bill into law.
http://action.ufw.org/az410
Please go to the link above to read more and to ask the Arizona Governor not to sign this bill- Molly.
Labels: American politics, Arizona, immigrants, racism, repression, United Farm Workers, USA
Friday, April 02, 2010
AMERICAN POLITICS:
HEALTH CARE BILL- LESS THAN YOU THINK:
The all-too-debated health care bill in the USA has finally been passed. While the sound and fury still hasn't abated it may be time to begin to take stock about what the bill actually contains. Both sides of the ruckus down USA way have magnified the legislation way beyond its actual importance. To the left it was something akin to the Second Coming, to the right it was instead more like the Antichrist. Out here in the civilized world the general feeling was that it was insufficient and of Byzantine complexity.
The following opinion piece comes from the Trial By Fire blog. It came to Molly's attention via the LibCom website.
APAPAPAPAPAPAP
Whats in the Health Care Bill
Below is the first of a two-part series on the Democrats bill, HR 3590 – the health care reforms.
Health care reform in the United States has finally arrived.
After years of debate, President Barack Obama signed HR 3590 into law on March 23rd, 2010, heralding a new chapter in health care for millions of Americans.
The Democrats are ecstatic over the win. But is this really a victory for the American working class?
Lets take a look.
Health Care Reform’s History:
Health care reform, or “Obamacare” as it’s sometimes called, has its roots in Hilary Clinton’s own health care battle of the 1990’s. But it may surprise you exactly where in that debate its major ideas come from.
No, it wasn’t Hilary’s legislative proposals which inspired Obama’s reformation – it was in fact Republican proposals which formed Obama’s health care overhaul. Specifically, it was a health care strategy first articulated by the conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation. You can still read the original plans here and here.
Notably, amongst its original supporters were Richard Nixon, George Bush senior and even Mitt Romney.
Amongst their proposals were the creation of an “individual mandate,” and the founding of “insurance exchanges” – both of which are now pillars of the Democrats’ reforms; but originally, the republicans supported them as good “free market” alternatives to government entitlement programs like Medicare.
This is precisely why Obamacare passed where numerous other health reform efforts failed. It was a good, free market option that CEO’s could get behind. “Government is,” after all “the shadow cast by big business over society,” as John Dewey once remarked.
That being said, lets take a closer look at the contours of this new silhouette on the next page.
Whats in the Health Care Bill
Below is the first of a two-part series on the Democrats bill, HR 3590 – the health care reforms.
Health care reform in the United States has finally arrived.
After years of debate, President Barack Obama signed HR 3590 into law on March 23rd, 2010, heralding a new chapter in health care for millions of Americans.
The Democrats are ecstatic over the win. But is this really a victory for the American working class?
Lets take a look.
Health Care Reform’s History:
Health care reform, or “Obamacare” as it’s sometimes called, has its roots in Hilary Clinton’s own health care battle of the 1990’s. But it may surprise you exactly where in that debate its major ideas come from.
No, it wasn’t Hilary’s legislative proposals which inspired Obama’s reformation – it was in fact Republican proposals which formed Obama’s health care overhaul. Specifically, it was a health care strategy first articulated by the conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation. You can still read the original plans here and here.
Notably, amongst its original supporters were Richard Nixon, George Bush senior and even Mitt Romney.
Amongst their proposals were the creation of an “individual mandate,” and the founding of “insurance exchanges” – both of which are now pillars of the Democrats’ reforms; but originally, the republicans supported them as good “free market” alternatives to government entitlement programs like Medicare.
This is precisely why Obamacare passed where numerous other health reform efforts failed. It was a good, free market option that CEO’s could get behind. “Government is,” after all “the shadow cast by big business over society,” as John Dewey once remarked.
That being said, lets take a closer look at the contours of this new silhouette on the next page.
&&& PART TWO &&&
Whats in the Bill?
The bills effects on the health care industry are mixed. Certainly, there are some positives.
On the one hand, it restricts some of the worst practices of the insurance industry – such as refusing to cover children with preexisting conditions.
On the other hand, it leaves health care under the control of the same corporations that got us into this mess.
Below we will begin to address the biggest changes the new reform brings to our system of health care.
1. The individual mandate: Amongst the reforms, the democrats have introduced an “individual mandate,” meaning individuals who do not purchase health insurance will be fined by the federal government. The fines will be introduced in 2014, and will grow until 2016, when they will total $695 a year, or 2.5% of personal income (whichever is greater).
Because of this, Democrats have touted the myth that this bill will “provide health care to 31 million people who are currently uninsured.”
In reality, these reforms don’t actually “provide” us with anything. It only punishes those who cannot provide it for themselves. But even then, the incentive to buy insurance won’t be great enough to cover millions of Americans: according to a report put out by the Congressional Budget Office, the total number of uninsured Americans in 2019 without reform is still expected to hit 24 million.
The individual mandate is expected to be a magnificent profit maker for the insurance industry. And of course it will be – it will force tens of millions of Americans into consuming the insurance industry’s goods.
But the bonanza of new profits doesn’t end there. Big Pharmaceutical companies are laughing their way to the bank as well, specifically Biotech companies.
Tacked onto the health care reform bill was a guarantee of market exclusivity for Biotech drugs for the next decade. In effect, less expensive, generic versions of biotech drugs are forbidden from being sold in the U.S. for the next 12 years, giving them a complete monopoly in their markets.
2. Cost control: Undoubtedly, one of health care reforms biggest selling points was that it would bring down the cost of health care.
So will this bill bring down costs? Yes and no. Certainly in some cases, costs will come down.
But overall, the costs of health care will remain astronomical.
Whereas in 2009 health care costs accounted for about 17% of our GDP, costs with the bill are expected to rise a tenth of a point higher than they would have without the reforms (20.8% of GDP in 2019 without reform, 20.9% with, according to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services).
Jane Hamsher of the Firedoglake points out that premiums will not come down significantly for most Americans either, and certainly will not decrease as much as Obama had promised ($2,500 a year). In fact, families shopping for insurance on their own are projected to spend nearly $2,000 more on insurance in 2016 than they would have without the reform, achieving exactly the opposite of what the bill claims it would.
Further projections for working class Americans are equally dismal. Jane Hamsher writes:
“A family of four making $66,370 will be forced to pay $5,243 per year for insurance. After basic necessities, this leaves them with $8,307 in discretionary income — out of which they would have to cover clothing, credit card and other debt, child care and education costs, in addition to $5,882 in annual out-of-pocket medical expenses for which families will be responsible.”
In short, the lower costs we were promised in the run up to these reforms are seriously lacking.
3. Insurance exchanges: State governments will create what are called “exchanges” to facilitate the purchase of health insurance, with the aid of federal start-up funds. Individual states may choose not to open an exchange, in which case the federal government may open one for them.
The exchanges would offer a range of private insurance options for qualified consumers to pick through, rated on a scale from cheapest to most expensive – or from a “platinum plan” to a “bronze plan.”
In theory, insurance policies on the exchange will be cheaper and of better quality than their counterparts in the private market, because the exchanges can offer larger customer pools, giving consumers more bargaining power.
But in practice, the results haven’t been quite so good.
In April of 2006, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney signed into law chapter 58, the forerunner of HR 3590. The bill would be the first in the U.S. to test out the ideas of both an individual mandate and a health care exchange.
Although the reform was supposed to lower costs to bearable levels for the working families of Massachusetts, a study conducted by the state found that 21% of their residents still went without medical treatment because they couldn’t afford it. This includes a stunning 12% of children.
And additional 18% are covered by insurance, but can’t afford to use it.
And of course they can’t. Since the reforms, the cost of insurance has substantially increased in Massachusetts, both in the private sector and in public spending.
In the private sector, the states’ Attorney General found in her research that this was largely because of disparities in bargaining power between consumers and the insurance companies – or, simply put, because insurance companies had too much power over consumers.
Publicly, costs have grown at an average of $88 million a year. This has been due, at least in part, to the reforms failure to address emergency room visits – a central concern of all health care reform efforts.
Although reformers predicted an astounding decrease of 75% in emergency room visits, in the first two years of the reform alone, it’s turned out that visits have increased by over 17%.
Labels: American politics, anarchist opinion, Barack Obama, Health Care Bill, LibCom, Trial By Fire
