Debbie Wasserman Schultz Invokes Tucson Hero’s Plea To Defend Health Care Reform

Congress, Government/Politics, Health, News, Uncategorized

Debbie Wasserman Schultz Invokes Tucson Hero’s Plea To Defend Health Care Reform

No Comments 19 January 2011

The Huffington Post Nick Wing
First Posted: 01/19/11 12:29 PM Updated: 01/19/11 02:06 PM

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), a close friend of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and one of the most outspoken legislators regarding the tragedy in Arizona, said Wednesday that one of the heroes of the shooting in Tucson was opposed to the House GOP’s effort to repeal health care reform, and that others should stand with her in resistance to the measure.

“Normally I would step to a microphone like this and tell a story about the impact that decision might have on a constituent in my district,” Wasserman Schultz said at a press briefing, according to Talking Points Memo. “Instead what I’m going to do is share with you what Pat Maisch — who was the hero who dropped the second magazine out of the gunman’s hand during the tragedy in Tucson — what she planned to say to Gabby Giffords when she was waiting on line to talk to her.”  Source Article

‘U.S.’ Chamber Of Commerce Lobbied To Help GOP Kill Bill To Provide Health Care To 9/11 First Responders

Congress, Government/Politics, Health, News, Uncategorized

‘U.S.’ Chamber Of Commerce Lobbied To Help GOP Kill Bill To Provide Health Care To 9/11 First Responders

No Comments 20 December 2010

Think Progress

By Lee Fang on Dec 17th, 2010 at 6:00 pm

Last night, the Daily Show’s Jon Stewart skewered Republicans for killing deficit neutral legislation to provide health care to the 9/11 first responders and emergency workers who suffered illnesses from working at Ground Zero. He also mocked the celebrity-obsessed media that has completely ignored the story. Republicans, like Sen. John Thune (R-SD), filibustered the bill because they said tax cuts for the richest 2 percent were a higher priority for Congress. While Republicans quietly snuffed out efforts to compensate 9/11 heroes, they were aided by a quiet lobbying campaign by the powerful lobbying front — the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

The Chamber fought to help kill the 9/11 compensation bill because it was funded by ending a special tax loophole exploited by foreign corporations doing business in the United States.

The “U.S.” part of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is a misnomer. As ThinkProgress reported, the Chamber represents dozens of foreign businesses in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Russia, Bahrain, India, Brazil, and other countries. An investigation of the Chamber turned up recent fundraising documents from the Chamber soliciting foreign contributions to the Chamber’s 501(c)(6), the tax entity the Chamber used to run nasty campaign ads against Democrats earlier this year.

In September, the Chamber sent a letter officially opposing the 9/11 first responders bill, called the “James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010.” The Chamber warned that ending the tax loophole would “damage U.S. relationships with major trading partners” and “aggravate already unsettled financial markets.” A lobbying disclosure filed with the Senate confirms the Chamber contacted lawmakers to help kill the bill.  Source Article

Day of Action-feature pic

Big Business, Coal, Environment, Health, Humor, Opinion

A Cavalcade of Crazy Joins the Day of Action

No Comments 29 September 2010

This columnist  took a break from his recent tasks to attend the Appalachia Rising Day of Action in Washington D.C. on Monday, September 27. At least one thousand people took part in an inspiring and passionate rally calling for an end to the devastating practice of mountaintop removal by the coal companies in Appalachia.

I was already cruising over the Chesapeake Bay in my personal airship, the Silver Pelican, and with sidekick Ross Perot still on board as my guest, we set a course for our nation’s capital, and turned what would have normally been a two-and-one-half hour car trip into a bracing fifty-minute flight. My Head On Radio Network credentials cleared us for a one-day dirigible mooring pass, and I found a great spot on the old zeppelin mast atop the Executive Office Building adjacent to the White House. Encouraging me to “Get straight to the bull’s-eye on this deal down there,” Ross elected to remain with the ship and observe the activities from above, so I grabbed my camera and a rain jacket and descended, amidst  beaucoup d’esprit de bienvenue, to the genial but serious gathering below. You know, I never get tired of that.

Readers of this column are aware of our penchant for mirth and satire. But there is nothing amusing, let alone necessary, about blowing the tops off our mountains to extract more dirty fossil fuel–a process that we should be ramping down if not eliminating outright. Also in town were Bob Kincaid of the HORN – http://headonradionetwork.com/ and Matt Osborne – http://www.osborneink.com/ and we discussed this very topic later in the day. (You’ll notice in one of the pictures that Bob has no problem jumping right in the middle of the action. Unfortunately, this makes it easy for Dick Cheney’s spy satellites to locate and train their deadly high fructose rays on him.) It wasn’t so much that the rally lacked humor–it was certainly a jovial, exuberant and sociable affair. The funny part was how totally different this was compared to a typical tea bagger party.

These men and women are passionate and intense with their message, but unlike the Right, they’re not trying to scorch debate and criticism with shrill and incoherent posturing. Appalachia Rising and similar groups are made up of caring and discerning citizens who have a specific and legitimate concern and they are directing their protest at exactly the source of their anguish: Big Coal and the government which supports it. On Monday, I heard and watched these voices of the mountains, along with many others sympathetic to their cause, being eloquent, expressive and articulate. They understand history and context; they demonstrate an awareness of the connections between life, work and health and the real institutions which threaten them. To put it another way, those arrayed against Big Energy and mountaintop removal and in favor of conservation and alternative energy broadcast signal. The other side only transmits noise.

They are what the tea baggers wish they were and can never be.

An overwhelming majority of Appalachians stand in opposition to mountaintop removal. When your kids’ teeth are rotting, your water is poisoned, your home and land is being dynamited, and your neighbors are getting sick and dying, you don’t need handlers to tell you what the day’s talking point is. The folks who reside within the sound of mountains exploding every day don’t need to be reminded that we all live downstream, and that the damage is irreversible. I like to end my occasional call-in conversations to Bob Kincaid with a line from the book Altered Carbon, by Richard K. Morgan. It’s simply stated: make it personal. I don’t know how it could get any more personal for the people living in these corridors of destruction. The fact that they keep their tempers in check and their disobedience civil is even more to their credit.

The Right Wing has classically attempted to misrepresent the two basic camps of Americans by perpetuating an erroneous national distinction between them. It goes like this: those on the negative side who promote war, destruction and profit above all else–who essentially worship death– are strong and patriotic. Those on the positive side who seek peace and protecting the earth and it’s people from harm–who worship life– are portrayed as weak and un-American. I’ve never been quite able to have my synapses to fire completely around this. If I can ever get Ross out of the Silver Pelican’s rec room and away from playing Galaxy Girl for two minutes maybe he can explain the appeal of this anti-progressive myth.

It’s a characterization that has no substance. Because what results from building genuine and positive strength from the bottom up is a power that can face down the most entrenched opposition. Once you become a true victim of the system–once you realize that the Establishment will sacrifice you and your family for economic and political gain–then you become a force to be reckoned with. The cries and protests rising out of West Virginia, Tennessee, and Kentucky are resolute and unwavering. They are of the same grassroots stock as those who helped bring an end to the Vietnam War, who marched for civil rights, and who should hit the streets against our senseless crusade in the Middle East. But there are too many causes and not enough time, and right now, the war zone for these people is in the heartland of Appalachia.

You almost have to pity those who sat at the gates of the White House on Monday (and about one hundred peacefully arrested), and basically begged their president to acknowledge these reasonable and justifiable concerns from the people who helped put him there. Mr. Obama and all the legislators who were the fortunate recipients of the wave of populist spirit in 2008 should make no mistake about it:  these were your voters for hope and change. You asked them to believe and to show up on election day and they did. Now they are asking you in return to listen and act on their behalf. The only special interest here is our quality of life.

There is no doubt that there is a sense of powerlessness over America. Inequality has never been greater and participation in government and affecting the forces that shape our lives by the middle and working classes has never been more difficult. Those with wealth and influence can pick up the phone and be patched through to Senator Snorebuckle’s office as I write, and some call that democracy. Well, it ain’t. Anyone who claims to believe in the real thing should have been in Washington for the Appalachia Rising Day of Action. That is what democracy looks like.

Reverbo                                                                                                                                                                           Critic-At-Large

Climatologist James Hansen

Our man in the middle

Organizer Bo Webb

Manchin vs. Hechler, A Head-to-Head Comparison

Big Business, Coal, Environment, Global Warming/Climate Change, Health, Labor, Opinion

Manchin vs. Hechler, A Head-to-Head Comparison

2 Comments 10 August 2010

With the August 28 “Special” Democratic Primary fast approaching, it is appropriate, as a service to voters, to conduct a head-to-head comparison between the two main opponents, Joe Manchin and Ken Hechler.  The following represents that attempt:

Manchin
Hechler
1.Used Car Salesman Good Looks
Advantage: Manchin

2.Actual experience in Washington

Advantage: Hechler

3.GREAT Hair

Advantage: Manchin

4.Trans-generational Wisdom

Advantage: Hechler

5.Fawning obsequiousness to Big Coal

Advantage: Manchin

6.Unimpeachable commitment to Human Rights

Advantage: Hechler

7.Yachting Experience

Advantage: Manchin

8.Educational Experience

Advantage: Hechler

9.Motorcycling Experience

Advantage: Manchin

10.Tremendous accomplishments in Congress on behalf of working West Virginia families

Advantage: Hechler

11.Ability to saddle WV with Earl Ray Tomblin as Governor

Advantage: Manchin

12.Saving the lives of mining families

Advantage: Hechler

13.Likely to vote in U.S. Senate more like a Republican than a Democrat

Advantage: Manchin

14.Unimpeachable commitment to Justice

Advantage: Hechler

15.Shares views similar to those of Kentucky GOP Senate nominee and Social Security despiser Rand Paul

Advantage: Manchin

16.Courage of convictions

Advantage: Hechler

17.Will make sure planet continues to get hotter,and Hotter and HOTTER and West Virginia gets flatter, and Flatter and FLATTER

Advantage: Manchin

18.Shares views in-line with a majority of West Virginia voters

Advantage: Hechler
19.Will make sure WV waters become more poisonous and West Virginians keep getting sicker.
Advantage: Manchin
20.Eminently qualified to sit in the U.S. Senate (a body named from the Latin root word meaning “old men”)
Advantage: Hechler

21.Privatized WV Workers Comp; likely to think the same way about Social Security

Advantage: Manchin

22.Less likely to be indicted during term in Senate

Advantage: Hechler

Executive Summary

As you can see, the head-to-head comparison is almost dead-even.  Only with a closer examination of the metrics may we see what the data genuinely discloses.  While Joe Manchin clearly has it all over Mr. Hechler in the things that really matter in American politics, things like hair, yachting and those used car salesman good looks, we really cannot ignore the fact that Mr. Hechler has what the old-timers liked to call “substance.”

Consider the candidates’ commitments to social justice.  While it’s true that Joe Manchin has had opportunities to actually do social justice, he really hasn’t shown much interest.  Why else, when tens of thousands of people around the world begged for a new Marsh Fork Elementary School, did he and his former staffer (and recently appointed senatorial seat-warmer), Carte Goodwin, actively oppose it?  Why did Joe have to wait until “outsiders” came in to finally get on the right side of justice and history?  On the other hand, as he noted at the time, when many members of Congress jetted away to Cape Kennedy for some NASA event, then-Congressman Hechler chose instead to risk arrest, beatings and even death to march with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at Selma.  To me, it’s clear that Mr. Hechler’s contribution to the betterment of our nation as a whole far outpaces Mr. Manchin’s tepid attempts at what he likes to call “balance.”

It is impossible to disagree that Mr. Manchin surely owns the field when it comes to courting the money.  How many politicians do you know who can hoodwink Labor into thinking he’s for working folks at the same time he’s blithely taking fistfuls of corporate cash from folks who loathe people who earn by the sweat of their brow?  Ken Hechler couldn’t do that in a million years, and never even tried.  He stood with working people, literally making possible entire next generations of mining families with his advocacy for mine safety and health legislation.  His part in the struggle for Black Lung benefits, alone, foreclosed any of the kind of love Joe Manchin gets from Corporate America.

If you work for A.T. Massey or any of the other non-union coal giants, I won’t be surprised when you vote for Joe Manchin, although Don Blankenship would far prefer you vote in the GOP Primary, what with its slate of “free-market” (read: anarchist) luminaries.  Frankly, to Mr. Manchin’s dubious credit, you really can’t tell the difference between him and a Republican, so I understand the confusion.  By comparison, Mr. Hechler is likely thought, for this day and age, quixotic for his dedication to the Democratic Party principles that made this country great.  Then again, what would you expect from a man who was on a first-name basis with an American Hero like Harry S. Truman?

One of the great successes of the modern Republican Party lies in its ability to have convinced a great number of Americans that Social Security is either dead or dying, even though the facts don’t support the conclusion.  If you’re one of those folks who believe that piece of shiny, sparkly misinformation, it will not shock me in the least when you vote for Joe Manchin on August 28.  After all, given the fact that Joe Manchin dismantled West Virginia’s government-run Workers Comp system and replaced it with a lumbering, profit-driven Frankenstein’s Monster, privatized version, you won’t be surprised when Joe Manchin starts mumbling about the need to find “balance” in privatizing Social Security.  What you’ll get from Mr. Hechler, however, are the facts: to paraphrase Mark Twain, the rumors of Social Security’s demise have been greatly exaggerated.  It is, at present, with absolutely nothing done to augment it, wholly, fully, completely funded through 2037.  Mr. Hechler will act and vote accordingly.

Polling data has indicated that a majority of West Virginians oppose the practice of Mountaintop Removal coal extraction.  The people who make money doing it, however, are not a part of that majority, and they can be expected to vote en masse for Mr. Manchin, since he’s been consistent in his ongoing struggle to seek “balance” between his need to curry favor with the coal industry and the will of the people of West Virginia to end Mountaintop Removal.  Even though Mountaintop Removal coal accounts for less than five percent of the less than 45% of America’s electricity provided by coal generally, Mr. Manchin has continued, day after day in his dogged, determined, lonely quest to find that ”balance” between what’s good for him and what’s good for the people of the State of West Virginia.  He is a tireless seeker, Mr. Manchin.

Mr. Hechler, on the other hand, is just tireless, and refuses to hold Mr. Manchin’s youth against him.  Mr. Hechler has shown that tirelessness (not to mention courage) in his willingness to be beaten by thugs on a march to commemorate the Battle of Blair Mountain (which, interestingly, Joe Manchin helped de-list from the National Register of Historic Places and, he hopes, from West Virginians’ collective consciousness, as well), not to mention being arrested in his effort to stand up for little children being poisoned by a coal prep plant next to an elementary school.  Come to think of it, where was Joe Manchin that day in June 2009 when Ken Hechler was standing up for little children?  Probably out hunting that elusive “balance.”  I hear it likes to nest with snipes.

Not to be outdone in Civil Disobedience, however, Mr. Manchin is on yet another quest.  If elected to fill Robert C. Byrd’s unexpired term, we may well see him cross that Finish Line in the next two years.  Mr. Manchin will not allow Mr. Hechler to outshine him in the Getting Arrested Department.  We may yet see the fruits of Mr. Manchin’s labors if he is, in fact, shown doing the now-all-too-familiar “perp walk” into the Robert C. Byrd Federal Courthouse in Charleston (Irony!) following the Federal Grand Jury Investigation of his administration that is presently under way.  Bravo, Joe!  We all admire initiative in such a balanced man!

So it is that we see a comparison much closer than I’m sure Mr. Hechler would prefer.  Granted, compared to the half-century of public service Mr. Hechler has rendered to the people of both his nation and his state, Mr. Manchin’s resume must look a little, well, thin, and wanting in gravitas, but I’ve never known Mr. Hechler to take an election cycle for granted.  More than anything, Mr. Hechler’s long experience in public service gives him a sense of perspective that no amount of that elusive balance can surmount.  He understands that this isn’t simply a statewide election; that, in fact, this election holds in the scales the fate of a nation.  West Virginia literally powered the Industrial Revolution.  Now, West Virginians will decide how we power the 21st century.  Will we power it with compassion, courage and vision, the hallmarks of Mr. Hechler’s entire life, or will we power it with the heady-but-toxic fuel of lobbyist-delivered Corporate Money that flows like what Dr. King called “a mighty river” into Joe Manchin’s campaign, potentially influencing his senatorial votes on the issues of our day, not the least among them the pressing question of whether we will continue to cook ourselves right off this planet?  What kind of “balance” is there between the frying pan and the fire?

For the answer, and if you prefer not to cook your own goose (and that of every other American) in either frying pan OR fire, go to the polls Saturday, August 28 and cast your ballot for Ken Hechler.

Bob Kincaid is a broadcaster and activist living in West Virginia.  He was recently recognized as one of the Top 50 internet broadcasters in the country by the industry publication “Talkers” magazine.  He can be heard nightly around the world from 6 to 9 p.m., Eastern Time at www.headonradionetwork.com

emergency_room health

Health, health care reform

Remember the Health Care Debate?

No Comments 14 June 2010

No, not the health INSURANCE debate.  The debate about actually letting real people see a doctor when necessary.

A new wrinkle:

Seems some people are getting desperate. And the particular person mentioned below doesn’t seem to be in a position to be helped by anything that the President and Congress have passed this year.

Unemployed Michigan woman shoots herself to get health care

Associated Press — Detroit News

Niles, Mich. — An out-of-work Michigan woman shot herself in the hope she’d  receive medical treatment for a shoulder injury.

Kathy Myers says she injured the shoulder a month ago while playing with her dogs.

The 41-year-old Niles resident says she’s been unable to see a specialist because she can’t afford health insurance.

So Myers shot herself on Thursday.

She was released from the hospital a few hours later.

….

The prosecutor’s office is going to decide whether Myers will face charges for firing a weapon within city limits.

More at the link above.

Attack of the Town Hall Zombies

health care reform, Video

Attack of the Town Hall Zombies

No Comments 09 June 2010

A horror-story starring Parker Griffith. I made this to be an artifact for future political scientists to study the town halls of 2009. Enjoy!

The Photos BP Doesn’t Want You To See

Environment, Feature, Health, News

The Photos BP Doesn’t Want You To See

No Comments 04 June 2010

These are truly stomach churning.  To see the rest of them, click HERE

Massey hit with more violations at Upper Big Branch

Environment, Health, News

Massey hit with more violations at Upper Big Branch

No Comments 26 May 2010

Coal Tattoo

May 26, 2010 by Ken Ward Jr.

Federal inspectors have yet to get underground at Massey Energy’s Upper Big Branch Mine, but they’ve already hit the operation with another nearly two dozen citations — all in the last two weeks.

U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration inspectors cited Massey’s Performance Coal Co. subsidiary for 23 different violations in a “spot inspection” that began May 14 and remains ongoing, according to the latest entries in MSHA’s online computer database.

Source Article

Rand Paul Wants To Abolish The Americans With Disabilities Act, Citing Fairness ‘To The Business Owner’

Congress, Government/Politics, Health, News

Rand Paul Wants To Abolish The Americans With Disabilities Act, Citing Fairness ‘To The Business Owner’

No Comments 18 May 2010

Think Progress

By Guest Blogger on May 17th, 2010 at 6:45 pm

Our guest blogger is Joe Sonka, who is reporting on the ground from Kentucky. Sonka also maintains his own blog at Barefoot and Progressive.

U.S. Senate candidate Rand Paul (R-KY), a darling of the tea party movement, has gained notoriety for his extreme views and close relationships with fringe leaders like Alex Jones. Part of Paul’s appeal has been his supposed support of individuals over large interests, like the government. But Paul appeared to reveal his true priorities during an interview with the candidate in Lexington over the weekend.

Paul was asked whether he supports the Americans with Disabilities Act, the landmark 1990 legislation that established a prohibition of discrimination on the basis of disability. Paul said he advocates local governments to decide whether disabled individuals deserve rights. Requiring businesses to provide access to disabled people, Paul argued, isn’t “fair to the business owner.” Later in the interview, when asked if he believes Americans have a right to use the 2nd Amendment to violently overthrow the government, a Paul staffer physically intercepted the recording and shuffled Paul away:

Source Article

Chicken Soup cover

Head-on With Bob Kincaid, Health

Head On Interview : Susan Gordon

No Comments 04 May 2010

When Chicken Soup Isn’t Enough: Stories of Nurses Standing Up for Themselves, Their Patients and Their Profession”.

from susangordon.com

I am pleased to announce the publication of my new edited collection When Chicken Soup Isn’t Enough: Stories of Nurses Standing Up for Themselves, Their Patients and Their Profession. This book is a collection of 73 stories of nurses from all over the world – nurses who know what real advocacy means and who are both an example to and reflection of nurses everywhere. You can get a better sense of what the book is about, not only by looking at the cover, but by reading a bit from the Introduction and checking out the table of contents. Also on this website you’ll find some interviews I did with several authors of the essays in this book. I hope you’ll find the book of interest and pass on the word not only to other nurses but also to anyone concerned with high quality patient care and the future of health care.

Related Posts with Thumbnails

Listen Live

Listen Live! Test drive our new JAVA player. Win/Mac/Lin

Login/Register

(Does not apply to our chatroom. It has it's own simple registration.)

Who’s Chatting

  • Bob_Kincaid

© 2012 The Head On Radio Network | America's Liberal Voice!. Powered by Wordpress.

Daily Edition Theme by WooThemes - Premium Wordpress Themes

Bad Behavior has blocked 1278 access attempts in the last 7 days.