To trigger or not to trigger.
First, the idea for the trigger assumes that the status quo is acceptable and that the trigger will only be used if things get worse. The status quo is NOT acceptable. It’s like saying that you will call the fire department if things get worse when your house is burning down.
Quoting Senator Chuck Schumer, "Any reasonable criteria for triggering a public plan has already been met."
Let’s be clear. This strategy to make the public option more palatable to blue-dog democrats is nothing more than a sham. To quote Jason Rosenbaum from HCAN:
“The trigger amendment isn’t a fig leaf. It isn’t even a co-op. It’s a plan to kill the public health insurance option outright, and give taxpayer money straight to private insurance companies.”
We must continue to remind our Senators and Representatives that health care insurance reform must be meaningful. And triggers are not acceptable. We have come this far in our fight to get the public option into the final bill.
Let’s not give up now.
Folks, we need to hold our state and local representataives accountable for the money in this program. Here are websites for you to follow the money and check on your state's progress.
Note how many states have yet to send a request for certification for the ARRA funds.
Federal recovery websitehttp://www.recovery.gov
State certification for ARRA fundshttp://www.recovery.gov/?q=content/state-certifications
Federal transparency websitehttp://www.usaspending.gov/
ShovelWatch website put out by ProPublica.http://www.shovelwatch.org/
Propublica listing Tracking States' Spending Trackershttp://www.propublica.org/special/chart-tracking-states-spending-trackers
We need to hold our elected officials responsible for requesting and spending this money wisely.
This expressed my feelings so well I chose to put it on my blog so I can share it with others. This came off the Westside Grassroots for Obama and written by Mike Bonin. It is something that I have thought this whole campaign but couldn't find the right words. Thanks, Mike
Dear Friends, Four years ago, I slept in. I rooted for Kerry and I voted for him, but I did not lift a finger to help. I did not dial a phone, knock on a door, or donate a dollar. Not this time. With the economy in the toilet, with our troops at risk in foreign wars, and with our constitution in shreds, there is too much at stake. In this election, I have chosen to be active with the activists. I have taken time off from my job to volunteer full-time. I am doing everything I can to help elect Barack Obama. Will you please join me? Can you please help? There are plenty of opportunities to get involved. No effort is too small:
I don’t want to get you too paranoid about the elections. I am not one to look for conspiracies under every rock. Nevertheless, I think you will be alarmed if you watch this Emmy nominated documentary, Hacking for Democracy, which exposes the dangers of electronic voting machines used in primary and general elections. Electronic voting machines are used in 90% of the local state and federal elections. This documentary proves that our votes could be stolen without a trace.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzPXer7946E
Also, attached is more info about a voting machine manufacturer who is accused of lying about the accuracy and security of their voting machines so they could take advantage of large government contracts for voting machines.
http://technorati.com/posts/B1kMgCJy5pW1ClFrE9uXLxMxmYEot0PIkl6uIhykh3Y=
In the old days, you voted on a hard copy ballot that could be recounted if anyone had questions to the accuracy of the count. You only had to worry about someone destroying the ballots.
Now, with electronic voting machines, we now have to worry about the manufacturer failing to build safeguards into the machines so some unscrupulous pol can’t change the totals. Those machines that do not provide any “hard copy” audit trail of the votes are subject to manipulation.
What to do? As part of this campaign, we need to be tuned into precinct watching in our home towns. We need to question our elected officials to make sure they understand the potential for problems. Don’t trust machines.
More information can be found at Hacking Democracy website:
http://www.hackingdemocracy.com/
Every vote counts.
We are not just electing a President.
We are attempting to change the way Washington runs. No more of lobbyists hijacking the wants and needs of the people for corporate gains.
This article outlines how lobbyists are influencing Democrats to block prescription drug initiatives to reduce prices.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/11/AR2008031102620.html?nav=rss_politics
Just because Democrats control Congress does not mean that we will get the legislation we need to fix healthcare and other pressing issues.
Barack's commitment to change the way government conducts its business is fundamental to accomplishing the real change we seek.
It means reducing the influence of lobbyists on Congress through ethics reform and transparancy of government.
It also means electing a new breed of representatives that are committed to the people's work and not the narrow corporate interests of the lobbyists.
Barack is uniquely qualified and committed to acheive both of these goals. He is recognized to be the strongest candidate on the ticket to help elect new representatives that will help move his agenda of reforms and transparancy through Congress.
We cannot afford to continue to do the same things over and over and expect different results.
We need Barack Obama.
