Politics

Newt Gingrich and I Find Common Ground! Dogs and Cats Living Together! Mass Hysteria!

Jeff O'Connor — Tue, 04 Apr 2006 23:49:00 GMT

Apparently I'm not the only one who thinks the Henry ford Health System's E-Prescribe system is a model for the nation to emulate.

Health cost savings backed
Gingrich calls for national reform
April 4, 2006

BY KATIE MERX
FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER

Former U.S. Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich applauded a southeast Michigan effort to save lives and save dollars through collaboration, but said it is just a beginning and called for nationwide reform of the health care system...

"You are as close as any region of the country at beginning to be the health system of the future," Gingrich told about 300 conference attendees. He cited regional advances in electronic prescribing and the collaboration among industry, labor, government and the health industry to improve quality and lower costs in the region's health system...

"I am very impressed with what you have begun to do," Gingrich said. But achieving widespread systemic change at the rate needed to save American businesses from collapsing from the enormous burden of health care costs is "going to be an enormous challenge."

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The current system of employer-funded healthcare puts this country and its businesses at a competitive disadvantage in the global market. While I'm not a big fan of Newt's I'm glad to see that there's at least one registered Republican out there who doesn't think the cure for America's healthcare ills is as simple as throwing more public money at a handful of well-connected public companies.

Bush Supports Healthcare for the Troops and Seniors Until He Doesn't

Jeff O'Connor — Sat, 18 Mar 2006 15:47:00 GMT

This has been a bad news week for people who have been promised medical care by the government, either by virtue of simply being Americans or because they put their life on the line for this country and nearly lost it.

Bush Rejects Push to Extend Drug Benefit Deadline
Steve Holland / Reuters

U.S. President George W. Bush on Wednesday rejected calls to extend a May 15 deadline for the elderly to sign up for a new prescription drugs plan despite complaints that it is too confusing.

At a meeting with residents of a senior citizen community in Silver Spring, just outside Washington, Bush said families of older Americans, particularly adult children, should help them sort out their Medicare options.

One woman, saying she was having trouble helping her 75-year-old mother make a choice, asked whether the deadline should be extended.

"No, and the reason why is there's got to be a fixed time for people to sign up," the president said. "We want people to realize there is — now is the time…. Rolling back deadlines is not going to help your mom make a good decision."

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Ah, yes - the Republican's fondness for adhering to “fixed time.” Like the time they extended debate in violation of parliamentary procedure on a failed bill that gave away public land to oil refineries until it passed. I guess that means some members of the GOP had voted against the bill before they voted for it?

Bush Administration Slashes Veterans Benefits

Over the last year and a half, President Bush has staged more than a third of his major public events before active military personnel or veterans. His rowdy “Hoo-ah”s and policy pronouncements—even when they have nothing to do with military matters—are predictably greeted with rabid applause.

But those easy and unquestioning crowds at military bases and American Legion halls will be increasingly hard to come by as soldiers and veterans start to notice the string of insults and budget cuts inflicted upon them.

With 130,000 soldiers still in the heat of battle in Iraq and more fighting and dying in Afghanistan, the Bush administration sought this year to cut $75 a month from the “imminent danger” pay added to soldiers’ paychecks when in battle zones. The administration sought to cut by $150 a month the family separation allowance offered to those same soldiers and others who serve overseas away from their families. These payments were deemed “wasteful and unnecessary” by the White House.
This year’s White House budget for Veterans Affairs cut $3 billion from VA hospitals—despite 9,000 casualties in Iraq and as aging Vietnam veterans demand more care. VA spending today averages $2,800 less per patient than nine years ago.
This year’s White House budget for Veterans Affairs cut $3 billion from VA hospitals—despite 9,000 casualties in Iraq and as aging Vietnam veterans demand more care. VA spending today averages $2,800 less per patient than nine years ago.
The administration beat back a bipartisan attempt in Congress to add $1.3 billion for VA hospitals to Bush’s request of $87 billion for war and reconstruction in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The White House is seeking to block a federal judge’s award of damages to a group of servicemen who sued the Iraqi government for torture during the 1991 Gulf War. The White House claims the money, to come from Iraqi assets confiscated by the United States, is needed for that country’s reconstruction.

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When it comes to the U.S. healthcare crisis I have seen the enemy, and he is sitting in the White House.

Well, This Explains A Lot About the Bush Administration's Approach to Just About Everything...

Jeff O'Connor — Sun, 05 Mar 2006 11:35:00 GMT

'nuff said.

(Click the comic or here for original image)

On Scientific Integrity

Jeff O'Connor — Wed, 21 Dec 2005 11:54:00 GMT

For those who just don't get it...

Political Interference in Science
Union of Concerned Scientists

The United States has an impressive history of investing in scientific research and respecting the independence of scientists. As a result, we have enjoyed sustained economic progress and public health, as well as unequaled leadership within the global scientific community. Recent actions by political appointees, however, threaten to undermine this legacy by preventing the best available science from informing policy decisions that have serious consequences for our health, safety, and environment.

Across a broad range of issues—from childhood lead poisoning and mercury emissions to climate change, reproductive health, and nuclear weapons—political appointees have distorted and censored scientific findings that contradict established policies. In some cases, they have manipulated the underlying science to align results with predetermined political decisions.

They have also undermined the independence of scientific advisory panels by subjecting panel nominees to political litmus tests that have no bearing on their expertise, and by nominating under- or unqualified individuals—some of whom have industry ties that could represent a conflict of interest. Other scientific advisory committees have been disbanded altogether.

These activities have naturally outraged members of the scientific community, and have also drawn criticism from numerous legislators who rely on the independence of government research. The American public, which trusts its government to make well-informed decisions in the interest of public health and safety, should be concerned as well.

UCS is working with scientists and ordinary citizens alike to spur appropriate legislative and regulatory action. Find out more information about how you can help us restore scientific integrity to federal policy making.

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Sadly, Stupidity isn't Likely to Be Extinct Any Time Soon...

Jeff O'Connor — Tue, 20 Dec 2005 17:53:00 GMT

Federal judge: Intelligent design unconstitutional
Far-reaching decision concludes that ID isn't science
By Amy Worden
Philadelphia Enquirer

A federal judge today declared the teaching of intelligent design in Dover Area School District unconstitutional, saying an "ill-informed faction on a school board" adopted a policy that violated the separation of church and state.

In a far-reaching decision, Judge John E. Jones 3d concluded that intelligent design is not science.

"In making this determination, we have addressed the seminal question of whether ID is science," Jones wrote. "We have concluded that it is not, and moreover that ID cannot uncouple itself from its creationist, and thus religious, antecedents."

He scolded the board's majority for requiring teachers to read a statement to high school biology students that noted "gaps" in Darwin's theory of evolution and directed them to a book on intelligent design in the school library.

"The breathtaking inanity of the board's decision is evident when considered against the factual backdrop which has now been fully revealed through this trial," Jones said in a 139-page decision. "The students, parents, and teachers of the Dover Area School District deserved better than to be dragged into this legal maelstrom, with its resulting utter waste of monetary and personal resources."

Jones said those who disagree with the decision - the first-ever federal trial on the teaching of intelligent design - "will likely mark it as the product of an activist judge." But the judge, a Republican appointed to the bench by President Bush, said "this is manifestly not an activist Court." (emphasis mine)

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While I agree with Judge Jones, I am reminded of the fact that people have been arrested in this country for reading both the Constitution and the Bill of Rights in public. With the current majority party firmly in the grip of America's own Taliban, I fear it won't be too much longer before upholding the Constitution is considered a hallmark of "judicial activism" and its practioners villified accordingly.

Live by the Sword, Die by the Sword

Jeff O'Connor — Wed, 07 Dec 2005 15:13:00 GMT

Spokane Mayor Recalled After Internet Sex Scandal

JOHN K. WILEY /Associated Press

SPOKANE, Wash. - Mayor James E. West must leave office this month after voters recalled him in a special election sparked by allegations he used a city computer to woo gay men over the Internet.

West, 54, must leave his position when the election results are certified Dec. 16. He has not been charged with a crime, but FBI agents seized computers from his home as part of an investigation.

"I said I'd abide by the will of the voters, obviously, and they've spoken," West told The Associated Press Tuesday. "I'm at peace with their decision and disappointed."

West, a former Boy Scout executive and sheriff's deputy, was elected mayor in 2003 after serving more than two decades as a conservative Republican in the state Legislature, where he voted against gay-friendly bills (emphasis mine).

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Adios, you hypocrite. Enjoy the trash heap of history along with all the other "morally superior" wingnuts.

According to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, the recall effort was launched by Shannon Sullivan, "a single mother with a high-school education and no legal background, [who] shepherded her petitions for a recall vote through superior and state high court challenges brought by the mayor's lawyers."

"It's been a long, hard seven months," she said Tuesday. "Elected officials need to be held to higher standards." Shannon has said she started the campaign after finding herself at a loss to explain newspaper reports of West's behavior to her 9-year-old son.

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I don't kow what Shannon Sullivan's motives were, and personally, I couldn't care less. Whether she's got an overdeveloped sense of irony, civic duty, or just plain doesn't want a gay man in the mayor's office, all I can say is you go, girl!

For even more right-wing hypocrisy about sex and morality, check out the following:

Neanderthal Morris May Face Political Extinction

Jeff O'Connor — Mon, 10 Oct 2005 09:39:00 GMT

Connie Morris has Challenger for Kansas Ed Board Seat

CARL MANNING / Associated Press

TOPEKA, Kan. - Sally Cauble, a former teacher and local school board member, is planning a Republican primary challenge of Connie Morris, a conservative and sometimes controverisal member of the State Board of Education.

Although the board is split along moderate and conservative lines, Cauble, 54, of Liberal, said she wasn't didn't put herself in either camp.

"I'm running on common sense, and I'm a Republican," she said Friday...

"I believe God created the universe. I taught evolution and I find the two compatible," Cauble said. "I may teach intelligent design in a philosophy class, but I'm not sure I would put it in the science curriculum."

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Connie Morris, as you may or may not know, says that evolution is a “fairy tale.” Much like ethical behavior and fiscal responsibility among members of the Kansas State Board of Education.

Connie Morris Makes a Monkey of Herself

Jeff O'Connor — Thu, 11 Aug 2005 09:39:00 GMT

Evolution debate gets personal in Kansas

TOPEKA, Kan. - A discussion about how evolution should be taught in Kansas' public schools degenerated Wednesday into personal attacks among State Board of Education members.

The board reviewed proposed standards drafted by three conservative members, designed to expose students to more criticism of evolution in the classroom.

The standards, which determine how students in fourth, seventh and 10th grades are tested on science, currently describe evolution as a key concept for students to learn before graduating from high school, treating it as the best explanation for how life developed and changed over time.

The three members who drafted the latest proposal are among six conservatives who control the board — and likely to approve much if not all of it. Four moderates, who favor retaining the standards' evolution-friendly tone, assailed the proposal.

Board member Bill Wagnon, of Topeka, told the three conservatives they had become "dupes" of intelligent design advocates and said their proposal was based "on absolute and total fraud."

Board member Sue Gamble, of Shawnee, said while board members should review proposed standards, they shouldn't write their own language, as the three conservatives did. She said the writing should be left to scientists and science teachers.

Board Chairman Steve Abrams, one of the three conservatives who drafted the latest proposal, said he had studied "a huge amount" of science, including in postgraduate classes. He is an Arkansas City veterinarian.

But Gamble replied: "I question your qualifications."

Helping Abrams draft the latest proposal were board members Kathy Martin, of Clay Center, and Connie Morris, of St. Francis. Morris chastised the board's four moderates for not attending the public hearings in May.

During the hearings, witnesses criticized evolutionary theory that natural chemical processes may have created the first building blocks of life, that all life has descended from a common origin and that man and apes share a common ancestor.

"Had you attended, you would have been informed," Morris said. "You would be sitting here as informed individuals and not arrogantly calling us dupes."

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Connie Morris isn't just a dupe, she's also a liar and a fool.

She's a liar because there are no credible scientists who support “intelligent design.” Consequently, there was nothing for the four sane members of the school board to “have been informed“ about at the hearings apart from her “personal testimony of salvation through Jesus Christ“ that apparently qualifies this elementary school teacher for her job. In fact if anyone should be chastised for being “uninformed,” it should be Connie Morris and her thugish cohorts who, along with the out-of-state hucksters flown-in to testify at taxpayer expense, admitted under oath that they had never even read the existing teaching standards that are so badly in need of change!

Connie Morris is a fool because she's raising her profile just prior to an election year at the same time a scandal is brewing about a recent Miami travel extravaganza that was paid for by - you guessed it - the State Board of Education. Ironically, when pressed about her taxpayer-funded spending habits the normally loud-mouthed, camera-mugging “conservative republican” had no comment.