Healthcare Reform Cost Less than Bush Tax Cuts

Paul Krugman, 2008 Nobel Economist and Princeton Professor says this about the cost of health care reform,
Even high estimates for an early draft of the health care plan are "less than the $1.8 trillion cost of the Bush tax cuts." PolitiFact.com

It is hard to understand how our congressmen can justify tax cuts for the wealthy and reject health care reform.

Senator Al Franken Speaks About the Activist Court

The Senate Judiciary Cmte., by a vote of 13-6, approved the nomination of Supreme Court Justice Nominee Sonia Sotomayor. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) was the only Republican to vote for her nomination. The full Senate is expected to take up the nomination next week.

Listen as Al Franken summarizes recent U.S. Supreme Court cases narrowly decided by activist judges which have diminished individual rights of American citizens.



Read more HERE

White says Cornyn plays 'politics as usual'

U.S. Senator John Cornyn will not vote in favor of confirming Sonia Sotomayor to Supreme Court Justice. Judge Sotomayor's appointment to the Supreme Court would be a historic appointment of the first hispanic female to serve on the court.


Houston Mayor Bill White, a Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate, criticized Texas Sen. John Cornyn's decision to vote not to confirm Judge Sonya Sotomayor.

"Senator John Cornyn acknowledged that Sonia Sotomayor has an excellent background, the right temperament, and a record of mainstream decisions. Her life has been an inspiration. Texas' Senator should do what is right for our state and our mainstream values. Senator Cornyn's "no" vote on Sotomayor represents political posturing for one wing of one party, politics as usual. As our next Senator, I will do what's right for Texas."

Let's show John Cornyn that Texas is tired of POLITICS AS USUAL! Check out Bill White, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senator Here . www.billwhitefortexas.com

Update: NRA announced its opposition to Sotomayor's confirmation and threatens Senators who vote to confirm her.
Read more here.

Is Senator Cornyn refusal to vote for the highly educated and experienced Judge Sotomayor a reflection of the hold that the mighty and powerful NRA lobbyist has on the Texas Senator?

Do you think PhRMA wants a "Healthier America"?

Think Again.

In the last quarter, Drug companies spent $40 million on lobbyist, hired 45 lobbying firms and spent an untold amount on grassroots lobbying and advertising.

Paying To Remove Issues?

If you want to know what PhRMA is getting this time, Avorn says just look at what's not on the table during the debate:

Drug re-importation from Canada? Off the table.

Government-negotiated drug prices? Off the table.

"A lot of those seem to have been resolved even before the public discussion begins," says Avorn. "And usually, as with the other interest groups involved, they seem to have been resolved in favor of the interest groups, rather than in favor of the public."

Read the entire story at NPR

Vacant Corinth City Council Seat Filled - No Election

From the Denton Record Chronicle:


Corinth council fills seat
Resident chosen from political sidelines to take place vacated by mayor

The Corinth City Council installed a relative newcomer to city politics Thursday night, putting Randy Gibbons in the seat left vacant when voters elected Paul Ruggiere mayor in May.


Randy Gibbons
Gibbons, 33, a finance manager with Southwest Airlines, said he began attending council meetings a few years ago and had hoped to run for office in 2006. But his wife got a rare form of cancer, and while she sought treatment, city politics had to take a back seat.

Since her recovery, he became president of the Post Oak Crossing Home Owners Association in March 2007.

The experience has taught him about listening to people and making good decisions, he said, particularly since some homeowners associations have reputations for being inflexible.

“A lot of these homeowners association rules are kind of cookie-cutter,” Gibbons said. “The homeowners don’t have a voice, since the rules are usually created as the first homes are being built.”

Changing bylaws is very expensive, so his association has taken the tact of listening to requests and granting many exceptions. The key has been keeping good documentation of those exceptions, Gibbons said.

Council member Jim Mayfield nominated Gibbons after the council discussed the process, and the candidates, in executive session.

Mayfield said council members had a lot of discussions about how to fill the spot, since they had never done anything like it before.

“We had our Robert’s Rules books, and the city charter,” Mayfield said. “But we knew it would not be good to vote on someone in executive session.”

Mayfield said he had his preferences among the potential nominees, and he heard from other council members about theirs. As he listened to other council members, he could see there was more support for some candidates than others, but the most seemed to be for Gibbons.

When the council reconvened in open session, Mayfield raised his hand as soon as the mayor called for nominations.

“I knew whoever got their hand up first — like a TV game show — would be able to make the first nomination,” Mayfield said.

Fellow council member John Booher made another nomination, for businessman and retired educator J. Neil Admire. Robert’s Rules of Order required that they consider Mayfield’s nomination of Gibbons first.

Since the vote for Gibbons was unanimous, the council wasn’t required to consider the second nomination, Ruggiere said.

Gibbons was one of eight people who expressed an interest in the Place 1 vacancy; the others were Admire, Gilland Chenault, Lisa Clawson, Bob Holsomback, Mark Klingele, Gary McDonald and Sherry Schneider.

“We had a really good group of people to choose from,” Ruggiere said.

God Bless You Jimmy Carter!

Jimmy Carter leaves Southern Baptist church in protest to treatment of women

Women and girls have been discriminated against for too long in a twisted interpretation of the word of God. Jimmy Carter, Former US president, Nobel Prize Winner.

This week, Jimmy Carter left the Southern Baptist Church, where he has been a member for over 60 years. He and Roselyn distanced themselves from full participation a few years ago, but he remained a deacon and still taught Sunday School. He held on to his denominational affiliation through many conflicts - including the denomination's anti-gay positions. This document says nothing about LGBT issues, and that is a tragic shortcoming. But it does say something about women, and in that it only came part way, that part is very strong indeed. It isn't enough, but it is something.

Read Carter's statement HERE

Cigna Executive and Lobbyist Photo Tell the True Story

An Inside look at the Fight Against Health Care Reform

In an interview with PBS's Bill Moyers, a former insurance executive reveals a secret plan by the insurance industry to discredit Michael Moore's health care documentary, 'Sicko.'

Wendell Potter tells Bill Moyers why he left his successful career as the head of Public Relations for CIGNA, one of the nation's largest insurers, and decided to speak out against the industry.



Wendell Potter continues the interview and explains how Health Care industry executives developed strategies to discredit Michael Moore's film 'Sicko', National Health care and how they threatened U.S. Congress members for votes against National Health Care.


Now, look at this picture. Click HERE for a link to NPR's website. You can view a panoramic photograph taken in the US Senate on June 17th. The four frames show the nearly TWO HUNDRED Health Industry LOBBYIST at the Senate to lobby for pharmaceutical and insurance companies, doctors, chain drug stores...you name it. No lobbyist there are representing you and I. NONE.

Genetically modified soy beans

Did you know that Monsanto, the company that gave us the cool pesticides DDT and the even more favorite Agent Orange, actually has a PATENT on SOY BEANS? The genetically modified ones. If a farmer growing soy beans (not GMO'S) happens to be near one that grows for Monsanto and the Monsanto soy beans become contaminated with NON-GMO's, the farmer will be sued and of course lose everything.
Now forgive me if I am wrong her, but isn't there (or wasn't there) a law prohibiting a company or corporation from monopolies?
The other part of this that REALLY bothers me is that the food you buy, anything NOT organic (and maybe some that say they are like the Dole "organics"...please) has the GMO's in it. Corn is mostly a GMO as well.
The best thing we as consumers can do is read those labels folks and don't buy products containing soy, high fructose corn syrup or indgredients you don't understand. We the people DO have the final say every time we shop.
GO SEE: "Food, Inc." or visit their site for more info on many horrific things we as consumers have no clue about. I am having a hard time eating ANYTHING since I saw that movie and not because I don't like to eat, but because of what we do to other people when we buy products as mentioned above.

Corinth City Council - Place 1

From Denton Record Chronicle:

Seven Corinth residents interested in Place 1 seat
City Council position has stayed vacant since Ruggiere became mayor
07:12 AM CDT on Wednesday, July 8, 2009
By Peggy Heinkel-Wolfe / Staff Writer
CORINTH — Seven people have expressed interest in the City Council’s Place 1 vacancy, including two recent but unsuccessful candidates for Place 2.

Six of the seven prospective nominees expressed an interest via e-mail, according to documents obtained through an open records request.

The seat has been vacant since May, when Paul Ruggiere won the mayor’s race halfway through his second term on the City Council.

Those residents who e-mailed either the mayor or one of the council members declaring their interest are businessman J. Neil Admire, attorney Gilland Chenault, banker Lisa Clawson, Randy Gibbons, firefighter Mark Klingele and businesswoman Sherry Schneider. Gary McDonald, a member of the city’s economic development corporation, declared his interest verbally, Ruggiere said.

Clawson and Schneider made unsuccessful bids for council seats — Clawson in 2007 and Schneider in 2009.

Both challenged Jim Mayfield — Clawson against Mayfield as he first sought to replace his wife, Lynn Mayfield, on the council, and Schneider as Jim Mayfield filed for a second term.

In an e-mail dated June 2, Clawson said she couldn’t officially apply until she received clearance from her employer, which she was actively seeking.

The possible appointment of a Place 1 council member has been on the council’s agenda continually since the May election, but Ruggiere said the council has not discussed the matter at every meeting.

He said the council met once to bring all the candidates’ names to the table and did not meet again on the subject until a special-called meeting June 29.

“That was our first in-depth discussion on the merits of the candidates,” Ruggiere said.

However, when that meeting reconvened in open session, no one nominated a candidate to take the seat.

When the council met during its regular meeting Thursday, the possibility of Place 1 deliberations was on the agenda again. However, Ruggiere announced that because Mayfield was absent, they would not go into closed session.

After the meeting, Ruggiere said he was hopeful that the council would appoint someone at its next regular meeting July 16.

Read article HERE

Happy Independence Day