Overlooked

Please don't give us that shocking surprised scenario. You and everyone else surely can't expect anything but lies and slander from any member of the Grotesque Old Party.

by Archie (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 1283 comments) on Thursday, June 7, 2007 at 10:47:37 AM
 

Quite a few of us do know that Medicare and Medicaid...

...should be rock on which we build a "health-care for all" system. (Although you wouldn't know it based on the current batch of presidential candidates with the exception of Kucinich. Talk about a bunch of prevaricators! Actually Ron Paul is straight talking on this issue, albeit in a manner opposite the actual need, mistakenly thinking the free market should be allowed to work for health care. Sorry, Rep. Paul, but it's the inability of the free market to provide health care that has us in the pickle we are in today. That said., at least we know there is one true conservative left and true conservatives provide useful checks and balances to the "enthusiasm" of progressives and liberals - especially those who enthusiastically race to the center to become "neo-con lite.") With an average four percent overhead (compared to 25 to 30 percent for insurance companies), Medicare in particular makes perfect sense as long as we are willing to invest in it in a manner that is sustainable for a one-payer system. Furthermore, thanks to Part B, private insurers are still in business. (I won't even begin to deal with Part D other than to say a lobbyist-written law is always a malignancy on our system, and this one must be jettisoned and replaced.) The trick is starting a process of turning all health care into not-for-profit.

Which brings me to the Rx companies. I doubt I have to make a list of their abuses for the knowledgable OpEd News audience. I will say this: We will be three-quarters of the way into proper reform if we regulate the living daylights out of these greedhounds. Everyone wonders when and how our health-care system went to hades in a handbasket. It's a surprisingly simple answer: It was in 1980, when Congress began deregulating the Rx industry.

Energy, food, transportation, affordable housing, food, a living wage (presuming of course we have decent jobs still available here and not in India or China), the protections of the Bill of Rights, environmental protection, economic development for Mom and Pop shops, and education, are examples of how certain needs are fundamental. Fundamental needs cannot be met by a free market because they are not profitable unless they are jacked up so that only the well-off can afford them. (Economists call this a "market gap.") Even Milton Friedman grudgingly acknowledged this. The founders certainly understood it, although the economy of the late 18th century was significantly different from ours. (I suspect campaign financing would have appeared in the Constitution as well, if they could've seen the corruption we've had for a century based on big money in politics.) They had the foresight to expect economic and technological changes and made the Constitution accordingly vague on infrastructure. But they did make it quite clear that these types of support, that is, necessary to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" of a self-governing people, must be overseen by the government officials elected to be public servants representing the interests of the People. In other words, as our representatives, we need our government to manage our infrastructure. This doesn't shut down the private sector providing infrastrucure, it just keeps them honest. This is our government, and we need to force our government to do its job of overseeing insfrastructure so that we all may obtain access to ALL infrastructure. And we start, as alluded in the article, by evicting K Street and prohibiting corporate lobbyists from doing business in Washington., Their interests are often at complete crosspurposes from ours, even if we are the end-user who pays the freight and should therefore be the first interest considered. Their more immediate concerns involve their stockholders and boards, however, which all work in concert to improve the bottom line and generate more income for THEM. (This will bite them in the butt eventually, since we are the users and buyers of consumer goods and services, which is how they get profits to begin with. The failure of big business has always been to answer to an intermediate interest before the interests of those who use their products or services, in spite of the fact that WE PAY THEIR FREIGHT. The problem here, however, is that we aren't the ones sending them on fire drills, the boards and the exchanges are. So they forget to dance with the one who brung em and instead focus only on putting out the fire.

A word about my terminology: Some call these fundamentals the Global Commons. I prefer the term "infrastructure" because "global commons" is a term used by several different initiatives that have nothing to do with fundamental needs, and, perhaps more importantly, at their core, each of these issues directly impacts our country's functionality, economy, and productivity which is eventually reflected in our GDP and GNP.. Sometimes the only way to raise awareness among a people dedicated to the free market is to point out the impact to the bottom line, which is always significant when infrastructure is not managed or managed poorly. And so Eli Lilly licenses taxpayer-funded research to market a new drug, which costs us three times more than Canada pays, and we are told this is because R&D costs must be covered. Well, hello, we already paid for R&D! And why should we foot the bill for Canada? Or, for that matter, for exorbinant executive compensation or TV ads (which should be made illegal, along with campaign ads - and we CAN make this happen because we made it happen with cigarettes, and limited hard liquor ads).

Which is why health care costs were one of the main reasons listed by the automakers this year when they announced massive layoffs. They'll move ops overseas where universal health care is already available. (And I'm sure in some cases, to countries where labor costs are significanly lower, thanks to NAFTA.)

My health-care oriented comment is not meant to co-opt your overarching issue of the lies our so-called leaders tell us to satisfy their own greed for money and power, always at the expense of our own interests. It's only meant to highlight one of the most egregious examples you cited where we are told "The Big Lie." A Big Lie to rival the Big Lie of war in Iraq. The Big Lie tactic, not incidentally, was originated in Nazi Germany and brought here with Project PAPERCLIP. PAPERCLIP techniques subtly started appearing in college communications texts, causing us to have trained PR types (whom I doubt realize they've been conditioned to perpetrate Nazi-style propaganda). This collided with a another huge cultural change: Television. It has made a perfect storm for most of us, but continues because it makes a perfect oasis for those who own the media.

by ear (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 45 comments) on Thursday, June 7, 2007 at 11:51:16 AM
 

Did You Miss the Memo?

A policy memo was sent out to everyone (well, to eveyone who 'matters') from Karl Rove which explicitly stated: "WE'RE THE PRESIDENT, WE MAKE OUR OWN REALITY!"

You must have missed the Memo... or was it a Blast-Fax? Either way, it clearly explained how and why nothing the Bush White House says or does is ever wrong... EVER! And of course, they don't lie either. They 'make their own reality!'

Because Bush is on a mission from (THE Christian) God... he's always right. Always.

Pay attention.

by mrk * (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 299 comments) on Thursday, June 7, 2007 at 7:31:48 PM
 

Ask the WRONG ?..get tossed in the slammer...

Yes, I listened to the outright untruths spoken and shook my head. A couple of points to your questioning where the journalists are.. why didn't anyone question some of these statements.

If 'journalists' agree to the description of these mini-interview/political ad spots as "debates" .. therein lies your answer to where are the journalists... asleep at the wheel. By the way... can anyone tell me how these "debate forums" are paid for? Do the campaigns all chip in?

The 'journalists' are crammed into the "spin" room (disgusting term) to enjoy the priviledge of questioning the candidates "handlers". Here is a link that shows the video of one particular person, with a press pass issued by CNN, attempting to ask a question of Mr. Giuliani's people.

http://researchris.blogspot.com/2007/06/giuliani-press-secretary-orders.html

He was ARRESTED and charged with felony criminal trespass. According to the article the police were considering espionage charges because this person was using a webcam (considered to be a 'hidden camera') to do a live webcast.. this is in a room FILLED with cameras!!!

The press secretary is then heard asking if the "real press" had any questions and referred to what just happened as "sabotage stuff". If I am a 'journalist' standing by to ask a question and I see this.. I begin to wonder... who determines who the "real press" is and what questions are okay to ask without being pointed out as a 'saboteur' and hauled off to the slammer.

by M. Yeager (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 10 comments) on Thursday, June 7, 2007 at 11:35:44 PM
 

Great Article.

Jay, I just read your article, COMPLETELY OVERLOOKED: THE MOST GLARING & MALIGNANT REPUBLICAN LIES ! I wish you had been the moderator at the debate. Let's hope more people wake up soon.
Sincerely, Cal Wellander...

by calwellander (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 7 comments) on Sunday, June 10, 2007 at 3:13:44 AM