Posts in the category Health Care
Our Editorial Cartoon of the Week feature is part of Progress Florida's popular FREE Daily Clips service:
 By Jim Morin, Miami Herald BONUS CARTOON  By Jeff Parker, Florida Today The Progressive Change Campaign Committee (PCCC) and Democracy for America (DFA) released a poll yesterday which shows voters in selected freshmen Democratic districts supporting progressive views. In addition, voters are ready to punish Democratic members of Congress that go conservative and corporate. One of the districts polled was Suzanne Kosmas' 24th district (North Brevard, most of Volusia, west Seminole, west and north Orange counties.) Here are the poll findings from Kosmas' district: 1.) Are Democrats in Washington more on the side of the lobbyists and special interests or on the side of people like you? Lobbyists: 45% 2.) Are Democrats in Washington doing too much to fight corporate America or should they do more to fight big corporations? Do More: 51% 3.) What comes closer to the lesson you think Democrats should learn from the recent Senate election in Massachusetts, where the seat formerly held by Ted Kennedy was won by a Republican: Voters want Democrats to slow down and try to do less, OR Voters are upset about the slow pace of change – and will hold Democrats accountable if they refuse to use their power to fight special interests on behalf of regular people? More Change: 39% 4.) Generally speaking do you think Barack Obama and Democrats in Washington, DC are delivering enough on the change Obama promised to bring to America during the campaign? No: 56% 5.) Is the issue of national health care reform very important, somewhat important, or not important when deciding how to vote in congressional elections? Very + Somewhat: 65% Very: 30% 6.) Would you favor or oppose the national government offering everyone the choice of a government administered health insurance plan -- something like the Medicare coverage that people 65 and older get -- that would compete with private health insurance plans? Favor: 64% 7.) Would you be more likely to vote for the re-election of your local Democratic member of Congress if they worked to kill the current health care reform effort in Congress or if they worked to add a public health insurance option that competes head-to-head with private insurance? Public Option: 42% 8.) Would you be more likely to vote for the re-election of your local Democratic House member if they worked to pass the Senate’s version of health care reform with minimal changes, if any – OR if they worked to add a public health insurance option to the bill that competes head-to-head with private insurance? Public Option: 33% 9.) If Congress does not pass a public health insurance option as part of health care reform, will that make you more likely or less likely to vote for Democrats in the 2010 general election or would it have no real effect on your vote? More: 14% 10.) If Congress does not pass a public option as part of health care reform, will that make you more likely or less likely to vote in the 2010 general election, or no effect? More: 12% 11.) [DEMOCRATS ONLY] If a Democratic member of Congress does not work to pass a public health insurance option that competes head-to-head with private insurance, would you want a more progressive candidate to run against them in a Democratic primary? Yes: 56% Most of these numbers are scary for Kosmas. She voted against the health care reform package last year, but voted for the financial reform bill. Her record is mixed. It's also worth noting that of all the freshmen Democratic districts polled, Kosmas' district often had the most conservative-leaning results. So numbers elsewhere are just as significant or more so. These numbers paint, imo, a clear picture for the Congresswoman: vote against health care, don't work for a public option, or just passing the Senate health care bill as is would be a disaster. A third of Democrats and overall voters will be less inclined to vote. Kosmas' districts is an R+4 district according to Charlie Cook's Partisan Voting Index (PVI), so Kosmas needs as many Democrats and favorable independents as possible. Being weak by not taking on the health insurance companies and greedy corporations will endanger Kosmas (and plenty of other Democrats) in the 2010 midterm elections. Be bold and progressive, or go home. Want to know where Paula Dockery, Bill McCollum, and Alex Sink stand on major issues facing Florida: education, health care, the environment? Good luck.
Take a look at any of the major candidate websites, and you'll find that Dockery and McCollum have no issue page. Alex Sink, to her credit, has an issues page, but only addresses issues she's tackled as CFO, not what she would do as governor. I'm sure issue stances will be added in the future, we're more than 9 months away from the election, but our state faces huge challenges right now. As people who want to lead the fourth largest state in the country, it would be great to know how they would deal with our state's $3 billion budget deficit, woefully underfunded education system, broken health care system, threatened environment, and the overpowering influence of corporate special interests. Furthermore, I'm really surprised the press hasn't caught this. Yes, they have been trying to corner the candidates on some issue questions (particularly Alex Sink on health care lately), but that's it. The press should call the major party candidates on the fact none of them have any kind of significant issue stances. I'm not asking for or expecting vast policy tracts on every conceivable issue Florida faces. For now, at least a few cogent sentences on a handful of key issues would be nice. Is that really too much to ask? From early Spring of 2009 right through to the last days of the year, Florida's Attorney General and Republican candidate for governor, Bill McCollum, has been nothing - and I do mean nothing - if not consistent in peddling his self-serving, short-sighted, downright deceitful brand of politics. (Bill Mccollum pushing edge of the envelope of political distortion) Back in March, as he was preparing to abandon his current job and make a run for Governor, the state's leading law enforcement official doled out almost one-and-a-half million of our tax dollars to a former consultant-crony, to produce “public service” ads warning about online sexual predators - ads starring Bill McCollum as the heroic supposed protector of Florida's vulnerable children and endangered teens. Forget about the ethical questions surrounding awarding of the contract itself. Forget about the fact that the ads were shameless self-promotion (including a $550 taxpayer tab for his makeup!). Forget about the fact that the actual severity of the problem of online sexual predators was so exaggerated by McCollum in the ad and in related publicity efforts. Well, don't really forget any of that, not when election time rolls around. Rather, keep it in mind, then put it all aside for a moment and ask yourself: What kind of politician - what kind of a man - would claim to be fighting to protect the health and well-being of our children in the Spring, only to spend much of this Autumn and Winter trying to derail health reform efforts, efforts that would for the first time give hundreds of thousands of Florida's uninsured, at-risk children the kind of health care coverage and care they should have had all along? In September, McCollum joined the Republican drumbeat of deceit and disinformation about health reform, attacking the public option plan still on the table, lying about the importance and potential impact of medical malpractice reform on health care costs, and claiming his answer to health reform as governor would be creation of an advisory council. In October, we had to suffer through the following divisive, borderline Joe McCarthy-esque attack by McCollum on health reform, cloaked even more dishonorably in a personal attack on his Democratic rival in the governor's race, Florida's Chief Financial officer, Alex Sink: "Sink is siding with the unions and their bosses – they know where she stands. On government-run health care Sink is with the left wing unions.". Not long after that, McCollum went after health reform and Sink some more, challenging the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, who was attending a health care town hall in Florida, to call out his competitor Sink on her health reform positions. But McCollum has saved his personal best of the worst for these last days of the year. This do-nothing Attorney General - the guy who has been in power, yet seemingly powerless during this infamous period of Florida political corruption and legislative lawlessness, during this period when so many Floridians have been bilked and duped and disowned by insurance companies and mortgage lenders and banks - this week, this servant of only the rich and powerful has announced that he is directing his staff to explore whether they can file a lawsuit declaring any new health reform bill that gets passed by the U.S. Congress as unconstitutional. The McCollum cover story this time, the pretext for killing health reform, is that there ought not to be any requirement that uninsured people have to get health insurance. It would be like a tax - Boo! - and just unfair, doggone it. Forget that these uninsured, at-risk people, if they have difficulty affording insurance, would get subsidized under a new reform bill. Forget that without such a mandate, all of us taxpayers will end up paying for their health care, at the most expensive levels, when they finally show up at emergency rooms seeking medical attention. Forget that such a mandate, even as part of this very imperfect health reform bill now being finalized, will still help to quickly, finally provide proper health care access and coverage for nearly 800,000 uninsured children in Florida - the children McCollum claimed to be looking out for way back in...the Spring. Forget that as Attorney General, Wild Bill is defending the state in efforts to maintain Medicaid reimbursement levels that are so low that poor, uninsured children can't find doctors who will treat them. Forget that McCollum's extremist anti-government, anti-entitlement views were in evidence during his years in the U.S. Congress, when he voted time and again to cut Medicare and Social Security. Forget that McCollum's extremist anti-government, anti-entitlement views not only pander shamelessly to, but in fact prey on some people's fear and ignorance, cultivating selfishness and inhumanity, rather than selflessness and humanity. NO. Do not forget any of the above, not when election time rolls around. Keep it all uppermost in your mind, in fact, as you listen to and watch McCollum peddling his politics of hypocrisy and heartlessness, divisiveness and duplicity, throughout this 2010 gubernatorial campaign. He will cloak it all the while in the guise of being some kind of moderate conservative who's trying to keep big government out of your life. He will be lying to and trying to deceive and distract you. The facts are the facts. The record is the record. You can look it up. Ask yourself. What kind of politician - what kind of human being - do you want as Florida's next governor? Our Editorial Cartoon of the Week feature is part of Progress Florida's popular FREE Daily Clips service:
Progress Florida's Best of the Blogs for week ending 11-20-09 On health care reform, letter writing, and form letter responses to constituents…Senator Nelson’s office = fail. By Progress Florida Daily Kos Activists today delivered a letter signed by more than 200 constituents urging Rep. Suzanne Kosmas to stand up to special interest lobbyists by supporting strong, comprehensive financial reform.St. Petersburg should move its elections back to the Spring, but when exactly? By Peter Schorsch St. Petersblog 2.0 The numbers do not lie: in March of 2001, more than 34% of voters turnout to choose the Mayor of St. Petersburg. Our Editorial Cartoon of the Week feature is part of Progress Florida's popular FREE Daily Clips service:
Who do you trust in American politics?
Who do you trust in Florida politics? If the epic health reform debate and current congressional legislative endgame proves anything, it’s that Yes doesn’t always mean Yes, and No doesn’t always mean No, not when it comes to Politics - and especially not when it comes to Electoral Politics. Since the election of Barack Obama - a moderate, mainstream Liberal - as our forty-fourth American President, most Republican Party leaders and organizations have embarked on their own twisted version of a Three R’s-style “re-education” campaign - Reflexive, Reactionary, Relentless efforts to discredit and derail every attempt by the Obama administration to reform the trio of corrupted, dysfunctional linchpins of American life: the economic system, the healthcare system, and the energy system. Yet nationally and state by state, the GOP has failed to advance any credible, viable solutions to these most daunting of challenges we face as a nation. This is not a partisan attack, rather a statement of fact, based on careful analysis of what passes for meaningful Republican proposals in these three critical public policy arenas. “You could look it up”, as pinstriped pundit Casey Stengel used to say. Read More » More than one out of every five Floridians has no health care and a growing number are losing their jobs – and their health insurance along with it. But on Saturday, Rep. Suzanne Kosmas stood on the wrong side of history by voting against the House health care reform bill. Worse yet, if we don't act now Rep. Kosmas could again side with special interests rather than the Floridians she represents in Orlando, Volusia County and along the Space Coast. As a member of the House Financial Services Committee, Rep. Kosmas is poised to play a critical role in shaping historic reforms to fix our banking and financial system while rooting out the greed and fraud on Wall Street. With big business lobbying furiously against meaningful financial reform, we must act now to ensure Rep. Kosmas votes in her constituents’ interests, not for special interests. According to the Orlando Sentinel, Rep. Kosmas received more than $20,000 last fundraising quarter alone from banks and other financial services companies. We can’t allow the likes of the American Bankers Association, Morgan Stanley and predatory loan sharks to dictate public policy at the expense of the rest of us. Please help us deliver a powerful message that Rep. Kosmas must respond to the concerns of voters in her district, not the corporate funders of her next campaign. Please click here to sign our letter to Rep. Kosmas urging her to stand up to big banks, predatory lenders and Wall Street. Then use our easy tool to spread the word to friends and family in her district. It’s been a year since the financial crisis and brought our national economy to the brink of a second Great Depression. Taxpayers stepped up and bailed out the ailing banks in order to resuscitate the larger economy and get money flowing to Main Street again but ordinary Americans are still facing rising foreclosures, record unemployment, skyrocketing bank and credit card fees, and vanishing pensions and 401(k)’s It’s outrageous that taxpayer funded banks are fighting to obstruct reforms that would protect consumers and prevent another crisis. Please click here to sign our letter to Rep. Kosmas urging her to stand up to big banks, predatory lenders and Wall Street. Then use our easy tool to spread the word to friends and family in her district. For more information about why we need comprehensive financial reform, visit http://ourfinancialsecurity.org/. Progress Florida's Best of the Blogs for week ending 11-6-09 Poll Shows Crist Going Down in Tea Bag Flames By Daniel Tilson Progress Florida The next Big Election Day in Florida, as in most of America, is still a year away.Jeff Miller: opposes House health care bill but hasn't read it By Sinfonian Blast Off! I'm not sure whether it's because he won't read it or can't read it, but U.S. Rep. Jeff Miller (R-Land That Time Forgot) has managed yet again to make me wonder how he got elected to Congress in the first place. The next Big Election Day in Florida, as in most of America, is still a year away. On November 2nd, 2010, voters will have the opportunity to rid themselves of an awful lot of public office-holding dead weight - as in the kind that drags down a state - starting with but in no way limited to Governor Charlie Crist, his hand-picked lackey of a fill-in U.S. Senator, George Lemieux, and Attorney General Bill McCollum.
On 11/2/10, Floridians will get a chance to elect Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink as our next governor, U.S. Congressman Kendrick Meek as our new United States Senator, and one of two fine State Senators, Dave Aaronberg or Dan Gelber, as our top law enforcement officer. Take a close look at these talented, true public servants, visit their websites, read their positions on the issues and compare the talk they talk with the walk they walk - as opposed to their Republican counterparts currently holding or seeking to inherit the offices in question. Read More » Our Editorial Cartoon of the Week feature is part of Progress Florida's popular FREE Daily Clips service:
Progress Florida's Best of the Blogs for week ending 10-30-09 God Loves Oil By Daniel Tilson Progress Florida President Obama's appearance today at America's largest solar power plant, a Florida Power & Light (FPL) facility in DeSoto County, was of course planned to rally support for the administration's renewable energy efforts and green economy initiatives.Here's what Charlie Crist can do to save his about-to-be-in-danger campaign By Peter Schorsch St. Petersblog 2.0 It's been a long time since I helped out on one of your campaigns. In Florida, don't get too close to FPL, President Obama: you could get a shock By Gimleteye Eye on Miami Today President Obama takes the bully pulpit for a new energy future to a rural, conservative town in Florida; Arcadia where Florida Power and Light is building the largest solar energy facility in the nation. Our Editorial Cartoon of the Week feature is part of Progress Florida's popular FREE Daily Clips service:
Progress Florida's Best of the Blogs for week ending 10-16-09 By Mitch Perry The Daily Loaf If it’s Thursday, it must be time for another Bill Foster/Kathleen Ford debate. The Grayson Game Changer The Great Recession is over! Phew! Asked by radio host Don Imus today what aspects of the Senate Finance Committee’s health care bill he supported, Lieberman struck a negative tone, saying, “I’m concerned that there’s a danger that we’re trying to do too much”:
"LIEBERMAN: I’ve been saying for a couple of months now that I’m concerned, that I’m concerned that there’s a danger that we’re trying to do too much here and the president is trying to do two good things. But doing them at once in the middle of a recession may be hard to pull off. ... IMUS: Do you support the Baucus bill? LIEBERMAN: Not, not, no. I mean, not the way it is now. ORIG Alternet Story Who could imagine, Ol Joe would be standing ready in the wings, ready to throw a wrench into our sweet perfection of a HEALTH CARE BILL [not]. Its just good to know that our favorite arsenic delinquent, whose only a dem, when he needs a harff-arsed disguise, but if you need a democrat... don't asked him. Tell us Harry [solid as a dry Reid] Senate Dem leader, this guy is rewarded with Democratic leadership WHY??? Joe [Benedict Arnold] Liberman - why don't you just slime your way home to the republican muckhole where your teeny tiny heart flops. We don't need you, and besides your repulsican stench distracts, such solid DEM-PUBLICANS like Harry Reid and Bill [what did I say] Nelson who brings his own special sauce of silent absentee advocacy to the good people of FLORIDA - whether we like it or not! Oh, do pay attention dear voter, do pay attention! solidarity & peace Rick Spisak www.AveryVoice.com www.deadpeasants.BZ At least not yet. The original fax was attached to the email that follows. The epilepsy information it contained is also present in two different circuit court's records.
That information is going to become public knowledge, because the quality of life of thousands of veterans nationwide rests on it. From: Susan Chandler Date: September 30, 2009 1:23:41 PM EDT To: Governor Charlie Crist Cc: cig@eog.myflorida.com Subject: "A Message from Charlie Crist" and "A Message from former Senator Connie Mack" Dear Governor Crist: My memory served me well this time; in spending just a couple minutes searching my files, I found a fax I sent to you on May 21st, 2006, while you were still our Attorney General. I went into considerable detail about the effects of stress on people with epilepsy, apprising you of the acronym SUDEP. Perhaps it's time for you to review my communications to you over the years on the behalf of the wrongfully convicted and other victims of public corruption and assess the wisdom of continuing to deny ordinary citizens oversight. All that any of us that were trodden upon by miscreant civil servants have ever asked of you is to uphold the law, per your sworn and fiduciary responsibilities to protect the life, liberty and property of Florida's inhabitants. It's my personal belief that every paycheck you cash is a fresh fraud on Floridians, whom you serve unequally and imprudently. Regards, Susan Chandler A record number of Veterans are returning from the Mideast with epilepsy from IED wounds, often masked by PTSD. As it is mere myth that seizures always cause unconscious falls to the floor, many Vets are getting locked up for perceived aggression during standing seizures.
It's an abysmal way to thank a soldier for his service. I'd agreed to research and author written materials to help prevent further arrests through distribution to law enforcement, public defenders, prosecutors and the judiciary. A glimpse at the email exchange below reveals that Gov. Crist keeps me otherwise occupied with his refusal to adhere to statutes; what an astonishing difference between Crist's claimed accomplishments and the actual facts of matters. From: Susan Chandler Date: September 27, 2009 11:47:28 AM EDT To: Governor Charlie Crist Cc: cig@eog.myflorida.com Subject: Response to A Message from Governor Charlie Crist Dear Governor Crist: If memory serves, I already advised your office that it is as imprudent to walk into a hospital cardiac care unit and yell "fire" as it is to deliberately cause someone with epilepsy stress with mindless pranks like your emailed campaign contribution solicitation. As you know, I'm an active, registered Democrat; with the lengthy history of our discord partially documented by my blogs, no one will believe that my receipt of your "message" is anything other than a childish retort for continually calling out your failure to protect the life, liberty and property of Florida's inhabitants, per statutes. I believe I'm repeating myself in writing that for those with epilepsy, stress often triggers seizures and seizures can result in death, more frequently with those like me that have heart conditions. The very least consequences are unpleasant, including six month's suspended driving privileges - virtual house arrest. Before you approach me again on anything other than resolution of Florida's public corruption as your office last did in December, ignoring ensuing emails, you might want to consider that media coverage of taser abuses makes it easier for jurors to understand hands-off homicide attempts such as deliberately deploying duress against someone with epilepsy and/or a heart condition, just as media coverage of the Innocence Project's exonerations makes it easier for jurors to understand the unreliability of eyewitness identification, jailhouse informant testimony, "scent evidence," and much more. No matter how full your campaign coffers get, you're running on empty and going nowhere, sir; Florida's trampled are going to triumph, within the law and with dignity, tactics that our correspondence indicates that you eschew. Regards, Susan Chandler From: "Governor Charlie Crist" Date: September 26, 2009 6:17:23 PM EDT To: "" Subject: A Message from Governor Charlie Crist Dear Friends, As I travel throughout Florida, I am reminded of the people I serve and the trust they have put in me to lead our great state. It has been a true honor to be able to fight for you for nearly two decades – as State Senator, as Education Commissioner, as Attorney General and now as Governor. Together, we have made great strides in protecting our families and children. I am proud that Florida earned a top-ten ranking in education this year. Historic adoption levels have helped our children find good families and homes. Criminals are now facing stiffer sentences for the crimes they commit. We have cut government spending and have achieved historic property tax cuts. But the fight doesn’t stop in Tallahassee. I want to continue to fight for you in Washington. It’s time we bring some Florida common sense to our nation’s capital and let the Democrats know that government is not the solution to every problem and wasteful government spending will not be tolerated. We must continue to fight for Florida’s families and their future. Additionally, we must ensure that our military and veterans have the resources they deserve, and we must safeguard and secure our borders. We are only four days away before the end of another fundraising quarter. I ask that you join my fight for Florida's future by contributing to my campaign. I need your help to spread our positive message - - less taxes, less government and more freedom. Your donation of $25, $50, $100 or $250 will go a long way toward helping us achieve victory in 2010. Please visit www.CharlieCrist.com/contribute or call us at 850-907-1218. I encourage you to visit www.CharlieCrist.com for the latest news from the campaign and ask that you share your thoughts, ideas, and concerns with me at Charlie@TheCristConnection.com. I look forward to hearing from you soon. Thank you and God bless you, Charlie Crist Contributions to Charlie Crist for U.S. Senate are not tax deductible for federal income tax purposes. Contributions by corporations, labor unions and foreign nationals are prohibited. Federal law requires us to use our best efforts to collect and report the name, mailing address, occupation, and name of employer of each individual whose contributions exceed $200 in an election cycle. Phone: 850-907-1218 | Fax: 850-907-1219 | PO Box 1694 Tallahassee, FL 32302 This message was sent from Charlie Crist for U. S. Seante. Click on the following link to Unsubscribe. Paid for by Charlie Crist for U.S. Senate P.S. Those wishing a copy of Crist's solicitation may request one by emailing studio8@infionline.net and putting "copy request" on the subject line. After writing a series of articles and making a series of videos about the fight for real health reform, from a Florida perspective, I recently took a little end-of-Summer break to catch my breath and cleanse the old mental palate before coming back for more. For me, Sports - Baseball, to be specific - New York Yankees Baseball, to be honest - has always helped that way, providing a refreshing and restorative change of cerebral scenery. As Fate would have it, flying from Florida to NYC, visiting the impressive new Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, and watching the Yanks play 3 games in 3 days against 3 different opponents proved to be both great escape, and apt allegory. Quick note to all you head-shaking Red Sox fans and assorted other Yankee-haters: Give me a break, I was born and raised for the first 12 years of my life about a mile and a half away from Yankee Stadium. It’s a cliché, sure, but it’s in my blood. Also in my blood, passed down from politically informed and involved immigrant grandparents, to my activist/unionist mother, to my brothers and me, and to our children, is an acute awareness of the ongoing social struggle of working families for a better life. So not so strangely enough, I left the Bronx after the last of my three-game set, heading back to The Sunshine State with a cloud of baseball and health reform thoughts swirling together in my noggin. Read More »Posts By Month
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