tagged w/ Reform
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WASHINGTON (CNNMoney) -- House Republicans calling for smaller government and less spending have a big new target: the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
The bureau was the most popular part of the Wall Street reforms passed into law last year. But it was also the most politically controversial, barely emerging after more than a year's worth of legislative wrangling.
The bureau is an independent agency, funded by fees that banks pay to the Federal Reserve. Beginning on July 21, it will be charged with regulating credit cards, mortgages and other financial products like payday loans.
But Republican lawmakers, who've already made good on promises to pass bills to roll back health care reform and undo environmental initiatives, want to take a bite out of the consumer bureau and bring it under their control.
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"Politicizing the funding of bank supervision would be a dangerous precedent," Warren said in a speech to the Consumer's Union last week. "It would deprive the CFPB of the predictable funding it will need to examine large and powerful banks consistently and to provide a level playing field with their nonbank competitors."
More at link.
http://money.cnn.com/2011/02/24/news/economy/republicans_target_consumer_bureau/index.htm?cnn=yesWASHINGTON (CNNMoney) -- House Republicans calling for smaller government and less... more
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This is an excerpt from an article I wrote on one of my blogs:
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It is the strategy of many governments to demonize and discredit political dissent.
Should you doubt this I encourage you to read about the FBI, COINTELPRO and Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. here http://www.icdc.com/%7Epaulwolf/cointelpro/cointel.htm
For 24 years I have of attempted to bring reform and transparency to the Minnesota Judicial System.
Our Minnesota State Government and Court System consider this an act of Political dissent.
I am the target and victim of an operation to demonize and discredit me because cause of my exercise of my Constitutionally protected 1st Amendment Right to Petition our Government for Redress of Grievances.
To demonstrate one method our Government has used to demonize and discredit me, I provide to you this transcript of my Motion to Remove Judge Mary Yunker for Bias.
I am one of the Plaintiffs in this matter. I have been denied full, fair, equitable, unbiased and just adjudication of the matter at hand. After almost 2 years of litigation and the expense of more than $16000 dollars, I have been denied all depositions and the ability to amend my complaint to reflect additional claims. Only on the last day of discovery, did I receive the most insignificant answers to some discovery. I fear this litigation will end in another exercise of "Might Make Right" and "How much justice can you afford?"
Please Click here to read the rest of the Story for Free: Don Mashak's Minnesota 2nd Judicial District Free Press http://donmashaksmn2judicialdistrictfreepres.blogspot.com/2011/02/this-is-how-minnesota-judiciary-system.html
With regard to savings our Country, Lead, Follow or get out of the way.
Those were my thoughts.
Don Mashak
The Cynical Patriot
http://twitter.com/dmashak
Don't Forget the:
Government Corruption Crisis Conference February 27, 2011 (Online)
http://donmashaksanokacountymnfreepress.blogspot.com/2011/02/government-corruption-crisis-conference.htmlThis is an excerpt from an article I wrote on one of my blogs:
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It is the strategy... more
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by Lindsay Beyerstein, Media Consortium blogger
Flickr user DonkeyHotey, via Creative CommonsWith millions of Americans out of work, House Republicans are focusing in on real priorities: decimating private abortion coverage and crippling public funding for abortion, as Jessica Arons reports in RH Reality Check.
In AlterNet, Amanda Marcotte notes that the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act, or H.R. 3, also redefines rape as “forcible rape” in order to determine whether a patient is eligible for a Medicaid-funded abortion. Under the Hyde Amendment, government-funded insurance programs can only cover abortions in cases of rape and incest, or to save the life of the mother. Note that the term “forcible rape” is legally meaningless. Supporters of the bill just want to go on the record as saying that a poor 13-year-old girl pregnant by a 30-year-old should be forced to give birth.
Feminist blogger Sady Doyle has launched a twitter campaign against the bill under the hashtag #dearjohn, a reference to Speaker John Boehner (R-OH). Tweet to let him know how you feel about a bill that discriminates against 70% of rape victims because their rapes weren’t violent enough for @johnboehner, append the hashtag #dearjohn.
Everybody chill out
A federal judge in Florida ruled the entire Affordable Care Act unconstitutional on Monday. However, as political scientist and court watcher Scott Lemieux explains at TAPPED, the ruling is not necessarily a death blow to health care reform:
[T]his ruling is less important than the controversy it will generate might suggest. Many cornerstone programs of the New Deal were held unconstitutional by lower courts before being upheld by the Supreme Court. This ruling tells us nothing we didn’t already know: There is a faction of conservative judges who believe the individual mandate is unconstitutional. Unless this view has the support of five members of the Supreme Court — which I still consider very unlikely — it won’t matter; Vinson’s reasoning would have a much greater impact if adopted by the Court, but for this reason it is even less likely to be adopted by higher courts.
In a follow-up post, Lemieux explains the shaky legal reasoning behind Judge Robert Vinson’s decision. The judge asserts bizarrely that being uninsured has no effect on interstate commerce. That premise is objectively false. Health insurers operate across state lines and the size and composition of their risk pools directly affects their business.
Given the glaring factual inaccuracies, Judge Vinson’s decision may be overturned by a higher court before it gets to the Supreme Court.
Scamming Medicare
Terry J. Allen of In These Times win’s the headline of the week award for an article entitled “Urology’s Golden Revenue Stream.” She reports that increasing numbers of urologists are investing millions on machines to irradiate prostate cancer in the office. The doctors can bill Medicare up to $40,000 per treatment, but they have to use the machines a lot to recoup the initial investment. So what does this mean for patients? Allen explains:
Rather than accessing centralized equipment and sharing costs, physicians are concentrating their own profits by buying expensive in-practice technologies that pay off only if regularly used. One result is overtreatment, which is driving up health care costs, exposing patients to unnecessary radiation and surgeries, and is frequently no better than cheaper approaches.
One third of Medicare patients with prostate cancer undergo the expensive IMRT therapy, as the procedure is known. In 2008, Medicare shelled out over a billion dollars on a treatment that has not shown to be any better for patients than less expensive therapies.
Obstetric fistula in the developing world
Reproductive Health Reality Check is running a special series on the human rights implications of obstetric fistula. Fistula is a devastating complication of unrelieved obstructed labor in which the baby’s head gets stuck in the birth canal and presses against the soft tissues of the pelvis. If labor goes on long enough, the pressure will starve the pelvic tissues of blood, and they will die, creating a hole between the vagina and the bladder, and/or between the vagina and the rectum. Fistula patients face lifelong incontinence, chronic pain, and social ostracism.
The condition is virtually unknown in the developed world, where women with obstructed labor have access to cesarean delivery. However, an estimated 2 million women, primarily in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia, have untreated fistulas with an estimated 50,000 to 100,000 new cases occurring each year. Without reconstructive surgery, these women will be incontinent for life.
Sarah Omega, a fistula survivor from Kenya, tells her story. Omega sustained a fistula when she delivered her first child at the age of 19. She suffered for 12 years before she finally obtained the surgery she needed. As Agnes Odhiambo explains in another installment in the series, fistula is a symptom of a dysfunctional health care system. Women suffer needlessly because they can’t get access to quality health care.
The most likely victims of fistula are the most vulnerable members of their respective communities. Early childbearing increases a woman’s risk of fistula. Pregnant rape victims may face even greater barriers to a safe delivery, thanks to the social stigma that accrues to victims of sexual violence in many societies. (Not to mention any names, House Republicans…)
Preventing and repairing obstetric fistula is a major human rights issue. The U.S. should make this effort a high priority for foreign aid.
This post features links to the best independent, progressive reporting about health care by members of The Media Consortium. It is free to reprint. Visit the Pulse for a complete list of articles on health care reform, or follow us on Twitter. And for the best progressive reporting on critical economy, environment, health care and immigration issues, check out The Audit, The Mulch, and The Diaspora. This is a project of The Media Consortium, a network of leading independent media outlets.by Lindsay Beyerstein, Media Consortium blogger
Flickr user DonkeyHotey, via... more
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"On Saturday, January 29, 2011 more than 50 members of TEA Party Groups from across the State met at the Brooklyn Park MN Library to participate in a Nominal Group Process Meeting. Through this 5.5 hour process, the group set its goals for the immediate future in Minnesota.
With Regard to the Top Issues that Minnesota North Star TEA Party Patriots will help Local groups are:
1) Judicial Reform and Accountability
2) Voter ID
3) Reducing Government Size.
Other Issues in the top 10 included......"
Continue reading on Examiner.com: Results of North Star TEA Party Patriots Coalition Nominal Group Process - Minneapolis Independent | Examiner.com
http://www.examiner.com/independent-in-minneapolis/results-of-north-star-tea-party-patriots-coalition-nominal-group-process#ixzz1CfnPhwf8
Those were my thoughts.
Don Mashak
The Cynical Patriot
http://twitter.com/dmashak"On Saturday, January 29, 2011 more than 50 members of TEA Party Groups from... more
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This is an except from an article I wrote on Examiner.com:
Announcing the Reorganization of Minnesota Judicial Reform and Accountability TEA Party.
Don Mashak, the leader of Minnesota Judicial Reform and Accountability TEA Party has announced a name change and reorganization of said group. (Don Mashak is also the author of this article)
The groups name will change to "TEA PArty Transparency, Accountability and Reform" or Tea Party TAR for short. It also will appear as #TPTAR on Twitter.
The group will be organized around issues rather than localities, as most other TEA Party groups are.
The primary issues of the group will be:
1) Judicial Transparency, Accountability and Reform
2) Fiscal Transparency
3) Public Education reform
To read the rest of the Article, Please visit Examiner.com
http://www.examiner.com/independent-in-minneapolis/reorganization-of-minnesota-judicial-reform-and-accountability-tea-party
Those were my thoughts.
Don Mashak
The Cynical Patriot
http://twitter.com/dmashakThis is an except from an article I wrote on Examiner.com:
Announcing the... more
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This is an except from an article I wrote on Examiner.com:
Announcing the Reorganization of Minnesota Judicial Reform and Accountability TEA Party.
Don Mashak, the leader of Minnesota Judicial Reform and Accountability TEA Party has announced a name change and reorganization of said group. (Don Mashak is also the author of this article)
The groups name will change to "TEA PArty Transparency, Accountability and Reform" or Tea Party TAR for short. It also will appear as #TPTAR on Twitter.
The group will be organized around issues rather than localities, as most other TEA Party groups are.
The primary issues of the group will be:
1) Judicial Transparency, Accountability and Reform
2) Fiscal Transparency
3) Public Education reform
To read the rest of the Article, Please visit Examiner.com
http://www.examiner.com/independent-in-minneapolis/reorganization-of-minnesota-judicial-reform-and-accountability-tea-party
Those were my thoughts.
Don Mashak
The Cynical Patriot
http://twitter.com/dmashakThis is an except from an article I wrote on Examiner.com:
Announcing the... more
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Student Protests are taking place in Italy today (as well as London). In Italy the protests are over a reform bill which is stated to give the private sector more involvement in state universities and budget cuts to unis.
"They claim funding cuts means faculty positions are going unfilled.
Similar protests snarled other cities, including Milan, Turin, Naples, Venice, Palermo and Bari. In Genoa, students protested under the slogan "they block our future, we block the cities."
Police blockades in Rome prevented several lines of marchers from converging on the square outside the Chamber of Deputies and blocked bus and tram routes."-Huffington
According to the BBC, protesters used the Rubbish collection crisis to dump and throw bags of rubbish at the government office in Naples. While Huffington Post shows pictures of students blocking railways.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11877337Student Protests are taking place in Italy today (as well as London). In Italy the... more
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Please retweet this on twitter or repost on facebook.
#MN TEA Time on 1280AM The Patriot, 7a-9a Saturday 11/27/2010 Minnesota State TEA Party talks issues http://bit.ly/eg41NZ Click LIVE LISTEN
Though this is Broadcast on 1280AM the Patriot in the Twin Cities of Minnesota USA, you can
listen to this TEA Party Patriot Radio broadcast any place in the world http://bit.ly/eg41NZ Click LIVE LISTEN
Visit Minnesota North Star TEA Party Patriots website here: http://northstartpp.com
Those were my thoughts.
Don Mashak
The Cynical Patriot
http://twitter.com/dmashak
Minnesota Judicial Reform and Accountability
TEA Party and Lawful Independent Political DissentPlease retweet this on twitter or repost on facebook.
#MN TEA Time on 1280AM The... more
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A continuous massacre caused by a state of utter degradation and lack of personnel and equipment. The Italian prison has become unsustainable, the policy does not address the problem and in the news this problem disappears.
http://www.inaltreparole.net/en/news/carceresuicidisilenziotg011110.htmlA continuous massacre caused by a state of utter degradation and lack of personnel and... more
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On these 50 top U.S. school reform-related blogs, you’ll read some compelling arguments on several different sides. The important thing is that we get ready to take action… because it’s obvious that a new century’s learners are ready for a change.
link: http://www.mastersineducation.com/the-top-50-u-s-school-reform-blogs/On these 50 top U.S. school reform-related blogs, you’ll read some compelling... more
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"Politicians are like diapers; they need to be changed often and for the same reason."
— Mark Twain
http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/termlimits
In the time when our founding fathers drafted our Constitution, and created the U.S Government, they did not intend on government service to become a career.
It is the purpose of this petition to be the voice of the people to limit the terms of Senators to two (12 years maximum), and Representatives to six terms (12 years maximum).
(Reelections have stayed above 85% since 1965, and in 2008 are at 94%) - http://www.firetherulingclass.org/ruling.asp
In March 21, 1947, the Twenty-second Amendment (Amendment XXII) was ratified, and so set limits to the office of The President...but none for anyone else.
The last ratified Amendment in the constitution was in 1992, and dealt with issue of their pay raises.
No such limits have been proposed, or ratified for the very people who write the laws which impact our daily lives.
"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men." -Lord Acton
In a time when our nation seems so polarized by either left, or right; this one thing, I hope we all can agree upon.
We do not need members in Congress or the House, who ignore the voice of the people, or who lend an ear to the highest bidder. We do not need Legislators who grow comfortable with their seat, and do all they can to latch on to it.
We need leaders, representatives who heed our voice, and perform a service to the people of these United States.
It is not a seat of power to be used to make oneself a fortune, but should be used to better the lives of all.
I propose this be added as the 28th Amendment of the Constitution. (for the benefit of all)
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XXViii
Section 1. No person shall be elected to the office of Senator more than twice, and no person who has held the office of Senator, or acted as Senator, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected Senator shall be elected to the office of Senator more than twice (two six-year terms). This article shall be retroactive when applied. Those who currently serve as Senator shall stay for the remainder of the term. Those who have served a prior, consecutive term, will not be eligible for reelection. Those who have served two or more prior consecutive terms will also be ineligible for reelection, upon ratification, and there after.
Section 2. No person shall be elected to the office of Representative more than six terms (one term is for two years), and no person who has held the office of Representative, or acted as Representative, for more than eleven years of a term to which some other person was elected Representative shall be elected to the office of Representative more than six terms. This article shall be retroactive when applied. Those who currently serve as Representative shall stay for the remainder of there term. Those who have served a prior six consecutive terms, will not be eligible for reelection. "
Section 3. The terms and length of service for Senators and Representatives shall not be changed or abridged by the United States or by any State. Only a popular vote, won by no less than 85% of US Citizens shall over turn the limits."Politicians are like diapers; they need to be changed often and for the same... more
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Yeah! Destroy those big insurance companies. We don’t need them! Lets give health care over to the government and its health care programs, Medicare and Medicaid!
I am kidding. No way would I support such a stupid move. Medicare and Medicaid are already crammed. But apparently, some people actually support such a thing.
Honestly, what can you expect the insurance companies to do? I know for a fact that if reform was passed the right way, or even not at all, those plans would never have been dropped. Am I outraged? No, but I am saddened to see it happen but I can understand why. It is survival. Those big bad companies have to make money to continue running. They have to make a profit. I had one person say to me they think it is sick that insurance companies make money off of sick kids. Well, if that is the case then doctors, nurses, and hospitals are just as sick and guilty. How dare they make a buck off those sick kids. How dare those insurance companies save you money so when you have to take your kids to the doctors you don’t end up paying $60, only $20.
See, some people just don’t get it and never will get it. They would rather do away with insurance companies altogether and hand over their child’s health to government. The reason? Those successful people living in mansions who own the insurance companies. You know, the high paid executives. Now I agree that some are WAY over-payed, however, killing all the insurance companies is not the answer as I highly doubt they have thought so far ahead as to what they plan on doing with all those millions who would be looking for jobs.
http://chris-gavin.com/archives/1869Yeah! Destroy those big insurance companies. We don’t need them! Lets give... more
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Davis Guggenheim's new film WAITING FOR SUPERMAN is already generating discussion about education in America. Far from an unbiased documentary, this film has a clear agenda. While its point of view shouldn't be discounted, other perspectives must be explored by those wishing to see the film. This article is one of those perspectives.Davis Guggenheim's new film WAITING FOR SUPERMAN is already generating discussion... more
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Via The New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/13/business/global/13bank.html?ref=todayspaper
On Sunday, world bank leaders agreed to back new regulations to help prevent future economic crises. The rules include increasing the amount of capital banks must in reserve as a cushion against future losses.
However, some say that the regulations may decrease bank profits and raise the cost of borrowing.Via The New York Times:... more
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The pretty face of health reform
By Carol Gentry
7/2/2009 © Health News Florida
Health-care advocacy never looked this good.
Summer DeMichael of Navarre Beach, a haunting beauty who has broadcasting training and acting experience, is one of seven “real people” demanding that Congress take action on health reform in commercials that began airing nationwide this week on cable TV. (See it here.)
Proving it's true that politics makes strange bedfellows, the ads are co-sponsored by the consumer group Families USA and the trade association for the drug industry, the Pharmaceutical Research Manufacturers Association (PHRMA).
The people who appear in the commercials aren't acting when they talk about their troubles in the health-care system. They manage to look appealing despite being sick, worried, or in debt.
For Summer DeMichael, 25, it’s all of the above. She can’t qualify for health insurance because she has Crohn’s disease, a serious auto-immune disorder that causes inflammation of the intestines.
The illness was diagnosed by a gastroenterologist in Pensacola last summer when she came to Gulf Breeze Hospital's emergency room and ended up staying eight days. She had been treated at the Cleveland Clinic back in Ohio before moving to Florida, she said, but it wasn't clear whether her problems were caused by Epstein-Barr virus, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia or something else.
Summer and her husband Anthony DeMichael moved to Navarre Beach in December 2007 because her family had always summered there when she was growing up and she loved it. They had thought they could get jobs without too much trouble, but ran into a bad economy and a flare-up of Summer's illness that kept her close to the bathroom.
She can’t stay well enough to work because she doesn’t have access to specialty care and can’t afford the $1,200-a-month drugs to keep her inflammation under control , she told Health News Florida. The Santa Rosa County Community Clinic sees her on a sliding scale for just $5 a visit, she says, but there isn’t a specialist there who knows how to treat her disease. She's applied to the "We Care" program, sponsored by the county medical society, in hopes there will be a gastroenterologist who will see her without charge.
She says she owes the hospital about $40,000 for the stay in October and another emergency visit in June. With other medical bills through the years, she said, she owes a total of about $250,000. She and Anthony, a network IT consultant who has been able to find only a part-time job at the UPS store, have had to seek charity to avoid eviction and are facing bankruptcy, they say.
All those details made her story ideal for the Families USA/PhRMA commercial; young people can identify with her plight. But there's no time for all those details in a 32-second commercial that features three other people, as well.
In the ad, right after a man who talks about having cancer, Summer looks straight into the camera and says, simply, “I couldn’t work because I was sick, and I couldn’t get better because I didn’t have health insurance.”
Her youthful face is followed by a couple of people who are middle-aged, then Summer returns.
“I think Americans deserve better,” she says, delivering the kicker. “This is one promise the politicians need to keep.”
The multimillion-dollar ad campaign urges lawmakers to pass legislation for quality, affordable health care for all Americans. It’s timed to air on CNN, Fox and MSNBC while lawmakers are on break back home and preparing for the big push on health reform when they return to Washington.
Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA, said his group has found common ground with PhRMA on three themes:
--Families should be eligible for Medicaid with incomes up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level ($29,300 for a famiy of four).
--Those who can’t get Medicaid should be eligible for sliding-scale subsidies for private coverage.
--There should be a cap on the out-of-pocket expenses.
PhRMA is financing the ad buys. Families USA’s job was to find the people.
For many years, the consumer group has kept a “story bank” of horrible encounters with the health-care system and insurance companies. A young staffer found compelling stories and vetted them. Summer DeMichael was among those invited to Washington to tell their stories on camera.
There was never any suggestion of hiring actors, said Pollack. “We wanted to have real people.”
--Carol Gentry can be reached at 727-410-3266 or at this e-mail address.
http://www.healthnewsflorida.org/index.cfm/go/public.articleView/article/12744The pretty face of health reform
By Carol Gentry
7/2/2009 © Health News... more
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President Dmitry Medvedev signed a decree on Thursday reforming the structure of the Interior Ministry of the Russian Federation.President Dmitry Medvedev signed a decree on Thursday reforming the structure of the... more
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The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced today that the Atlantic Basin is still on track for an very active and dangerous hurricane season, despite the relatively slow start.The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced today that the... more
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The Obama machine pushed through a "finance reform" bill with no mention of the biggest cause of the financial crisis, the government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. What's next?The Obama machine pushed through a "finance reform" bill with no mention of... more
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