Current Events // Current TV

Bill Gates Wants You DEAD! (VIDEO) Microsoft Founder “Use Vaccines To Lower Population”…WTF???

Bill Gates: Use Vaccines To Lower Population Paul Joseph Watson Monday, March 1,... more

ctpatriot1970
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2 years ago
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Fox News Boycott

Panel discussion on the Obama Administration's recent boycott of Fox News.

perspectives
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2 years ago
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Why taxing cosmetic surgery is a bad idea.
If Americans were concerned about Congress getting its grubby hands on their Medicare, wait till it touches their breast implants. Among the ways the Senate health care bill pays for itself is a 5 percent tax on elective cosmetic surgery like tummy tucks, face lifts, hair plugs, collagen injections, and any other nonrequired procedures—a proposal known as the "Botax."
Plastic surgeons, like many of their patients, aren't smiling. Industry groups like the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery and the American Society of Plastic Surgeons have launched campaigns against the tax, arguing not only that it would hurt business during a recession—elective surgeries are down already—but that it doesn't target the high rollers Congress is aiming for. Furthermore, says Big Knife, taxing cosmetic surgery could sag the economy as a whole, just when it needs a lift most. (The tax would raise an estimated $6 billion.)

The tax seems like an easy populist sell. One imagines the main clientele of plastic surgeons as the cast of the Real Housewives of New Jersey. But the tax isn't as progressive as it sounds, say surgeons. According to a 2005 survey by the ASPS, one-third of people who get plastic surgery make less than $30,000 a year, 70 percent of clients make less than $60,000, 86 percent make less than $90,000, and only 13 percent make more than $90,000. (Of course, that survey was based on people planning to get elective surgery, not those who actually got it.) Indeed, cosmetic surgery is an industry supported largely by people who can't afford it—a full 85 percent of operations are paid for using credit, according to Middlebury sociology professor Laurie Essig. As a result, the tax would hit low-income consumers especially hard.

But the argument isn't just that taxing plastic surgery is bad for the economy. It's also that plastic surgery itself is good for the economy. Call it a … (rimshot, please) stimulus package.

http://www.slate.com/id/2236447?wpisrc=newsletterWhy taxing cosmetic surgery is a bad idea. If Americans were concerned about Congress... more

remanns
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2 years ago
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New features on Sustainable Agriculture/Water Is Life Groups

A short video to update on what is going on in the Sustainable Agriculture and Water... more

JanforGore
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2 years ago
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G.W. Bush 'Miss Me Yet?' billboard appears along I-35

A billboard along Interstate 35 in MN depicts Former President G. W. Bush with the... more

lucasives
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2 years ago
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Some Democrats Seek a Change in Filibuster Rules

Should the Senate change the filibuster rules? It's an idea worth discussing.... more

lucasives
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2 years ago
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Alarming Statistics Provided by Poll of Republican Values

Below are the findings of a poll conducted by Research 2000. I'm not familiar... more

lucasives
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2 years ago
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President Proposes Health Care Summit with Republicans

President Obama today proposed a televised Health Care summit with Republicans to get... more

lucasives
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2 years ago
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Hypocrisy

The Republican Party supposedly espouses smaller government. That is, unless... more

lucasives
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2 years ago
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Health Care and Democracy

Health Care is in limbo.

Debate and compromise is part of the democratic process. The system was designed this way to prevent extremes. A law ends up reflecting the moderate views of the elected representatives and, by extension, the will of most of the people.

That happened in 2009, to an extent. Then Massachusetts happened.

Remember, the middle of the road in Congress is a space occupied by Democrats. The 20 seats in the middle of the Senate’s ideological spectrum are held by Democrats (with the exception of two Independents who caucus with Democrats). This makeup in Congress was decided by the people on Election Day. The American people spoke, and we should not confuse the people’s voice with that of the vocal minority go to Tea Parties. (We should also not confuse the will of all Americans with the will of those in a state who have nothing to lose if health care fails. Massachusetts already has universal health care.)

So what is different about this process? What is the highly-charged rhetoric about? Compromises were made and the most moderate concepts have been agreed to and incorporated into the bill (with few differences between Senate and House bills). But you wouldn't know it by watching the news. This is because of the policy of non-cooperation and misinformation put into play by the Republican machine.

Non-cooperation: No Republican supported this bill, but not because the bill reflected extreme views. In fact, the bill has evolved into a very moderate piece of legislation with the removal of a public option and the adjusted language on abortion. It is a more conservative document than the one many Republicans supported when President Clinton tried to pass health care reform. The difference is that the Republican Party itself espouses extreme views. To prove the point, the RNC has been considering a resolution that would prevent moderate Republicans from receiving party funds by imposing a so-called ‘purity test’ on candidates. The GOP has become the party of extreme ideology.
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/11/24/rnc-resolution-wont-handcuff-steele-co-sponsor-says/

Misinformation: The most obvious example is Sarah Palin’s assertion that early versions of the health care bill called for ‘death panels.’ This claim has earned Politifact’s distinction as ‘Lie of the Year.' Not only was this statement irresponsible, but perhaps even criminally negligent. (I consider this behavior similar to yelling ‘fire’ in a crowded theater.)
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2009/dec/18/politifact-lie-year-death-panels/

I hope and pray that, despite the Republican Party’s repeated attempts to derail the democratic process, health care reform will become the law. I’ve stated that this bill has evolved into a piece of moderate legislation, but that doesn’t mean it is short on change. I would have preferred a public option, but despite not getting one, America would benefit. For example, my mother (and millions like her) would no longer need to worry about being dropped by the insurance company because she’s reached her limit on expenses. If my fiancée loses her job, goes into business for herself or accepts a job at a company that does not provide insurance, she will not be denied coverage due to preexisting conditions. Millions of Americans in a similar situation would benefit from such reform, not to mention the millions who would be insured for the first time.

Unfortunately, for now, the democratic process and health care has been stalled. Let’s hope, for America’s sake, that the democratic process eventually prevails and Republican politicians either start fighting for the people, (instead of their political career,) or get elected out of office.Health Care is in limbo. Debate and compromise is part of the democratic process.... more