In the the 1990’s, Brooksley Born, chairperson of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFCT), warned us about our current financial crisis. Will the good old boys, most of the same players that we know today, ever listen to a women! I have the Audacity of Lack of Hope to think not. So on this first fine day of 2010, I’m listening to a woman.
An October 2009 Frontline documentary titled “The Warning” described Born’s failed efforts to regulate and bring transparency to the secretive derivatives market, and noted the continuing resistance to reform. The program concluded with Born sounding another warning: “I think we will have continuing danger from these markets and that we will have repeats of the financial crisis — may differ in details but there will be significant financial downturns and disasters attributed to this regulatory gap, over and over, until we learn from experience.”
In 2009 Born was awarded the John F. Kennedy Profiles in Courage Award in recognition of the political courage she demonstrated in sounding early warnings about conditions that contributed to the current global financial crisis. According to the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library, “…Brooksley Born recognized that the financial security of all Americans was being put at risk by the greed, negligence and opposition of powerful and well connected interests… The catastrophic financial events of recent months have proved them [Born and Sheila Bair] right. Although their warnings were ignored at the time, the American people should be reassured that there are far-sighted public servants at all levels of government who act on principle to protect the people’s interests.”
Let’s do away with all the resolutions, because, face it, you hardly keep em anyhow. Why go through all that disappointment?
I want to hear your New Year Premonitions and Predictions! What do you think the New Year will bring?
It doesn’t have to be too insightful, or even based in reality! Give us your best!
Here’s some to get the mind movin:
Sarah Palin will dump the tea partiers because she doesn’t do tea. She’s more of a coffee gal, you betcha!
I think most will come to the conclusion that marijuana should ONLY be legalized for medical and recreational purposes.
Don’t be suprised if you hear about ten other congress critters who like to hike the Appalachian Trail.
Shits gonna hit the fan the day Obama brings the kids to Disney World and they are all photographed bowing to the Lion King.
TOTUS has finally had enough and smashed himself into into a million tiny pieces. His last words to Obama were, “I don’t get paid enough for this shit! Get yourself some cue cards!”!
Tweety will have multiple leg tingles throughout 2010.
Blago will be exonerated and will become the next US Senator from Chicago, Illinois.
Those are mine, how about you?
Why oh why did I click THIS link!?!
I’m use to the Obamaration, but this, This, THis, THIs, THIS!!!!!!!
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and former Alaska governor Sarah Palin are virtually tied as the most-admired woman.
It’s a good thing most of the utensils in my kitchen drawer are dull! Now, I just have a concussion from banging and slamming my head against a wall! Believe me, my condition could take a turn for the worse!
He meant it when he said this:
[T]axing Cadillac plans that don’t make people healthier, but just take more money out of their pockets because they’re paying more for insurance than they need to, that’s actually a good idea and that helps bend the cost curve; that helps to reduce the cost of health care over the long term. I think that’s a smart thing to do.
When I heard this, I immediately thought this was going to force companies who provide good health insurance to their employees to scale back on the type of policies they provide. In essence, forcing working people who have good insurance into plans that are similar to those who buy their own health insurance. The outcome will be that plans offered via employment will have high deductibles and co pays, but you will pay less for the policy. All is good until the unthinkable happens. I’m sorry but 20% of a $500,000 would bankrupt me. Never mind the high co pays. Never mind the cost of those types of policies will most assuredly rise. This tax creates less choice rather than more, forget about the public option. Dear God, let this bill find it’s way to the shitter.
Bob Hebert dips his toe in the water with a piece called, “A Less Than Honest Policy”. You can read it here.
Sometimes I feel like I am living in an alternate universe. Reading through this article is one of these times. I feel like I need decoder glasses or something to even understand what is being said by all involved. The title of the article alone is confusing: Catholic Group Supports Senate on Abortion Aid. There is no aid for abortion in the Senate bill.
In an apparent split with Roman Catholic bishops over the abortion-financing provisions of the proposed health care overhaul, the nation’s Catholic hospitals have signaled that they back the Senate’s compromise on the issue, raising hopes of breaking an impasse in Congress and stirring controversy within the church.
We have a lesser of two evils. The Catholic Health Association supports the Senate language that further restricts the language of the Hyde Amendment that [already] restricts taxpayer dollars to be used for abortion procedures. (Updated for clarity.)
Catholic scholars say their statement reflects a different application of church teachings against “cooperation with evil,” a calculus that the legislation offers a way to extend health insurance to millions of Americans. For the Catholic hospitals, that it is both a moral and financial imperative, since like other hospitals they stand to gain from reducing the number of uninsured patients.
Catholic hospitals, that don’t even perform medical procedures for abortion because of the Church Amendment conscious clause, are okay with Health Insurance Reform. Everyone will be mandated to buy insurance from the most immoral corporate entity on the face of the earth thus Catholic hospitals will no longer have to serve the poor for free.
Catholic ethics experts said the groups evidently disagree about how far to go in avoiding even remote complicity in abortion.
“The Catholic Health Association seems to be using traditional principles of cooperation with evil,” said Prof. M. Cathleen Kaveny of the Notre Dame University Law School.
Such principles, she said, could permit support for “imperfect legislation,” as long as one’s intent was not to “further abortion,” one made every effort to “minimize the harm,” and one achieved “an extremely important good that can’t be achieved any other way.”
Though some might read this article and see the morality of common ground and the moral imperative of Health Insurance Reform, one thing is coming into sharp focus for me. I must have left my rose-colored glasses on Planet Evil when I beamed down.
Was over at the in laws last night where I ran into Uncle Al. A very nice elderly gentleman who has fought off colon cancer valiantly (with the help of Medicare).
The discussion turned to health care, where Uncle Al was completely against a public option because it was “socialism”. I asked him how he liked his medicare. He loves it and adds that nobody better screw with medicare or social security for people his age. I asked him why my family couldn’t have medicare too. After all it’s just paying the government to pay the doctors. He agrees that medicare isn’t socialism, but the government screws up everything, except, I add, his medicare and social security. He didn’t like that too much and kept falling back on that argument that the government shouldn’t be in charge of health care. But it’s great for him, I keep pointing out. Finally he got to the point where he told me I was too young to have it.
Oh, well. Didn’t want to get Uncle Al to upset and let it go, but truly, people are not thinking this through. He is AOK with paying the insurance companies obscene amounts of money, but not less to the government. People really do need to open their eyes a bit. I’m sure there are millions of Uncle Al’s out there.
Merry Christmas to all our friends here at Wired Left. My wish for us all is to enjoy the day. To do that, we must put politics aside! We can do that for just one day, no???
Let us know, if Santa visited last night? Did you get what you asked for? Were you a good girl or boy the past year? What is you favorite Christmas song? How will you be spending the day?
As for me, Santa did visit last night, but I don’t know what he brought yet. My sixteen year old will probably be sleeping in until 11am or so. I won’t know until he wakes up. I would like to think I have been a good girl, but I know there were times I was naughty. My favorite Christmas song is Home for the Holidays by Perry Como.
Have a great day, everyone!
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act has passed the Senate.
Without one single Republican vote! They sold the farm for nothin!
We are now on our way to where it is going to be mandated that we buy insurance from a corporate entity that pays off our elected officials.
A mandate with a real Public Option or expansion of Medicare would have been great.
Yet, for no additional votes, a bill passes with neither of those two options, gays will be taxed on insurance and women are second class uteruses. Republicans ought to be slapping eachother on the back for this one. They can complain about this horrific piece of legislation, while it’s everything they could have wanted and more and convince a sheepish nation they would have never done something like this.
Merry Christmas, one and all!
I was cruising around the internet a bit today looking for the words “public option” that have come out of Obama’s mouth as of late. Yuck! Yuck! Yuck! I found a really creepy rally where Obama gave a speech to a bunch of college students back in September. I really want you all to read it so you will feel the need to vomit as much as I do. I know we all know President Constant Campaigner, but it just freaked me out. Flashback! But more so, it just flashed as so clear that he has already been replacing his first generation of sheeple base all along the way during this Insurance Stock Soaring Bill. I will give you a sneak preview at the very end of his campaigning.
AUDIENCE: Fired up! (Applause.)THE PRESIDENT: Ready to go?AUDIENCE: Ready to go!THE PRESIDENT: Fired up?AUDIENCE: Fired up!THE PRESIDENT: Ready to go?AUDIENCE: Ready to go!THE PRESIDENT: Fired up?AUDIENCE: Fired up!THE PRESIDENT: Ready to go?AUDIENCE: Ready to go!THE PRESIDENT: Let’s go change the world.Thank you, everybody. (Applause.)
Remarks by The President at Rally on Health Insurance Reform. Okay. You don’t have to read it to feel as gross as I do. The blocked quote gets my point across. (But the words “public option” are of course in there).
Some say that the latest attack against male reproductive rights has gone too far. Several things do indeed stand out in this latest round of legislating equality. For starters, insurance companies would no longer cover the cost of vasectomies. Paying cash for the 500.00 to 1000.oo procedure will definitely affect family planning budgets . According to vasectomy.com, however, there are alternative payment methods if this newest attack on male sterilization rights finds itself in the final legislation.
Most medical offices accept major credit cards. While this is often convenient, it is also likely to mean an interest or finance charge by the credit card company, and that adds a little to your total vasectomy costs.
As you responsibly manage your personal financial affairs, another option may be to pay part of the cost in cash, and pay the balance by way of a credit card.
Female Leaders of Equal Rights in Sterilization say it could be worse. The price tag of a hysterectomy is 2500.00 to 5000.00. Placing that cost on family planning budgets during this economic environment could break the bank for many families. “Let’s remember the language of the Stupid-Pit Amendment in the House mandated families buy an extra policy for sterilization procedures. The language in the Senate bill softens the blow. It seems more than fair that tubal ligation still be covered in insurance policies.”
Surgical sterilization for a man (vasectomy) is significantly less expensive than the sterilization surgery for a woman (tubal ligation), which may be as much as five times more costly. Generally, this is because tubal ligation is a longer, more complex surgery, performed in a hospital or surgery center and requiring a general anesthesia. “A vasectomy is simpler, safer and less expensive than tubal ligation.”
The passage of this bill will not address the larger concerns of the US Conference of Mother Superiors, however, who have had a dog in the fight for over thirty years since the passage of federal law that granted sterilization rights. “Yes, it might reduce the number of vasectomies still making women bare the brunt, but the immorality of sterilization still will not be addressed no matter who foots the bill”, says Natural Family Planning. “Preemptive Baby Killing is really what this is.”
Before 1930, no Christian Church accepted sterilization or any form of contraception as morally acceptable. The Catholic Church and some Protestant Churches still teach that deliberate sterilization is an immoral form of birth control. “Equally to be excluded [as morally permissible], as the teaching authority of the Church has frequently declared, is direct sterilization, whether perpetual or temporary, whether of the man or of the woman” (Humanae Vitae, 14).32
The newest legislation has brought some men and women for sterilization together, however. Common Causers are pleased. Cries of “Get your Church out of my womb” have now been met with the equal voice of “Get your Church off my Vas deferens”. “What’s next?”, asks the US Conference of Mother Superiors. “Both men and women screaming at the Church in unison?” Signage is indeed popping up at multiple common cause rallies. “Get your Church off OUR Reproductive Rights!”
