Displaying 3,421 To 3,450 Of 16,275 Comments As a doctor, I’m seeing firsthand the dire, sad effects of AHCCCS cuts I am a retired physician who does some independent medical examinations on people applying for disability. The other day a patient came for an exam who had a blood pressure of 230/120, and she took out a bag filled with various prescription bottles that were all empty. She was certainly aware of her high blood pressure and had been under a doctor’s care until she was dropped from the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System, known as AHCCCS, rolls recently because she was single and no longer qualified under the new guidelines. AHCCCS is our state’s Medicaid system for low-income people. She actually was still working but could only manage four hours every two weeks because of her poor health. Her high blood pressure was only one of many problems, but now it had jumped to No. 1 in seriousness for her. […] This is not the first patient I have seen who has come in with a bag full of empty prescription bottles who can’t work or can’t find a job with benefits and whose health is deteriorating more rapidly because they can’t even qualify for AHCCCS, which is supposed to be part of the safety net for people in dire situations financially or medically. This has been happening with regularity and as a result, some of these people will certainly die before their time because of a lack of medical care. So when Gov. Jan Brewer and the Arizona Legislature decided that this was a necessary solution to help balance our meager budget, I wonder how many of them were actually aware of the death and devastation they would be causing in real people who have nowhere else to turn. The level of medical services available to the poor, the unemployed and the chronically ill was never that great in Arizona, but now it has sunk to a new low. People are dying and getting sicker because they no longer qualify for AHCCCS. I may have trouble sleeping at night since I saw that woman, but I suspect this problem will not cause any sleepless nights for the politicians. Read more: http://azstarnet.com/article_b8e35054-c36a-5a3e-b790-a17ce0870fbe.html#ixzz1dG1UtJMp 🙁 😥 👿 » Posted By bito On November 9, 2011 @ 4:20 pm Commie, Pinko, Socialist book and movie! When preparing to write the novel, Steinbeck wrote: “I want to put a tag of shame on the greedy bastards who are responsible for this [the Great Depression and its effects].” He famously said, “I’ve done my damndest to rip a reader’s nerves to rags,” and this work won a large following among the working class due to Steinbeck’s sympathy to the workers’ movement and his accessible prose style. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Grapes_of_Wrath That is a great book and movie and now I will have to buy it next time I’m at the used bookstore. I wouldn’t doubt that the Koch brothers dad was the leader of the groups that banned and burnt the book. » Posted By bito On November 9, 2011 @ 4:03 pm funk, I thought for sure that you had sent them that idea! 😉 Just don’t spend the rent money. » Posted By bito On November 9, 2011 @ 2:45 pm Not just defeated, it was humiliated: 61 percent to 39 percent. I heard last night that it lost by close to that same margin in K-Sick’s town. county. I wonder what the margin was in Boners district? » Posted By bito On November 9, 2011 @ 2:32 pm Radical Republican Repeal Day of 2011 Yesterday, we previewed some of the hottest races and ballot questions. We’re pleased to report that progressives across the country triumphed against radical Republicans and their extremist agenda. Here’s the rundown. REPEALED: Ohio’s 99 Percent triumphed by overwhelmingly voting to repeal SB 5, the GOP’s anti-worker law. IN ONE SENTENCE: Republicans across the country who embraced the most radical elements of both the Tea Party and social conservative wings of their party found themselves repudiated by voters eager for solutions that work for the 99 Percent too — be they workers, women, immigrants, or otherwise. I have been reading and hearing of many more smaller and local elections that rebuked the overreach of the TPGOP’s from their getting elected. Don’t break your arms, patting our collective backs, there is plenty of heavy lifting left to do. » Posted By bito On November 9, 2011 @ 2:25 pm We had a post and discussion in 2009 here at the Planet and like a bad penny, it’s shows up again. From Senator Mark Udall: Dear “Friend,” I just got word that the vote to overturn the FCC’s Net Neutrality rules could happen as early as tomorrow morning. This misguided effort would tilt the Internet from a place where every citizen’s voice has an equal opportunity to be heard towards favoring media conglomerates and anyone wealthy enough to pay for privileged access. We’ve already gathered 12,357 signatures and we’re well on our way to our grassroots goal of 20,000 supporters. But now, more than ever, I need your help to get us over the finish line. Can you take 30 seconds to sign the 20,000 Strong for Net Neutrality petition? And from the Petition: This week, Senate Republicans will try to overturn the FCC’s rules preserving Net Neutrality which guarantees a level playing field for all websites and Internet users. Net Neutrality ensures everyone has a voice on the Internet and no one can be silenced simply because they can’t afford to pay. http://www.markudall.com/page/s/stand-up-for-net-neutrality This means sites like PlanetPOV and any site that can’t pay the same money for access as a corporately owned site. How much can you afford to come here or how long would you be willing for it to load, would you even bother? “My” Senator, John McCain was strong voice for Net Neutrality when W was in office, and now he is a strong voice for ending it. This is positively and OWS/99% issue worth taking up, how much would a corporate service provider charge a site like “Occupy Wall Street”? Or would their site and this one have to be filled with adds, pop-ups and banners to pay for them? Call your Senator, one more time, sign the petition! Don’t allow corporate control of the internet! » Posted By bito On November 9, 2011 @ 1:33 pm Exactly Em, one of the women could have “leaked it” because she went “Whoa, this guy can’t be president, he has no character and he is a real slime ball, I need to tell someone what he did to me.” It may have not been political at all, but she had some integrity and pride, concern for the country. » Posted By bito On November 9, 2011 @ 11:45 am Tom Toles is a great editorial cartoonist that I’ve liked for many years. Some of his best lines are many times in the lower right-hand corner. » Posted By bito On November 9, 2011 @ 11:34 am I’m fairly sure that Karl can walk and chew gum and has enough money and resources to spread around to both damage Cain and Perry at the same time. Right now Cain presents the bigger threat to Romney and he can deal with Perry at a later time if he shows any sign of resurgence. One can say many things about Karl Rove, but one of the isn’t that he doesn’t know electoral politics. Rove is focused, beating PBO and he knows Perry and Cain have little chance of meeting that goal. I don’t know why that there needs to be any conspiracy any way. Is it not possible that some young reporter actually looked into Cain’s Senate run and saw this tidbit or some older reporter remembered it? » Posted By bito On November 9, 2011 @ 11:30 am New twist on the drinking game for the debates. Obama Camp Sets Up “GOP Debate Watch” Fundraising Game The Obama re-election campaign launched a “GOP Debate Watch” website to fundraise off certain key terms they anticipate will be used at the Republican presidential debate tonight in Michigan. People can pick a term — like “obamacare,” “repeal,” “class warfare” and others — and pledge a dollar amount every time a candidate uses those words.
http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/updates/1757 https://www.gopdebatewatch.com/ Hey, we need this for our PayPal button, maybe we can get our jet out of the shop. 😉 » Posted By bito On November 9, 2011 @ 10:55 am And what’s with that smile? [img]http://www.washingtonpost.com/rf/image_296w/2010-2019/WashingtonPost/2011/10/31/Editorial-Opinion/Graphics/toles11012011.jpg[/img] http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/toles-looks-to-election-2012/2011/04/04/AFIGBGdC_gallery.html » Posted By bito On November 9, 2011 @ 10:42 am Why look past Karl Rove, he has been a dirty trickster most of his political life. » Posted By bito On November 9, 2011 @ 10:27 am Woo-Hoo! But Pearce, in an interview with Capitol Media Services, said he would not have done anything any different since he was first elected to the Legislature in 2000. That includes not only Pearce’s high-profile sponsorship of bills aimed at curbing illegal immigration but other issues where he has helped get legislation approved. “We’re No 1 in the nation in Second Amendment liberties,” said Pearce, who helped push through laws allowing any adult to carry a concealed weapon. “We’re one of the top in the nation in laws that protect the unborn.” “So what else would i do differently?” he asked. “I’m pretty proud of that record.” » Posted By bito On November 8, 2011 @ 10:02 pm Obama And Biden Congratulate The People of Ohio On Their Issue 2 Win The White House said, “The President congratulates the people of Ohio for standing up for workers and defeating efforts to strip away collective bargaining rights, and commends the teachers, firefighters, nurses, police officers and other workers who took a stand to defend those rights.” And from VP Joe: “Tonight the people of Ohio delivered a gigantic victory for the middle class with their overwhelming rejection of a Republican attempt to strip away collective bargaining rights. Fundamental fairness has prevailed. By standing with teachers and firefighters and cops, Ohio has sent a loud and clear message that will be heard all across the country: The middle class will no longer be trampled on. The people of Ohio are to be congratulated.” http://www.politicususa.com/en/obama-biden-issue-2 » Posted By bito On November 8, 2011 @ 9:57 pm Khirad, you know I want him to lose more than than the Cap’n, I just wonder about the 27,000 early ballots sent out, not yet counted and who will be counting the votes. Him being defeated whould be an early X-mas, I’m just being cautious about the big box under the tree that ends up being filled with just crumpled newspaper. Right now the margin seems insurmountable and the trend looks likes he will be defeated, but I have been disappointed before. » Posted By bito On November 8, 2011 @ 9:46 pm Looking at many election results from around the country it has been quite an amazing change from the 2010 elections! GOTV » Posted By bito On November 8, 2011 @ 9:08 pm Hold off with that deceleration, there is a huge amount of early ballots to be counted and it may take days. It does look good so far but it is Phoenix, AZ Pearce recall: Final results will take time Oh what a joy it would be to see the ALEC de facto governor defeated. » Posted By bito On November 8, 2011 @ 8:52 pm Good stuff, Patsy! I’m not sure what he was on, but it wasn’t coffee or facts. » Posted By bito On November 8, 2011 @ 8:07 pm Em, I’m watching our twitter feeds and if I see something I will tweet it. » Posted By bito On November 8, 2011 @ 6:06 pm I would sue someone Khirad, they didn’t show the drummers! 😉 » Posted By bito On November 8, 2011 @ 3:35 pm Em, more from AFL-CIO on the dirty tricks in Ohio today Ohio Dirty Tricks: Robo Calls Give Wrong Day For Vote Today the people of Ohio will decide, in a referendum vote, whether Gov. John Kasich’s anti-worker bill will become law or get tossed out. So when an Ohio union staffer and registered Democrat got a robo-call this morning telling her to vote “tomorrow” — not today, Nov. 8 — she became immediately suspicious. The call was received by an SEIU staff member. The group sponsoring the robocall is the American Future Fund, a Republican organization led by a member of the Iowa State Senate. Although the call instructed her to vote the Republican-sponsored position in support of Issue 2 — the ballot measure that could ratify of S.B. 5, the bill that would virtually end collective bargaining for public employees — the recipient is a registered Democrat. The script: Hi, I am calling to remind you that tomorrow is Election Day. It is critically important that you go vote and protect the future of our country. Tomorrow, please go to the polls and vote YES on Issue 2, and vote YES on Issue 3. Paid for by American Future Fund and not authorized by any candidate or candidate committee. http://blog.aflcio.org/2011/11/08/ohio-dirty-tricks-robo-calls-give-wrong-day-for-vote/ » Posted By bito On November 8, 2011 @ 2:24 pm I loved the part about anonymous sources at the end of this clip. Indecision 2012 – He Said, She Said, She Said, She Said, She Said – Anonymous Sources » Posted By bito On November 8, 2011 @ 1:03 pm Em, We know that a poll can turn quite easily depending on the question, that’s why I was having a little fun with it. It does look good even with, like you say, all the outside money and voter suppression. From the same article: This poll confirms what two earlier polls had found. More than two weeks ago, the margin was 56%-36% in favor of rejecting SB 5. Last week, a Quinnipiac poll placed the margin at 57%-32% in favor of repealing the bill. GOTV ❗ It is amazing what the R’s will do stop the people: Voter Suppression and Manipulation in Ohio http://blog.aflcio.org/2011/11/08/voter-suppression-and-manipulation-in-ohio/ » Posted By bito On November 8, 2011 @ 12:53 pm Remarks by the President on Head Start in Yeadon, Pennsylvania And the teachers, the staff who are here, they wouldn’t be doing this for the money. They’re doing it out of love of children. All of you do it because you know that when it comes to learning and when it comes to growing, this is an absolutely critical period in a child’s life. We know that three- and four-year-olds who go to high-quality preschools — including our best Head Start programs — are less likely to repeat a grade; they’re less likely to need special education; they’re more likely to graduate from high school than the peers who did not get these services. And so this makes early education one of our best investments in America’s future. One of the best. (Applause.) […] Now, unfortunately, in Congress right now, it’s a different story. The Republicans in Washington have been trying to gut our investments in education. Earlier this year, nearly every Republican in the House voted for a budget that would have cut hundreds of thousands of children from Head Start. They’ve tried to cut Pell Grants for college students. They just voted against a jobs bill that would have put 400,000 teachers back in the classroom. This is the Presidential action that he took because Congress won’t: We Can’t Wait: President Obama Takes Action to Improve Quality and Promote Accountability in Head Start Programs » Posted By bito On November 8, 2011 @ 12:44 pm Oh sure, change the question to get the answer you want. 😉 Polling Reveals Ohio Voters Are Set To Hand The Koch Brothers A Humiliating Defeat For the third time a new poll has found that Ohio voters are going to sound reject the Koch brothers union busting agenda tonight. The PPP survey found that 59% of voters are going to vote to repeal SB 5. The PPP survey asked Ohio voters two questions about Issue 2. The first question was, “Issue 2 is a referendum on Senate Bill 5, which is a new law relative to government union contracts and other government employment contracts and policies. If the election was today, would you vote yes to approve this law or no to reject this law?” Fifty nine percent of those polled said that they would vote no on Issue 2 to reject SB 5. Only 36% of respondents said that they would vote yes. The question was later rephrased around collective bargaining for public employees, “On Tuesday, Ohio will have a referendum on whether to approve or reject Senate Bill 5, which was passed earlier this year, and limits collective bargaining rights for public employees. If the election was today, would you vote to approve or reject Senate Bill 5?” The result an identical 59%-36% split in favor of rejecting SB 5. http://www.politicususa.com/en/election-day-poll-issue-2-ohio » Posted By bito On November 8, 2011 @ 10:16 am pshaw 😳 with liberty and justice for all.” » Posted By bito On November 7, 2011 @ 6:03 pm Jobs, Jobs, Jobs, k’es! Just think of all the private Juvenile Detention Centers that they could start filled with grade schoolers and the prison guards they could employ at minimum wage to ‘learn’ those insolent young law breakers! I wonder if any of those legislators even know that the “under God” was an add on after the fact? It has had as many changes to it as this fellow has changed his snow tires. The Pledge of Allegiance was written in 1892 by Francis Bellamy (1855–1931), who was a Baptist minister, a Christian socialist, and the cousin of socialist utopian novelist Edward Bellamy (1850–1898). “I pledge allegiance to my flag and the republic for which it stands: one nation indivisible with liberty and justice for all.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pledge_of_Allegiance Maybe he should attempt to uphold, enact the principals, of the pledge instead of worrying about memorization, eh? , » Posted By bito On November 7, 2011 @ 5:46 pm It was U-Tubes fault, k’es, not your’s. » Posted By bito On November 6, 2011 @ 7:46 pm The link is fine k’es , the embed code was for a speech of VP JOE. Go figure. » Posted By bito On November 6, 2011 @ 7:22 pm And the embed code didn’t match the video. 🙂 » Posted By bito On November 6, 2011 @ 7:06 pmComments Posted By bito
When You Fight, You Win: Progressive Pushback Carries the Day
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ROUTED: The strongly pro-life voters of the Magnolia State rejected the extreme, anti-woman “personhood” amendment by a shockingly large 58 percent to 42 percent margin.
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RETAINED: Democrat Liz Mathis soundly defeated Republican Cindy Golding in the Iowa state Senate District 18 special election, allowing Democrats to retain their majority….
For the National Organziation for Marriage and The Family Leader, it was a stinging rebuke.
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REINSTATED: Mainers stood up and said no, by a 61 percent to 39 percent margin, to the GOP’s War on Voting and reinstated Maine’s nearly-40 year-old law allowing voters to register on Election Day.
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RECALLED: The radical, racist Arizona state Senate President Russell Pearce, who led the fight to pass the state’s anti-immigrant SB 1070 “papers please” law, was recalled from office.
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RETAKEN: The Wake County Schools in North Carolina retook a majority on the school board, which has been under radical Republican control for two years after heavy spending in previous elections by Art Pope, a wealthy financier of right-wing causes and close ally of the Koch Brothers.
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Progress is Progressive!
and this from the mean self-righteous raciest bigot.
The best Occupy was the #occupythevotingbooth!
I will give a huge amount to the President for changing the tone, the mood, of the country and making many voters and the media aware of who is to blame for the lack of jobs and recovery (and perhaps I should give some credit to the R clowns vying to replace him.)
But with all he bluster, I wonder if he even knows the last part?
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