Thanksgiving was such a treat, it was the most relaxing and stress free holiday I have had dare I say, ever. Christmas shopping is done, thanks to a crummy economy we are in way pull back mode and that made shopping very easy. one gift for each child. I am now also looking forward to enjoying everyday from here on out to Christmas. So in light of all things, there have been some real gifts in the process of this slowed economy. To get back to all things political I see several stories that give me even more hope for our future and our economy.
They have been written better than I could re-write them so I am going to link to the hottest stories that are bringing me joy this holiday season.
Why You Should Be Hot and Bothered About 'Climate-gate'
Read Story Here
Basically, email's hacked prove that researchers have been trying to destroy and liw about facts relating to global warming, seems we are cooling off!
Cap and Trade & Climate Gate (a UK prospective)
Read Story Here
Hard to pass a bill full of pork and lies when there is no threat to our lives.
The great news is that this will hopefully kill the cap and trade bill cold. Awesome.
Did you read Holly on the Hill and her post on Black Friday? Click on Highlighted Text to link to story.
2010 is around the corner and I think we are going to see people being elected to state, and federal levels of government to bring us back towards a people run government. All these pains of the last year or so will be hopefully well learned lessons to move us into a stronger future. One filled with purpose and drive to inspire us to be educated, involved, and take action.
Out of curiosity I went and did a search for the largest supplier of Wind Mills for Wind Farm. It is a largely European company and has an interesting history. I didn't read through all of it but it started in Berlin, and has holdings all over Europe and has moved into being a Global Player. Siemens From Workshop to Global Player
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Politicizing Breast Cancer or Politicizing the Health Care Bill?
On, "This Week" with Host George Stephanopoulos.....
The Republicans, and Ms. Marsha Blackburn, (7th District Tennessee) have for the first time politicized breast cancer," Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.)said on ABC's "This Week," where Blackburn (R-Tenn.) was also a guest.
Schultz, a breast cancer survivor, slammed Republicans for trying to use controversial new mammogram guidelines as an argument against Democrats' health care legislation.
"That is incorrect," shot back Blackburn, who had just finished arguing that the Democrats' bill would make the recommendations of the same task force mandatory and thus end up rationing care.
"The guidelines that came out this week by the Preventive Services Task Force have a direct link to what would be offered if the House and the Senate bills were to go into law, if they were to be put into law," said Blackburn, referring to the recent recommendation that women between the ages of 40 and 50 no longer need annual mammograms.
Wasserman Shultz insisted that the task force recommendations were just that, not rules to ration care: "As a breast cancer survivor, I came out against these recommendations. Every major cancer organization has come out against these recommendations. The task force language in that [health care reform] bill actually makes sure that preventive services like mammograms and colonoscopies and other cancer screenings would be free," she said. "They aren't going to be binding. They're recommendations."
If the healthcare bill passes the guidelines become the law. The task force rate guidelines as an A, B, C (so forth) rating and the new guidelines for Mammograms and Pap smears have been rated as a C rating. Therefore, even though they would have been covered at no cost under preventative care in the new health care plan. Their new rating would mean that they would not be covered at all. That is right no coverage for basic cancer care screening.
Blackburn read the language straight from the bill and the the response of Schultz was that the Republicans are twisting the language and meaning of the bill. The discussion became even more heated. Stephanopoulos read himself from the bill and agreed with Blackburn that the language was there, that only A and B recommendations would be covered. Proving Rep. Blackburn's claims.
Rep. Ben Nelson (D-Nebraska) did say that he would not vote this bill off the Senate floor the way the bill currently stands. He wants stronger language prohibiting federal funds for abortion. And he wants more cost control.
The Republicans, and Ms. Marsha Blackburn, (7th District Tennessee) have for the first time politicized breast cancer," Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.)said on ABC's "This Week," where Blackburn (R-Tenn.) was also a guest.
Schultz, a breast cancer survivor, slammed Republicans for trying to use controversial new mammogram guidelines as an argument against Democrats' health care legislation.
"That is incorrect," shot back Blackburn, who had just finished arguing that the Democrats' bill would make the recommendations of the same task force mandatory and thus end up rationing care.
"The guidelines that came out this week by the Preventive Services Task Force have a direct link to what would be offered if the House and the Senate bills were to go into law, if they were to be put into law," said Blackburn, referring to the recent recommendation that women between the ages of 40 and 50 no longer need annual mammograms.
Wasserman Shultz insisted that the task force recommendations were just that, not rules to ration care: "As a breast cancer survivor, I came out against these recommendations. Every major cancer organization has come out against these recommendations. The task force language in that [health care reform] bill actually makes sure that preventive services like mammograms and colonoscopies and other cancer screenings would be free," she said. "They aren't going to be binding. They're recommendations."
If the healthcare bill passes the guidelines become the law. The task force rate guidelines as an A, B, C (so forth) rating and the new guidelines for Mammograms and Pap smears have been rated as a C rating. Therefore, even though they would have been covered at no cost under preventative care in the new health care plan. Their new rating would mean that they would not be covered at all. That is right no coverage for basic cancer care screening.
Blackburn read the language straight from the bill and the the response of Schultz was that the Republicans are twisting the language and meaning of the bill. The discussion became even more heated. Stephanopoulos read himself from the bill and agreed with Blackburn that the language was there, that only A and B recommendations would be covered. Proving Rep. Blackburn's claims.
Rep. Ben Nelson (D-Nebraska) did say that he would not vote this bill off the Senate floor the way the bill currently stands. He wants stronger language prohibiting federal funds for abortion. And he wants more cost control.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
9/12 State Meeting at Capitol
Here is a transcript of Morgan Philpot's speech at the capitol today. It was inspired, he had the attention of every person in attendance.
Thank you very much; I am privileged to be here today. You know I love Congressman Chaffetz toilet story. I like to think we all have a similar problem; there’s this great big toilet back in DC and it won’t flush. (Applause)
Back in 1998, my wife and I found ourselves coming home from DC after internships at the White House and the Supreme Court, and we knew at that time we needed to get active in politics. So the very next year in 1999; we made a phone call to the Republican Party and we said, “How do we attend our mass meetings?” And they said, call this person, and so we did. We called him and a few days later we went to his house and we picked up a manila envelope; in order to host a caucus, because nobody wanted to do it. My wife and I hosted that mass meeting. My wife became the precinct chair, I think, I became the vice chair, she became the secretary, we both became state delegates and we both became county delegates. Now as you can imagine, it wasn’t because we were popular, it was because we were the only two people there. (Laughter)
Now within a year of that in 2000 I had decided. Well, I have been a Vice Chair, I have been a delegate, it’s time to run for congress! So my wife and I set about learning about what it would take to run for congress. Well fortunately someone approached me and said, “Now look, we have got a legislative seat in need of a candidate would you be willing to run?” and I said, “Sure.” I decided to run for the state legislature.
My wife and I spent the next year or our life campaigning as hard as we could and (pause) Sorry, my wife is far more composed than I am she should be speaking. By September of 2000, I walked in (pause) to that chamber, I stood on that dais before a man named Marty Stephens and I took an oath (pause) in which I swore to defend the constitution of the United States of America. (Applause)
As you can probably tell; that moment had a profound influence on my life. I made a commitment at that time that I would do that at the expense of my reputation at the expense at any money I did have. And I committed to serve the very best I could. I served for four years and left to go to law school after having a little boy who sits right over there. When I came back I thought perhaps I was done. But, my time in politics although a very good experience; has been in large part a great disappointment. I have seen that our parties, that our government is filled with patronage and filled with power mongering. That is in direct contradiction and in diametric opposition to what our constitution and our founding fathers intended. When they wrote that constitution, James Madison stated, that there was intent to create a labyrinthine structure that would prevent the aggregation of all branches of government and power into the hands of any one particular faction. And yet what do our parties seek to do? They seek to control, they seek to aggregate power, they have set themselves in direct opposition to the Constitution of the United States of America. (Hear a man shout, “Here, Here” Applause)
Now we all know that is wrong. The Constitution provides the means which a person is invited to transcend and rise above patronage, partisanship and power mongering, it is the oath of office. It is an oath by which we swear to uphold the Constitution of the United States. It is not a partisan document. It is not intended to benefit any one person or one party over another.
Now they are not going to do this on their own, the parties, our congressmen, our senators. You must compel them to do it. You must bind them down with the chains of the Constitution. Now we don’t have a lot of time left to do it. I think it is pretty clear that our Constitution sits upon a precipice and we have a decision to make. Will we let it go the way of so many other governments so many other forms that have been written to try and instill freedom with in the hearts and culture of people or will we bear it away? That is a decision we must make. I believe that we have an opportunity. I believe that we can say from here on out. As Utah goes, so goes the Nation. That is the opportunity you have.
March twenty-third is the night that, that small and peaceful grassroots revolution can begin. You need to be at your mass meeting. You need to become a delegate. No matter what party you go for, you need to be a delegate. If you do I believe we can change the very nature of politics in this nation and we can do it right her and we start with you. I hope that today you leave here with a firm commitment to run to become a delegate no matter what it takes. Ask your family to help you ask them to sacrifice with you and I believe together we will make it possible if not to save the heart of this nation, to at least preserve our state as a shining example of how Constitutional government should be upheld and maintained.
Thank you so much for being here today.
Thank you very much; I am privileged to be here today. You know I love Congressman Chaffetz toilet story. I like to think we all have a similar problem; there’s this great big toilet back in DC and it won’t flush. (Applause)
Back in 1998, my wife and I found ourselves coming home from DC after internships at the White House and the Supreme Court, and we knew at that time we needed to get active in politics. So the very next year in 1999; we made a phone call to the Republican Party and we said, “How do we attend our mass meetings?” And they said, call this person, and so we did. We called him and a few days later we went to his house and we picked up a manila envelope; in order to host a caucus, because nobody wanted to do it. My wife and I hosted that mass meeting. My wife became the precinct chair, I think, I became the vice chair, she became the secretary, we both became state delegates and we both became county delegates. Now as you can imagine, it wasn’t because we were popular, it was because we were the only two people there. (Laughter)
Now within a year of that in 2000 I had decided. Well, I have been a Vice Chair, I have been a delegate, it’s time to run for congress! So my wife and I set about learning about what it would take to run for congress. Well fortunately someone approached me and said, “Now look, we have got a legislative seat in need of a candidate would you be willing to run?” and I said, “Sure.” I decided to run for the state legislature.
My wife and I spent the next year or our life campaigning as hard as we could and (pause) Sorry, my wife is far more composed than I am she should be speaking. By September of 2000, I walked in (pause) to that chamber, I stood on that dais before a man named Marty Stephens and I took an oath (pause) in which I swore to defend the constitution of the United States of America. (Applause)
As you can probably tell; that moment had a profound influence on my life. I made a commitment at that time that I would do that at the expense of my reputation at the expense at any money I did have. And I committed to serve the very best I could. I served for four years and left to go to law school after having a little boy who sits right over there. When I came back I thought perhaps I was done. But, my time in politics although a very good experience; has been in large part a great disappointment. I have seen that our parties, that our government is filled with patronage and filled with power mongering. That is in direct contradiction and in diametric opposition to what our constitution and our founding fathers intended. When they wrote that constitution, James Madison stated, that there was intent to create a labyrinthine structure that would prevent the aggregation of all branches of government and power into the hands of any one particular faction. And yet what do our parties seek to do? They seek to control, they seek to aggregate power, they have set themselves in direct opposition to the Constitution of the United States of America. (Hear a man shout, “Here, Here” Applause)
Now we all know that is wrong. The Constitution provides the means which a person is invited to transcend and rise above patronage, partisanship and power mongering, it is the oath of office. It is an oath by which we swear to uphold the Constitution of the United States. It is not a partisan document. It is not intended to benefit any one person or one party over another.
Now they are not going to do this on their own, the parties, our congressmen, our senators. You must compel them to do it. You must bind them down with the chains of the Constitution. Now we don’t have a lot of time left to do it. I think it is pretty clear that our Constitution sits upon a precipice and we have a decision to make. Will we let it go the way of so many other governments so many other forms that have been written to try and instill freedom with in the hearts and culture of people or will we bear it away? That is a decision we must make. I believe that we have an opportunity. I believe that we can say from here on out. As Utah goes, so goes the Nation. That is the opportunity you have.
March twenty-third is the night that, that small and peaceful grassroots revolution can begin. You need to be at your mass meeting. You need to become a delegate. No matter what party you go for, you need to be a delegate. If you do I believe we can change the very nature of politics in this nation and we can do it right her and we start with you. I hope that today you leave here with a firm commitment to run to become a delegate no matter what it takes. Ask your family to help you ask them to sacrifice with you and I believe together we will make it possible if not to save the heart of this nation, to at least preserve our state as a shining example of how Constitutional government should be upheld and maintained.
Thank you so much for being here today.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)