U.S. Senators

I Challenge YOU to Educate the Low-Information Voters Who Are Hurting Themselves and the Rest Of The Country – Really, This is a Challenge, You Game?

Most of us wonder how people can vote in political candidates and incumbents into, or back into elected office that clearly do not represent their own personal interests. How do women vote for a Governor that clearly is attacking women’s rights? Like when a Governor wants to force any woman who wants an abortion to be raped by requiring them to endure a trans-vaginal ultrasound even though no medical doctor prescribed it, or even says that it is not necessary, or any of the other disgraceful ways the TeaPublicans have attacked women and their rights. How do people who don’t/didn’t have any healthcare, whose state already gets much more money from Washington D.C. then it sends to the government, vote for politicians who refuse to expand Medicaid (which wouldn’t cost their state a dime for the 1st 3 years and then only 5-10% percent of the costs after that) and/or refuse to set-up healthcare exchanges to help those who can’t afford reasonable healthcare get affordable healthcare? After speaking to many people and getting a lot of feedback from people who actually live in those areas, like the Southeast, I found that we don’t understand something. It reminds me of a story I saw on the news many years ago that I still can’t, or won’t, forget. There was a 14 year old boy, attending Public School, in New York City, it was discovered that his parents were making him live in a coffin, whenever he wasn’t in school he would have to stay in a coffin. When he returned from school he had to get into his coffin, he had to eat, wash, and yes defecate in the coffin! When it hit the news the first question was obvious, “Why didn’t you tell anyone?” His answer? He was surprised by the question, “I thought everyone lived the same way I did.” Understandably the child was severely introverted and had no friends so he really didn’t talk to anyone unless he had to. But it made me realize that if you brought up a son or daughter in a green room for 5 years and told that child the color of the room was blue, what do you think that child would say the color of a green traffic light was? That’s why people in areas that receive more in social welfare like disability, food stamps, Social Security, and so forth, vote for politicians that claim the government is a socialist one and is bad! So why don’t they just get smarter? Watch more news? Read more? Well, some of them do, but what they are seeing, hearing, and reading is total bullcrap because the ultra-rich are controlling what they see, hear, and read. Did you know that the Koch Brothers went as far as paying off a State College in Tallahassee, Florida (FSU) to have the final word of who the economics department hired! Yea, no lie! Charles Koch Buys Rights To Control Who Florida State University Hires in their Economic Dept. The amount of money being spent on corrupting our politicians, elections, and on media (written, TV, internet, and other outlets) is absolutely insane. Why do they spend this money? Because it gives the 1% power, power through influence. What can we do? We can make sure that those people who “only watch Fox (faux – false) news” and only see, hear, and read, the misinformation they are being fed, that are told that the room is blue, get the facts, the truth, that the light is GREEN! We must find a way to get the truth to the “low-information voters,” whom many are not to blame for being wrong, and we must do it without the advantage that the ultra-rich billionaires have, which is billions of dollars. I want to challenge each and everyone of you who actually read this post. I want to challenge you to start a massive information blitz telling the facts, the truth, and get it out there in every way you know, in hopes of some of the information getting to those people who are only being told the room is blue. I thought I would try something. We know that those low-information people see very limited information, they may not read a lot, or watch much other than a source that misleads them, so we have to do something that is simple, interesting, and will appeal to those who can’t be bothered researching information. The information must be served in a way that will catch their attention. If enough of the information makes it to these people, perhaps we can get them to see that they are hurting themselves. That’s why I’m asking you, challenging you in fact, to join me in an information campaign targeting those low-information voters. Whatever you create and get out there, remember that it must be something that the target audience will relate to. For instance, I want to target the red states (9 out of 10 of the poorest states are Republican states) in the Southeast, so I’m going to start making memes (pictures with something you write on them) and I’m going to use NASCAR pictures. Here’s my 1st idea on how to start getting information to these people: I challenge each and everyone of you to the make and distribute the best meme, to educate the misinformed, one that will get widespread attention and circulation, so much so that it will make it’s way into the areas where these voters are, and to get widespread distribution of that meme so that it will reach our target audience. Don’t know how to make a meme? “No problem it’s not only easy, it’s fun. Below, I give you a couple really easy ways of doing it, and showing your creativity and sense of humor. So what do you say? Hey, if you share this and my blog post and get others involved we could have millions of these target oriented information memes circulating everywhere! Some of them are bound to reach our target audience and change some minds, AND VOTES! O.K. Let’s see what we can do. Contact me if you have any questions, and please involve as many people as you can by sharing this. Thanks so much for your anticipated cooperation.

How to Make a Meme

There are numerous free sites to assist you in your quest to make a meme, whether you want to be funny, creative, a mix sending a serious message and being a creative, funny, teacher. The site I’m going to recommend here is one that I found to be the easiest and quickest. You will make a meme in a few minutes, I promise. Go to quickmeme by clicking on the colored word (link) quickmeme in this sentence. This is what you will see:

Quickmeme - A Meme Generator

Quickmeme – A Meme Generator

Step 1: On the black on top, instead of seeing a picture of me you will see the word “Login.” You will need to click this and register/Login, if you are on Facebook you can just click Log in with Facebook, or simply type in whatever information you need to, to create an account.

Step 2: Your ready to make a meme. You can use any of the pictures you see, or you can browse the web, or your personal photos, and “upload” a picture (more on uploading in a minute.) Pick a picture by simply clicking on the picture you want to use. I’ve picked one as an example, I chose one that they call “Condescending Wonka” this is what you’ll see:

Condescending Wonka from quickmeme

Condescending Wonka from quickmeme

Step 3: Your almost done! Now put your creative, humorous thinking cap on and fill in the prompts; 1st think of a title, the title will only be seen when your meme is listed with other memes for people to see. Then fill in the “Top Caption, this is what will appear at the top of the picture. Finally fill in the “Bottom Caption.” Suggestion: The Top Caption should be the set-up for the point you want to make, the Bottom Caption should be the punchline to drive your point home. See what I’ve done here (mind you, I never claimed to be good at humor.):

quickmeme instruction on filling in the content of a meme

quickmeme instruction on filling in the content of a meme

Step 4: Click “Create” Congratulations! You just made your very first meme! Don’t leave yet, you need to save your work! You can click on “File” and save it, or you can share it to Twitter or Facebook and then “save it as a picture” from there. Done!

Now that your an expert you may want to try other meme generators that give you a little more control, like picking what size the text is, and other options. I suggest you try Imgur.

I promised to tell you about “uploading” your own pictures. It’s very simple. If you’ve ever saved a picture on your computer it was shared into a “file” the default file would be “pictures” or “My Pictures”. If you want to use your own picture, instead of clicking on one of the pictures the meme generator offers, like when I picked Wonka, simply click on “Upload” a picture. that will bring you to your files on your computer, one of which is where you saved your pictures. Simply navigate to the picture you want to use and double click on it, or click on a picture and then click on “save” or “open”, your picture will be uploaded to the meme generator like Wonka was and you can do the same steps as before to create a meme.

Finally, and this is the best, if you have an idea for a meme and have a picture in mind that you would like to use, type the topic into your “search” box on the top of your browser and then click images, it will give you a bunch of pictures to choose from, then save it. This is a picture of my browser:

Google Screenshot

Google Screenshot

You’ll notice in Google the big white bar near the top of the screen, that’s the address bar. To the right of that is the “search box”, you can type in there whatever you want to find a picture of, ex: fire engine and hit enter, that will give you a list of articles on fire engines, but above the list of articles you’ll see the word “images”, simply click on that and you will have a number of pictures of fire engines. Save one into “pictures by right clicking on the picture you want, then left click “Save Image As” and it will open up your library of folders. click on the “Pictures” folder to open it, then name the picture in the box that says “File Name” and then click “Save”. You then have a picture you can upload to use in a meme. Note: instead of the search box you can click on the word “images” on the google screen, it’s just below the search box, then click in what picture you want to find.

GOOD LUCK! ENJOY! And PLEASE join this challenge so we can educate those who are being fed the ultra-rich garbage so we can keep the Senate and take back the house. If you have any questions use the “Contact Me” button on my blog ay www.Medic3569.com thanks for helping take back our Republic.

I Was Shocked and Appalled to Not See a Plethora of Stories on What the Republicans Did To Veterans in the Senate Yesterday

Republicans Are NOT Supporting Our Troops!

They Killed a Crucial Veterans Bill in the Senate Yesterday!

And Yesterday February 28, 2014 They Killed A Crucial Veterans Bill in the Senate

And Yesterday February 28, 2014 They Killed A Crucial Veterans Bill in the Senate – Photo meme by http://www.cognidissidence.blogspot.com

I subscribe to, and receive literally over 100 e-mails every morning and about as many throughout the day, I was really shocked and astounded to not see even one that addressed what the Republicans did in the Senate yesterday.

Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) introduced S 1982 the Comprehensive Veterans Health and Benefits and Military Retirement Pay Restoration Act of 2014 on February 3, 2014. Senator Sanders chairs the Veterans Affairs Committee. The vote on the motion to move it to committee needed 60 votes to pass. Only two (2) Republicans voted “Aye” or for it’s passage, the motion failed.

2/27/2014 Senate floor actions. Status: Motion by Senator Reid to commit to Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs with instructions to report back forthwith with amendment (SA 2767) fell when the bill was committed in Senate. Printer friendly version of S 1982.

S 1982 – The Comprehensive Veterans Health and Benefits and Military Retirement Pay Restoration Act of 2014

This is a summary of what the bill would do:

Comprehensive Veterans Health and Benefits and Military Retirement Pay Restoration Act of 2014 – Amends federal veterans provisions to revise or add provisions concerning medical services and other benefits provided to veterans and/or their dependents through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) relating to the following areas:

  • survivor and dependent matters, including benefits for children of certain veterans born with spina bifida;
  • education matters, including the approval of courses for purposes of the All-Volunteer Force and the Post-9/11 Educational Assistance programs;
  • the expansion and extension of certain health care benefits, including immunizations, chiropractic care, treatment for traumatic brain injury, and wellness promotion;
  • health care administration, including extension of the Department of Veterans Affairs Health Professional Scholarship Program, and
  • complementary and alternative medicine;
  • mental health care, including an education program and peer support program for family members and caregivers of veterans with mental health disorders;
  • dental care eligibility and expansion, including a program of education to promote dental health in veterans;
  • health care related to sexual trauma, including appropriate counseling and treatment and a screening mechanism to detect incidents of domestic abuse;
  • reproductive treatment and services, including fertility counseling as well as adoption assistance for severely wounded veterans;
  • major medical facility leases;
  • veterans’ employment training and related services;
  • veterans’ employment, including within the federal government and as first responders;
  • career transition services;
  • employment and reemployment rights of members of the Armed Forces after active duty service;
  • small business matters, including contracting and subcontracting participation goals with federal departments and agencies;
  • administrative matters, including regional support centers for Veterans Integrated Service Networks;
  • the revision of claims based on military sexual trauma as well as claims for dependency and indemnity compensation;
  • jurisdictional matters, including with respect to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals and the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims;
  • the revision of certain rights under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, including protections with respect to the expiration of professional licenses, a prohibition on the denial of credit or the termination of residential leases due to military service, and the temporary protection of surviving spouses under mortgage foreclosures; and
  • outreach and miscellaneous matters, including: (1) repeal of the provision of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013 that reduces the cost-of-living adjustment to the retirement pay of members of the Armed Forces under age 62, and (2) the accounting for discretionary accounts designated for overseas contingency operations/global war on terrorism.

 Republicans Block Veterans Bill – The legislation failed to overcome a Republican parliamentary maneuver that required 60 votes to keep the bill alive. American Legion national commander Daniel M. Dellinger called the Senate action “inexcusable.”  He was equally blunt in an interview with The Washington Post. “I don’t know how anyone who voted ‘no’ today can look a veteran in the eye and justify that vote.” Read More on Sen. Sanders “This Week in Review” on his website.

The cost of the bill would be approximately $21B” and the TeaPublicans demanded that it be paid for before they would take any action on it. That requirement was met when Democrats proposed using an account, the OCO (Overseas Contingency,) where money is sitting since President Barack Obama ended the Iraq War. The fund was used to finance (on the credit card, the deficit) the Iraq war. The Iraq war, which you should remember former President George W. Bush absolutely and unequivocally lied about the reasons to start that war,  ended and the funds are sitting idle in the OCO account. The Republicans don’t want to use these funds to “support” the troops that fought the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, they want to use them to start another war, this time with Iran. That’s why they tried to attach an amendment onto this Veterans benefits bill, to impose more, and stricter, sanctions on Iran, and destroy the diplomatic process which is showing promising signs of working. They would much rather start another war than support our veterans.

That’s Outrageous’ Do you remember what happened near the end of the State of the Union address in January? Members of Congress rose to their feet for a standing ovation when President Obama introduced Sgt. 1st Class Cory Remsburg, an Army Ranger who was wounded in a roadside bombing in Afghanistan. On CNN on Friday, New Day host Chris Cuomo showed video of congressmen applauding and contrasted that show of support for Americans who serve their country with what happened in the Senate on Thursday. “Republicans did what they do best these days. They just blocked. But blocking our veterans? I don’t have to tell you that that’s outrageous,” Cuomo said.

Watch CNN

What’s Iran Got to Do With It? Republicans insisted on adding a provision to the veterans bill that would slap sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program. Regardless of the merits of the sanction proposal, Sanders called it “disrespectful” to veterans to insist on putting the unrelated provision in his bill. “Whatever your views are it just does not belong in a veterans bill,” he said.

Watch the floor speech

War Hawks and Deficit Hawks The Senate Republicans, “apparently believe it’s O.K. to give tax breaks to the largest corporations, the wealthiest families in this country, to spend trillions of dollars on war without figuring out how to pay for it, but when it comes to $21 billion over a 10-year period to take care of veterans and their families, apparently they have difficulty with that.”

Listen to the Ed Schultz radio interview

 Who can forget when Tea Party member Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) led the entire Republican party to shut down the government, which they deeply regretted later, and all the media coverage at the War Veterans Memorial with Stupid Palin, Ted Cruz, and many others blamed President Obama for using veterans as pawns in a political agenda. Video on Ted Cruz and Veterans at the War Memorial during the shutdown of the government.

 Please help stop the madness. Share this with every veteran that you know, everyone that you feel needs to know what their Republican and Tea Party members are actually doing AGAINST their better interest. If we don’t get the vote out we are going to suffer even worse. The TeaPublicans, with all the state governments that they control, thanks to the 2010 midterm elections, have gerrymandered (redrew district lines to favor Republican and Tea Party members,) and imposed voter ID (suppression) laws which are going to make it very hard to keep the U.S. Senate, and much harder to take the house. The Koch brothers (America for Prosperity), Karl Rove (USA Crossroads) and the other SuperPACS have already started and it will be much worse than the 2010 midterms if we don’t get involved, especially if the SCOTUS rules for Shaun McCutcheon in McCutcheon v FEC (Federal Election Commission) which will lift the limits on individuals campaign contributions like Citizens United did for corporations, unions, and organizations such as the SuperPACS listed above.

Read the American Legion statement

Read The Washington Post

Watch Sanders’ news conference

Many Problems We Have in this Country Can Be Fixed if We Get Money Out of Politics

Money in Politics Photo by www.theprogressivesinfluence.com

Money in Politics
Photo by http://www.theprogressivesinfluence.com

The Day Money In Politics Took Our Republic Away

On January 21, 2010 the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) said that section 203 of H.R. 2356 (107th) the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 was “Unconstitutional.” Section 203 imposed limits on what corporations, unions, and organizations, could contribute to political campaigns to elect or defeat candidates running for public office. This ruling came in a decision on Citizens United v FEC (Federal Election Commission.) At least 3 things happened that day:

1) States lost their ability to control their own elections

Take a look at what happened in WI where Governor Scott Walker was “Recalled” by the people of Wisconsin after he took away the right of Public Employees to negotiate through “Collective Bargaining”. Outside money, $63 million dollars of it, was spent to help Walker win the recall election, the previous record for outside money was $37M. That $67M flooded into the state, from people who don’t live there, it came from people like Charles and David Koch, better known as the Koch Brothers, (who are also better known for paying fines for illegally funneling “Dark Money” but that’s a whole other story,) and SuperPACS (who desperately wanted to keep Scott Walker in place,) to support Walker for the recall election after citizens in Wisconsin were so angry that they actually gathered 1,000,000 signatures to force the recall election.Read more about Scott Walkers Recall election here: “Scott Walker Wins Wisconsin Recall Election” by CBS News.

The egregious levels of outside spending on the federal level are well documented. In the 2010 Congressional elections, spending by corporations and wealthy individuals totaled almost $300M.(i) In the 2012 election, the largest SuperPAC spent an astounding $142M. (ii) Altogether SuperPACS spent $609M in the 2012 election cycle. Overall outside spending topped $1.29 Billion. (iii) In comparison to these mammoth sums of money, it only takes a modest amount of money to have a transformative impact on a local election. If multi-million dollar SuperPACS can buy the victory of even Presidential candidates, then what’s stopping them from influencing local political elections? This paragraph and some other information is from Democracy is For People , we thank them for the material and their efforts in trying to get the U.S. Congress to pass a Constitutional Amendment to overturn Citizens United.

2) Limits on campaign contributions from corporations, unions, and organizations (SuperPACS) were lifted, allowing widespread corruption of our politicians and allowing elections to be bought.

McCutcheon v FEC (Federal Election Commission) is being called "Citizens United on Steroids Thanks to Oil Change for America

McCutcheon v FEC (Federal Election Commission) is being called “Citizens United on Steroids
Thanks to Oil Change for America

 

There is actually a Trans-Partisan opposition to Citizens United. This is NOT a partisan issue. Money in politics is hurting this country in many different ways, and EVERYONE is noticing. Campaign finance reform – including efforts to limit political spending by corporations, unions, and the super-wealthy, has been part of the conservative legacy. The court’s decision rolled back nearly a century of laws passed by both sides of the aisle who, agreed that reasonable restrictions can and should be placed on campaign spending by powerful special interest in order to preserve our democracy.

Stalwart conservative statesmen have fought for campaign finance reform. No less a conservative movement icon than Republican Senator Barry Goldwater of Arizona uttered these words in support of bipartisan campaign finance reform in 1983: “Our nation is facing a crisis of liberty if we do not control campaign expenditures. We must prove that elective office is not for sale. We must convince the people that elected officials are what James Madison intended us to be, agents of the sovereign people, not the hired hands of the rich givers, or what James Madison called factions,”

 Arizona Senator John McCain, Goldwater’s successor and the 2008 Republican Presidential nominee, called the Supreme Court’s ruling “a combination of arrogance, naivete and stupidity, the likes of which I have never seen.”

Most Republicans, including Tea Party supporters, think steps should be taken to curb this corrosive campaign spending. A March 2012 poll conducted by ABCNews/Washington Post, showed that over two-thirds of Americans (69%) felt SuperPACS should be illegal. Among Tea Party supporters, the numbers were the same: 69% of Tea Party supporters felt that SuperPACS should be outlawed.(iv)

Most Republicans think big campaign spenders, including corporations, can influence how a member of Congress votes. More than two-thirds of respondents (68%) to an April 2012 Opinion Research Corporation (ORC) including 71% of Republicans — also agreed that, “if a company spent $100,000 to help elect a member of Congress, it could successfully pressure him or her to change a vote on proposed legislation.” Only one in five disagreed. (v)

3) Americans Were Outraged By the Court’s Decision

Nearly nine in ten Americans (88%) say that big companies have too much power in Washington D.C. (vi).

Eight in ten respondents oppose the court’s decision in Citizens United. (vii)

Republicans, Democrats , and Independents who have heard about Citizens United believe by an almost 4-to-1 margin that the ruling is having a negative effect. (viii)

83% of Americans (85% of Democrats, 81% of Republicans and 78% of Independents) think there should be limits on how much money corporations can give in elections. And 90% of those with incomes over $100,000 support such limits. (ix)

By a 5-to-1 margin, Americans agree that “there would be less corruption if there were limits on how much could be given to SuperPACS.” Only 14% disagree with this proposition. 75% of Republicans and 78% of Democrats agree. (x)

What is it Going to Take Take To Change The Way Things Are Going?

In short, it’s going to take people like YOU to get involved. Above you will notice I have a “Page” button entitled “Find/Track Politicians, Bills, Voting Records,” Click on that page button and it will explain the links that are on the page and how to use them to find, track and contact YOUR Representatives. Using, for example, GovTrack to find who your U.S. Senators (2) are, and who your U.S.. Congressman or woman is, if you don’t already know, is very easy to do. Click on GovTrack and register at the site. Once registered it will be easy to search for a specific legislative bill, Track your politicians votes, and contact your Congressmen/women and U.S. Senators. If you would also like to contact YOUR State Representatives you can click on the “Vote Smart” link to help you locate your State Senators, Assemblymen/women, and other local politicians that are supposed to be representing you. Look, right now only the Super-rich and corporations have any real influence over our elections and politicians. The only time regular people gain influence on politicians that spend more than half their time raising money to keep their job in the next election, is when we show up in numbers. When enough people flood the offices of the U.S. Senators, U.S. Congressmen/women, State Senators, Assemblymen/women, and right on down the line with enough phone calls and e-mails, they don’t have a choice but to listen. The sites that I’ve provided links for on my “Find/Track Politicians, Bills, voting Records” page will walk you through the process of calling or e-mailing YOUR Representatives, and will send you an e-mail whenever they take action like sponsoring, co-sponsoring, or voting on a bill.   In short, please Get Involved For A Better America. Follow my Facebook page http://www.Facebook.com/StoptheObstructionistTeaParty, Subscribe to this blog by entering your e-mail address on the home page, or on Twitter @Medic3569, for up to date news on legislative action and information on upcoming issues that may effect you. McCutcheon v FEC is due to be announced by the SCOTUS and could very likely be decided by the same “Conservative-5” Justices the way that Citizens United was, in favor of the ultra-rich and corporations. Look at the meme above, do we really want to see those top donors from the fossil fuel industry contributing over $300M when we know that they can change how a congressman/woman will vote on proposed legislation?   Join the “Rapid Response” team that will take action the day the SCOTUS decision is announced at  “Money Out – Voters In” to check out and join the Rapid Response to McCutcheon v FEC the day it is announced.

Other interesting reading:

Bill Moyers – Seven Initiatives to Get Money Out of Politics

McCutcheon v FEC  and “Money out – Voters In” explained by the The Amendment Gazette,

Victor Tiffany is a Senior Columnist at The Amendment Gazette and the Acting State-Wide Coordinator for Move to Amend  one of the organizations working hard to get congress to pass a Constitutional Amendment to overturn Citizens United        

(i) Public Citizen’s analysis of Federal Election Commission (FEC) data. See Congress Watch (January 2011). “12 Months After: The Effects of Citizens United on Elections and the Integrity of the Legislative Process.”Retrieved 15 Sept. 2011, from http://www.citizen.org/documents/Citizens-United–20110113.pdf

(ii) Center for Responsive Politics, “Restore Our Future” Retrieved 22 April 2013 from: http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/detail.php?cmte#C00490045&cycle#2012
(iii) Center for Responsive Politics, “Outside Spending.” Retrieved 22 April 2013 from: http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/index.php.
(iv) Eggen, D (17 Feb. 2010, 15 Sept. 2011). “Poll: Large majority opposes Supreme Court’s decision on campaign financing.” Washington Post. Retrieved 15 Sept. 2011, from http://washingtonpost.com/wp:dyn/content/article/2010/02/17/AR2010021701151.html
(v) Brennen Center lbid.
(vi) New York City Public Advocate Bill De Blasio “New Report: Election Spending by Out-Of-State Non-Profits Surges 1500% in New York;

 

(vii) U.S. PIRG education Fund and People For the American Way Foundation. “Outside Spending, Outsized Influence: Big and Secret Money in New York In the 2012 Elections.” Retrieved July 8, 2013, from http://www.pfaw.org/sites/default/files/outsize_spending_NY.pdf

(viii) Coalition for Accountability in Political Spending (March, 2013). “From Social Welfare to Political Welfare: The Evolving Role of Nonprofits in Our Elections and Urgent Need for State Regulatory Action.” Retrieved July 8, 2013, fromhttp://politicalspending.org/501c4-Report.pdf

[ix] Coalition for Accountability in Political Spending (March, 2013). “From Social Welfare to Political Welfare: The Evolving Role of Nonprofits in Our Elections and Urgent Need for State Regulatory Action.” Retrieved July 8, 2013, from http://politicalspending.org/501c4 -Report.pdf

[x] Resolutions Week, “Resolutions Passed and Current Efforts” “http://www.resolutionsweek.org/?page_id=86

Note: Information provided here with footnotes was compiled by www.democracyisforpeople.org , please visit their site to view their material and to Get Involved For A Better America. We thank them for the resources, material, and for their efforts in trying to overturn Citizens United. Also involved, along with over 120 organizations  working on this task is www.united4thepeople.org which is a great site to see where the effort is, and how you can become involved in your area. Contact me at jasmith3569@gmail.com with any questions you may have, I’ll be glad to assist you.

Someone Please Tell Me Why People Vote Against Their Own Best Interest!

PLEASE NOTE THAT WE ARE NOW PUBLISHING THIS BLOG ON WORDPRESS AT www.Medic3569.wordpress.com

We will continue to post all articles here as well until further notice, but the articles will be posted to Twitter, Facebook, and Google+ from WordPress. Thank you for subscribing to our blog.

2009 State Scorecard Summary of Health System Performance by www.commonwealthfund.org
2009 State Scorecard Summary of Health System Performance by http://www.commonwealthfund.org

Republicans say “Less Regulation is Needed”

 West Virginia (74%) and South Dakota (71%) is the best chance the Republicans have at gaining seats in the U.S. Senate on their way to getting the six seats they need to regain control of the Senate according to The Washington Post. How they can even put a percentage chance on whether the Republicans can win those seats this far out from the election is beyond the comprehension of this writer, and many others. Did the people already forget about the 300,000 people whose water was contaminated by Freedom Industries, an affiliate of Georgia-Pacific Chemical, a Koch Brothers company? Did they forget that House Speaker John Boehner immediately after the incident said “I think there are plenty of regulations in place”? Did they forget that the company almost immediately claimed bankruptcy protecting themselves from law suits and continued operating as if nothing happened?

Healthiest and Unhealthiest States - Forbes
Healthiest and Unhealthiest States – Forbes

Where are the Healthiest and Unhealthiest People in America?

Who has the Worst, or No, Health Insurance?

Red State Reality: Unhealthiest Residents, Worst Health Care
From: PERRspectives November 17, 2009

 Throughout their all-out campaign to stop health care reform, Republican leaders have relied on questionable forecasts from the Lewin Group, a subsidiary of insurer UnitedHealth Group. Now, another study funded by UnitedHealth has some unwelcome news for the GOP braintrust: the red states they represent are the unhealthiest in the nation. Following on the heels of the Commonwealth Fund’s 2009 Scorecard of state health care system performance, the United Health Foundation’s report is just the latest confirmation that health care is worst where Republicans poll best.

 Eight of the 10 bottom-ranked states are from the south, with Mississippi coming in dead last for the ninth consecutive year. Mississippi has a sky-high death rate from heart disease and high infant mortality. In general, residents of these states are more likely to be smokers or to be obese, the report found. They also have worse health insurance coverage, fewer physicians per capita and live in areas with high violent crime and more child poverty.

 So your in a state that has the unhealthiest people in the nation and your Representatives; Governors, Congressmen/women, and U.S. Senators, are lying to you to have you think “The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act” (Obamacare) which will expand Medicaid (at no cost to your state and only 10% of the cost after 3 years,) make insurance companies keep your children on your healthcare policies until they’re 26, and force insurance companies to actually use 80% of the premiums they collect for patient claims rather than give themselves outrageous bonuses and salaries, is a bad thing. Why would you vote for these obstructive, greedy, all for corporations and the “ultra-rich, and not interested in your best interests in the least, politicians?

“Obama is a Socialist, His Government is Socialistic,”they Say

But if it weren’t for the Social Programs that Exist Many Red States Would Be Bankrupt!

Red States on this Map Indicate States that are Taking More Money from the Federal Government than they Give in Taxes.
Red States on this Map Indicate States that are Taking More Money from the Federal Government than they Give in Taxes. by Ezra Klein

Although they constantly complain about the “Social Programs” and call President Obama the “President that wants to Give Stuff Away,” the Red States are the ones benefiting from the programs. The TeaPublicans have again denied to expand the Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) even after they were given everything they asked for:

“We’ve given them everything they wanted. Paid for,” said Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the majority leader, flashing his irritation at Republicans who blocked the bill.
 He said Democrats would keep pushing to extend the benefits, which expired at the end of last year, cutting off more than 1.3 million Americans. That number has since grown to more than 1.7 million. Read More of The New York Times article “Senate Fails to Pass 3-Month Extension of Jobless Aid”
 The first vote failed, 52 to 48, on a measure proposed by the Democratic leadership that would have extended benefits for 11 months. The extension would have been largely financed by continuing a 2 percent cut to Medicare health providers for an additional year, through 2024. The second vote, on the original bill, which would have extended benefits for three months at a cost of $6.4 billion, failed 55 to 45.
 So where are all the unemployed workers? In the “Blue” or “Democratic” states? Not quite!
Unemployment Rates by States - Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
Unemployment Rates by States – Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)

 Yet we have to wonder, will all those unemployed people in Republican states remember who wouldn’t extend the Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) even after they got EVERYTHING they negotiated for?

Finally, Where is it Hardest to Escape From Poverty?

Escaping from Poverty by The Washington Post the WaPo
Escaping from Poverty by The Washington Post

 So how about if you are born into poverty, would you have a better chance in a Red State (Republican) or a Blue State (Democratic)? Are your U.S. Congressmen/women and U.S. Senators working to try to help your citizens living below the poverty line and the middle class? On this interactive map by The New York Times you can click on your location and see what chances your children have to escape poverty: In Climbing Income Ladder, Location Matters. Here are the Top Ten and the Bottom Ten cities/counties for upward mobility:

Upward Mobility in the 50 Biggest Metro Areas: The Top 10 and Bottom 10
  Rank   Odds of Reaching Top Fifth
Starting from Bottom Fifth
  Rank   Odds of Reaching Top Fifth
Starting from Bottom Fifth
 
  1 San Jose, CA 12.9% divider 41 Cleveland, OH 5.1%  
  2 San Francisco, CA 12.2% 42 St. Louis, MO 5.1%  
  3 Washington DC, DC 11.0% 43 Raleigh, NC 5.0%  
  4 Seattle, WA 10.9% 44 Jacksonville, FL 4.9%  
  5 Salt Lake City, UT 10.8% 45 Columbus, OH 4.9%  
  6 New York, NY 10.5% 46 Indianapolis, IN 4.9%  
  7 Boston, MA 10.5% 47 Dayton, OH 4.9%  
  8 San Diego, CA 10.4% 48 Atlanta, GA 4.5%  
  9 Newark, NJ 10.2% 49 Milwaukee, WI 4.5%  
  10 Manchester, NH 10.0% 50 Charlotte, NC 4.4%

 

Anyone Want to Explain Why People in Red States are Voting Republican or Even Worse, for Tea Party Members?

 I know one reason we have so many low-information voters, and it’s not all their fault. If you were born and put into a blue room until you were 5 years old, and the whole time your parents told you the color of the walls was green, what would you say the color was when someone showed you something blue? That’s the effect on many people in states where outside money, and dark money (the Koch Brothers favorite,) is used to get Tea Party members, and far right-wing candidates, elected. Probably the biggest problem in this country is the effect of the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court on June 21, 2010 when they sided with Citizens United which removed limits on corporations, unions, and organizations making campaign contributions. More than 80% of Americans believe that the Citizens United decision has caused far more corruption in our elections and in our politicians than ever before. We must remove money in politics because “Money is Not Speech” and “Corporations are Not People.”

Deregulation: The Republican/Tea Party members have blocked most of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The February 3, 2013 Monthly Report showing the progress of the law signed by President Obama July 21, 2010.

  • In the past month, no rulemaking requirement deadlines passed or were met with finalized rules, and no new rules were proposed that would meet rulemaking requirements.
  • As of February 3, 2014, a total of 280 Dodd-Frank rulemaking requirement deadlines have passed. Of these 280 passed deadlines, 132 (47.1%) have been missed and 148 (52.9%) have been met with finalized rules.
  • In addition, 201 (50.5%) of the 398 total required rulemakings have been finalized, while 110 (27.6%) rulemaking requirements have not yet been proposed.

 This law was passed to put back regulations that were removed by President George W. Bush and allowed Wall Street banks and institutions to almost collapse the world economy. But what did certainly is to make people lose their homes with mortgages that were never meant to be successful, wiped out Americans retirement funds through their 401k’s, took America’s middle net worth, and walked away with literally hundreds of billions  (yes, billions with a “B”) of dollars and no jail time. The Republicans have fought putting back those regulations that wouldn’t allow banks and institutions to become “Too Big To Fail” (TBTF) and cause the damage they did, laws that were in place since the 1920’s.

Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare): This one truly makes me think that either the Tea Party members and Republicans are magicians or the money in politics is working wonderfully for the ultra-rich and the corporations. How do you convince the unhealthiest people in the nation, with the worst healthcare systems in place, and people with no health insurance at all, that they don’t need healthcare? That’s magical!

Unemployment: They asked for 3 things, the least not being that the $6B to cover the extension of Emergency Unemployment Compensation for 3 months be covered with cuts somewhere else and all three were met. As you saw earlier in the article the bills failed in the Senate. By the way, one of the favorite sayings of the Republican Party is “We Support the Troops,” but, they cut food stamps, don’t extend unemployment benefits, and let the veteran’s disability claims lay idle for 18 months before they are even looked at, many of these veterans are suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD,) and 22 American veterans are committing suicide daily. What, or whose,  Troops are they supporting?

Unemployed Veterans by www hiringourheroes org
Unemployed Veterans by www hiringourheroes org

Poverty:  You saw above how hard it is to grow out of poverty above. Use the link for the interactive map that allows you to click on where you live to see exactly what your children’s chances are. Ask yourself, how well are your politicians fighting for the middle class and the poor? Then vote for the people who are fighting for you.

How the Heck Can Women Vote Republican?

 I didn’t even get a chance to start to discuss the “War on Women” that the TeaPublicans and Republicans have on women. There’s so much there that I’ll have to do a post just on that topic. I’ll just say “How could you vote for a party whose members pass laws that will force women who are requesting an abortion, to get raped with a “Trans-Vaginal Ultrasound” probe that NO medical doctor has deemed necessary, or prudent?

So get out there and tell everyone you can that just because they see a TV commercial, a news report (the ultra-rich, and corporations own the TV stations,) especially a Faux (Fox or False) News broadcast, don’t believe a single source! Also, and most importantly, use the page button (“Find/Track Politicians, Bills and Voting Records”) under the title of this blog to use one of the sites provided to find and contact your politicians to get the U.S. Congress to overturn Citizens United and get money out of politics and give control of our elections back to the people! A good link to use for nation politicians is GovTrack.gov .

PLEASE NOTE THAT WE ARE NOW PUBLISHING THIS BLOG ON WORDPRESS AT www.Medic3569.wordpress.com

We will continue to post all articles here as well until further notice, but the articles will be posted to Twitter, Facebook, and Google+ from WordPress. Thank you for subscribing to our blog.

S 1743 in Senate – (H.R. 2728) was Passed Last Week (1 of 3 Passed to Allow A Fracking Free-For-All on Public Lands)

 S 1743 in Senate – Contact Your Senators Now To Stop A Free-For-All on Public Lands
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Update from GovTrack.us notified this writer that text was ready for S 1743 – Protecting States’ Rights to Promote American Energy Security Act  This bill is related to H.R. 2728 which was one of three bills that was passed last week by the House of Representatives to cause a “Fracking Free-For-All” on public lands, see  “STOP H.R. 1900, H.R. 1965, H.R. 2728!” Nov. 24, 2013 – Get Involved For A Better America,

This bill contains the following text:
 
(b)

Prohibition

The Secretary of the Interior shall not enforce any Federal regulation, guidance, or permit requirement regarding hydraulic fracturing, or any component of hydraulic fracturing, relating to oil, gas, or geothermal production activities on or under any land in any State that has regulations, guidance, or permit requirements for hydraulic fracturing.
(c)

State authority

The Secretary shall recognize and defer to State regulations, guidance, and permitting for all activities regarding hydraulic fracturing, or any component of hydraulic fracturing, relating to oil, gas, or geothermal production activities on Federal land regardless of whether the regulations, guidance, and permitting are duplicative, more or less restrictive, have different requirements, or do not meet Federal regulations, guidance, or permit requirements.

Summary:

This bill is designed to take away from the Federal Government, public lands, and the power to regulate fracking and it’s related tasks. It gives states the regulatory authority. This will cause a fracking free-for-all on public lands. This is unacceptable. Click here H.R. 2728 to TRACK the bill, and your Senator’s votes. But, before that, you can use this link to call your Senator’s office and tell them to not allow the Republicans to take our Federal land and allow a fracking free-for-all. Now is the time to act, they are rushing these bills through before they go on holiday recess in a few days. 

Now is the time to contact your Senators and tell them your not going to accept a fracking free-for-all on public land. Use this link to see the bill, track the bill, contact your Senators, and then track how your Senators vote

 

S 1743, See the Bill, Find and Contact your Senators, and then Track how your Senators Vote 

Bills About To Be Acted Upon In The House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate VERY SOON. You must ACT NOW To Be Heard! VOL. 01 November 27, 2013

 Here are Bills That Will Be Acted Upon in the House of Representatives and/or U.S. Senate Very Soon – Get Involved For A Better America

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

S 1752 – “Military Justice Improvement Act of 2013”.  

STATUS:    Placed on Calendar in the Senate (Nov 21, 2013)
PURPOSE: Modification of authority to determine to proceed to trial by court-martial on charges
                    on certain offenses with authorized maximum sentence of confinement of more than
                    one year.
(You are about to be redirected to popvox.com, once there type “S 1752” in the white box
in the upper right-hand corner of the screen that says “bill number or keywords”  
88888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888

H.R. 3588 – “Community Fire Safety Act of 2013”.

STATUS:    The House Majority Leader indicated on Nov 26, 2013 that this bill may be
                   considered in the week ahead.  
PURPOSE: To amend the Safe Drinking Water Act to exempt fire hydrants from the
                    prohibition on the use of lead pipes, fittings, fixtures, solder, and flux.
(You are about to be redirected to popvox.com, once there type “H.R. 3588” in the white box
in the upper right-hand corner of the screen that says “bill number or keywords”   
88888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888

S 815 Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2013

STATUS:  Passed Senate Nov 07, 2013 1:51 p.m. Bill Passed 64/32
                  The bill was sent to the House. (See H.R. 1755)
PURPOSE: To prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.
(You are about to be redirected to popvox.com, once there type “S 815” in the white box
in the upper 
right-hand corner of the screen that says “bill number or keywords”  
 
88888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888
  
STATUS:     Referred to Committee,  (S. 815 (same title) Passed Senate — Nov 07, 2013)
PURPOSE:  To prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation
                     or gender identity.
 (You are about to be redirected to popvox.com, once there type “H.R. 3588” in the white box
in the upper right-hand corner of the screen that says “bill number or keywords”   
88888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888
NOTE: These are only a selection of bills that this blog author has deemed important and post-worthy. You may be interested in other bills that you can track once you register with GovTrack.us and POPVOX. 
 

THE DEFECTORS of HR 3350, Republicans concerned over Health Insurance Plans being Cancelled, Really?!

Did Your Congressman Defect? What Will Your Senators Do?

I thank Mike Allen of  Politico for listing THE DEFECTORS – of HR 3350 “Thirty-nine House Democrats, many from competitive districts, joined Republicans in voting for the ‘Keep Your Health Plan’ act sponsored by Energy and Commerce chairman Fred Upton [passed 261-157, over Obama veto threat ] … Ron Barber (Ariz.), John Barrow (Ga.), Ami Bera (Calif.), Tim Bishop (N.Y.), Bruce Braley (Iowa), Julia Brownley (Calif.), Cheri Bustos (Ill.), Jim Costa (Calif.), Peter DeFazio (Ore.), Suzan DelBene (Wash.), Tammy Duckworth (Ill.), Bill Enyart (Ill.), Elizabeth Esty (Conn.), Bill Foster (Ill.), Pete Gallego (Texas), John Garamendi (Calif.), Joe Garcia (Fla.), Ron Kind (Wis.), Ann McLane Kuster (N.H.), Dave Loebsack (Iowa)., Dan Maffei (N.Y.), Sean Patrick Maloney (N.Y.), Jim Matheson (Utah), Mike McIntyre (N.C.), Jerry McNerney (Calif.), Patrick Murphy (FL), Rick Nolan (Minn.), Bill Owens (N.Y.), Gary Peters (Mich.), Scott Peters (Calif.), Collin Peterson (Minn.), Nick Rahall (W. Va.), Raul Ruiz (Calif.), Brad Schneider (Ill.), Kurt Schrader (Ore.), Carol Shea-Porter (N.H.), Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz.), Filemon Vela (Texas), Tim Walz (Minn.).”

I was extremely disappointed to see my Congressman’s name as one of the defectors. I have sent a letter to my Congressman explaining my disappointment and asking for his view. I also sent the letter to my Senators asking what their intentions are once the bill gets to the Senate. Letter sent to Congressman Bishop and Senators Schumer and Gillibrand

“Why Republicans Suddenly Care About Cancelled Health Policies”

“Why Republicans Suddenly Care About Cancelled Health Policies” Nation of Change Article reminds us that until insurance cancellations became a political embarrassment for President Barack Obama, the usual right-wing reaction was silence. (Except for that awkward and revealing outburst during the 2012 Republican debates when a live audience howled its approval for the “let him die” plan.) What is the Republicans plan? No one did nothing for decades about the healthcare crisis. What do the Republicans have to help the 40 million people on this country who couldn’t afford healthcare. And many people seem to forget how much the cost of health insurance was going up every year before the Affordable Care Act slowed the increases in the cost of insurance. The fact that insurance companies will need to spend 85% of the money they receive from premiums on actual benefits for the policy holders caused people to get refund checks from insurance companies, many of those people probably didn’t realize why they got those checks. People who are not losing their policies because they got sick should know that they only still have their policy because of the affordable Care Act. And those people getting cancellation letters should look at the policies they had and realize just what they covered, and the fact that they would have been cancelled the minute they got sick anyway, only they would of continued to pay the premiums as long as they stayed healthy and didn’t make claims on the policy.

Senator Stacey Campfield Uses Ignorance From 1985 About HIV – Don’t Re-Elected Idiots!

We Must Not Re-Elected Stupid! TN Senator Stacey Campfield Uses Stupid about HIV and AIDS

My “Comment” to a post shared by Donavon C. Reed October 24, 2013

I don’t know if Donavon https://www.facebook.com/donavon.reed expected the kind of response he got when he shared a post with a Teabonics photo https://www.facebook.com/Teabonics about a TN Senator Stacey Campfield showing his deplorable ignorance, but he sure got it. I met Donavon on Facebook when I didn’t know anything about using social media and he was willing to have patience with my ignorance and guide me on how to use this media for good. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to hopefully educate some about the ridiculous people that have actually been elected by people into an office that should represent good people.  Donavon. 

Take a look at this post:

Senator Stacey Campfield’s Idiotic Facebook Post Shared by Donavon C. Reed

I, as many others lost a coworker, partly because of the ignorance that surrounded HIV and AIDS back in 1985. Back then the virus and disease was emerging and we just didn’t know much about it. There was also prejudice and mistreatment. Tracey (an Emergency Medical Technician ((EMT),) worked for New York City’s Emergency Medical Service NYC*EMS as did I. When she contracted the HIV the city decided to try to prosecute her instead of paying for her care or giving any assistance whatever.

I explain in my comment to Donavon’s post which I put here and is the photo above:

 In 1985, while HIV was emerging and we didn’t know much about it at all, I was teaching Paramedics at the New York City Emergency Medical Services academy. It was a scary time for healthcare providers and first responders. We weren’t really sure of all the ways it could be contracted, and not be contracted. Think about treating bloody, vomiting, spitting, patients and not knowing if you would contract a virus of which there was no cure for. I was very fortunate to be taught by Dr. Gillette who was one of eight physicians chosen by the government to disseminate information throughout the medical community as it was learned by the scientific and medical communities. Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) was initially known as LTV-1 and then LTV-2, (lymphatic T-cell Virus.) One of the biggest fears, and problems, was not knowing about how the the virus could be, and could not be, transmitted. An Emergency Medical Technician (EMT,) Tracey, contracted HIV by treated a patient in cardiac arrest. It progressed into Acquired Immunodeficiency Disease (AIDS.) She died at a very young age from treating a patient. There was a lot of prejudice back then. NYC*EMS chose to fight paying her medical bills and give any assistance, and instead chose to attack this EMT and spend a lot of money trying to prove that the disease was not work related and that she was promiscuous, and that she “probably contracted the disease through unprotected heterosexual sex.” She died after just a few tears while her and her family were actually going hungry. About a year after her death a judge decided that the city was “insane” with their claims and went off pretty good at the citie4s attorneys. He awarded the family some money. She was not able to get whatever little treatment that became available because the city chose to use the ignorance that was surrounding the disease. That was in 1985! We now know a tremendous amount about the virus and disease, how can this Senator, and other Tea Party members, and Republicans continue to use ignorance to try to win political gain is beyond me. Please go to www.Medic3569.blogspot.com

to find your Congressmen/women, and Senators, and their e-mail addresses and phone numbers to contact them about this, or any issue that you are passionate about. We must inundate their offices with our concerns to have any chance of being heard. I took the liberty of looking up this jackass’ contact information should you want to contact him. Please visit www.medic3569.blogspot.com

to contact YOUR representatives.

John A Smith's photo.

 Here is Senator Stacey Campfield’s contact information should you have something to say to him:

Senator Stacey Campfield

R-Knoxville
District 7 — Part of Knox County

 

district address

2011 Flagler
Knoxville, TN 37912

nashville address

301 6th Avenue North
Suite 317 War Memorial Bldg.
Nashville, TN 37243
Phone (615) 741-1766
sen.stacey.campfield@capitol.tn.gov

 And remember,
To contact YOUR Congressmen/women about anything you wish to be heard on, go to;
 Link to find YOUR Congressmen/women, their contact information, and how they voted

 And remember, to contact YOUR Senators about anything you wish to be heard on, go to;
Link to find your Senators, their contact information, and see how they voted