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Thursday, February 23
New Bankruptcy Law Fails; Vast Majority Can't Repay Debts
by
Linda Thieman
on Thu 23 Feb 2006 04:00 AM CST
 New Bankruptcy Law Fails; Vast Majority Can't Repay Debts
Hastings Group
At the time that Congress passed the infamous bankruptcy law, Chuck Grassley said the bankruptcy changes would clean up "a convenient financial planning tool where deadbeats can get out of paying their debt scott-free."
NACBA Analysis of More than 60,000 Consumers Processed Under New Law Asks: "Where Are the Deadbeats" Congress Expected to Find and Stop With Onerous Rule Changes?
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The first analysis of tens of thousands of consumers seeking protection since a new federal bankruptcy law went into effect last October concludes that the changes put in place by Congress are not working as intended. The report by the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys (NACBA) finds that of the 61,355 consumers seen so far by credit counseling firms - the required first stop under the new bankruptcy law - nearly all (97 percent) are unable to repay any debts and that four out of five would-be filers (79 percent) were forced into dire financial straits by circumstances beyond their control, such as the loss of a job, catastrophic medical expenses or the death of a spouse.
Entitled "Bankruptcy Reform's Impact: Where Are All the Deadbeats?," the NACBA analysis is based on data provided by a cross-section of six large and small credit counseling firms that have been authorized by the U.S. Justice Department's Executive Office for U.S. Trustees to provide bankruptcy screening. The credit counseling firms responding to the NACBA survey were: Money Management International (Houston, TX), GreenPath Inc. (Farmington Hills, MI), Springboard Nonprofit Consumer Credit Management (Riverside, CA), Hummingbird (Raleigh, NC), Institute for Financial Literacy (Portland, ME) and ByDesign Financial Solutions (Los Angeles, CA).
Brad Botes, executive director, National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys, said: "Contrary to the claims of proponents of bankruptcy law changes that they would zero in on the alleged legions of 'deadbeats' who supposedly were crippling the U.S. economy with 'billions of dollars in losses associated with profligate and abusive bankruptcy filings,' the federal bankruptcy law changes that went into effect on October 17, 2005 are doing no measurable good whatsoever. Instead, they have put new hurdles in the path of people who are already flat on their back due to financial crises over which they have no control, such as the loss of a job, catastrophic health care bills, and so on."
Botes noted that bankruptcy filings are down because many Americans may mistakenly believe that the courthouse doors are barred to them. The NACBA executive director said, "Credit counseling organizations now know what bankruptcy lawyers and other experts said all along: Congress got it dead wrong when it passed the bankruptcy law. Even though the process is now more cumbersome, time consuming and expensive than before, consumers who need help should still seek out a bankruptcy attorney to explore their options and figure out how to navigate this trickier and more confusing process."
John Rao, attorney, National Consumer Law Center, said: "Bankruptcy judges, attorneys, academic researchers and others warned Congress that the bankruptcy filing rate was a 'symptom' and not the 'disease' itself. So long as people lose their jobs, have uninsured medical problems, and face other catastrophic circumstances, they will need the protection of the bankruptcy system. This data is evidence of that. All Congress has succeeded in doing with the new law is to delay and drive up the cost of bankruptcy protection for those who desperately need it."
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Thursday, February 16
Report on Health Care Lobby Day in Des Moines
by
Caroline Vernon
on Thu 16 Feb 2006 05:14 AM CST
 
Report on Health Care Lobby Day in Des Moines
by Caroline Vernon
contributions by Karen Metcalf
On February 7th, many health care advocates from across the state came together in association with Democracy For America, Democracy For Iowa and Iowa For Health Care for their first joint Health Care Lobby Day.
Among
those in attendance from the Quad Cities were none other than yours
truly, Caroline Vernon, Alta Price, Karen Metcalf, and Bev Strayhall.
Although we are each connected to the larger groups mentioned above, we
are also active members of Progressive Action for the Common Good Health Care Forum. Like Iowa For Health Care, our main goal is to promote quality, affordable health care for all.
Although
we did not address the larger goal of obtaining good coverage for
everyone, the purpose of our visit to the Statehouse was to engage our
legislators on three very important pieces of legislation:
Increase in the cigarette tax:
Research
shows that increasing the tax by $1/pack would stop 4700 young people
in Iowa from starting. This translates into better health and
substantial savings in health care costs from tobacco-related
illnesses.
We found broad bi-partisan support for this
proposal, particularly if the revenue generated by the tax is allocated
specifically to health care. While the Senate last year approved a
cigarette tax hike, the effort has been blocked in the House because
House Speaker Christopher Rants, (R) - Sioux City, says he won't allow
debate.
Rants
sponsored a political organization, Iowa Leadership Council, that
received more than $60,000 from tobacco companies. The "Rants For
Statehouse Committee" also received over $4,000
from big tobacco and yet Rants insists these generous contributions
have nothing to do with the fact that he refuses to allow this proposal
to come to the floor for debate! Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the
"culture of corruption" has come to Iowa! Evidently, Rants really
expects folks to believe this nonsense!
During our early morning press conference, Sara Swisher of Iowa For Healthcare declared, "Speaker
Rants needs to answer to the people who provide health care and he
needs to answer to Iowans. He should kick the habit and kick it now
instead of taking big bucks from tobacco." Sara was joined by the group mascot, Mr. Buttman, who was weilding a fistful of "Tobacco Bucks for Speaker Christopher Rants".
ACTION:
Click here to download your own "Tobacco Buck For Rants," make
single-sided copies on lime green paper, cut them apart and distribute
them at every legislative forum, townhall meeting and community event
you attend!
Over a dozen Republican legislators have also
encouraged Rants to allow debate on this issue, to no avail. It was
stressed that Sioux City residents would hold the most weight with
Rants, so if you are a SC resident or if you have friends or family who
are, please encourage them to contact House Speaker Chris Rants, urging
him to "do the right thing" by allowing debate on this very important
issue:
E-mail: Christopher.Rants@legis.state.ia.us
Home Address: 2740 South Glass
Street, Sioux City, IA, 51106
Home Telephone: 712-274-8874According
to Iowa For Healthcare, polls show that at least 70% of Iowans support
a $1 increase of the tax. Governor Vilsack has proposed boosting the
tax by 80 cents per pack.
Fair Share For Health Care Legislation:
Maryland
recently passed a similar bill, by the same name, which passed over the
veto of Governor Ehrlich. This legislation has been introduced to the
Iowa legislature by Senator Joe Bolkcom and others in a bi-partisan
effort to hold large corporations accountable to their employees and
the communities in which they operate. It
forces the very largest employers (about 5 companies in Iowa) to
allocate a fixed percentage of their revenue for employee health care
costs, either by providing them with health care coverage directly, or
by paying directly to the State Medicaid budget, since many of these
employees make so little that they, or their children, qualify for
Medicaid.
According to an Iowa Department of Human Services
2004 report, the two largest employers in Iowa, HyVee and Walmart, each
have hundreds of employees who meet this low-income criteria. HyVee,
the largest employer, had 361 employees on Medicaid, while Walmart, the
2nd largest employer in the state, had over 800 employees on Medicaid.
As you know, Medicaid funding has been threatend by huge budget cuts on
the federal level which will affect the states ability to fund this
program so it is imperative that we mandate large profitable
corporations to pay their fair share for health care!
Whistle-Blower Protection For Health Care Workers:
Many
nurses and other health care workers were in attendance advocating for
this key piece of legislation to insure that all health care workers
are comfortable reporting unsafe practices without fear of being fired
or punished in some way by their employer. Various personal accounts of
such incidents were shared with legislators, citing examples of being
ostracized or fired for speaking out. There seemed to be broad support
for this legislation. Our hope is that this will pass this legislative
session. ACTION: Please contact your legislators and urge them to support this key protection for our invaluable health care workers.
Quality Affordable Health Care for All - by 2010:
PACG
Health Care forum Leader, Karen Metcalf, reflected on the progress made
that day, "It was a very productive day for those of us who went, not
so much because we were able to change legislators' minds, but because
we learned a lot about the political process and the exercise of
political power in the state. Although we did not specifically deal
with the macro goal of getting coverage for everyone, each of the three
pieces of legislation, in it's own way, does address a micro issue and,
if passed, would certainly be a step forward, rather than backward, as
so much legislation seems to be these days."
Many grassroots organizations across the state are actively advocating for quality, affordable healthcare for all. The prestigious Institute of Medicine (IOM) called for the U.S. to implement
universal health care by 2010. According to the January 14, 2004 report, 43,000,000 Americans are uninsured (a conservative estimate), and
lack of health insurance causes 18,000 unnecessary deaths each year in the U.S.
Eighty percent of the uninsured are members of working families; while a quarter
of U.S. workers are not offered health insurance at all, and few Americans can
afford to buy the expensive individual policies.
It
is important that each of us continue to do whatever we can to address
this issue of healthcare for all. Because we believe health care is a right, not a privilege, the PACG Health Care forum has
championed the "Lend A Hand For Health Care" initiative, collecting
18,000 handprints to represent those people who die every year. We have
already acquired handprints from Governor Tom Vilsack, Lt. Governor
Sally Pederson, US Congressman Leonard Boswell, various state
legislators, and our very own Chariman Howard Dean. Outreach to faith
groups and other community organizations is under way in an effort to
expedite and complete this project by year's end. If you would
like more information on how you can assist in this effort contact
Karen Metcalf at karencadfael@aol.com or go to our website, www.qcprogressiveaction.org.
Once we meet our goal of 18,000 handprints, our hope is to take them to the statehouses in Des Moines and Springfield and then to
Washington DC to display them as close as possible to the Capitol Building! Can you manage
to get a visual on that?!
I would like to thank everyone at Democracy For America, Democracy For Iowa, and Iowa For Health Care
for sponsoring a great lobby day in Des Moines! Special thanks for all
the hard work of Kirsten Running, Chris Bonfig, Sally Simpson and all
the other dedicated staff at Iowa For Healthcare for helping to make this a first class event. And to Sara Swisher, kudos for her grace in leadership!
Monday, February 13
This Week In Media
by
Arron Wings
on Mon 13 Feb 2006 11:00 AM CST
 This Week in Media
PATV.TV
You Don't Know What You Got Til' It's Gone...
Public Access Television is facing a number of battles in the House and Senate.
Today, February 13, is the last day for submitting your concerns to the FCC.
Click here to submit your letter.
Click here for a complete listing of pending legislation.
The
telephone companies want to do away with local video franchise
agreements between local municipalities and video providers.
Local video franchising agreements are the mechanism by which
municipalities ensure that cable and telecommunications companies doing
business within the community are accountable to the local public
interest.
Video
franchise agreements are also the only mechanism that protects and
ensures the existence of Public Access TV channels. We must
ensure that local municipalities have the authority to require local
video franchising.
If you would like
to be part of organized media reform efforts in Iowa, please consider joining
Iowans
for Better Local TV or Rapid Response Iowa.
To find out more, click
here
Friday, February 10
ETHICS HALL OF SHAME
by
Caroline Vernon
on Fri 10 Feb 2006 04:00 PM CST
 ETHICS HALL OF SHAME
From publiccitizen.org
An
unprecedented wave of corruption, cronyism and special-interest sleaze
has gripped our nation’s capital in recent years. To bring greater
public attention to the individuals involved in these ethics scandals –
in the hope of preventing such abuses of the public trust in the future
– Public Citizen has established the Ethics Hall of Shame.
To
be included, a member of Congress must have committed illegal acts or
engaged in conduct that is highly abusive of the public trust in the
service of special interests. Those members of Congress in the
"dishonorable mention" category have been involved in activity that is
ethically questionable or offensive to the public trust, but which does
not rise to the same level of wrongdoing as that of the inductees into
the Hall of Shame.
The
list of inductees is not complete; it is expected to grow in size and
seriousness as Department of Justice investigations into the scandal
surrounding admitted felon and former super-lobbyist Jack Abramoff
continue to unfold.
To read detailed profiles of the people inducted into the Ethics Hall of Shame, click here to go to original article and click on each of their pictures.
Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Texas)
Forced to resign his position as House majority leader; under
indictment for money laundering in Texas; likely the focus of a Justice
Department investigation for his ties to admitted felon and former
super-lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
Former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham (R-Calif.)
Pleaded guilty to taking $2.4 million in bribes from defense contractors.
Rep. Bob Ney (R-Ohio)
Resigned as chairman of the House Administration Committee because of
allegations that he used his office to help Jack Abramoff and his
clients.
Rep. Richard Pombo (R-Calif.)
Went to bat for a Jack Abramoff client; he short-circuited an
investigation into the owner of a failed savings and loan; his aides
attempted to scuttle an environmental regulation that could have hurt
the Pombo family’s business.
Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Mont.) A major recipient of Jack Abramoff’s largess, who went to extraordinary lengths to help an Abramoff client.
Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.)
Involved in an investigation of alleged extortion in a business
investment scheme; was found to have stashed large amounts of cash in
his freezer
Jack Abramoff, Admitted Felon and Former Super-Lobbyist
The poster child of why systemic reform to the influence-peddling system is so desperately needed in Washington.
DISHONORABLE MENTION:
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.)
Under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission for
possible insider stock trading; he also went to extraordinary lengths
to insert a provision into a new law that will insulate drug companies
from some defective products lawsuits.
House Majority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.)
Slipped a favor for a major tobacco company into legislation creating
the Department of Homeland Security but withdrew it after getting
caught.
Monday, February 6
This Week in Media
by
Arron Wings
on Mon 06 Feb 2006 01:00 PM CST
It is a Movement
By Steve Macek & Mitchell Szczepanczyk, Zmag.org
"The
media business," they used to say, "was a license to print money,” wrote
the TV trade journal Broadcasting and Cable in 2001. As media mogul
Barry Diller put it: “The only way you can lose money in broadcasting
is if somebody steals it from you.”
Why?
Broadcast licenses for television grant exclusive control over the
airwaves to their holders. The original rationale for this was that the
scarcity of broadcast spectrum required that access to it be strictly
regulated. A government-appointed referee, the Federal Communications
Commission (FCC), awarded licenses to those parties deemed most able to
serve “the public interest, convenience and necessity.” If they didn’t
fulfill their duties, the FCC could revoke a license and award it to
another party that might better serve the public.
But the
FCC’s practice in this regard has been dismal to say the least. Though
licensed broadcasters have been required to operate in the public
interest since the early days of radio, for decades the
industry-friendly FCC did little or nothing to penalize stations for
ignoring their public service obligations. Indeed, not once since the
FCC’s founding in 1934 has the Commission revoked a single license of
its own accord.
The
upsurge of media activism nationwide in recent years has brought with
it increased efforts to bring a measure of accountability to broadcast
licenses and the media conglomerates that hold them.
Click here to read the full article.
Note:
You can add the petition filed by IBLTV against the license of Sinclair
owned KGAN Channel 2 to the list of activities included in the article.
In other news:
Lobbyist,
lawyer Robert M. McDowell has been nominated to fill the vacant FCC
commission seat. AP story here, Rueters story here.
Robert
Kennedy argues that the current state of the Media is partially to
blame for inability to adequately address environmental issues. His
argument was summarized as “mainstream media, unfettered by obligations
to serve the public interest, have created a nation of distracted
voters, too ignorant or indifferent to act in their own best
interests.” He described Americans as “the best entertained, least
informed people on the face of the earth." Click here for the
story.
The
Houston Chronicle profiles Paula Kerger, whose three-year reign as
president of PBS begins in March, and Patricia Harrison, who became CPB
chairwoman last June here.
Big Media Has Big Plans for Privatizing the Internet
by
Trish Nelson
on Mon 06 Feb 2006 04:00 AM CST
 Big Media Has Big Plans for Privatizing the Internet
The Nation
by Jeff Chester
The nation's largest telephone
and cable companies are crafting an alarming set of strategies that
would transform the free, open and nondiscriminatory Internet of today
to a privately run and branded service that would charge a fee for
virtually everything we do online.
Verizon,
Comcast, Bell South and other communications giants are developing
strategies that would track and store information on our every move in
cyberspace in a vast data-collection and marketing system, the scope of
which could rival the National Security Agency. According to white
papers now being circulated in the cable, telephone and
telecommunications industries, those with the deepest pockets -
corporations, special-interest groups and major advertisers - would get
preferred treatment. Content from these providers would have first
priority on our computer and television screens, while information seen
as undesirable, such as peer-to-peer communications, could be relegated
to a slow lane or simply shut out.
Under
the plans they are considering, all of us - from content providers to
individual users - would pay more to surf online, stream videos or even
send e-mail. Industry planners are mulling new subscription plans that
would further limit the online experience, establishing "platinum,"
"gold" and "silver" levels of Internet access that would set limits on
the number of downloads, media streams or even e-mail messages that
could be sent or received.
To
make this pay-to-play vision a reality, phone and cable lobbyists are
now engaged in a political campaign to further weaken the nation's
communications policy laws. They want the federal government to permit
them to operate Internet and other digital communications services as
private networks, free of policy safeguards or governmental oversight.
Indeed, both the Congress and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
are considering proposals that will have far-reaching impact on the
Internet's future. Ten years after passage of the ill-advised
Telecommunications Act of 1996, telephone and cable companies are using
the same political snake oil to convince compromised or clueless
lawmakers to subvert the Internet into a turbo-charged digital retail
machine.
(Click here to read the entire article)
Take Action! Go now to: netfreedomnow.org With
a couple of clicks you can send a letter to CEO’s of Comcast, AT&T,
Verizon, BellSouth, Time Warner Cable, Cox Communications, Charter,
Cablevision/Optimum Online, Qwest, plus your members of Congress!
To learn more about this debate, go to: freepress.net/netfreedom/
If you would like to be part of organized media reform efforts in Iowa, please consider joining Iowans for Better Local TV or RapidResponseIowa.
Sunday, February 5
EPA SAYS ALL IS FORGIVEN FOR SOME ANIMAL FEEDING OPERATIORS' AIR POLLUTION SINS
by
Molly Regan
on Sun 05 Feb 2006 02:00 PM CST
 EPA SAYS ALL IS FORGIVEN FOR SOME ANIMAL FEEDING OPERATIORS' AIR POLLUTION SINS
This week's IOWA Public TV program "Market To Market" just reported:
"In what's being hailed as a major step forward, the US Environmental
Protection Agency kicked off a landmark program this week that will be
used to determine AIR EMISSION LEVELS near various types of Animal
Feeding Operations or AFOs. When the program is in full swing, an
INDEPENDENT air monitoring company will check the levels of AMMONIA AND
HYDROGEN SULFIDE found in the air around 6,700 farms in 42 states.
"The data will be used in the formulation of AGRICULTURE AIR QUALITY
RULES. Participating farmers receive an AMNESTY of sorts WHERE ALL
THEIR PREVIOUS VIOLATIONS OF THE CLEAN AIR ACT ARE FORGIVEN! THE
AMNESTY DOES NOT MAKE THEM EXEMPT FROM ANY FUTURE VIOLATIONS OF
FEDERAL, STATE, OR LOCAL POLLUTION LAWS.
"In exchange, operators agree to ABIDE BY THE RULES OF THE CLEAN AIR
ACT, PAY $2,500 INTO A FUND FOR AIR QUALITY MONITORING, AND INSTALL THE
BEST AVAILABLE POLLUTION CONTROL TECHNOLOGY.
"Officials with THE SIERRA CLUB stated that the program gives farmers a
free ride on the backs of the public. Pro-industry groups like
the National Pork Producers Council released a statement lauding the
study for its use of 'sound science'(?) to develop practical policies
for pork producers. The project is expected to take 4 years with
2 being devoted to the study of AIR QUALITY, and 2 more spent
developing new rules." End quote…
So, this is a nifty break for livestock producers. Some of them
who have not followed the rules are now being rewarded with a
declaration of amnesty! How special. I don't know for certain who
is hailing this as a "major step", but I can guess. Let's see,
humh, maybe corporate livestock farmers and those with a large number
of animal units (over 1000 units) are happy about this.
And here is that overused bogus term again "sound science." What
is meant by that is scientists will be sought out who agree with the
EPA. So don't remain silent on this. Let the EPA know that
POLLUTERS NEED TO PAY. CITIZENS ARE NOT THE ONES RESPONSIBLE FOR
FARM OR CORPORATE CLEANUPS.
Let us not forget also to CPR… CONSERVE/PARTICIPATE/RECYCLE
Wednesday, February 1
Reprocessing Is Not the “Solution” to the Nuclear Waste Problem
by
Caroline Vernon
on Wed 01 Feb 2006 04:01 PM CST
 Reprocessing Is Not the “Solution”
to the Nuclear Waste Problem
Nuclear Information and Resource Service
This program is central to the Bush administration’s efforts to jump-start the moribund nuclear power industry.
Statement of Mary Olson, NIRS Campaign to Stop Reprocessing. Director of NIRS southeast office:
“[George W.] Bush’s misguided obsession with nuclear power has reached a critical and dangerous juncture. The administration has been desperate to find a nuclear waste solution in order to resuscitate the moribund and unpopular nuclear power industry by moving forward quickly on the scientifically-flawed Yucca Mountain waste dump in Nevada. Instead it has found itself spinning its wheels in the mire of Yucca Mountain’s geologic instability and the scandal of covering up these data. Faced with an industry impatient to move its on-site waste, the administration is now clutching at a new nuclear straw."
“Its latest scheme is reprocessing of irradiated commercial fuel, one of the dirtiest and most proliferation-vulnerable processes in the nuclear fuel chain. Abandoned in this country for more than 30 years, countries where it has been done – including Britain, France and Russia – are now reaping its hideous environmental legacy of contamination and disease."
“The price tag in dollars – as well as in health impacts – will be enormous if this country is allowed to venture back down the reprocessing road. The only U.S. commercial reprocessing site ever to operate - in West Valley, New York – is projected to cost more than $5 billion to clean up despite reprocessing only a fraction of the waste sent there between 1966 and 1972. Now Congress has awarded the U.S. Department of Energy $50 million of our money to set this debacle in motion once again although the totals are likely to reach the hundreds of billions of dollars."
“The existing nuclear reactors around the globe are already sitting-duck terrorist targets. Separating plutonium from nuclear power waste fuel – as reprocessing does – simply sets up new and inviting opportunities for terrorists to seize fissile, bomb-capable materials. Support for a reprocessing program makes a mockery of statements coming out of this administration that protecting the American people from terrorism is paramount. Instead, it will put more Americans in harm’s way.”
Reprocessing Is Not the “Solution” to the Nuclear Waste Problem
The Radioactive Waste Burden
Splitting atoms to make electricity has created an enormous problem: waste containing 95% of the toxic radioactivity produced during the Atomic Age. Nuclear weapons production, industrial activity, research and medicine combined, create only 5% of this problem.
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