Climate Bill Should Lose Loopholes for Big Coal by Molly Regan
Below is an article from The New York Times, preceded by my comments.
If you have a drafty house where all the windows & doors & the roof leak, & you only fix the windows & doors, the biggest leaker...the roof...will still continue to leak heat in the winter & cooling air in the summer.
Don't be fooled by the logic of those who will put up with the cap on their polluting ways, but not the trade or offset. Why don't the dirty coal emitting plants offset their nasty air pollution instead of wasting their resources /human & monetary/on helping others capture carbon?
Spock would say, "It is not logical, Captain."
Senators, please do what is right for the children. We should only ever have three things in mind when doing our adult business: The safety of the children, the health of the children, and the education of the children. If these three things are taken care of, they will be safe, happy, and smart. Our biggest responsibility is guarding all children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and even the children of other states and countries. Nothing else should be more important...Not money from big coal companies...Not re-election.
Please get with it. This bill is easy to fix. Please take the lead on it. We will remember you for it. ~
The New York Times
The House’s approval of the Waxman-Markey climate change bill earlier this month was a remarkable political achievement and an important beginning to the task of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. But in all the last-minute wheeling and dealing, the House bill acquired two big loopholes that the Senate must close.
The first loophole involves coal-fired power plants. Coal is the world’s most abundant fossil fuel — producing more than half the electricity in the United States — and also its dirtiest, with twice the carbon content of natural gas.
The House bill would limit emissions from coal-fired power plants in two ways. It imposes a cap on emissions from all industrial facilities that tightens slowly over time. It also sets tough performance standards on new power plants permitted after 2009, requiring emissions reductions of 50 percent or more. The bill would help underwrite advanced technologies capable of capturing carbon dioxide and storing it underground.
The bill does not, however, impose any performance standards on existing power plants. [Italics ours] And it explicitly removes these plants from the reach of the Clean Air Act. This is a mistake. The overall cap on industrial emissions will not be fully effective for a long time, and, meanwhile, the government should be able to impose lower-emissions requirements on the older, dirtiest plants. (click here to read the entire article)
Molly Regan, activist extraordinaire, environmental facilitator, elected official, is a member of Progressive Action for the Common Good in the Quad Cities. Don't forget to CPR...Conserve/Participate/Recycle
Deamonte Driver: A Preventable Tragedy submitted by Abraham L. Funchess, Jr
The following is an excerpt from Acountable: Making America As Good As Its Promise, by Tavis Smiley with Stephanie Robinson
~ When Alyce Driver’s story was told in February 2007, she was a hard-working mom who had held various jobs - in a bakery, as a home-health aide, and as a construction worker - but none of them offered health insurance. She previously had Medicaid coverage for her sons DaShawn and Deamonte, but the family had recently lost its coverage.
Though all states have opted to provide dental benefits to children covered under the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), finding a dentist willing to accept these benefits can be a major challenge. Patients have been known to travel up to three hours and to wait many months in search of services. And specialty services, such as surgery as opposed to routine cleansings, are even more difficult to find. In Maryland, where Driver lived, this coverage was offered to her children as an expansion of their Medicaid benefits, but fewer than one in three children in the program received dental care in 2005 because of substantial barriers.
By the fall of 2006, Driver was seeking dental care for both of her sons. Twelve-year-old Deamonte had a toothache. But she was more focused on frantically trying to find a dental surgeon willing to help DaShawn, who needed six teeth extracted. She waited from October 5 to January 16 for a dentist willing to take Medicaid for “emergency” care. However, by the time Deamonte’s aching tooth got any attention, Driver learned that the toothache had been caused by an abscess, the bacteria from which had spread to his brain. A few weeks later, he died.
Because Deamonte could not get an $80 extraction, he ended up with a brain infection, a six-week stint in Children’s Hospital, two surgeries resulting in $250,000 worth of unpaid medical bills for taxpayers to bear, and—most regrettably—a death certificate.
News of the twelve-year-old boy’s death shocked many people, including Robyn Fleming, a former staff member of Goodwill of Greater Washington. She described on the Women’s Foundation blog that Driver had been in a vocational program that Fleming had taught, and that she “strived for more for herself and her family. . . . Alyce, along with many other women, came to this program as a last hope. Hope that they will learn something new, hope that they will find support and assistance when they couldn’t get it anywhere else, hope for another chance at life!”
But a twelve-year old is dead because no one could figure out how to fund an $80 visit to a dentist. Fleming wrote, “I feel as if I failed Ms. Driver. But in reality we all failed Ms. Driver.”
The drive to Des Moines was as typical as any summer afternoon in Iowa I can remember, with warm temperatures, cumulus clouds against an azure sky, vast stands of field corn in tassel and patches of Queen Anne’s Lace, purple coneflowers, black-eyed Susans, daisies, horsemint and cattails everywhere in the spaces between row crops and Interstate 80 leading to the IowaPolitics.com GOP Gubernatorial Debate on July 22 at Drake University. As a progressive Democrat, I have been following the re-organization of the Iowa Republican Party and was curious to see their direction as evidenced by the gubernatorial candidate debate.
When Kim Lehman, President of the Iowa Right to Life Organization, was elected to represent Iowa on the Republican National Committee last summer, she said, “I think that this is an opportunity for the Republican Party to rebuild.” She outlined the state of the Republican Party as follows, “I don't know that the party is taking a new direction. All of the conservatives that are pro-life, pro-family are very fiscally conservative as well. I don't think that the party has changed its view or the platform has changed its view. I think starting with Ronald Reagan the party became very pro-life, pro-family and nothing has really changed.”
There was not much in the candidate answers to the IowaPolitics.com questions to contradict Ms. Lehman as to the direction Republicans are going this election cycle. The message is clearly social and fiscal conservatism and in this, Republican candidates for governor seem united. During answers to the question of whether former Republican Governor Terry Branstad should enter the race, there was consensus that his entry and the entry of other candidates would enhance the discussion and would be good for the Republican Party. As Representative Rants indicated, the primary race would be a “chance to talk about the future.” For this observer, the future of the Republican Party looks much like the past.
There are presently six Republican candidates for governor: Jerry Behn, State Senator from District 24, Cedar Rapids businessman Christian Fong, Paul McKinley, State Senator from District 36, Representative Christopher Rants, House District 54, Representative Rod Roberts, House District 51 and Bob Vander Plaats, president and CEO of MVP Leadership, Inc. They will face off during the Republican primary in June 2010. All but Senator McKinley participated in the debate.
Where the candidates agreed, there were no surprises. Democrats are spending too much money. The State’s payroll is growing too quickly, with the AFCSME contract leading the way. We need to re-affirm Iowa’s “right to work” status to attract new businesses to the state. The tax structure in Iowa is a “job killer.” We need to defend the “traditional family.” There are enough casinos in Iowa. We do not favor campaign finance reform or limiting contributions to individual candidates. They do not support SF 293, the Medical Marijuana Act. Where the candidates differed is more interesting from a Democrat’s perspective.
When we consider the question “which Republican can beat Chet Culver in the 2010 gubernatorial election” none of the five candidates in the debate seems a likely contender. Governor Culver has won three state-wide races, Democratic voter registrations outnumber Republican voter registrations by a substantial margin and despite comments of pundits and pollsters that Culver may be “vulnerable,” even subject to a primary challenge, he is campaigning from a position of substantial strength. It seems unlikely that Iowans will fail to re-elect this incumbent governor to office.
Of the five participants in the IowaPolitics.com debate, the one worth watching is Rod Roberts, for a couple of reasons.
While Bob Vander Plaats is leading in current polling data, as Republican leader Doug Gross said on his May 22, 2009 appearance on Iowa Press, “I don't think Bob Vander Plaats will be our nominee. Bob leads with sort of the Christian social message. That's fine but if you lead with that it's likely you can't be a competitive candidate frankly in a general election in Iowa.” Republicans should know best in this case.
The other panelist with name recognition in Iowa is Chris Rants, former speaker of the Iowa House. Representative Rants spent a significant amount of his time outlining his position on property taxes in Iowa. He suggested that the current governor, with the legislature, is shifting the tax burden in Iowa to property taxes and that this is bad for business. As a former businessman and legislator, he could be expected to be a “pro-business” candidate, and that could have some traction in Iowa. Because of his high visibility in the Iowa House, Rants is a known commodity and because of that, independent Iowans seem likely to pick the incumbent in the general election.
Neither Christian Fong nor Jerry Behn differentiated themselves from the other panelists, although they may yet.
The potential threat to Governor Culver is in Rod Roberts. When asked how his candidacy differentiates him from the field, Representative Roberts answered, “I have had a variety of leadership positions in government and in Christian churches. I have the temperament, personality and leadership to be governor.” Roberts even temperament was evident throughout the debate, and is the kind that is attractive to independent Iowans.
Roberts has clear Republican credentials. He was first elected to the Iowa House of Representatives in 2000 and has been Executive Director, Christian Churches/Churches of Christ in Iowa. These credentials solidify his position with his base. His answer to the question on support for capital punishment differentiated him. He said, “We have life in prison without parole. It is a serious punishment.” His opposition to capital punishment enables him to solidify part of the Republican base that believes in “right to life” at all stages of life. The other candidates favor capital punishment and their doctrinaire position would be a deficit with this group in a statewide race.
Where Roberts could gain support among independent voters was found in his pragmatic approach to controversial problems. His answers to a question about repealing the Smokefree Air Act show this approach. He referred to the “significant and spirited debate” in which he participated in the 2008 House session that produced this law. He said that the matter is “settled” and that there is “no reason to repeal the law.” This unequivocal response set him apart from the other panelists and could be appealing to voters who want to move on from the partisan nature of politics as usual. Pragmatism does not overcome the problems with the Republican positions he supports, but it could go a long way towards gaining support among moderates.
While it may seem unusual for a lifelong Democrat to be interested in Republican Party politics, it is important to hear both sides. If Democrats expect to retain a position of strength in American politics, we must be aware of what the other party is doing. They may be down and out now, and are most certainly unlikely to defeat Governor Culver.
Democrats should spend some time listening to Republicans and avoid acceptance of the caricatures of them that appear in the mainstream media. Building alliances with opponents can be part of a path to advance the progressive agenda, something in which we all should be interested.
Health Care Reform Update: The Prevention Connection by Alta Price, M.D.
An important part of health care reform that I haven’t even touched upon is wellness and prevention. Even though I am a physician, I don’t feel I know enough about this topic. Medical education focuses on disease, not wellness – at least for physicians of my generation. Hopefully that has changed or will change for future doctors.
There is strong, bipartisan support for including prevention and wellness in the health care reform bills. Our own Senator Tom Harkin, who feels strongly about this issue, has introduced the Healthy Workforce Act, which basically gives employers a tax credit for each employee that participates in wellness initiatives.
I have recently become interested in functional medicine (also called integrative medicine), and even attended a conference on mood disorders sponsored by the Institute for Functional Medicine at the end of May. These practitioners have a different approach to the management of the chronic diseases that cost our health care system so much money. From the little I know so far about the topic, their approach seems to hold potential. In any case, in my opinion more research needs to be done to evaluate how diet, exercise, and other lifestyle changes impact chronic disease.
Speaking of which, one research project on exercise and Parkinson’s disease was inspired by Iowa’s own RAGBRAI. Since our intrepid editor, Trish Nelson, and I both just finished RAGBRAI (I was a RAGBRAI virgin), I found this story on the beneficial effects of bicycling on Parkinson’s patients very interesting. You can view two television programs (Good Morning America and NBC Nightly News) about this research at the Pedaling for Parkinsons website. And I can tell you there is nothing we learned in medical school that would predict that riding RAGBRAI would improve movement in Parkinson’s patients for up to one month afterwards.
Alta
Price is a physician practicing Pathology in Davenport, Iowa. One of
the original Deaniacs, she stays involved with Democracy for America,
Iowa, and the Quad Cities. She advocates for quality, affordable health
care for all, primarily as a volunteer with Progressive Action for the
Common Good (Health Care Reform Issue Forum).Watch for Dr. Price's Health Care Reform Update every Tuesday here on Blog for Iowa. E-Mail Alta Price
DFA Night School: Master the Emerging Art of Twitter Upcoming Democracy for America Night School Opportunity: Twitter Separating Hype from Reality
Event Date: Aug 15, 2009 Event Time: 3:00 Eastern/2:00 Central Venue: The Comfort of Your Own Home!
DFA Night School is back to help you master the emerging art of Twitter. This new medium is rising faster than any other social networking platform, but is it destined to be overloaded with celebrity gossip and trivia or will it become a revolutionary tool for social change? We will explore it's strengths and limitations as we work to separate the hype from Reality on using Twitter to organizing online.
Our guest trainers will be Adam Green from the PCCC and Jen Nedeau from Air America. This training will take place live from the Netroots Nation convention in Pittsburgh. You can be part of this great event for free right from your own home.
Our free hour long training will first focus on how to establish a presence on Twitter and build a following. Then we'll then talk about how you can message and mobilize your network in an effective way.
DFA Night School is our on-line training program that allows anyone to
learn the skills to win from their own home. Each session is an
interactive conference call and web presentation where trainees
participate and ask questions. Featuring expert trainers, topics range
from Volunteer Recruitment to Framing a Message to Fundraising to
Online Media.
Each session lasts just an hour, is packed with important skills and is completely free.
Ensign's "C Street House" Owned By Group Planning For Christian World Control Alternet.Org
Most recently covered by MSNBC's Rachel Maddow (YouTube1, YouTube2), Washington D.C.'s "C Street House" has....become the center of a media firestorm. Along with GOP Senator Tom Coburn, sex-scandal embroiled GOP leaders Senator John Ensign and South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford have been tied to the row house, assessed to be worth 1.84 million dollars, which is registered as a church and provides Washington politicians with substantially lower than market rate rent. Coburn and Ensign have lived at the C Street House, while Sanford has participated in its Bible study group.
According to the Washington Post the house is owned by Youth With a Mission D.C. Youth With a Mission is one of the most extensive Christian fundamentalist para-church organizations on Earth, and YWAM founder leader Loren Cunningham has publicly outlined a vision for Christian world-control.
In a 2008 promotional video, "Reclaiming 7 Mountains of Culture", Loren Cunningham describes a vision he shared along with the late Campus Crusade For Christ founder Bill Bright and late Christian theologian Francis Schaeffer, in which Christian fundamentalists could achieve world domination by taking over key sectors of society such as business, government, media, and education.
The C Street House is run by a secretive Washington ministry known as The Family, or The Fellowship. Over the past year and a half, The Family has gradually come to public attention, mainly due to journalist and Harpers contributing editor Jeff Sharlet's ground breaking book The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power. The Family runs the yearly National Prayer Breakfast and maintains a network of Capital Hill prayer groups which have enjoyed the participation of both top GOP but also top Democratic Party Congress and Senate members.
The video outlines seven areas of influence for Christian fundamentalists to reclaim: The last...The Mountain of Business, "where people build for the glory of God or the glory of man....is the key mountain, proclaims the video: "those who lead this mountain influence what controls our culture."
The Lies of Sarah Palin: Serial Denier Oh, those gosh-darn liberal bloggers! They won’t let a gal get away with stretching the truth even just a little bit, don’t-cha know. Or even 32 documented times, in recent memory. Not that we here at Blog for Iowa weren’t impressed by the extremely coherent way Sarah Palin announced her (for whatever reason) resignation from the elected position of Governor of Alaska.
But now that Palin is “back” in the public eye, Andrew Sullivan of The Daily Dish has undertaken the enormous task of vetting Palin’s public claims while asking, “What wouldn't Sarah Palin lie about if she felt she had to?” Well, I don’t know either, but I’ll defend her and hazard a guess that perhaps she can’t think of the truth fast enough.
A sample or two:
Palin lied when she said the dismissal of her public safety commissioner, Walt Monegan, had nothing to do with his refusal to fire state trooper Mike Wooten; in fact, the Branchflower Report concluded that she repeatedly abused her power when dealing with both men.
Palin lied when she denied that Wasilla's police chief and librarian had been fired; in fact, both were given letters of termination the previous day.
Read Sullivan’s complete list of odd Palin lies here.
And then watch this interview with Palin’s daughter’s baby daddy, Levi Johnston, as he explains why he feels that Sarah Palin is not qualified to be V.P. or POTUS. Cringe.
Health Care Reform Update: Insurance Insider Tips From Wendell Potter’s Blogby Alta Price, M.D.
While skimming articles at BuzzFlash, I happened upon “Health Care Industry Adopts Big Tobacco’s PR Tactics 7/13”, which led me to Wendell Potter’s blog at the Center for Media and Democracy. Potter first came to my attention when he was interviewed by Bill Moyers on PBS, an interview Blog For Iowa has already covered (you can read it here).
Although I watched the whole Moyers interview, and found it fascinating, I think Potter’s blog posts are even more helpful to grassroots health care activists. A recent blog post, The Ultimate Irony: Health Care Industry Adopts Big Tobacco’s PR Tactics, reveals the tactics the insurance industry is using against us. From Wendell Potter’s blog:
“One of the things I said in my testimony before the Senate Commerce Committee on June 24 is that the health insurance industry engages in duplicitous public relations campaigns to influence public opinion and the debate on health care reform. By that I mean there are campaigns they want you to you know about, and those they don’t.”
“When you hear insurance company executives talk about how much they support health care reform and can be counted on by the President and Congress to be there for them, that's the campaign they want you to be aware of. I call it their PR charm offensive.”
“When you read or hear someone other than an insurance company executive - including members of Congress - trash some aspect of reform the industry doesn’t like, such as the creation of a public health insurance option, there's a better-than-even chance that person is shilling for the industry. That’s the PR campaign the industry doesn’t want you to know about.”
You know what? I fell for the “charm offensive!” I have heard people say, and I believed it, that one reason we will get reform this time is because everyone is at the table and wants change, even the insurance industry. But what are they doing behind the scenes? When Senator Chuck Grassley speaks against the public plan option, is he speaking from the insurance industry’s talking points, or is that really what he thinks? (Honestly, I don’t know. Senator Grassley has been our ally in many health care battles, so what is going on now?) How about the Democratic Senators against the public plan option? Is the 1.4 million dollars a day the health care industry is spending to block reform convincing them to shill for the insurance industry?
But let’s say the insurance industry actually does want reform, and it’s not just the “charm offensive.” What kind of “reform” do they really want? You can read Wendell Potter’s take on that at another blog post, Obama’s False Friends of Health Reform.
Thank you, Wendell Potter. I will be checking your blog frequently!
*IBLTV is a group of citizens from the Iowa City/Cedar Rapids area who are concerned about the decline in the quality of local television. Fight local media consolidation, as it leads to an unaccountable medium that enriches itself while disregarding the need to serve the public good.
*The rational counter to 'The Point,' 'The Counterpoint' critiques and corrects the daily editorial by Sinclair Broadcasting's corporate vice president, Mark Hyman, that is broadcast on all Sinclair-owned television stations across the country
by Molly Regan
submitted by Abraham L. Funchess, Jr
Upcoming Democracy for America Night School Opportunity: 
Alternet.Org
Oh, those gosh-darn liberal bloggers! They won’t let a gal get away with stretching the truth even just a little bit, don’t-cha know. Or even 32 documented times, in recent memory. Not that we here at Blog for Iowa weren’t impressed by the extremely coherent way Sarah Palin announced her (for whatever reason) resignation from the elected position of Governor of Alaska.
