September 16, 2019

"Just do it." -- We either lead the fight against evil or we concede.

August 28, 2019

Democracy Now! : "Kochland"

“Kochland”: How David Koch Helped Build an Empire to Shape U.S. Politics & Thwart Climate Action

Billionaire conservative donor David Koch died Friday at the age of 79 from prostate cancer. David Koch — who was worth some $42 billion — and his brother Charles poured massive amounts of money into funding climate change denial through conservative think tanks and politicians. The Koch brothers founded the political advocacy group Americans for Prosperity in 2004, which is credited with turning the “tea party” into a full-fledged political movement. They also backed “right-to-work” efforts, which aim to weaken labor rights and quash union membership. The brothers made their fortune running Koch Industries, the second-largest privately held company in the United States. We speak with the business journalist Christopher Leonard, who just last week published a major new book examining the business dealings of the Koch brothers. It’s titled “Kochland: The Secret History of Koch Industries and Corporate Power in America.”

AMY GOODMAN: But “David Koch Was the Ultimate Climate Change Denier.” Now, if he is one individual, that’s his own business. But this affected the entire country. Explain what Kochland is and how he and his brother had such a massive effect on the issue of climate change and denialism in this country.

CHRISTOPHER LEONARD: Yes, I will. And maybe to start, we could back up and look at the corporate empire that made David and Charles Koch the richest — some of the richest people in America. They’ve owned this privately held firm in Wichita, Kansas, for decades, Koch Industries. And as we said earlier, Koch Industries is one of the largest corporations in America. Its annual sales are bigger than Facebook, Goldman Sachs and U.S. Steel combined.

And the thing about Koch Industries is that it specializes in the kinds of businesses that underpin civilization. You couldn’t boycott Koch Industries if you wanted to.

[ ... ]

[ video and transcript at link ]
https://www.democracynow.org/2019/8/27/christopher_leonard_kochland_koch_brothers

August 21, 2019

Please show proper respect

As the economy sinks and the ice of Greenland melts, let us always remember to respect the Great Steal of the pResident.

August 4, 2019

Is there a list of the White Trumper Terrorists, so far?

I can't keep track. This seems to be a unique category of terrorists which has come into being since the campaign leading up to 2016.

July 31, 2019

Moscow Mitch pretends it's about policy

Mitch McConnell Is Panicking As The ‘Moscow Mitch’ Label Sticks

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has always been shameless in his efforts to ignore what’s best for the country in order to protect his party and his president.

But as the ‘Moscow Mitch’ label continues to stick to him after he refused to advance commonsense election security legislation through the Senate, he looks to be increasingly panicked.

That was clear earlier on Monday as he took to the Senate floor to defend himself from a chorus of backlash that he’s faced in recent days.

On Twitter, the Senate majority leader played damage control, desperately (and laughably) accusing his critics of “doing Putin’s destabilizing work for him.”

https://twitter.com/senatemajldr/status/1155949756792725510

As Neera Tanden, president of the Center for American Progress, said on Monday, “Clearly Mitch McConnell is a bit freaked by #MoscowMitch.”

https://twitter.com/neeratanden/status/1155964123936505858

[ ... more at link ... ]
https://www.politicususa.com/2019/07/29/mitch-mcconnell-is-panicking-as-the-moscow-mitch-label-sticks.html

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Moscow Mitch doesn't want you to notice the millions he's taken from Russian oligarchs directly connected to Putin.

Moscow Mitch doesn't want you to notice how he fought for lifting sanctions against Russian oligarchs directly connected to Putin.

Moscow Mitch wants you to forget that he threatened Obama and blocked informing the public about Russian interference in 2016.

Moscow Mitch wants you to ignore all the warnings about Russian interference in 2020.

Moscow Mitch wants you to forget that he blocks every bill that is designed to secure our elections from foreign interference.

Moscow Mitch wants you to cry with him over "policy disagreements".

April 3, 2019

Emergency rooms push Medicaid patients out more often than privately-insured people

Emergency rooms push Medicaid patients out more often than privately-insured people

By Nicole Wetsman

Before 1986, emergency rooms in the United States routinely turned patients away at the door if they didn’t have insurance. In fact, it was legal to do so. The Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA), passed that year, looked to stop that practice: The law mandated that hospitals screen and stabilize any patient, regardless of their ability to pay.

While the law has helped cut down on overt refusal of care, gaps in emergency room access persist, according to research published this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Uninsured patients or those on Medicaid who come to the emergency department with pulmonary conditions like pneumonia or asthma are more likely to be transferred to another hospital than patients on private insurance, the study found. They are also more likely to be discharged directly from the emergency department than patients with private insurance.

[ ... ]

The new study also found that patients without insurance or with Medicaid had nearly half the rate of admission after an emergency department evaluation than patients with private insurance. “That was definitely surprising,” Venkatesh says. Prior research has shown that uninsured patients are more likely to be discharged from the emergency department—uninsured patients with brain injuries or other types of trauma, for example, were less likely to be admitted. The pulmonary conditions examined in this study, though, have standard assessments that guide decision making around hospital admission, which the study authors note makes this particular gap stand out.

[ ... ]

March 17, 2019

Palmer Report: Trump just made it easier for Republicans to dump him

Donald Trump just made it easier for Senate Republicans to dump him

[ ... ]

When it comes to the GOP we’re talking about a bunch of corrupt wishy-washy cowards, of course. But they’ve spent the past week voting against Trump in increasing numbers, because they’re getting the sense that his criminal scandals are going to take him down, and they don’t want to go down with him.

[ ... ]

It was four last week, and now it’s twelve, so it could be even higher by the time this comes back for a veto override vote. If and when it does reach twenty, it’s time for Trump to panic. If twenty Senate Republicans are willing to vote to kill Trump’s wall fantasy, then they’re probably willing to vote to remove him from office if they conclude that it’s what’s selfishly best for their own Senate reelection chances.

In other words, with these weakling Senate Republicans now holding Donald Trump’s fate in their quivering hands, it would be really smart of Trump to try to make nice with them, and to throw them a bone. After all, they’re more likely to keep him around longer if they think they can get a bit more usefulness out of him.

So what did Donald Trump do in furtherance of this goal? He launched a vicious Twitter attack today on the late John McCain. Someone mentioned McCain on Fox News, and Trump was watching, and he just couldn’t help himself. Trump has attacked McCain before and gotten away with it, but that was back when he still had leverage over the Republican Party. These days it’s the opposite. Trump needs the GOP Senate’s help to survive, and now he’s attacking the patron saint of the GOP Senate.

[ ... ]

March 6, 2019

Republicans seem to mock gun violence victims by wearing pearls as they testify

Republicans seem to mock gun violence victims by wearing pearls as they testify

A group of male Republican lawmakers in New Hampshire have come under criticism for a stunt that gun control advocates say was demeaning to victims of gun violence: donning pearl necklaces to apparently mock those testifying in front of them.
NRA: the 'growing storm' challenging group's legendary clout and power
Read more

In a hearing in the New Hampshire house of representatives on Tuesday for a bill that would make it easier to restrict access to guns for people who pose an immediate threat to themselves or others, a number of Republican male legislators turned up wearing pearls.

Advocates from the group Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America said the message being conveyed was clear: opponents of gun violence were “clutching their pearls”.

“It really is shameful to behave that way when your constituents are being brave enough to share their stories,” Shannon Watts, founder of the group told the Washington Post.

March 2, 2019

Rep. Ilhan Omar also under attack by GOP

It's not just AOC and Rashida Tlaib ...

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6762869/Anti-Muslim-poster-comparing-Rep-Omar-9-11-West-Virginia-state-capitol-draws-outrage.html

Shocking poster linking congresswoman Ilhan Omar to 9/11 sparks outrage in the West Virginia statehouse on the same day the sergeant at arms resigns for saying 'all Muslims are terrorists'

A poster displayed on Friday in the rotunda of the West Virginia capitol featured an image of the 9/11 attack on the Twin Towers juxtaposed with Rep. Omar

The captions read '"Never forget" - you said' over the burning buildings and 'I am the proof you have forgotten' over the image of the Minnesota representative

Rep. Omar responded that it was 'no wonder' she was on a 'hitlist of a domestic terrorist' with the West Virginia GOP displaying such anti-Muslim rhetoric

Democrats in West Virginia became heated after the display went up and were further infuriated by a sergeant at arms who allegedly made bigoted remarks



https://twitter.com/wvdemocrats/status/1101558033656762368

Also reported in WaPo:
Poster linking Rep. Ilhan Omar to 9/11 sparks outrage, injuries in W.Va. state Capitol

https://twitter.com/IlhanMN/status/1101614278585536512

https://twitter.com/pushkinforhouse/status/1101532563020148737

February 24, 2019

Congresswoman Lucy McBath Delivers Weekly Democratic Address

Congresswoman Lucy McBath Delivers Weekly Democratic Address

February 22, 2019

Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Lucy McBath of Georgia delivered the Weekly Democratic Address. In this week’s address, the Congresswoman shared her family’s tragic story of gun violence and explained the work she and House Democrats are doing to pass commonsense gun safety legislation, beginning next week with H.R. 8, the Bipartisan Background Checks Act. Video and audio of the Weekly Democratic Address can be downloaded here.

Below is a full transcript of the address:

“Hi, I’m Congresswoman Lucy McBath and I’m proud to represent Georgia’s 6th Congressional District.

“There have never been more women or people of color in Congress and I’m honored to be a part of this historic freshman class. I proudly serve on both the Judiciary and Education [and] Labor Committees.

“This coming week, H.R.8 the Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2019 will come to Floor of the House for a vote. This historic, bipartisan gun violence prevention legislation was introduced by Mike Thompson and was co-sponsored by myself and many of my colleagues. The bill will ensure background checks for all gun sales, including unlicensed gun dealers.

“As many of you may know, gun violence is an issue that is deeply personal for me. In 2012, my son Jordan Davis was shot and killed by a man who opened fire on a car of unarmed teenagers at a gas station in Jacksonville, Florida. My son Jordan was 17 years old. Jordan would have turned 24 this past weekend.

“After my son’s death, I dedicated my life to advocating for commonsense gun safety solutions. But, it was the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida last year that finally motivated me to run for Congress.

“The pain of losing a child to gun violence never ends. It is that pain which drives my work to prevent gun violence.

“These stories are vitally important as we work to pass commonsense gun safety legislation to keep families like ours from experiencing the horror and the heartbreak brought on by gun violence.

“The overwhelming, bipartisan support for universal background checks symbolizes the power of advocacy and the incredible power of the survivors, family members and students who have shared their stories as they advocate for commonsense gun safety solutions and demand that we act to address gun violence.

“House Democrats are taking action to make sure our communities and our nation are safer.

“We need commonsense legislation to prevent gun violence and ensure that mothers and fathers have one less reason to worry. This gives students one less thing to fear when they walk into school. Most importantly, it makes our communities and our nation a safer place to live.

“Thank you.”