MOMocrats™

Blocking Governor Jerry Brown's Budget for California: David Koch's Americans For Prosperity, and Supermajority Rules

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UPDATED TO ADD:

Governor Brown withdrew from discussions with the GOP Assembly and Senate members when it became clear that they delivered a list of 53 demands, many of which had nothing to do with the budget, at the very last minute.

WE STILL NEED TO VOTE.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++

Almost 50,000 58,000 citizens can use a petition to call for a vote that will let them keep taxes at the existing level for five years, and 55% of the state's voters approve of raising corporate taxes, but only a handful of Republican legislators are required to block the vote and thwart the democratic process.

What's wrong with this picture? California's "supermajority" rule--with aid and comfort from the astroturf organization Americans for Prosperity, that's what. This, from a state Republican party that was delivered a shellacking in 2010 with no wins in important state seats and LOSSES in the State Senate and Assembly.

BP Lies, Again and Again. Where Are the Consequences?

A video, courtesy of the National Resources Defense Council, cataloging several of BP CEO's Tony Hayward's most egregious gaffes and falsehoods regarding the Deepwater Horizon oil spill:

In the first hours after the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded on April 20th, British Petroleum officials claimed there was no oil leaking from the broken well head, and that the oil seen in the water was a small, residual slick that had leaked from the rig itself as it was destroyed.

Days later, BP announced that there were 1,000 barrels of oil leaking from the well per day. BP continued to publicly cite that estimate for several days, even as the U.S. Coast Guard, using data given to it by BP, estimated that at least five times the amount BP claimed -- 5,000 barrels -- must have been leaking from the well daily.

When journalists and independent scientists looking to verify the flow rate asked BP for video of the leaking well, BP refused, repeatedly, until May 13th, when it finally released a 30 second video. Just one day later, scientists who had analyzed the brief video came to a grim conclusion: the Deepwater Horizon oil well might actually be leaking anywhere from 20,000 to 100,000 barrels of oil daily.

As If You Needed Another Reason to Demand Health Care Reform

The rate of maternal mortality in the United States has doubled since 1987.

That's the latest news on the status of women's health in America, according to a new report issued by the human rights organization Amnesty International.

In the year 2006, for every 100,000 women who gave birth in the United States, more than 13 died from childbirth complications. (In contrast, in our neighbor nation, Canada, only about 7 out of every 100,000 women will die in childbirth.) Two to three American women now die in childbirth every day. Serious but non-fatal health complications during pregnancy and childbirth are also on the rise in the U.S.

A woman in the United States is now more likely to die in childbirth than a woman in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Malta, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, or the U.K.

The United States also has one of the highest infant mortality rates in the industrialized world. Yet we spend more on health care per capita than any other nation.

According to the Amnesty International report, 25% of women in the United States do not receive adequate prenatal care. Those American women who lack access to proper prenatal care are three to four times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications. Their infants are also more likely to die during or after birth. 

Lack of access to health care is literally killing pregnant women and infants daily, in the wealthiest country in the world. And American women are more likely to die in childbirth now than in the 1980s — not because the quality of our health care knowledge or technology has declined, but simply because a quarter of all pregnant women in the U.S. apparently can't afford to regularly visit a doctor. 

All while Republicans in Congress continue to describe our broken health care system as "The best health care system in the world."

Oh RNC, honestly (or not!)? How the RNC asks people to work the system against health care reform

This afternoon, I received the following message from the RNC:

Subject: Your Call Can Make the Difference

** URGENT CALL TO ACTION ** After months working in secret behind closed doors, Harry Reid this week finally unveiled his 2,074-page government-run health care plan. His plan would increase health care premiums, increase taxes on families and small businesses by half a trillion dollars, cut Medicare by another half trillion dollars, and allow federal funds to be used for abortions. Click here for 10 things you should know about the bill. Harry Reid has scheduled a critical vote this Saturday night that will allow the Senate to take-up his bill. If that vote succeeds, Harry Reid will be dangerously close to finally imposing President Obama's government-run health care scheme on America. Two Democrat Senators - Ben Nelson (D-NE) and Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) - are critically important to defeating Saturday's vote. The RNC urges every concerned citizen to call Sens. Ben Nelson and Blanche Lincoln TODAY and tell them to vote against Harry Reid's liberal bill when it comes up for a vote on Saturday. This is the best opportunity there will be to stop President Obama, Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi from imposing their government-run health care plan on America. Again, please call Sens. Ben Nelson and Blanche Lincoln TODAY and tell them to vote against Harry Reid's health care bill when it comes up for a vote on Saturday. Republican National Committee | 310 First Street, SE | Washington, D.C. 20003 p: 202.863.8500 | f: 202.863.8820 | e: [email protected] Paid for by the Republican National Committee. 310 First Street, SE - Washington, D.C. 20003 - (202) 863-8500 www.gop.com Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. Unsubscribe Copyright 2009 Republican National Committee

Go Watch It: Rachel Maddow Takes on Americans for Prosperity

In August, I wrote about how astroturfing groups funded by big business and staffed by GOP political operatives and corporate lobbyists — like the Koch Industries-funded group Americans for Prosperity — are influencing the national debate on health care by helping to organize and promote Tea Party gatherings and town hall protests at the local level.

Last night on MSNBC, Rachel Maddow took on Americans for Prosperity President Tim Phillips in a scathingly direct interview. If you're concerned about the involvement of corporate lobbyists in the health care debate, don't miss this interview! Watch parts one and two below (part two is after the jump).

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Right wingnuttery: Impeach Obama because Republicans don't like him?

I  just got off the phone with far-right wingnut Floyd Brown and FOX Radio host Alan Colmes about Brown's newest campaign: impeachment of President Obama. Ordinarily I wouldn't give this guy any attention at all, but since he was on Alan Colmes' Fox Radio show, I figured it was my duty to put a bit of counterspin on the insanity this man spews all over the networks and Internet.

Who is Floyd Brown?  Simply put, Floyd Brown rests in the heart and bowels of the Republican party as the engine formulating the poison that is farted all over Fox News, astroturf sites, and so-called right-wing news sites. Wherever he goes, noxious fumes follow.

A Response to Sarah Palin's "Death Panel" Comment from a Parent of a Child with Special Needs

Sarah Palin, you are not my advocate. You do not speak for me. You do not speak for my child.

You do not speak for the many good friends of mine who have children with chronic medical issues far more severe than my own son's neurological disorder, Sensory Processing Disorder. You do not speak for all parents of children with Down Syndrome. You do not speak for the member of my extended family who has Down Syndrome.

What you said on your Facebook page, about mythical Obama "death panels"?

The America I know and love is not one in which my parents or my baby with Down Syndrome will have to stand in front of Obama’s “death panel” so his bureaucrats can decide, based on a subjective judgment of their “level of productivity in society,” whether they are worthy of health care. Such a system is downright evil.  -Sarah Palin

If enough people believe it — if enough people are scared by it into opposing any kind of health insurance reform — that politically motivated statement deliberately promoting a dangerous rumor that has been proven to be patently false could cause tens of thousands of children with special needs in the United States to continue to suffer without adequate health care for years to come.

In the United States, children with chronic health issues are often denied coverage by private health insurance companies that consider their health concerns to be a pre-existing condition. Some of those children denied coverage under private health insurance are, thankfully, able to qualify for public health insurance through Medicaid or SCHIP — two of our country's existing socialized medical insurance programs — but some are not. And those children who do have private insurance coverage are often forced to pay high co-pays for routine procedures, and are frequently denied authorization for recommended medical care.

Every day in the United States, children with autism or cerebral palsy are denied occupational therapy. Children with juvenile diabetes are denied insulin pumps. Children with asthma are denied inhalers. American parents of children with chronic health conditions must fight a tangled bureaucratic health insurance system constantly to make sure that their kids can get access to the care recommended by their doctors.

And that's why the National Down Syndrome Congress supports health insurance reform. That's why the Autism Society of America supports health insurance reform. That's why Children and Adults with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, the American Diabetes Association, and the March of Dimes all support health care insurance reform. Because all of these organizations are advocates for children with special needs.

Cynthia Davis is right: hunger is a motivator

Missouri State Representative Cynthia Davis, a Republican from O'Fallon, a St. Louis suburb with a median income 60% higher than the state average, recently criticized the state of Missouri's summer free lunch program for impoverished children in her monthly newsletter, saying that she thinks "hunger can be a positive motivator" for kids. Cynthia Davis argues that parents who have been laid off during the recession ought to be able to make do without government assistance:

Most parents put their children first, even ahead of themselves no matter what. If parents are laid off, that doesn’t mean they stop feeding their children, at least not any of the parents I know. Laid off parents could adapt by preparing more home cooked meals rather than going out to eat.

And she maintains that, if Missouri shuts down the free lunch program, children who find themselves going hungry will just be that much more motivated to feed themselves at no cost to the state by getting jobs at fast food restaurants:

Anyone under 18 can be eligible? Can’t they get a job during the summer by the time they are 16?  Hunger can be a positive motivator. What is wrong with the idea of getting a job so you can get better meals?

Tip: If you work for McDonald’s, they will feed you for free during your break.

No word from Ms. Davis yet on what those Missouri families who were already unable to afford regularly going out to eat before losing their income to recession ought to do to "adapt" to their new lack of funds to buy food. No word either on what teenagers are supposed to do if there are no jobs available at the local McDonald's because all positions there have been taken by recently laid-off adults. Or on how these kids are supposed to get to work if they cannot afford, say, a car, given that the local public transportation system recently cut bus services. No direction from Ms. Davis on what "motivated" younger children who cannot work at McDonald's are supposed to do to feed themselves.

Facing criticism by political bloggers and local and national press, Cynthia Davis continues to defend her position. I think Representative Davis is right about one thing: hunger is a motivator.

You never forget going hungry. Being hungry, well. That happens every day. As in, it's lunchtime. I'm hungry. Let's go out for a bite. I know a great little taco place down the street with fresh guacamole. That sort of feeling is commonplace. Forgettable. You don't always remember today what you ate for lunch three days ago, let alone the craving that drove you to eat in the first place.

Guest MOMocrats Post by Miguelina: Calling Sonia Sotomayor a racist? Make sure you have the facts first.

The MOMocrats welcome guest poster Miguelina who has a few things to say about the nasty tactics the GOP is using to try to smear Sonia Sotomayor.  Playing the racist card? You better come correct.

To Understand Takes Time and Effort, Something that Not All People Are Willing To Give

I'm not even going to pretend that this a political blog (or I should more accurately say, a judicial watch blog) but the constant exposure to Sonia Sotomayor's "wise Latina" quote, taken out of context is -- to put it mildly -- disappointing to me.

Dirty GOP politics is nothing new, but that the mainstream media keeps repeating the quote out of context thus doing the GOP's dirty work for them is pretty scary.

Sigh.

Why such a sophomoric smear campaign? In Sotomayor's own words,

To understand takes time and effort, something that not all people are willing to give.

You could argue that those words are proven right by the storm brewing around her right now, but I'll let you decide on your own. I trust that my fellow Americans are capable to form an opinion based on facts, something that talk radio seems to think is impossible.

I'm not even going to pretend that this a political blog (or I should more accurately say, a judicial watch blog) but the constant exposure to Sonia Sotomayor's "wise Latina" quote, taken out of context is -- to put it mildly -- disappointing to me.

Dirty GOP politics is nothing new, but that the mainstream media keeps repeating the quote out of context thus doing the GOP's dirty work for them is pretty scary.

Sigh.

Why such a sophomoric smear campaign? In Sotomayor's own words,

To understand takes time and effort, something that not all people are willing to give.

You could argue that those words are proven right by the storm brewing around her right now, but I'll let you decide on your own. I trust that my fellow Americans are capable to form an opinion based on facts, something that talk radio seems to think is impossible.

Those Who Seek to Destroy Our Way of Life

One of our nation's founding fathers — one of the chief architects of the American Revolution, Benjamin Franklin — once said, "Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."

One of our country's most respected military commanders, and our first President, George Washington, wrote in a letter on the proper conduct of troops, "While we are contending for our own liberty, we should be very cautious not to violate the rights of conscience in others." In regard to a group of British-allied Hessian soldiers captured during the Revolutionary War, Washington ordered, "Treat them with humanity, and let them have no reason to Complain of our Copying the brutal example of the British Army in their treatment of our unfortunate brethren."

In 1777, in the midst of war, future American President John Adams wrote to his wife Abigail, "I know of no policy, God is my witness, but this — Piety, Humanity and Honesty are the best Policy. Blasphemy, Cruelty and Villainy have prevailed and may again. But they won't prevail against America, in this Contest, because I find the more of them are employed, the less they succeed."

In his speech yesterday at the American Enterprise Institute, former Vice President Dick Cheney said:

[. . .] by the tough questioning of killers, we have supposedly fallen short of our own values. This recruitment-tool theory has become something of a mantra lately, including from the President himself. And after a familiar fashion, it excuses the violent and blames America for the evil that others do. It’s another version of that same old refrain from the Left, “We brought it on ourselves.”

It is much closer to the truth that terrorists hate this country precisely because of the values we profess and seek to live by, not by some alleged failure to do so. Nor are terrorists or those who see them as victims exactly the best judges of America’s moral standards, one way or the other.

Critics of our policies are given to lecturing on the theme of being consistent with American values. But no moral value held dear by the American people obliges public servants ever to sacrifice innocent lives to spare a captured terrorist from unpleasant things. And when an entire population is targeted by a terror network, nothing is more consistent with American values than to stop them.