Check out these signs - Which is your favorite?

10-capitol

Yep - Hey Congress - move on Health reform!

02-in-friends

Hoosiers for Health Reform!  All the way from Indiana to D.C

05-specter

if it is good enough for Congress…

06-youth-screwed-sign

Out of college, no job or a job with decent benefits, too old for parents health cover (if they still have it).

07-single-payer-cure

That is Adrian Campbell on the left.

08-desperately-seeking

Loved this single Desperately seeking sign…  You will recall Laim and Jackie.  Jacki was all excited she was going to be on youtube.  I mean really excited.

11-blue-dogs

Finally - the blue dogs seem to get what they want- why not progressive Democrats.  All we need is a block of 40 to ensure a sensible public option is on the table and goes forward.   I spoke briefly with this women - she was not a happy camper with regards to Blue Dogs in general.

A few more below the fold…

Read the rest of this entry »

More video from the 6-25 HCAN rally in Washington D.C.  In this one, Senator Chuck Schumer,  our senior Senator from New York State, is shouted down in Washington at a Health Care rally  (note: I was jostled a few times, but but watch and listen).

I’ll explain after the video where Senator Schumer misses the mark or at least tries to have it both ways.

Got that?  Over the objections of an activist  shouting “we want single payer now” Senator Schumer delivers the standard pump up the audience speech and says:

We need to hold Congress’ feet to the fire.

It has been a long hard fight.

Past 100 years

Teddy Roosevelt

This is more than some guy disrupting a Senators speech - let’s look at what is missing from the Roosevelt reference.

What about Senator Schumer invoking Roosevelt?

OK - Teddy Roosevelt - a great New Yorker - pushed a national health plan way back in 1912.  A PROGRESSIVE Republican (as we all know, parties back then are not the same as the parties are now).  If you watched our 8 minute history lesson - you saw that it started with Roosevelt.  But what else was Teddy Roosevelt known for?  San Juan Hill, rough riders, conservation top the “off the top of my head list” but what else - wait for it - TRUST BUSTING.

See, our current system is based on insurance companies controlling the delivery of medicine/care by pulling the financial strings.  We have seen where they conspire and blacklist you or control rates or services.  IMHO - Insurance companies are modern day trusts -

Which is which brings me back to Senator Schumer and the rest who invoke Teddy Roosevelt.

They say we have been at it for a long time yet are willing to accept less than optimal plans.

There is all kinds of talk of co-ops, and triggers and the perceived unfairness of competition.   We have Senator Schumer watering down the undefined public option.  Discussion that a “public option” won’t be open to the public for 5 years.  Or, from the administration, if there is even a Public option at all.

There is talk of of a uniquely American solution that somehow omits the fact that Medicare is an existing uniquely American solution.  By pushing “medicare for all” plans off  of the table and out of the room they they cede control to these modern day trusts.

Ironic isn’t it - Trust buster Roosevelt used to sell reform that really isn’t reform at all.

W*W*TR*D - What Would Teddy Roosevelt Do?

I caught up with Adrian Campbell at the the HCAN Health Care rally on 6-25-09.

Adrian was featured in the movie Sicko (that clip is below the fold).  She is a cancer survivor. She battled cancer twice. I suppose one always battles cancer - anyway once she had Insurance and once she did not - both times she was left financially ruined.

What does she want - Medicare for all - everybody in, nobody out.

I also found this clip from an interview last year with with Laura Flanders interesting as well.

Below the fold is her segment from Sicko

Read the rest of this entry »

I caught up to Laim at the 6-25-09 HCAN rally.  Have a listen. Especially after the 50 second mark.

She makes three points

1.  The lack of a profit motive in Germany means that no one is  rejected for being too sick for health care
2.  Obama needs to be pushed to the left.
3.  Medical Insurance doesn’t allow the patient to heal as they shuffle patient care based on money not medical need.

Point number three resonates with me .  I mean who do we want making medical decisions Doctors or MBAs?   Her friend is in Hospital and is shuttled around based on insurance funding rather than needed care.  So, she needs three weeks of therapy and is funded for only two weeks - her condition NEVER stabilizes because someone  is chasing the bottom line.

I mean who takes the Hippocratic Oath?  Insurance companies or Doctors?

Speaking of which via the Hippocratic Oath

I will remember that I do not treat a fever chart, a cancerous growth, but a sick human being, whose illness may affect the person’s family and economic stability. My responsibility includes these related problems, if I am to care adequately for the sick.

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand

This was the first time I met Senator Gillibrand and my interaction with the Senator was bounded as all such interactions are when a Senator walks through a crowd  -  hands were thrust in her direction, endless posing for pictures and cameras snapping feverishly.

In my 15 seconds with the Senator, we exchanged greetings .    What I liked and remember was I was her only focus was among the huge crowd - as I’m sure were the folks ahead or behind me.

So when my 15 seconds was over - I asked her legislative aide - where is the Senator on Health Care - Is she still in favor of “medicare for all”?  the answer was Yes - and I assume that this means “Medicare for all” as a public option.

per MSNBC -where is simply a banner on their website but Rawstory says

The Minnesota Supreme Court affirms that Franken won his Senate seat.

Governor Tim Pawlenty said on MSNBC Tuesday that he would sign the certificate if the court ordered him to.

WOW - 60 Senators - imagine that  -

What you you think will happen with/to the Dem’s agenda once Franken is seated?

You can read the article in the D&C for more info - check out this laundry list of accusations.

Allegations

Allegations against suspended Greece Police Chief Merritt Rahn center on six general topics: the June 6, 2008 crash involving off-duty Sgt. Nicholas Joseph; allegations of document shredding; complaints against former Officer Gary Pignato; allegations that Rahn mishandled a 2004 homicide investigation; the theft of Rahn’s gun in 1999; and allegations he ordered an officer to come jump-start a car rather than respond to a call for a burglary in progress.

Rahn is charged with violating 46 departmental regulations.
Here are some of the allegations, according to the documents:

• During a June 10, 2008, staff meeting, Rahn said “if Sgt. Nicholas Joseph had been drinking when he had the accident, that he took the correct action by leaving the scene of the accident.”

• Despite a subpoena for personnel records from the District Attorney’s Office, Rahn stood by on April 25 and watched Deputy Chief William Mackin shred documents without asking what the documents were and without ensuring no evidence was being destroyed.

• At the scene of a June 17, 2004, homicide, Rahn said the matter “was a clear cut case of self-defense,” ordered the homicide suspect’s handcuffs removed and handed the suspect a cell phone with a defense attorney on the line.

• Rahn did not report the November 1999 theft of his service weapon until February 2000, when he filed a false report that said the gun was taken on or after Dec. 4.

• In September, Rahn ordered one of his officers not to speak to State Police regarding a complaint he had taken against Officer Gary Pignato and in December ordered another officer to speak to Pignato’s defense team.

• Sometime in the fall of 2008, Rahn ordered an officer to stop responding to a burglary in progress call and instead use his town-owned police car to jump-start a used car Rahn had just sold.

I was over at a friend’s house last night and they were describing a public Facebook chat with a member of the administration Health Care team that occurred yesterday.  What came out of it?  Well discussion over a public option and this little gem.

The plan currently being floated is that if a “public option” is part of the comprehensive reform everyone is talking about - you won’t have access to it if you already have insurance.

Got that?  If you have no insurance you can opt in to the “public plan.”   If you have crappy insurance coverage - well tough luck - try not to get sick for 5 years at which time people with insurance can opt into the public option.

So, either they really misunderstood the call and that isn’t true or the public option now floated has restrictions built in to ensure prolonging of undercovered insurance holders.

My money is on the captured customer and prolonging under-coverage.

At some point the Obama administration has to decide if Health Care is a human right or business activity.

If my friends’ understanding is correct, Team Obama really crossed a bridge.  Why?  Well, check this out.

Re taxing Health Insurance benefits

But administration officials are working behind the scenes on the idea, including the Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius, UPI reports: Sebelius said that “Obama would prefer not to resort to that measure but it is ‘open to discussion.’” Sebelius also said Obama would prefer to cap itemized deductions to help pay for reform to save $330 billion over 10 years for reform (6/28).

Then there is even IF THERE IS  A PUBLIC OPTION

Politico: “White House senior adviser David Axelrod says President Barack Obama would like to have a public option – or government-run insurance plan – as part of a health reform package, but will not insist on it. ‘We’ve not gotten as far as we’ve gotten by drawing bright lines in the sand,’ Axelrod said on NBC’s Meet the Press. ‘He’s going to fight hard for that.’” Later on Meet the Press, Republican strategist Mike Murphy called that “a huge concession.” (Allen and Siegel, 6/28).

Scary stuff for people expecting change.

And here is a big surprise - the GOP is appealing the decision.

via Rnews - (I heard this via the Press conference they broadcast)

A judge has ordered all 62 New York State senators to a special session Tuesday.

The order came down Monday afternoon and is likely an attempt to end the power struggle in the Senate that has been going on for over two weeks.

Our Albany sources say lawyers for the Republicans are immediately appealing the decision Tuesday.

Liz Benjamin has more including the Judges harsh words.

State Supreme Court Justice Joseph Teresi handed Gov. David Paterson a significant victory this afternoon, ruling that each and every member of the deadlocked state Senate - all 62 of them - must convene at the same time in the chamber when the governor calls an extraordinary session.

The judge (who happens to be a Democrat) made no secret of his contempt for the Senate mess and issued a harsh rebuke to the senators from the bench.

“You have a unique opportunity as elected officials to take the high road; do the right thing for the greater good,” Teresi said.

“Otherwise there are those citizens of the public who would conclude, if they have not already concluded, that these members have placed their own interests ahead of all other citizens of this state to the benefit of their own personal and selfish interests, and that those same people may also conclude and define that conduct as rude, inconsiderate and egotistical.

UPDATE: In what might be a signal of the Democrats’ intentions, (aside from the fact that their legal team did not, unlike the GOP, come to court armed with a notice of appeal), Austin Shafran, spokesman to Sen. Malcolm Smith, issued the following statement:

“Once again, the Republicans have proved our point - for them, it’s all about the power, titles and June 8th. After being compelled by a judge to join Senate Democrats in the Chamber, the Republicans immediately challenged the ruling with the hope of prolonging the gridlock they have brought to Albany.”

I got my morning does of confusion today - this time via a D&C article that tried to explain a rife between Democrats and Republicans with regards to a County Legislature Committee proposal.

See, there is an important project - stabilizing the Irondequoit Creek stream bank in Powder Mills Park and Ellison Park.  Sounds important.  Trouble is it costs money.  Well - not to fear the State has provided a grant for the cost $250,000.  Problem solved right?  Whoa - not so fast, turns out the fiscally repressive Republican Majority want to borrow the money to pay for this project.  Hence the rift and my confusion.  The fiscally responsible Democrats said no and via the magic of a party line vote - the GOP got its way.

Via the D&C.

Monroe County Legislature Republicans on Friday criticized the Democratic minority for not voting in favor of borrowing funds for an environmental project.

[snip]

Democrats maintain that authorizing borrowing for projects that will be funded with grants is not necessary, and have suggested that such a practice hurts the county’s credit rating, though the Brooks administration refutes that.

In correspondence with the Republican leadership, Legislator Paul Haney, D-Rochester, sent legislation from other New York counties that show they authorized borrowing for projects only for the county’s share of the cost.

So this begs the question - if we borrow money that we don’t need - what will it be used for?

A statement from Democratic Caucus is below the fold.

Read the rest of this entry »

Welcome to this week’s edition of In Case You Missed It… ROBUTRAD,  Health Care and lots of little local Political drama top the news, oh yeah, the State Senate was in session for a moment as well.

Let’s get to it shall we?

More fallout form ROBUTRAD

Now that the criminal complaint against ex-Gates GOP leader Bob Morone is public, additional revelations continue to come to light.  We discover that Robutrad crossed political boundaries as a Democrat  who ran for a County legislator position but worked for ROBUTRAD was told to support the opposition or else.

The D&C editorial board comes out strong on transparency and Accountability.   City News comes out even stronger on lack of County leadership.  Sean Carroll (13Wham) provides some analysis - this is deeper and more will come out and some folks will get away.

Finally, in a surprise to probably no one - Gates Supervisor has memory problems and finally announces that he had work done by the ROBUTRAD crew.

Health Care -Are they listening?

Well, the debate Health Care continues - Watch this video of Congressional testimony and see how and why Insurance companies rescind benefits from people they cover.  It’s the profit motive people.   We discuss blowback on the Senate if Health Care, specifically a real robust health care option is not passed.  Senator Schumer’s plan gets a little definition - big surprise - and, per this account, pulls up short.

I got on a bus to D.C. to make my and other voices heard. Here are my initial observations with more to follow this week.

Local Political drama

The Conservatives should rethink their endorsements of local Republicans.  Turns out the GOP doesn’t exactly follow the Conservative Party principles.

Greece Police Chief Merritt Rahn gets suspended again - this time without pay.

Monroe County Bond ratings are downgraded.

Add ethical questions to the long list of RenSquare problems.

The State

The Senate is back in session if only for a moment.  Paterson weighs in,

Some Senators want to tax Indians - violating a treaty.   Hey, about about working on that dysfunctional State Senate thing first.

Rick Lazio wants Governor Paterson’s job

Quick Clicks -

The Jazz Fest is Over

The Mendon Library breaks ground.

Local car shop goes green.

Post election drama is Iran continues as the opposition steps up.

Tech Support makes RT play better on the Internet.

Wingnuts are back - More birth certificate “He’s a muslim” BS and waiting for the Conservative resurgence.   Hold your breath - Are you turning blue yet?

The Town of Brighton has a highly successful medical waste collection effort.

Greece gets exactly what it needs - another WalMart.

Senator Gillibrand backs SCOTUS nominee Sotomayer

Massa votes against climate change bill citing lack of Hydrogen Fuel Technology.

That’s it for now - see you next week.

Well, that didn’t take long - Check out the latest revelations on ROBUTRAD.

via the MPN

Gates, N.Y. —

Gates Supervisor Ralph Esposito said today he, too, had work done by a Robutrad worker on the recommendation of a man facing federal fraud charges, but denies any wrongdoing on his part.

[snip]

Esposito said he has two canceled checks totaling $2,425 for exterior painting done in July 2005, two years before the year specified in the complaint.

Esposito, who is not running for re-election this fall, said he had forgotten the work was done because it happened so long ago and “never even gave it a thought.” But he said he did not recall if the work done at that time was on county time.

Maybe they should spike the water with Ginkgo or something to jog everyone’s memory.  How does one “forget” that the center of the largest local political scandal - the now ex-leader of the Gates GOP committee - YOUR COMMITTEE - is the SAME GUY WHO GOT YOUR HOUSE PAINTED?

Come on - someone is parsing words.

The larger questions here is

Is the paint job worth $2400 dollars or is that “the family discount?”  Did anyone pay taxes on that or pay cash to avoid taxes?  Was County equipment used to get the job done?  Did Ralph ever visit the job site - notice a county truck in the driveway?  Did he see any familiar faces?  I mean these are guys that were active political participants.

I’m simply shocked that the claim of “oh yeah, now I remember…” from Mr Esposito.

Those are my questions what are yours?

Well, turns out the fundraiser and the auditor are one in the same and that violates General Accounting Principles.

Via the D&C

In addition to his firm’s auditing responsibilities, Bonadio is in charge of raising private funds for a downtown theater, one of three components of the downtown project.”

I think it’s questionable,” said Robert Waxman, chair of the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants’ Auditing Standards Committee. “I can’t say it’s slam-dunk bad. … It just doesn’t look good.”

Then there is this

Rules put forth by the Government Accountability Office, which has jurisdiction over federal funds — $81 million of such funds have been secured for Renaissance Square — states: “In all matters relating to the audit work, the audit organization and the individual auditors, whether government or public, should be free from personal and external impairments to independence, should be organizationally independent, and should maintain an independent attitude and appearance.”

What could possible go wrong?

Tom Bonadio is the fundraiser and his firm, the Bonadio Group (yes, the one with his name on it),  is the Auditor.  What could possibly go wrong?   Why is this a conflict?  Well, how about someone who is concerned about their career in the Bonadio group, cherry picking, ignoring, or sugar-coating information that would run counter to the big boss’ (Bonadio) perceived desires.

This is about an organization aligning itself with desires of the boss at the expense of independence.

So when Bonadio sends messages like ‘don’t worry about it, I’m doing it on my own time’ or makes apple pie statements like ‘I’m doing it for my daughters’, or RIT Professor Oliver says -  ‘oh well, it is hard to avoid conflicts’ -  Color me unconvinced.

Oh, one more thing -

The firm and its members are reliable political donors, having donated $6,000 to County Executive Maggie Brooks, $28,800 to the county Republican committee and $1,500 to the county Democratic committee since 2005. No contributions went to Mayor Robert Duffy.

Yeah, wouldn’ t want to bite the hand that feeds you now would you.

So, what do we have here?  Per Paul Haney -

“We’ve got the largest construction project in the history of Monroe County being audited by someone who has an ethical question whether they have the independence to perform that audit,” said Haney

Well,

Just checking in.  I’m about to arrive in D.C. to participate in some Health Care rallies.  There are some congressional meetings that I was promised to be a part of as well.  Anyway lots of pictures and video until my battery runs out.

What is at stake?

Well a Public option.  Now as we have said repeatedly - the public option is not yet defined.  Sorry, it is not.  If you want it to be something like Dean, Gillibrand and Massa want - it is simply medicare for all.  Of course, the public option could be a government subsidized privately run insurance company thing or something not yet thought of.  Who knows.  Point being the devil is in the details.

It is one thing to simply want and settle for a “public option”.  jump up and down, declare victory and say we have a public option.  We won, We won.  It is quite another want an settle for an option that works.  That is sustainable and not set up for failure.

Which leads me into a story -

Yesterday, I told a work colleague where I was going and she said go ahead and protest for me too.  We went on to talk about heath care.  She said, all she wants is for her daughter (22) to be able to purchase affordable health care because she is no longer on the the family insurance.  She wants a basic health care that her daughter can afford on an entry level or minimum wage type job.

I asked if it matters if it is public or privately funded or administered.  She quipped it doesn’t matter but didn’t trust the insurance companies.

We went back and forth until at some point I said - All I want is an alternative. I want our employer to stop bitching about how much our benefits cost every year.  I want our company paid benefits to be reduced so we can be more competitive while the employees don’t have to worry about their health insurance coverage. All I want is a choice, an alternative to our current plan that MY doctor will accept.  All I want is a publicly financed privately delivered system.

I’d like to see medicare for everyone as an option.   You are covered the day you are born until the day you die.

She smiled and responded that would work too.

I went on, if it is good enough for Congress, it is good enough for me. Oh, by the way Medicare for all allows me to fold up Medicaid, S-CHIP, probably even workman’s comp because, everyone is covered.  Costs go down, people are covered.

So I’ll be protesting for her as well.

Got a story to share?  What you you want?

We have spoken about this before but is appears to be a reality.

Via the D&C

Nearly 200 teachers and another 100 substitute teachers in the Rochester School District were informed today that they would not be needed for the upcoming school year, according to the Rochester Teachers Association.

I get it - budget problems mean cutting costs and in this case trading higher class sizes for budget reduction.  I found this exchange quite interesting

Teaching position cuts outlined in the recently approved $699 million budget had been expected to number about 200, but district officials, including Superintendent Jean-Claude Brizard, had maintained that the bulk of those would be achieved through attrition and retirements, and that layoffs would be limited.

So no one voluntarily left ” through attrition and retirements”