Tag Archives: black

TGIF …&some News

10/01/2010 Nativegrl77

Today is not just the first day of October; my dad if alive would be celebrating his 94^th birthday fishing; needless to say i probably would be there with him and later it would be fresh seafood and a flan for desert. RIP dad. The leaves here in the 206 are changing colour even more than last month and while the weather is always a mixed bag with a chance of rain the folks who know say the 206 will be in the high 70’s by the end of the day… ahhh the dog days of summer are still here tho waning away.

I feel the need to breathe deep in reaching up to the sky then slowly release your breath through your nose and repeat when needed.

It’s Friday and President Obama’s schedule will be busy as changes to his administration, fundraising for democratic candidates continue. This is a day of shake-ups and announcements in the White House what with Rahm leaving, Elena Kagan‘s Supreme Court’s investiture ceremony is on Friday, Thad Allen transfers his authority off to another while the folks in Congress run to their own states to campaign like it’s their last. The President has been out there on the campaign trail trying to educate, inform and get folks left of center to understand what is at stake if we do not get off our arse and vote. I do not know about other states but most people here vote by mail, which works out for me because you can peruse the pamphlet take you time to understand the issues, props, or initiatives and then vote it private and send it right back, you can even check to see if your vote was counted online. It is a great system.

It is also the day before the One Nation Rally the 10-2-10 event and at first glance it was exciting. The idea that so many people wanted to take the time to organize an event that would not just show solidarity for those of us who are left of center. The event would also be a moment to show our support, and express what has been done so far by the Obama administration and what still needs to get done if the changes we all voted for can become a realization was and still is an amazing feat. However, the last few weeks have made me slightly apprehensive. I am appreciative that progressives, liberals others have been willing and able to not just come together but invest money in the rally but is this a rally of support or will folks get on stage and suddenly talk bad about our President in ways that will sabotage the November election. The mid-term elections usually are not a big deal because normally the changes only affect folks in their own states; this is going to affect everyone because the issues are on a Federal level the changes will affect everyone. It is important that we all need to understand why the stakes are so high. In 2008 53% voted to change the status quo now those votes are now at risk and while changing the status quo should be the issue that holds this Democratic Party together the fact is some of the more left of center did not get their way and are now in the News almost on a daily basis. I get it and I understand freedom of speech, I just do not want to hear so much of the negative on national TV because it could give the Republican Tea Party an edge it could mean votes though if it meant losing votes that easily then they clearly were not left of center at all. So, keep it real keep it fresh and keep the negative under control.

Definitely excited to see the 10-2-10 event on national television I will also be waiting to count the numbers of barbs thrown at our President while watching. I am hoping that the backstabbing, subliminal messages kept at a low level. Is that too much to ask for?

Other News …

**There are 5million people yet to register to vote

**NASA will lay off 1200 workers

**October is Breast Cancer awareness month

**AIG has a plan to payback $$ owed to the govt ahead of time with stocks in return they keep their payraise structure….

**Seattle, Greenlake will be experience major cuts to services rendered,the Mayor has announced a meeting at the Green lake library is scheduled for 10/16 from 11am-1pm be there to give your input on Saturday

**Boeing is taking plane orders from Air China

**BMW has recalled over 200thousand cars V8 and V12 engines

**Reports are that more people are going to the emergency rm instead of a Doctor -HCR when fully implemented government will save approx $$4million once exchanges are started u[

**Washington State needs to get informed about the local side to the November elections …1098,1107 and more have major cuts and changes that will impact us for a very long time get educated

**Meg Whitman’s husband says it’s possible he saw Social Sec letter

CSPAN …

Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) Speech on Afghanistan
Today

Kendrick Meek for Senate Campaign Rally with Fmr. V.P. Al Gore
Thursday

White House Briefing with Press Secretary Robert Gibbs
Thursday

House Democrats Press Conference on Adjournment
Thursday

House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) Remarks at AEI
Thursday

House Oversight Cmte. Hearing on Johnson & Johnson Recall
Thursday

Senate Banking Cmte. Hearting on Financial Overhaul
Thursday

House Judiciary Subcmte. Hearing on Economic Benefits of Immigration
Thursday

Congress Adjourns for Midterm Elections
Thursday

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Medicaid enrollment spikes to 48M in weak economy…states are now cutting Medicaid to curb costs!

09/30/2010 Nativegrl77

By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR, Associated Press Writer Ricardo Alonso-zaldivar, Associated Press Writer – 1 hr 49 mins ago

WASHINGTON – A record number of Americans signed up for Medicaid last year, as the recession wiped out jobs and workplace health coverage.

A report released Thursday by the nonprofit Kaiser Family Foundation found that enrollment in the safety-net medical insurance program jumped to more than 48 million — a record 15.7 percent share of the U.S. population. With the economy barely improving, states are forecasting a 6 percent increase in the rolls next year, meaning another strain on their cash-depleted budgets.

The Medicaid numbers are the latest piece to emerge in a grim statistical picture of the recession’s toll. The ranks of the working-age poor climbed to the highest level since the 1960s last year, according to a recent Census report. Nearly 12 million households received food stamps, a record.

Rising Medicaid enrollment also underscores the growing role of the government in health care, a polarizing issue in this year’s midterm congressional elections after President Barack Obama and Democrats pushed through a massive overhaul of the nation’s health care system.

Since the start of the recession in December 2007, nearly 6 million people have signed up for Medicaid, according to Kaiser. That period includes the biggest 12-month increase since the program’s early days: 3.7 million new enrollees from December 2008 to December 2009.

“There seems to be no end in sight to the fiscal pressure on the Medicaid program,” said Vernon Smith, who co-authored the Kaiser report.

Starting in the fall of 2008, the federal government provided more than $100 billion in additional Medicaid funding to help states cover growing numbers of people in need.

The last of that money will run out in June of next year, and states will face a jump of 25 percent or more in their share of costs, although they are still likely to be financially strapped. If Republicans win control of Congress, they may find it difficult to turn down requests for more aid from the states.

With or without Obama’s overhaul, government is becoming the dominant player in health care. Federal, state and local government spending will overtake private sources in 2011, three years before the new law’s major coverage expansion, Medicare economists said in a recent report.

Medicaid is a federal-state partnership created with Medicare in 1965 under President Lyndon Johnson. It covers low-income families and many elderly in nursing homes, with Washington paying about 60 percent of the cost on average. Medicaid has also been assigned a major role under the new health care law, which expands the program to cover an estimated 18 million additional low-income adults starting in 2014.

For now, states are cutting Medicaid to try to curb costs.

Nearly every state — 48 in all — took some action to limit Medicaid spending this year, and most plan more cuts next year. Although they didn’t reduce eligibility, Kaiser found that states took steps to restrict the scope of coverage:

• A record 20 states placed restrictions on benefits, and 14 plan new restrictions next year. Arizona, California, Hawaii and Massachusetts eliminated some or all dental coverage. Other states limited medical imaging, therapies, supplies and personal care.

• Thirty-nine states cut or froze payments to hospitals, doctors and other service providers, and most plan another round next year. Medicaid payment rates are already so low that in many states it’s hard to find doctors who will accept the coverage. Yet 20 states lowered payments to doctors this year, and 12 plan to do so next year.

• Eighteen states placed limits on long-term care services, and 10 plan additional limits next year.

The recession officially ended in mid-2009, but the Kaiser study indicates its ill effects will take a while longer to wear off. Meanwhile, states will have to gear up for the major Medicaid expansion under the health care law.

“We’re on a teeter board,” said Carol Steckel, president of the National Association of Medicaid Directors, and head of Alabama’s program. “Every now and then that teeter board balances. But it’s going to be rare. There’s always something else.”

___

Online:

Kaiser Family Foundation: http://www.kff.org

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Breaking News: A Big Step for Paycheck Fairness

09/30/2010 Nativegrl77

A Big Step for Paycheck Fairness

We need the Senate to pass Paycheck Fairness quickly once they return. Tell your Senators: Women Are Not WorthLess!

We’ve reached an important moment in the Stop Discounting Women campaign — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has filed a cloture petition on the Paycheck Fairness Act — which is Washington-DC-speak for preparing a bill for a vote.

This is a huge opportunity for us. We started the campaign with the rallying cry “Women Are Not WorthLess” to bring attention to the 23% wage gap women face compared to their male counterparts. Our first goal was to help pass the Paycheck Fairness Act. And now, thanks to your support, the bill is not only set up for a vote, but it could be one of the first votes the Senate takes when it returns in November!

We need your help to make sure your Senators know that this bill is ripe for a vote when they come back and we need them to pass Paycheck Fairness quickly upon their return. Take action today by sending a quick e-mail message to your Senators.

In this tough economy, more and more families are counting on women’s earnings. Unfair pay practices make things even harder. The Paycheck Fairness Act would deter wage discrimination by closing loopholes in the Equal Pay Act and barring retaliation against workers who disclose their wages to coworkers.

Tell your Senators loud and clear that Women Are Not WorthLess.

Even if you have taken action before, we need you to do it again and again. November is just around the corner, and we need to keep the pressure on.

Thank you so much for all of your work.

Sincerely,

Fatima Goss Graves
Vice President for Education and Employment
National Women’s Law Center

P.S. Your generous donation allows us to continue to stand up for women and their families. Support our work today.

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Not waiting for Superman

09/30/2010 Nativegrl77

The Whole Story:
Invaluable Influence

Watch and share this video about Chicago teacher Juan Romero, an everyday hero.

By now, you’ve probably heard about the documentary “Waiting for ‘Superman’” by filmmaker Davis Guggenheim. It tells the very moving stories of five children and their families as they seek better schools. Their stories demonstrate in a real and emotional way that the opportunity for a great public education should come not by chance or by choice, but by right.

Unfortunately, the movie is not just moving, but very misleading. The central themes of the movie—that all charter schools are good and all other public schools are bad, and that teachers and their unions are to blame for failing schools—are incomplete and inaccurate.

Our kids, parents and communities deserve the whole story. And so do our teachers.

We’re not waiting for Superman and neither should anyone else. Visit the AFT’s Not Waiting for Superman webpage at aft.org/NotWaiting to join the conversation on how we can help all children—not just some—get a great public education.

It’s clear we can’t rely on Hollywood to tell the whole story. Get the facts and help fill in the blanks.

And while you’re at it, remember to tell your friends and family the real story about today’s unions—working people working together for a better future.

Thanks,

AFL-CIO Working Families e-Activist Network

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Sharron Angle

09/30/2010 Nativegrl77

After months of watching the GOP‘s extreme candidates say one offensive thing after another, I thought I was done being shocked.

Then I saw new footage of Nevada Republican Senate nominee Sharon Angle attacking laws that require insurance companies to cover those with autism.

“You’re paying for things that you don’t even need,” she said. “They just passed the latest one, is everything that they want to throw at us now is covered under ‘autism’.”

She put “autism” in air quotes — like she doesn’t believe it exists.

If this is what she’s saying on the campaign trail, imagine what she’ll say in the Senate.

We’re hitting back against ideologues like Sharron Angle with ads on the air and messaging on the ground. We’re making sure voters understand the choice they have in this election.

Can you chip in $5 or more to help us amplify that message?

Angle isn’t alone.

In Delaware, Christine O’Donnell has attacked the “horror” of health reform.

In Colorado, Ken Buck has called Social Security “horrible policy.”

In Alaska, Joe Miller has said that Congress must have “courage to shut down the government,” to stop the President‘s agenda.

These ideologues — in states across the country — think they have all the momentum. And their supporters are pouring their energy into the campaigns.

But this is why we’ve built a national program. It’s why we have organizers on the ground in every state.

We just need the resources to finish strong — and continue to show voters what Ken Buck, Sharron Angle, Christine O’Donnell, Joe Miller and a host of other Republicans keep saying.

Donate $5 or more now:

http://my.democrats.org/Angle

Thanks,

Jen

Jen O’Malley Dillon
Executive Director
Democratic National Committee