Tag Archives: United States Congress

OBAMACARE by the Numbers …


Guess how some members of Congress are spending their August vacation:
They’re touring the country, going state by state and district by district to convince people that Obamacare isn’t working — never mind the benefits that millions of families are already feeling.
After trying and failing to repeal the law (40 times!), they’re starting to get desperate. OFA’s Truth Team is here to set the record straight.
Fight back against the cynical opponents of Obamacare by sharing some truth about how Obamacare is already helping folks all across the country — here’s a perfect graphic to get started:

 

Check the real facts on Obamacare.

Congress : Health Care


National Women's Law Center
Members of Congress should get the same health coverage as other Americans. Seems obvious, right? Well, it isn’t obvious for some anti-choice lawmakers. They want Congress to get the same health insurance options as all Americans — except when it comes to abortion coverage.
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is asking the public for comments on new regulations implementing a rule in Obamacare, also known as the health care law, requiring Members of Congress and their staff to get the same coverage from the same place millions of other Americans will — the new health insurance marketplaces.
We need your help today! The deadline to submit your comments is this Monday:  Tell OPM to follow the law and ensure Congress gets the same health insurance options as millions of other Americans.
Anti-choice Members of Congress claim they want themselves and their staff “to live under the same laws as the rest of the country,” except when they don’t.
Thank you for everything you do for women and their families.
Sincerely,
Judy Waxman Judy Waxman Vice President for Health and Reproductive Rights National Women’s Law Center

Is your member of Congress afraid of Regulatory agencies


just another rant …

What we need are MORE Regulatory agencies doing their jobs … period

If you hear the noise, the fear mongering coming from Teapublicans you might want to laugh first, tilt your head to the side then furrow your brow and ask where were you when the reports came in that we were losing 750,000 jobs month after month, that several financial institutions crashed due to some big time corruption.

Unfortunately, knowing job creators are sitting on trillions of dollars due to what they call “excessive regulation” and “uncertainty” in a time when lack of it created our financial crisis is quite offensive as some Americans continue to lose homes, jobs and health care. The fact is that members of Congress actually needs to invest in their fellow Americans.  It is not lost on me that Teapublican members of Congress have conveniently  forgotten about the Bush agency parties, drilling permits approved of with tankers that probably were just on the edge of being technically safe.  How remarkable is it to hear the current nonsense about the Keystone XL pipeline after all that happened and was exposed during the BP spill is a lesson in what members of Congress will do say and push when their personal investments are involved. It is obvious they have forgotten what led up to the Massey Mine disaster as well.

Fact is, there are things that need strict guidelines, most parents want Clean Air, Clean Water and not only affordable health care but some of us would actually pay a smidge more to make sure that food, flights and anything else that seems too big to handle for an individual can be by the Government and not privatized.  If Teapublicans believe privatization is the only way to create more jobs remember; that it also means your cost for services may go up which folks are complaining about now … right; an increase in insurance premiums could be just a start. I like having firefighters, cleared roads, police, the EPA and FEMA and most thing it is worth paying the Government to act for everyone, not just a select few. I will not forget the man who failed to pay his protection fee which resulted in his house burning down; that is what privatization does. I expect the Government to be our children’s watchdog for their health, our future and corrupt regulators need not apply.  While the Heritage Foundation is the Teapublicans training ground with quite different attitude about regulations, it is my contention that the Heritage Foundation opinion should not be driving what Republicans in Congress say do or vote.

Yet,  folks and organizations like the Grover Norquist’s and the Heritage Foundation just do not understand that they only represent a small percentage of voters and after having read the article it definitely sounded like the Heritage Foundation would love to go around the voter if they could. I find it almost amusing to read how conservative groups rationalize their feelings about regulations. The Heritage Foundation subscribes to wanting a new society. That should scare us all.  Then again, it just sheds light on how out of touch the Heritage group is and if this is the meme being pushed on members of Congress who are not only supposed to be working for the People paid by “We the People”,  it is truly a  sad example of what being a member of Congress means.

I totally get Capitalism. We all strive to be self-sufficient. I just happen to believe it should be with a lower case c, which includes small businesses, and those who aspire to get ahead not just or only for big Corporations who more often than not seem to send opportunities and jobs overseas to avoid regulations .

The featured picture Is called “Faces”  taken from the National Museum of African American History and Culture article

It’s Us Alright


The Climate Reality Project Can you feel the heat? We sure can.

And while temperatures rise, big corporations and Congress continue to claim, “It’s not us — it’s natural,” when you and I both know they’re repeating lies coming straight from Big Oil and Big Coal.

“It’s not us” is another abominable myth about climate change… and we need your voice to help destroy this myth today. Let’s crank up the heat on climate change deniers.

Deniers love to say: “Okay, climate change is happening. But it has natural causes, and humans have nothing to do with it.”

Just ask 97 percent of climate scientists: Man-made carbon pollution is the cause of global warming. The consensus is overwhelming.

Yet somehow, deniers just keep rehashing these same old myths and the news media keeps repeating them — confusing the public when people like you and I know the truth is cut and dry.

That’s why this week, in response to Organizing for Action‘s efforts to keep the climate change conversation top-of-mind, we’re putting the #HeatOnDenial by making anti-science deniers sweat. Together with our friends at Organizing For America, we can raise the temperature of this hot topic.

So take a moment, head to our Reality Drop application, and help destroy the “It’s Not Us” myth –– and together we’ll be one step closer to solving the climate crisis.

Thanks for your continued dedication,
The Climate Reality Team

P.S. Never used Reality Drop? Here’s the scoop on how to start dropping truth on climate myths in the media.

CAP Action War Room


By  CAP Action War Room

The Latest GOP Temper Tantrum

Today President Obama gave a major speech laying out a vision for growing the economy from the middle class out. (Watch this space for more on that tomorrow).

The president also used the speech to call out Republicans for having harmful plans or no plan at all when it comes to strengthening the middle class. In particular, the president chided Republicans for the millions of dollars and weeks of time they’ve wasted on dead-end Obamacare repeal votes while failing to lay out a positive economic agenda for the middle class:

Even if you think I’ve done everything wrong, the trends I just talked about were happening well before I took office.  So it’s not enough for you just to oppose me.  You got to be for something.  What are your ideas?  If you’re willing to work with me to strengthen American manufacturing and rebuild this country’s infrastructure, let’s go.  If you’ve got better ideas to bring down the cost of college for working families, let’s hear them.   If you think you have a better plan for making sure that every American has the security of quality, affordable health care, then stop taking meaningless repeal votes, and share your concrete ideas with the country. 

Repealing Obamacare and cutting spending is not an economic plan.  It’s not.

Unfortunately, 15 Republican senators are not just in favor of pointless Obamacare repeal votes, now they’re even threatening to shut down the government in order to prevent millions of Americans from gaining access to quality, affordable health care.

Meet the Senate GOP’s shutdown caucus:

BOTTOM LINE: Instead of looking for new ways to sabotage the economy and deny health care benefits to millions of Americans, it’s time for Republicans who disagree with the president to lay out their own agenda for strengthening the middle class. Progressives have a plan to grow the economy from the middle class out, it’s time for Republicans to propose something other than the failed trickle-down policies of the past.

Evening Brief: Important Stories That You Might’ve Missed

Conservatives gear up to keep top women’s rights advocate off key federal court.

Congresswoman says college affordability “is not the role of Congress.”

You won’t believe how much the melting Arctic will cost.

Bill O’Reilly blames civil rights leaders and “black culture” for crime.

This misplaced priorities of cable news.

Congressman doubles down on claim that undocumented youth are drug mules.

Five reasons to raise the minimum wage right now.

Pro-oil state suing oil giants for damage to wetlands.

Brazil’s shockingly high prices.