Lobbying Power vs the average citizen

Appearing on the first installment of a series called "Follow the Money," the lobbyist, Jimmy Williams, a principal at Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal LLP, said corporations and interest groups often do not report to the IRS the large amounts of money they give to lawmakers and political action committees, choosing instead to pay a nominal fine. The money goes into a "black hole," Williams said, perpetuating a system he called "corrupt." In 2009, the congressional publication The Hill named Williams one of capital's top corporate lobbyists

Sadly the Supreme Court allowed money to flood the system by this recent decision  In the case Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (pdf), in which corporations received protection for their First Amendment right to spend money on political causes.

“I caught this interview and thought to myself "this man is trying to tell us how messed up our system is and how messed up our represenitives are". Our Representitives have the power to fix this corrupt system but are either too lazy or too crooked. It is now left up to the voters to stop all of this money going to lobby Washington insiders. These are the kind of issues that would make me follow another party. The Tea Party really missed the boat. A good idea with bad intentions and issues. Let's get the money out of our system.”
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Cable News

The purpose of a free press in a Democracy is to print the truth and to look out for the interests of it's readers.  Recently I read a small article that stated that Senator Jim DeMint has not let any legislation that he does not agree with come up for a vote.  This has been the policy of the Senator from S.C. since Obama was elected.  He has been able to get away with this tactic because the press has not made it a priority on their news reports.  Why you ask! Why would the press not run a story every night about this obstruction?

The press abandoned any notion of protecting-the-public-interest some 20 years ago, when 24 hour cable news began to take off.

Today, the news is like any other media product. It exists only to make money by selling advertising. Which means tawdry, tabloid "news" rather than real discussion of substantive issues. As the blogosphere and the internet eat away at traditional newspapers, expect this to get worse before (if it ever) gets any better. 

This is sad  for me to say but If an individual really wants to know what is happening he or she must work at finding the truth.  Good Luck Readers!!!

People will believe almost anything without question.

A new survey of Americans' knowledge of religion found that atheists, agnostics, Jews and Mormons outperformed Protestants and Roman Catholics in answering questions about major religions, while many respondents could not correctly give the most basic tenets of their own faiths.

Most Christians I talk to believe that Matthew,Mark,Luke and John were the actual disciples that followed Christ around during his life.  They think these men recorded his acts as he did them.  They have no idea that the Gospels were written by other men years later and that we are not even sure who they were.

Most Catholics do not realize that the wine and bread given at communion do not represent Christ's body and blood but are supposed to really be his body and blood.

Many Christians never take the time to learn their own religion.  Sorry but I was never built that way.  I ask way too many questions and have made it a priority in my life to seek answers out.  It's sad then that we make fun at or pick on someone else for their beliefs.

The tale of Two wonder drugs !

"In 1955 Dr. Jonas salk develpoed the Polio Vaccine.His sole focus had been to develop a safe and effective vaccine as rapidly as possible, with no interest in personal profit. When he was asked in a televised interview who owned the patent to the vaccine, Salk replied: "There is no patent. Could you patent the Sun? Sadly though I became a victim of Polio in the epidemic of 53-54.  It took me years to shake off most of the damage done by this infection. This vaccine was given free by Dr. Salk as a gift to his fellow man.

In 2008 I had a viral infection caused by an infection contacted during a hospital procedure.  I was treated with a drug called Vancomycin .  Vanco is an antibiotic used to treat bacterial or viral infections in the bowel or blood.  This drug costs  many thousands a month to those that need it. Many insurance companies refuse to pay for treatment and many patients must use a less potent and effective drug. 

Eli Lilly licensed this drug to Viro Pharma and a company from Australia and one from the UK in 2004.  The patent expired in the early 1980s, but the FDA has not authorized the sale of any generic versions in the USA.

I want to know why!  Who did Eli Lilly lobby to keep the patent on this drug in place.  I believe that there is just too much money to be made on this drug because it saves lives. If you are poor or have no or bad insurance you are OUT OF LUCK.!  We do not have the best health care system in the world. We have the most expensive.

There are not many men like Jonas Salk around today.  So sad.

Sunday morning news programs

“I didn't watch one show today . This was the first time I missed a Sunday morning show in years. I am fed up when hosts ask questions while their guests give the answer to a complete different question while the host nods in agreement . Their all crazy and so am I for watching this crap. For years I thought is was  important to try to learn something. Sorry but my head hurts. It's a sad day in America when the press will not hold politicians feet to the fire.  Isn't the truth importand anymore?  I guess not. I think I am going to watch Jersey Shore this morning. Sad to say but this program makes more sense than Meet The Press.  Go Snookie or spookie or cookie or whatever"!!!!

Boy It's HOT HOT HOT !!!

I remember during the cold winter months Senator Inhofe had his grandchildren make an igloo with a sign that said " Where is your Golbal Warming Mr. Gore"?  If you don't know the Senator let me give you some information.Inhofe is among the most vocal global warming skeptics in the US Congress. He supports a constitutional amendment to ban same sex marriage and has proposed the Inhofe Amendment to make English the national language of the United States.

As I baked in heat all week I wanted to call the Senator's office and tell him that It's here now!

I know that Weather and Temp. are not proof of Global Warming but sometimes you want to fight ignorance with ignorance. Boy Oh Boy is he ignorant.

Medicare is great!!!

Medicare is not an insurance program. It is set up in a way that lets todays workers help pay the medical bills for Seniors I have heard a lot of neg. comments made about how the U.S. Government runs this program. A lot of politicians disparage the government on it's handling of Medicare. Here are a few facts.

1. The worker that makes $50,000 a year has 1.5% of his or her wages taken out for this program . That's $750 a year.

2. The employer has to match that amount making the total deduction per worker $1,500 a year.

3. The average amount that is spent on medical costs for seniors is around $3,800 per year.

　

The Government does a fantastic job of holding costs down by limiting the amount Doctors. and hospitals can charge a patient. Simply put; the gov spends around $3,800 to cover the medical costs of a senior. Private insurance charges an average of $12,000 premiums a year to a person who needs coverage.

There is way too much profit built into the system. A government run system would be a lot more efficient and less expensive. Our political leaders will not tell us the truth because they are paid off ,or lobbied, by the insurance industries. The health of Americans is too important to let this happen.. A National Insurance plan would be a lot cheaper and more efficient than private coverage.

We do not have the best health care in the world. Saying it over and over  does not make it  true.  The main reason that Medicare will run into trouble in the future is because of the unfunded  MedicarePart D that Bush signed into law. Wonder why he did that? 

400 Richest get richer

According to Forbes Mag. the 400 richest americans became richer while most americans net wirth tanked this past year.
    
That's why we have a profressive income  and inheritance tax. When the wealthy have too much money their net worth continues to grow.  They can't spend it fast enough on goods that help the economy.  They wast it on expensive Art or clothes We need an inheritance tax to keep the gap between rich and poor as narrow as possible.  Conservative politicians do not want to accept this fact.  This kind of tax is not Socialism but common sense.  If this gap gets too wide then this society is in big trouble and so is the fate of our nation. Just follow your history folks.  The signs are there and we must not let peoploe in power continue the tax cuts on the wealthy.  They can afford it the United States can't

To vote or not to vote!

I find myself in a quandary this morning.  I am watching a rerun  of city council on the local access channel.  The city needs more money to continue it's current level of operations.  They are asking for an additional 1/2 % on income taxes paid by citizens who either work or live in Salem.  My retirement income is not taxed hence  my dilemma. Should I vote to increase a tax on workers when I myself, do not have to pay  this tax.  As of now I plan on leaving this box blank on my ballot.  I think it's the right thing to do. I wonder though how many retired voters will vote to increase taxes on workers.  I do hope that this issue passes.  I know that the city needs the revenue.

“You have got to give it to GaGa. Other singers do squat with their fame. This lady has shown me some class. She may get some bad press for things she has done but this campaign to repeal DADT has erased all of that. I'm GAGA over GAGA !!!!”

Progressivism

You may have heard some talking heads on TV telling you how bad Social Progressives are.  Here are some facts and you can make up your own mind.

The second Progressive movement was started by a Republican named Robert LaFollette.  He was trying to seek social and economic justice for all people.

Here are some of the reforms they championed:
1.  Civil Liberties
2.  Direct elections
3.  Fair taxes
4.  Conservation of resources
5.  Banking Reform
6.  Control of lobbyists
7.  The 17th ammendment (direct election of Senators)
8.  8 hr. workday with overtime.
9.  Child Labor Laws
10 Public Education
11  19th. ammendment ( womens right to vote)
12.  Trust Busting
Here a a partial list of some famous Progressivs in the United States

Ben Franklin,Thomas Paine,Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, Ralph Nader, Abraham Lincoln, Mark Twain, Teddy and Franklin Roosevelt,  Martin Luther King and finally Barack Obama.

As you can see these people were not against America or dangerous. They were trying to protect Americans against Corporations.

The coming war

I have always thought that there was a divide between the wealthy and the poor. This gap continues to grow. Most people who have a lot of money do not want to give it to the poor in the form of "Social Programs".Most of our political leaders are on the side of the wealthy because they want to stay in power.

The wealthy have done a masterful job of using religion to seperate the poor from progressive ideas and to associate liberals with Satan.The tea party has wrestled them away from the progressives, but rather than focusing on the wealthy, they push instead for anarchy - the dismantling of the very institutions that protect the poor from the upper class.

I hope that Americans wake up and really take back their government through elecions. In my opinion the Tea Party is just a smoke screen.

Social Security

All facts and figures were taken from CRS report for Congress .
A lot of friends tell me that they think Social Security is a bad deal or that they will never see a dime. Here are some facts.
1. Social Security is expected to have surpluses until the year 2042. That does not mean that it will run out of money. It means that the trust fund will need to acquire additional monies to stay solvent. It is up to congress to save these expected surpluses from the next 32 years.

2. Social Security is a good deal. Remember it is not an investment but an insurance for your old age.
The single worker,who pays into the system his whole working life, can expect to recoup all of his contributions in 7.5 yrs. A worker and his spouse will recoup theirs in only 4.8 yrs.

3. A single worker will recoup his plus his employers shares in 17.4 yrs while a worker and his spouse will recoup his and his employers shares in only 10.5 yrs. We need to protect this program. It works!!!!

This is my first attempt to share my views on life,politics,and everyday issues. I hope my readers enjoy my ramblings and forgive my spelling errors.  I will from time to time change my opinions and views because of the feedback I will receive from my readers.  I hope we can all learn from each other. I am and always have been a work in progress.  Thanks ,Gary Lee