Well a lot happened last week -- besides CPAC! (sorry Joe T P -- your 15 Minutes are SO Over Dude!)
Much more Noteworthy: The President gave an excellent [Non-] State of the Union speech.
The President's Administration [specifically the OMB] outlined a very ambitious and encouraging set of goals and priorities -- especially if you're one of the hundreds of millions, mired in the Middle Class.
So I was curious, if there were any new "Talking Points" for the Middle Class, in all this Hopeful Messaging of the last week -- any consistent new Frames and Memes, that would be worth learning about, and perhaps even (gasp!) repeating ...
So I did some homework this morning, -- and here are some of my "take away points" for Progressive-minded Patriots, from this very important week ...
In recent days we have been hearing about layoffs, the financial crisis, stimulus packages and more. In fact, at times the brain feels numb over all of the pain across America. However, in all of this there is one of the most vulnerable segements of our society that often gets overlooked. This is the group of citizens too old to work or look for work. I know that many of us have been in stores and noticed in recent years that more elderly people are working. Some are very elderly. Many aren't really able to work, but still they must.
(finally somebody doing the right thing! :D - promoted by poligirl)
After Evicting thousands of Families in the last year, and enduring many gut-wrenching episodes, at the bequest of the Big Banks -- Illinois Sheriff Tom Dart, finally said:
When will the those who really need it get their bailout?
There will be another economic stimulus package in the next few months. President-elect Obama made it clear at his first press conference last week: "If it does not get done in a lame-duck session, it will be the first thing I do as president of the United States." A glance at headlines from the past few days drives the seriousness of the situation home:
There's a riveting story in the Washington Post on the state of health care in parts of Appalachia that Washington, Wall Street, and the rest of America left behind. See LINK.
Every year now, it happens like this. On a Thursday afternoon in late July, trucks filled with thousands of dollars' worth of medical supplies and equipment wind through coal country and up the steep roads to the tip of southwest Virginia, just a few miles from the Kentucky border. Then a small army of health-care professionals, along with hundreds of community volunteers, get to work. In tents, in barns, in exhibition halls, they use clotheslines, hospital sheets and medical clamps to separate examination rooms, surgeries, a vast open-air dental clinic, a laboratory, eye and ear clinics and a pharmacy. Moving with swift efficiency, following a model used to respond to natural disasters, they create a vast field hospital out of thin air in just a few hours.
This is the story of a land hidden in the hills of southwest Virginia where the average income is $14,500. This is an area where people cannot afford medical insurance, and hardly any medical care.
(a great look at greed... now get your paws outta my candy bag! - promoted by poligirl)
The mantra of the 80's and 90's was "Greed is Good!" The mantra of the 00's seems to be "The World runs on Greed and Fear -- Get used to it!"
Well, here's some "Fun Facts" (about this never-ending Pursuit of "Wealth for Wealth's sake")
1. Of the 100 largest economies in the world, 51 are corporations; only 49 are countries.
2. The Top 200 corporations' sales are growing at a faster rate than overall global economic activity.
3. The Top 200 corporations' combined sales are bigger than the combined economies of all countries minus the biggest 10 [countries].
[ and those Fun Facts are from 2000! Just image where we are now after 8 years of the Bush Giveaways ...]
(the classic question asked this time around... - promoted by poligirl)
Have you been working harder and harder, becoming more productive all the time, only to see your wages, fail to keep up with that ever increasing cost of living?
(on what poverty is really like... - promoted by poligirl)
Poverty is different strokes to different folks. In my childhood, poverty meant isolation and preventable health problems that drain resources to this day. It's why I think it is so important to provide health care for children.
Someday, the children of today will be the providing for our Social Security. Do right by them now in terms of supplying health and education, and they will do right by our Social Security and Medicare/Medicaid.
Being poor meant...
* Having a curtain dividing you from your parents in your shared bedroom.
* Sleeping in a crib till age 9.
* Having a plastic mixing bowl on a plank set over a tub for your wash basin.
* Getting the family car repaired every other month.
(an ACTION item on an issue you may not know about... - promoted by poligirl)
Yes, you had better be when the issue is extremely drug resistant tuberculosis (XRD TB). Both religion and science emphatically say so.
Tuberculosis is an ancient disease that preys upon those weakened by poverty and lack of access to health care. For many decades, antibiotics have controlled the disease and halted its passage. However, drug-resistant strains have made their appearance in 49 countries.
An Indian infant born with two heads has died, according to a heartbreaking news report. His parents were unable to afford health care, so they were left with no other option but to take him home to die. The saddest part is that this could just as easily have happened here as in India.
As the Democratic National Convention draws to a close, we must step up efforts to apply pressure to the party's presidential nominee to support truly universal health care. There is no excuse, when a majority of Americans, a majority of doctors, and mayors across the country support single-payer health care, not to stand up to Big Money. Obama could win this election by double digits - an undeniable margin - if only he would throw his support behind health care for all. Instead, he chooses the DLC, conservative route to health care "reform": namely, none at all.
The polls show that voters aren't satisfied with either of the two major political parties, and that Obama is losing ground to what should be an easily beatable opponent speaks volumes about Democrats' timidity when it comes to telling corporations the free ride is over. We must find ways to push Obama to adopt single-payer health care in his platform. Please use the comment section for suggestions as to how we might apply pressure.
Of course, the news is out that John Edwards admitted to having an affair. Here, as Edwards supporters we are all disappointed. However, I am tired of hearing from those self-righteous people who have all made many mistakes before and are so ready to throw JRE under the bus. Yes, I am disappointed, but I am not ready to say that John Edwards work was phony.
