WELCOME TO OPINIONS BASED ON FACTS (OBOF)
&
THINGS
YOU MAY HAVE MISSED (TYMHM)
YEAR ONE
YEAR TWO
YEAR THREE
YEAR FOUR
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OBOF YEAR FOUR INDEX
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OBOF TYMHM PART 14-01
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Jan. 02, 2014
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OBOF TYMHM PART 14-02
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Jan. 09, 2014
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OBOF TYMHM PART 14-03
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Jan. 15, 2014
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OBOF TYMHM PART 14-04
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Jan. 24, 2014
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Agenda
1. Some thoughts from Floyd.
2. People pressure against TPP having some
success.
3. Congressional privacy or embezzlement.
4. Single payer isn't dead.
SOME
THOUGHTS FROM
FLOYD
In just about
four months I will reach my life's goal.
It's going to be a big day for me.
I'll hit the big 90. I have
always set that as my goal and I think I am going so make it. If I keep feeling as good as I do most of the
time, not like this week, but most of the time, I think I'll just try for
95. Hope you all will stick with
me. I am real late this week for various
reasons, but the material that is in this posting is very, very important. We all need to take some action with regard
to the first article.
I
want to remind you all that the President's "State of the Union " address is next Tuesday January 28, 2014. Whether or not he makes any comments about
this first article will be very telling as to where he stands. I hope he reverses where he has been.
In the past, you have
all, at one time or another, read my thoughts about Dr. Allen Smith. The second article, is in regard to his
efforts and his latest success.
Allen Smith, Ph. D.,
is the most dedicated man I have ever known.
He has devoted the past 13+ years to educate the America
Sometimes I think he
does this because it feels so good when he stops hitting his head against a
brick wall. WELL, he knocked that brick
wall down this past week. He has a
professional promotion agency getting the word out better than ever before and
as a result he was asked for an interview on radio. Now he has done interviews in the past, but
in each case the interviewer has been very negative and it has been very
frustrating for him.
Well this one has
turned quite different. The transcript
of the interview is the second article to day.
I think you will see a new look at what is, and has been, happening.
BY THE WAY. THE INTERNET EXPLORER IS STILL SCREWED UP AND
I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT CHANGES IT WILL MAKE IN THE FORMAT OR COLORING. I REVIEW IT BEFORE I PUBLISH. I WON'T PUBLISH UNTIL IT AT LEAST MAKES
SENSE.
~~~
People
Pressure is Making Fast
Tracking
the TPP Politically Toxic
Popular Resistance
/ Op-Ed
Published: Monday 20 January 2014
NOTE FROM FLOYD:
I have written about TPP a number of
times before. Folks, this is about as
bad as it gets. A while back I wrote and
gave you an article about the affects of NAFTA on it's twenty year
anniversary. It has been disastrous. It has cost U.
S. and Mexico
The following article is long, BUT VERY
IMPORTANT. I
urge you to read it all and make some calls to you Senators and Representative
as well as the White House. Numbers are
listed at the end of this article that will help you.
~
The White House is calling January “TPA (Trade Promotion
Authority) Month” and has made it their task to pass Fast Track. President
Obama needs Fast Track to pass the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). When
Congress returned this month, a bill was quickly introduced after delays of
more than a year.
The lies begin with
title of the bill: “The Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities Act of 2014.”
Bi-partisan? In the House there was only one sponsor, Republican David
Camp (MI). The Republicans demanded the Democrats add a sponsor before it
was introduced, but due to public pressure, they could not find one.
The only Democrat on the bill in the Senate is Max Baucus
(MT) — the senator who gave us the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy, and who is
leaving the senate to become Ambassador to China
Baucus likes to informally call the bill “The Job
Creating Bipartisan Trade Priorities Act,” but that just adds another lie since
trade agreements consistently lose jobs, expand the wealth divide and increase
trade deficits.
TPP
Loses Momentum
After four years of secret negotiations with more
than 600 corporate advisers, the once seemingly invincible largest trade bill
in history, covering 40% of the world’s economy , looks very much like it can
be defeated.
Why is the TPP looking like it can be stopped? One
reason is its secrecy.
Leaks are sinking
the TPP like the Titanic on its way to the bottom of the ocean. Ron Kirk, the former US Trade Rep said they
were keeping it secret because the more people knew, the less they would like
the TPP and it would become so unpopular it could never become law.
Each leak has proven him right.
This week, Wikileaks
published the Environmental Chapter. The bottom line – there
is no enforcement to protect the environment. The TPP is worse than President George W.
Bush’s trade deals. Mainstream environmental groups are saying the TPP is
unacceptable.
Similarly, the leak of the Intellectual Property Chapter revealed that
it created a path to patent everything imaginable, including plants and
animals, to turn everything into a commodity for profit. The Obama administration was pushing it way
beyond normal intellectual property law in order to increase profits for
everything from pharmaceuticals to text books.
The refrain is always the same: profits come first.
The necessities of the people and protection of the planet come last.
Backlash
in Congress to Fast Track
Baucus announced last
March that he would deliver Fast Track by June. Pressure delayed it so that now the bill is
being introduced in the beginning of an election year. Election years are a terrible time to pass
anything controversial.
The TPP is becoming
politically toxic. Over the last year
there has been a steady stream of emails and phone calls to Congress. Members have faced constituent meetings and
protests where TPP is being raised. Some
examples of protests: Los Angeles, Seattle,Washington, DC, Salt Lake City, Minneapolis, US Trade Rep Office, Vancouver, Leesburg, New York City . . . we could go on.
Americans have sent a clear message to members of Congress, that they better
not be associated with the TPP in an election year.
When Fast Track was
introduced, there was a backlash, according to public reports, of angry Democrats. Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) told Huffington Post: “I’m a little
disappointed that something’s dropped that was never discussed with Democrats
in the House. As I understand it, it
wasn’t actually discussed with Democrats in the Senate.”
Five members of the Senate Finance Committee told
US Trade Representative Mike Froman they will not support the Baucus Fast Track
bill because Congress needs to be involved throughout the process not just in
an up or down vote after it is completed.
During a hearing on
Fast Track on Thursday protesters were there expressing their displeasure.
Baucus says he will
not be holding a mark-up of the bill because of the divisions on the Finance
Committee. Sen Ron Wyden (D-OR) who will
be taking Baucus’ place told Politico there was “broad
frustration” with the lack of transparency. Majority Leader Reid has put fast track on a
slow track in the senate saying he does not plan to bring it to the Senate
Floor, saying there was too much controversy around it.
As bad as the Senate sounds
for the administration, the House is even worse. Opposition has been
building in recent months with Democrats and Republicans writing President Obama opposing
Fast Track.
They could not find
a Democratic co-sponsor and now Politico reports that Speaker Boehner says he will
not bring the bill to the floor for a vote unless 50 Democrats support
it.
State
of the Union : Last Stand for Fast Track of
TPP?
The president’s TPA month is off to a bad start, so he
has to make a big pitch in his upcoming State of the Union
on January 28. If he doesn’t, it is a sign he has given
up and is distancing himself from defeat. He’s not only going to have to persuade almost
every Republican to support him (that would be a first for his presidency),
he’s going to have to convince every Democrat who has not taken a position, and
change the minds of many who have already publicly said they oppose Fast Track.
The problem is
Members of Congress know that if they get on the wrong side of corporate trade
agreements, it will hurt them politically. The public is angry about this job-killing trade deal, even Minority
Leader Pelosi has had her events interrupted by TPP protesters. In
fact, an event in Los Angeles with President Obama,
Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid had hundreds of TPP protesters. The social movement
against corporate trade is coming across loud and clear leading
top House Dems to describe it as “dead on arrival” if
it does not protect labor and the environment. We know from the Environment Chapter, it does
not protect the environment. Major unions oppose the TPP because it is
evident, like all corporate trade, it will be a bad deal for labor since a
major goal is lower wages.
The views of many
in Congress were summarized in a statement by Democratic Reps. George Miller
(CA), Louise Slaughter (NY) and Rosa DeLauro (CT): “Our constituents did not
send us to Washington to ship their jobs overseas, and Congress will not be a
rubber stamp for another flawed trade deal that will hang the middle class out
to dry.”
Members of Congress
have seen the research that shows 90% of Americans will see their income go down from the
TPP while the wealthiest get wealthier. Why would any
Member of Congress want to sign on to something like that – especially in an
election year?
Congress should
oppose Fast Track because it is an Obama power grab. Under the Baucus-Camp bill, the Congress will
have 90 days to review the agreement. The House will have 60 days and the
Senate will have an additional 30 days. The
count begins when the White House decides the negotiations have been completed.
Under the Baucus-Camp FastTrack,
the president is also able to draft extensive implementing legislation
to bring US
As some anti-TPP
activists in Los Angeles
Time
to Finish the Job, Make Fast Track for the TPP Politically Toxic
The movement against the TPP has come a long way in the
last year from challenging a trade agreement that no one knew about and looked
like it could not be stopped; to a trade agreement widely known about in
activist circles and which is becoming too toxic for elected officials to be
associated with in an election year.
The reason we have come this far is because the TPP
affects so many aspects of every person’s lives – food, the environment,
workplaces, the Internet, banking and finance, job availability, health care,
energy, the list goes on and on. As people learn about the TPP and what
it does they oppose it. While lame ducks
like Obama and Baucus who do not have to seek re-election can ignore angry
constituents and follow the demands of big money, those seeking re-election do
not have that luxury.
Our task: We need to continue to build opposition
and show elected officials they do not want to be associated with these toxic
trade agreements. They need to understand that fast-tracking the TPP
could end their career.
A lot is already
planned. To stay informed “like” the Flush The TPP Facebook page and
follow the twitter feed where we will be regularly
publishing new sharable memes to continue to build the stop the TPP movement.
If more TPP leaks come out, we’ll provide immediate analysis. If there are
hearings we will organize protests to make sure the voices of opposition are
heard and share that information.
Every Tuesday there is a TPP twitter storm
at 9 PM Eastern. Follow the hashtag #TPPMediaMarch to
participate. There will be a special TPP
storm during the State of the Union
on January 28.
Scores of
organizations have come together in a movement of movements to create a
webpage StopFastTrack.org. We’ve planned ten key
days of pressure on Congress from January 22 to January 31.
During this period, people will be making phone calls to Congress through the website which will provide simple
tools to call Congress. In addition, during this period, people are
organizing for the State of the Union
on January 28 and an Inter-Continental Day of Action on January
31.
During the State of the Union ,
people opposed to the TPP plan to stand vigil outside of the Congress beginning
at 8:30 PM so they can be there when the president arrives for the
speech that begins at 9 PM. During the speech a special State Of The Union TwitterStorm
On January
31 there will be an Inter-Continental Day of Action against the TPP &
Corporate Globalization. The theme is ‘No More NAFTA’s as this
month is the twenty-year anniversary of NAFTA, which has had devastating consequences for working
families, small farmers, indigenous peoples, small business and the environment
in all three countries and beyond. The
TPP is fairly described as “NAFTA on Steroids.”
We have come an incredible distance and the likelihood of
stopping the TPP is stronger than it ever has been. The president and transnational corporations
will make an aggressive push to pass Fast Track this month. It is our job
to stop them and make it impossible to bring Fast Track or the TPP up again.
We can accomplish this and when we do it will be a tremendous victory of the
people over transnational corporate power!
·
✋ Make DAILY Calls! "#VoteNo TPP FastTrack!"
Capitol Switchboard: (202) 224-3121
or Toll Free (877)762-8762 (866)937-4359
If toll free numbers are busy use main number)
or Toll Free (877)762-8762 (866)937-4359
If toll free numbers are busy use main number)
Find your representatives here: (you can
enter just your zip code)
(Click their name for email form, phone & fax #s and twitter @handle)
http://www.contactingthecongre...
(Click their name for email form, phone & fax #s and twitter @handle)
http://www.contactingthecongre...
Ask what their position is on the Fast
Track bill and how they will vote on it! If the aid doesn't know or says they support
it, keep calling DAILY and ask again
This
article is produced by PopularResistance.org in conjunction with AlterNet.
It is
based on PopularResistance.org’s
weekly
Kevin
Zeese, JD and Margaret Flowers, MD are participants in "PopularResistance.org;" they co-direct "It’s Our
Economy" and
co-host "Clearing the FOG." Their
twitters are @KBZeese and MFlowers8.
ABOUT Kevin Zeese
Kevin Zeese is an attorney who has been a political activist since
graduating from George
Washington Law
School
ABOUT Margaret Flowers
Margaret Flowers, M.D. is a
pediatrician and mother of 3 teens from Baltimore, MD. Margaret left medical practice in 2007 to
advocate full-time for single payer health care. She served as Congressional
Fellow for Physicians
for a National Health Program and is on the board of Healthcare-Now.
She is co-director of ItsOurEconomy.us.
She has organized and participated in protests for health care, peace and
economic justice which have included arrests for nonviolent resistance.
~~~
Congressional piracy: $2.7 trillion embezzlement
of retirement funds
By Andrew Hiller
There are many forms of
piracy today
We've got the Somali
pirates, cyber pirates, and of course, the swashbucklers on the big screen, but
a new form of piracy may be occurring via the federal government.
In the 1800's, governments would hire pirates to work for them to collect extra revenues and make certain countries miserable. They were called privateers, and they would raid the coasts and shipping lanes. The type of high seas actions we're looking at today doesn't fit into the typical definitions of piracy, but the federal government has for years been raiding its own coffers... hitting military retirement, social security, unemployment, and disability to meet its present needs.
Now, after a period of limited spending and quasi-austerity, or at least sequestration, some are taking more notice than ever.
Joining us to look at the security of our golden nest eggs, we've brought in Allen Smith, author of Ronald Reagan and the Great Social Security Heist: What Happened to Your Retirement?
In the 1800's, governments would hire pirates to work for them to collect extra revenues and make certain countries miserable. They were called privateers, and they would raid the coasts and shipping lanes. The type of high seas actions we're looking at today doesn't fit into the typical definitions of piracy, but the federal government has for years been raiding its own coffers... hitting military retirement, social security, unemployment, and disability to meet its present needs.
Now, after a period of limited spending and quasi-austerity, or at least sequestration, some are taking more notice than ever.
Joining us to look at the security of our golden nest eggs, we've brought in Allen Smith, author of Ronald Reagan and the Great Social Security Heist: What Happened to Your Retirement?
Hiller: Is it fair to call
what Congress is doing in terms of some of these retirement funds... piracy?
Smith: Well, it's all a matter of how people define these words. I call it embezzlement. The government has, indeed, taken money, that was intended for Social Security, and spent it for non-Social Security purposes. So, if that's stealing or if that's embezzlement, so be it.
Smith: Well, it's all a matter of how people define these words. I call it embezzlement. The government has, indeed, taken money, that was intended for Social Security, and spent it for non-Social Security purposes. So, if that's stealing or if that's embezzlement, so be it.
Hiller: And what is the problem with that? If the money gets
repaid is this really a difficulty, is it something that actually occurred, or
is this a betrayal of trust?
Smith: First of all, it's certainly a betrayal of trust. Let me just fill you in a little bit. This all started in 1983, President Ronald Reagan came into the presidency having promised big income tax cuts and so they had a major revenue problem. They cut income tax rates so much there wasn't going to be enough revenue.
Smith: First of all, it's certainly a betrayal of trust. Let me just fill you in a little bit. This all started in 1983, President Ronald Reagan came into the presidency having promised big income tax cuts and so they had a major revenue problem. They cut income tax rates so much there wasn't going to be enough revenue.
Well,
Allen Greenspan, who has been behind a lot of mischief, Allen Greenspan
convinced him that there was another way. He said, "Let's raise the payroll
taxes." Now, people pay payroll
taxes on their income for Social Security purposes." And then, we can transfer that to the general
fund and spend it just like income tax.”
And that's what was done... and there's been $2.7 trillion generated and not one dime has gone to Social Security.
Hiller: And in the meantime though, because of sequestration, because of the desire to maintain the tax cuts for certain groups... Congress has decided the only way to make its payments, the only way to extend unemployment insurance, for example, is to go into Social Security, to go into disability insurance, and other mechanisms like that?
Smith: Let's make this point very, very clear. If that money had not been stolen, that $2.7 trillion, Social Security would have no financial troubles today and they would be able to pay full benefits for another twenty years. They wouldn't be in the news or anything else. Because that's not there, the government has to borrow from the outside world, probablyChina
And that's what was done... and there's been $2.7 trillion generated and not one dime has gone to Social Security.
Hiller: And in the meantime though, because of sequestration, because of the desire to maintain the tax cuts for certain groups... Congress has decided the only way to make its payments, the only way to extend unemployment insurance, for example, is to go into Social Security, to go into disability insurance, and other mechanisms like that?
Smith: Let's make this point very, very clear. If that money had not been stolen, that $2.7 trillion, Social Security would have no financial troubles today and they would be able to pay full benefits for another twenty years. They wouldn't be in the news or anything else. Because that's not there, the government has to borrow from the outside world, probably
nmh Read
more: http://voiceofrussia.com/us/2014_01_22/Congressional-piracy-2-7-trillion-embezzlement-of-retirement-funds-5257/
~~~
~~~
Single-Payer is Not Dead
Froma Harrop
NationofChange
/ Op-Ed
Published: Tuesday 14 January 2014
The prospects for single-payer health care — adored by
many liberals, despised by private health insurers and looking better all the
time to others — did not die in the Affordable Care Act. It was thrown a lifeline through a
little-known provision tucked in the famously long legislation. Single-payer groups in several states are now
lining up to make use of Section 1332.
Vermont is way ahead of the pack, but Hawaii, Oregon, New
York, Washington, California, Colorado and Maryland
First, some definitions. Single-payer is a system where the government
pays all medical bills. Canada Canada Canada
Under Section 1332, states may apply for "innovation
waivers" starting in 2017. They
would let states try paths to health care reform different from those mapped
out by the Affordable Care Act — as long as they meet certain of its goals. States must cover as many people and offer
coverage as comprehensive and affordable. And they can't increase the federal deficit.
Qualifying states would receive the same federal funding that would have been
available under Obamacare.
My conservative friends complain that the innovation
waiver requirements would rule out everything but single-payer. No doubt they are diligently working on a more
privatized alternative that would cover less, cost more and raise the federal
deficit.
"Vermont
The quest remains rocky,
Dr.
Stephen Kemble, a single-payer advocate and past
president of the Hawaii Vermont
In Washington state,
"our focus is to work on grass-roots support," says Dr. David
McLanahan, Washington
Problems in the Obamacare rollout have energized fans of
single-payer. Computer glitches aside,
the troubles stem chiefly from the law's complexity. Single-payer is all about
simplicity.
Under the Vermont
William Hsiao, an economist at the Harvard School of
Public Health, has projected that Vermont
How? Fewer dollars
would go to advertising, executive windfalls and payouts to investors. Doctors dealing with one insurer would save on
office staff. Fraud and abuse would
shrink as a comprehensive database makes crooks easier to spot.
It's too bad that some liberals have turned single-payer
into a religion and are whacking the Vermont Vermont
Bear in mind that the most acclaimed health care systems
— in Germany
Go forth, Green
Mountain State
ABOUT Froma
Harrop
Froma Harrop’s nationally
syndicated column appears in over 150 newspapers, including The Dallas Morning
News, Houston Chronicle, Seattle Times, Denver Los Angeles New York New England Associated Press
News Executives Association has named her for five awards
~~~
If
the good Lord is willing and the creek don't rise, I'll talk with you again
about next Wednesday January 29, 2014.
God Bless You All
&
God Bless the United States of America
Floyd
