Register to vote, and send Voltage to play at the Democratic National Convention.  We have songs that are perfect for the event already written, and I am already the number one democrat at the DNC.

This is a detailed proposal for a workable, universal plan being backed by the AFL-CIO, and sponsored by the Economic Policy Institute.

Health care for AmericaA proposal for guaranteed, affordable health care for all Americans building on Medicare and employment-based insurance    by Jacob S. Hacker

The latest AFL-CIO newsletter is pushing this agenda in the health care forum. It's actually very similar in concept to Romney's plan, which was implemented in Massachusetts a few years back with the blessings of Ted Kennedy. Under Romney's plan, people are required to produce 'proof of insurance' within a mandated time frame, or be subject to increasing tax penalties. The Mass. plan is capped at $200/ per month for individual coverage.

It's also very similar to Hillary's health care plan, which includes mandated coverage as well. Obama's plan follows the same line, but without forcing anyone to purchase the coverage.

Basically, the idea is to keep status quo for people who have good coverage, and to keep the Insurance Lobby happy and unopposed, while bringing in a lower-cost option for the currently uninsured. It hits everyone a little bit. Small businesses, who may not offer any coverage at all, will be forced to contribute about 6% payroll tax to the'America' plan. Large  businesses, who currently get away without contributing anything as long as they classify an employee as 'part time', will also have to contribute based on a percentage of those employees' earnings. To my mind, that's a good move. The main reason people are now working two and three jobs is because of large corporate employers who decided that 2 people working 20 hours a week is much cheaper than one person working 40. A plan like this would 'disincentivize' that little ploy.

While it seems a good compromise in a lot of respects, I also find it a little scary, especially the 'mandated coverage' aspect and its enforcement proposals. Those in favor of a mandate say that we can't get the best rates without everyone doing their bit, and those against make the excellent point that the private premium would put such a plan out of reach for the very people it's designed to help.

To my mind, it's all part and parcel of the 'service economy'. The person (like a doctor, a nurse, or a chemist) who has actual knowledge, and a marketable skill, gets eaten alive by the eight middlemen who are basically making a living by marketing his skill, and adding on a profit for themselves. He slips lower and lower down the food chain, as the money boys reduce him to utter dependence on their 'system', which system the Federal Government is bravely tring to 'buck' by forcing the entire population  to pay them ransom for health care...sigh..

It's like letting the pilot fish to steer the shark.

Still, it's a start. 

With the headline: Photo of Bill Clinton and Rev. Wright Surfaces

There is now a blog devoted to Trinity Church of Christ, where this photo probably originated, and another of the Rev. Wright in the O.R. at Bethesda Naval Hospital during the surgery of President Lyndon B. Johnson.  

Check it out. The Truth About Trinity. 

sorry, PB formatting strikes again. go read!

Moving onto the topic of Abortion:

This is a difficult topic to quantify so I narrowed it down to introduced bills in the Senate only, that were pro choice or pro prevention as those are what Obama said he supported in 2004 and what Clinton has said she has always supported.  All information is gathered from the Thomas Library Website and referring ONLY to Senate bills/resolutions starting Jan 1 2005 to keep things "fair."

The following are both Obama and Clinton:

Title: A bill to protect, consistent with Roe v. Wade, a woman's freedom to choose to bear a child or terminate a pregnancy, and for other purposes.

introduced on 4-19-07

Clinton was a cosponsor from the beginning.

Obama became one on 5-11-07.

it appears to still be under review.

introduced by Clinton 5-19-06 it has 12 cosponsors.

Obama IS one of them from the beginning.

(I think this became s.1075, which Obama does NOT cosponsor.)

Title: A bill to expand access to preventive health care services that help reduce unintended pregnancy, reduce the number of abortions, and improve access to women's health care.

Introduced 1-24-05

Clinton cosponsored from the beginning

Obama cosponsored as of 2-8-05

Became s.21

Calls on Congress, on the 40th anniversary of Griswold v. Connecticut in which the Supreme Court held that married people have a constitutional right to use contraceptives, to take steps to ensure that all women have universal access to affordable contraception.

introduced 6-7-05

cosponsored by Obama and Clinton from the beginning.

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The following are just Clinton:

Title: A bill to provide for the provision by hospitals of emergency contraceptives to women, and post-exposure prophylaxis for sexually transmitted disease to individuals, who are survivors of sexual assault

Introduced on 6-16-05

Clinton was a cosponsor from the beginning (there are 11 co sponsors)

Obama is NOT one.

Became s.1240 I believe…

Title: A resolution to express the sense of the Senate concerning the value of family planning for American women.

Calls for Congress to: (1) help women, regardless of income, avoid unintended pregnancy and abortion through access to affordable contraception; and (2) support programs and policies that make it easier for women to obtain contraceptives.

introduced by Clinton on 5-22-06.

It is co-sponsored by 17 other senate members and is still under review.

Obama is NOT a co-sponsor.

Title: A bill to amend title XIX of the Social Security Act to expand access to contraceptive services for women and men under the Medicaid program, help low income women and couples prevent unintended pregnancies and reduce abortion, and for other purposes.

introduced by Clinton 3-29-07 to prevent unwanted pregnancy and abortion.

It is cosponsored by 8 other senate members and is still under review.

Obama is NOT a cosponsor.

Title: A bill to establish a public education and awareness program relating to emergency contraception.

Introduced 9-27-07

Clinton is a cosponsor from the beginning

Obama is NOT a cosponsor

Title: A bill to expand access to preventive health care services that help reduce unintended pregnancy, reduce the number of abortions, and improve access to women's health care.

introduced by Clinton 4-19-05 with 2 cosponsors.

Obama is NOT one of them.

It is related and linked to s.20

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Obama has not introduced anything of his own to support pro-choice.