Guest Contribution

BUZZFLASH GUEST COMMENTARY
by Jacqueline Marcus

It's hidden in the small print or WAY on the very bottom of the paper work that most people throw away.

Ordinarily, I wouldn't have noticed, but my friend, trained as a lawyer, is in the habit of checking fine print and brought my Sears Visa bill to my attention. There it was at the bottom of all that mumbo jumbo gobbledygook (fine print) disclaimers: A New Annual fee of $30.00.

It's one more example of our wonderful, dysfunctional, crooked Congress. Remember all that talk about how they're going to regulate the banks on outrageous interest rates. HA! They left plenty of openings to screw us. In fact, they made things worse (one more reminder why we must INSIST on a public option for health care). Just when you think they can't charge high interest rates, voila! They gave the banking corporations an open door to charging hidden annual fees from $30.00 dollars AND UP.

Technorati Tags: Guest Contribution

BUZZFLASH GUEST COMMENTARY
by Nikolas Kozloff

Manuel Zelaya, the ousted leader of Honduras who was overthrown in a right-wing military coup in June, has made an incredible political gamble: yesterday he returned to the troubled Central American nation in a bid to reclaim the reins of power. In the capitol of Tegucigalpa, some Zelaya supporters gathered in front of the United Nations building where they believed the former president was holed up. However, there was no confirmation that Zelaya was indeed inside. Later, the President appeared smiling on the balcony of the Brazilian embassy.

Since taking power, the coup regime has clamped down on social movements with an iron grip -- indeed about 1,500 people have been jailed for political reasons. Hopefully an agreement can be reached without further loss of life, Zelaya will be returned to power, and respect for human rights can be restored.

It's unclear how this political crisis will unfold. On two previous occasions when Zelaya attempted to return to Honduras, clashes between the army and the president's supporters resulted in the deaths of several people. Needless to say, the coup government has declared a 15-hour curfew in Tegucigalpa.

Technorati Tags: Guest Contribution Nikolas Kozloff Honduras Zelaya Immigration Central America media bribery

BUZZFLASH GUEST COMMENTARY
by Mike Coronella

Just like most Americans, I've watched the "debate" over access to health care with a slightly detached interest. Why not? I'm reasonably young (45), I'm a backcountry guide and a member of a very busy Search and Rescue team; why should I be too worried about the whole thing? True; I haven't been able to afford health insurance for myself and family, in fact, I haven't had insurance since a long-ago job covered me, this despite the fact that my wife and I both work, we have a modest mortgage, we don't make car payments, and have solar panels on our roof to help limit our monthly utility bills, don't have Iphones or Blackberries, heck, we don't even have pay-for television in our home.

But my wife and I have never been really concerned about the lack of coverage, despite the obvious peace of mind if we could afford it; we figured our age and fitness, coupled with healthy diets that eliminate fast foods, high-fructose corn syrup, and greasy foods, and an active lifestyle without tobacco would keep us insulated from the stories about those who find themselves with diabetes, heart disease, or obesity piling up the medical bills because of their sedentary lifestyles.

I always figured by the time we'd need access to medical care, our country would have figured out that having healthy citizens was a good thing socially, morally, and economically, and that having an industry that comes between a person and their medical providers would be noticed for what it is: an expensive and unnecessary layer that inhibits a healthy populace, placing profit above everything else...we are an enlightened nation after all. Right?

Wrong. We have one group (some call them the party of "no") blocking any and all attempts at reforming the system; we have another group clearly in the pockets of the industry that bleeds our nation literally and economically, another voice that bases its objections on lies and works against their own interests. But where's the group that represents the 76% of polled Americans (NBC/WSJ) who want a Public OPTION designed to bring real competition to the titans? It seems to incredulously have been wiped off the table like discussions of impeachment or accountability a couple of years ago. A similar proportion of physicians (76%), the very heart of our health care system, have spoken out for a Public OPTION (NE Journal of Medicine). And yet, there's no voice that seems to be speaking for either the people, their doctors, or for common sense for that matter. Heck, the discussion seems to require, strangely, an equal amount of each party, though that's certainly not the voting proportion the American people sent to Congress.

Technorati Tags: Guest Contribution Mike Coronella health care health insurance health care reform Orrin Hatch Utah

BUZZFLASH GUEST COMMENTARY
by Richard A. Stitt

Bob Herbert, in his The New York Times column this past Saturday, The Scourge Persists, referred to the Oklahoma City bombing, and the assassination of King and the Kennedys. Herbert wrote, "On November 22, 1963, as they were preparing to fly to Dallas, a hotbed of political insanity, President Kennedy said to Mrs. Kennedy, 'We're heading into nut country today.'"

The fear is that history may well repeat itself. According to sources inside the Secret Service, there are about 30 threats every day against Barack Obama.

Who knows what nut cases such as those who showed up at one of the town hall meetings in Arizona this past August, one with a holstered Glock and another with an AR-15 assault weapon, will take the next step?

We cannot, nor should we forget those same incendiary, violence-prone birthers, teabaggers and Tenthers (those who claim the 10th Amendment states' rights supersedes federal laws) at the Washington, D.C. mall with signs proclaiming, "We came unarmed -- this time!"

Technorati Tags: Guest Contribution richard A. Stitt Barack Obama assassination Bob Herbert Glenn Beck 9/12 teabaggers

BUZZFLASH GUEST COMMENTARY
by Bill Berkowitz

Matthew Hagee is ready to step into his father's shoes. But Pastor John Hagee is not quite ready to leave the building.

As a number of older Religious Right leaders pass on, retire, and slip silently into history, many of their sons have heeded the call; stepping in to taking their place, albeit with a different effect. Jerry Jr. and Jonathan Falwell have succeeded their father, the late Rev. Jerry Falwell, in the running of Liberty University and in the pulpit at Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg, Va., where his father had presided for 40 years; Gordon Robertson has taken on a much larger role at Pat Robertson's Christian Broadcasting Network; and for the past several years, Tim Wildmon has been playing a significant role in the Rev. Donald Wildmon's American Family Association.

Now, it's getting close to Matthew Hagee time. He's a preacher, a talented singer, an author, the host of his own television program, and he's waiting in the wings for his father, Pastor John Hagee -- who late last year underwent open heart surgery -- to ride off into the sunset. Does Matthew have his dad's fire in his belly? Will he be as controversial a figure as his father? Is he ready for prime time?

Technorati Tags: Guest Contribution

BUZZFLASH GUEST COMMENTARY
by Nikolas Kozloff

If Congressman Joe Wilson of South Carolina is so concerned about illegal immigration and the possibility that migrants might buy government-sponsored health insurance, then he should stop pushing for free trade agreements in Latin America. It's an important point that has been lost on Wilson's narrow-minded GOP followers who admire the legislator for confronting President Obama during the latter's recent address to a joint session of Congress. For the xenophobic Republican fringe, Wilson is a hero for calling out "you lie!" when Obama denied that his insurance plan would provide free coverage to illegal immigrants.

Those same fanatical right-wingers never pause to consider why so many migrants are coming to the U.S. in the first place. Many come from troubled nations in Central America, a region plagued by ever worsening poverty. If the U.S. is truly serious about stanching the flow of migrants from countries such as El Salvador and Nicaragua, then it must provide serious financial aid and poverty relief. Instead, Washington has pushed for relentless corporate-friendly free trade, a policy that has exacerbated poverty and led to more migration to the United States.

A political hypocrite, Joe Wilson supports U.S. free trade while opportunistically exploiting racist fears. In 2005, he voted for the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) that eliminated all tariffs on 80 percent of U.S. manufactured goods. The agreement was not limited to manufactured goods but covered virtually every type of trade and commercial exchange between Central American countries and the United States.

Technorati Tags: Guest Contribution Nikolas Kozloff: Joe Wilson Immigration CAFTA Central America

BUZZFLASH GUEST COMMENTARY

(Editor's note: We have seen a number of signs from teabaggers and 9/12 protests. Their creators took considerable time and effort to make those signs. But they didn't always spellcheck them. We received a nice collection of these misspelled signs. Enjoy!!)

First brain available goes to this guy.

Yes, those who watch Fox "News" are often "infromed" about current events. But check out the upper left corner of the sign. This person misspelled the country that God should bless.

Technorati Tags: Guest Contribution

BUZZFLASH GUEST COMMENTARY
by Michael Winship

If you ever needed proof that Washington is governed by the Golden Rule -- the one that says, he who has the gold, rules -- you only have to look at the wagonloads of cash being dumped by big business into crushing President Obama's domestic agenda.

Good gosh, how the money rolls in. And I'm not only talking about the millions bankrolling the gang war over health care reform. A couple of weeks ago, The Washington Post reported that the energy lobby is barnstorming around the country holding rallies and concerts, giving away free lunches and T-shirts, spreading the wealth like a drunken oil tycoon -- all to defeat the cap-and-trade climate bill that squeaked through the House and now awaits a vote by the Senate.

The paper noted that in the first half of the year oil and natural gas groups spent $82.1 million lobbying Capitol Hill -- but that environmental, health, and clean-energy interests scraped together less than a quarter of that amount, $18.7 million. Money talks, and it's murmuring in your ear, "Global warming, what global warming?"

Those energy lobby high rollers in denial aren't the only ones who know how to throw a party. Last month, Public Citizen, the consumer advocacy group that was founded by Ralph Nader, released an investigation of the 10 banks receiving the most Federal bailout money plus five trade associations fighting government attempts to more closely regulate consumer banking.

Technorati Tags: Guest Contribution

BUZZFLASH GUEST COMMENTARY

(Editor's note: the following is a chapter from Howard Dean's book, Prescription for Real Healthcare Reform. Reproduced with the permission of the publisher, Chelsea Green).

For the great majority of Americans, staying just one step ahead of mounting medical debt is a constant struggle. Medical crises contribute to approximately half of all home foreclosure filings. According to a recent study published in The American Journal of Medicine, 62 percent of all bankruptcy filings in 2007 were partly the result of medical expenses; 78 percent of those who filed for bankruptcy actually had health insurance but found that insurance inadequate to cover their bills.

Even as skyrocketing healthcare costs are bankrupting millions of Americans, however, the earnings of private health insurance firms are rising. In most areas of the country, the insurance market is dominated by one or two large providers. Rather than bargaining for lower rates, large insurer conglomerates are transferring the high prices charged by hospitals to patients and padding their profits. As premiums soared, the profits of the top ten insurance companies grew by approximately 1,000 percent. During the same period, insurers merged more than 400 times, but employee premiums increased nearly eight times faster than average U.S. incomes.

The U.S. healthcare market is broken. Large insurers have little incentive to bargain for lower prices. Smaller insurers do not compete on premiums to gain market share; instead, they follow the pricing of the dominant insurer and compete on risk. As the Urban Institute has pointed out, “Competition in insurance markets is often about getting the lowest risk enrollees as opposed to competing on price and the efficient delivery of care.”

Technorati Tags: Guest Contribution

BUZZFLASH GUEST COMMENTARY
by Sue Wilson

I was strolling through my local county fair this summer, a small fair, a friendly fair, where cows, sheep, and pigs outnumber food vendors.

The Republican booth caught my eye, but not because of the red, white, and blue decorations. What caught my eye was the sign they'd posted, the sign that summed up the one key issue of importance to local Republicans.

What would it be in this raucous political summer of 2009? Anger over bailouts, fear over death panels? No. The number one issue for Amador County Republicans: "Save Talk Radio."

Technorati Tags: Guest Contribution Sue Wilson media Fairness Doctrine Brent Bozell