Duplicitous Republicans May Be Insane with Spending; Republicans Don't Like Clean Water Either

While the republicans, especially those in the tea party wing, would like you to believe they want to cut spending, they aren't making the most noble effort to actually limit spending.  Their aim is to make us think that they are trying to curb government spending.  But this is just not true.  Last week members of of the House voted 336-87 to increase military appropriations for 2012 by 2.7% up to an incredible $649 billion.

If that sounds like austerity, then austerity must now mean indulgence.  At one time in the history of English 'nice' meant wanton.  It is possible that we are in the midst of a great shift in the English language.  Chances are higher that this is just simple duplicity carried out by the republican party.  The key to understand the tea party movement is that these people do want to cut some government programs, specifically those that help US citizens, while they raise the funding for other government programs, specifically those that help businesses send more jobs overseas, which in turn provides more money to their election funds, and those that enable our military to keep growing at a comparable to North Korea, China, Russia, and half the world.  

Between the defense/military budget, Medicare/Medicaid, and Social Security, the government is dishing out $2 trillion a year.  People are quick to blame Obama for the spending but they quickly forget that it was Bush who penned his name to the Medicare bill that will cost from 2003 to 2013 about $1.2 trillion.

I would argue it was necessary.  But it is also necessary for everyone in the country to have the same coverage.  It makes no sense that some people, including our congress people who couldn't run pantyhose let alone the government, have government health care while others either have nothing, emergency coverage, or whatever they can afford.  We are the only developed nation in the world that doesn't insure its citizens have access to health care.  It's a travesty that needs to be remedied if we expect to continue to be the great democracy that we purport to be.

The Economist reports that the number of uninsured hospital visits rose last year to 800,000 a 14% increase from 2009.  For those that are insured, average monthly premiums rose by 12% between 2006 and 2008.  Republican will claim that the health exchanges failed to create viable competition.  But that's hogwash.  Taiwan has a single payer system much like the Canadian system.  Costs are low, the system is efficient - there are no waiting lines, and they are rated as providing higher quality care. 

At some point we all need to ask ourselves if it makes any sense to vote for people who wish to fund the US war machine and yet sacrifice the welfare of the people.  I understand that some people vote against abortion or against gay marriage, well it's time to grow up.  There are greater concerns than two men fucking.  They're doing that anyway.  It can't hurt any more than it does if they're wed.

Start voting on issues that really matter.  Instead of spending all of our money fucking the world up let's focus on spending money on getting fucked up.  Some of these politicians could use a little fucking up.  We introduce a few bongs into the chambers.  Get some good ganja - medicinal - not that skunk weed.  You don't hear of too many Rastafaris planting roadside bombs, blowing themselves up in the name of Ras Tafari, or threatening to wipe Florida off the map, or invading sovereign nations.  That's not so difficult, is it? The feds can obtain good shmit - hell they've got a drug czar, right?  We've got a drug czar for a reason - he's got all the best shmit.  We've already admitted the drug war was a failure anyway - so if you can't beat 'em ...  Let's all light up.  Cheer some of these bastards up and get the people some damned health care coverage for chrissakes.

Find budget documents here.

Find the Commonwealth Health report here, in which the US ranks last.

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This week republicans introduced a bill that seriously limits the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) powers to set clean-water standards under threat that Pres Obama will (justly so) veto it.    As reported in Bloomberg,

The bill blocks the EPA from tightening water pollutant limits without a state’s consent if the agency previously approved the state standard. The measure, which passed 239-184 yesterday, is part of an effort to rein in what Republicans say is an agency’s regulatory overreach threatening the economy. Sixteen Democrats joined Republicans to support the measure.

The democrats who joined the republicans on this are clearly out of their minds.  What are these knuckle heads thinking?  Supporters of the bill "said limits on the EPA would give farmers, coal companies and other businesses that discharge pollutants into waterways greater certainty that standards won’t be changed."  What does that even mean?  Standards won't change?  Discharge pollutants?  The logic behind that explanation makes no sense.  Perhaps what supporters meant to say was that lax regulations will ensure that there are low standards that will cost businesses less money to meet so they can continue dumping pollutants unchecked into our water.  Now that's a bit more wordy but much more accurate.
 
Like so many bone-headed moves by the right wing (I mean, Michele Bachmann, seriously?), this bill makes no sense and is not supported by the science.  According to the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), who grade US infrastructure viability, US drinking water and wastewater receives a grade of D-.

The nation’s drinking-water systems face staggering public investment needs over the next 20 years. Although America spends billions on infrastructure each year, drinking water systems face an annual shortfall of at least $11 billion in funding needed to replace aging facilities that are near the end of their useful life and to comply with existing and future federal water regulations. The shortfall does not account for any growth in the demand for drinking water over the next 20 [tip:years.=Fix that leak!
A faucet dripping just once per second will waste as much as 2,700 gallons of water per year. Fix any leaking faucets.]

 The ASCE lists solutions that include more funding for the EPA and Clean Water Act, not less.  While the republicans would like all of us to baa in unison and thank them for trying to rescue American business, what we should really thank them for is exemplifying what is clearly dysfunctional in our government.  There are idiots showing up for work on Capitol Hill.

 Here are the set of recommendations from the ASCE:

• Increase funding for water infrastructure system improvements and associated operations through a comprehensive federal program;
• Create a Water Infrastructure Trust Fund to finance the national shortfall in funding of infrastructure systems under the Clean Water Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act, including storm-water management and other projects designed to improve the nation’s water quality;
• Employ a range of financing mechanisms, such as appropriations from general treasury funds, issuance of revenue bonds and tax exempt financing at state and local levels, public-private partnerships, state infrastructure banks, and user fees on certain consumer products as well as innovative financing mechanisms, including broad-based environmental restoration taxes to address problems associated with water pollution, wastewater management and treatment, and storm-water management.

When will the myopia of the right wing end?  Probably not until serious damage is done.  Just look at Wisconsin where Scott Wanker's cuts will be felt all over the state soon enough.  Nothing has come up in association to the tort reform passed in January yet but it will.  County transit systems are feeling the pinch.  My bus line used to run every half hour, then every 45 minutes, now every hour.  Rates are going up too.  It's going to get ugly really quickly and we'll all be carrying guns when that happens.

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Scott Wanker decided to give a speech at a Gateway Technical College even though he's cut funding to community colleges across the state.  Almost as rich as creating the public employee of the year award.  What a real putz.

OAA, Common Council Members ask Governor to Veto Pay for Fired Officers, Leah Vukmir

From Bernie Sanders:

June 21, 2011

More than 5 million American seniors face the threat of hunger and 1 million a year go hungry, according to a report released on Tuesday by Sen. Bernie Sanders at a hearing of a Senate panel he chairs. He made the case that investing in nutrition programs saves money on Medicare and Medicaid spend on more expensive hospital and nursing home care. Sen. Rand Paul, the ranking Republican on the subcommittee, had a different view. A spirited discussion ensued. Watch the video.

Sanders argued that poor nutrition can cause chronic diseases that require costly hospital or nursing home care, according to the report released at a meeting of the Senate Subcommittee on Primary Health and Aging.
"Investing in senior nutrition and in well-designed senior programs in general saves money for the government because when we do that we keep people out of emergency rooms, nursing homes and the hospital.  The result is substantial savings for government programs such as Medicare and Medicaid," said Sanders, the subcommittee chairman.

The average cost of a meal delivered to a senior's home is about $5.  A one-day hospital stay typically costs about $1,800. The cost of a year in a nursing home is $77,000.  Clearly, an up-front investment in programs like Meals On Wheels and community meals at senior centers is a more common-sense approach to our budget crisis, Sanders said.

Since the recession began in 2008, agencies on aging across the country have experienced increased demand for meals programs, according to a Government Accountability Office study cited in the report. "As gasoline, home heating fuel and food prices continue to rise, we see many of the seniors we work with being forced to choose between paying for food, fuel, rent or prescription medicines," Ken Gordon, executive director of the Northeastern Vermont Area Agency on Aging, told the subcommittee.

Half of all diseases affecting older Americans are directly connected to inadequate nutrition. "For older Americans especially, hunger and malnutrition can completely undo any investments or advances we might make in better access to health care," according to Dr. Mark Lachs of Cornell University.

"I have seen it over and over again-easily treatable illnesses that could have been quickly and inexpensively handled at home, instead evolved into costly episodes of disability that at best led to costly hospitalization and at worst to indefinite nursing home residence," he added. "Who pays for that care?  We all do."

Find the full length video here.

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In Milwaukee:
In a news release today the Milwaukee Common Council sent a letter to Governor Walker imploring him to veto a section of the state budget that repeals current law and requires the City of Milwaukee to pay fired police officers while their appeal is pending before the Fire and Police Commission.  Is it true that republicans are pushing for pay of fired police officers?  Yes, it is.  While teachers, garbage collectors, nurses, social workers, etc. are expendable and should face stiff reductions, fire fighters and police officers are exempt and in essence above the law.  This is a common methodology used by many ego-fascist-dictator-governor leaders who believe that when the armed guards are given gifts, they in turn will defend the ego-fascist-dictator-governor leaders against the will of the people.     

While the veto seems like a no-brainer, it should not be forgotten that the Police Association supported the Walker campaign and Walker has been known to show slight favoritism toward campaign donors. With this administration what may seem obvious to observers is not so obvious to the participants.  Plus to loosely quite Sen. Pryor elected officials don't have to pass IQ tests. 

News Release
Letter

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Vukmir and marijuana:  "There have been no indications for the use of [marijuana] medically and you can read all the research you want but that is just a plain fact."  Brilliant logic. Watch the video.


It might be tempting to think that for someone who is a trained pediatric nurse a clearer understanding of the purpose of research would be at use.  Unfortunately Ms. Vukmir ostensibly has very little trust in scientific research.  She would much rather put her trust in faith.  So be it.

It is Vukmir's type of reasoning that leads people to believe that although in a situation where all of the conditions are eerily similar if not identical to an earlier situation this time it is different.  For example, when the Afghanistan war was compared to the military action in Vietnam, Pres. Obama reacted that although the situation in Afghanistan looked like a quagmire this time it was different.  The classic comedic farce.