The Democratic Activist Which would you pay for, if you had to choose? You, or someone close to you, may soon have to make that awful decision.
Even health insurance may not protect you from having to make such a terrible choice.
A quiet new move by insurance companies (made possible by the Bush prescription drug plan) is right now making this horrible delimma an actual reality for many Americans ... who already have health insurance!
That's correct. Even if you're one of the lucky ones who have medical insurance in our wonderful, privatized, for-profit health care system, your prescription drug bill may soon cost more than your monthly mortgage payment – or even exceed your entire income! Although you may only $20 per month for prescriptions today, you could be paying hundreds, or even thousands, by the time you wake up tomorrow morning.
Could the reason television news is ignoring this story have anything to do with all the advertising revenue it collects from the pharmaceutical industry? (More than 33 billion dollars ... in 2004!)
Insurance companies are stealthily incorporating this new prescription benefit system, known as "Tier 4," into many individual and group health insurance plans. A rapidly growing phenomenon, up to 10% of private insurance plans already include tier 4 or even tier 5 drug categories.
(A recent article in the New York Times gives the details.)
Remember when the U.S.A. was the most advanced, prosperous, healthy, humane, ethical, free, loved and respected nation on earth? The "greatest country in the world?"
When will we stop putting up with the accelerating destruction of the American middle class and of classic egalitarian American values like honesty, accountability, humanity, and the dignity and liberty of all persons?
Will average Americans continue to vote against their own best interests, for a torturing, bullying government "of the corporations, by the corporations, and for the corporations?"
Do we, as individuals and as a nation, first have to crash and burn before we'll open our eyes to the corporatist snow job we've been sold these last 28 years?
Or ... will we finally stand up and utilize those freedoms we still have left to turn our nation away from the cliff's edge while there's still time to do so?
The Democratic Activist ... inspired by "Dick and Jane" books, and by the Inspector General's report confirming what we all knew all along: that George W. Bush, the president of the United States, approved the use of torture and committed war crimes.
The Democratic Activist This is too much. This is beyond too much. This could well be criminal. And this time it's FOX "News" with it's license (or worse) on the line.
I'm not an attorney, but isn't openly and publicly advocating the assassination of a presidential candidate a felony?
On Sunday, 5/26/08, journalist Liz Trotta was interviewed on FOX "News" by Eric Shawn about the recent invocation of the RFK assassination on the campaign trail.
Here's what Trotta said:
"And now we have what some are reading as a suggestion that somebody knock off Osama, uh, Obama. Well, both, if we could."
(Then, she laughs.)
See it for yourself:
To view video of Trotta's remarks in full context, click here (the offending statement begins at approximately 1:23).
For further info on this incredible and despicable FOX "News" crime, click here. Isn't "broadcasting threatening or intimidating statements about an individual or group" over the public airwaves a violation of FCC rules and grounds for the immediate revocation of the offending station's license? Are we going to stand for an endless parade of old white people intimating or brazenly suggesting with the help of the mainstream media that an uppity black Democrat who may well be our next president could or should be killed??
First, it was Hillary (who's referred to RFK's assassination multipletimes during her campaign against Obama), then Huckabee (video here), and now Fox.
Is a simple apology enough to excuse this kind of dangerous and grossly irresponsible behavior?
Is America already becoming a third-world banana republic wherein raising the spectre of mafia-style, targeted assassination is accepted and fashionable as a domestic political strategy and tactic?
Are we now seeing the advocacy of murdering one's political opponents as the logical extension of the Bush/Cheney/Rove/Clinton/Fox "win at any cost" ethos?
Has FOX's reactionary propaganda network now crossed the line into propagating political violence and hate crime – with the full blessing of the FCC?
How much lower are we Americans willing to let our nation sink?
Here's what you can do:
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1. Compose a short message referencing this outrage and demand that the FCC act immediately to revoke the license granted to FOX to broadcast in the U.S.
Then, send this message to the FCC "general information, comments, and inquiries" address and to all five FCC commissioners:
- For "Complaint Type," chose "Broadcast (TV and Radio), Cable, and Satellite Issues," and then click "Next" at the bottom of the page.
- For "Complaint Category," choose "Unauthorized, unfair, biased, illegal broadcasts" (you'll be charging FOX with violating FCC rules by "Broadcasting threatening or intimidating statements about an individual or group"), and click "Next."
- Then, click "Continue to Online Form" at the bottom of the page, fill out the complaint form (for date, type 5/25/08; use the message you composed to fill in the details of your complaint in section 5.c.), and click "SUBMIT" to send your complaint to the FCC.
5. Call your congressperson and senators – express your outrage and state your demands over the phone to the staff person who takes your call.
Here's the toll-free Capitol Switchboard number (just ask to speak to the office of the congressperson or senator you wish to contact):
1-800-828-0498.
If you wish, you can also send your message as a letter or email to your congressperson and senators. Make sure to insist that they work immediately to pressure the FCC to act quickly and forcefully to punish this despicable behavior of FOX "News" in gross violation of federal law and FCC rules. You can send email messages and get postal addresses for your congressional representatives and senators here (just enter you zip code in the field provided).
6. Sign a petition to help sack Liz Trotta(clickhere).
7. Contact FOX – and give 'em hell!
FOX NEWS 1211 Ave. of the Americas New York, NY 10036 Phone: 1-888-369-4762 Fax: 212-301-4229 Feedback@foxnews.com
8. Spread the word!
Send a link to this post to everyone you know who cares about restoring sanity and safety to political campaigning in America, alerting them to your specific concerns and urging them to take action.
The Democratic Activist From a recent article by Juan Cole: ---
"Memorial Day is about honoring those who have sacrificed themselves for the nation, in our armed forces. We cannot honor them properly unless we know the full extent of their sacrifice.
'Dr. Ira Katz, chief of mental health services for the Department of Veterans Affairs, sent an e-mail to a VA colleague this past February that read:
"Shh! Our suicide prevention coordinators are identifying about 1,000 suicide attempts per month among the veterans we see in our medical facilities. Is this something we should (carefully) address ourselves in some sort of release before somebody stumbles on it?"'
Margolis charges that Katz covered up this startling statistic, showing 12,000 attempted suicides a year while in VA care, when he testified before Congress.
Have 30,000 veterans died of suicide in the past 5 years? Have 60,000 tried to? Shouldn't these deeply depressed men and women be added to the casualty tolls? Is war a plague on the mind of those who fight it?"
Apparently, creating the conditions for 60,000 suicide attempts among American soldiers during the five year course of the Iraq occupation is what the current neoconservative administration calls "supporting the troops."
How long will the American people put up with the continual parade of these kinds of utter disgraces, one after the other, year after year? Have we finally had enough of this garbage? Will we Americans continue to choose this kind of insane, barbaric mis-leadership? Is this what we want? Is this who we are?
Which would you pay for, if you had to choose? You, or someone close to you, may soon have to make that awful decision.
