Saturday, March 20, 2010

Hi, its Saturday night.



This is the eve of one of the greatest moments in American history. I am simply 'ah struck' by the thought. It has been a long time in the making. Too long.

I was going to 'feature' issues around the globe to bring alive other peoples and countries. I believe that is sincerely lacking in the media these days. But, I will postpone that until next week.


For now, this is the eve of the House Vote to pass Health Care Reform.

I believe this is the Democrats greatest moment.

The link above is to the place on C-Span where the legislation can be read.

After the vote tomorrow and the signature of the President it is my intention to read the entire bill and hopefully before it goes to the Senate on Tuesday.

For tonight, I congratulate the Democrats. They have brought the nation to the brink of greatest. Tomorrow it will demonstrate a Legislature that honors its President and loves its people.

Nancy Pelosi is a magnificent Speaker of the House. Those aren't empty words. There have been many great Democratic Speakers before her and now she has the honor of giving their leadership greater brevity in its promise to hold the people of this nation closest to their hearts and politics.

I thank her, all the Democratic members of the House of Representatives and I thank the President of the United States of America. His leadership honors those that elected him. I have never felt closer to a President or so well represented by one.

All my loyalty and love,

...until tomorrow.

The Fed is not competent to handle small banks.



When the investment banks failed, the small banks, the community banks and the independent business owners were ignored and trampled. They failed and caused incredible damage to the USA's economy.

The small banks need to be placed UNDER a government division of The Small Business Administration.

Small Businesses need protection from exploitation of large banks that can't even find the balance sheet they exist on.

There is no way Goldman Sachs or JP Morgan should be anywhere near the small businesses of the USA. Forget about Geithner, he won't like it. The Obama Administration needs to work with competent members of the Legislature to find a place for regulation and monitoring of small banks so they can have a domain supporting small businesses and the mortgage interests of the people they serve.

This administration has to recognize the profound abandonment of the investment banks of the USA's economy after the bailout. Their monies went everywhere but here. They are untrustworthy when it comes to the needs of the people of this country, their homes and the businesses they run. There has to be a separate regulator agency that upholds the 'integrity' of an autonomous system SEPARATE and DIFFERENT from that of Wall Street.

The Fed can keep their billion dollar babies and leave the rest of us ALONE ! It does too much damage and covets the monetary system of the country, including, the average lives of Americans as if they owned us.

NOT

ANY

MORE !!!!!

We are not their peasants and neither are our homes or businesses. It is time to secure the small banks in a way that provides relationships with small businesses and home owners to PROTECT them from this ever occurring again !

The 'Too Big To Fail' can fail all they want, we want our local economies SAFE and SECURE from the immoral idiots of Wall Street !

The Tort Reform the Republicans demand is draconian and DANGEROUS



...Those advocating tort reform ceaselessly (click title to entry - thank you) make the contention that tort reform is needed to curb the filing of frivolous lawsuits. The renowned New England Journal of Medicine has reported that a Harvard University study found that the civil justice system successfully weeds out claims against health care professionals that have no merit. The study conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health and Brigham and Women‘s Hospital in Boston found that 90% of all claims against health care professionals involved a serious injury; 26% of those resulted in death and 80% in disability. The study reported that 63% of the injuries were a result of negligent care or treatment....



Tort Reform Unlikely to Cut Health Care Costs

Studies Show Malpractice Awards Are Not Big Driver of Skyrocketing Costs

By Daphne Eviatar 8/19/09 6:00 AM
...In a recent Washington Post op-ed, Charles Krauthammer put “tort reform” on the top of his wish-list for reducing the costs of the health care system. Gov. Rick Perry of Texas in the Washington Examiner boasts that Texas tort reform that capped injured patient’s damages was the answer to his state’s problems. And the American Medical Association has said it won’t support any health reform bill that doesn’t reduce liability for doctors. “If the bill doesn’t have medical liability reform in it, then we don’t see how it is going to be successful in controlling costs,” James Rohack, president-elect of the organization, told Politico in March. “Why spend the political capital and energy in passing a bill if it is not successful?...”

...“It’s really just a distraction,” said Tom Baker, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania Law School and author of “The Medical Malpractice Myth.” “If you were to eliminate medical malpractice liability, even forgetting the negative consequences that would have for safety, accountability, and responsiveness, maybe we’d be talking about 1.5 percent of health care costs. So we’re not talking about real money. It’s small relative to the out-of-control cost of health care.”

Insurance costs about $50-$60 billion a year, Baker estimates. As for what’s often called “defensive medicine,” “there’s really no good study that’s been able to put a number on that,” said Baker.

Krauthammer cited a study by the Massachusetts Medical Society that found that five out of six doctors said they ordered additional tests, procedures and referrals to protect themselves from lawsuits. He also relies on a much-criticized study from the libertarian Pacific Research Institute on the civil justice system to conclude that “defensive medicine” wastes more than $200 billion a year.

Baker is skeptical, and makes the point that “defensive medicine” is not the same thing as wasteful medicine. “Like defensive driving, some defensive medicine is good,” he said. “To change behavior. When you drill down those studies, you see that what it means is, doctors are more careful with patient records. They spend more time with the patient. They’re more careful to say hello and goodbye to the patient. That’s good.”...