General News You Want to Talk About

Congrats to France. 

It is seriously stressful to be living in the U.S. right now.   

So (former) FBI director James Comey was heading the investigation into whether Trump's own campaign members cooperated with Russia in Russia's interference with the U.S. presidential election. 

On Tuesday, Trump fired Comey. 

Hmmmm.  So Trump fired the guy who was investigating ties of Trump's own campaign team with Russia.  Conflict of interest much?  Smells fishy to me.

We really need an independent committee and a special prosecutor.

Poppy, Lilikoiluv, your president is in Brussels today ! He met the King and the Prime Minister and, tomorrow, he will meet leaders of the European Union and attend a NATO summit with a lot of other leaders (May, Macron, Erdogan...). 

Today, there was also an anti-Trump demonstration of thousands of people in the city :

Yes, I thought of you when I heard he was visiting Brussels.  Hope no one participating in the protests gets hurt (stay away from Erdogan!).  Wonder how the meetings go, considering what he said before about NATO.

A summary of yesterday :

Thanks for the video, Jeremy.  I saw that video--it's been playing on the TV news in the U.S.  Geez.  So embarrassing.   The ultimate Ugly American. 

Another sad day--for the country of the U.S., for the world, for the planet.

Trump announced today the U.S. will withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement.  This is a purely political decision made in the name of Trump keeping his promise to his core supporters, although arguably his decision will not help them, but will hurt the American economy and cost workers jobs, will hurt the environment, will harm clean air for everyone, nationally and internationally, will hurt coastal communities and communities experiencing drought, and will hurt the coral reefs and other animal species, etc.

I am beyond disgusted.

I've heard that the climate agreement will take effect until 2020 anyway. So, Trump's decision doesn't actually matter. It's more about what his successor will do.

There are some possible consequences of the U.S. pulling out of the Paris Climate Agreement, but it's too early to tell if they would become true or not.

--Since the U.S. is the first or second largest polluter (China is currently the largest polluter, but in terms of cumulative amounts of carbon emissions over the years, the U.S. is at the top), its withdrawal from the agreement may weaken the agreement.  It will be harder for the goals of reduced emissions to be reached without the U.S.'s commitment. 

--The U.S.'s withdrawal may prompt other countries also to withdraw.

--Since the U.S. was one of the core leaders in the agreement, its withdrawal leaves a void, which may be occupied by China, which some fear may weaken the agreement and weaken the agreement's goals. 

--Since the U.S. is such a large polluter, it had agreed to contribute billions of dollars to a fund that would help countries with less monetary resources combat global warming (providing finances for research).  Now the U.S. will not be submitting this monetary contribution.

--The U.S. is only one of 3 countries to not be a part of the Paris Climate Agreement.  By withdrawing from the agreement, the U.S. has deeply damaged its credibility with other nations.

So it's a very big deal, but yes, I agree that it is true that formally, withdrawal by the U.S. will be in November 2020.

My thoughts are with the city of London and its people.  I am so sorry to hear about the attacks today. 

I am glad to hear about those London residents who are opening their homes to others.

I hope that dusty is ok.

Also hope Dusty is okay. 

Last year, some foreign journalists pretended that jihadism was a Belgian problem but, after all the not-linked-to-Belgium terroristic attacks that happened this year, I guess they see things differently now...

Jeremy, I wasn't aware that some journalists said that.  So they were saying the terrorists originated from Belgium?

And just want to report, that dusty is ok.  Thank goodness!

Yeah and that Belgium was a "rich failed state" 

I'm also glad dusty is ok.

How offensive that they accused Belgium of that and called your country a failed state.  Ick.    Thank you for your kind words about dusty. 

Man, it is huge what is being revealed about Trump's past conversations with former FBI Director Jim Comey.  It is BIG! 

I am going to be glued to the TV watching Comey's testimony tomorrow (Thursday) during the Senate Intelligence Committee.   But today, there was a statement released by the Senate Intelligence Committee, about Comey's memoranda (that he wrote immediately after each of his conversations with Trump) memorializing  his past conversations with Trump, prior to being fired by Trump.

SAVE THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT!  STOP TRUMPCARE!



Lives are at stake--those with pre-existing conditions, those who are on Medicaid (folks with low-incomes, children, the aged, and/or people with disabilities, in other words, those who are the most vulnerable in our country), not to mention that in general millions in the U.S. may be uninsured under TrumpCare, or face higher premiums.

The Republican Senate is so far behaving even more despicably than the Republican House of Representatives.   Because:  The Republican Senators are refusing to hold public hearings or debate.  They are not following formal processes.  They are not seeking public input!  They do not care what representatives of children and families, the elderly, or those with pre-existing conditions will have to say, or even representatives of small business owners or insurance providers. 

Instead, they are conducting informal working groups in private, in secrecy!  And they are excluding the Democratic Senators from these private meetings!  Source:   https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/6/13/15785332/senate-republicans-health-care-bill-secret
 
See the video where Democratic Senator Clair McCaskill calls out the Republican Senators on this issue.




We need to have the Republican Senate agree to hold public hearings before they pass a health care bill that will damage or take away our health care!

A bill could be rushed to passage as early as in JUNE (THIS MONTH!), with little public influence, without us, the constituents knowing anything about a bill that will affect our health care! 

And Republican Senators even are saying to the media that no one from the public is calling them about health care!  Source:  http://www.dailykos.com/story/2017/6/12/1671161/-Republican-senators-say-their-phones-aren-t-ringing-to-save-the-ACA-so-here-s-the-contact-list  (Note:  The dailykos article has a list, by state, of the Senators and the email address to their legislative assistant.)


I've seen this post on Tumblr and it seems to be taken from Indivisible.  Please consider doing what you can to save the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) and to stop TrumpCare.

smartalexy:

twoearsandaheart:

6-13-2017
Everything that was true last week about the Senate’s Repeal-and-Replace effort is still true this week. But now we have more (and more alarming) information:

• The Senate has no intention of making the bill public, and has put measures in place to ensure it hits the floor for a vote before any public testimony, hearings, or awareness of it can be rallied.
  
  
• Republican Senators are CLAIMING NOT TO KNOW THIS BILL EXISTS. This is tantamount to calling the constituents they’re in office to represent stupid.
  
  
• Coverage about the bill is below the radar in all major news outlets.
  

-Breaking with precedent, the Senate has banned filming of hallway interviews with Senators. They now require previously granted permission from a Senator AND the Rules Committee of Senate. This makes Senators less visible and less accountable.

ACTION ITEMS remain the same:

1) CALL EVERY SINGLE DAY. Here’s the Capitol switchboard #:  (202) 224-3121. Find numbers for your reps’ state offices here.   (Link: https://www.senate.gov/senators/contact/ ) If you have Dem Senators you know will vote against it, encourage them to withhold consent or filibuster unless the bill is made public. (Great guide on this from INDIVISIBLE.)

2) ENCOURAGE OTHERS TO CALL. Indivisible has created a tool  (Link: https://indivisiblemoco.org/stoptrumpcaresocial ) that makes it easy as heck to reach out to Facebook friends who are in key (swing vote) states. If you’re not on Facebook, tap that email list. No time to be shy–you’ve got friends out there who just need a little nudge/encouragement/empowerment. 

3) WRITE a Letter to the Editor. Pen a message and send it to your local paper. Media isn’t doing its job covering this incredibly important issue, leaving room for citizens to step in.

4) SHOW UP. Be a body on the ground at your Senator’s district offices (find those offices here  (Link:  https://www.contactingcongress.org/ ) and find others to team up with here). Be loud. Be quiet but present. Be whatever you are, but be in that space, demanding accountability. Congress works for us.
5) Take to social media and demand the Senate #ShowUsTheBill … but don’t JUST take to social media; that won’t get ‘er done

Call call call. I use my lunch hour every day. It’s easy.
via gleekto

Here are some helpful sites:


For DC and district offices addresses (and telephone numbers) of all Senators by state:  https://www.contactingcongress.org/

When you call your Senator, ask for his/her staff person assigned to health care issues.  Here is a website with the names of staffers assigned to health care issues, for each Senator for each state:  https://www.indivisibleguide.com/resource/senate-health-care-staffers/#CA

For specific information about how TrumpCare would affect your state (how much premiums would increase, how many people would lose health insurance coverage, or Medicaid coverage, or employer-sponsored health insurance coverage):   https://www.indivisibleguide.com/resource/impact-of-trumpcare-by-state/#CA

Here is a telephone script to use when you speak to the staffer assigned to health care issues of your Senators:

Script

SCRIPT: Hi, my name is [NAME] and I'm a constituent from [CITY]. I’m calling today because I’m very angry and disturbed about the Republican’s plan to write and pass the American Health Care Act in secret, with no Senate hearings or public debate.

What is Senator [ name ]’s position on the Republican health care bill (the American Health Care Act)?

As a constituent, I feel Senator [ name ] should oppose any bill that would take away health care from millions of Americans, cut the Medicaid program, increase premiums, and allow states to get rid of protections for people with pre-existing conditions.  

And the bill should not give hundreds of billions of dollars in tax breaks to the wealthy, because that would be unacceptable to me.

[OPTIONAL: Share a personal story of why Obamacare , also known as the Affordable Care Act ("ACA"),  is so important to you, your family, and/or your community, such as your concern that a family member may be discriminated against by the insurance companies because this family member has a pre-existing condition ]

As a constituent, can the Senator guarantee me that:

--No one will lose coverage as a result of this bill;

--There will be no cuts to the Medicaid program;

--That Senator _______ won’t vote for ANY bill unless it has received a score from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO)?

- - That Medicaid expansion will be kept in place?

Please let the Senator know about my concerns.  I will be following the Senator's views closely. Thank you for your time.

I'm sorry to hear about the terrorist attack today, Jeremy.  Thank goodness no one was hurt.

And it's actually a train station that I regularly frequent

But, don't worry, I'm not scared. And thank you for the message

Oh wow.  I'm glad it doesn't scare you (although I would understand if it did--it is scary).   And you are welcome.  I thought of you when I heard the news.

So Mitch McConnell is hoping to bring the Senate health care replacement bill (which ironically, is called the Better Care Reconciliation Act) to a vote NEXT WEEK (before the July 4 recess)!

The bill is worse in some ways than the Republican House bill. 

Please, please CALL your Senators and let them know you want them to vote NO on the Republican health care bill! 

Some articles showing how bad the Senate bill is:

Washington Post wrote:
Senate health-care bill faces serious resistance from GOP moderates

June 25, 2017

The vast changes the legislation would make to Medicaid, the country’s broadest source of public health insurance, would represent the largest single step the government has ever taken toward conservatives’ long-held goal of reining in federal spending on health-care entitlement programs in favor of a free-market system.

That dramatic shift and the bill’s bold redistribution of wealth — the billions of dollars taken from coverage for the poor would help fund tax cuts for the wealthy — is creating substantial anxiety for several Republican moderates whose states have especially benefited from the expansion of Medicaid that the Affordable Care Act has allowed since 2014.

[There are] concerns that the legislation would harm the nation’s most vulnerable and cause many Americans to become uninsured

[. .  . ]

. . . *Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.), who is up for reelection next year, said he could not support the bill in its current form. Heller specifically cited its cuts to Medicaid, not just by ending its expansion in Nevada and 30 other states, but by restricting government spending for the program starting in 2025.

[. . . ]

Part of the pressure the moderates now face is that Medicaid consistently draws widespread support in surveys. A poll released Friday by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that three-fourths of the public, including 6 in 10 Republicans, said they have a positive view of the program [Medicaid].  Just a third of those polled said they supported the idea of reducing federal funding for the expansion or limiting how much money a state receives for all beneficiaries.

Even among Republicans, the foundation found, only about half favor reversing the federal money for Medicaid expansion.

[. . . ]

Under the Senate GOP version, 2021 is when Medicaid’s transformation would begin. The expansion, which has provided coverage to roughly 11 million people, would be phased out. What is now an open-ended entitlement, with federal funding available for a specific share of whatever each state spends, would be converted to per capita payments or block grants.

[. . . ]

“There has never been a rollback of basic services to Americans like this ever in U.S. history,” said Bruce Siegel, president of America’s Essential Hospitals, a coalition of about 300 hospitals that treat a large share of low-income patients. “Let’s not mince words. This bill will close hospitals. It will hammer rural hospitals, it will close nursing homes. It will lead to disabled children not getting services. . . . People will die.”

[. . . ]

But the analysis showed that the greatest damage would come in [Senator Mitch] McConnell’s own state: Kentucky, which has had the nation’s largest Medicaid expansion under the ACA, would see a 165 percent jump in unpaid hospital bills.

. . . Beyond Medicaid, it [the Senate bill] would permit private health plans to cover fewer services and would allow individuals and employers to eschew coverage without penalty — elements that its authors say could lower how much consumers pay for their insurance.

[. . . ]

“This is bringing us back to where we were before 1965,” said Paul Starr, a Princeton University professor of sociology and public affairs who has written extensively about the history of U.S. health-care policy. “There is no longer the federal commitment to back up the states in terms of health care for the poor.”

Link: 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/senate-health-care-bill-faces-serious-resistance-from-gop-moderates/2017/06/24/d6d8cf2e-584d-11e7-ba90-f5875b7d1876_story.html?hpid=hp_hp-top-table-main_healthimpact-730pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm_term=.5a8c4e577990

Note:  *Senator Dean Heller on Friday (June 23) became the latest Senate Republican to say he opposes the current GOP health care bill.

AAMC (The Association of American Medical Colleges) wrote:
June 22, 2017

AAMC (Association of American Medical Colleges) President and CEO Darrell G. Kirch, MD, issued the following statement regarding the release of the Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017 (the Senate bill that repeals and replaces the Affordable Care Act/Obamacare):

“We are extremely disappointed by the Senate bill released today. Despite promises to the contrary, it will leave millions of people without health coverage, and others with only bare bones plans that will be insufficient to properly address their needs.

[. . .]

Rather than stabilizing the health care marketplace, this legislation will upend it by crippling the Medicaid program while also placing untenable strain on states and providers.

As Congress has discussed repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act, the AAMC has held steadfast that any replacement bill should at least maintain current levels of health coverage, not weaken Medicaid, and be the result of a deliberate and transparent process. The bill that came out of the Senate today meets none of those principles. 

We urge members of the Senate to reject this bill and return to the drawing board to draft legislation that does not result in millions of Americans going without health insurance. The AAMC stands ready to work with Congress to craft a solution that protects and improves the health of all.”

Link: 
https://news.aamc.org/press-releases/article/senate-reform-bill-06222017/


Note: 
The Association of American Medical Colleges is a not-for-profit association dedicated to innovative medical education, cutting-edge patient care, and groundbreaking medical research. Its members comprise all 147 accredited U.S. and 17 accredited Canadian medical schools; nearly 400 major teaching hospitals and health systems, including 51 Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers; and more than 80 academic societies.

New York Times wrote:


Senate Health Care Bill Includes Deep Cuts to Medicaid

6/22/17

Senate Republicans, . . . [unveiled] a bill to make deep cuts in Medicaid . . . while offering states the ability to drop many of the benefits required by the Affordable Care Act, like maternity care, emergency services and mental health treatment.

[ . . . ]

Four conservative senators, Rand Paul of Kentucky, Ted Cruz of Texas, Mike Lee of Utah and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, announced that they would oppose it without changes — more than enough to bring it down.

[. . . ]

Other Republican senators, like *Dean Heller of Nevada and Rob Portman of Ohio, expressed their own qualms, as did AARP, the American Hospital Association, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network and the Association of American Medical Colleges.

[. . .]

. . . The Senate bill would make subsidies less generous than under current law [the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare]. It would also lower the annual income limit for receiving subsidies to cover insurance premiums to 350 percent of the poverty level, or about $42,000 for an individual, from 400 percent. [Less people would qualify to receive federal subsidies that would help cover insurance premiums.]

Older people could be disproportionately hurt because they pay more for insurance in general. Both chambers’ bills would allow insurers to charge older people five times as much as younger ones; the limit now is three times.

The Senate measure, like the House bill, would phase out the extra money that the federal government has provided to states as an incentive to expand eligibility for Medicaid. And like the House bill, it would put the entire Medicaid program on a budget, ending the open-ended entitlement that now exists.

[There also] would in effect [be] handing a broad tax cut to the affluent in a measure that would also slice billions of dollars from Medicaid, a program that serves one in five Americans, not only the poor but also almost two-thirds of people in nursing homes. A capital-gains tax cut for the most affluent Americans would be retroactive to the beginning of this year.

[ . .  .]

Democrats and some insurers say Mr. Trump has sabotaged the Affordable Care Act, in part by threatening to withhold subsidies paid to insurers so they can reduce deductibles and other out-of-pocket costs for millions of low-income people.

And President Barack Obama, who has been hesitant to speak up on political issues since leaving office, waded into the debate on Thursday, saying the Senate proposal showed a “fundamental meanness.”

. . . Mr. Obama wrote on his Facebook  “[the Senate bill is] a massive transfer of wealth from middle-class and poor families to the richest people in America. It hands enormous tax cuts to the rich and to the drug and insurance industries, paid for by cutting health care for everybody else.”

[. . . ]

But with only 52 seats, Mr. McConnell can afford to lose only two Republicans, with Vice President Mike Pence breaking the tie.

Democrats have assailed Republicans for putting the bill together without a single public hearing or bill-drafting session.

[. .. ]

The [Congressional]  budget office found that the bill passed by the House would leave 23 million more people without insurance in a decade.

[. . . ]

The Senate bill would also cap overall federal spending on Medicaid: States would receive a per-beneficiary allotment of money. The federal payments would grow more slowly than under the House bill starting in 2025. Alternatively, states could receive an annual lump sum of federal money for Medicaid in the form of a block grant.

State officials and health policy experts predict that many people would be dropped from Medicaid because states would not fill the fiscal hole left by the loss of federal money.

“The Senate bill creates an illusion of being less draconian than the House bill, but is arguably more so” on Medicaid, said Sara Rosenbaum, a professor of health law and policy at George Washington University.

The Senate bill would make it much easier for states to opt out of insurance standards in the Affordable Care Act, including the requirement for insurers to provide certain “essential benefits.”

Republicans said the bill would still guarantee access to insurance for people with pre-existing conditions. But consumers could be exposed to new medical costs if, for example, insurers did not have to cover certain expensive new drugs or medical procedures.

 “An individual with a pre-existing condition could be insured, but the services needed to treat that condition might not be covered because of a waiver,” said Timothy S. Jost, an emeritus professor of health law at Washington and Lee University.

[…]

The Senate bill, like the House bill, would cut off federal Medicaid payments to Planned Parenthood for one year. The money [currently received  from the federal government] reimburses clinics for birth control, cancer screenings and other preventive care. About half of Planned Parenthood patients are on Medicaid.

Also like the House measure, the Senate bill would repeal taxes imposed on high-income people by the Affordable Care Act, including a payroll tax increase that helps finance Medicare.

 

Link:  https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/22/us/politics/senate-health-care-bill.html






Please call your Senators every day for this coming week--especially if you have Republican Senators--and tell them to vote NO on the Better Care Reconciliation Act !!


When you call your Senator, ask for his/her staff person assigned to health care issues.  Here is a website with the names of staffers assigned to health care issues, for each Senator for each state:  https://www.indivisibleguide.com/resource/senate-health-care-staffers/#CA

For telephone numbers--and DC and district offices addresses--of all Senators by state:  https://www.contactingcongress.org/

Here is a telephone script to use when you speak to the staffer assigned to health care issues of your Senators:


Script

SCRIPT: Hi, my name is [NAME] and I'm a constituent from [CITY]. I’m calling today because I’m very angry and disturbed about the Republican’s plan to pass the Better Care Reconciliation Act 

What is Senator [ name ]’s position on the Republican health care bill?

As a constituent, I feel Senator [ name ] should oppose any bill that would take away health care from millions of Americans, cut the Medicaid program,  and allow states to permit insurers to get rid of essential benefits for people with pre-existing conditions and other people. 

And the bill should not give hundreds of billions of dollars in tax breaks to the wealthy, because that would be unacceptable to me.



As a constituent, can the Senator guarantee me that:

--No one will lose coverage as a result of this bill;

--There will be no cuts to the Medicaid program;

- -That Medicaid expansion will not be phased out

--Panned Parenthood will not not lose federal money

--there will not be tax cuts for the wealthy

Please let the Senator know about my concerns.  I will be following the Senator's views closely. Thank you for your time.