Destroying Families

Happy Friday.

Perhaps the republicans are smarter than I thought. Perhaps their focus on Schiavo, attacking judges, and defending Tom DeLay was intended to distract America from what they were really up to: denying millions of families basic protections in the face of usurious corporate creditors.

The new pro-creditor bankruptcy legislation is another republican assault on the American family. Contrary to the right-wing media's portrayal of bankrupt families as those that overspend on cars, T.V.s, and footwear, in truth, nearly 90 percent of all personal bankruptcies result from job loss, medical costs (having denied families universal health care), a family breakup, or some combination of all three.

In this excerpt from Elizabeth Warren and Amelia Warren Tyagi's 2003 book, The Two Income Trap: Why Middle-Class Mothers and Fathers Are Going Broke, the authors discuss the "predatory" lending practices of mortgage and credit card industries and their effect on American families. Of course, it's the mortgage and credit card industries who wrote the new republican legislation that allows them to drain every last drop of blood from already desperate families.

Cut up your credit cards.

Proposal for A Democratic Agenda

Happy Friday.

Attached is the agenda for the Democratic Party for 2006, 2008, and beyond. The authors comment upon the republicans' narrow focus on Schiavo, the "nuclear option", Schiavo, attacking judges, and Schiavo, while ignoring the economy, jobs, the economy, the deficit, and the economy.

The result: d-dubya's approval ratings have plummeted.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7577884/

Paging Howard.

War of Religion

Happy Friday.

Religious war is nothing new. Religious war here, at home, in America, as a substitute for political debate, is.

Frist Set to Use Religious Stage on Judge Issue.

Now it gets real.

Medicine's Money Problem

Happy Friday.

Well, you no longer have to take my word for it. I always have contended that astronomical health care costs result from insurance companies' desire to bolster their bottom line; not from the "million dollar jury awards" representing less than 1% of all verdicts. Tort reform would just further line the pockets of big business. (Ever heard of an insurance company going broke?)

Below is a link to an article by a doctor explaining the process by which he gets paid for his services. He grieves that the practice of medicine is no longer focused upon the altruistic ideal of helping others, but on the need for doctors to be good businesspeople.

Medical Dispatch.

Good health.

Real Perspectives - A Rarity in Washington

Happy Friday.

Below are links to two recent, related editorials in the New York Times. The first is by former Senator John Danforth (yes, a republican) in which he serendipitously longs for his party to return to its roots and away from religious fanaticism. The second is by former Senator Bill Bradley in which he explains why the Dems have it so tough - one of the more cogent explanations I have seen.

Perhaps most interesting is how these two seasoned, intelligent, former pols have few, if any, peers in Washington today ...

In the Name of Politics, by John C. Danforth.

A Party Inverted, by Bill Bradley.

Happy April Fool's Day -- How sad it's every day in the Beltway.