Jack & Jill Politics

Illinois Sues Wells Fargo for Biased Lending

Chicago - Wells Fargo targeted African-Americans and Latinos for risky, subprime mortgage loans with "reverse redlining" practices, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan says in Cook County Court. The 62-page complaint accuses the bank of a litany of biased and fraudulent practices during the "heyday" of subprime lending.
Madigan says Wells Fargo charged blacks and Latinos much more for mortgages than white borrowers with the same income - and even with lower incomes.
Madigan cites a 2007 story from the "Chicago Reporter" that reported 34 percent of African-American borrowers who earned more than $120,000 received high-cost loans from Wells Fargo, compared to only 22 percent of white borrowers who earned less than $40,000.
Full Story: http://www.courthousenews.com/2009/08/05/Illino...

SECOND AFTERNOON OPEN THREAD IS UP

anyone heard of a musical instrument called a

diggery do (sp?)

I'm almost ashamed to admit that I'm watching a kid's tv show about music with my great-niece, and the musical instrument that they're visiting in this episode is a 'diggery do'.

If you lived in Seattle, you would see a bunch of white people playing it. And not too well either.

I believe the first time I saw it was in the moving Apollo 13 and the Aboriginals also blew fire and spark up to the heavens to the astronauts.

I think it's Australian.

It took me a bunch of times to get it right

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Didgeridoo

http://aboriginalart.com.au/didgeridoo/

It's the instrument you see Australian aboriginals playing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DC9w4KWEgJE

Breakdown of Senate Confirmation Vote

http://www.c-span.org/Supreme-Court-Sotomayor-S...

Making School Cool
America needs a new way to sell education to young, black men.
By: Cord Jefferson | Posted: August 3, 2009 at 6:37 AM

It was the sort of conversation writers dream of stumbling upon. Walking my clothes back home from the laundromat, I ended up behind two young men from Brooklyn -- both of them black, male and no older than 19. They were engaged in a discussion about higher education, the best part of which went like this:


Boy 1: "I'm tellin' you, son, you gotta get that master's degree."


Boy 2: "Oh, yeah? Why?"


Boy 1: "Because once a nigga get his master's, a nigga be bangin' women he thought he could never bang."


As a 20-something raised on the bawdy comedy of Eddie Murphy and George Carlin, my first instinct was to laugh—that conversation was the stuff Def Comedy Jam bits are made of. But as a writer keenly interested in African-American culture, my next instinct was to think, "Know what? Maybe he's onto something."

http://www.theroot.com/views/making-school-cool...

Here is one way(I picked this up indirectly form the article posted); Involve the athletes in nutrution education:
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/education/200908...

Another is to make science a hands on project:
http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/redflag/gridphi...

'Obama Effect' at school: Black parents volunteer, expect more

By Greg Toppo, USA TODAY
A new survey suggests that President Obama's victory last November had a positive effect not just on the academic expectations of black Americans — it may have raised parents' interests in volunteerism.
The "Obama Effect," documented last winter, showed that Obama's rise during the 2008 presidential election helped improve African Americans' performance on skills tests, which helped narrow a black-white achievement gap.


BUDGET: Obama aims high for higher education
EXPERTS: A few words for the president on closing the 'achievement gap'
OBAMA ELEMENTARY: Renamed school made inauguration the lesson

In the new findings, African-American parents of children in K-12 schools say they're much more likely to volunteer in a classroom this fall, in effect narrowing a volunteering gap.

The survey, being released today by GreatSchools, a San Francisco non-profit that promotes parental involvement, finds a jump of 37 percentage points in the portion of African-American parents who say they'll volunteer in their child's school — 60% vs. 23% a year ago.

FIND MORE STORIES IN: Barack Obama | Vanderbilt University
In the same period, the percentage of white parents who plan to volunteer rose six points, from 47% to 53%.

"Clearly, this data is showing that the parent in chief, President Obama, is having an impact on parents' thinking, especially African-American parents' thinking," GreatSchools CEO Bill Jackson says. He notes that in several speeches, Obama has urged parents to turn off the TV, read to their children and attend parent-teacher conferences.

"That jump that we're seeing … is clearly a response to that," he says.

The Internet survey of 1,086 parents has a sampling error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points. For the African-American group, the sampling error is much larger — 12.7 percentage points — but the new findings are outside the sampling error.

In January, Vanderbilt University management professor Ray Friedman and a team of researchers found that in a series of online tests, the performance gap between blacks and whites shrank dramatically during two key moments spotlighting Obama in the 2008 campaign.

The findings, dubbed the Obama Effect, offered "compelling evidence of the power that real-world, in-group role models like Obama can have on members of their racial or ethnic community," Friedman said.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2009-08-...

Umm...

There are studies that have been around long before Obama that showed that black parents actually are more involved in schools than white parents and black students have better attendance and attend more after school programs.

Tim Wise even wrote an article higlighting this in 2002?

Enough with the Messiah garbege. They are now publishing stuff because of Obama and behaving as if it is new.

I agree black parents in some circles are held up as models because of their efforts to ensure their children receive education. I have observed falsehoods about the black community held up as truisms used to make policy decisions for the past 30+ years being slowly replaced with factual information.

Other areas where I have observed a receding tide of bad information, is health care and criminal justice. Have you observed the same?

SOTOMAYOR IS CONFIRMED!!! 68 to 31

Ted Kennedy wasn't there....

Congratulations to Judge Sonia Sotomayor!

Senate Confirms Sotomayor

By Paul Kane and Amy Goldstein
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, August 6, 2009; 1:29 PM

Sonia Sotomayor won confirmation Thursday afternoon as the nation's 111th Supreme Court justice and the first ever of Hispanic descent, a historic moment for the nation's fastest-growing minority group.

On a 68 to 31 vote, the Senate confirmed Sotomayor, 55, after roughly 18 hours of official debate spread across three days this week, a show of support that included nine Republican 'aye' votes and 59 from the Democratic side of the aisle. All 31 votes against Sotomayor came from Republicans.

Sotomayor becomes the third woman to serve on the Supreme Court, following Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and former Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

Sotomayor watched the historic vote from the New York City courthouse where she has served for the past 11 years as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit, according to friends. She previously was a federal trial judge for six years. It is unclear when President Obama will swear her in as an associate justice.

"With this confirmation we will be making progress," said Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.), the Judiciary Committee chairman, said in the final hour of debate Thursday. "Years from now, we will remember this time when we crossed paths with a quintessentially American journey of Sonia Sotomayor."

She will take her seat on the court in early September when the justices convene for a rare out-of-session hearing on a campaign finance case involving a conservative group that opposed the 2008 presidential campaign of Hillary Rodham Clinton. Sotomayor will begin her first full session as the court's most junior member Oct. 5.

Around 3 p.m. senators gathered in the chamber and took their seats, as they cast their votes from their chairs during a formal roll call of names. Such formality is reserved for only the most significant of votes, including impeachment verdicts, war resolutions and the confirmation of justices to the nation's high court.

There is more.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/ar...

Yeah!

A U.S. federal judge has refused to approve a settlement between regulators and Bank of America Corp (BAC.N) related to the acquisition of Merrill Lynch & Co, stating that it could be unfair to the public.

Judge won't approve Bank of America-SEC settlement

The decision late Wednesday by Judge Jed Rakoff of the federal district court in Manhattan is an unusual step, according to lawyers, in what has already been a storied takeover, marred by investor lawsuits and billions in losses since it was completed January 1.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the largest U.S. bank will now attend a court hearing on August 10 to answer questions about the $33 million settlement, which would resolve SEC allegations that Bank of America made false and misleading statements to shareholders about bonuses promised to Merrill employees.

---

AIG's former Chief Executive Maurice "Hank" Greenberg agreed to pay $15 million to settle government allegations that he had cooked the books to inflate the insurer's earnings in the first half of this decade, the Securities and Exchange Commission said on Thursday.

Ex-AIG CEO Greenberg pays $15 million to settle SEC charges

Howard Smith, American International Group Inc's former chief financial officer, also agreed to pay $1.5 million to settle SEC charges relating to his and Greenberg's involvement in sham accounting transactions that artificially boosted the insurer's financial results between 2000 and 2005, the SEC said.

---

SEC is busy.

HEH! HEh! Heh! heh!
I was wondering when the courts were going to reassert their authority.

Sotomayor vote in progress now!

Cspan 2!

Al Franken is presiding over the Senate for this vote.

They're counting the 'ayes' and 'nays'..... I noticed on the board - Kit Bond (R) voted Yes.

Al Franken is presiding over the Senate for this vote.

And a circle of hell has just frozen.

That made me laugh. Oh D, I swear you are so funny.


And I like Franken but that truly, was too funny.

D, you under estimate Franken's intellect and skills. Let me remind you, that not only was he a comedian, he's a Harvard graduate, and will melt the eyeballs out of the most seasoned Rethug senator any day.

I respect him...but see what I said to djchefron below.

He could also put you in a Figure 4 if you get out of hand. He used to wrestle.

He better bring money, in that case.

I'm old and have a gut, but I can take him.

he was a MATH MAJOR at Harvard.

Hey D,

Are you planning to push back on any of the 'mob' and 'astroturf' assertions with regard to Tea Party protesters?

Not more so that clearly identifying that I'm only speaking for myself in my opposition, as I said at the end of this post.

People will say what they will to attempt to prove their points. Lucky for me, I have a better insight as to what really goes on than most.

Let them spin. I've got work to do.

Tell me what republican Senator can hold his own in a debate with Franken.Lugar is not one of your choices.

LOL.

The same circle would freeze if the sentence was "Cedric Kyles is presiding over the Senate for this vote."

Some things just don't sound right.

OBAMA vs MATH

"Even a popular president like Barack Obama cannot win arguments against two forces: God and mathematics. While the president has openly shared his reverence for the former, he has decided to take on the latter. It’s a fight that he will lose."

http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=ZjdmN2JkND...

Did you just say god?!?

You done loss your damn mind. After all this country has been through in the last 8 years and now god steps in... ain't that a bitch!

Conserv1 loves it here at JJP. No one at stormfront, redstate, freepers, et.al can entertain IT the way we do it.

IT feels IT is far more superior on on the black blog... ya know trying to edumacate the knee-grows, and give them some of that old time religion.

I guess Barack should be on the lookout for lightning bolts now. Ha!

But he's the anti-christ so lightning bolts wont do anything to him! Oh wait...no he's the Messiah...oh well....in wingnuttia, its all the same thing.

So God is against Obama's policies now? I wonder who administered that poll. . .

Could it be the "C STREET" gang, "THE FAMILY" of Liars, Adulterers, Hypocites, power hungry, Our God told us it is righteous to rule the world pollsters....

Read the article. God is only mentioned once, in the quote I cited. I knew you would jump on that. Just read it and then we can discuss it if you like.

Where the Hell is Karmi when you need him??

The National Review writers want to go back to the tranquil days of 1809....when most ailments were treated with leeches and last rites.

Twitter site suffers service outage.  * Company attributes outage to denial-of-service attack.  * Some Facebook users having trouble logging in (Adds Facebook background, comments)

(Reuters) Hack attack silences Twitter, Facebook sees delays

The vote on Sotomayor is coming at 1:00 pm - oh, sorry 3:00 pm..... 1pm here.

Marking his second appearance since a hospitalization May 15, Sen. Robert C. Byrd (D-W.Va.) will be on hand Thursday to cast his vote for Judge Sonia Sotomayor to be Supreme Court justice.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/capitol-briefi...

Thanks for the heads up *turning to CSPAN*

M.C. Mike Steele trying to drop some knowledge.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/08/06/steele.o...

I'd rather be tutored by a sales clerk at a local consignment shop than listen to anything Michael Seele has say.

LOL

39% of Republicans want MORE "birther" coverage . SMH:

A Pew poll finds that a plurality of Republicans are not embarrassed by the Obama birther conspiracy. In fact, they wish the media spent more time on it.

"Republicans are ... inclined to say that the allegations have received too little attention," the poll reports. "Nearly four-in-ten Republicans (39%) express this view, while 27% say they have received the right amount of attention and 26% say they have gotten too much attention.

"If anything surprised me, it's how many people have heard about this," Michael Dimock, an associate director at the Pew Research Center, told the Washington Independent. "When we put the question in, we said to ourselves, well, Lou Dobbs has covered it, and it's been discussed on the Internet. For 80 percent of people to have heard something about this is pretty high."

The White House expressed exasperation Thursday morning with the whole thing, after a poll found that only 53% of Virginians were sure President Obama was born in the U.S.

"You couldn't sell this script in Hollywood," White House press secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters.

"Tell me if you've heard one that's this totally crazy," Gibbs said. "A pregnant woman leaves her home to go overseas to have a child -- who there's not a passport for -- so is in cahoots with someone...to smuggle that child, that previously doesn't exist on a government roll somewhere back into the country and has the amazing foresight to place birth announcements in the Hawaii newspapers? All while this is transpiring in cahoots with those in the border, all so some kid named Barack Obama could run for President 46 and a half years later. You couldn't sell that to the WB."

and I see Gibbsy has been watching the Daily Show by that last comment. LOL

Jonathan Capehart's Mama lets Dylan Ratigan have it for dissing her son.
She's "PISSED" OFF! :-)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRNV-qVtEqg

thanks for this.

Spirit,

I was just coming to post it. At first, I thought it was a joke. But Mrs Capehart blasted Dylan Ratigan's ass. Dylan better recognize, when you mess with the child..."Mama" bear is coming to the rescue!

Word, and Mama Marsha came out with the bear claws too. Don't be painting my son as a "CLOWN."

Mama sees you, MSNBC.

Well - he is a grown man ..... having his mother calling up.

When I saw the video, I mean, it's humorous enough. And I'm thinking Dylan and them there thought Mrs Capehart was kidding. She wasn't. Nope, they won't do again it because that's how she saw it and they'll respect it. Even if they don't agree with her take. I don't agree.

Gotta love Mamas (she had that man stuttering at the end)

MSNBC host Dylan Ratigan has taken some flack lately for airing footage on his show "Morning Meeting" of contributor Jonathan Capehart scarfing down a bagel during a break between appearances. The video is not particularly flattering, but Ratigan insisted Capehart had no hard feelings.

Someone who did not feel that way at all was Capehart's mother, who called into the show this morning to give Ratigan a piece of her mind. After some initial conversation in which Ratigan tried to be self-deprecating, Capehart's mother unloaded this masterpiece of indignation:

The whole thing was offensive because, you know what, I thought it was mean, disrespectful, an invasion of his privacy and personal space. And my question to you is do you have cameras in the bathroom, or in the dressing room? Who you gonna put on national TV next? Because if you wanted to make a fool out of someone... you could use yourself because it really pissed me off.

Judging by his reaction, Capehart was not prepared for his mother to use the phrase "pissed me off," which she immediately apologized for, unsure if she was allowed to say it on live TV. Capehart's mother continued to put Ratigan in his place, telling him her son is not a "clown" or "a kid at a birthday party."

We imagine mothers everywhere watching and firmly nodding their heads in agreement. A thoroughly chastised Ratigan could do nothing but apologize.

video at the link

Jonathan Capehart has put himself in this position by always defering on morning joke.But he is getting paid so what do I know.

Yeah, Jonathan does not stand up for himself. Good thing he has such a fierce mother, because he is too meek with these white people on MSNBC. I wonder if Eugene Robinson's mother is still living?

I don't want to, but....

Bwah hahahahaha

You are SO wrong for that!

Eugene can't stand up to the Irish Catholic Boys network on MSNBC. And then when he does try to say something, he can't get it out with all that stuttering and stammering!

They need a Michael Eric Dyson type of brotha on there, talking all fast and shit!

I think they need Town,Morpheus or Val

Add CPL, Jill, Miranda, Webb, CraigHickman, and you too dj!

Chris Brown's sentencing delayed
Published: Aug. 6, 2009 at 12:10 PM

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 6 (UPI) -- A Los Angeles judge delayed sentencing for singer Chris Brown, saying she wants a guarantee he'll perform community labor for hitting his ex-girlfriend Rihanna.
Judge Patricia Schnegg told the R&B singer of "Forever" and "Kiss Kiss" she wanted to ensure he performed 1,400 hours of "community labor" for striking the singer, the New York Daily News reported Thursday
Brown pleaded guilty in June to a felony assault charge for hitting Rihanna. He received no jail time but was ordered to serve 180 days of community labor, such as road cleanup, in Virginia where he lives.
"I do not favor community service," Schnegg said during Wednesday's hearing, explaining that she wants Brown, 20, picking up trash or cleaning up graffiti.
Schnegg delayed Brown's sentencing to Aug. 27 because she hasn't received documents from Virginia officials detailing the type of community labor he'll be assigned, the Daily News said.
Schnegg did not address an order of protection barring Brown from coming within 50 yards of Rihanna, which the singer's attorney, Donald Etra, sought to have revoked.
Besides community labor, Brown's plea included five years of probation and 52 weeks of domestic violence counseling.

http://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/2009/08/0...

Is It Just Me?
By John Cole

Is it just me, or does everything just seem stupider than normal this August recess? Between Mouthpiece Theater and the Atlantic phoning it in and Alessandra Stanley making a mistake every sentence and morons getting caught while taking a luxurious stroll through Iraq and wingnuts threatening congressmen because they are trying to reform health care and congressmen whinging about empathy and racist latinas on and on and on, it just seems like everything is dumber this summer.
And I say that knowing full well that last August brought us Sarah Palin. Times like this, there really is only one thing that can cheer me up:

http://www.balloon-juice.com/

lol. "I See Stupid People Everywhere..."

"I See Stupid People Everywhere..."

That's been the theme at my office this afternoon. Why can't people follow simple instructions? I now have a headache from banging my head on the desk out of frustration. Gah.

</off-topic vent>

..... and all the time.... LOL!

GOPer jokes about Dems getting "lynched" at town halls
by Jed Lewison
Share this on Twitter - GOPer jokes about Dems getting "lynched" at town halls Thu Aug 06, 2009 at 10:00:04 AM PDT
Rep. Todd Akin (R-MO) reveals the Republican Party's idea of ha, ha, ha:

"This particular meeting, in a way is a little bit unique," said Akin. "Different people from Washington, DC, have come back to their districts and have town hall meetings, and they almost got lynched."

The audience then broke out into laughter and applause.

"I would assume you're not approving lynchings, because we don't want to do that," Akin said, putting his hand to his neck in imitation of choking, which got audience laughing some more. "But the point is, people are really upset at some of this legislation, and with very good reason they were upset."

I'm sure Rep. Frank Kratovil (D-MD) -- hanged in effigy by an anti-health care teabagger -- is laughing right along with Akin. What a riot these guys are!
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/8/6/7626...

Its straight from repug stragetist's Frank Lutz handbook "lie and scare them; and never define a problem that actually requires a solution".

Did you actually read Mike Allen's article.

Luntz advises:

"You simply MUST be vocally and passionately on the side of REFORM,” Luntz advises in a confidential 26-page report obtained from Capitol Hill Republicans. “The status quo is no longer acceptable. If the dynamic becomes ‘President Obama is on the side of reform and Republicans are against it,’ then the battle is lost and every word in this document is useless.

“Republicans must be for the right kind of reform that protects the quality of healthcare for all Americans. And you must establish your support of reform early in your presentation.”

Instead, Luntz says Republicans should warn against a “Washington takeover” of health care, and insist that patients would have to “stand in line” with “Washington bureaucrats in charge of healthcare.”

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0509/22155...

Dr. Frank Luntz, a top Republican consultant on the language of politics, is warning the GOP that the American people want health-care reform and that lawmakers need to try to avoid directly opposing President Barack Obama.

Luntz to GOP: Health reform is popular

“You simply MUST be vocally and passionately on the side of REFORM,” Luntz advises in a confidential 26-page report obtained from Capitol Hill Republicans. “The status quo is no longer acceptable. If the dynamic becomes ‘President Obama is on the side of reform and Republicans are against it,’ then the battle is lost and every word in this document is useless.

Luntz and yourself right kind of reform is protecting the health insurance profit motive.Scam the healthy while denying benefits for those who are in need.

Those quotes don't reflect the actual opinions of Luntz or the Republicans. It's simply what he's telling them to say.

Fight back against health insurance lies

What does UnitedHealth Group CEO Stephen Hemsley have to lose if Congress passes real healthcare reform this year? Well, for starters, his nearly three quarters of a billion dollars in unexercised stock options might lose a few pennies on the dollar.

What does Isabella, a four year-old girl in Wisconsin who is physically incapable of eating and has had to be tube fed her entire life, have to gain from healthcare reform? The treatment she needs to live a normal life.

Video of Isabella's story
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKI9be55N00

Obscene. It's a crime against humanity.

To Conserve
At this time I cannot find the post and since I cannot find proof of what you wrote I apologize to you and to JJP for my behavior.Now I know what I read but that neither here nor there.So again I am sorry.

I accept your apology.

We can agree to disagree. I respect your right to express your opinions but distortions and ad hominem attacks do nothing to advance honest, constructive debate.

I am opposed to a 'public option' for health insurance reform because I feel strongly that this is a slow path toward single payer government run health care. This assertion has been confirmed by Barney Frank, Jan Schkawosky and the President.

I oppose governemnt run health care for several reasons. I have voiced those opinions here and will continue to do so because this is a great forum and I enjoy the opportunity to interact with those who hold such diverse and opposing viewpoints and life experiences.

While we may not agree, and the debate is heated, I do feel enriched.

"I choose to create my own vision within the laws of the land and those from God as a free, self-determining individual."


http://www.jackandjillpolitics.com/2009/08/tues...

That's the statement that prompted this?

Are you serious?

THANK YOU D.

The way I read it at the time was God was against health care reform.Now I know you republicans like to invoke God to give cover for everything you do no matter how immoral it is.So all Conserv had to do at the very start was to clarify what he meant and that would have been the end of it.Remember he said "Bring it on"

My two cents:

God gives men the right to make their own choices and determine the path for their lives. The only constraint put on that self-determination is the rule of law.

If you view the argument over healthcare as one over what the government should and should not tell you what your choices are, you could make the argument along a religious line that "forcing" (and that's in quotes for a reason!) people to participate in some plan that they may not want to goes against the natural right of self-determination (or, put differently, the inalienable right of liberty).

You could probably make the same argument if you were against the draft.

It's out there a bit...but if that's the point he's/she's trying to make, I get it.

Again, thank you. The statement was made in the context of advancing an argument of Utopia vs. Freedom by Thomas Sowell

http://townhall.com/columnists/ThomasSowell/200...

Okay,that's cool even though I dont agree with the reason.President Obama has said over and over again that if you are happy with your plan you can keep it.Conserv makes the argument that God is against a public plan.Now if he is against it because of his political beliefs,then fine.But when he brings God into it he has explaining to do.

Can we let it go now? LOL.

It is finish, because, even though we disagee I respect you so I am done.

Alright, you two play nice now.

:-)

Why didn't he want to clarify it? Maybe because he meant it as you interpreted it?

I chose not to clarify it because the onus is not incumbent upon me. Innocent until proven guilty. I meant it like I meant it.

Have the JJP I-Team come to my rescue?LOL!!!

I play spot the lie when I read consevo's post..that is when I read more than the first sentence. I used to read them all the way through. I feel better now and have much more time to pursue my goals. It is like quitting The OC. My brain cells have grown back and now I am interested in the world at large.


LOL, kidding as I have never watched the OC.

Yeah, so do I. Either that, or I play find the actual source of its unsourced cut/pastes.

Psychologists Reject Gay ‘Therapy’
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: August 5, 2009

The American Psychological Association declared Wednesday that mental health professionals should not tell gay clients they can become straight through therapy or other treatments.
In a resolution adopted by the association’s governing council, and in an accompanying report, the association issued its most comprehensive repudiation of so-called reparative therapy, a concept espoused by a small but persistent group of therapists, often allied with religious conservatives, who maintain that gay men and lesbians can change.
No solid evidence exists that such change is likely, says the resolution, adopted by a 125-to-4 vote. The association said some research suggested that efforts to produce change could be harmful, inducing depression and suicidal tendencies.
Instead of seeking such change, the association urged therapists to consider multiple options, which could include celibacy and switching churches, for helping clients live spiritually rewarding lives in instances where their sexual orientation and religious faith conflict.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/06/health/06gay....

Health insurance companies fear public option

Just listen to Wendell Potter, the former vice president of corporate communications for CIGNA, one of the largest health-care insurance companies. In June he testified before a Senate committee about what he'd learned: "For 20 years I worked as a senior executive at health insurance companies, and I saw how they confuse their customers and dump the sick, all so they can satisfy their Wall Street investors."

He concluded with this:
"Americans need and overwhelmingly support the option of obtaining coverage from a public plan. The industry and its backers are using fear tactics, as they did in 1994, to tar a transparent, publicly-accountable health care option as a 'government-run system.' But what we have today, Mr. Chairman, is a Wall Street-run system that has proven itself an untrustworthy partner to its customers, to the doctors and hospitals who deliver care, and to the state and federal governments that attempt to regulate it."

Those telling you to fear a public option aren't saying so because you'll be told you have to move to a public option. You won't. Nor will the public option restrict your choices they way they'd like you to believe. What they are assuming is that the public option might be a better one that you'll want to choose, leaving private insurers who don't provide the kind of coverage you'd like.

In other words, the fear of the public option is that it might actually work as intended, forcing the private insurance companies to adjust their practices and their prices.

http://www.statesmanjournal.com/article/2009080...

"In other words, the fear of the public option is that it might actually work as intended, forcing the private insurance companies to adjust their practices and their prices."

This statement is the BOTTOM line.

The very FEAR these insuranc ecompies harbour is the same FEAR they use to plant FEAR into the vulnerable, the ignorant, and the unenlightened.

The system we have now has the employer, unions and the federal government acting as 'middle men' for INDIVIDUALS.

The government and unions want to supplant the employer as the agent for insurance.

Eliminate the middle man and you save money, increase competition, and give consumers real choice. Return the money and responsibility for health care insurance to the INDIVIDUAL.

Economist Arthur Laffer has an excellent article that I suggest you read.

How to Fix the Health-Care ‘Wedge’
There is an alternative to ObamaCare.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB100014240529702...

Laffer is the one who doesn't Medicare is a gov't run entity....

LAFFER: I mean, if you like the Post Office and the Department of Motor Vehicles and you think they’re run well, just wait until you see Medicare, Medicaid, and health care done by the government

After that no one should that anything that Laffer says seriously ever again.

The JJP I -Team has come thru. HOO-RAY!!!!
"I choose to create my own vision within the laws of the land and those from God as a free, self-determining individual."
http://www.jackandjillpolitics.com/2009/08/tues...
Now can you please answer the question.Why do God hate the public plan/

Let's see...you say you approve of requiring insurers to cover pre-existing conditions. Laffer argues against it, but still claims that his idea would empower patients and doctors to make proper healthcare decisions. He favors "tort reform". We've already seen that caps on damages don't stop doctors from practicing "defense medicine", and driving up costs. Yes, their malpractice insurance premiums go down, but they don't pass those savings along to patients.

"[W]hat we have today, .... is a Wall Street-run system that has proven itself an untrustworthy partner to its customers, to the doctors and hospitals who deliver care, and to the state and federal governments that attempt to regulate it."

Which is worse BIG BUSINESS or BIG GOVERMENT?

Or what about BIG GOVERMENT wanting to co-opt BIG BUSINESS?
FannieMae, TARP, GM, AIG...

Actually, judging by where we are now that's to "big business" I'll say that is far worse than "big government" in some respects.

Explain your comment in the context of the discussion
"I choose to create my own vision within the laws of the land and those from God as a free, self-determining individual."
http://www.jackandjillpolitics.com/2009/08/tues...

"[T]he fear of the public option is that it might actually work as intended, forcing the private insurance companies to adjust their practices and their prices".

The Diva League Are Not The Good Kind Of Blacks: he Diva League which consists of Black transwomen performed a dance and lip-syncing routine to Rihanna's song Disturbia, on America's Got Talent.The commentary by Piers Morgan crosses a line that demands to be discussed.

There's no easy way of putting this. We are trying to find an act that can represent America on the world stage, and from where I sit a bunch of lip syncing old drag queens who can't dance is not...not what America needs right now. Not exactly Barack Obama, is it?"

First off, what America needs to do is get over this idea that someone else’s gender is problematic.I am further horrified that he chose to point out that there is a difference between the women of Diva League (note: I use the term women because in the video a female pronoun was used) and Barack Obama. White men like Piers have always tried to push the notion that there is an acceptable way in which to be Black.

I'd love for him to say that to RuPaul's face.

Piers is an asshole, a lot of people would pay to see "a bunch of lip syncing old drag queens" because it can be quite entertaining. And why is a British guy telling us who can and can't represent America on the world stage. Besides that, no one pays attention to "America's got talent" it's really quite a boring show. They should bring back "I'm a Celebrity. . . Get Me out of here" now THAT was entertainment.

Yeah and I second that

. . . Because lynching people is just soooo funny

At this rate the GOP may lose the few "negroes" it has left.

Its straight from repug strategist Frank Lutz's handbook "lie and scare them; and never define a problem that actually requires a solution".

Dems' Plan Will Eliminate Health Insurance

"This isn't insurance, it's welfare. And that's the whole point."

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2009/...

Welfare? Like the kind of corporate welfare found in Repugs Medicare Part D

Read the article and refute the argument. What you are doing is nothing more than deflecting.

I read your post now stop deflecting.Explain this
"I choose to create my own vision within the laws of the land and those from God as a free, self-determining individual."
http://www.jackandjillpolitics.com/2009/08/tues...

Refute the argument that says the results of Medicare Part D amounts to corporate welfare. The topic of welfare is on point. And, the article can be summarized as a plea to keep the status quo of the robber baron health insurance industry.

It is not welfare, no one will be getting FREE health care. Maybe if the insurance companies would stop trying to fleece people a public option wouldn't be necessary.

Welfare is not FREE either. It is just not paid for by the recipients.

A public option is not necessary. Putting the responsibility for buying health care coverage on the INDIVIDUAL instead of the employer or the government would reconnect the consumer with the product and services they use.

Everyone knows that savings ensue when we 'eliminate the middle man'.

But then where would that leave the federal government? OUT of the health insurance business. Can't have that now can we?

Taxpayers would provide vouchers for those who cannot afford to buy insurance without assistance. Mandates for insurers can protect individuals with pre-existing conditions.

Here we go again. One of your arguments against the public option was that it would prompt employers to drop health insurance, and now you're arguing that employers shouldn't be responsible for providing health insurance.

Having a public option will not kill the health insurance industry, there are plenty of people and businesses who like their current health insurance. Also, people don't HAVE to accept the insurance their employer gives them, they are more than welcome to decline and go out and buy their own. So there is no 'middle man' in that respect.

It will seek to EVENTUALLY move all people into a single payer system. This is well documented and spelled out in the bill and confirmed by Barney Frank, Jan Schkawosky and the President.

There is no disputing it. Please inform yourself.

Actually, while Obama has said he'd like single payer, he's said repeatedly that it's not foreseeable. What exactly is so bad about single player in your mind?

What is wrong with single payer?Every country that has national health care enjoy a healthier society than the US.

In her latest column Kathleen Parker calls it as she see it regardless of her political leanings.  With the craziness that has enveloped the GOP involving the “birther movement” and the “townhall terrors” Parker officially announces that “Southern Republicans, it seems, have seceded from sanity.”

Prominent GOP Columnist says Southern Republican Party have Seceded from Sanity

The curious Republican campaign of 2008 may have galvanized a conservative Southern base — including many who were mostly concerned with the direction Democrats would take the country — but it also repelled others who simply bolted and ran the other way. Whatever legitimate concerns the GOP may historically have represented were suddenly overshadowed by a sense of a resurgent Old South and all the attendant pathologies of festering hate and fear.

What the GOP is experiencing now, one hopes, are the death throes of that 50-year spell that Johnson foretold. But before the party of the Great Emancipator can rise again, Republicans will have to face their inner Voinovich and drive a stake through the heart of old Dixie.

Before you wet yourself, just remember, this is one woman's opinion.

There have been many instances in the GOP where they have cleaned house and 'faced their inner Vionovich' while Dems continued to coddle and cover for the likes of Dodd, Murtha, et al.

She is not a lone wolf. Google "death+gop".

Explain yourself. What right has God given to deny healthcare?

Today's Conversation: We Must Listen When DBRs Like George Sodini Say They Want To Harm Women! http://bit.ly/1aifL2