Yesterday's senate votes on a couple of significant bills:
(HR 6331) A special thanks to Senator Ted Kennedy for making it to work yesterday, the first time since his recent surgery, to vote to deny the 10.5 percent cut in doctor's reimbursements for Medicare patients they treat. If Bush vetoes the bill as he has promised he would, as it now stands based on yesterday's vote, the senate would have the votes to override Bush.
Many senators in favor of cutting Medicare reimbursements to doctors, aside from those just wishing to kill the whole program, did so expressing the fear this could impact funding for Medicare Advantage, which is a nice name for a program that sounds even better than the original Medicare.
But Medicare Advantage is a program administered through private insurance companies that often lure Medicare patients away from Medicare with promises of free dental or other such enticements. But once those folks enroll they discover they have lost their choice of doctors, there are exclusions, or denials of tests and or treatments, as determined by an insurance company and its company doctors instead of one's doctor of choice under the original Medicare.
Dada is greatly appreciative of Senator Kennedy's vote yesterday for, without it, it appeared Bush would again get his goddamned way of $billions and billions for war and bombs whenever he demands it from the normally spineless congress, while crying, "We can't afford it!" as he slashes social programs affecting millions of Americans (besides Medicare seniors). Now there is a chance Medicare may not fade and die quite as quickly as the insurance industry and those supporting it over the best interests of private citizens were hoping.
(HR 6301) The controversial FISA bill granting telecoms immunity for spying on Americans passed the senate, 69 - 28, with three not voting. John McCain did not vote. (I don't know why. Perhaps he was off to Columbia or elsewhere introducing himself as the next president of the U.S.?)
Some of the minority still voting to uphold the Constitution instead of immunity for the telecom giants included democratic senators Biden, Boxer, Clinton, and Feingold.
Independent senator Bernie Sanders voted "nay" while independent Joe Liberman said "yea."
Republicans voting in favor of immunity for the telecoms (and Bush and Cheney) included my very own Texas senators, Cornyn and Hutchison, along with Diane Feinstein and Barack Obama.
4 comments:
Dada, I finished watching "The Ballad of Esequiel Hernandez." I'm so upset over the events and conclusions I went speechless for a long, long time afterwards. What in the hell are we doing as a people and as a nation? In addition to the obvious grief and sadness with the family, the Marine who shot and killed the young Hernandez was a Mexican American himself. Kudos to Tommy Lee Jones for lending his name and time to this documentary. The music was hauntingly similar to Jones' film, Three Burials. Thanks for the lead, and I apologize for being off thread. I"ve almost got my voice back and will post something on this tragedy and documentary soon.
eprof - Thanks for the reminder (to watch 'Esequial Hernandez' which Mrs. Dada watched live and taped for me to watch later, which I did this morning).
This really sickened me. The ironies the film maker surfaced at the end were good. Of GHW Bush presenting, thru Mrs. Bush, the award to the Redford librarian whose very library opened its arms to kids after school, to include Esequial Hernandez.
Of one of the Marine's whose very life was impacted heavily (and negatively) because of meth after serving on the border to interdict illegal drugs.
How many millions of people have died because of imaginary lines drawn on maps?
No need to apologize for violating a thread here. They're only imaginary lines!
Now that I've got some words down on young Hernandez, I'll respond to this thread. Your last paragraph sums up the November election for me: Obama is an average politician playing the political game. Old wine in new bottles. If his vote for the FISA bill is an indication of how he will bring new politics to the US, I'm afraid he's on the way to a D. See my previous post on Obama might just lose before he wins because of his headlong rush to the middle and to the right. Who are some of the candidates that will stick to their word?
eprof asks: "Who are some of the candidates that will stick to their word?"
dada responds: Good question! If we're talking about presidential candidates, then maybe a Kucinich, but he is next to a bloomin' Communist, or Socialist, at least, in the minds of pre-occupied Americans. But herein lies the conundrum, even if Kucinich COULD win the nomination and the election his programs/vision for America would be thwarted and rendered politically impotent by the chimps in congress, wouldn't it? (Remembering our previous "republican" president's wife's efforts at healthcare reform.)
Perhaps you have some ideas on the matter, say, "What's Costa Rica like?" (grin)
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