Matthew 23:24 & Republican Hypocrisy

Let us be careful not to gag at a gnat and swallow a camel. (Matthew 23:24)

I have come to the conclusion that my congressman is naught but a damned fool. I assure you that I do not use that term loosely as one of the worst dressing downs I ever received from my mother involved my calling someone a "fool". Seems that's the eleventh commandment or something; Thou shalt not call anyone a fool. It's prohibited somewhere in the bible, or so my mother fervently believed.

So, to this day I hesitate. Jackass is ok, dumbass-ok, short-bus candidate-ok, and on the right occasion stupid mo-fo works, but calling someone a fool? well that is very serious business. But, sometimes, one just has to squint, spit on the ground and come out with it, "That old boy is just a damned fool!"

Oh yeah! Here's what's going on. My congressman is Jeb Hensarling and he now blames our financial crises on the Community Reinvestment Act. "One can look at the Community Reinvestment Act--very noble in intent, designed to deal with a very serious problem of redlining at the time," he said, "But ultimately it helped put the federal government's seal of approval not so much on helping raise the economic opportunities of the borrower but instead bringing down the lending standards of the lenders." Or so he says on March 9 of this year.

But back in the heyday of subprime lending he spoke from a different side of his mouth, "I need not remind my colleagues that America enjoys the highest rate of home ownership in the history of America," Hensarling ballyhooed on May 24, 2005. "With the advent of subprime lending, countless families have now had their first opportunity to buy a home or perhaps be given a second chance," he went on blathering.

So now those "countless families" i.e. low income or minority borrowers are not the victims of the economic crash, they are the cause of it. By extension that makes only the well-to-do worthy of low interest rates.

Well that is the gnat that's gagging our boy Hensarling. Here are the camels he's wolfed down. An auto industry manufacturing and marketing gas-guzzling behemoths adding to our energy dependence and influencing a foreign policy of invasion and occupation to protect "our" middle east oil, billions poured into the rat hole of the Iraq occupation and "reconstruction", a deregulated wall street and financial institutions rewarding greed and paying bonuses for outright criminality, and insurance oligarchs raping, plundering and pillaging our entire health care system, just to name a few.

Hey Hensarling! Working people, poor people, and disenfrachised Americans of all sorts are not the cause of the economic melt-down. They are the most vulnerable victims of it.

I suspect my mom, were she alive, would agree with me. Jeb Hensarling is naught but a damned fool.

Urgent Request for HELP!

We've been asked to help in spreading the word on SB 1569 which would allow Texas to take $555-million in stimulus money that Governor Rick Perry wants to reject! See the MEMO below.

I have written on this twice before, but it is so critical that I am posting again. Here, for more information and background, are the links to my earlier posts.

Senate Flips Off Governor on Stimulus Money

Governor Perry Lies & State by State List of Stimulus Money

Memo
To: Union Members, Retirees, Friends
From: Becky Moeller & Paul Brown
Date: May 5, 2009
Re: Urgent Action Needed on Major Unemployment Insurance Legislation

Dear Brothers and Sisters:

Labor’s signature bill of the 2009 legislative session – SB 1569, which would allow Texas to accept $555 million in federal economic stimulus funds for unemployed Texans – may be debated on the Texas House floor as early as Thursday.

We need you to call your state representative NOW and ask him or her to SUPPORT SB 1569.

The bill:

1) Delivers $555 million to Texans who have lost their jobs through no fault of their own;

2) Expands unemployment insurance eligibility to cover 45,000 more jobless Texans, mainly those who are low-wage or part-time workers;

3) Will cut taxes for employers who are struggling in the recession.

Please call your representative by clicking here, or through the House switchboard – (512) 463-1000 – with this simple message:

“Hello, my name is ________, a constituent of Rep. ____________. I am calling to ask him (her) to SUPPORT SB 1569, the Unemployment Insurance bill, so that deserving unemployed Texans may receive benefits and employers will have lower taxes in this tough economic period. Please take the money! Thank you.”

Thank you for taking action on this critical bill for working families in Texas.

In Solidarity,

Becky Moeller Paul R. Brown
President Secretary-Treasurer
opeiu298/afl-cio

Seniors Gain Influence in Congress

Marking May as Senior Citizen's Month, the Alliance for Retired Americans has released a comprehensive report detailing the voting record of every U. S. Senator and Representative on key issues affecting Americans 50-years and older.

According to the grassroots activist group's President, Barbara J. Easterling, last year's (2008) voting record showed a continuation of a pro-senior trend which began in 2006. "There were more perfect scores on the voting record this year with fewer zeroes," she said.

"This indicates a higher commitment to improve health cars, strengthen Medicare, and put seniors ahead of drug and insurance companies," she continued.

The document examines 10 key Senate and House votes in 2008, showing the roll calls on issues ranging from stopping Social Security privatization to fully funding the low-income energy assistance program. A number of votes dealt with Medicare, including the override, of Bush's veto of a bill making improvements to Medicare such as providing preventive and mental health benefits and adjusting the asset tests so that more low income beneficiaries can receive help.

In the Senate: 58 members received passing grades (higher than 60%), with 47, including then Senator Obama, achieving perfect scores of 100% and 42 receiving failing grades, with only Sen. Jim Bunning (R-KY) scoring zero! Senator McCain (R-AZ) was absent for all ten votes included in the tally.

In the House: 259 members received passing grades, with 197 scoring perfect 100s, and 42 receiving failing grades, and 14 receiving scores of zero. One seat was vacant during the votes included in the tally.

Those of us laboring the senior activism vineyards see in this analysis a reason for hope that we can now achieve positive change for all 50 and older Americans. It is now up to each of us, you and I, all of us, to stay informed, keep engaged, organize and mobilize to the extent of our individual abilities, whether by attending rallies, holding house parties, joining letter or phone campaigns, or merely sharing our concerns and interests with friends and family.

Click here and follow the prompts to read in detail the full report and to see how your Senators and representative scored.

Banks Win - You Lose!

If anyone doubts the power wielded by banks, they need but to watch this...

And for whatever it is worth, there's a reason I'm no longer in talk radio. It dates back to the early 80s when I was doing my show on KTRH in Houston. I uttered the words that, "A banker will rob you quicker with fountain pen than a south side car jacker with a Saturday night special."

KTRH was owned, at the time, by John T. Jones, who also was Chairman of the Board of Texas Commerce Bank. Truth hurts I reckon as it was shortly after that that I was out of there on my butt!

National Health Care Debate - Some Recommendations

The United States has no coordinated, national public-private system for delivering service and supports to people with chronic health care needs. The gap is the largest for people over 50 and people with disabilities.

Older Americans have a major stake in the success of comprehensive health care reform which offers a choice of providers, affordability, efficiency, effectiveness and which reduces disparities in health care with cost containment methods that are both equitable and sustainable.

Yesterday, The Leadership Council of Aging Organization(LCAO), a coalition of national nonprofits concerned with, and representing, the well-being of America's over 50 population, released its recommendations in advance of the coming debate on national health care. Its sixty members offer expertise and advocacy on many issues affecting the 87-million Americans 50 and over.

"Congress has an opportunity to improve the quality, affordability, and accessibility of health care for the fastest growing segment of our country. Out health care crises is a big reason why so many Americans worry that they will not be able to retire securely--even if they retire at all", said Edward Coyle, Chair of LCAO and Executive Director of the Alliance for Retired Americans.

Here are the highlights of those recommendations:

• Create a national public-plan option for an alternative to private health insurers.


• Allow early retirees aged 55 to 64 to buy into Medicare.


• Close gaps in Medicare coverage such as the "doughnut hole".


• Expand Medicare coverage of preventive care and disease management.


• Improve Medicares prescription drug plan by adding a national public plan that uses the government's bulk purchasing power to negotiate volume discounts from drug makers.
  Expand Medicare coverage for low-income beneficiaries.


• Broaden eligibility for Medicaid.


• Create a national insurance program to help families afford long-term care.


• Expand the Older Americans Act to improve access to home and community-based services.


• Improve the quality of nursing home care by increasing transparency and accountability among nursing home owners and operators and expanding resident's rights.


• Increase training for workers who care for older adults.

The full recommendations are available at http://www.lcao.org/