Monday, September 30, 2013

How the right sees the shutdown debacle

How the right sees the shutdown debacle

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snip


While polling may show the American people will blame Republicans for a government shutdown, the sentiment among the right-wing media is hardly one of universal concern or agitation. On the contrary, a look through some of the right’s most influential media hubs shows that conservatives not only diverge from the mainstream when it comes to apportioning blame for a shutdown, but differ from expert consensus when it comes to the economic consequences of a shutdown, too.

In the right’s eyes, the shutdown is both a Democratic plot to trick the public and undo the GOP and, potentially, a good thing for the economy.

note:  I have heard some teabaggers in missouri actually happy about mess.

Wall Street goes after public pensions

Wall Street goes after public pensions

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snip

Unknown to much of the public, Wall Street has been soaking state and municipal coffers with derivatives schemes and various frauds for years. As Alexander Arapoglou and Jerri-Lynn Scofield have explained, not only have Wall Street banks screwed public finances with fancy credit default swaps and other “innovative” financial products that blow up in the faces of cities and states, they have also been engaged in widespread frauds that squeeze pension yields. This happened in the LIBOR rate-rigging scandal, in which big banks were found to be manipulating interest rates, which has resulted in lower returns on pension fund investments and has caused shortfalls in pension plans. The lack of actions from authorities means this kind of hustling will surely continue.

Rolling Stone’s Matt Taibbi has just published an article outlining how this gigantic heist is going down. While Wall Street has been on its scam-a-licious rampage, no-good politicians have been taking taxpayer money meant for pensions and spending it on whatever they wanted, depleting funds. (This is actually securities fraud, but the nearly toothless SEC has barely lifted a finger to address it.) Even so, pensions were still in fairly decent shape when the crash of 2008 came and wrecked budgets across America. The Wall Street-driven financial crisis crushed state and local revenues, and the financiers decided this was the perfect moment to dive in for yet another helping of public money by seizing control of public pensions.

afl-cio tug of war in forrest park--9-28-13

tug of war event was sponsored this last weekend at forrest park in st. louis by afl-cio and several businesses. Keystone pipeline folks were there as well handing out t-shirts. lots of fun, food and drink. many labor locals were in attendance including the gasworkers (steelworkers) both sides of the river unions and several missouri counties had reps. Missouri alliance for retired americans had booth and a lot of info passed out

Friday, September 27, 2013

Senator Blunt Says Obamacare Won't Work - www.ktts.com

Senator Blunt Says Obamacare Won't Work - www.ktts.com:

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note:  he voted to shut down gov


Editorial: Building better health care against dead-end opposition : Stltoday

Editorial: Building better health care against dead-end opposition : Stltoday

click link

snip


Here in Missouri, the lost cause has been carried by Republican Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder. On Monday, he shamefully urged Missourians to stay away from the insurance marketplace scheduled to open for business next week.

“I would hope there would be active resistance to this law — that people would not sign up,” Mr. Kinder said.

So here’s the state’s lieutenant governor asking residents to act against their own interests in making it difficult for the federal insurance exchange to work. This would be the same Mr. Kinder who has been employed in government for the past 20 years enjoying the benefits of health insurance that taxpayers have subsidized.
Does he offer an alternative suggestion for the 800,000 Missourians who do not have health insurance?
Of course not. He’s just grandstanding. His frivolous lawsuit to challenge its implementation failed. But he thinks opposing Obamacare is some kind of salve for a political career that he ran into a ditch with personal problems.

Mr. Kinder and his fellow dead-enders have made Missouri one of the toughest places in the country to get an exchange up and running. State workers were prevented from setting up a state exchange or helping the federal government create one. Heedless obstructionism is a way of life for these folks.

Mo. Lawmakers Talk Federal Waivers for Medicaid « CBS St. Louis

Mo. Lawmakers Talk Federal Waivers for Medicaid « CBS St. Louis

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snip

“There are options for states to pick and choose a Medicaid program they want,” Sidney Watson, St. Louis University law professor, said. “Every state looks different so they have the ability to pick different plans.”
To apply for Medicaid, a potential recipient would have to fall below 133 percent of the federal poverty line.

Governor Nixon wanted to expand Medicaid to close the gap for those below the 133 percent of the federal poverty line. Currently Missouri law provides coverage for able-bodied persons below 18 percent federal poverty. When the Medicaid expansion failed, it left nearly 260,000 low-income adults without Medicaid coverage. Professor Watson told the committee if Medicaid were to be expanded, but stayed below 133 percent, Missouri would not enjoy 100 percent of federal coverage of those expanded benefits.

note   that is
$15, 300 for individual at the current poverty rate of `133 percent

























tar sand oil, toxic dirt in a pipe

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

15 arrested at Patriot Coal protests in St. Louis : Stltoday

15 arrested at Patriot Coal protests in St. Louis : Stltoday

A mine workers' protest outside a St. Louis-based coal company led to 15 arrests Tuesday.

The United Mine Workers says 15 protesters were arrested in a non-violent demonstration outside the Peabody Energy Corporation building downtown. Patriot Coal was spun off from the energy company in 2007 and filed for bankruptcy last year.

A federal appeals court ruled in August that Peabody Energy remains obligated to maintain health-care benefits for 3,100 retirees of Heritage Coal, another Peabody spinoff company
.
The company said in a written statement that the mine workers' union previously rejected a "good faith" settlement that would provide the retirees with lifetime health benefits, payable over 15 years.

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members of steelworker union and soar locals were there

sen sanders on obamacare

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Monday, September 16, 2013

Education For Whom and For What?

last meeting group touched on some of the problems of saint louis education system. folks might find this of interest

Sunday, September 15, 2013

mineworker action in saint louis 9-24

On Tuesday September 24th, 2013 the UMWA will hold another in a series of rallies that have been held in support of the retirees of Patriot Coal (a spin-off from Peabody Coal). The UMWA continues to protest the ruling by a bankruptcy judge in St. Louis permitting the elimination by Patriot Coal of UMWA member’s retiree pension plans and health care benefits for retirees, The Rally will begin at Keiner Plaza (7th and Market Street) in downtown St. Louis starting at 10 am. What; United Mine Workers Rally Where; Keiner Plaza, St. Louis When; Tuesday September 24th @ 10:00am

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

some veto override fails in Missouri

Paycheck Deception and Radical Tax '"Reform" Bill Defeated in Veto Session Today, bipartisan opposition blocked the veto override of two dangerous bills in Missouri - Paycheck Deception (SB 29) and the radical tax reform bill (HB 253). Paycheck Deception would have taken away the political voice of Missouri's workers such as teachers, nurses and other middle class Missourians. Instead of creating jobs, some legislators wanted to play political games and strip away the rights of Missouri's workers. Thanks to support from both parties, Paycheck Deception failed to pass out of the Senate with enough votes. HB 253 is a radical tax "reform" bill that would have left the Missouri budget with an estimated at least $700 million shortfall and forced cuts to education, health care, and other public services such as transportation. While it would have substantially cut income taxes for lawyers and corporations, it would have raised everyday costs on items like prescription drugs for Missouri’s seniors and forced layoffs in school districts across the state. HB 253 was an unnecessary giveaway to the rich and powerful at the expense of working class Missourians and our children’s future. It also looks like the gun law nullication bill will fail in senate

The 2013 State of the Union Address (Enhanced Version)

Tea Party Response to State of the Union 2013: Rand Paul

Marco Rubio's State of the Union Response

Sunday, September 8, 2013

free flu shots 2013 saint louis--barnes

Monday, September 30 - Friday, October 4 8 a.m. - 6 p.m. Adult & Pediatric vaccinations (6 months & up) Center for Advanced Medicine, 3rd Floor Lobby 4921 Parkview Place, St. Louis, MO 63110 Parking is available in the North Garage and Forest Park Laclede Garage for $1.50/hr ------ Monday, September 30 - Friday, October 4 7 a.m. - 6 p.m. Adult vaccinations only (18+ years old) Barnes-Jewish Hospital, Main Floor Lobby One Barnes-Jewish Hospital Plaza, St. Louis, MO 63110 Parking is available in the South Garage for $1.50/hr

Saturday, September 7, 2013

Scientific American declares it’s against GMO labeling

Scientific American declares it’s against GMO labeling

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snip


Adding to the growing contention that to be anti-GMO is to be anti-science, Scientific American is throwing its support behind the technology. In their most recent print issue, the editors of the long-running popular science magazine penned an unsigned editorial endorsing the development of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and arguing against mandatory labels for GMO food.

GMOs, the editors argue, have been deemed overwhelmingly safe by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the World Health Organization, the European Union and the Food and Drug Administration. Far from being in the interest of consumer choice, mandatory labeling, which passed this June in Connecticut and Maine, limits our options. As proof, the editors point to Europe, where retailers, fearing backlash from consumers, have all but eliminated GMOs from their products. They don’t see this as something worth celebrating:
Americans who oppose genetically modified foods would celebrate a similar exclusion. Everyone else would pay a price. Because conventional crops often require more water and pesticides than GMOs do, the former are usually more expensive. Consequently, we would all have to pay a premium on non-GMO foods—and for a questionable return. Private research firm Northbridge Environmental Management Consultants estimated that Prop 37 would have raised an average California family’s yearly food bill by as much as $400. The measure would also have required farmers, manufacturers and retailers to keep a whole new set of detailed records and to prepare for lawsuits challenging the “naturalness” of their products.

Clerk Who Helped Exonerate Innocent Man FIRED

Thanks to new DNA evidence a Kansas City man was released from prison three decades after a wrongful rape conviction, though the 70-year-old clerk instrumental in his release was fired for insubordination. Sharon Snyder, who was fired about nine months prior to her retirement after 34 years as a court employee, was let go by a Jackson County Circuit judge in Missouri for offering legal advice to 49-year-old Robert Nelson, convicted in 1984 to 50 years incarceration for a Kansas City rape the year prior. Nelson maintained his innocence in the case since that conviction, and in August of 2009 filed a motion with the court seeking DNA testing that had not been available at the time of his trial 25 years prior, reports the AP. That motion was denied, evidently due to Nelson’s lack of knowledge of the law to make a proper case. ------- yes, Missouri has fine legal system

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Grace Hill's funding is in jeopardy : saint louis healthcare

Grace Hill's funding is in jeopardy : News

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snip

Community health centers such as Grace Hill are a linchpin of President Barack Obama’s administration’s efforts under the Affordable Care Act to eventually contain the nation’s health care costs by providing cost-effective, primary care to the poor.

But key government funding for Grace Hill and other smaller nonprofit community health centers in St. Louis is in jeopardy, while the number of people in need of free and discounted care continues to rise.
“You can’t provide the same amount of care with dollars being pulled out of the system,” said Robert Fruend, executive director of the St. Louis Regional Health Commission. “These places run lean and tight. There’s no fat in these health centers. So when you cut, you cut bone and actual service. ... Everything’s on the table in D.C. right now.”

At least 17 percent of Grace Hill’s annual budget of $33 million will evaporate unless the federal government decides to extend its “Gateway to Better Health” program, a demonstration project intended to help uninsured residents transition to an expanded Medicaid program.

If the Gateway program funding is eliminated, Fruend said, uninsured patients “will have to figure out where to get care. ... Then, the emergency rooms get more crowded. It starts that vicious cycle all over again that we were able to get away from 10 years ago.”

An additional 33 percent of Grace Hill’s budget is contingent on federal grant programs that also have come under intense scrutiny as part of the nation’s fiscal crisis.

These threatened cuts come as St. Louis ConnectCare, a key provider of specialty medical services to the area’s poor since 1998, is preparing to lay off more than half of its staff.
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good start looks like for expanded medical for poor in Missouri.  

Monday, September 2, 2013

Fracking Caused Over 100 Earthquakes In Ohio

Repo Man Destroys The Wrong House

How Labor Day was hijacked: 5 reminders of the day’s real purpose

How Labor Day was hijacked: 5 reminders of the day’s real purpose

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snip


Unfortunately, there remains one particular national holiday that gets no such respect. I’m talking, of course, about today, Labor Day.

Though we all know when this holiday is and often use it to structure our yearly calendars, the modern version of this occasion has been almost completely divorced from its official meaning. Indeed, the most prominent and pervasive Labor Day iconography usually has nothing to do with the holiday’s actual point and everything to do with discount sales events, the beginning of big-time sports seasons and the last hurrah of summer. Even in the political sphere, much of the rhetoric around this day ends up being generalized platitudes about the economy and jobs, not specific discussions about the importance of organized labor. This, despite the fact that, as the Los Angeles Times notes, “The holiday is the creation of the labor movement, which wanted a holiday to honor workers — and highlight the need for labor reform laws.”

Quite obviously, the transformation of Labor Day from a highly political occasion to specifically honor worker solidarity into an apolitical vacation day has much to do with the larger attack on the labor movement.