Congress

Why I'll Vote on Tuesday

MarkM — Sun, 31 Oct 2010 12:08:20 -0700

I have to admit it. I’ve been totally grossed out by the political chaos that has flooded the United States this fall. I stopped watching the Daily Show, gave up on reading New York Times editorials, and ignored big speeches by our President.

But last week, my wife and I watched the Ken Burns documentary on the American Congress. If you have not seen it, the film takes you on a two hour trip from the very beginning of the American Government until the mid ‘80s. Frankly, it’s a frightening journey. The Revolution, the Civil War,Civil Rights, the Bosses from the industrial revolution. Such a peril filled fight from the very beginning.

But somehow, hearing Woodrow Wilson say “the government, which was designed for the people, has got into the hands of the bosses and their employers, the special interests. An invisible empire has been set up above the forms of democracy,” was not depressing, it was encouraging. After all, workers were protected and new laws passed on monopolies. Government governed, and it got some things right.

After the film, my wife and I walked slowly home, passing through the block of arboretum-like State Capitol grounds in central Columbia. We stopped to join a rally being held at the Capitol building to support Gay teens who were being/had been bullied and abused. As my wife and I stood holding rapidly melting white candles, trying not to let wax drip on our shoes, I was struck by the hundreds of South Carolinians who had turned out for the event. In fact, the building itself had been transformed, as rainbow streamers covered the front and purple lights glowed on the tall bank of white marble stairs.

This is the same building that my family and I marched on ten years earlier, in protest of the red Confederate battle flag flying over its dome and hung inside its Congressional chambers. Ten years later the flag is down and rainbow banners cover the stairs. Not bad.

So I’m slipping out of my burnout, like a snake slipping an old skin. I’m not delusional. I don’t expect change “I can believe in” to happen overnight. The United States is in a perilous place, fighting two wars,dividing ourselves at home, and facing a national bankruptcy. But! We have been in similar places before. We still exist. I’m part of this crazy system and on Tuesday, I’m going to vote.

We did it!! The LRA Bill passes through CONGRESS!

Invisible Children — Fri, 14 May 2010 16:15:28 -0700

On Wednesday, the House of Representatives passed the LRA Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act, by voice vote without a single objection.

Over the course of 30 minutes, seven Congress members spoke on behalf of the bill, calling on President Obama, in response to the atrocities being committed in central east Africa, to form a plan to remove Joseph Kony from the battlefield. Eight additional Members of Congress submitted written statements expressing their support for the bill.

Can you believe it? The leaders of our nation, for 30 MINUTES, stated and restated the atrocities committed by Joseph Kony and the urgent need for a strong response from the United States.

As if that weren’t enough, America’s young activists got their recognition too.

We can still only marvel that the youth of America made so much noise that their Congressmen and women felt compelled to mention their efforts on the floor of the House of Representatives.

We celebrate this victory with our partners Resolve: Uganda and Enough Project. You can be sure that at 3:30 PDT yesterday, the entire Invisible Children office was gathered in the conference room, breathlessly watching history be made. (The picture below was taken right after Invisible Children was mentioned by name, hence Jason’s ninja kick)

We celebrate this victory wholeheartedly, but we know that our work is not yet finished. Now we must pressure the Obama Administration to follow through on this important mandate, to set a precedent for justice, and to protect these children who have too long been trapped in a war against their will. We will see them come home.

This victory is yours, and we want you to know everything that there is to know.

This Q&A was put together by Resolve Uganda will answer every question you have about the significance of the bill and what will happen next.

This 2-minute highlight reel cuts together some of the most spine-tingling portions of the speeches. Be proud. They are talking about you

This video express our thanks to you, our supporters, and illustrates just how much has been accomplished since The Rescue.

LOVE,

Alex and the ENTIRE IC Team.

Will the real healthcare please stand up

Kristin Ritzau — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 23:11:28 -0700

There’s no perfect plan – there I said it. At least some people though are trying to find a plan. I’m sick to death of politics and even more tired of one sentence Facebook comments that start debates where people say things they would never say face to face or don’t understand.

Congress and Facebook have a lot in common. There is a lot of time spent on things that should not occupy that much of our attention and not enough time spent on issues that need our utmost commitment, awareness, and dedication. We have all but forgotten to work together.

One politician took to his blog this week rallying the Republicans to bring Obama down with his healthcare plan: “Go for the kill,” he said. Enough already. Why not invest your energy into a bipartisan plan instead of spewing venomous words that further cut into an already deeply divided nation? Why don’t we write letters to our representatives asking them to put down their paper and electronic swords and start working together – aren’t we on the same team? Maybe then our nation could stand firm on something again that is meaningful because right now all of the pundit and bobblehead chatter are cracking the foundation.

I received a bill in the mail yesterday from an Ear, Nose, and Throat doctor for $145. I was there for 12 minutes. I am one of the “lucky ones” with insurance, but even with PPO, I have to go to certain doctors who are in-network or I am billed for things like this. It was an ear infection, plain and simple. Water was lodged in my ear and as it turns out, when left there too long, fungus can grow (I know TMI, but there you have it). Only a specialist can fix this. So on my insurance company's website I looked up who I could visit and went.

Little did I know the doctor I saw was in the process of suing my insurance company because he wasn’t contracted with them anymore and hadn’t been taken off of the list. On June 18th, he was still on the list, so I handed the receptionist my insurance card and she took it. As of yesterday, he’s not on the list anymore, thus I got a bill… for $145. I was told by the billing department of the doctor’s office that I could sue the insurance company. The insurance company told me I had to take it up with the doctor – my earache was turning into a giant headache.

In my mind this cat and mouse game shouldn’t be this hard – period. Yes, I get that doctors need to get paid, but $145 to clean out an ear and give me some ear plugs – seriously?

A couple of years ago I was sent to specialist after specialist when my muscles began twitching in my fingers and legs. They wanted to rule out the scary stuff. Each month, although insured, the bills rolled in. Our budget for health for one part time employee and one full time employee with benefits was over $500 … a month. We spent over $7,000 that year alone on healthcare and we’re supposed to be at our peak of health as young adults.

Getting sick now seems like a last resort. We eat organic; we take vitamins; we are health freaks. We wait out to see how bad a virus or infection will get to postpone the inevitable – the bills. We have tried natural remedies, Chinese herbs, and every kind of alternative nutty thing you could think of. We went "Western" too and tried the antibiotics and presciptions. But here we are stuck with costly medical treatments from various conditions.

I have a thyroid disease and this past December I finally took a pill that was smaller than the size of a baby aspirin to radiate it away. It was an extremely tough choice that took me a year to decide to do it. I explored all my options. In the end we went with what did make sense to us, but also what was the cheapest. That little radioactive pill cost us under $100, but to walk into the hospital, take the pill while the doctor watched to make sure I swallowed, and walk out (total time = 9 minutes) cost someone almost $4,000. I was glad I had insurance – it’s great when it works, but when it doesn’t, it’s awful.

Healthcare is one of the top reasons people file for bankruptcy and it’s not okay. It’s not okay when a mother questions taking her infant to the ER when she thinks he has developed pneumonia in the middle of the night for fear of the bills. It’s not okay when a person with serious medical needs becomes a pawn between the insurance company and doctor’s office. It’s not okay that a single dad working 3 jobs to support his family can’t afford insurance, and then is called lazy by some. It’s not okay that they system is F-ed up. (Oh how I really want to write that word).

So no, there is no perfect plan, but there needs to be a better one. One where medical facilities and insurance companies are not for-profits. One where people are people for richer or poorer, for better or worse, in sickness and health. We have divorced the idea in favor of green paper with dead presidents. We have forgotten what commitment truly is – to the sick, to the poor, to the orphan. We don’t know what it looks like to work together.

Here is my letter (and my cry): Please, please learn to work together in legislature and in your neighborhoods, not in a condescending way, but in a way of equality and good old fashioned citizenship. As humans let’s learn what humanity is once again and put the care back in health.

Congressman Pushes for "The Year of the Bible." You're Joking, Right?

John Barry — Sat, 23 May 2009 02:13:11 -0700

It's no joke. With the onslaught of the second great depression, Republican Congressman Paul Broun from Georgia has decided to push for a bill that will make 2010 the Year of the Bible. Year of the Rat (2008), Year of the Ox (2009), and now the Year of the Bible?

With Congress' approval, Ronald Reagan made 1983 the year of the Bible. And Broun wants to bring back this super hip, retro Christian idea. (Maybe we can bring back ‘80s music, tight jeans and huge hair while we're at it.) When Jewish and Atheist congressmen and congresswomen read Broun’s bill, they freaked out. A few even threw political temper tantrums, which must have been fun to watch.

What's hilarious about the reactions to this bill is that Jews share 39 sacred biblical books with Christians, but Jewish congressmen have been some of the most outspoken people against this bill. Unless someone from the Jewish faith is infuriated because of the church and state issue, I can’t wrap my head around why they would oppose this bill. But, even if separation of church and state causes someone to oppose this bill, there is still a problem with their understanding of the usage of the Bible. People and organizations outside the church use the Bible as well. There are even whole non-profit societies dedicated to studying the Bible that are not religious at all, like the Society of Biblical Literature.

What is fascinating about this whole fiasco is not the bill itself, but the reaction. Atheist leaders all over are saying that they are not even worried because church growth is declining and atheism is on the rise. “Right now, we’re seeing atheism on such a rise,” said David Silverman, vice president and national spokesman of American Atheists. I don’t know about you, but Silverman’s remark sure sounds like it stems from a cultic religion to me. Just replace the word atheism with Mormonism and suddenly things sound a little different, “Right now, we’re seeing Mormonism on such a rise.” When you read it with that word substituted, it’s jarring, isn’t it? Atheists aren’t worried because their religion is growing.

To be quite frank, I think the bill is nonsense and makes Christians look stupid. But at the same time I am all for anything that gets people to read the Bible. No matter what side you take, I think we can learn some things from the bill proposal. Broun recently said, “we must … not forget to protect and celebrate our fundamental freedoms that the Bible has influenced.” Broun is right. The Bible (directly and indirectly) influenced the constitution and the bill of rights. The Bible was at the center of moral and religious thought of the century, and continues to be so; even if atheists wish to deny it. The morals in the Bible have infiltrated culture so deeply that we don’t even notice them anymore. Where do you think the golden rule came from?

Are you okay with the Year of the Bible bill? Would you sign it? Does it make Christians look stupid? Does it accomplish anything for our nation? Drop a comment and let me know.

Source: Victoria McGrane, "The Bible bill?"

Obama's Fat Tuesday

Craig Detweiler — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 01:39:04 -0800

On Fat Tuesday, President Barack Obama challenged us to tighten our belts. He called us to live responsibly right when revelers in New Orleans have traditionally let it all hang out. In the official Republican response to the President’s address, even Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal urged restraint while his state celebrated. Lent came early to Washington, DC and our nation. But will we really adopt an economic Slimfast?

Ash Wednesday kicks of forty days of fasting and penance. Lent is a time of scaling back, of cutting out the excess. The question often becomes, “What are you giving up for lent?” Red meat? Chocolate? Video games? We take a break from our routine, pausing to remember the few things that matter. We prepare to celebrate Jesus’ resurrection.

As the Christian community ushers in a season of sacrifice, America is going through a bit of soul searching. All kinds of institutions are adopting LEAN measures to respond to the economic crisis. How have we all overindulged? What distractions and excess do we need to pare away? President Obama made no overt connections between his address to the nation and the forty days of lent. But when have we experienced such remarkable alignment between a religious season and a national mood?

Despite Obama’s optimistic tone, we all recognize that we’re in for much more than forty days of fasting. It may take years to restart our economic engine. So in the meantime, what are you giving up for Lent? What sacrifices will we all be making for the sake of our economic survival?