ON THE ROAD AGAIN.

When I left Oregon, I put in a couple of hours working on this bridge across Evans Creek. Not that I could help very much. Now, it looks like the bridge has bigger problems, according to emails I've received.

I have nice neighbors there and they keep me in the loop. Today, I'm headed back to Oregon and luckily Jim is here to hold down the fort because the Butte Fire recovery helpers, dedicated volunteer Sara Watson, and her husband, is coming to pick up, four barbeque pits, one picnic table, two smaller tables, shingles, building blocks, pavers, my old sink, plastic chairs, umbrellas...little stuff. Suffice it to say downsizing has its rewards. And, I like that my things are going to the right place.

I'm very admiring of this young woman who says, her house is a mess, but its okay. "We've got a house."  Their house was in the path of the fire, but missed. So, she trudges on, helping others, temporarily neglecting her own needs until she can help the families on her list.

What a great community to live in. People always rally for their neighbors. Giving also has its rewards.

So, I'm on the road again, temporarily. Yesterday's blog elicited this comment:

An interesting piece on contributions and politics. So you really don’t think it’s wise to keep upping the ante as regular folk to counter the wealthy contributors in some fashion? I reckon the change/ movement or responses needed are far deeper and there is a need to address our circumstances in a manner that a $100 here or there by individuals will do much.

I answered in detail:

I’ve done it. And, I no longer do it. I send a note saying when you get rid of Citizens United, I’ll be glad to donate. Presidential races are an exception. I do send cash for my chosen candidate. It has been shown that brave and courageous people can win elections in spite of millions of Koch etc. money, but it is definitely harder. Instead I donate to the organizations that help by pushing various bills that I agree with, and push those same legislators for change. I send money to Public Citizen, American Civil Liberties Union, Natural Resources Defense Council, Earth Justice, Forest Service Employees for Ethical Environment, Free Press, NPR, and National Public Television; Planned Parenthood, Common Cause. I donate to trusts that buy up land to hold property in perpetuity for the public. Anything that gets the issues before the public and pushes. They are working on the ground and have the best chance of leveraging change with those dollars. I have a long list. I can’t donate to all of them at the same time but when an important issue comes up, like fracking and the Keystone pipeline, I’ll monetarily support those fighting on the ground against it. Same goes for political issues, like hold Goldman Sachs and Wall Street accountability. I'm glad she asked.

IT IS WISDOM AND NOT GOLD WHICH IS THE REAL CROWN OF LEADERS.

VETERANS DAY

According to my calendar, today is actually Veterans Day, though yesterday was celebrated as such, with many companies giving the day off from work. A nice respite for veterans and those who honor them with public accolades, speeches and parades. We all have friends or relatives who are veterans and these days its easier to use electronic media to wish them well and thank them for their service. But, it would be nice to take an active part in protecting them from predatory lenders. This advice comes from Public Citizen.

We honor the sacrifices made by servicemen and servicewomen, but being ripped off by predatory lenders — many of whom prey specifically on residents of military bases — should NOT be among our veterans’ sacrifices.
The Department of Defense has the authority to rein in the unpatriotic predators who gouge service members.

Service members are targeted by “payday” lenders because military rules require them to maintain good finances, but the realities of service — such as sudden relocations to different parts of the country — often result in unanticipated expenses.

Meanwhile, forced arbitration clauses buried in the fine print of the terms for these high-interest (as in 500 percent) loans mean that our troops are denied their right to a day in court.

The Military Lending Act is supposed to protect service members from banking abuses. The sad truth is that industry lobbyists poked loopholes in the 2007 law that are big enough to drive an armored personnel carrier through.

Now, the DoD is working to close these loopholes — and is accepting comments from the public for a limited amount of time.

Add your name to Public Citizen’s comment urging the Department of Defense to stop predatory lenders who prey on our armed forces. Click here: http://action.citizen.org/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=12622

Thank you,
Rick Claypool
Public Citizen’s Online Action Team
action@citizen.org

PUBLIC CITIZEN COMEDY, WHY NOT?

We’ve moved from Vancouver to the Long Beach peninsula where they have a 28 mile long “garage sale.”  Everyone sets out their wares along the road for the world at large. Must be a fun affair for the sellers. I can imagine  the barbeques and tailgate parties as neighbor greets neighbor, and everyone kind of looks over the offers. And, I can imagine the fun junk to be found here. But, darn, the weather has not been cooperative.  Maybe I could use a flash trip to Los Angeles  next month where political comedy is planned. I’ll tell you about it.
Public Citizen has earned a reputation as the countervailing force to corporate power in America.  It seems like everyone I know complains about the power corporations have exerted over our political process. Public Citizen does some heavy lifting on our behalf, which is why I support them. But hear yea, hear yea!
On June 12, Public Citizen will be traveling far outside the Beltway to Los Angeles, where their favorite progressive comedians are getting together to celebrate Public Citizen’s 40th anniversary:
Stand Up For Main Street: An All-Star Comedy Benefit for Public Citizen
This star-studded event is being organized by Public Citizen board member and Hollywood comedy writer Steve Skrovan to raise awareness of and support for our work.
I wanted to make sure you knew about this event, one of several around the country in which creative and influential people are rallying behind Public Citizen.
I’m hoping to help  get the word out about Stand Up for Main Street by blogging this event to intelligent people who care, (the readers of my blog, of course.)
And if you’ll be in Los Angeles on June 12 — or if you have friends and family there — click here to get your tickets!
They have a dynamite lineup of comedians, including:

• Bill Burr (“Chapelle’s Show”)
• Jeff Garlin (“Curb Your Enthusiasm”)
• Dom Irrera (“The Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson”)
• Andy Kindler (“The Late Show with David Letterman”)
• Paula Poundstone (NPR’s “Wait wait … Don’t tell me!”)
• Hal Sparks (“Queer as Folk”)
• Roy Zimmerman (satirical songwriter)
• And more!

All proceeds from Stand Up for Main Street benefit Public Citizen
Hey, sounds like fun. Hope they record it so if you can’t make it you get to see some of it.
Ciao

UNITED STATES OF CORPORATE AMERICA

I guess the Supreme Court wasn't satisfied with ruling that a corporation has the same rights as a citizen. They've struck another blow at you and me babe!
In a new ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court has allowed Big Business to deprive us of our best weapon to fight back if we are cheated or harmed by corporate wrongdoing.
From my own personal experience, some time back I joined an expensive dating service called Its Just Lunch. They stiffed me before my contract was up. They quit matching me for dates. Of those they did provide, there were many contract violations, such as, I wouldn't have to drive over 40 miles to meet a date, no local people as promised, no one in my age group to date. When I complained, I got bawled out. Then they closed their office and were gone. I couldn't even get a return phone call from them. With some diligent searching, I found them in Florida, but couldn't get any answer but a machine. I couldn't afford to take on a big corporation for my $1100. When I went online, I found hundreds of people who were stiffed by  Its Just Lunch.
The court’s 5-4 decision Wednesday in AT&T v. Concepcion permits corporations to use consumer and employment contracts to take away your right to join class-action lawsuits.
You’ve likely entered into “agreements” like this without even realizing it. When you bought a cell phone or rented a car. When you opened a bank account, got a credit card or refinanced your mortgage. Or, even when you got hired at your job.
You didn’t get to negotiate the terms of these contracts. If you needed that car or that job, you signed on the dotted line. And unless you’re an attorney, you probably can’t make sense of all the legalese anyway.
Many of these contracts include what is known as binding mandatory arbitration clauses.
But in actuality, forced arbitration does not provide the protections of traditional trials, including the ability to gather information from corporate defendants. And the largest arbitration firms are heavily biased in favor of Big Business and against consumers.
So, what our Supreme Court has ruled, protects corporations interests while denying us the right to join together to seek justice in a court of law. How convenient. Now, you can bet, that every contract that hasn't had a forced arbitration clause, soon will. Hey, its a freebie for them, why not?

I lament what I used to be so proud of, the United States of America, by the people, of the people, for the people.The Supreme Court took away fair elections, and now the right to redress harm as a group,  looks like they intend to cripple the America we know.  Isn't a corporation a group?
Makes me sick.
If it angers you, try contacting Public Citizen, the only group working for you and me, public citizen.

HEALTH CARE RANT

From a public non profit organization, Public Citizen Health Research Group, comes this insightful information via Dr. Sidney Wolfe. He spoke before a Subcommittee on Health at a hearing on Health Insurance.
"The real question is, why should we tolerate the fragmented, highly profitable, administratively wasteful private health insurance industry any longer?" questions Wolfe. To paraphrase his comments, he states the public is way ahead of either Pres. Obama or the congress in its distrust of the health insurance industry. The Congress, on the other hand is writing them into the legislation. They want us to believe health insurance companies and the pharmaceutical industry will be good citizens and voluntarily lower prices.
In the last 30 years there are three times more doctors and nurses, and 30 times more health administrators. Administrators do not provide any care. The drug companies and insurance companies make more money with a frangmented, uncontroled system that allows them to not insure "unprofitable" people and let the the public (that's you and me) take care of them. 30 other countries have adoped centralized health insurance coverage which reaches as high as 96% of their people by throwing out the health insurance industry that obstructs care. Countries who do this get high coverage at cheaper cost then we now know. So, what model should we follow? A failed, fragmented policy or a practical single payer program that does the right thing by the people of Canada, Taiwan, New Zealand, most of Europe, Iceland, Japan, Korea, Mexico and Turkey?
Public Citizen's Dr. Woohandler's testimony before the same Subcommittee on Health Insurance, pointed out that 62 % of bankruptcies in this country are related to health care. And 50% of those bankrupt families HAD health insurance. Dr. Woolhandler went on to say that private insurance is a defective product. It would take vast government expenditures to support America's uninsured under the current system. It would save $400 billion annually by using single-payer reform just to shrink the health care bureaucracy.
It angers me that good health care is so fundamental to a successful society, and here we are with too many congressional "leaders" taking money from the health industry lobby that is doing it's best to befuddle the picture. My neighbors and friends are mad as hell and believe me, the voters are going to have the last say. Hopefully, it won't be too late for a single-payer reform that has teeth.