CounterSpin Radio: David Swanson on healthcare reform, Harold Meyerson on California’s budget crisis

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This week on CounterSpin: "Obama May Have To Wait for Health Reform" explained one July 22 headline. Leave it to corporate media to take a life-and-death issue for millions of Americans and reduce it to an item on a president’s wish list. But if they’re going to mainly cover healthcare policy as inside the Beltway politicking, how good a job are they doing even of that? We’ll hear from activist and author David Swanson about the current state of play in healthcare reform efforts and what the media may have to do with it.

Also on the show: California’s budget crisis may be coming to a close and that may be good for governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and state politicians, but what about the potential crises to come, caused by a budget that severely cuts programs serving the elderly and the young, especially in the areas of health and education? And what are the prospects of any permanent solution for the wealthiest state in the union which seems perpetually broke? We’ll read more

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The Risks of a Partial Prosecution

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By David Swanson

If Attorney General Eric Holder creates a special prosecutor for torture but forbids him or her to prosecute the lawyers who facilitated torture or the top officials who ordered it, proposing to go after only torturers who exceeded the limitations outlined in the lawyers’ memos, what are the risks?

The risks for Holder could, for all we know, include being fired immediately, being asked to “resign” in three-and-a-half years, not being appointed to the Supreme Court, read more

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Healthcare and Free Press: Two Human Rights We Lack

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By David Swanson

President Obama said on Tuesday night:

“Now, the truth is that, unless you have a — what’s called a single-payer system, in which everybody is automatically covered, then you’re probably not going to reach every single individual because there’s always going to be somebody out there who thinks they’re indestructible and doesn’t want to get health care, doesn’t bother getting health care, and then, unfortunately, when they get hit read more

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How the Washington Post Spreads Democracy

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From WaPo article purportedly debunking health insurance lies:

“Private insurers have effectively engaged in rationing, so they’re doing the dirty work for everybody else,” said Jeff D. Emerson, a former health plan chief executive. “It’s a thankless job . . . but somebody has to do it or health care will be even more expensive than it is now.”

Private insurers might be better situated than the government to do the unpopular work of saying no, said Paul B. Ginsburg, read more

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Single-Payer Healthcare Gets a Vote

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By David Swanson

Congressman Anthony Weiner (D., N.Y.) has introduced an amendment in the House Energy and Commerce Committee that would replace the convoluted please-the-public-and-the-insurance-companies-at-the-same-time healthcare bill with the single-payer plan found in HR 676 and backed by 86 members of Congress. The vote has been delayed beyond Wednesday, support for the measure is growing, people are phoning in constantly, and a whip count is being kept online.

An amendment introduced by read more

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Hoyer Has Persuaded Me to Oppose PAYGO

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By David Swanson

This fact sheet from Steny Hoyer promoting PAYGO has persuaded me to oppose it. Here’s a key excerpt:

“Q. Why doesn’t PAYGO apply to funding for the war[s]?

PAYGO does not apply to any discretionary spending provided through the appropriations process, including supplemental appropriations. Discretionary spending is generally subject to the annual spending limits set in the budget resolution. Although funding for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan has been provided read more

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If Media Were Any Good

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By David Swanson

A week ago, I published a report on 1,200 photos of U.S. torture that I have examined but the public at large has not seen. I talked about the photos on a few progressive radio shows. I received calls from some advocacy groups that have been trying for years to get hold of these photos. But I received not one single inquiry from the corporate media. Even most good blogs ignored this story despite a handful of prominent blogs read more

If Media Were Any Good Read More »

Not What Obama Promised

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By David Swanson

In six months as president, Barack Obama has aggressively done the opposite of many specific things he explicitly and unequivocally promised as a candidate. A lot of these were things Obama’s fiercest opponents never wanted. And Obama’s fiercest supporters favor censoring this information. But if we expect public servants to be public servants, the public must know the facts, make of them what it will.

Here’s a read more

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