Stephan: Thirty five years ago the U.S. and Canadian healthcare systems were very much the same in terms of their outcomes and costs. Then they diverged. Canada went to single payer and we went to the present day illness profit system. Think of it as a laboratory experiment. Two quite similar and adjacent nations, each pick a different path and, now, 35 years later we can look at how it all turned out. Please click through and look at the charts comparing them today.
Now we are going get to see how Vermont does with a system not quite as good as Canada, but significantly better than the rest of the U.S.
While the silence from most of US mainstream media remains deafening, the print and online news publication for physicians published by the American Medical Association – American Medical News – reported yesterday May 16 that Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin has scheduled a bill-signing ceremony for May 26 during which he will sign a bill approved by the Vermont Democratic-controlled legislature, with the state Senate voting 21-9 to pass it on May 3, and the House adopting it on May 5 with a 94-49 vote ‘that paves the way for the state to launch a health system approaching a single-payer model later in the decade and to create a state health insurance exchange’.
The measure creates a powerful five-member Green Mountain Care Board, members of which will determine the benefits and craft a funding plan for Green Mountain Care, a state universal health plan. The board would have wide authority over state health spending and health system reform. The bill requires the governor to nominate Green Mountain board members by Oct. 1 and the Vermont Senate to confirm them.
All Vermonters would be eligible for the plan, which would cover hospital services and prescription drugs.
Shumlin had pledged to enact […]
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WHITNEY MCFERRON, - Bloomberg
Stephan: Here is the latest on the food trend. This of course is part of the climate change trend. The increase in extreme weather events is one of its manifestations.
Wheat crops in the U.S. Great Plains are showing signs that production may plunge more than the government forecast last week as hot weather and a lack of rain erode plant quality and force farmers to harvest early.
As of May 15, U.S. winter-wheat was in the worst condition since 1996, with 44 percent of fields rated poor or very poor by the government. The National Weather Service estimates rainfall in the past two months was less than half of normal in much of Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas, where insurance adjuster David Reed said he’s had 300 farmer claims for drought damage in his area this season, already 10 times more than last year.
‘I went out to look at fields, and it looked like the tips of the heads were burnt
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Wednesday, May 18th, 2011
, - People for the American Way
Stephan: This is how the corporate takeover of the American government is being accomplished. It is just this naked.
Introduction
When state legislators across the nation introduce similar or identical bills designed to boost corporate power and profits, reduce workers rights, limit corporate accountability for pollution, or restrict voting by minorities, odds are good that the legislation was not written by a state lawmaker but by corporate lobbyists working through the American Legislative Exchange Council. ALEC is a one-stop shop for corporations looking to identify friendly state legislators and work with them to get special-interest legislation introduced. It’s win-win for corporations, their lobbyists, and right-wing legislators. But the big losers are citizens whose rights and interests are sold off to the highest bidder.
Who Founded and Funds ALEC?
The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) was founded in 1973 by Paul Weyrich, who helped build a nationwide right-wing political infrastructure following the reelection of Richard Nixon. In the same year, he helped establish the Heritage Foundation, now one of the most prominent right-wing policy institutes in the country. One year later, Weyrich founded the Committee for the Survival of a Free Congress, the predecessor of the Free Congress Foundation. In 1979, he co-founded and coined the Moral Majority with Jerry Falwell, and in 1981 he helped establish the ultraconservative Council on […]
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Wednesday, May 18th, 2011
Stephan: The media has moved on, but this important trend is only now reaching its denouement. Kloppenburg has come from some 30 points behind to lead. Even if she doesn't win in the end, this was a referendum, and a sign of what is coming. New York's 26th district special election is the next thing to watch.
Challenger JoAnne Kloppenburg leads Justice David Prosser in a Wisconsin Supreme Court recount glance.
The state Government Accountability Board is providing daily updates on the recount’s progress by precinct.
Here’s a look at where the recount stood as of Tuesday afternoon:
♦ Precincts recounted and given a preliminary review by board staff: 3,514 of 3,602
♦ Prosser’s current total: 717,264
♦ Kloppenburg’s current total: 731,845
The board reported 1,450,833 votes have been recounted, about 97 percent of the total votes cast.
Waukesha County is the last county still counting votes.
Justice David Prosser held a 7,316-vote lead over challenger JoAnne Kloppenburg before a statewide recount began April 27.
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Wednesday, May 18th, 2011
Stephan: Can there be a better illustration of the power corporations have over the Congress? Think about this for a minute, and imagine to what good use this money could have been put.
It will be interesting to see what happens to Democratic senators Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, Ben Nelson of Nebraska and Mark Begich of Alaska, who voted to retain these oil handouts. That will tell us something about the public perception concerning the fairness of wealth distribution in the U.S.
The corporations through their Republican agents are banking that, once again, they can use the smoke screen of guns, abortion, and gays to get their real agenda through.
The U.S. oil and gas industry survived an effort to repeal $21 billion in tax breaks over 10 years as three Democrats broke with Senate leaders who said the revenue should go to reduce the federal deficit.
Supporters fell short yesterday of the 60 votes needed to advance the bill after Republicans said the legislation would raise gasoline prices and increase dependence on foreign oil. Fifty-two senators supported proceeding and 48 were opposed, including Democrats Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, Ben Nelson of Nebraska and Mark Begich of Alaska. Maine Senators Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, both Republicans, joined the Democrats.
Democrats said the oil companies can afford to give up the tax benefits after their combined first-quarter profits exceeded $30 billion. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said he would work to revive the measure in budget talks with Republicans, who are trying to cut more than $6 trillion in spending.
‘Instead of defending oil companies, Republicans should be defending the American taxpayer,
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