Let the states run healthcare
Andrew Simons
As the healthcare debate evolves, one thing is becoming clear: Debate in this country is not what it used to be. With people caring guns and shouting down their elected officials, something needs to be done to elevate the debate beyond the yelling matches that are currently standard fare. A marketplace of ideas needs to be fair market – if it exists at all.
Some people have labeled demonstrators as “un-American.” I don’t share this thought. Anyone who is willing to carry a strong opinion is obviously a great patriot and a walking, talking advertisement for the First Amendment. The problem comes in when these people are more interested in making their opinion heard at the expense of drowning out any opposition. A debate requires both sides and a moment to rebut the arguments of the opposition. Though it’s not the law, I would argue that your right to free speech ends when it infringes on mine.
On top of all of this is the way that these town halls have headed south in terms of respect. The idea that any president, congressman or senator would allow for “death panels” in the home of the free and land of the brave is insulting, wrong and takes away from a real debate. Painting swastikas and hanging members of Congress in effigy adds nothing and intimidates the level-headed silent majority of people in this country who have probably been scared out of the debate. Their voices are now lost to us. Wyoming’s own congressman Cynthia Lummis recently said bringing arguments peaceably is a key part of the solution. In reality, the real solution has as much to do with bringing an intelligent argument as anything.
This also brings to mind recent incidents of people bringing guns to these town hall meetings and forums as a statement about the Second Amendment. I honestly don’t understand how this pertains to healthcare or contributes to support for Second Amendment rights, especially when held with signs proclaiming, “It’s time to water the tree of liberty.” This statement comes from Thomas Jefferson’s famous quote: “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.”
If organizers of these protests knew the Founding Fathers at all, they would know that politically motivated executions were most likely not what they were intending. A personal meeting or town hall event is never something that requires a gun. Intimidating people into doing your will through violence calls elections and prospective legislation into further doubt, adding possible instability to what should always be a civil debate.
In general, the solution to the increasingly unruly town hall meetings and the healthcare reform problem is to leave much of the process up to the states. If these protests are in fact being organized by outside interests, it would make the job much more complicated. Organizing protests at town halls for thousands of state representatives would be infinitely harder than focusing on forums for 535 members of Congress.
Healthcare, is a regional and, yes, personal issue. Any solution is going to have incredible resistance. If the federal government and the Obama administration would settle for an absolute minimum of federal reform and provide federal dollars to the states to implement their own healthcare plans, solutions could be found that would serve the people of Wyoming as efficiently and confidently as Californians. As it stands, the federal government seems to believe both states have exactly the same concerns, but common sense says otherwise.
This chaos has led to a multitude of healthcare bills, plans and solutions posted on the websites of senators and representatives, proposed in their respective committees, and discussed in their respective town halls – each tailored to the wants and needs of each politician’s respective district. Wouldn’t it be grand if we could actually implement these plans? Wouldn’t that solution be easier than making liars of our congressmen after the plans that won voters’ support are then cut and pasted together into a bill that no one likes? This idea should lead to a state’s rights-based solution for healthcare.
Just think about it – a state’s rights argument that incredibly doesn’t involve guns, gay marriage or wolves in Wyoming. Wyoming could accomplish a suitable healthcare solution based on all the passionate support these previous issues have raised. A few level-headed organizers are a must – those who know to fact-check their statements and press releases would be crucial to running a campaign for Wyoming-centered healthcare, thereby avoiding the mistake one Wyoming advocacy group made by calling Governor Dave Freudenthal’s support of the Real ID Act “tyranny” for superseding state authority two weeks after he announced a state sovereignty resolution.
It’s people with good intentions and a lack of knowledge and restraint that will demolish this movement. A state-run healthcare system has the potential to streamline our government and create real solutions to the problems and concerns of people more accurately than anything put forth by politicians in Washington D.C.
Andrew Simons hosts Checks and Balances, a political talk show that airs Saturdays from 10-11 p.m. on 93.5 KOCA community radio in Laramie. Simons' political experience includes managing the special election of Wyoming State Rep. Jim Roscoe D-Pinedale in 2008, along with working on two presidential campaigns and the campaign of a U.S. House candidate.
Sen. Mike Enzi and Sen. John Barrasso - Nay on Sonia Sotomayor
Enzi and Barrasso vote against Sotomayor
Meg Lanker
Monday, August 11, 2009 7:35 PM MDT
The U.S. Senate confirmed Sonia Sotomayor Thursday by a vote of 68-31 as the 111th Supreme Court Justice and the first Hispanic justice to serve on the court.
Sotomayor was sworn in Saturday by Chief Justice John Roberts.
The vote fell largely along party lines with nine Republican Senators voting to confirm Sotomayor, and 31 voting against her confirmation. Senate Democrats voted in the majority, with 59 voting to confirm. Sen. Ted Kennedy D-Mass., who is currently battling brain cancer, was not able to vote.
Both of Wyoming’s Republican senators, Sen. Mike Enzi and Sen. John Barrasso, voted against Sotomayor’s confirmation, citing concerns over the Second Amendment and abortion. “The [Puerto Rican Defense and Education] Fund, while Judge Sotomayor served in a leadership capacity, filed briefs with the Supreme Court not only supporting abortion rights, but in support of federal funds for abortion services," said Enzi, in a statement on his official website.
Enzi stated his disagreement with the organization’s positions and said, “I cannot help but wonder how Judge Sotomayor would use her experiences with the Fund to rule on a possible case before the Supreme Court.” He also cited concerns with her positions on international law and of judicial impartiality.
Sen. John Barrasso shared Enzi’s concerns over judicial impartiality in an official statement on his website Thursday. “At her confirmation hearing, Judge Sotomayor stated that her judicial philosophy is ‘fidelity to the law,'” said Barrasso. He said this contrasts “her extensive commentary over the past 15 years” and was worried that Sotomayor would value “personal experience over impartiality” in her decision-making should she be confirmed to the Supreme Court.
In a previous statement July 23, after meeting with Sotomayor, Barrasso said he had concerns on her stance on the Second Amendment and the reverse discrimination case of Ricci v. DeStefano.
According to a news release Thursday, Wyoming Democratic Party Chair Leslie Petersen said she wished to congratulate Judge Sotomayor and “wish her the best of luck as she embarks on this important journey.”
Petersen said that the Wyoming Democratic Party was “ashamed and disappointed that neither of our Senators voted for this outstanding woman.”
She said, “Today’s confirmation of Judge Sonia Sotomayor is a historic event for the U.S. Supreme Court and for the American people. Our nation’s highest court will gain a sharp mind and a highly experienced justice to its bench.”
Petersen cited Sotomayor’s “expansive legal career as a judge, a litigator and a prosecutor” as an asset to the Supreme Court. “With more judicial experience than any justice on the court in the last 70 years, she couldn’t be more prepared to rise to the monumental task of serving our country as a Supreme Court Justice,” said Petersen.
The chair of the Wyoming Republican Party, Diana Vaughan, could not be reached for comment.
Meg Lanker
Monday, August 11, 2009 7:35 PM MDT
The U.S. Senate confirmed Sonia Sotomayor Thursday by a vote of 68-31 as the 111th Supreme Court Justice and the first Hispanic justice to serve on the court.
Sotomayor was sworn in Saturday by Chief Justice John Roberts.
The vote fell largely along party lines with nine Republican Senators voting to confirm Sotomayor, and 31 voting against her confirmation. Senate Democrats voted in the majority, with 59 voting to confirm. Sen. Ted Kennedy D-Mass., who is currently battling brain cancer, was not able to vote.
Both of Wyoming’s Republican senators, Sen. Mike Enzi and Sen. John Barrasso, voted against Sotomayor’s confirmation, citing concerns over the Second Amendment and abortion. “The [Puerto Rican Defense and Education] Fund, while Judge Sotomayor served in a leadership capacity, filed briefs with the Supreme Court not only supporting abortion rights, but in support of federal funds for abortion services," said Enzi, in a statement on his official website.
Enzi stated his disagreement with the organization’s positions and said, “I cannot help but wonder how Judge Sotomayor would use her experiences with the Fund to rule on a possible case before the Supreme Court.” He also cited concerns with her positions on international law and of judicial impartiality.
Sen. John Barrasso shared Enzi’s concerns over judicial impartiality in an official statement on his website Thursday. “At her confirmation hearing, Judge Sotomayor stated that her judicial philosophy is ‘fidelity to the law,'” said Barrasso. He said this contrasts “her extensive commentary over the past 15 years” and was worried that Sotomayor would value “personal experience over impartiality” in her decision-making should she be confirmed to the Supreme Court.
In a previous statement July 23, after meeting with Sotomayor, Barrasso said he had concerns on her stance on the Second Amendment and the reverse discrimination case of Ricci v. DeStefano.
According to a news release Thursday, Wyoming Democratic Party Chair Leslie Petersen said she wished to congratulate Judge Sotomayor and “wish her the best of luck as she embarks on this important journey.”
Petersen said that the Wyoming Democratic Party was “ashamed and disappointed that neither of our Senators voted for this outstanding woman.”
She said, “Today’s confirmation of Judge Sonia Sotomayor is a historic event for the U.S. Supreme Court and for the American people. Our nation’s highest court will gain a sharp mind and a highly experienced justice to its bench.”
Petersen cited Sotomayor’s “expansive legal career as a judge, a litigator and a prosecutor” as an asset to the Supreme Court. “With more judicial experience than any justice on the court in the last 70 years, she couldn’t be more prepared to rise to the monumental task of serving our country as a Supreme Court Justice,” said Petersen.
The chair of the Wyoming Republican Party, Diana Vaughan, could not be reached for comment.
Letter to the Editor: Reminders of tyranny
In an academic (but not particularly intellectual) institution like the University of Wyoming, it might be a good idea to rename all of the University's buildings so that they can be used as talking points for future generations.
We could be the first university to turn its campus into a living monument to villainy. After naming a building after Cheney, we could name another after Nixon and then perhaps another after Grover Norquist (the Republican genius who decided to destroy America in order to save it).
Then, we could name our ROTC building after Benedict Arnold, who sold out his country because he didn't get a promotion. Certainly, President McKinley and William Randolph Hearst should be paired for blowing up the Battleship Maine as a pretext for the Spanish American War. L.B.J. should be remembered as the first of the American strong men to get us into a war solely in order to get rid of our huge inventory of weapons.
And, finally, Bush should be honored by renaming Old Main for the whole Bush crime family.
John Hanks
Laramie, Wyo.
We could be the first university to turn its campus into a living monument to villainy. After naming a building after Cheney, we could name another after Nixon and then perhaps another after Grover Norquist (the Republican genius who decided to destroy America in order to save it).
Then, we could name our ROTC building after Benedict Arnold, who sold out his country because he didn't get a promotion. Certainly, President McKinley and William Randolph Hearst should be paired for blowing up the Battleship Maine as a pretext for the Spanish American War. L.B.J. should be remembered as the first of the American strong men to get us into a war solely in order to get rid of our huge inventory of weapons.
And, finally, Bush should be honored by renaming Old Main for the whole Bush crime family.
John Hanks
Laramie, Wyo.
Rep. Lummis looking forward to August recess
Rep. Lummis looking forward to August District Work Period Meg Lanker
Wednesday, August 5, 2009 12:21 PM MDT
The U.S. House of Representatives recessed Monday for August, but for Rep. Cynthia Lummis-R, Wyo., it’s anything but a break.
The website for the U.S. House calls the break the “Summer District Work Period,” and bills it in news releases as a chance for representatives to meet with constituents, hold town hall meetings, and gear up for the next session.
Lummis said in an interview with The Underground Friday she is looking forward to meeting with constituents in Wyoming and discussing issues important to them. “I have, I believe, six town hall meetings, multiple interviews with the press and many constituent meetings,” she said.
With a vote on health care reform looming large in September, Lummis is using August to prepare for discussions on the House floor. Lummis does not support the health care plan the Democrats are proposing, and instead, supports the ten-point plan set forth by Sen. Mike Enzi R-Wyo.
“Sen. Enzi’s ten steps, which are laid out in bullet points on his website, are, in fact, extremely comprehensive, well thought-out, well fleshed-out, and have a lot of support on a bipartisan basis here in Congress,” Lummis said. “Sen. Enzi’s work is highly respected, and is based on years of experience.”
According to Enzi’s website, the “Ten Steps to Transform Health Care in America” include providing cross-state pooling to reduce health care costs and increase accessibility for small business owners, individuals, and families; increasing affordable options for families to purchase health insurance through a standard tax deduction; and emphasizing preventive benefits.
Lummis is using the time in August to read the entire proposal authored by House Democrats and said the proposal is a “1000-page plus” bill. She said she has not seen what it covers in its entirety, but said, “I do know this – it creates at least 31 new government agencies, and has a health commissioner that will decide whether the plan I have meets their criteria.”
Lummis is concerned about portability of health insurance and potential penalties to employers. “One of the employers I talked to in Wyoming, a physician’s office, went through the Democrats’ bill and found out it would be cheaper for them to pay the eight percent penalty and shift their own employees onto the government plan rather than provide the insurance they have now,” said Lummis. “The President’s express notion that if you like your insurance you can keep it is not embodied in the Democrats’ bill.”
Proponents of the health care plan disagree, including Milt Shook, a former Washington D.C. paralegal-turned-author who read the entire bill and purports to debunk many of the Republican Party’s statements on the health care bill on his website. Referring to the eight percent penalty, Shook said, “The section [on penalties to employers] only refers to any employer who doesn't offer any insurance to his employees. If they offer either private insurance or the public insurance, they do not have to pay the 8%, regardless of the size of their payroll.”
However, if the employer’s payroll is over $400,000 a year, the eight percent payroll tax would kick in, potentially affecting small business owners who may find it cheaper to pull the current insurance and not offer the government’s health care public option. In this case, an employee could enroll in the public option and pay an amount indexed to the employee’s current yearly pay.
Lummis is also worried about whether or not people could keep their current insurance in all circumstances. “Yesterday [Thursday], in the House Energy and Resources committee, a number of Republicans offered amendments to that bill to make sure the bill allows you to keep your insurance if you like it, and all of those amendments were defeated,” she said. “I have serious reservations, and am in fact, opposed to the Democrats’ health care bill as it is written now and am very concerned about the notion of a public plan and how it could bring about lower quality health care and health care rationing.”
Lummis acknowledged people are seeing somewhat of a rationing due to high health care costs, but said the plan will bring about “more serious rationing on a broader level.” She said, “My big concern is that it will not elevate opportunities for those who cannot currently afford insurance, but will instead decrease opportunities for affordable health care for those who do have insurance.”
Lummis also supports a review of the reimbursements doctors and hospitals receive under current Medicare and Medicaid fee schedules. “I know from visiting with Wyoming hospitals and Wyoming doctors that they are under-reimbursed,” said Lummis. “It’s critical, that for Medicare to perform properly, that we level the playing field in order to ensure the long-term health of the Medicare system.”
She said that fixing Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements is particularly important for Wyoming, since some providers have stopped accepting Medicare and Medicaid – reducing the number of already limited providers available to patients.
“I want our doctors and our hospitals reimbursed at rates that will allow them to continue to take Medicare patients as Wyoming people age, as our population ages,” said Lummis. “Health care reform will be my highest priority when I return in the fall.”
Numerous energy issues are on the table as well. Lummis opposed the cap-and-trade bill, called the “Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009,” and was uneasy about promises made by Democrats in the House that the bill would not increase energy costs for the average consumer.
Lummis emphasized the need for Washington to look to Wyoming for energy resources including solar power and uranium for nuclear power. “We are number one in uranium reserves and I am a big supporter of nuclear energy. It is the most abundant, zero-emissions source of energy our country has,” she said.
She cited large numbers of nuclear plants in Europe as an example of implementation that could take place in the U.S. “Currently nuclear power produces 20 percent of the electricity in this country, and without it, we will not be able to meet the kinds of standards that are required under the cap-and-trade bill,” she said.
Democrats and Republicans alike in Wyoming – and the rest of the U.S. – worry about storing nuclear waste as a by-product of a nuclear power plant, but Lummis supports other renewable energy resources such as solar and wind power, calling solar power an “efficient energy source” that Wyoming could lead the way in developing. She said, “Our moderate, cooler temperatures allow solar panels to operate more efficiently. That’s an area where I see tremendous growth for Wyoming.”
Lummis acknowledged the need for clean energy development to reduce air pollution, especially in urban areas. “Urban communities like Los Angeles do have higher rates of asthma, and that’s tied to things like automobile emissions. Whether or not a person believes in global warming, these issues must be addressed.”
She is working with other legislators to draft and sponsor numerous bills to benefit Wyoming residents. Before the House recess, Lummis introduced the “Statewide Public Television Access Act,” which will allow DISH Network subscribers in Wyoming to have access to Wyoming Public Television.
Many subscribers in Wyoming receive their public television from Denver, Salt Lake City, or Rapid City, SD. According to Lummis, federal law prohibits satellite television subscribers from receiving Wyoming Public Television, but this new bill would attempt to change that.
Lummis cited the bill as an example of reaching across the aisle in an environment that she said is divided along party lines. She is the lead sponsor, with three Democrats and three Republicans co-sponsoring the bill on public television access.
Wyoming PBS features programming relevant to the state. According to the Wyoming PBS website, one popular series, Main Street, Wyoming, highlights the uniqueness of Wyoming’s communities, history and people. During the election cycles, Wyoming PBS also features local candidate forums and debates – unavailable to those subscribers who have DISH network.
“Over half of the Wyoming counties do not get access to Wyoming Public Television. And, I believe, 18 other states are in the same boat as Wyoming – where you cannot get your own public television within the four corners of your state,” Lummis said. “When you have so many Wyoming residents getting their public television from neighboring states, it’s not possible to have a cohesive community dialogue.”
Lummis also pointed out the bill would allow for easier access to local news, weather and sports and said it did not make sense that residents don’t already receive Wyoming PBS.
August has already been packed full by Lummis’ staff with what she called a “near-campaign schedule.” She said, “I just can’t wait to be back home in Wyoming. This will be a great opportunity to get feedback from the people I represent, so when I do come back in September, I have wise counsel and good Wyoming common-sense to carry back with me.”
However, Lummis does plan to take some time to relax after a grueling House session full of discussions on controversial issues by going fishing. After describing her schedule, she chucked and said, “I would just love to be able to stand in a stream and drown a fly.”
The U.S. House will reconvene after Labor Day in September.
Letter to the Editor: When the TV is on, freedom of speech stops
TV has destroyed conversation everywhere, and yet it is only through talk that people learn much of anything. Talk, reading, writing, and thinking produce mature individuals capable of comparing and contrasting tastes and ideas. (Talking is most important). Common sense comes from common conversation about things like, "Is the govt. conning us again?", "Is Israel using us to fight its wars?" "Is Capitalism just a matter of making money?" etc. Folk wisdom comes from cliches like: "Beware of Greeks Bearing Gifts." "Oh, they must be chatting us up to be suckered again." "All that glitters is not gold" etc. Walk in any room where a TV is on and see how quickly everyone sits down and stares at it, regardless of what is on.
TV is the filthy fish tank that we all have to swim in, whether we watch it or not. Political advertising has been abolished from television in countries that understand how inherently bogus it is. If we did that here, we could shorten our campaigns down to one or two months. If we made our media non-profit, we could kill the profit motive completely and deliver a fatal blow to the idiotic ratings popularity system. Instead of producing programs that appeal to the most ignorant, we should get more programming that meets its own standards of integrity.
Media is not an industry or a public service. It is a racket in which crooks make a fortune from pandering and feeding on human weakness. It is pollution, so why should we ever give it a tip. The more lies the creeps broadcast, the more bribes and rackets they produce. Now American ignorance and weakness is despised all over the world because Americans have allowed themselves to be suckered by idiotic TV.
John Hanks
Laramie, Wyo.
TV is the filthy fish tank that we all have to swim in, whether we watch it or not. Political advertising has been abolished from television in countries that understand how inherently bogus it is. If we did that here, we could shorten our campaigns down to one or two months. If we made our media non-profit, we could kill the profit motive completely and deliver a fatal blow to the idiotic ratings popularity system. Instead of producing programs that appeal to the most ignorant, we should get more programming that meets its own standards of integrity.
Media is not an industry or a public service. It is a racket in which crooks make a fortune from pandering and feeding on human weakness. It is pollution, so why should we ever give it a tip. The more lies the creeps broadcast, the more bribes and rackets they produce. Now American ignorance and weakness is despised all over the world because Americans have allowed themselves to be suckered by idiotic TV.
John Hanks
Laramie, Wyo.
