Participation, Transparency, & Accountablity - SaveOurDemocracy.org

Thomas Paine once wrote:

"There is too much common sense and independence in America to be long the dupe of any fiction, foreign or domestic. "

Democracy means literally rule by the people - and is grounded in the values of participation, transparency and accountability. It means that decisions are made from the bottom up.

What are you doing to educate your self on the issues of today?

How are you staying informed?

How are you holding your elected officials accountable?

You can start by joining http://www.saveourdemocracy.org/.

Nancy-Ann DeParle, She Knows Medicare Fraud - From WSJ.com's Political Diary

Obama's Expert on Medicare Fraud

It turns out that President Obama's Health Care czarina, Nancy-Ann DeParle, knows a lot about all that Medicare waste, fraud and abuse that Mr. Obama wants to weed out.
Mr. Obama says he can free up $500 billion to pay for an expanded middle-class health care entitlement by eliminating waste and fraud in Medicare. Many are skeptical, but at least he has an underling who knows all about the subject.

Ms. DeParle ran the Medicare program under Bill Clinton, then left to serve on the boards of several medical care companies that later were charged with Medicare fraud. Five of the companies subsequently paid out $566 million in fraud or product liability settlements, with Medicare often being the victim of the alleged fraud. Meanwhile, she earned millions of dollars in board fees.

We can thank Investigative Reporting Workshop of the American University School of Communication for this information. It conducted a multi-month investigation. In one case, Ms. DeParle joined the board of Specialty Laboratories Inc., a California medical testing company, just two months before "federal investigators suspended Medicare payments and threatened to revoke Specialty's license to operate. The company agreed to pay a $700,000 fine. . . . Specialty was also sued this year by the state of California which seeks to recover hundreds of millions of dollars for the state's Medicaid program for what [California Attorney General Jerry] Brown termed 'massive . . . fraud and kickbacks' over the past 15 years."

One should be careful in jumping to conclusions about true culpability for alleged Medicare fraud. It's not infrequent that regulators bully firms into paying penalties to avoid legal costs or remain in good standing as government contractors. In some cases, the DeParle-connected firms did not admit to fraud or the cases are still unsettled.

But the bottom line, according of the AU Reporting Workshop, is still hard to jibe with the Obama administration's verbal war on the evils of lobbying: "In touting DeParle's accomplishments when he appointed her in March, Obama didn't mention the lucrative private-sector career she built since September 2000, when she left her government job running Medicare for the Clinton administration. Records show she earned more than $6.6 million since early 2001 . . . And the public wasn't told that much of that corporate career was built at companies that have frequently had to defend themselves against federal investigations. Critics see DeParle's re-emergence as a classic case of Washington 'revolving door' syndrome, despite Obama's suggestions that he would shut that door."

By the end of the Clinton administration, Medicare fraud was estimated by the U.S. General Accounting Office to costs taxpayers tens of billions of dollars a year. This happened on Ms. DeParle's watch. It makes one wonder how this czarina is going to root out waste when so much of it piled up the last time she was in charge.

-- Stephen Moore

The Specter Steamroller - From WSJ.com's Political Diary

All-Out for Specter

The big question since Sen. Arlen Specter switched parties was just how hard his new Democratic patrons would fight to get him re-elected next year. The early answer? Hard enough that Majority Leader Harry Reid is willing to shut down the nation's business on behalf of the Pennsylvania Senator this afternoon.

Mr. Reid announced on Friday that the Senate would hold no votes after 3 p.m. today. According to CQ Politics, "His office later said that the scheduling decision was meant to accommodate a long-planned fundraiser that President Obama is headlining in Philadelphia to benefit Specter's campaign," CQ reported. And not just any fundraiser: The event will be held at the Pennsylvania Convention Center and feature many of the state's prominent Democrats, including Gov. Ed Rendell and Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter.

One of the organizers, Comcast executive and Democratic heavyweight David L. Cohen, circulated the details to potential guests in a widely reported email: The night will include a cocktail reception at $1000 per head, a special reception open to those who raise at least $10,000, and a super-special dinner for which "an individual must write (not raise) a minimum of $10,000 or raise $50,000 to attend." Attendees at the dinner, Mr. Cohen added, will get their picture taken with President Obama and Senator Specter. Organizers are hoping to raise $2.5 million.

One Pennsylvania Democrat not likely to show up is Rep. Joe Sestak. The party went to great lengths to dissuade Mr. Sestak from running against Senator Specter in next year's Senate primary. Gov. Rendell at one point promised that the Democratic congressman would "get killed" and "marginalized" and fade "into political obscurity" if he defied the party's wishes. But Mr. Sestak sensed an eagerness among the liberal base for an alternative to the party's Republican-turned-Democrat designee.

Yesterday, the now-candidate fired off a pointed response to the Reid announcement: "I urge Arlen Specter to speak with Harry Reid and ask that the Senate hold votes Tuesday afternoon, instead of delaying the public's business. This gets to a larger issue, and why I am running against the establishment's wishes, because too often it favors the powerful and well-connected who are also too often rewarded at the cost of those who are at the bottom. Can Arlen Specter -- or anyone in this fundraiser -- explain why it is okay to hold up the entire U.S. Senate to benefit his political campaign, but it's -- in Arlen's own words -- a 'court martial' offense for missing a few primarily procedural votes?"

That's a question some Pennsylvania Democrats are probably asking themselves. A Franklin & Marshall poll late last month showed Mr. Specter still leading his challenger by 26 points, even as his "unfavorable" ratings have also been rising steadily since his party switch. But party leaders appear to be doubling down. The fundraiser is part of a bigger Specter strategy to stockpile enough to cash to swamp his lesser known rival, whose greatest foreseeable challenge will be in raising enough money to remain competitive.
-- Kim Strassel

Where Does the "WE" Come from in Health Care

I felt the need to share a post from the Black Conservatives Yahoo Groups Courtesy of NYCBlackAmerican

The collective 'we' are building up massive debt in trying to keep up with health care costs. Well, let me tell you a little something about this part of the 'we'.

• For 44 years, I contributed to my own health care insurance program. When I was dissatisfied with the program, I changed it at the once-a-year option I got to do so.
• I paid social security taxes.
• I paid for medicare, Parts A & B.
• I paid my co-pays which were not reimbursed by anybody and, in some cases, had to meet a deductible before I could even begin to claim benefits.

Now, where has all that money I and my employers paid into the Medicare system gone to? Here are some of the benefits distributed by Medicare Part B using my dime: physicians' services; home health care; services and supplies , including drugs and biologicals which cannot be self-administered, furnished incidental to physicians' services, diagnostic x-rays and other tests; surgical dressings, and splints, casts and other devices used for fractures and dislocations, etc., etc.

My private insurance, which I must keep, also provides me with all of these services. I am only eligible for Medicare Part A, hospital insurance. I hope my hospital takes it [many do not]. Why do I need Medicare? I don't and did not choose to have it.

So, when Obama speaks in terms of 'we', just who is he talking about? Not me. The federal government has squandered all the money it collected from me and my employer over 44 years, and now wants to make me a party to that mismanagement. I don't think so.

Launch of a Creative New eGrassroots™ Public Policy Organization

For Immediate Release

August 26, 2009

Contact: Travis Fitzwater – Media Relations

Phone: (314) 227-1145

Email: info@saveourdemocracy.org

Web Address: www.saveourdemocracy.org

Launch of a Creative New eGrassroots™ Public Policy Organization

St. Louis, MO - A new eGrassroots™ public policy research organization formed for the purpose of promoting dialogue and discipline of the principles found in the United States Constitution, Bill of Rights, Declaration of Independence and additional Founding papers.

The group, SaveOurDemocracy.org, is a cutting-edge collaborative operation which will provide resources for the development of a well-organized educational system of advanced, factual, information-gathering techniques into mediums that are fresh, applicable and user-friendly to accommodate today’s tech savvy public. “Our goal is to provide simplified technology that allows the general public to learn and engage as their schedules permit,” says Board Chairman, MG Paul E. Vallely, US ARMY (ret) and former Fox News Channel Military Analyst.

The first order of business for SaveOurDemocracy.org will be the soft launch of its website to provide a centralized point for information for the anywhere constituent™.

"It's time take a page out of the private sector marketing playbook and start getting educational materials to the anywhere voter™" Vallely said. "SaveOurDemocracy.org will be the primary organization that will provide the tools that enable the voter to vet policy initiatives."

During their recent monthly meeting, the organization elected a board and developed an organizational plan. The mission of the group is to provide factual and usable information that is consumable and accessible to the people of the United States. Please join in our journey to Save Our Country, to Save Our Republic and to Save Our Democracy.

For more information about how to become involved in the organization, please visit www.SaveOurDemocracy.org.

Save Our Democracy.org, Inc. is a Missouri not for profit, nonpartisan organization. Contributions or gifts to Save Our Democracy.org are not tax-deductible. Funds contributed to Save Our Democracy.org will not be used to support or oppose any candidate for state or federal office and Save Our Democracy.org does not support or oppose any political party. Save Our Democracy.org is a public policy research organization formed (and existing) for the purpose of promoting discussion of the principles found in the United States Constitution and Declaration of Independence and application of these principles to present public policy issues.

Focus on the BIGGER HealthCARE Picture

Insurance is only a small part of the problem. The bigger issue is ACCESS to care. Which is the real challenge of preventive and primary care. Lot's of people have coverage, and still cannot get care, because of lack of medical personnel, the attack on the nurse practitioner (including midwifery), and advanced or modern facilities. Even those who do not have coverage, still in an emergency get CARE, IF THEY CAN GET TO IT.

A few years ago, I suffered a miscarriage. I had EXCELLENT INSURANCE. however the town where I live although has many doctors and hospitals, only one facility has an OB/GYN unit and a handful of OB/GYNs and only one taking new patients, after a 5 week wait list. There are many places across America with this same phenomenon.

I like to say that Health care today, is lacking localized medicine, and like WALMART has killed the neighborhood retailer and grocer, BIG BOX hospitals with its Hospitalists have killed the neighbood clinic! A Hospitalist, is a hospital employed doctor, so instead of having his own practice, 0r is a partner in a practice of other doctors, this doctor just gets a salary from the Hospital. In this model, the hospital worries with the basic business operations of insurance, billing, staffing, etc. related to caring for the patient. It is not necessarily like a HMO, but could at times feel like one. This model is encouraged by the lack of tort reform. Without that, then the malpractice insurance makes it unsustainable for the local health care facilities to exist.

So can we please get back to the issue of CARE, and ask our elected officials how is providing insurance going to fix this umbrella problem!!!

My $ 0.02

Tanya Callaway Crews

Under 40 Grassroots GOP We Are doing It for Ourselves!!! We are not Waiting!!!!

Sooner or later it was bound to happen! The way we get our message out Peter Cowman!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPF9-o-YHGM