Check this relationship map for details on the 10 drugs whose prices will be cut, and the multi-million dollar CEO salaries of the Big Pharma firm making these drugs. It's time to fix the system when execs make millions while millions of Americans suffer because they cannot afford the medication they need. https://thedemlabs.org/2023/08/29/medicare-price-negotiation-to-cut-10-medicare-drug-prices-biden/
The Democrats ought to go to the 18 "Biden Republicans" and tell them that the first six who vote with them on a discharge petition for a clean CR that's good till January 7, 2025 will not get a Democratic opponent next year. That way we put an end to Quiverin' Qevin's bullshit and poke the House Fwee-dumb Kawkuss in the eye with a sharp stick. It's time for the adults to send the kiddies to the kiddies' table.
How sad is it that the decision to cap the prices of a handful of drugs has to be counted as one of the "historic" achievements of President Biden on behalf of the American people.
Because "historic" it is. No administration so far has dared to stand up to Big Pharma and to the other big players in the health sector. Having lived in the US for 12 years and comparing the US to other parts of the developed world I am tempted to say that the health sector in the US is part of the organized crime, dedicated to the fleecing of America. Just one example: giving birth in Germany costs about 2.200 to 3.300 $, with complications like a cesarean it might run up to 4,400 $ (everything up to the last penny covered by the health insurance, of course). Costs in the US are different from state to state, but it starts at 5 times as much.
So why aren't lawmakers – on both sides of the aisle – all over it, demanding a change? Easy to answer – 'Citizens United' and the impossibility to pass a meaningful campaign finance reform.
Joyce Vance has pointed out that the main problem with removal is that U.S. courts don't allow cameras but Georgia courts do. Still, I don't know if even that is a big issue, considering that Kenneth Chesebro (or however he spells it) will go first, and in Georgia state court. Willis can try Chesebro this year and that will implicate everyone charged in the Fake Electors conspiracy whether they're there or not. And we can all watch it on live TV.
Judge Ho, meanwhile, proves that there really is a "deep state" in the U.S. and it's called The Federalist Society.
I have been worrying about the rumors that Georgian partisans will remove DA Fani Willis.
Now I have to worry about (yet another!) threatened government shut down with the UnFreedom bozos demanding removal of Jack Smith in order to prevent the shut down?
I truly feel that I have entered the twilight zone. That I have somehow managed to crawl out of a worm hole and landed in some alternative universe. I seem to have become Cassandra, living in a society where the minds of almost half the people have been eaten by some sort of MAGAt and turned to mush.
Rome is burning, oh wait it’s Hawaii or California. Our youth are being killed in senseless, school shootings. Our roads are crumbling. Our storms are getting stronger as the earth heats up. Still the inept Republicans in charge of our House sit fiddling and focusing on ridiculous and fruitless hearings and plans to impeach President Biden. We all need to get busy now to oust the clowns who are so effectively ruining our country.
We live in a world of contradictions. Those Governor’s who attack the Federal Government and want total states right can’t wait to declare emergencies and ask for FEMA help. Millions of voters will benefit from the pending pharmaceutical negotiations with Medicare especially seniors who are the major consumer of these drugs and the Republicans want to defund the Medicare programs. Millions of students will benefit from the recent revised student loan program which especially benefits those students who were taken advantage of my higher education institutions and the Republicans are against these programs. Trump has been indicted by grand juries made up of voters while the Republicans threaten to impeach Biden with no evidence at all. Finally major destructive weather conditions threaten large parts of this country who are already suffering from extreme heat and humidity and Republicans deny climate change. How many more examples do voters need to see and experience before they question why voting for a Republican makes no sense at all?
Excellent newsletter on all counts, Robert. And thank you very much for including coverage of climate change issues and for encouraging us to make climate change a priority by asking people to make candidates' views on addressing this urgent happening an important part of their voting decisions.
I just subscribed to Jessica Craven's Chop Wood Carry Water. I first learned of her and her work in your newsletter. I am so glad to have it. I really like her sense of humor and her hopeful approach, her emphasis on climate, and her inclusion of actions we can take on various issues in addition to climate. Thank you for leading me to her.
Re: Groundwater. All that persistent red from the Texas Panhandle into Nebraska is the "high plains" where the a majority of beef cattle in this country have lived out their final months in feedlots drinking up to 13 gallons of water a day, and eating grain raised with irrigation. About 10 years ago, when I was still working as a commodity analyst in the livestock industry, I suggested to the head of the brokerage company I worked for that I do a "white paper" on groundwater depletion, and how that was going to eventually force a shift in cattle feeding out of the high plains. I was instantly shut down, because clearly climate change was not real, and their business clients did not want to hear about it.
I think what makes us so vulnerable to politicians manipulating right wing voters is the ignorance of the voters in the workings of the law and the willingness of those politicians, many (maybe most) of whom hold JD degrees, to distort the law for the sake of confusing the voters they know won't understand. Weakness in law school instruction, and no candid self-examination by law school administration, is a problem that is going completely unaddressed. A weak link is at the law school level that is creating problems in the public's respect for the rule of law.
I will not forget this remark by civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump. "We have to be willing to fight for our children's future until hell freezes over, and then we got to be ready to fight on the ice."
On climate change, the Farm Bill is very important and should prompt a revolution in methods. Regenerative methods that restore the life in the soils increase carbon sequestration and water cycling - a significant way to address the climate and water emergencies that Robert mentioned. For a popular explanation of regenerative agriculture, see the movie Kiss the Ground. For a deeper dive, search Soil Food Web and experts like John Kempf, David C Johnson, Gabe Brown, Ray Archuleta, and Wes Jackson’s Land Institute. Biodiversity for a Livable Climate (bio4climate.org) is another excellent resource.
For some interesting work on climate change, try watching “Kiss the Ground” on Netflix. I learned a lot about the importance of soil restoration and how we can all help.
I wonder if DeSantis will seek Federal support for the hurricane that hits today? Let's see if he continues to object to the "woke" administration in Washington and their ability to funnel money and other resources to repair a damaged countryside.
Check this relationship map for details on the 10 drugs whose prices will be cut, and the multi-million dollar CEO salaries of the Big Pharma firm making these drugs. It's time to fix the system when execs make millions while millions of Americans suffer because they cannot afford the medication they need. https://thedemlabs.org/2023/08/29/medicare-price-negotiation-to-cut-10-medicare-drug-prices-biden/
The Democrats ought to go to the 18 "Biden Republicans" and tell them that the first six who vote with them on a discharge petition for a clean CR that's good till January 7, 2025 will not get a Democratic opponent next year. That way we put an end to Quiverin' Qevin's bullshit and poke the House Fwee-dumb Kawkuss in the eye with a sharp stick. It's time for the adults to send the kiddies to the kiddies' table.
How sad is it that the decision to cap the prices of a handful of drugs has to be counted as one of the "historic" achievements of President Biden on behalf of the American people.
Because "historic" it is. No administration so far has dared to stand up to Big Pharma and to the other big players in the health sector. Having lived in the US for 12 years and comparing the US to other parts of the developed world I am tempted to say that the health sector in the US is part of the organized crime, dedicated to the fleecing of America. Just one example: giving birth in Germany costs about 2.200 to 3.300 $, with complications like a cesarean it might run up to 4,400 $ (everything up to the last penny covered by the health insurance, of course). Costs in the US are different from state to state, but it starts at 5 times as much.
So why aren't lawmakers – on both sides of the aisle – all over it, demanding a change? Easy to answer – 'Citizens United' and the impossibility to pass a meaningful campaign finance reform.
Joyce Vance has pointed out that the main problem with removal is that U.S. courts don't allow cameras but Georgia courts do. Still, I don't know if even that is a big issue, considering that Kenneth Chesebro (or however he spells it) will go first, and in Georgia state court. Willis can try Chesebro this year and that will implicate everyone charged in the Fake Electors conspiracy whether they're there or not. And we can all watch it on live TV.
Judge Ho, meanwhile, proves that there really is a "deep state" in the U.S. and it's called The Federalist Society.
I have been worrying about the rumors that Georgian partisans will remove DA Fani Willis.
Now I have to worry about (yet another!) threatened government shut down with the UnFreedom bozos demanding removal of Jack Smith in order to prevent the shut down?
I truly feel that I have entered the twilight zone. That I have somehow managed to crawl out of a worm hole and landed in some alternative universe. I seem to have become Cassandra, living in a society where the minds of almost half the people have been eaten by some sort of MAGAt and turned to mush.
Stop the world, I want to get off!
Rome is burning, oh wait it’s Hawaii or California. Our youth are being killed in senseless, school shootings. Our roads are crumbling. Our storms are getting stronger as the earth heats up. Still the inept Republicans in charge of our House sit fiddling and focusing on ridiculous and fruitless hearings and plans to impeach President Biden. We all need to get busy now to oust the clowns who are so effectively ruining our country.
We live in a world of contradictions. Those Governor’s who attack the Federal Government and want total states right can’t wait to declare emergencies and ask for FEMA help. Millions of voters will benefit from the pending pharmaceutical negotiations with Medicare especially seniors who are the major consumer of these drugs and the Republicans want to defund the Medicare programs. Millions of students will benefit from the recent revised student loan program which especially benefits those students who were taken advantage of my higher education institutions and the Republicans are against these programs. Trump has been indicted by grand juries made up of voters while the Republicans threaten to impeach Biden with no evidence at all. Finally major destructive weather conditions threaten large parts of this country who are already suffering from extreme heat and humidity and Republicans deny climate change. How many more examples do voters need to see and experience before they question why voting for a Republican makes no sense at all?
Excellent newsletter on all counts, Robert. And thank you very much for including coverage of climate change issues and for encouraging us to make climate change a priority by asking people to make candidates' views on addressing this urgent happening an important part of their voting decisions.
I just subscribed to Jessica Craven's Chop Wood Carry Water. I first learned of her and her work in your newsletter. I am so glad to have it. I really like her sense of humor and her hopeful approach, her emphasis on climate, and her inclusion of actions we can take on various issues in addition to climate. Thank you for leading me to her.
Re: Groundwater. All that persistent red from the Texas Panhandle into Nebraska is the "high plains" where the a majority of beef cattle in this country have lived out their final months in feedlots drinking up to 13 gallons of water a day, and eating grain raised with irrigation. About 10 years ago, when I was still working as a commodity analyst in the livestock industry, I suggested to the head of the brokerage company I worked for that I do a "white paper" on groundwater depletion, and how that was going to eventually force a shift in cattle feeding out of the high plains. I was instantly shut down, because clearly climate change was not real, and their business clients did not want to hear about it.
I think what makes us so vulnerable to politicians manipulating right wing voters is the ignorance of the voters in the workings of the law and the willingness of those politicians, many (maybe most) of whom hold JD degrees, to distort the law for the sake of confusing the voters they know won't understand. Weakness in law school instruction, and no candid self-examination by law school administration, is a problem that is going completely unaddressed. A weak link is at the law school level that is creating problems in the public's respect for the rule of law.
I will not forget this remark by civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump. "We have to be willing to fight for our children's future until hell freezes over, and then we got to be ready to fight on the ice."
On climate change, the Farm Bill is very important and should prompt a revolution in methods. Regenerative methods that restore the life in the soils increase carbon sequestration and water cycling - a significant way to address the climate and water emergencies that Robert mentioned. For a popular explanation of regenerative agriculture, see the movie Kiss the Ground. For a deeper dive, search Soil Food Web and experts like John Kempf, David C Johnson, Gabe Brown, Ray Archuleta, and Wes Jackson’s Land Institute. Biodiversity for a Livable Climate (bio4climate.org) is another excellent resource.
I want to do more on CLIMATE! 🌎
https://chopwoodcarrywaterdailyactions.substack.com/p/chop-wood-save-the-earth?publication_id=362618&utm_medium=email&action=share
Thank you, President Biden !!! ⬇️
🌀“We’re providing everything he could possibly need. We’re in constant contact,” Biden told reporters
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/4177744-biden-desantis-hurricane-idalia-constant-contact/
Safe wishes for all my Florida peeps !💙
For some interesting work on climate change, try watching “Kiss the Ground” on Netflix. I learned a lot about the importance of soil restoration and how we can all help.
I wonder if DeSantis will seek Federal support for the hurricane that hits today? Let's see if he continues to object to the "woke" administration in Washington and their ability to funnel money and other resources to repair a damaged countryside.