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StumbleLETTER TO THE EDITOR:
Industry lobbyists, cash trump needs, wants of citizens
Monday, Nov. 16, 2009 | 2:02 a.m.
The longer the battle to reform the health care system in this country, the more I realize how business is done on Capitol Hill. The “game” seems to be between the real needs and wants of hard-working constituents and the health care industry, with its millions of lobbying dollars to be given to the reelection campaign war chests of many in Congress.
The health care industry hopes to be the bigger influence in passing legislation in its favor. As outrageous as it may seem, it has been reported that hundreds of former government officials and former members of Congress go to work for this same industry — convenient and very lucrative.
It has also been noted that the health care industry has six lobbyists for every member of Congress, according to Public Citizen. Incredible! And where do they get all that money to lobby Congress? From our health insurance premiums, perhaps?
No matter what the issue may be, there is a deep-pocketed industry or special interest group, seemingly at odds with what most citizens need or want, lobbying members of Congress. And the sad part is that many in Congress are listening and taking.
Campaign finance reform is desperately needed, and another battle to be fought. As health care reform is being made unnecessarily complicated, so will campaign finance reform be made even more complicated by those trying to protect their self-interest.
If constituents are to have any influence at all with their members in Congress, and democracy is the name of the “game” in this nation, then the laws on campaign financing and lobbyists must be changed.
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hey cynthia...
bravo...
Comment removed by moderator. Off topic.
well said
also wouldn't hurt to keep congressmen from being paid by these industries after they're out
use the internet and reliable sources- we have easier access to info on these pols than we used to - vote them out, and vote in those with the least buyers
Every poll I read that has recently been taken indicates that a majority of Americans do not want national health care. I have written a number of letters to politians urging them not to paass that piece of junk. If it is not passed it is because a majority of Americans do not want national healthcare. I know that if it passes I will be out campigning against Harry Gried and Dina Titus, and I know a lot of others who will. There are still many Americans out there who prefer to take care of themselves and stay out of the parasite clsss.
Wailer, Cynthia Shiroky is a longtime Democrat and contributor to Democrats. She supported Hillary Clinton monetary in the last election but ended up supporting Obama.
In a previous post, the wailer, stated that she is a supporter of a single payer health care system.
Since the single payer system is not on the table at this time, the wailer is trying to come in the back door on her attacks on the health insurance industry.
Avoid campaign finance reform. The ultimate result is to silence the little guy. All campaign finance has done has been to increase regulations thus increasing compliance costs...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZXlPdF5x...
It has gone so far now, that the deputy AG of the United States has declared that the government has the right to ban books, not just TV ads and movies.
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/ope...
Campaign finance laws destroy free speech and squash the opportunity for the little guy to express themselves. We cannot afford the lawyers to wade through the muck and mire of hundred page regulation books and we cannot afford the hefty fines associated with breaking the law. Campaign finance is a fascist disaster waiting to happen.
There is a legal way to obtain the results for campaign finance reform that congress obviously will not want to give us, vote them out. 2010 just may be the year.
The United States is not a Democracy it is a Republic. One of the differences being that we elect officials to represent our voices.
ecm,
I'm so sick of your specious argument that the USA is a republic, not a democracy.
http://www.realdemocracy.com/demorep.htm...
ARE WE A DEMOCRACY OR A REPUBLIC?
Is the United States a democracy or a republic? Unfortunately, the answer is politically and definitively confusing. Our form of government is both a democracy and a republic. Fortunately, the debate is beginning all over again and it was started by ordinary people who feel that our government is out of control.
Dictionaries contain slightly different definitions of a democracy and a republic. However, most dictionaries agree that a democracy is government by the people, exercised either directly or through elected representatives.
A republic has two forms and definitions. A republic can be a form of government with an elected president instead of a monarch, or a form of government with an elected president and elected representatives responsible to the people.
Webster's Encyclopedic Dictionary of the English Language brings a democracy and a republic closer together by defining a republic as "a form of government in which the sovereign power is widely vested in the people either directly or through elected representatives."
Cuba's President Fidel Castro, Iraq's President Saddam Hussein and the presidents of many totalitarian governments fit the first definition of a republic. However, they are tyrannical presidents that wield the sovereign power of monarchs.
The United States fits the second description of a republic, which, combined with the definition of a democracy, makes us a republic of representative democracy or what some call a democratic republic.
enteaser - Then don't read it.
http://www.thisnation.com/question/011.h...
I think that the U.S. is a democracy now because we have Democrats in power. When we have Republicans in power, then we will have a republic.
Tell me where I am going wrong...
Enteaser,
Iraq (pre-US invasion) and Cuba are not Republics. Simply having an election does not mean they are actually elected. Part of the condition for having a Republic, or a democracy (which is more or less a generic term for a Republic these days) requires free and competitive elections.
Running against that Baath and Communist parties in either country would get you killed. That isn't free and fair. They are not Republics or democracies in our modern generic usage of the word.
ecm,
Then don't read it? So somehow, by not reading your specious argument, that makes it go away? The point is that your argument is specious...it doesn't matter when you say that the USA is not a democracy but a republic. As the link you provided in your last post says...
"By popular usage, however, the word "democracy" come to mean a form of government in which the government derives its power from the people and is accountable to them for the use of that power. In this sense the United States might accurately be called a democracy."
...and as my link said...
"The United States fits the second description of a republic, which, combined with the definition of a democracy, makes us a republic of representative democracy or what some call a democratic republic."
...your argument is specious(and stupid), ecm, so stop it!
ps. to Patrick: you're preaching to the choir
enteaser - "By popular usage, .."; so what you are advocating is that if enough people refer to any topic incorrectly that makes it correct?
While you find this argument "specious", I find it offensive that there is no respect for history. We conveniently allow people to rewrite it.
ecm,
I'm not advocating that("by popular usage"), it was your link that said that.
What I am advocating, I think I may perfectly clear, but if not, I'll repeat it..."your argument is specious(and stupid), ecm, so stop it!"
...and just to be even clearer, it was this statement of yours that I found offensive...
"The United States is not a Democracy it is a Republic."
...I've heard that for about 50 years now; it's usually utterred by someone who thinks he's smarter than everyone else, when in fact, it is a silly, or specious, statement. As your own link said, the US might accurately be called a democracy. Thank you for proving my point; in the future please refrain from proving me right; I am more than capable of doing that myself!
enteaser - You are being purposely obtuse. Did you even bother to read the link, or just scan for what you felt supported your argument? Did you not see this part "The United States is, indeed, a republic, not a democracy."?
Your belittling of my point of view does not make me feel inclined to "stop it!" However, I am inclined to stop it because there is no point in arguing with a blockhead.
ecm,
Yes I did read the link, and yes I did see the part you quoted. I didn't feel like I needed to post the entire article, but when "Arguing with Idiots" like you, I guess I do. So here's the entire quote...
"The United States is, indeed, a republic, not a democracy. Accurately defined, a democracy is a form of government in which the people decide policy matters directly--through town hall meetings or by voting on ballot initiatives and referendums. A republic, on the other hand, is a system in which the people choose representatives who, in turn, make policy decisions on their behalf. The Framers of the Constitution were altogether fearful of pure democracy. Everything they read and studied taught them that pure democracies "have ever been spectacles of turbulence and contention; have ever been found incompatible with personal security or the rights of property; and have in general been as short in their lives as they have been violent in their deaths" (Federalist No. 10).
By popular usage, however, the word "democracy" come to mean a form of government in which the government derives its power from the people and is accountable to them for the use of that power. In this sense the United States might accurately be called a democracy."
...the word "however" in the latter paragraph, overrules the definitive nature of the statement, "The United States is, indeed, a republic, not a democracy.", in the former paragraph, when it continues with the statement, "In this sense the United States might accurately be called a democracy."
And I don't care what makes you feel inclined to stop it, just so long as you stop it!
Wow. Kids, can't we all just get along?
Looks like Las Vegas Sun staff needs to do a clean up in aisle 9.
Cynthia, see what you started? Ha ah ha!
ecm, I doubt enteaser will ever listen. enteaser you need to sit in the corner and think about your behavior. Not nice. Even prize fighters hear a bell in order to take a break. DING! Consider the bell rung. Now go sit in your corner and SHUT UP.