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Originally Posted on June 16, 2017
As of Wednesday, June 14, nearly two hundred members of Congress agreed to file a lawsuit against Donald Trump, citing a violation of the emoluments clause. This suit is directly related to the President's refusal to disclose financial information, which may include gifts from foreign powers, gifts that the Legislative branch must consent for him to receive. Meanwhile, multiple investigations are underway to explore ties the administration has to Russia, including the possibility of treason. Attorney General Sessions has come under fire for failing to initially disclose, under oath, meetings with Russian officials and later claiminghe cannot recall said interactions in a Congressional hearing. With legal pressure ramping up against the Executive Branch, activist groups around the country are banding together for a nationwide Impeachment March on July 2nd.
Join the Metro-Detroit Political Action Network at noon on Sunday in downtown Detroit to show Congress that Presidential impeachment has not just the consent, but the enthusiastic support of the people! Activists will gather at the Joe Louis Fist, on the corner of Woodward and Jefferson, for a rally before taking to the streets. Loud voices welcome, signs encouraged.
Even without the suspicious relationship to Russia and violations of the Emoluments Clause, President Trump has done enough in his time in office to warrant removal from it. His travel ban has seen multiple defeats in court, and succeeded only in fomenting racism towards Muslims and refugees fleeing countries under seige by extremist insurgents. He mobilized Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to enact mass deportations of residents in America, a policy that finally struck Michigan. This week, ICE detained roughly 80 Iraqi Christians in Southest Michigan, at times raiding churches on Sunday, where the community gathered for worship. A return to Iraq could be a potential death sentence, due to religious persecution in the country.
The President furthered his assault on humanity by gutting regulations meant to protect the environment, including an executive order that removed protections on the country's waterways from waste dumping by coal plants. He's also attempting to sabotage healthcare by refusing to pay cost-share reductions to insurers, meant to protect low-income enrollees in the Affordable Care Act. This move effectively creates the crisis Republican Members of Congress are using to justify an ACA repeal.
Should that not be enough, his Presidency is costing taxpayer's an extraordinary amount of money. Congress has allocated $120 million dollars in additional security spending to protect Trump and his family when away from the Washington DC. Half of that sum covers reimbursements to New York City and Palm Beach County, where he elects to take up residence instead of his traditional quarters in the White House. With that in mind, Impeachment and removal from office could be a cost saving move for America.
If these issues or a litany of others are a concern, join MDPAN on July 2nd in downtown Detroit, and demand that Congress kicks this administration to the curb!
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Originally Posted on June 18, 2017
As GOP members of Congress seek to furtively remove healthcare for millions by gutting the Affordable Care Act (ACA), to create tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, Congressional Democrats are striking back with HR 676. Authored by Representative John Conyers (D-MI-13), the bill is designed to expand Medicare to cover the basic medical needs for all citizens. However, Representative Sander Levin (D-MI-9), has yet to endorse the bill. A joint effort was staged between the Young Democrats of Michigan and Michigan for Revolution to rally at Levin's truncated town hall meeting in Madison Heights to find out why, and urge him to support HR 676.
A crowd gathered on the hill in front of the Local Plumber's Union 98 building in advance of the meeting, waving signs demanding healthcare for all and that the representative not back any military spending increases. Congressman Levin met with the protesters for fifteen minutes, prior to the start of the town hall. There, he was peppered with questions about why he wouldn't support Medicare for all, single payer or universal healthcare. While Levin did not explicitly refuse support, he stated repeatedly that his goal was to protect ACA and fight the GOP's attempts to eliminate it. "There is a real question of whether or not Levin actually supports Medicare for All in principle, or is just using the ACA as an excuse," said Sam Pernick, organizer for both the Young Democrats and Michigan for Revolution.
Speculation ranged among the petitioners as to why Levin would not back the bill, or the concept of universal healthcare, despite support from fellow Democrats in Congress. One potential reason is that he was one of the legislators who drafted the ACA and had a vested interest in protecting that bill, in particular. During the conversation with constituents outside the meeting, the closest he came to backing universal healthcare was by reintroducing the Public Option, an initial feature of the ACA stripped by Congressional Republicans. Another potential reason is revealed by his campaign finance data. For the 2016 election, Levin received $191,000 from insurance PACs and $154,500 from health professional PACs, which creates over $300,000 in vested interest to maintain the healthcare status quo.
Once inside the meeting, Levin began by addressing the recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrests of Iraqi Christian immigrants. He spoke with the regional director of ICE, who claimed to not know where the order came from, and a verbal agreement between the Trump administration and Iraqi government to accept those deported was cited as a potential catalyst. Levin elaborated that most Chaldean residents arrested were being separated from their families here. The pretense the ICE used for taking them lay in criminal offenses decades in the past, many of which were non-violent drug offenses. The representative finished his speech by stating he will take a strong stance against these deportations, and was met with thunderous applause.
Further concerns were addressed as the Congressman stated his opposition to Trump's proposal to increase the Pentagon budget by $54 billion. He went on to express that "Donald Trump is not a threat because of his personality, he's a threat because of what he stands for," as a segue into his desire to renegotiate the NAFTA deal and reject the Trump budget plan in totality. Worker's rights were a major point of emphasis in Levin's speech, as American workers are being forced to compete with countries that forbid their employees to unionize and force them into wages as low as $2 per hour.
During the Q&A portion of the meeting, pressure to embrace Medicare for All and the concept of universal healthcare ramped up again. Several constituents asked about clarification for his stances, Levin reiterated his desire to protect the ACA and support of a public option. In Levin's view, standing against Trump and the GOP help reveal who Democrats are as a party, and "where they are wrong, we have to be very clear what we stand for."
Some constituents disagreed, and considered universal healthcare a viable rally point. Said one: "We have been missing the mark, in the Democratic party. We have a responsibility to make that [healthcare for all] happen...I have to give my children hope for tomorrow, hope for a future where I may not be there. I have to let them know that we have something, we have a vision, and you are responsible for driving the vision."
While the cheers greeting that particular constituent were not enough to sway Levin, the rallying contingent felt it was a productive first step. Regarding the next step, Sam Pernick said "We have asked Congressman Levin for a 'progressive town hall' to discuss issues critical to the progressive movement and to the democratic party." With a strong showing of popular support, Levin may be convinced.
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#MI9thDistrict #medicareforall #universalhealthcare #sanderlevin #healthcare #nafta #ACA #publicoption #youngdemocrats
Dear #republicans, why are you so intent on taking people's #healthcare? 5 failed attempts to #repeal #obamacare as opposed to #fixing it. #healthcaredebate #healthcareaccess #aca #universalhealthcare
Proposal to discuss: #support for #universalhealthcare should be a #litmustest for #democrats from now on. #democrat #democraticparty #medicareforall #aca #healthcare #healthcareisaright
#thankyou senators #susancollins #johnmccain #lisamurkowski for your no #votes and for doing what is right over what is politically expedient. #healthcare #healthcarereform #obamacare #aca #maverick #medicaid #medicare
Over the last few months, I have taken part in a number of ad hoc online discussion on facebook and other places about health care. In a number of cases I was responding to the challenges of conservative friends. I've tried to pull that content together here.
Ethics: Is health care a right or a privilege?
Many folks have said that health care isn't a right. Its an interesting argument. If health care is a privilege and not a right than are conservatives saying health care is only for the privileged? The people without health insurance are not the poor (they are covered by Medicaid). The people without health insurance are working folks who aren't poor enough to get Medicaid and aren't well off enough to afford health insurance. If its not a right, who should go without? Who makes that decision and by what criteria?
These fundamental questions seems to be a stumper for folks on the right. With such an argument, you put the honus back on the conservative position to determine who should go without. Should people go without health care simply because they can not afford it? Essentially we ask, Who among us would deny essential health care simply because of their financial position? Such questions are unsettling not only because they reveal the conservative position as heartless, but also because we have long established our Western system of ethics around health care through the Hippocratic oath. Doctors are obligated to provide care through such an oath as it provides much of the basis for our medical establishment today.
In so many of the arguments you will not hear anything about guaranteeing affordable coverage for all, nor confronting big insurance companies that deny or drop coverage, or anything about accountability for insurance companies within the system. Rather the Right has thrown together a series of dishonest proxies such as death panels, socialism, Nazism, and other ridiculous bogeymen. Associating the ethical goal of covering all Americans with such, riles up a populist sentiment among the radical right, but such hyperbole easily falls by the wayside when confronted with both rational arguments and facts.
As President Obama stated in speech to Congress, providing health care is about our moral character as a nation. Every other civilized country (and plenty of uncivilized ones) in the world guarantees health care to their citizens. The United States joining the world in guaranteeing health care to citizens is as statement of our fundamental moral values and ethical principles. Fundamental to achieving life, liberty and happiness is that your health is maintained through both your own personal maintenance of health and the guarantee that should you get sick, medical care will be available to you.
Next time: Economics - Is there reason for the government to act?