Citizens' Daily Lobby

It didn’t get much press in September, when the White House blog announced the change, but President Obama is moving forward with his campaign promise to close the “revolving door” in Washington.  The administration no longer wants federally registered lobbyists appointed to advisory panels.  These are appointments that the President does not make; they are made by federal agencies.  Full story at HuffingtonPost.

I’m not naive enough to think this will clean up Washington, but the reaction from lobbyists and their professional organizations indicates this is definitely a step in the right direction (if it makes lobbyists this angry, it must be right).  Especially indignant are the Industry Trade Avisory Committee members.  These groups provide “advice and technical assistance” to the Commerce Department and the US Trade Representative.  Committee chairs, including CEOs of several major corporations) wrote Obama a nastygram.

“This action will severely undermine the utility of the advisory committee process,”  they wrote.  Happily, I agree. The action will indeed undermine the utility of the process to protect the interests of business over those of the greater public good.

If you don’t have affordable health insurance, you can wait for Blanche Lincoln to help you out by supporting a public option (don’t hold your breath)  or you can just go to Wal-Mart. If you live in the greater Little Rock area, you can get one-stop shopping and health care  at your nearest Wal-Mart megaplex.   Walk that H1N1 virus right on over to the “Clinic at Wal-Mart,” where you can get routine diagnostics at “affordable prices.”  Don’t worry, all the fees at these independent clinics are posted clearly, right up front.   While you’re in the store, you might as well get your groceries.  You’ll definitely want to visit the produce aisles.

Groceries and sick people.   Why didn’t I think of that.  An idea whose time should never come.  Now a reality.  At Wal-Mart.

The Baxter Bulletin has a new opinion poll up.   Click here to tell Baxter County just what you think of Blanche Lincoln (scroll down to bottom right).   I just discovered the Mountain Home newspaper today, but I think it’s worth a read, and it’s definitely going into my “favorites”.   From the latest issue:  (Title mine) Beebe Sort -of Takes a Stand on Health Care:  “Beebe, a Democrat, said he’s for some type of insurance reform but doesn’t have a favorite among the proposals out there.” Ah, the Baxter Bulletin gets it.  They really do.  Also in the latest issue, the results of the Bulletin referendum on Sarah Palin and John Boozman.   Sarah has few friends in Baxter County, but John Boozman seems to fare even worse.

For all the news you’ll  love to read, check out the Baxter Bulletin.

When all is said and done, the survival or death of the public option may well be in the hands of Senate Majority Leader,  Harry Reid.   He may choose to use his leadership role to pass a bill with a strong public option through the process of reconciliation, or he may watch the public option die at the hands of one or more errant  (I would have said, “rogue,” but someone has recently made that term particularly nauseating) Democratic Senators.

You can take action by signing a petition and sending a message to Harry Reid through FiredogLake.

“The power to pass a public option is yours alone.  Don’t let corrupt Democratic senators owned by insurance industry lobbyists kill the public option and majority rule.  Get them in line, or use reconciliation to pass a public option with a majority vote.”

I have been away for the past few days due to problems with my home internet connection.  It’s good to be back and to see what my fans at PA are saying.

On the environmental front,  Entergy is seeking to charge consumers more than $1 billion to retrofit the White Bluff plant with scrubbers.   Why should we oppose putting scrubbers on an existing plant?  I am not an energy expert, but I know one, and he has explained the situation.  (You can check out the full story at GreenArbytheDay).

What we really want is a careful look at the longterm cost-effectiveness of the alternatives to sinking $1 billion (current estimate by the company) into extending the life of a 30-year-old coal plant.

So far, three different owners of modern, efficient natural gas plants have suggested that they will make proposals to supply the energy more cheaply. Natural gas has its problems, but it pollutes far less than coal (for instance, no mercury fallout & dramatically lower CO2 cost and financial risk).

This is not merely an environmental issue. The Bush Administration issued flawed rules governing mercury and interstate smog and acid rain emissions. Those rules were thrown out by (largely Republican) judges. They will be rewritten soon within the life of the coal plant. Furthermore, the first carbon dioxide rules will be issued next March. All of those air rules, plus new water waste disposal rules might require further very expensive upgrades to the coal plant (indeed, Entergy modeling already allocates $176 million for future mercury controls). So, one of our concerns is that this $1 billion project, even without likely cost overruns, could be just the beginning; but AFTER the first big expenditure is made, it is “water under the bridge.” Similar upgrade costs might not pertain for natural gas, or for a combination of natural gas and wind power (a coalition of wind power developers also has asked to be heard). By comparison, these alternatives might be less expensive and might even return investment into in-state industries rather than coal shipments from out-of-state.

It takes very sophisticated analysis to compare these alternatives, and there are further economic and power issues not addressed here. Entergy and the plant co-owners are predisposed to want to keep its coal plant operating because that is part of how rates and revenues are justified. Clearly, any answer would need to address those issues. However, we are asking that other parties be allowed to investigate alternatives to see if a cheaper, less polluting alternative makes economic and environmental sense for the co-owners, ratepayers and the state.

You may speak out about the issue by submitting a written comment to the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (airpermits@adeq.state.ar.us)  by close of business tomorrow.  Entergy must obtain an air permit to proceed with this work. 

Crooksandliars has a wonderful chart up.  It looks at the national debt since Gerald Ford was in office.   Guess what?  It turns out that the biggest increases in national debt happened during the watches of Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush.  Under Bill Clinton, the national debt actually decreased.  Yet, you hear Republicans and their kissing cousins, the Tea Party (Tea Baggage, that is) bellyaching about how much health care might cost.  The truth is tthey never mention how much the tax cuts enacted by the latest Bush administration cost.  That’s probably because those tax cuts helped the wealthy disproportionately, and health care will help the average to poor families disproportionately.

Although Arkansas has done relatively well during this current recession, it seems that economics really are hitting home.  Senator Lincoln writes about child nutrition in her weekly newsletter (I would link you, but it’s not up on her website yet.  If you’re a subscriber, you should have it).

Arkansas now has the third highest rate of hunger in the country – 15.9 percent of Arkansans are at risk of food insecurity. These are our friends, neighbors, co-workers, and loved ones.

The USDA report highlights the seriousness of hunger all across the nation.  According to the report, in 2008, 16.4 percent of all individuals, just over 49 million people, experienced hunger or were at risk of hunger at some point in time during the prior year.  For our most vulnerable citizens, our children, the story is even worse.  22.5 percent of families with children were at risk of hunger in 2008, up from 16.9 percent in 2007.

People in Arkansas and across this country are suffering, and we have a responsibility to act.

I see evidence of the recession even in our neighborhood.  Last year, my daughter collected canned good for a food drive and received over 100 cans.  This year, she made the same route and collected less than 30.  I believe this is due to people’s insecurity about finances during this time.   I know times are tough, but I urge everyone to remember the less fortunate during this season of Thanksgiving.  Please give generously to food drives this year.

Those of you who are following the health care debate will be familiar with Wendell Potter.   A former CIGNA executive, he has acted as something of a whistleblower on the private health insurance industry.  He’s now a Senior Fellow on Healthcare at the Center for Media and Democracy.

Mr. Potter is coming to Philander Smith College on November 23rd at 6:30 pm.  The lecture is free, open to the public, and will be held in the Kendall Center.   The talk is part of a Community Forum on Health Care Reform and the Health Insurance Industry.  For more information, please call Candis Collins at 501-944-1603 or Neil Sealy at 501-346-9617 (Health Care for America Now).

Update, 1-21-09:  Mr. Potter is getting good press in the EU, where people really can’t understand why Americans are making such a fuss over a basic human right like access to health care.  For my Francophile  readers, here’s a link to an excellent article in Le Monde.  If you check out the comments (only 2…either the French don’t care, or they aren’t as comment-happy as Americans) you will find this wonderful quote: ” L’Amérique ne mérite pas Obama.”  I think that message is pretty clear, even without a translation.

If you live in the 1st or 2nd Congressional districts, and you haven’t yet thanked your Congressman for his vote on health care, please take some time to do so.  Vic Snyder and Marion Berry had the courage to stand up to the insurance lobby and its vocal front groups.   These two acted on their convictions and voted to make health insurance a reality for more of their constituents.

Take some time, as well, to call Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor, and urge them to support passage of a strong health care bill with a public option.

I am deeply saddened to report that the PA band will, in fact, be making the long trip to Greenwood this Friday night for round 2 of the state football playoffs, after sitting out last Friday’s game at Helena-West Helena.    I think it is only fair to point out that, according to the US Census Bureau, Greenwood is 96% white, and the median family income is $41,278 (in US 1999 dollars).   Helena is 67.9% black, with a median family income of $21,534.  West Helena is 65.7% black, and the median family income is $25,014.  Google Maps tells me that the trip from PA to Helena-West Helena is 126 miles.  PA to Greenwood is 169 miles.    Will someone please give me a valid reason why the band didn’t make the trip to Helena so that I might find some respite for my troubled conscience?   Now, more than ever, I need to know what act or threat of violence against PA students or band led to this decision.  If this isn’t about race, please, please, tell me what it IS about.

I wish the PA football team nothing but the best for the 2nd game of the playoffs, and I hope they make it to the championship again this year.  I thought long and hard about making this post.   Am I being divisive?  Should I have ignored the implications of the travel decision in the name of civility?   In the end,  I think it is right to ask the questions that lead to change.

Update: Wednesday, Nov. 18,2009:  The PA band will sit out the game at Greenwood.  I think this is the right decision, and I applaud the band director and administration.   I wish this issue had never arisen, that the band had made the trip to both schools to cheer the football team on.   Perhaps a clear and fair policy on band attendance at away games will prevent this situation from arising in the future.