Mitch McConnell last week cast the deciding vote against legislation to prevent steep cuts in Medicare reimbursement rates to physicians slated to take effect next week.  Without this vital legislation, millions of seniors will be unable to easily access care as many doctors are expected to stop seeing Medicare patients. The bill McConnell blocked would have been paid for by ending costly overpayments to private insurance companies and HMOs participating in Medicare, and would have improved access to mental health services for veterans and Medicare programs for rural seniors. At least 162 organizations representing seniors, patients, physicians, and other health care companies endorsed the bill that passed the House Tuesday with an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 355-59, and last night was killed in the Senate by McConnell's single vote.   Mitch McConnell once again has chosen to stand with the HMO lobby to protect their profits rather than stand up for Kentucky's seniors. His deciding vote will have disastrous effects for seniors, veterans and doctors.  It's time for all of Kentucky to send a message to Mitch McConnell; we have the opportunity in November to send Bruce Lunsford to Washington to fight for our seniors, to show true leadership and to put the interests of Kentuckians ahead of partisanship.   Since 1995, McConnell has voted to cut or voted against Medicare funding at least sixteen times. [Vote 173, 5/22/95; Vote 232, 5/52/95; Vote 296, 6/29/95; Vote 499, 10/26/95; Vote 524, 10/27/95; Vote 584, 11/17/95; Vote 159, 6/13/96; Vote 130, 6/25/97; Vote 7, 1/7/03; Vote 21, 1/23/03; Vote 89, 3/25/03; Vote 291, 11/3/05; Vote 303, 11/3/05; Vote 363, 12/21/05; Vote 62, 3/16/06; Vote 92, 3/22/07]     McConnell Has Received $803,057 From the Insurance Industry  Since his first run for Congress, McConnell has received at least $803,057 in campaign contributions from the insurance industry.  [Center for Responsive Politics]    Without a fix, 60% of doctors will stop seeing new Medicare patients.A survey shows that 60% of doctors will be forced to restrict the number of new Medicare patients they see if reimbursement rates fall 10.6% on July 1, while the nonpartisan expert Medicare Payment Advisory Commission reports that already 30% of Medicare patients looking for a new primary care physician have trouble finding  one.  [AMA, 6/9/08; MedPAC, March 2008]    McConnell votes against seniors to preserve overpayments to HMOs  According to the nonpartisan, well-respected Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, private insurance companies in the Medicare Advantage program will be paid 113% of the average per-beneficiary cost - an extra $1,000 per patient - and their beneficiaries are healthier, and so less expensive to cover.  [MedPAC, March 2008; MedPAC, June 2007]    Vote will cost Kentucky doctors $190 million in the first year and a half The American Medical Association says that the Medicare payment cuts for physician services will cost Kentucky physicians $190 million from July 2008 to December 2009 alone. [American Medical Association] Please help get the word out to your friends, family and neighbors.  Please let them know it's time Kentucky elects leaders who will look out for the interests of Kentuckians.  Please tell them to vote for Bruce Lunsford.   Sincerely,   Jennifer A. Moore Chair, Kentucky Democratic Party   P.S.  Help support the long campaign ahead.  You can make a one-time contribution or join our new PLEDGE TO WIN program, where you can make an automatic monthly contribution using your credit or debit card.
Paid for and authorized by the Kentucky Democratic Party PO Box 694, Frankfort KY 40602 • (502) 695-4828 • www.kydemocrat.com Contributions or gifts to the Kentucky Democratic Party are not tax deductible.

 

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McCain Tax Cuts = Bush On Steroids

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) consistently fearmongers that "Democrats...want to raise your taxes...I want to lower your taxes" and threatens that under Sen. Barack Obama's (D-IL) tax plan, "Americans of every background would see their taxes rise." Not only is McCain's claim that Obama will raise every American's taxes false, but in reality, it is McCain's economic and tax plans that Americans should fear. His plan would double President Bush's tax cut while offering little in the way of offsetting those costs. As New York Times columnist and Princeton University economics professor Paul Krugman noted, McCain's economic proposals are "Bush made permanent" that "would leave the federal government with far too little revenue to cover its expenses." But while McCain tries to rebut claims that his administration would not represent a continuation of Bush's policies, even his top surrogate, Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-SC), acknowledged reality, admitting recently that McCain's economic policies would "absolutely" be an "enhancement" of Bush's. Oddly though, McCain's top economic adviser Douglas Holtz-Eakin has tried to claim Obama is a continuation of Bush, a remark even conservatives find absurd. Today, a Center for American Progress Action Fund event -- dubbed "McCain University" -- will educate and inform voters, reporters, and pundits about the consequences of adopting McCain's policies.

 

BIG CORPORATIONS WILL CASH IN: Part of McCain's overall economic policy is to reduce the federal corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 25 percent. What does this actually mean for America's largest corporations? According to a new report from the Center For American Progress Action Fund, McCain's tax plan would save corporations $175 billion per year, with $45 billion going to America's 200 largest corporations as identified by Fortune Magazine. McCain has also said the "nation cannot reduce its dependency on oil unless we change how we power our transportation sector." But at the same time, he is calling for increased oil exploration and production, which will not only do little to relieve energy prices here at home but also will put billions more into Big Oil's pockets. McCain's corporate tax rate reduction plan would save the five largest U.S. oil companies a grand total of $3.8 billion per year. Exxon Mobil, whose $11.7 billion 2007 fourth quarter profits shattered records, will see an extra $1.2 billion under McCain's tax plan. America's big corporations seemed to have taken notice of the potential benefits. A recent analysis by the Public Campaign Action Fund found that  McCain's campaign has received $5.6 million from the PACs and executives of the Fortune 200, including nearly $800,000 from oil and gas industries.

THE RICH WILL GET RICHER: The largest American corporations aren't the only ones who will cash in under McCain's plan. Add the richest Americans to the list. In a recent study, the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center has found that McCain's tax plan "would primarily benefit those with very high incomes, almost all of whom would receive large tax cuts that would, on average, raise their after-tax incomes by more than twice the average for all households." Indeed, McCain offers no benefit for the poorest taxpayers; Obama's plan increases after-tax income for the poorest taxpayers by 5.5 percent. The Tax Policy Center also found that Obama "offers three times the break for middle class families than" McCain. While Obama will raise taxes on the richest 1 percent of taxpayers, McCain will increase after-tax income of the richest 3.4 percent. In fact, another beneficiary of McCain's plan are the McCains themselves. A recent paper by the Center for American Progress Action Fund found that John and Cindy McCain would save $373,429 under McCain's tax plan. 
 

INCREASED DEFICITS: McCain has not explained how he would pay for these reckless tax cuts. His plan would cost nearly $300 billion and, so far, he has accounted for just $33 billion, or 11 percent of that total. Holtz-Eakin himself said, "You have to pay for that somehow or you are George Bush III." Indeed, a Center for American Progress Action Fund analysis released last month confirms Holtz-Eakin's assessment. McCain's entire economic plan, tax cuts included, would create massive deficits by the end of a two-term presidency -- the highest federal budget deficit in 25 years -- and would accumulate the biggest debt since the Second World War.  Under McCain, yearly deficits would increase sharply, beginning with $505 billion in FY2009 that would skyrocket to $1.2 trillion by FY2017. In 2018 these deficits would reach 6 percent of GDP, tied with the largest deficits since WWII, while McCain's plan would leave a debt of $12.7 trillion after a two term presidency. McCain has claimed that he would eliminate earmarks (citing a constantly shifting figure of costs saved) to pay for his economic plan. The Washington Post FactChecker, however, gave McCain's plan to pay for his doubling of the Bush tax cuts through eliminating earmarks "Four Pinocchios" (the highest rating for deceit), calling it "largely fantasy" and "voodoo economics."

 

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Preparing the Battlefield, by Seymour M. Hersh  

The Bush Administration steps up its secret moves against Iran.

 

Late last year, Congress agreed to a request from President Bush to fund a major escalation of covert operations against Iran, according to current and former military, intelligence, and congressional sources. These operations, for which the President sought up to four hundred million dollars, were described in a Presidential Finding signed by Bush, and are designed to destabilize the country’s religious leadership. The covert activities involve support of the minority Ahwazi Arab and Baluchi groups and other dissident organizations. They also include gathering intelligence about Iran’s suspected nuclear-weapons program.

 

Clandestine operations against Iran are not new. United States Special Operations Forces have been conducting cross-border operations from southern Iraq, with Presidential authorization, since last year. These have included seizing members of Al Quds, the commando arm of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, and taking them to Iraq for interrogation, and the pursuit of “high-value targets” in the President’s war on terror, who may be captured or killed. But the scale and the scope of the operations in Iran, which involve the Central Intelligence Agency and the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), have now been significantly expanded, according to the current and former officials. Many of these activities are not specified in the new Finding, and some congressional leaders have had serious questions about their nature. CONTINUED

 

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www.meetobama08.org

 

 

What You Should Know About America's Next President


 

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Senator Harper Angel awarded 2008 Capitol Dome Award

 

The American Cancer Society has awarded Senator Denise Harper Angel, D-Louisville, with the 2008 Capitol Dome Award for her hard work and dedication to the elimination of cancer.

"It is an honor to receive this award from an organization that is dear to my heart," Senator Harper Angel said.  " I have personally seen the American Cancer Society make a difference in the lives of so many in the Commonwealth."

The American Cancer Society's Capitol Dome Award recognizes public policy achievement and is given to those outstanding individuals whose efforts demonstrate leadership on a legislative issue of high priority to the American Cancer Society. 

The American Cancer Society is the nationwide community-based voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem by preventing cancer, saving lives, and diminishing suffering from cancer, through research, education, advocacy, and service. 

During the 2008 legislative session, Senator Harper Angel was successful in adding language to the state budget bill for the Department for Public Health to explore the possibility of establishing a colon cancer screening program to provide screening services to uninsured individuals age 50 to 64 and others at high risk.

"The intent of the Colon Cancer Screening Program is to motivate all Kentuckians over age 50 to be screened for colon cancer regardless of their insurance status," said Senator Harper Angel, who serves on the Senate Health and Welfare Committee.  "The Program will create screening education and outreach initiatives through Kentucky Cancer Programs and capitalize and expand partnerships already in existence through the Kentucky Cancer Consortium." 

In Kentucky this year alone it is projected that more than 2,500 people will be diagnosed with colon cancer and 840 will die from the cancer.   

The cancer is highly preventable.  At least 50 percent of colon cancer deaths could be prevented with regular screenings and early detection.  If found early and treated, the five-year relative survival rate for those with colon cancer is 90 percent. 

Senator Harper Angel, who represents the 35th District, has served in the State Senate since 2005.

 

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LIMBAUGH SIGNS THROUGH 2016;

$400 MILLION DEAL SHATTERS BROADCAST RECORDS

The American broadcast industry is rocked, realigned and blasted into a new orbit, yet again, by Rush Limbaugh.

In what is being described as an unprecedented radio contract, Limbaugh will keep his syndicated show on-the-air and e-v-e-r-y-w-h-e-r-e through 2016 with CLEAR CHANNEL and PREMIERE RADIO.

Already host of the most lucrative hours since radio's inception, Limbaugh's total package is valued north of $400 million, according to media insiders.

The NEW YORK TIMES will claim this weekend that Limbaugh, marking 20 years this summer as a national host, has secured a 9-figure signing bonus for the new deal, newsroom sources tell DRUDGE.

In its controversial profile, the TIMES reports that Limbaugh is buying a new G550 jet and is making an estimated $38 million a year.

While newspapers and traditional broadcast media are experiencing declining revenues, Limbaugh's golden microphone has turned diamond-laced:

Earnings now pace him ahead of the annual salaries for network news anchors: Katie Couric, Brian Williams, Charlie Gibson and Diane Sawyer — combined!

The deal represents a stunning triumph over the establishment by an outsider who connected with and captured the spirit of the nation's heartland.

 

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McCain Watch—a zippy email with the presidential news you most need to know (but won't hear elsewhere) about Senator McCain. The good folks at The Huffington Post will publish it and we'll deliver it to your inbox. It'll be fair, clear, and tough—the way news is supposed to be.

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Keep Budweiser American! By Roger Simmermaker

Belgium’s Budweiser bid proves once again the importance of American ownership. Belgium-owned brewery-company InBev’s bid to acquire Anheuser-Busch Cos. is the latest example that proves buying American is more than just about American made. Buying America also means we should be supporting American-owned companies, and especially those that make products in the USA. Anheuser-Busch of St. Louis, Missouri is such a company.

InBev, the world’s second largest brewery company behind British-owned SABMiller PLC, has already made an offer of $65 a share in an attempt to purchase Anheuser-Busch which the board rightly rejected. Anheuser-Busch wants to remain American and independent rather than accept a fate that previously American-owned Miller and Coors succumbed to. Miller was bought by a British company in 2002 and Coors was purchased in 2005 by Canadian-owned Molson. Anheuser-Busch, which is the world’s third largest brewery company and has the largest share of the coveted American market, is the only major American brewery company left standing.

What can we do to help prevent Anheuser-Busch from falling into the hands of distant foreign owners? Visit www.KeepBudweiserAmerican.com and sign the petition to help stop InBev’s takeover attempt. Since the first formal offer for Anheuser-Busch has already been made and rejected, the stage is set for a hostile takeover attempt aimed directly at shareholders. Many American shareholders of Anheuser-Busch want the company to remain independent, but clearly others don’t seem to care.

One of these shareholders appears to be none other than Berkshire Hathaway’s Warren Buffett, one of Anheuser-Busch’s largest shareholders. Even though Warren Buffett has warned us many times about the dangers of force-feeding America’s wealth to foreigners, he has publicly stated he supports the deal. Obviously if Belgium’s InBev were to acquire America’s last remaining brewery company, all future streams of income associated with the American assets would be lost with the ownership change. So the www.KeepBudweiserAmerican.com website also allows visitors to send an email to Warren Buffett urging him to vote to reject Belgium’s bid to acquire Anheuser-Busch.

InBev has already stated no American jobs would be lost after Belgium’s investment in America, but history shows these words are meaningless. InBev’s investment in Brazil has resulted in 10,000 lost brewery-worker jobs since the 1990s and Canada has seen years of labor turmoil marred by years of layoffs and factory closings. Workers in other countries have a stern warning for American workers who may soon be employed by Belgium’s InBev: “Watch out!”

Ownership equals control, and control equals independence. As we prepare to celebrate Independence Day later this week, we should be reminded that America can no longer remain an independent country if its manufacturing base is under foreign ownership or foreign control. Please visit www.KeepBudweiserAmerican.com and do your part to help keep Anheuser-Busch an independent American-owned company.

Roger Simmermaker is the author of How Americans Can Buy American: The Power of Consumer Patriotism and writes “Buy American Mention of the Week” articles for WorldNetDaily.com and his website www.howtobuyamerican.com. Roger is a member of the Machinists Union and National Writers Union, has been a frequent guest on Fox News, CNN, and MSNBC, and has been quoted in the USA Today, Wall Street Journal and US News & World Report among many other publications.

www.meetobama08.org