Bush Says, Poor Children Suck

Douchebag.

Bush Vetoes Child Health Insurance Bill

Republicans Care About Health Care, Too?

Well, it seems like at least one does--for the moment. Today, presidential hopeful Mitt Romney is set to outline his plan for a system of health care reform that would enable states to extend coverage to some of the millions of currently uninsured Americans. It's a model he put in place while he was governor of Massachusetts--and it's nice to see that he hasn't returned to the dark side on this, too, given his recent reformation on most social issues.

Romney's plan sticks to private coverage--no "European-like," universal, one-party insurer here. Still, it's nice to see someone on the GOP side at least gesturing towards the notion that even the (relatively) poor deserve the right to live dignified lives.

Good Things CAN Happen--Even in the Senate

A little late to the punch on this one, so perhaps you already know, but on Thursday, the Senate approved a health care bill that will increase funding and expand coverage for low-income children--despite the President's threat to veto the bill. Even better, the win was by a large enough majority that W can't override the legislation even if he wants to--a true, bipartisan victory that will improve the lives of millions of children whose lives would otherwise be compromised by lack of access to medical care.

Of course, the fact that this president wanted to deny said children this health care in the first place raises a whole other set of issues... But luckily, on this one, the decision didn't get left to the mighty decider. See? Democracy in action really does work... Sometimes.

Mexico's HIV Increase Linked to US Migrants

If it's not enough that the US lures migrant workers here for little pay and no insurance, and then kicks them out unceremoniously whenever "immigration" becomes a hot button issue, here's news of an even worse gift we're giving the folks who silently make our economy go 'round: increasing numbers of migrant workers are being infected with HIV and then taking it home--back to rural communities in Mexico where lack of resources, transportation and education make it a mind-numbingly difficult plague to fight.

It's pretty easy to hear how conservatives could spin this in favor of greater immigration reform ("Look! They're spreading AIDS in their own country--and presumably in ours too!"), but for the more sane among us, this offers yet another reason that a different kind of reform is necessary: one that provides not only education but opportunity to the poorest among us. For example, the opportunity to not have to leave ones family behind for months at a time to search out work; or the opportunity to not have to prostitute oneself to pay the bills. Or the opportunity to access health care when you need it, and condoms whether you think you need them or not.

Of course all this would necessitate that America start thinking of itself as a true member of the world community--not just some big brother figure that need not care what happens to our brothers and sisters to the south. My fear is that the only way we'll get that logic is when the great ills of the world come knocking on every single American's door. Seems a little moronic for a country that considers itself the greatest nation in the world, doesn't it?

The Myth of the Conservative Majority

Late last week I got an email from Media Matters informing me that (no surprise here) I've been in the right all along: extensive polling and research has now found that the majority of Americans are, like me, PROGRESSIVE.

Never mind what the conservative thought leaders and media-makers tell you--the majority of us in this country believe in Government taking responsibility for its citizenry--even if it means more spending. The majority of us want a higher minimum wage; are for conservation; want to protect a woman's right to choose; want health care coverage for all; and see that it's long since been time to get the hell out of Iraq.

I like being right, so this is very good news, indeed. For more details, see Eric Lotke's article on AlterNet this morning (via TomPaine.com).

Barack Beats the Health Care Drum

At last! A plan from our buddy Barack. As part of a campaign stop at the University of Iowa, Obama finally unveiled his plan to fix our doddering health care system--you know, the one that leaves nearly 47 million Americans without an ounce of coverage.

His goal is to provide universal coverage, and yes, it's going to cost something: probably something int he neighborhood of $50 to $65 billion. And yes, the Federal government will be responsible for picking up that check. How does Obama propose to make up the difference? By repealing those tax breaks President Bush put in place for the privileged few: those who make over $200,000 a year.

Sounds like a plan to me...

Because Everyone Deserves Health Care

Especially the littlest among us. Just got this notice in the email box about one way we can begin to make a difference in the fight for universal health care:

"Cover the Uninsured Week 2007 is next week (April 23-29) and communities across the country are getting involved to help get America's kids covered!

This year, with reauthorization of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) pending, Cover the Uninsured Week will focus on covering kids as an important first step toward covering all Americans.

By getting involved in Cover the Uninsured Week, you can help spread the word that all children deserve access to affordable health care coverage. Learn about what individuals are doing in your community to help uninsured kids get covered by visiting www.CoverTheUninsured.org."

Almost certainly worth the effort.

Weekend Round-up

Since I used my earlier post to wax teary-eyed about my wonderfully indulgent weekend, I figure it's time right about now to let you know what's keeping the newshound in me glued to the screen.

Deadliest Shooting Rampage in American History: Today, at Virginia Tech, 31 people were killed by a lone gunman; another 22 were injured, at last count. According to the NY Times, today's shooting comes just a few days shy of the eighth anniversary of the school shooting at Columbine, which left 12 students dead.

Kidneys for Sale: Should people be allowed to sell their own organs? William Saletan asks the question and here's my answer: Hell, no. I understand that there are people out there who are dying for need of an organ, but, like Saletan, I believe that issue it best addressed by encouraging more folks to become organ donors at the time of their death, not by putting people who are already vulnerable (read: poor) under increasing pressure to make a buck by selling off their inner goods. Enough already.

Another Sanchez Backs Away From Hispanic Caucus: Just a few months after her sister, Rep. Loretta Sanchez, resigned from the National Hispanic Caucus after accusing the chair of calling her a "whore", Rep. Linda Sanchez has now also cut her ties with the group. Though she says her resignation has nothing to do with the "whore" issue--and is instead about "structural issues"--I hope that's not entirely true. Anybody (or association) that called my sister names wouldn't be getting my support either.

The Unkindest Cut--For a Good Cause?

Cicumcision is not something I spend a whole lot of time thinking about, except as it presents itself in my mind as a question (as in: if I had a son would I have him circumcised?), but today's news brings the issue right to the front of my mind. A recent study in Africa has shown that circumcision seems to cut the rate of HIV infection in men having heterosexual sex by as much as 60 percent. That's a pretty startling statistic, and now NYC--referred to some as still being the "epicenter" of the disease--is taking steps to but this new info to use.

As the NY Times reports today, NYC's Dept. of Health and Mental Hygiene is "planning a campaign to encourage men at high risk of AIDS to get circumcised", potentially by offering them free circumcision at hospitals around the city. There are some predictable concerns from some corners that promoting circumcision in this way will be stymie safe-sex initiatives (because men and women alike may come to think that if a man is circumcised then they are protected from HIV), but if the data is indeed correct, the campaign has a chance to save lives.

Other questions still on the table: does the impact of circumcision carry over to men having sex with other men? And what, if any, impact is there on women's HIV infection rates? Salon's Broadsheet reports that a somewhat dubious study has been released showing that women's HIV rates actually increase when their partners are circumcised--but the evidence doesn't quite seem to be there yet to back this one up (not least of all because there could be a whole host of non-biological reasons--see above--for this kind of uptick in infection rates among women).

I don't know what's "right" here but I will say that this news has definitely shifted my thinking about this question of whether I would ever circumcise my own son. Previously, I'd been of the mind that, minus a religious attachment to the practice, circumcision is pretty much a vanity play on the part of fathers who want their sons to "look like" them. Add up the facts that, in our family, there will be no other penis to compare to and that there is real pain involved for the male infant, and I was fairly sure that this was not something I would make a part of our ritual of birth.

And yet, now I find myself feeling somewhat differently about the situation. Part of what really stopped me in my tracks here was being reminded, if I ever really knew the exact number, of just how prevalent HIV is among black males in New York City. The Times reports that 20% of black men in NYC who are between the ages of 40 and 50 are HIV+. That's one in five. And that's terrifying--particularly as someone who will, if she has a son, be producing another male member of black community.

When one in five folks who more or less look like you are infected with an essentially deadly--and highly preventable--disease, I think one's feelings about waiting around to see if the data are exactly right begin to fade. I'm sure I'd feel differently, more cautious, if circumcision was a new and untested practice, whose effect was as yet unknown. But stats like the ones we're seeing here are enough to make your head spin. Luckily, none of this is a decision, in my life, that bears any real weight at the moment, but it should be interesting to see how adult men, when faced with these numbers and the choice, respond--and how that response will differ in communities of color, poor communities, etc.

Paid Sick Leave on the Move in Congress

It's one of America's dirty not-so-secrets that millions of our workers are currently entitled to NO sick leave without loss of pay or, possibly, employment. But the good people in the Democratic party are now making a move to change that. Late last week a bill was introduced to the Congress by Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) that would ensure that every American worker who works more than 20 hours per week be given up to seven paid sick days per year. This only applies if the company you work for has more than 15 employees, but opponents are still going to argue that it's an assault on small business. Feh. It's an assault on our humanity that the US is so far behind in mandating these policies.