Sheriffs want lists of patients using painkillers

Now the fucking pigs want access to your medical records?  WTF?  WTF?

The right wing has decided to use the Constitution to wipe their asses and we are supposed to be okay with it just so long as they invoke  “The war on Drugs” and “It’s for your own protection.” mantras.

From News Observer.com:  http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/09/08/669723/lists-of-pain-pillpatients-sought.html

BY LYNN BONNER – staff writer

Sheriffs in North Carolina want access to state computer records identifying anyone with prescriptions for powerful painkillers and other controlled substances.

The state sheriff’s association pushed the idea Tuesday, saying the move would help them make drug arrests and curb a growing problem of prescription drug abuse. But patient advocates say opening up people’s medicine cabinets to law enforcement would deal a devastating blow to privacy rights.

Allowing sheriffs’ offices and other law enforcement officials to use the state’s computerized list would vastly widen the circle of people with access to information on prescriptions written for millions of people. As it stands now, doctors and pharmacists are the main users.

Nearly 30 percent of state residents received at least one prescription for a controlled substance, anything from Ambien to OxyContin, in the first six months of this year, according to the state Department of Health and Human Services. Nearly 2.5 million people filled prescriptions in that time for more than 375 million doses. The database has about 53.5 million prescriptions in it.

Sheriffs made their pitch Tuesday to a legislative health care committee looking for ways to confront prescription drug abuse. Local sheriffs said that more people in their counties die of accidental overdoses than from homicides.

Continue reading at: http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/09/08/669723/lists-of-pain-pillpatients-sought.html

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GOP senator reportedly admits anti-gay death threat came from office

From Raw Story: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/09/gop-senator-reportedly-admits-antigay-death-threat-office/

By Ron Brynaert
Wednesday, September 22nd, 2010 — 11:08 am

“A hatred of gays and a lack of IT savvy are likely to add up to unemployment for somebody in Sen. Saxby Chambliss’ office,” Rob Quinn writes for Newser.

Jim Galloway at The Atlanta Journal Constitution reports,

U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss confirmed Tuesday that he investigating whether one of his staffers left a threatening slur on an Internet discussion of the right of gays and lesbians to serve openly in the U.S. military.

“We have seen the allegations and are moving quickly to understand the facts. This office has not and will not tolerate any activity of the sort alleged,” Chambliss spokeswoman Bronwyn Lance Chester said. “Once we have ascertained whether these claims are true, we will take the appropriate steps.”

The comment was posted on Joe.My.God., a blog dedicated to gay and lesbian issues.

Continue reading at:   http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/09/gop-senator-reportedly-admits-antigay-death-threat-office/

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The ‘Rightwing Backlash’ That Never Was

From Common Dreams: http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/09/22-11

Published on Wednesday, September 22, 2010 by The Guardian/UK

The consensus is that angry voters are moving rightward. But it’s nothing Democrats couldn’t fix with a dose of economic populism

by Mark Weisbrot

Is America in the grip of a rightwing backlash that will hit the November elections like a hurricane?

This narrative is gathering steam. It is fed not only by the minority partisan rightwing media, but also its majority “liberal” counterpart, which loves a horse race and is fascinated with the Tea Party, even if it isn’t so eager for the Republicans to take congress.

Regardless of the outcome, 90%-plus of the pundits and press will cheese up the same tired old cliché in their post-election analysis: the Democrats were punished (they will inevitably lose at least some seats in congress) because they tried to go too far, too fast and too left for the inherently conservative American masses. And this junk will be consumed for years, adding another layer of fat to the lazy couch potato that is American journalism’s “conventional wisdom”.

How about another narrative that makes more sense?

Let’s start with the economic issues, since the economy was the number one issue for likely voters in the latest New York Times/CBS poll. Our worst and longest recession since the Great Depression was caused by a real estate bubble that accumulated and burst before Obama was elected. The Democrats passed a stimulus package that was much too small to compensate for the resulting loss of private spending.

Continue reading at:  http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/09/22-11

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CREW: Sen. Vitter misused funds to help aide who assaulted ex-girlfriend

From Raw Story: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/09/crew-ethics-complaint-vitter/

By Muriel Kane
Wednesday, September 22nd, 2010 — 2:49 pm

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), the watchdog group which earlier this week filed an official complaint against Delaware Senate candidate Christine O’Donnell for her alleged use of campaign funds to pay for personal expenses, now has Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) in its sights.

CREW’s complaint to the Senate Ethics Committee charges Republican Senator Vitter with “improper use of taxpayer funds to subsidize the personal expenses of staff member Brent Furer” and with issuing “demonstrably untrue statements about Mr. Furer’s employment on his staff.”

At the heart of the complaint is former  Vitter aide Brent Furer, who resigned last June after ABC News revealed that “he had been arrested for attacking his ex-girlfriend with a knife, and had an open warrant for his arrest in Baton Rouge on a drunk driving charge.”

According to ABC, “Vitter spokesman [Joel] DiGrado acknowledged the senator had concerns about the 2008 arrest, in which Furer was accused of holding his ex-girlfriend against her will for 90 minutes, threatening to kill her, placing his hand over her mouth, and cutting her in the hand and neck.”

Continue reading at:   http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/09/crew-ethics-complaint-vitter/

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Blame the Ultra Right Wing Extremist Republicans

I’m tired of liberals, progressives and especially LGBT/T folks blaming the Democrats for actions of the ultra right wing Republi-Nazis.

As the late Molly Ivins used to say, “You got to dance with them that  brung you…”

We don’t have a Progressive Party.  Every attempt that has been made to build a third party has been performed top down and ass backwards.  The most recent example being “The Green Party”, which is now mostly a burnt out shell funded by Republi-Nazis.  Before that there was “Peace and Freedom”.  The lesson that needs to be learned is, “You do not start a political party to run someone for president.  You start by running someone for school board.”

We have spent the last 40 years or so engaging in self-defeating behavior including identity politics, only organizing among people like ourselves.

The Civil Rights Movement of the early 1960s crossed racial lines.  It may have seemed patronizing to some but a multi-racial movement had seriously left wing progressive roots and the potential to unite poor black and poor white people as well as the better educated  and higher up the class structure, leaders.  One year to the day after Martin Luther King started talking about matters of class and how poor whites and poor blacks were in much the same boat when it came to opportunity, they killed him.  They being the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy.

Hillary was right on that one, there is a “Vast Right Wing Conspiracy” in this country.  It is both long standing and powerful, backed by moneyed interests like Murdoch, Mellon-Scaife, and Koch.  They own the media, fund right wing think tanks, and fund astro-turf organizations like the Tea Baggers.  They are in a partnership with the religious right, which is funded via tax free tithings from their flocks.

They have a police state on their side that has the power to disrupt and destroy any movement that threatens to actually stand up for equality and social justice.  They infiltrate and subvert our movements, sow dissension and suggest we get apathetic.

They whisper in our ear, “Aww the Democrats didn’t get you what you wanted.  Why don’t you show them who is boss and sit this election out?  Why don’t you withhold money from them?”

Of course Democrats aren’t helped by having a bunch of oh so nice wimps on our side.  You know the kind, the ones who spew the lines about how calling Republi-Nazis the same sorts of names they call us is stooping to their level.  Shit, the oh so nice wimps don’t even want us to bring a knife to a gun fight, they want us to bring kind platitudes, an oath to passivity and a flower to that gun fight.

And at the first sign of failure on the part of the Democrats they want to give up.

Fuck that shit.

We let those Nazi dickwads funded by Breitbart  destroy ACORN, a truly progressive organization and we didn’t put up a protest or a fight.  We have let the media give these bestiality loving Nazis like that cum bag Paladino and self avowed Satanist Christine O’Donnell all the publicity while they ignore serious Democratic candidates who might be better equipped to govern this nation.  We aren’t making a huge uproar when Tea Bagger candidates suggest committing genocide on LGBT/T people by invoking the imprimatur of  “The Bible” and “God”.

It is time to get tough.  Out organize them and take seats from them rather than giving up seats.  If they sling one clod of mud at one of out candidates dump a truck load of manure on theirs.

The corporate funded media have treated ultra right wing airheads like Rand Paul as people to be taken seriously, when in reality they are insane and their ideas are totally un-American.

Speaking of which…  Remember Molly Ivins?  She said of Pat Buchanan’s speech at the ’92 Republi-Nazi Convention, “It probably sounded better in the original German.”

We have let these Confederate flag and Nazi values assholes trademark “American Values” and after giving them exclusive rights of usage allowed them to pervert those very same values into something I sure as hell do not recognize as American Values.

I was pretty proud of how far we have come when we elected President Obama, even prouder still when the nomination came down to being between a man of color and a woman.  When I looked at our convention I saw the common people who make up the beautiful tapestry of this diverse nation, and I was proud to be a Democrat.

Not that the Democrats have gotten me the things I want but they have at least tried.

When I looked at the Republican Convention, my only comment was….  “I…I…see white people…” They do not represent us.  The majority of the people of this nation including the majority of Republican voters support the repeal of DADT.

We have about 45 days to work for the party.  Less than half a month to show we refute all the Birther lies about Obama.  45 days to show the world how proud we are of all sorts of people, of all different races and sexualities as well as classes all pulling our oars in the same direction in 2008 to elect the first President , who wasn’t a white male.

Even if we are disappointed this isn’t a time to retreat or to surrender… And damn it I am sometimes seriously disappointed with both Obama and with our congress.  I want them to fight harder but then I realize that we Democrats are a wishy-washy bunch and we don’t like fighting.  Say something is “socialist” and we fold when we could fight for it instead and make the Democratic party represent the sort of democratic socialism they have in much of western Europe.

Am I disappointed with not having Single Payer, inclusive ENDA, the Repeal of DADT and Marriage Equality?  Damn right I am.  But giving in now means never getting those things.  Giving in now means letting a bunch of racist, homophobic bigots who care only for the interests of the rich win.

Now isn’t the time to mourn our failures. Now is the time to organize.

NOW Condemns Senate Failure to Repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell

Now Press Release

September 22, 2010

The National Organization for Women condemns the Senate’s failure yesterday to repeal the U.S. military’s discriminatory Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT) policy. This policy, which bars lesbians and gay men from serving openly in the military, has resulted in the unjust discharge of more than 14,000 service members.

“Women and men who dedicated their lives to serving their country have had their careers ended — not because of their job performance but because of their sexual orientation,” said NOW President Terry O’Neill. “The tide has officially turned on this issue — 57 percent of people now say that openly gay service members should be allowed to serve in the military. Those generals and legislators who cling to this unfair policy are fighting a losing battle.”

The Senate could not break a Republican-orchestrated filibuster designed to block debate on the annual defense authorization bill, to which the DADT repeal was attached.

“The House managed to pass a version of the defense bill that included a repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. Why can’t the Senate do the right thing?” asked O’Neill.

Although such a repeal would not have taken effect prior to the certification of the much-awaited Pentagon report on implementation of a repeal, due Dec. 1, NOW repeatedly has stated that further study is not warranted, and President Obama should use his authority to suspend any further discharges until the policy can be formally repealed.

“Starting right now, not another service member should lose their job due to bigotry or intolerance,” said O’Neill. “I want to see our leaders stand up for the principles of equality and justice. As a matter of fact, six weeks out from the midterm elections is a perfect time to put these values into practice.”

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Anti-Abortion Rights Model Guidelines Released: NOW Intensifies Call for Obama to Live Up to Campaign Promises

Now Press Release

September 21, 2010

Late last night, the Office of Management and Budget and the Department of Health and Human Services released pre-regulatory model guidelines for the implementation of the anti-abortion rights provisions tacked on to the Affordable Care Act in order to secure the votes of a handful of religious fundamentalists serving in Congress.

NOW remains clear that women in the United States have fewer abortion rights today than we did one year ago, and that the situation will be dramatically worsened by the time health insurance exchanges are up and running in 2014. Forcing health insurers who participate in exchanges to segregate funds for abortion care perpetuates grave injustice to women; insults those paying into plans — young, old, women, men, as well as payroll account administrators — with a burdensome monthly “two-check” requirement; and will lead to the end of private coverage for abortion care, even for women with the luxury to afford their own insurance premiums.

Today 87 percent of employer-based insurance plans cover abortion care; those that choose to continue that coverage while participating in exchanges will be subject to annual cost audits, new layers of internal and administrative controls and the potential for harassment from state health insurance commissioners. It is no surprise that a George Washington University study has predicted that one outcome of the Affordable Care Act will be the virtual elimination of private coverage for abortion care — legal medical care accessed by one in three women in this country.

Discrimination against abortion care is discrimination against women. NOW intensifies its calls on President Obama to live up to his campaign promises to repeal the Hyde Amendment, which bars federal funding for abortion care, and to pass the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA). NOW also calls on women to speak up and organize for abortion rights at the community level — whether lobbying elected officials; penning opinion pieces and blog posts; or countering the pervasive violence and harassment outside reproductive health clinics.

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