Fox News sources paid health industry flacks as policy "experts"

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Saturday September 12, 2009 · 1:43 PM PDT

2009/09/12 · 13:43

A leading article on FoxNews.com this week is, wait for it, bullish against health care reform. Let me quickly talk about three of the sources it uses to explain why Obama's plan is bad.

"The numbers don't hold up," Grace Marie Turner, president of the Galen Institute, a think tank devoted to health policy, said Thursday.

But the Galen Institute is at least somewhat bought and paid for by the medical-industrial complex. Here's Turner's bio in a McClatchy op-ed she recently wrote:

Grace-Marie Turner is president and founder of the Galen Institute, which is funded in part by the pharmaceutical and medical industries.

Funny how Fox leaves that out.

utopiandrive

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Friday June 26, 2009 · 10:03 PM PDT

2009/06/26 · 22:03

Cross-posted from The Daily Musing

One might think all environmentalists are happy with the passage of the climate change legislation this evening. After all, some progress is better none, right?

Not exactly. At least that's not how all environmental activists see it.

Before the bill came up for vote Friday morning, I spoke with senior representatives from Greenpeace and Environment America. (HuffPost's Sam Stein and Ryan Grim reported on Sierra Club's views here.)

Their views on the bill were not only different, they were polar opposite.

Environment America, like Sierra Club, wanted it to pass. "We support the strongest possible bill moving forward," Ivan Frishberg, EA's political director told me. He recognized that it had flaws and was not strong enough, but considered it a necessary step in the right direction.

"The momentum from victory on a weak bill at least gives us momentum to keep working to do more of this. But a loss on something like this really sets us back for years and years and years to come," said Frishberg.

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Friday June 26, 2009 · 4:56 PM PDT

2009/06/26 · 16:56

The House passed the climate change bill, which is great news. Progressives and believers in science should be pleased.

But let's put things into perspective. The bill has been watered down already, and barely passed with a vote of 219-212. It still needs to get through the Senate, where it'll be watered down even more. The final legislation will be a step in the right direction, but will undoubtedly fall far short of what scientists say is vital to prolonging our survival on this planet.

(That's why progressives like Kucinich voted against it.)

All this, despite having a Democratic president and commanding majorities in the House and Senate.

To be sure, not all Democrats are the good guys in this game. They're no John Boehner, who should win a Whiny Little Child award, but too many Democrats are beholden to big oil and big coal interests, who are primarily responsible for the lackluster response from Congress on this encompassing issue.

Nevertheless, it's a step in the right direction and here's hoping there's more to come.

Mark Sanford: It's The Hypocrisy, Stupid

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Wednesday June 24, 2009 · 7:23 PM PDT

2009/06/24 · 19:23

With his arbitrary disappearance and revelation of infidelity, Sanford has dominated recent news. But despite his shocking admission of betrayal, Sanford’s press conference left me with more regard and sympathy for the governor (personally, if not his politics) than I’ve had so far.

Until recently, I viewed him as a zealous ideologue whose outlook I could never get on board with. Today, I saw a sincere human being deeply troubled by his infidelity, and unable to come to grips with the damage he’s done to his wife and children; a political star with a seemingly bright future whose career has been gutted. And, as these emails (almost unequivocally) reveal, a man in love with a woman he may never see again.

I don’t presume to judge Sanford, and I genuinely wish him the best in overcoming this. Because, like Alec Baldwin, I’m of the opinion that personal matters as such should be left out of politics. Political figures should be judged by their accomplishments and by the impact their leadership has on people’s lives.

Unfortunately (and quite ironically), people like Sanford have never seen it that way.

utopiandrive

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Monday June 22, 2009 · 8:09 PM PDT

2009/06/22 · 20:09

What's going on at Politico these days?

Over the years, the organization has earned a reputation as a moderate, nonpartisan voice on political news. While writers like Glenn Greenwald and Andrew Sullivan have exposed some evidence of a right-wing bias, I’ve for the most part found them to be fair.

Lately, I'm not quite sure what they're up to. Take a look at their reporting Monday morning on health care, the defining domestic issue recently. They released three stories in the span of a few hours, all three vigorously predicting failure for reform. Parts of their reporting were fishy, while other parts were outright false.

Take a look at the opening for the article titled "5 keys to getting health care deal."

It was always going to be hard for President Barack Obama to pass health care reform by the fall. Lately, there are signs it’ll take a political miracle.

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Sunday June 21, 2009 · 8:17 PM PDT

2009/06/21 · 20:17

Anyone interested in the astonishing dismissal of Dan Froomkin from the Washington Post needs to read these two pieces by Paul Krugman and Glenn Greenwald.

This is perplexing on many levels.

Froomkin is a model journalist: somebody who seeks the truth, holds those in power to account, and never lets partisanship get in the way. His critiques of both Bush and Obama reflect his loyalty to principles and to morality -- not to people. And, especially not to some fictitious center-point between two opposing factions. This type of journalist is very rare -- and even more valuable.

And, as sad as I am to see Froomkin's voice no longer represented on the Washington Post (I'm certain he'll find another platform), I'm more troubled by what is says about the journalism industry. Indeed, eliminating a voice that is not only exceptional in its appraisal of serious issues, but popular among viewers, simply makes no sense.

All signs point to the fact that Froomkin was let go because of his progressive views.

utopiandrive

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Wednesday June 17, 2009 · 8:58 PM PDT

2009/06/17 · 20:58

Excellent op-ed by Iranian-American journalist Shirin Sadeghi on how America must deal with post-election Iran.

It's unclear whether Mousavi will seriously challenge the results, as much of a sham as they are. Seems like Ahmadinejad will get to continue his march of pettiness and arrogance, and lead the Islamist Republic into a new generation of oppression.

In order to set things straight henceforth, certain tragic realities must be realized: namely, that US policies in the past have helped endure the authoritarianism that has continues to plague the nation -- supporting Saddam, Iran-contra and Bush's boorish macho posturing.

I know this is uncomfortable for the Fox News/Weekly Standard/National Review crowd, but the rest of us interested in a realistic plan for a better future know that overcoming evil requires some self-awareness and not merely finger-pointing.

utopiandrive

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Tuesday June 16, 2009 · 8:12 PM PDT

2009/06/16 · 20:12

Democratic Senator Kent Conrad of North Dakota has voiced his opposition to the hotly debated public option for current health reform legislation. Conrad is instead pursuing "federally chartered co-ops," which he believes will be more politically viable. A member of the Senate Finance Committee, Conrad has a significant influence in developing the legislation.

While disagreement on the proposal is common among Republicans, Conrad is one of few Democratic Senators to oppose it, along with Ben Nelson of Nebraska and Mary Landrieu of Louisiana.

Former DNC Chair Howard Dean rebuked the idea, arguing Monday morning on MSNBC that co-ops are "too small to compete with big private insurance companies" and that the insurance industry "will kill" them. The concept, according to Dean, is a political stunt "designed to deal with problems in the Senate," without adequately addressing the nation’s major health care problems.

Dean’s allusion raises the issue of ties between legislators and health care providers.

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Sunday June 14, 2009 · 8:56 PM PDT

2009/06/14 · 20:56

In Bill Maher's final New Rule for this week, he ripped into Barack Obama, claiming he's not delivering on the change he promised.

Likening him to Lindsay Lohan was a big over the top, but comedians will be comedians. Salman Rushdie, about a month or so ago, on Maher's show no less, rightly said that his big fear regarding Obama was that he's be a "wuss" -- that he'd be "too moderate, too cautious, too Republican."

There's some truth to this concern. He's done some noble things (restoring the rule of law, pursuing diplomacy abroad, reversing many hideous Bush policies) and his ideas are for the most part great, but he's been too hesitant in pursuing them.

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Tuesday June 09, 2009 · 5:22 PM PDT

2009/06/09 · 17:22

President Obama's health care plan is thoughtful and would be a great improvement over the current system. And, as I explain here, it's more politically viable than Clinton-care in the 1990s and several other reform attempts in the past. So far, Obama has made the right moves, inviting everybody to the table and reaching out to all stakeholders.

But now comes the hard, but inevitable part: taking on the insurance companies. The medical-industrial complex won't tolerate any reforms that seek to reduce cost, make health care more affordable or hold caregivers accountable -- it just isn't profitable for them. Their lobbies, like the Health Insurance Association of America (HIAA), are extraordinarily resourceful, well-funded and well-organized. They'll fight these reforms with every fiber of their being, as they always have.

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Tuesday April 28, 2009 · 8:24 PM PDT

2009/04/28 · 20:24

A great discussion about global warming on Friday's Real Time With Bill Maher. It's really incredible that the survival of our species and the health of our planet have somehow become a partisan issue.

We can't fix a problem that we don't accept exists. It would be one thing if Republicans simply disagreed on the methods or the degree to which we should compromise on economic growth to ameliorate this phenomenon. But to be so reactionary as to deny this glaring scientific fact is just.. well, moronic.

But what John Boehner, Michele Bachmann, Michael Steele, John Schimkus and of course, the Bush Administration for 8 years have been saying is that there's no environmental threat coming from our manmade CO2 emissions.

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Thursday April 09, 2009 · 9:31 PM PDT

2009/04/09 · 21:31

The cover page article in this morning's New York Times highlights some of the mounting challenges in the US Afghanistan strategy -- specifically, the internal dissonance in Afghani politics and the corruption in its police force.

If the experience of the American troops already training police officers in Ghazni Province is any indication, better policing may be impossible for Afghanistan unless government officials at all levels stop cannibalizing their civil administration and police force for a quick profit.

In two weeks of interviews in this mountainous region of poor farmers and shepherds, exasperated American soldiers said it was hard to determine which was their more daunting opponent — the few thousand Taliban who ruled villages through a shadow government of mullahs, or corruption so rife that it had deeply undercut efforts to improve the police and had destroyed many Afghans’ faith in government.

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Fox News sources paid health industry flacks as policy "experts"

Environmental Groups Sharply Disagree On Climate Bill

Climate Bill A Positive Step, But It Isn't Enough

Mark Sanford: It's The Hypocrisy, Stupid

Politico's Assault On Health Care Reform

The Froomkin Firing: Why Traditional Journalism Is Failing

Depriving the Iranian regime of its legitimacy

Kent Conrad received over $2 million from health care industry

Bill Maher rips into Obama: 'Not the change I voted for'

Take on the health insurance companies

Global warming: how did our survival become a partisan issue?

The Afghanistan quagmire and why I'm skeptical of Obama's plan