This is awesome:
http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/...
Local Hispanic leaders delivered “Binders full of Latinos” to Governor Tom Corbett’s Philadelphia office Friday.
When recently asked about Latino’s on his staff, Governor Tom Corbett replied he didn’t have any.
He then went on to say, “if you can find us one, let me know.”
This statement sparked outrage in the Latino community, says Jorge Salazar, Community Organizer with Pennsylvania United for Immigration Reform.
“We thought it was kind of offensive and decided to take advantage of that and remind all elected officials – whether it’s Senator Toomey, whether it’s Senator Casey or any other state representative- that the Latino vote is growing and they need to take it seriously,” he explains.
Salazar says the binder included information about Pennsylvania’s growing Latino community, as well as nearly two dozen resumes of Latino professionals potentially qualified to work in the Corbett administration. - CBS Philly, 6/1/13
I just can't pass up a good opportunity to write a diary that takes a swipe at Tom Corbett (R. PA), and really, who could blame me? Especially since he refuses to expand Medicaid in Pennsylvania:
http://www.post-gazette.com/...
Gov. Tom Corbett is pressing the federal government for an exemption that he said will prevent about 70,000 Pennsylvania children in a state-subsidized health insurance program from having to switch to Medicaid, although a public interest law center challenging the governor's claims said the children will be better off under Medicaid.
Mr. Corbett wrote Thursday to U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius about his latest request, part of his effort to press her agency to make enough concessions to a federally funded expansion of Medicaid before he will change his mind and allow Pennsylvania to join it.
A Sebelius spokesman did not comment on the letter Friday. However, Community Legal Services of Philadelphia, a public interest law center that advocates for the poor, disputed Mr. Corbett's claims, including his core complaint that some families will have to switch doctors and will have a smaller choice of doctors that they can visit.
For most kids, moving to Medicaid from the Children's Health Insurance Program, or CHIP, will not cause significant disruptions, a Community Legal Services lawyer said Friday.
The lawyer, Richard Weishaupt, said it is already common for families to move between the programs if, for instance, there is a change in the parent's income or the parent loses their job. Virtually all CHIP health insurance companies have a Medicaid product, including the state's four nonprofit Blue Cross/Blue Shield insurers.
"It's just a question of switching them from one product to another," Mr. Weishaupt said.
Still, Pennsylvania could simply require that doctors and hospitals that accept CHIP also accept Medicaid, he said. Many other states have subsidized children's health insurance programs, but governors are not clamoring over the requirement that children switch to Medicaid beginning in 2014.
In any case, Medicaid is better for families than CHIP, Mr. Weishaupt said.
Medicaid covers all medically necessary services, while CHIP provides more limited coverage, which is fine if a child is normal and relatively healthy, Mr. Weishaupt said. In addition, CHIP disqualifies any child with any other health coverage, he said. - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 6/1/13
And the only people praising Corbett on this decision is the Cato Institute’s director of health policy studies, Michael F. Cannon, who served as a domestic policy analyst for the U.S. Senate Republican Policy Committee, where he advised the Senate leadership on health, education, labor, welfare, and the Second Amendment:
http://articles.mcall.com/...
Unlike Corbett, some of Obamacare's former opponents — notably Florida Gov. Rick Scott, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer and Ohio Gov. John Kasich, all Republians — have flip-flopped and now support the expansion. They may think they're helping local businesses, but in reality they're sympathizing with their captors. It's Stockholm syndrome, Obamacare style.
Originally, Obamacare would have forced states to open Medicaid to 17 million additional people. Hospitals would have received so many subsidies that they scarcely minded the law's new taxes and spending cuts. With near unanimity, the hospital lobby strongly urged Congress to pass Obamacare "with or without bipartisan support" as a matter of "national security, equity and fairness." The hospital lobby saw the law as "historic," "a giant and essential step forward," and a "major first step" full of "great improvements."
Then in June 2012, seven Supreme Court justices let states choose whether to participate in the expansion.
Now, the hospital lobby is terrified. If states don't expand Medicaid, hospitals won't get their subsidies. In other words, Obamacare now means the same thing for hospitals that it has always meant for consumers and employers: certain costs, but uncertain benefits. The difference is that hospitals have only themselves to blame. - Michael F. Cannon, Morning Call, 6/1/13
Yeah, great, have some GOP clown from think tank that supports members of the "fuck you, I got mine" mentality praise you for refusing to help poor people and children must make Corbett proud. 2014 couldn't come soon enough. In other news, Corbett's opponent, Congresswoman Allyson Schwartz (D. PA-13), was praised for her work for veterans in local press:
http://www.phillyburbs.com/...
Rep. Allyson Schwartz's first bill in Congress — signed into law by George W. Bush — created a tax credit for businesses that hire veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. This is a law that helps real people meet very real challenges: Get a job, support their families, and restart their civilian life. Recently, Rep. Schwartz offered new legislation that would expand upon the original tax credit and make it permanent.
As a retired major from the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves, I've seen the challenges that face veterans once they return home. While I was fortunate enough to find work, there are too many young Iraq and Afghanistan veterans who struggle.
Only a small percentage of our population serves and protects our nation. They deserve the best treatment when they return home. Fortunately, veterans in Pennsylvania have a leader like Allyson Schwartz. - Philly Burbs, 6/3/13
If you would like to get involved with Schwartz's campaign, you can do so here:
http://www.allysonschwartz.com/...