About the Author
The Author
Andrew Heyman lives and works in Seattle Washington USA. His true vocation is political writing and agitating for the radical idea that a society that is governed by, and serves the needs of the people is best.
Andrew is also the member of a wonderful family with his loving wife, Pam, and the proud father of 2 wonderful children, Josie and Adam. They all keep him from becoming immersed in blogging to an unhealthy degree, and remind him of why he cares about what is going on in this world in the first place.
You can email him at kiacyclic-AT-gmail.com.
GAO Rules Against Bush's Unitary Executive SCHIP Order
In the midst of the tidal wave of presidential election year BS , the on-going crimes of the Bush administration (or crime family if you will) are getting little attention.
Front and center today is Bush's war against health care for low income children. Last year the US Congress twice passed an expansion of the SCHIP program, that would have given more kids access to health care. The president of course vetoed it both times, because everyone knows that it is a political train wreck with the public:
. . . SCHIP is a widely popular program and the legislation attracted bipartisan support, enough fiscal conservatives balked at the additional $35 billion dollars that the expansion would have cost.
In addition, many Republicans, including President Bush, worried the bill would have been a step in the direction of government-controlled health insurance.
Oops, I meant a train wreck with the insurance industry, and way-out-of-the-mainstream-conservatives who populate DC's dime a dozen far-right think tanks.
In addition to the vetoes, Bush issued an executive order that tried to prevent states from expanding SCHIP themselves. Once again the heart of the policy is saving the protection racket of the health insurance companies:
The letter told states what steps they needed to take to be sure the children’s health program would not displace or “crowd out” private coverage under group health plans. The White House cited the policy as a justification for rejecting a proposal by New York State to cover 70,000 additional youngsters.
Nice.
Yesterday the Government Accountablity Office issued an opinion that the order is not exactly legal (at least if we give the slightest attention to the principal of coequal branches of government):
In a formal legal opinion Friday, the accountability office said the new policy “amounts to a marked departure” from a longstanding, settled interpretation of federal law. It is therefore a rule and, under a 1996 law, must be submitted to Congress for review before it can take effect, the opinion said.
Of course Bush, through one of his flying monkeys, dismisses the idea that Congress has any say at all:
But Jeff Nelligan, a spokesman for the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said, “G.A.O.’s opinion does not change our conclusion that the Aug. 17 letter is still in effect.”
Meanwhile the "mainstream" media focuses in on other more important issues:
In a fund-raising letter sent out Friday, the McCain campaign excerpted the words of Hamas political adviser Ahmed Yousef, who in an interview Sunday with WABC radio and WorldNetDaily said the terrorist group supports Obama’s foreign policy vision.
“Barack Obama’s foreign policy plans have even won him praise from Hamas leaders,” the McCain letter says. “We need change in America, but not the kind of change that wins kind words from Hamas, surrenders in Iraq and will hold unconditional talks with Iranian President Ahmadinejad.”
I just don't know if I can make it to November without a few gut-wrenching pukes.
It was inevitable that a man of color with a name like Barack Obama would
be linked to Muslim extremists...but McCain and Billary have more sense
than to make unfounded claims that are perpetrated by the right-wing nuts
on the blogosphere.