I had the opportunity to meet a very delightful Jo Egelhoff, founder of FoxPolitics.net, a conservative Blog in Wisconsin. Our opinions differ on some of the issues, but Jo offers well-reasoned arguments on the right. I highly recommend signing up to her daily newsletter which provides links to all major stories in WI newspapers for the day. She puts a lot of time into making it easier for those who like to see what's going on in the rest of the state.
 

Also, for those who are heavy into the healthcare issue, get copies of articles (often 8-10 per day) by sending an email to Joykal1@aol.com with "Subscribe" in the subject line.

Joy runs this excellent clipping service as a media rapid response team -- the subscribers have signed on to write letters to the editor, and to the reporters, columnists, Bloggers, and other publishers of the material to raise awareness and correct media misinformation about single payer and other health reform concerns.
 

On my Politicians Should Protect The Public With New Oil-USA Option, those on the right claimed it as being socialistic, and it is. I wish it didn't have to be.

Unfortunately we cannot trust our own oil executives to reign in the rip-off Opec countries. Or to even compete with them. You know, like they do in a free market!

They instead have decided to join them. It is US policies and the lack thereof -- and the campaign contributions to both parties from the executives that want them to keep hands off of corporate control -- that has our country at a severe disadvantage.

Private CEOs and shareholders could give a damn about what their high prices are doing to the U.S. economy or the nation's health. As long as they get theirs, the rest of us should simply live with it. It's a "free market," don'cha know?

And if you carried this to its logical extreme, which right-wingers would like to do, why doesn't the government get out of everything. Let the state troopers get reimbursed on the number of tickets they write, and firefighters on the number of fires they put out. And while we're at it, let's do what one country did and sell the nation's water supply to private industry to distribute at whatever the market will bear?

Clearly, it is everybody for themselves. Health care costs on their way from 15% to 20% of GDP, oil costs going out of sight, and pharmaceutical costs rising at ten times the CPI. All taking a bigger chunk out of everyone's household income as each year passes.

And all while we are selling off our country's assets to foreigners. How long can this last?

If the Middle-East countries were going to take over our country with military force we'd be all over them in a flash. But we remain docile as they acquire our assets and corporations using oil revenues.

Get the politicians off the corporate dole and we won't be complaining about these rip-offs.

Comments from readers:

Reader: "I don't think our country would benefit from pure socialism, but I think we've got a huge blind spot when it comes to considering some aspects that could be adapted to make for a better system here. Kudos to you for your broadmindedness and vision -- and for your courage in voicing such concepts, knowing that you'd catch barbs from those who are so averse (scared?) of the S word."

Reader: "I like the Oil-USA idea. It wouldn't be unlike agencies like FHA which competes with private industries or a Freddie Mac which was chartered by Congress as a private company serving a public mission."

Reader: "Your idea is pure socialism.  Why don’t we have the Government own every thing.  We will have no private business.  The Government can run healthcare, Oil, Banking, communications, etc.  Maybe, we could have a Hugo Chevas type state.  In stead of having the Government run things, like you seem to always want to do.  Why don’t we ease the restrictions on building new refineries?"

Reader: "Jim Sensenbrenner is right on. GOVERNMENT has caused the current refinery shortage. Furthermore GOVERNMENT has stopped domestic drilling of large pools of oil off shore and in Alaska. That alone has contributed to the exorbitant world price of crude oil. GOVERNMENT caused the gasoline shortage and the resulting high prices and you want government to solve the problem. President Reagan said it best: "Government IS the problem, not the solution".

Reader: "Yes, indeed! He's got it right. We've become fat, lazy and stupid, and at this point we're getting nothing less than we deserve. I still think back about Paris and the "riots" while I was there, and then the three million Parisians marching in the streets when now-President Sarkozy (hey, even the French make mistakes) tried to change long established pro-labor laws -- and it becomes painfully obvious how lost we truly are here."

SECRET TRADE DEAL: Dem K Street Lobbyists Begin Whipping Votes

Three weeks after a group of senior Democrats announced a secret free trade deal with top Bush administration officials, Democratic K Street lobbyists are now telling reporters they are making passage of the deal a top priority, likely meaning another NAFTA-style campaign to ram the deal through Congress. Many - if not most - of these lobbyists are former lawmakers and Capitol Hill staff using their ties to Congress to twist arms. Not coincidentally, just last week, congressional Democrats gutted a lobbying reform bill by removing provisions that would have forced lawmakers and staff to wait at least two years before becoming paid lobbyists. Nonetheless, despite the K Street campaign, business interests say they are increasingly worried that they will not have the votes in Congress to pass the secret deal, whose legislative text remains secret. See complete article HERE.

Isn't it fun watching our free-market system at work? Even politicians can be bought and sold!
 

All of a sudden George Bush thinks we have global warming! Yep, a lot can happen environmentally in 6 years.

U.S. Food System Deeply At Risk (Jim Harkness - May 31, 2007)

The recent discovery of an industrial chemical in animal feed and pet food imported from China has added to the mounting criticism of U.S. food safety agencies. But this case represents much more than simply governmental incompetence. It exposes the inherent weaknesses of an industrial global food system designed to benefit multinational agribusiness companies at the expense of public health.

See complete article HERE.

Wouldn't it be nice if Bush hadn't have given away the store and we had money to spend on food inspections. Even meat! Japan inspects 100% of its beef. It is against federal law for US meatpackers to inspect 100% of our beef, even if they wanted to. Obviously because if one did it they'd all have to do it, and they don't want that financial burden. So what better way to fix the problem than to find a politician on the take to slip a one-paragraph amendment into a bill. Another sample of our free market.

Tiger Woods will pull in just under $112 million this year, according to Sports Illustrated, with the bulk of that from endorsement deals and appearance fees.

Now this one I'm not bothered by. He's not cheating shareholders. He's not cheating consumers. He's not buying politicians. If corporations are foolish enough to pay him that much and then add their costs to their product price and compete in the marketplace, well, that's capitalism. And he's doing a lot for kids.

Message to CNN: Turn the debates back to the League of Women voters. You failed!!!

And Tommy, stay home....