COVID-19 & Healthcare

About that Arizona Daily Star report on Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick

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ScreenshotWe all know that the political reporting at our sad small town newspaper, the Arizona Daily Star, consists mostly of rewriting the press releases it receives from the campaigns and maybe contacting the media flak who sent the press release. If it’s a congressional race, the  Star somehow feels compelled to contact its former political reporter hack Daniel Scarpinato, who now works for the RNCC, for a gratuitous quote.

The Star has been engaging in highly selective editorial discretion this week in how it is reporting on the VA scandal in Phoenix, based upon news reports from The Arizona Republic (that’s right, the Star gets its news from other newspapers). The editors are glossing over Sen. John McCain.

On Monday, the Star reported Local angle: Kirkpatrick heard from VA whistleblower in February: “In comments to the Arizona Republic, [Dr.] Foote said a McCain aide responded but Kirkpatrick’s staff never did.” (I’m curious, is Sen. John McCain not the senator for Southern Arizona as well? Is he not a “local angle”?)

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Anti-choicers actively tried to harm Arizona women with medication abortion law

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Crossposted at DemocraticDiva.com

pill cartoon

The official line on TRAP laws (Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers) is that they are necessary to make abortion “safer”. Of course, anti-choicers bent on passing often have a hard time staying on script about that, as we saw in April during the floor debate in the AZ legislature about surprise clinic inspections.

But Wednesday’s debate quickly moved from medical necessity to religion. Sen. David Farnsworth, R-Mesa, said he supports this measure because he backs anything he considers to be “pro-life.”

“It is amazing to me that we in America can give a slap in the face to God above by killing these unborn children,” he said. “Who is more defenseless than a child in the womb?”

Sen. Al Melvin, R-Tucson, commented about being a Roman Catholic and a Republican.

“And I take great pride in that my church and my political party both stand for the sanctity of human life, from conception to natural death,” said Melvin, a Republican candidate for governor.

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Will Dr. Richard Carmona answer the call to duty and serve as Secretary of the VA?

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Why, oh why must the media villagers report every utterance of Senator John McCain?

Two words: “Sarah Palin.” After inflicting this carnival barker on the American people, any last remaining doubt should have been removed that John McCain is entirely lacking judgment. No one should be asking this man for his opinion about anything.  This old coot should be left to talk to himself while sitting on a park bench on the National Mall. “Get off my lawn!”

And yet, on Sunday John McCain’s political base, the media villagers who still adore him, felt compelled to report his latest raving. McCain’s unlikely pick for next VA secretary: Sen. Tom Coburn. Seriously?

Sen. Tom Coburn is not a veteran. He graduated from Oklahoma State University in 1970 at the height of the Vietnam war, yet spent the 1970’s working as a manufacturing manager at the Ophthalmic Division of his father’s Coburn Optical Industries. Coburn earned his medical degree in 1983; he specializes in family medicine, obstetrics and the treatment of allergies, not exactly familiar with combat trauma care. Coburn is an ideological extremist, The Top 11 Most Godawful Things Retiring Senator Tom Coburn Ever Said, and is best known as “Dr. No” in the Senate for abusing the “secret hold” privilege of senators to object to nominations and to filibuster bills.

The only reason John McCain wants Coburn is this: McCain is working closely with Coburn and U.S. Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., on legislation to privatize the VA that McCain will introduce in the Senate on Tuesday.  McCain wants his guy on the inside.

Coburn has replied “thanks, but no thanks, I am not interested.” “I look forward to leaving the Senate” because I am being treated for prostrate cancer for godssake!

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Action Alert: Call your senators and tell them to vote for Sen. Bernie Sander’s VA bill

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mccain_flakeEarlier this week I reminded you about The real VA scandal: GOP filibustered the VA bill in February. That’s right, Arizona’s senators Tweedle-Dumb and Tweedle-Dumber filibustered the VA bill because they wanted an amendment that would have undermined current negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program, because Neocon war monger John McCain wants to get his war on with Iran. Also, because it “costs too much” and “adds to the debt.”

Congress should have thought of that before it created a boatload of veterans in need of health care because of the unnecessary and illegal war in Iraq that George W. Bush put on the nation’s credit card creating that debt.

Our veterans were made a promise for their service to their country. Raise taxes on the wealthy who did not serve their country in Iraq and Afghanistan, but who financially profited off the military-industrial complex to pay for veterans health care going forward. This is the price of freedom — who are these Plutocrats to deny those who served in their place?

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The VA scandal The Arizona Republic has failed to investigate

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PhoenixVAThe Arizona Republic investigative report on the Veterans Administration hospital in Phoenix has led to a national scandal in which the inspector general of the Veterans Administration issued the nineteenth report since 2005 about scheduling delays at VA hospitals that may have compromised patient care. The Secretary of the Veterans Administration, General Eric Shinseki, did the honorable thing for an old soldier and submitted his resignation to the President on Friday.

The editors of The Arizona Republic, as well as many politicians here in Arizona, had called upon Gen. Shinseki to resign, so “mission accomplished.”

The VA scandal that The Arizona Republic has failed to investigate is this: every congressional office has staff that spends their days dealing with constituent services. Veterans in particular are not shy about calling their members of Congress when they are having problems with the VA. How is it possible that members of Congress were unaware of the problems at the VA? Our members of Congress have all sounded like Captain Renault in Casablanca, “I’m shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here!”

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