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Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010
By Rich Hancock

 

Dallas Rep. Jeb (or Jim?) Hensarling
has a “D” next to his name---D’oh!

When Dallas Republican Congressman Jeb Hensarling was given the final question last Friday for embattled President Barack Obama, he probably thought he was going to be a star.

But it only takes a couple of minutes in the national spotlight to come away looking like a doofus.

When Obama accepted last week’s invitation to the Republican Caucus’ gathering in Baltimore—a challenge many thought was intended to be “for political style points only”-- folks like Dallas Rep. Pete Sessions, who runs the national GOP congressional campaign committee and Texas Sen. John Cornyn, who holds a similar post for the Senate Republicans, probably thought they were going to be the beneficiaries of billboard material for this year’s campaign to take back control of the congress. You can just imagine them thinking “If he doesn’t show, he’s chicken—and if he does, we’ll nail ‘im!”
The President surprised the minority leadership by accepting their invitation…So now what!?! 

They knew they couldn’t boo and hiss, or shout “You lie!” as Rep. Joe Wilson did in an address to congress last year. That would look bad, and the press cameras would be rolling.

With the mid-term congressional elections coming in November—and the early boost provided by winning a seat in the Senate formerly held by liberal icon Senator Ted Kennedy, republicans have been riding a wave. It has been a wave of fear and confusion over health care reform, anxiety over the budget deficit, animosity over John Edwards’ infidelity and frustration over the lack of jobs created by the stimulus bill.
A chance to emasculate the man who had trounced their party just one year ago was too good to pass up, but the only way for republicans to win the media battle was to be civil--something congressional republicans are not particularly good at--or by winning the war of ideas. The good old days of former House Majority Leader Tom Delay, the Sugarland, Texas pit bull who never seemed to care how his heavy-handedness was perceived in the media, were gone. To invite the President, and then openly attack him, would have defeated the purpose.

The GOP caucus attendees certainly were civil, giving the President every opportunity to speak his mind, and they soon found that this was not working out in their favor.

Obama was without teleprompter, and without equal in a room where he chastised republicans for gratuitously demonizing him and the democrats in the debate over health care reform, reminding them of their culpability in the enormous deficit spending of the Bush Administration and generally taking them to the political woodshed—so much so that FOX News cut away from the live broadcast with twenty minutes left to begin their in-studio right wing spin cycle before Obama could do any more damage. This was not how it was supposed to be.

Enter Our Hero, Dallas Republican Congressman Jeb Hensarling;
This Young Turk of the ideological right was given the last question for Obama—the last chance to nail him to the wall on his evil “tax-and-spend” ways—and poor “Jim”, that’s what the president called him (several times!) was not quite up to the task.

Hensarling started out by reminding the President of a conversation they shared last year about their young children, and how they didn’t want to saddle their kids with an enormous federal deficit in the future. But before the Darling of Dallas’ Democrat-haters got around to an actual question—and we’re talkin’ three minutes and change of right-wing filibuster, chuck-full of fudged factoids and electioneering—Hensarling was gently cajoled by Obama with the helpful suggestion “I know there’s a question in there somewhere…”

Hensarling settled on a question which didn’t live up to the hype—and how could it?—and Obama handled it as deftly as he had the entire hour of give-and-take with his ideological adversaries.
It was so bad that Fox News’ three top shows, The O’Rielly Factor, Hannity, and Glenn Beck, spent about four minutes combined talking about the entire event that night. If Jim or Jeb came out of this event as anybody’s hero, they weren’t making a lot of noise about it.

So, will Jim—I mean, of course, Jeb Hensarling bounce back?

History shows us that presidential candidate and then-Texas Governor George W. Bush survived numerous attacks on his intellect, including a scathing interview in which a Boston TV reporter named Andy Hiller found that Bush couldn’t name a litany of foreign leaders, and that didn’t stop ol’ Dubya from going all the way.

Bill Clinton was practically booed off the stage after a painfully-long speech to the 1988 Democratic National Convention, and he won it all in 1992.

Will this stop Jim/Jeb Hensarling from finding a spot on the national stage?

As a lifelong democrat, I certainly hope so.

Rich Hancock is the host of Rational Talk with Rich Hancock on RationalBroadcasting.com
EmaIl Rich Hancock: Rich@RationalRadio.org

 

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Friday, January 22nd, 2010
By Rich Hancock

 

We the People, Inc…
Or maybe, “Soylent Green” or “RollerBall”?

The United States Supreme Court has ruled in a 5-4 decision that corporations deserve the same rights as individual citizens in federal election campaigns.

Why?

According to the decision, it is because restricting the rights of corporations to flood election campaigns with private advertising in favor of, or in opposition to, a candidate for federal office constitutes infringing on their 1st amendment right to free speech. They must be allowed to speak!

But who are the “they” in question? Are they the chairmen of the board? Nope. Their right to buy advertising to say what they want with their own money is already protected under existing law.  Is it the shareholders? Nope. Maybe it’s the board members? No.

So, whose individual rights are being infringed upon?

Not one single soul’s—and that is precisely the point. The Supremes decided that incorporated entities are people, based on...ummm—well…nope. That’s where I’m stumped.

Let me go on record as saying that I do not regard corporations as “evil”, but I do regard them as immortal and immoral.

I say they are immortal because a corporation does not have a life expectancy, unlike every living thing. Corporations live on in perpetuity, or until the money runs out—and they are immoral because they function independent of any specific moral compass like “Thou shalt not kill” or “Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.”, or even “Hey! Don’t dump that sludge in the river!!!”

I’m not saying that corporations don’t do anything one might consider benevolent or humane, I’m just saying they are not human.

So, how is it that an entity which is immortal and immoral is regarded by the Supreme Court as deserving of the rights of a person?

That just beats the hell out of me…might it have something to do with our former corporate lawyer/chief justice?

John Roberts’ tenure on the court may very well be replete with these kinds of decisions. He’s been making them for a long time on his road to the big bench. Besides, who knew that rich people and their corporate entities were so beaten down by the man? Wait a minute—they are the man!

T. Boone Pickens spent tens of millions of his own private dollars trying to convince us that natural gas, wind and solar were the answer to the foreign oil problem. He lobbied the congress, made his commercials, and spent lots of money out of his pocket. He was free to do so. If he had tried to spend from his corporate holdings to do the same thing, he would have violated the law, because corporations are made up of lots of people, and the law that stood since Teddy Roosevelt said that you couldn’t spend their money on what you wanted to do. He was even free to spend from his considerable personal fortune to finance the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth campaign, tailor-made to destroy the reputation of Senator John Kerry during the 2004 presidential race. He was free to do that—but not with corporate money.

Now we see that a future full of paid advertising on behalf of—or in opposition to-- The Corporation’s Candidates will rule the election cycle.

The movie buff in me wonders which depressing, fatalistic corporate-driven future nightmare my kid can look forward to: “Soylent Green” or “RollerBall”?

Both portray a world where individuals mean nothing, and the corporation is everything. Both characterize the futility of an individual’s desire for justice…and one suggests that when the food runs out, the corporations will happily feed us to each other.

Remember, “Soylent Green is People!”, and Soylent Green Inc. will gladly serve it up.
Bon Apetit.

Rich Hancock is the host of Rational Talk with Rich Hancock on RationalBroadcasting.com
EmaIl Rich Hancock: Rich@RationalRadio.org

 

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Wednesday, January 20th, 2010
Posted by Sean Compton

On today's show we spoke with Rodney Anderson about Information on the Medical Debt Relief Act of 2009‏ (H.R. 3421). This is a bill that will help people's credit by not holding medical bills that have gone to collections against them when it comes to making large purchases (like a house). While the consumer does still have to pay the debt (what, you thought you would be able to get away with it), it will allow thousands of potential home buyers get approved for home loans. Rodney Anderson himself sent us an email thanking us for having him on the show and included some links to videos and news stories on the subject.

If you would like to write your representative, CLICK HERE for instructions on how to find out who represents you in the House Of Representatives.

Be sure to visit Rodney Anderson's Website while you are here!

Scroll down and enjoy!

Sean Compton

 

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From: Rodney Anderson

Date: Wednesday, January 21st, 2010

 

Rich,

Thank you so much for allowing me to be on your show. I will be sending a couple of different emails outlining the bill.


One year ago I publicly launched an effort to highlight the plight of consumers caught in the legal web of medical debt debt that had been sent to collection. Under current law if a an error is made on a consumer's account on medical debt and goes to collection and is paid off that derogatory information on a credit report stays on the consumer's report for 7 years. I have monitored thousands of mortgage applications and found that small medical debts in collection can result in big problems for the consumer: higher fees, higher interest rates or ineligibility to purchase.

Medical debt is unique in two ways: it is most often involuntary and is subject to third party payers who often cause errors. 

Representative Mary Jo Kilroy has become the congressional champion for the Medical Debt Relief Act of 2009, H.R. 3421. Since Rep. Kilroy introduced cin July there have been 70 Members of the U.S. House of Representatives who have signed on to her bill as co-sponsors. H.R. 3421 has been referred to the House Financial Services Committee for consideration. 

16 members of the House Financial Services Committee are co-sponsors of H.R. 3421. Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL), Chair, Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit Subcommittee, Financial Services Committee is a co-sponsor of H.R. 3421. It is expected he will hold hearings on H.R. 3421 early in 2010. H.R. 3421 has attracted bi-partisan leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives including the current and former chairmen of the House Small Business Committee, Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-NY) and Rep. Don Manzullo (R-IL). 

Other House leaders include:

Rep. John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) Chair,House Judiciary Committee

Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA), Chair, House Foreign Affairs Committee Rep.

Bob Filner (D-CA), Chair, House Veterans' Affairs Committee

Rep. Pete Forney Stark (D-CA) Chair, House Health Subcommittee, Ways and Means Committee

Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA) Chair, House Income Security and Family Support Subcommittee, Ways and Means Committee

Rep. John Lewis, (D-GA) Chair, House Oversight Subcommittee, Ways and Means Committee

Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR Chair, Highways and Transit Subcommittee, Transportation and Infrastructure Committee

Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) Chair, Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee, Transportation and Infrastructure

Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC) Chair, Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management Subcommittee, Transportation and Infrastructure Committee

Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN) Chair, Commercial and Administration Law Subcommittee, Judiciary Committee

Rep. Jerome Nadler (D-NY) Chair, Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties Subcommittee, Judiciary Committee

Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-NY) Chair, Emerging Threats, Cybersecurity, and Science and Technology Subcommittee, Homeland Security Committee

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) Chair, Transportation Security and Infrastructure Protection Subcommittee, Homeland Security Committee

Rep. Joe Baca (D-CA) Chair, Department Operations, Oversight, Nutrition, and Forestry Subcommittee, Agriculture Committee

Rep. Leonard Boswell (D-IA) Chair, General farm Commodities and Risk Management Subcommittee, Agriculture Committee

Rep. John Olver (D-MA) Chair, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Subcommittee, Appropriations Committee

Rep. Solomon Ortiz (D-TX) Chair, Readiness Subcommittee, Armed Services Committee

Rep. Ruben Hinojosa (D-TX) Chair, Higher Education, Lifelong Learning, and Competitiveness Subcommittee, Education and Labor Committee

Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA) Chair, Workforce Protections Subcommittee, Education and Labor Committee

Sincerely,

Rodney Anderson

LINKS:

PDF - PDF version of H.R. 3421 explaining the bill...

Video - Original Credit 911 Medical Collections Petition 11/25/08

Article - Medical Collections killing refinance frenzy? Article on TheTruthAboutMortgage.com 12/8/08

Article - An article about The Doctor’s Visit that Can Ambush Your Credit 7/27/09

Article - Here is an article from CreditCardGuide.com by Eva Maria Norlyk on 12/04/09

Blog - Ashley Baxter writes about you and H.R. 3421 on SpendOnLife.com on 10/19/09

Press Release - A press release on 12/09/09 talks about you on MortgageMag.com

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Contacting Your Representative

As a Side note for this post, we would like to foward you the opportunity to contact your Representative on this matter. To find out who your Representative is you will need to have your nine (9) digit zip code. If you do not know what the full nine (9) digits are, go to the United States Postal Service website, enter your information and write it down, you will need it for the next step.

Once you have your full zip code, go to the House Of Representatives website to locate and contact your representative.

If you already know who your representative is, then simply go to the House Of Representatives website to locate and contact your representative.

Thank you for taking the time to read this blog and helping in this great cause. By supporting the Medical Debt Relief Act of 2009 (H.R. 3421), you are supporting the American economy and helping families to realize their dreams.

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