Alabama

Rep. John Conyers Brings Health Care Reform Message To Greater Birmingham ... Oct. 21

October 12, 2011 by Left in Alabama

Alabama New South Coalition of Jefferson County and the Over the Mountain Democrats have an early treat for Greater Birmingham ... Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (D, Michigan), sponsor of HR 676, often referred to as the Medicare for All Act, will urge Alabama to implement healthcare reform in a responsible fashion.

When: Friday, October 21 at 5:30 pm

Where: Miles College’s Brown Hall in Fairfield, Alabama

Admission: Free!

Jeff Sessions and Richard Shelby Won't Even Talk About Jobs Bill

October 12, 2011 by Left in Alabama

"Where are the jobs?" is just a campaign slogan to Republicans.  They run a mile from any actual jobs legislation.  Harry Reid is rightly calling them out for putting politics before the good of the nation:

You Get What You Pay For

October 12, 2011 by Left in Alabama

My Facebook friends keep me informed about every special event—last week it was National Angelfood Cake Day, and yesterday was National Coming Out Day. For docs who see Medicare patients, it seems like every day has turned into Fix the SGR Day. To the point that I want it fixed too, just so they will find something else to talk about!

The SGR (Sustainable Growth Rate) was intended to be a tool to keep Medicare payments to providers from escalating out of control. It hasn’t worked, partly because it has never been used as anything other than a threat or bargaining tool.  Each year (or more often than that), Congress delays putting it into effect but lets the AMA foam at the mouth protesting. Because payments have risen much faster than the SGR allows, invoking it would result in an ever-increasing cumulative pay cut.

Crisis in Alabama: "We need your help"

October 12, 2011 by Left in Alabama

FLORENCE, Alabama – Pedro and his wife, both of whom are undocumented immigrants, decided to put all their belongings in the car and leave with their son for Arizona. Even with its SB 1070 immigration law, they expect Arizona to treat them better than Alabama under its law HB 56.

In a housing complex full of small homes in the city of Florence, two hours from Birmingham, relatives and friends said goodbye to Pedro and his family as they packed and checked the brakes of their car in preparation for the long ride.

Pedro, a construction worker from the state of Guerrero,  Mexico, lived in Alabama for seven years. “If it weren't for the law, I'd stay here, but I have a brother there (in Arizona) who says that everything's okay now and there are plenty of jobs,” he said.

Life in Alabama is impossible, he told me, and he wasn't confident that the attempts to block the law through the courts would succeed. And even if it did, the immigrant community faces too hostile an environment here to stay, he added.

“You can't drive anywhere; you can't go out because all it takes is seeing a policeman to scare you”, Pedro said.

Decatur Church Group Joins Crackdown on Illegal Immigrants

October 12, 2011 by Left in Alabama

First, let me say how proud I've been that so many churches - including many very conservative congregations - have stood up against Alabama's racist and unconstitutional immigration law. But not all of them have taken the plunge. And one food ministry that receives funding from multiple churches has taken things even a step further.

"We thoroughly check everybody out," [CCC Director Gayle] Monk said. "We've even got wind that a lot of them have illegal Social Security cards. So I've tried to educate my staff on what to look for."

Alright. That's pretty bad; this is not a government organization and the "harboring" provision that applied to churches was struck down. But I suppose this is the kind of language we'll be hearing from government organizations from here on out. But wait, it gets worse.

[Monk] "The majority of the Hispanics, No. 1, can't speak English when they come in here and, No. 2, have a Social Security card that is fake," Monk said.
"The majority of them that come in here don't have everything they need, and they don't come back. We even have problems with some of our (non-Hispanic) clients because they get mad because we require so much information."