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Friday Linky Open Thread

by: David Dayen

Fri Aug 08, 2008 at 17:36:38 PM PDT


I think these open threads are working out.  Hope you enjoy them.  Here are a few thoughts.

• This is a week old, but Nick Kristof's column about Prop. 2 (the farm animal safety measure) is well worth your time.

• It's still up in the air whether or not we're going to have Alan Keyes on the California Presidential ballot in November.  There's a lawsuit between two members of the American Independent Party over who should be their nominee.  It seems to me the very definition of "frivolous," but as someone who deeply enjoys mocking Alan Keyes I have a dog in this fight, so do the right thing, Sacramento Superior Court!

• The Log Cabin Republicans, who I also like to call "gluttons for punishment," rolled out their No on 8 campaign last week.  The website is Republicans Against 8.  It's the libertarian thing to do to get government out of the bedroom, so hopefully they'll sway some folks.

• This is absolutely revolting and someone needs to go to jail:

For hundreds of homeless people, posing as phony hospital patients provided them a clean bed and cash. For the hospitals that processed them, it meant a full patient-load and a paycheck from the government.

Now some of those allegedly involved in what authorities say was a massive scheme have been charged with billing government programs for millions of dollars in unnecessary health services.

A hospital CEO was arrested Wednesday after federal agents raided three medical centers. City attorney Rocky Delgadillo's office has also sued the hospitals, saying they used homeless people as "human pawns."

It's kind of the flip side of homeless dumping, or who knows, it was run in concert.  Either way, sickening.

• Jerry Lewis is trying to get a bunch of lobbyists to fund his Congressional portrait.  The worst part about this deal is that Jerry Lewis will have a Congressional portrait hanging in our nation's capital.

Add whatever you wish in the comments.

David Dayen :: Friday Linky Open Thread
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Santa Cruz County finally reaches rail agreement (8.00 / 1)
They've been trying to buy out the tracks that Union Pacific owns in the county, paralleling Highway 1 and connecting the main population corridor, since 2005. Today they finally reached an agreement that paves the way for passenger rail service to be restored to the line, although the funding for that doesn't yet exist.

I cannot wait to take a train from Monterey to Santa Cruz - or from Monterey to the Bay Area, for that matter. It's not just a matter of convenience, but of sustainability, economic grotwh, and transportation necessity. Our future lies on the rails.

You can check out any time you like but you can never leave


yeah animal rights whatevert (0.00 / 0)
When I see people violating the rights of humans who work in cruelty free restaurants and the like, you'll pardon me if I don't give a frak about "animal rights."

I have no desire to make an animal's life miserable. But when PEOPLE are being screwed over on health insurance, well that takes a precedence. Sorry if that makes me "not progressive."

--
www.gregdewar.com


No reason there should be a choice (8.00 / 1)
Or perhaps you can name one for me.  But I just can't see any way that banning one form of injustice somehow hurts the fight against other forms of injustice.  Dealing decently and honorably with all those we encounter is pretty much a package.  The dehumanizing corporate mindset that thinks it's OK to mistreat animals to make a little more profit is the same as the mindset that says it's OK to leave workers without decent healthcare or a living wage.  Both forms of injustice come from the same place and attacking them together works better than trying to rank them in a hierarchy of importance.  

[ Parent ]
Agreed (8.00 / 1)
It's really about a culture and a society that chooses to leave cruelty behind, whether it is to animals or to humans. The conditions for those chickens are deplorable, and eventually we are going to treat them humanely. Might as well start now.

I think?

[ Parent ]
The most disheartening part about the Hospital fraud (8.00 / 1)
is that it could not have been done without quite a lot of people knowing about it.  The care of hospital patients is a group enterprise and a lot of staff at all levels had to know what was happening.  I'm fairly sure they are all non-union hospitals which helps to explain it - a lot of folks with a lot of fear for their jobs turning a blind eye.

I suppose (8.00 / 1)
People can justify ripping off the government, for whatever reason. It's why people who would never consider stealing from the local candy store knowingly cheat on their taxes. It's a big nebulous body, who's going to miss a few million here or there.

Of course, such logic will ultimately bring down the government if it is allowed to fester.

I think?


[ Parent ]
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