1990 Oil Pollution Act

I sent the following email to Senator Dick Durbin:

Does the 1990 Oil Pollution Act ring a bell?  How could you vote for something like this?  What section of the constitution gives you that kind of authority, and what line of reasoning made you think it was a good idea?

Evidently, he voted to limit the liability of oil companies back in the 90s. 

http://breakthematrix.com/latest/who-voted-to-limit-the-liability-of-oil-companies/

If he responds, I'll let you know.

David Gill on Health Care

David Gill is running for Illinois' Representative in U.S. congress.  I don't think his stance on health care is fully explained on his website (http://www.gill2010.com/issues/affordable-healthcare/), so I sent him this email.

David Gill,

Your stance on Health Care (http://www.gill2010.com/issues/affordable-healthcare/) seems unfounded and misinformed.  Can you please send me a more detailed explanation on how you came to the conclusions that you have come to?  Also, please explain to me what part of the constitution justifies your plans to create a health care system?  What would you say to the people who believe they have a right to not purchase health insurance? 

I will post your response on my blog (http://governingourselves.blogspot.com/) and share it with my friends and family in order to help you spread your message.

I will post his response if I get one.

UPDATE:  Here is David Gill's surprisingly informative response.  I'm actually very impressed.  This is the first time that I've felt like I could actually rely on someone in politics.

     Thanks for your interest in the campaign.  Your blog seems to indicate that you're a mathematician-- is that right?  I got my degree in math and worked in the actuarial field before going on to Med School.

 

     There are further details regarding my proposed health care plan forthcoming in the next 2-4 weeks-- there will be sections on the need for co-pays for non-emergencies, the need to revise EMTALA (the law which currently allows anyone to come to the E.R. for ANYTHING, including hangnails), and the need for federal malpractice reform (which my opponent opposes-- in fact, he was the only Republican in the House to vote against the GOP version of health care reform, for this very reason).

 

      But the foundation of my plan has been well-established for decades.  I would encourage you to peruse www.pnhp.org, which has a load of information regarding the financial viability of such a plan.  The overriding factor is that we should stop giving 38% of our health care dollars away for NOTHING, which is what we do with the private health insurance cartel.  We should use that money for health care, and economic growth-- a recent study sponsored by the California Nurses Association demonstrated that extending Medicare to all Americans, regardless of age, will create nearly 3 million jobs, by taking back all that money that we currently throw into a black hole.

 

     I'm not talking about "creating" a health care system-- I'm just talking about extending the current Medicare system, which is funded by taxes.  No one would be required to purchase private insurance, though I have no interest in outlawing private insurance, either.

 

Thanks,

David Gill, M.D.
www.gill2010.com

Vince LaMie and Shane Cultra

Vince LaMie is running for State Representative in Illinois.  I sent him an email asking him for a detailed plan of what he plans to do.  I will post his response if I get one.

Vince LaMie,

Can you give me a detailed plan of what you plan to do if elected as State Representative?  I'll post your response on my blog (http://governingourselves.blogspot.com/) and share it with my friends to help you get your message out. 

To be fair, I'm sending a similar message to Representative Shane Cultra:

Representative Cultra,

Can you give me a detailed plan of what you plan to do if re-elected as State Representative?  I'll post your response on my blog (http://governingourselves.blogspot.com/) and share it with my friends to help you get your message out. 

I think these are the only two guys who are running for the 105th district.  Surely there's a democrat out there some where.  Anyone know who it is?

Shane Cultra seems to be doing a fine job, so I'll probably vote for him again.  However, Vince is a fellow mathematician and I like to think that mathematicians have a logically way of looking at things and solving problems.  But hopefully, who ever wins will be more in the business of letting us solve our own problems and keeping the government out of the picture as much as possible.

UPDATE:  Below is Vince LaMie's very helpful response.  When I have some time, I'll send him a follow up email and post it as well.

I visited your blog. It is good that you expect detailed explanations to positions taken by politicians and don't seem to accept vague general comments. So, could you provide some detailed explanation to your statement that my opponent "seems to be doing a fine job, so I'll probably vote for him again." He has never had an opponent in the general election, so you haven't had the opportunity to vote for another candidate in the general election. Do you know the details of where his campaign contributions have come from, or what committees he is on?
I am sending a copy of my announcement for you and your followers to get an idea of where I stand.
The corruption in IL is so entrenched throughout the system that the only persons that have not been bought by the system can fight against it. And the system needs to be fixed before we can expect to make any real and sustainable progress. The IL Reform Commission wrote a report that contains many recommendations that would go a long way toward making our system more responsive to the people of IL and reduce the amount of corruption that is an embarrassment to our state. That report contains details of corruption that most of us were unaware. I recommend that everyone in IL get a copy.
I will check your blog for a while to see what type of responses come up.
The Other Guy,
Vince

Closed Door Meetings on Healthcare

Evidently, the democrats are having meetings on health care that are closed to the republicans and to the public. I sent an email to Dick Durbin and Roland Burris asking them why. I will post their meaningless responses when I get them.

My email to Roland Burris and Dick Durbin:

Why are you having secret meetings on health care behind closed doors where the public can't see what's being discussed?