(This is so much more polite than I was feeling when I read about McCain's comment. Thank you, Pollchecker for crossposting from the Great Orange Satan... - promoted by boadicea)
At today's health care summit, Senator McCain used Texas as an example of HCR. Bad example John.
The anti-choice protest 40 Days for Life began yesterday, and for the next forty days clients of Planned Parenthood will be subjected to harassment from protesters. The protest, which takes place during the forty days of Lent and forty days in the fall, focuses on reproductive health care facilities and specifically on Planned Parenthood. This protest has been happening for several years and each year they have expanded the protest to more locations around the country. However, locally the protest has received less media coverage and the amount of protesters who have continued the vigil throughout the protest has also diminished. But, something is different this time.
What makes this 40 Days for Life different is that it is the first protest since the former director of Planned Parenthood Abby Johnson resigned, and joined the organizer of the protest the Coalition for Life. When Johnson first resigned I was among the first to question the validity of the claims that she made against Planned Parenthood. Recently investigations by Texas Monthly, and the Texas Observer also raised questions about the legitimacy her conversion. Fellow KEOS radio show host and blogger, Shelly Blair, was interview for both of those stories, and appeared on Biased Transmission last night and gave more insight into those events.
That is the only thing that is different this time. Nothing has changed about the message of the protesters, and none of the information given to clients has become more factual. Nothing has change the fact that women need access to reproductive health care, and the protesters continue to harass and impede women's ability to access reproductive health care while having their privacy protected. Nothing has changed the dedication of the employees of Planned Parenthood, and the volunteers who escort patients into the facility. Nothing has changed except that there is a new face on the other side of the fence.
It was a long hot August for those who would like to see health care reform, as rabid "Town Hall" protesters proffered visions of public options that would lead to death panels and socialism and government tax collectors with special alien mind control powers that would use sex education and child indoctrination and black helicopters as the means for gay people to impose their dangerous agenda on the innocent, God-fearing citizens of someplace in Mississippi that I'm not likely to ever visit.
Part of the reason that opposition was so rabid was because health care interests were spending millions upon millions of dollars doing...well, doing whatever the opposite of giving a distemper shot to the angry mob might be, anyway.
So wouldn't it be great if all the CEOs of all those health care interests were to gather at one time and place so you could, shall we say, gently express your own thoughts regarding the issues of reform and public options?
By an amazing coincidence, that's exactly what's going to happen Thursday in Washington, DC, as the Patient Centered Primary Care Cooperative (PCPCC) holds its Annual Summit.
Follow along, and I'll tell you everything you need to know.
On a Saturday I got out of bed at six in the morning, and put on some comfortable clothes threw a good book in my backpack and put some good music on my iPod. Then I rode my bicycle about three miles down the road to Planned Parenthood. Why would I get up so early on a Saturday just to go to Planned Parenthood? Because not sleeping in on a Saturday morning can make an important impact on women's reproductive rights. I started volunteering at the local Planned Parenthood in Bryan, Texas about a year ago, and in many ways I feel that it has been one of the most significant things that I do as an activist that effects people's lives.
Every day women walk through the doors of reproductive health facilities, and in many of these facilities women must deal with harassment for what is a very private and personal choice. The protesters that line up in front of these facilities claim that they are there because they care about women, and that they want to see an end to abortion. However, it is difficult to believe that the protest care about women when they participate in a culture that is patriarchal in nature and decidedly anti-woman. It is also difficult to believe that they want to see an end to abortion when they oppose every policy that actually reduces the number of abortions.
Early on Saturday mornings I arrive at the Planned Parenthood clinic, a facility that has been routinely targeted over the years but has enjoyed loyal support from community members. Sometimes if you arrive at the clinic in the early morning there are not protesters, but this week marked the first week of the anti-choice protest 40 Days for Life. As I came through the gate I noticed about half a dozen protesters in front of the fence that surrounds Planned Parenthood, and I parked my bicycle near the front door. The Planned Parenthood I volunteer at is surrounded by a fence, and staff and patients park inside the fence that provides a barrier between them and the protesters. Some reproductive health facilities are not as fortunate.
The anti-choice movement is not about abortion, but then again, the pro-choice movement is not about abortion either.
Today marks the first day of 40 Days for Life, an anti-choice movement that began in College Station, Texas. In 2004 the Coalition for Life began protesting outside of the Planned Parenthood in Bryan, Texas for the forty days of Lent. Protest of Planned Parenthood is nothing new, however, this protest was held for twenty-four hours a day for forty straight days. Throughout the day and night protesters stood in front of the fence with their heads bowed, or stood on the sidewalk holding up protest signs. Over the last several years the 40 Days for Life protest have expanded to twice a year, and according to the web site has spread 212 cities throughout the United States and in two other countries. Word has spread through social networking sites, and also through church communities.
The Coalition for Life likes to characterize the protest as peaceful, and emphasizes the prayer and display of protest signs. However, protesters regularly verbally target patients, volunteer escorts, and Planned Parenthood employees. The medical staff that works at Planned Parenthood has regularly been targets of verbal abuse, and some of the staff has received death threats. The volunteer escorts, who walk patients from their cars and are there as a welcoming presence, are also targeted by the protesters. The moment that a patient opens their car door the protesters begin shouting through the fence, and giving false information about reproductive health care and Planned Parenthood. In the past the Coalition for Life has distanced themselves from actions taken by protesters at Planned Parenthood, and does not take responsibility for the actions of the protesters.
Eight years ago the unthinkable happened. The government that was responsible for protecting the citizens of this country failed and a small group of middle eastern men, mostly Saudi Arabian in origin, overtook the crew of several planes and flew two of them into each of the towers of the World Trade Center. That day over 3000 lives ended and thousands more ruined forever, including the first responders and anyone else who inhaled the debris.
Along with those lives, America lost something else. America lost its courage and delicate cohesion. America, in general, fell victim to fear. And it is no surprise given that for the following months all of the major media channels played the video of the attacks as a permanent moving wallpaper behind the talking heads.
Last year there was certain energy around campus: perhaps one of the most significant elections in recent history was taking place and political activism was coming to life on campus. It did not matter what political ideology you identified with, or what issue you found to be most compelling, there was a conversation happening somewhere on campus. The question is now whether or not a campus that has never been significantly politically active will continue to expand on that political and activist energy, or during the relative quiet during a year when there is not a presidential or congressional election will that energy fade away.
What may capture the interest of the student body is a debate that has heated up during the month of August as students prepared to return to campus for the fall semester. The debate over health care reform has already sparked some student activism, as students participated in the recent town hall on health care reform that was presented by Congressman Chet Edwards. The Texas A&M Chapter of the Young Conservatives of Texas voiced opposition to health care reform, while the Aggie Democrats voiced their support of health care reform. However, it is difficult to predict if this single issue will be able to propel students who have not been involved in politics or activism before to become involved now. Despite being the most politically conservative student body in the country, there is not a considerable amount of conservative political activism on campus. Perhaps the most consistently politically active group of conservative students have been active in off campus activism; over the last several years several students have been actively involved with the pro-life activism off of campus. Students have regularly been among the protesters who stand outside of the fence at Planned Parenthood, and many join in the 40 Days for Life campaign which now takes place twice a year. However, many other students have joined those like myself who stand inside the fence, and escort patients and clients inside the clinic to provide them with support and be there for people who are making a very difficult choice.
There is a new group of activist students that may be reaching out on campus, a group of students that a much more progressive but do not actively participate in partisan politics. The Human Rights Coalition, which was founded as a local grassroots organization earlier this year, is working towards becoming recognized on the Texas A&M campus. Originally founded by Charles Biash, Amelia Mayer, and Renee Robinson, this group of community members and students has focused on several issues from social justice to animal rights, and has modeled itself less after the hierarchal political organizations and more as a community of activists. Currently Braden Deckard is working with anthropology professor Michael Alvard to gain recognition as an organization on campus, and to bring more progressive activist opportunities to students. Most recently the Human Rights Coalition played a very significant role in the protest of the immigrant family detention center T. Don Hutton in Tyler, Texas, and the coalition of activist organization that protested the detention center eventually lead to the closure of the facility as a family detention center and the changing of the Obama Administration's policies towards immigrant detention. However, organizations like this one are the exception that proves the rule.
Since the Supreme Court issued its decision on Roe v. Wade there has been a struggle in the United States over reproductive rights, and that struggle has included violence. This year for the first time since 1998 an abortion provider was murdered, and the rhetoric of the anti-choice movement has become increasingly vicious. After the murder of George Tiller in his church earlier this year, there is only one doctor in the country that specializes in late term abortions; Doctor Warren Hern is now the only place for women in the most difficult of circumstances to go if they need a late term abortion.
One of the most tragic things in the reproductive rights protest is the stories of women who have been actively involved in the anti-choice movement who then either desire or need an abortion. Those in the reproductive health care field have told me stories of patients that consider themselves pro-life but felt that their situation was justified. A doctor that performs abortion in Arkansas has told me stories of anti-choice protesters who would bring in their crying daughters to have an abortion at the very facility that they protested with the parents. In an article in Esquire magazine, Doctor Hern described one incident with a teenage patient:
"What brings you here? he asked. I have to have an abortion. Why? I'm not old enough to have a baby. But you told the counselor we should all be killed? Yes, you should all be killed. Why? Because you do abortions. Me too? Yes, you should be killed too. Do you want me killed before or after I do your abortion? Before."
There has been a discussion in the last few months of the extremism that has been surfacing in the public discourse over several issues and the most prominent of the issues is currently health care. The rhetoric from conservative lawmakers, commentators, and the blogosphere has been increasingly severe, although they have repeatedly denounced violence while invoking increasing vicious rhetoric. Across the country townhall meetings have erupted with constituents, who may have legitimate concerns, shouting down lawmakers and invoking violent and distasteful images; North Carolina Congressman Brad Miller received a death threat because of his support for the health care reform proposed by Congress.
However, this situation has been present in the reproductive rights debate for decades, and now that the relative calm of the Bush Administration is over another wave of violence may be around the corner. The murder of Doctor Tiller is not an isolated incident, nor was it perpetrated by a "lone wolf." Scott Roeder, the man accused of murdering Doctor Tiller, is involved in a fanatical network of anti-choice activist. According to a report by the Kansas City Star, since Roeder's arrest he has been visited in jail by the man behind the Army of God web site, two convicted clinic bombers, and several other radical anti-choice activists. One of the activists that visit Roeder said that they "support the shooting of George Tiller as justifiable homicide." This also comes after Roeder made a threat after Doctor Tiller's murder that there are "many other similar events planned around the country as long as abortion remains legal."
(We must protect our vital (and refreshing) liquids from those who would deny us. - promoted by boadicea)
WASHINGTON (FNS) - In a startling development related to the recent disruptions of town hall meetings, FNS is now able to confirm that the Obama Administration, with the assistance of Unilever Group and Queen Beatrix, both of the Netherlands, PepsiCo, Skull And Bones, and the Bilderberg Group, is unleashing a secret plot to dispatch fleets of unmarked aircraft and helicopters to prevent teabag protesters from having access to teabags.
The goal of the plot: to disrupt protesters' plans to save America from the destruction of our health care system.
FNS reporters have been following a trail of information that includes airport noise abatement records, classified documents, and the testimony of insiders, some of whom are now willing to be publicly identified.
We'll begin our story by reporting on three events that occurred the evening of Friday, August 8th.
The long, lazy days of summer are upon us, and it's time to have a little fun-but it's also a great opportunity to volunteer a bit of spare time for a good cause.
So imagine how cool it would be if you could combine the two...and even better, do it in a way that doesn't take a bite out of your wallet...and even better yet, if it was something you and the kids could do together.
Imagine no more, because it has been done; which is why today we are going to be talking about lead in the soil of New Orleans, Operation Paydirt...and Fundred Dollar Bills.
Bryan-College Station Chamber of Commerce Proposed Resolution on Health Care
Be it resolved that the Board of Directors of the Bryan/College Station Chamber of Commerce express its opposition to any legislation that develops National Healthcare in the United States, and
Whereas, what we say is in italics, but what we mean is in bold
Whereas, the health care plan as proposed creates huge inequities among all hard-working wage earners in America, and
Whereas, the current health care system in America has created huge inequities among hardworking wage earners in America, and a universal health care system would create huge inequities in the insurance companies' profit margins
Whereas, this proposal will require huge tax increases in order to subsidize the planned program, and
Whereas, under the current system Americans spend more money on health care than in any other country and receive health care that is only adequate for those that can afford health care
Whereas, the Federal Government should not be in the business of controlling and manipulating the health care system, and
Whereas, the insurance companies would like to maintain their control over manipulating the health care system
Whereas, the enactment of a government-run, health care insurance program is not sustainable. No confidence exists in the Federal Government's ability to deliver the cost containments necessary to expand coverage of the uninsured, and
Whereas, the government run health care system could not work efficiently, but it would work too efficiently and private health insurance companies could not compete
Whereas, the private health care insurance industry has the existing tools to contain costs and the incentives necessary to improve quality and affordability for their customers, and
Whereas, the private health care insurance industry has the existing tools to contain the costs and the incentives necessary to improve quality and affordability for their customers, but will continue to exploit their customers in order to increase their profit margin
Whereas, under the health care reform bill, access to health care will become unreasonable to the highest degree. The rationing of health care in countries with socialized medicine has led to patients dying because they were forced to wait too long to receive treatment, and
Whereas, under the current health care system there are patients dying because they do not have access to affordable health care because the insurance companies have either denied them coverage or denied their claims, or patients are forced into bankruptcy because the cost of life saving treatments are so expensive
Whereas, the solution in health care reform lies in improving the quality and affordability of health care through market-based changes, and
Whereas, the solution in health care reform lies in improving the quality and affordability of health care through market-based changes: see the housing market, the automobile industry, and the banking industry
Whereas, the focus on health care reforms should be directed in finding ways to make private health care coverage more affordable and to provide fair and adequate reimbursements for care.
Whereas, the focus on health care reforms should be directed in keeping private health care coverage affordable only for the affluent and to providing unfair and inadequate reimbursements for care to the poor
Therefore, be it resolved that: The Board of Directors of the Bryan/College Station Chamber of Commerce representing 1400 businesses in our community states through this resolution its strong opposition to the proposed changes in our country's health system through government interference and control that negatively impacts businesses, and
Therefore, be it resolved that: The Board of Directors of the Bryan/College Station Chamber of Commerce representing 1400 businesses in our community states through this resolution its strong support of the status quo, and strong opposition to proposed changes in our country's health care system that could positively impact the health of Americans
Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be forwarded immediately to our elected representatives in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate.
Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be returned to the Republican National Committee and the health insurance lobbyists that oppose universal health care.
It has been an amazing week in Iran, and you are no doubt seeing images that would have been unimaginable just a few weeks ago.
For most of us, Iran has been a country about which we know very little...which, obviously, makes it tough to put the limited news we're getting into a proper context.
The goal of today's conversation is to give you a bit more of an "insider look" at today's news; and to do that we'll describe some of the risks Iranian bloggers face as they go about their business, we'll meet a blogging Iranian cleric, we'll address the issue of what tools the Iranians use for Internet censorship and the companies that could potentially be helping it along, and then we'll examine Internet traffic patterns into and out of Iran.
Finally, a few words about, of all things, how certain computer games might be useful as tools of revolution.
Today, I got the full true brunt on why we need gay marriage. This afternoon, I read a sad and disturbing blog on Daily Kos which I am a member of. It told the story of a man who sat in a car with a good friend who is gay of his looking at a picture of the friend's lover. He had the photo because the friend was not allowed to see his lover per request of the family. The blog on DailyKos is called Tonight we said goodbye to a photograph. When you read this blog, I can assure you that you will be furious, upset and brought to tears. I was.. I will not spoil it for you. All of you really need to read this for yourselves.
Several blogs in support have appeared since I read this. But one blog that popped up just about did it again. It was from a married man who after reading 'Tonight we said goodbye to a photograph', not only cried himself, but felt the need to express his feelings. His blog on DailyKos is called 'In Honor of Bob and In Memory of Ken: Please Help Spread This Message'.
He requested that everyone pass the following message via e-mail, blog, newsletter, or any form you can to get this across. After you read this,
go to DailyKos at www.dailykos.com.
Dear friends and family,
The other night while I was on the computer reading a few blogs, I came across a story that broke my heart. It made me cry, and that does not happen to me very often. I was deeply moved and wanted to share it with you. Please read it. Let me say that it is about gay marriage and equality. Some of you may not agree with me that gays and lesbians should have the same rights as everyone else. Some of you may feel that "traditional" marriage is threatened by civil unions or gay marriage. You may want to skip reading this, because you think you will not agree with it. Please don't. Read it and put yourself in his place. Imagine it is you and your spouse in that situation, or your parents. You don't have to agree with homosexuality to agree that every human being deserves to be treated with dignity and respect. All I ask is that you open your heart. I apologize in advance for the harsh language in the email, but I do not want to alter it because it conveys the depth of this man's anguish.
"Tonight, surrounded by his family, my best friend Kenneth took his last assisted breaths in a hospital known for its "compassion and care" in the area. His family held his hands and whispered their loving goodbyes while the life slipped from his body and he went to his rest. A sudden heart attack claimed him.
But someone was conspicuously absent...
In the parking lot, Bob, his partner of 26 years, said goodbye to a photograph. It was a photograph of he and Kenneth on vacation celebrating their honeymoon 6 years ago after having been "married" in a ceremony that meant nothing more than symbolism to a society that was, at turns, benevolent about the whims of a few gay folk, yet smirking about his love for another person of the same sex. "Have your fake ceremonies, for what they are worth, but don't get obnoxious and ask for anything actually bordering on legal or realistic." society told them. But Kenneth & Bob took it, because validating it to one another was really what counted. But tonight, it ended up needing to mean so much more.
Bob carried that photograph in his wallet as a reminder of his relationship and what it meant to him.
Tonight, he said goodbye to a smiling face in a picture because he had no legal right to be present to say goodbye to his loved one in person. So Bob sat in the parking lot in the passenger seat of my car and wondered the fate of the man he had given his love and life to. He held the only thing at that moment Kenneth's family could not take away from him - that photograph.
The hospital, at the behest of Kenneth's family, had banned Bob from Kenneth's room, or seeing him in the hospital at all. 26 years treated as though they were mere passing acquaintances or work colleagues. Simply because Kenneth's family could never accept their son's orientation (NOT "lifestyle" as some refer to it).
Tonight, a nurse sympathetic to Bob's situation and in violation of the hospital policies, came to the car window and delivered the news to Bob that Kenneth was gone. And Bob said his goodbyes and wishes of love and peace to a picture. A fucking photograph. Held to his chest as though he were holding his loved one in tears. Because that was all he had.
His partner is gone and his partner's family took away the dignity that Bob had a right to as Kenneth's lover, confidante and lifemate - as his husband.
To his family:
You took away Bob's right to say his goodbyes because of your own misguided fears, but you can never take away his love or his memories. Your son deserved to hold his partner's hand as he went away, knowing Bob loved him and was there to see him to the other side. You heartless bastards...I hate you right now. You may laugh at our relationships and dismiss them, but your God weeps for your ignorance and cruelty.
You will never take Bob's devotion to Ken away from him...or the smiling photograph of he and Kenneth in happy times.
Ken, tonight, we say goodbye to your photograph. But we know you understand and forgive us.
You will be missed."
After you have read this, go hug your wife, or your husband, or your parents, and think about the relationships you have. Think about what they mean to you. Now consider if those relationships were denied. All anyone wants is to love and be loved. It is the most fundamental of human emotions. If this story moved you as much as it moved me, please consider sending it on to others. I truly believe that human equality is worth fighting for, and that humanity as a whole is strengthened and uplifted when every man, woman and child is afforded their basic human rights and is treated with kindness, dignity, and respect.
With love and warm regards,
Spudnic
My heart goes out to Bob for his loss. But remember this, the same anti gay marriage rules apply to non-married heterosexual (common law) couples as well.
President Obama has decided to keep the military commission system that his predecessor created to try suspected terrorists but will ask Congress to expand the rights of defendants to contest the charges against them, officials briefed on the plan said Thursday.
According to another article in the New York Times, the upgraded military commissions "would limit the use of hearsay, ban evidence gained from cruel treatment, give defendants more latitude to pick their own lawyers and provide more protection if they do not testify."
Despite the "revamped" commissions this raises questions, and on the heels of decisions to repress photographs depicting torture it appears that the President may not be making as clean a break from the Bush Administration policies as he promissed during the campaigned. Beyond the civil rights issues of the decision to continue the military commissions there are political issues. President Obama has made it clear that he intends to shut down the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, however, as of yet there is no clear plan to how it will be shut down and what will happen with the detainees. Congress has already denied the $80 million that the President has requested to fund closing Guantanamo, and there is increasing political pressure not to allow detainees to be transferred to the United States.
It has not been my practice to engage in a great deal of self-promotion in this space, but I'm going to make an exception today...which means you are hereby warned that a commercial lies ahead.
I promise I won't be asking for your money, only for a couple of minutes of your time.
What are we selling?
Your friendly fake consultant is competing for a scholarship to the Netroots Nation Convention this August in Pittsburgh...and I'm looking for your support.
According to an article in the Dallas Morning News the privatization of Texas health care has "failed needy Texans and taxpayers," while Evercare of Texas has attributed its problems to "normal start-up issues." The state has fined Evercare, $1 million in fines last year, $400,000 in fines due to the recent North Texas complants, and was ordered it to increase staff and fix other problems. However, a $1 million dollar fine represents about 1.3% of UnitedHealth Group profits from 2007; UnitedHealth Group owns and operates health care companies such as AmeriChoice, PacifiCare, and Evercare.
"Since 2003, the state has paid the company's Evercare and United Healthcare units more than $1.2 billion to provide managed care to more than 255,000 Texans under four programs... It enjoyed record profits in 2007 - $7.8 billion in earnings on $75.4 billion in revenue."
The problem is that when large corporations are fined relatively small amounts of money it does not have the desired effect. Companies that make billions of dollars in profits are not affected in the same way that smaller businesses are by regulations. It is the cost of doing business.
"UnitedHealth has amassed fines around the country. In September 2007, the company's UnitedHealthcare unit agreed to pay $12 million to 36 states and the District of Columbia to settle complaints that it applied incorrect fee schedules and deductibles, was slow to pay claims and failed to correct problems identified by state regulators."
It takes more than a yellow ribbon to support our service members and veterans.
As reported by Miller-McCune veterans are returning home to find that the Department of Veterans Affairs is not providing the support for veterans that it should. According to the article veterans face a wait of six months to two years to receive benefits.
Those who appeal a VA decision to deny their disability claims have to wait an average of 1,608 days, or nearly four and a half years, for their answer. During this process, veterans often fall through the cracks into homelessness, hopelessness and self-medication with alcohol and illegal drugs.
As military members are returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan many are experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In the hyper-masculine culture of the military it is difficult for many veterans to admit that they may have PTSD, much less seek the help that they need. This problem is compounded by the amount of time it takes to receive a claim from the VA; it can take months of submitting and resubmitting paperwork until veterans can receive the medical benefits they need.
Since the start of the Iraq war, the backlog of unanswered VA disability claims has grown from 325,000 to more than 600,000. In the six months ending March 31, 2008, a total of 1,467 veterans died waiting to learn if their disability claim would be approved.
However, the system that has been set up by the VA is much like the system that has been set up by many health insurance companies; a system of promotion based on denials.
The VA promotes claims adjudicators based on how many cases they clear, not on whether they make the right decision. "A VA claims official is required to clear 12 claims a day," Roche notes. "If they deny your claim, they can take an 'end product credit.' So as far as statistics go, they have cleared a claim. "Denying 12 claims a day is an easy thing to do."
Veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have filed a lawsuit against the federal government; the veterans are alleging that they were illegally denied disability benefits despite being diagnosed with severe cases of PTSD.
"The veterans allege that they each were discharged from duty after an Army review board concluded that they had suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and thus could no longer serve. Yet, in violation of federal law, the suit contends, the veterans' disabilities were not rated severe enough to qualify them for both ongoing disability payments and medical coverage for themselves and their families."
The following is the third installment of a Left of College Station series: The Issues We Face, an in depth look at the issues that progressive activist will face in the coming year and the coming 111th Congress and 81st Texas Legislature.
Possibly the most difficult task for progressive activist is continuing the movement to abolish the death penalty, particularly in a state that has executed more people than any other in the United States since 1976. There is a particular urgency to this issue; every battle fought is literally a battle for life and death. Organizations such as the Innocence Project of Texas have worked to save lives; Texas has wrongfully convicted 32 people which is more than any other state in the country.
On Friday's episode of Meet the Bloggers there were several activist and progressive bloggers who discussed the death penalty including Mike Farrell, President of Death Penalty Focus, and Liliana Segura, rights and liberties blogger at AlterNet.org. This discussion ranged from the racial inequality that is present in the justice system to the inhuman and uncivilized nature of the death penalty.
The United States has prided itself on being an example for the rest of the world, yet this country is the only developed western nation that has not abolished the death penalty and finds itself in the company of nations that we often point to as the most egregious human rights offenders. There are four countries that executed more people in 2007 than the United States (42): Pakistan (135), Saudi Arabia (143), Iran (317), and China (470); the United States and those four countries represented 88% of all the executions carried out throughout the world in 2007.
