Amendment to 9/11 First Responders Bill Adds Insult to Injuries... by Kwicko

REAL WORLD EVENT DISCUSSIONS

Amendment to 9/11 First Responders Bill Adds Insult to Injuries...

POSTED BY: KWICKO
UPDATED: Monday, May 2, 2011 10:27
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Wednesday, April 27, 2011 5:11 PM

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." -- William Casey, Reagan's presidential campaign manager & CIA Director (from first staff meeting in 1981)

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/21/911-responders-screened-for-t
error-ties_n_852198.html

Before you, as a 9/11 first responder, can be eligible for any help with your medical bills, Republican Cliff Stearns wants to make damn sure you aren't a terrorist. Because as we've all seen, so many of the firefighters, police, and other first responders on 9/11 were terrorists. Better check 'em all, just to make sure.

Jon Stewart weighs in on the matter:

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/tue-april-26-2011/friends-without-be
nefits

"Although it is not true that all conservatives are stupid people, it is true that most stupid people are conservatives." - John Stuart Mill

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Wednesday, April 27, 2011 6:19 PM

ANTHONYT

Freedom is Important because People are Important

Hello,

You must be well aware of the old axiom that criminals return to the scene of the crime.

That's why so many congresspeople are re-elected.

--Anthony

_______________________________________________

“If you are not free to choose wrongly and irresponsibly, you are not free at all”

Jacob Hornberger

“Freedom is not worth having if it does not connote freedom to err. It passes my comprehension how human beings, be they ever so experienced and able, can delight in depriving other human beings of that precious right.”

Mahatma Gandhi

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Wednesday, April 27, 2011 6:44 PM

PIRATENEWS

John Lee, conspiracy therapist at Hollywood award-winner History Channel-mocked SNL-spoofed PirateNew.org wooHOO!!!!!!

He must be thinking of the NY Fire Dept commander who told Larry Silverstein to bomb WTC7...

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Wednesday, April 27, 2011 7:00 PM

ANTHONYT

Freedom is Important because People are Important

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=992_1252469648

Hello,

Never forget... to make shit up.

Which reminds me of a favorite song that also describes most of PirateNews' conspiracy theories...

--Anthony

_______________________________________________

“If you are not free to choose wrongly and irresponsibly, you are not free at all”

Jacob Hornberger

“Freedom is not worth having if it does not connote freedom to err. It passes my comprehension how human beings, be they ever so experienced and able, can delight in depriving other human beings of that precious right.”

Mahatma Gandhi

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Thursday, April 28, 2011 12:20 PM

NIKI2

Gettin' old, but still a hippie at heart...

I heard about that one ON Jon Stewart...and I think he did a most excellent job of dealing with it. The reality makes me sick to my stomach...and is a perfect reflection of how pathetic this country is becoming.

I strongly recommend Stewart's take on it. The concept that anyone would go through the hell of 9/11 and the subsequent illness so they can give their money to terrorists is so far out in left field I'm amazed anyone even IMAGINED it!!!

Guess I shouldn't be, given the way things are going. Breast exams and pap smears at Wallgreen's, "not intended to be a factual statement"...it's incredible.

Hippie Operative Nikovich Nikita Nicovna Talibani,
Contracted Agent of Veritas Oilspillus, code name “Nike”,
signing off

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Thursday, April 28, 2011 7:09 PM

RIONAEIRE

Beir bua agus beannacht

That's terrible, whoever decided to add this is trash.

"A completely coherant River means writers don't deliver" KatTaya

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Saturday, April 30, 2011 4:22 PM

KWICKO

Quote:
Originally posted by RionaEire:
That's terrible, whoever decided to add this is trash.

"A completely coherant River means writers don't deliver" KatTaya

Would you like to know WHY the Republicans added it? WHY they diddled and dawdled so long to ever approve such a bill in the first place?

They didn't do it because they actually think there might be "terrorist bystanders" who are going to try to claim some 9/11 money. They did it because they think some of - MOST of - the 9/11 first responders are actually sick, and they want to delay any payments of medical bills and hospitalization costs as long as possible, in the hopes that most of these folks will simply die before any money has to be spent on them.

These were the people who went in to dig through the rubble, the survivors who went into the burning towers on September 11, 2001, and who were assured that their nation would "never forget", and would owe them a debt of gratitude, and would look out for them. They were assured by the Bush Administration that the air was safe to breathe at Ground Zero, and they were ordered in. They were lied to, but they believed in their country and their mission, and they did their job, their "duty" as they saw it, believing that their country would do its duty for them when the time came.

And the GOP has proven to them once and for all that it never believed in them at all, never supported them, and never had any intention of doing right by any of them.

And they are clamoring to treat the injured veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan the same way. Never doubt it. And remember it every time you vote.

"Although it is not true that all conservatives are stupid people, it is true that most stupid people are conservatives." - John Stuart Mill

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Saturday, April 30, 2011 6:35 PM

DREAMTROVE

I saw this on Jon Stewart.

Anthony,

John is referencing Building 7, no one disputes this, really, John isn't making it up, he's stating the obvious, not conspiracy theory, but well recorded fact, not about the twin towards, but about Building 7.

The point that makes it a valid point here is that people who had to work in the clean up had to work with that, including toxic chemicals that were stored in Building 7, which is not conspiracy theory, and there's not really any good reason for them having to deal with that.

Silverstein is responsible at least for that part of the mess. I have no problem with us admitting that. It's sort of like admitting that predator drones attacked US forces in friendly fire. That's not conspiracy theory, and it's not made up, it happened, it's part of our historical record of Earth and we have to deal with it.

That said, the whole "let's screw over the first responders" has been going on since day one. I have to say, in unrelated news, Silverstein is a schmuck. He tried to charge the families and employers of people who held leases on offices in the building rent for the offices that had killed them every month after month while the property he was renting continued to no longer exist and the people he had rented to were still dead. He also knew he was doing it. That was one of the first known truths to come out about 9/11, I think it hit the streets here before anyone was clear on Osama, which I'm not sure we are, but long before "let's invade afghanistan" the whole "Larry is such a dick that he's charging dead people rent" was new. I have to say that nothing he has done since has made me think that he is any less of a dick.

Mike,

They did it because they're also dicks. They wanted the Democrats to look bad because they thought "this is so dickish that even democrats won't vote for it: and then it turned out that the democrats were also dicks, and voted for it, robbing the republicans of a chanced to be even more of dicks by saying "look, dems found some terrorist that and gave money to them." Because that's the sort of thing that the GOP would do. Just to be dicks.

It was a dick move, and the dems, not to be out done, were dicks as well for seconding it.

That's what a ship is, you know - it's not just a keel and a hull and a deck and sails, that's what a ship needs.

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Saturday, April 30, 2011 6:59 PM

ANTHONYT

Freedom is Important because People are Important

Quote:
"John is referencing Building 7, no one disputes this, really, John isn't making it up, he's stating the obvious, not conspiracy theory, but well recorded fact, not about the twin towards, but about Building 7.

The point that makes it a valid point here is that people who had to work in the clean up had to work with that, including toxic chemicals that were stored in Building 7, which is not conspiracy theory, and there's not really any good reason for them having to deal with that.

Silverstein is responsible at least for that part of the mess. I have no problem with us admitting that. It's sort of like admitting that predator drones attacked US forces in friendly fire. That's not conspiracy theory, and it's not made up, it happened, it's part of our historical record of Earth and we have to deal with it."

Hello,

I'm not sure exactly what you're talking about, but I'm pretty sure it's not what I'm talking about. Piratenews thinks that this guy blew up building 7. And that is very much in dispute.

--Anthony

_______________________________________________

“If you are not free to choose wrongly and irresponsibly, you are not free at all”

Jacob Hornberger

“Freedom is not worth having if it does not connote freedom to err. It passes my comprehension how human beings, be they ever so experienced and able, can delight in depriving other human beings of that precious right.”

Mahatma Gandhi

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Sunday, May 1, 2011 2:18 AM

KWICKO

DT, can you provide a name for the Democrat you say "seconded" this amendment? I can only find references to it sneaking in on a voice vote among literally dozens of other amendments put forth by GOP-baggers in an effort to kill the bill.

"Although it is not true that all conservatives are stupid people, it is true that most stupid people are conservatives." - John Stuart Mill

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Sunday, May 1, 2011 8:15 AM

NIKI2

Gettin' old, but still a hippie at heart...

Quote:
They did it because they think some of - MOST of - the 9/11 first responders are actually sick, and they want to delay any payments of medical bills and hospitalization costs as long as possible, in the hopes that most of these folks will simply die before any money has to be spent on them.

Ditto, and more. It sickened me that they were all in favor of more money for the rich, and spewing how “un-American” anyone was who protested the wars, while at the same time QUITE happy to let our vets come home to trashed hospitals and get lousy medical care. And of course the Gulf will be the same...put things off long enough and some will die, thereby saving the money of caring for them. Soldiers are only pawns to the GOP, to be used and tossed aside, that’s been obvious for ages. How many soldiers’ claims were rejected, and how many with PTSD were RETURNED to combat? This shouldn’t surprise anyone, when you think about it.

As for the Dems, balless idjits that they are, I believe it was just one more compromise:

Quote:
Democrats accepted on a voice vote after battling to bar other amendments on abortion and immigration that might have killed the bill.

They didn't SECOND it at all, they just LET it pass. I certainly don’t excuse them, but they didn’t go along with it by choice, they wanted to get the bill passed and had already fought every ridiciulous amendment the Republicans put in to kill it. You don’t get off blaming the Democrats; the Republicans PROPOSED it, they USED it to try and kill ANY help for the First Responders, and it’s never going to make any difference because it’s stupid; any First Responder has TO BE ON THE TERRORIST WATCH LIST to be disqualified, and none of them will be, so it’s a moot point, just more stupidity to try and get the bill killed.

It’s a bad joke; even the 9/11 responders in the room when it was read laughed at it. I think Huffpost was putting spin on it to say

Quote:
participants in the 9/11 treatment and monitoring programs will soon be told that their names, places of birth, addresses, government ID numbers and other personal data will be provided to the FBI to ensure they are not terrorists.

I read the amendment; it states specifically that their NAMES have to be checked against the terrorist watch list, nothing more. The excuse was to exclude any terrorists who might have been hanging around and got injured:

Quote:
The prohibition is included in two parts of the bill. One specifically covers responders, while the other deals with all survivors, including office workers, bystanders and residents

but it’s stupid, obviously just a tactic, and offensive.

One only has to GLANCE at their resistance to providing First Responders medical care to know what was afoot:

Quote:
Republicans argued Tuesday that it would put the nation's finances at risk if Congress gave aiing Sept. 11 responders a permanent, guaranteed program to ensure they get health care.

Calling the Sept. 11 Health and Compensation Act a new "entitlement program" like Medicare, GOP members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee argued the nation already has too much that it must pay for. They said obligating the feds for lifetime care of tens of thousands of 9/11 responders was too much of a burden.

"By making this a new mandatory program, you jeopardize the financial health of the United States of America," said Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.).

"Some of the conditions that are covered under this legislation seemed unusually broad to me because we're talking about asthma, sleep apnea, panic disorder, anxiety disorder, even substance abuse," said Kentucky Republican Rep. Ed Whitfield. "It's so broad that I think it's going to cover a lot of things that may not be directly related to this incident."

Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-Ga.) argued New York was trying to dump its responsibility for caring for victims of the terrorist attacks on the feds.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2010/05/25/2010-05-25_gop_us_
cant_afford_to_fund_entitlement_program_for_911_rescue_workers.html#ixzz0oynNn3dD

I mean, come on...does anyone need more than a modicum of common sense to see the tactics? ENTITLEMENT, for gawd’s sake?? Passing the bill on to New York? Saying it will jeopardize the entire economy of the country? Not to mention the fact that anxiety disorder and panic disorder ARE very real and debilitating conditions, which they cheerfully dismiss. There are a finite number of First Responders; when they're gone, the cost ends. And if anyone is "entitled" to medical coverage, along with the people we sent off to war to be injured and killed, its those who helped at 9/11.

I think the Dems just recognized this was just another stupid amendment, and put their attention into fighting the more egregious ones, in the hopes they could get the damned thing PASSED. It’s obvious the excuses made by the Republicans are just that: excuses to avoid the cost. That they then turned around and DEMANDED keeping the hideously expensive tax cuts for the rich pretty much say it all.

Hippie Operative Nikovich Nikita Nicovna Talibani,
Contracted Agent of Veritas Oilspillus, code name “Nike”,
signing off

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Monday, May 2, 2011 8:02 AM

RIONAEIRE

Beir bua agus beannacht

I'm not the type of person who hates. I can't say I hate anyone specifically, historical dictators, sure, politicians who invented this amendment to not take care of these guys, sure, but not people I know personally. But I hate the idea that people are trying to short change our warriors, that pisses me off, if they're willing to go fight then we need to be willing to hold up our end of the agreement and make sure they have proper medical care and treatment and respect. I believe that our lack of respect and honor contributes to their difficulties coming home, readjusting to life out of war. And I also think we need to show proper respect and care to our heroes at home, firefighters, rescuers, the first responders who go in to a situation to save folk regardless of what might happen to them. These people need us to fulfill our end of the agreement to them too. So I hate the idea of America trying to short change the people we owe so much to, that's just trashy behavior and it makes me upset. I wish I could fix it.

"A completely coherant River means writers don't deliver" KatTaya

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Monday, May 2, 2011 10:27 AM

DREAMTROVE

Mike,

Henry Waxman.

That's what a ship is, you know - it's not just a keel and a hull and a deck and sails, that's what a ship needs.

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