MN GOP has “Watchlist” For Dayton Appointees

Senate Majority Leader David Senjem says two of Governor Mark Dayton’s appointees are on a Republican “watchlist”.

Republican Senators recently rejected Governor Dayton’s Public Utilities Commissioner Ellen Anderson saying that her support of clean energy over “traditional” energy such as coal and nuclear power was too “extreme”.

Senator Senjem says Dayton’s choices for Health Commissioner Ed Ehlinger and Minnesota Pollution Control Agency Commissioner Paul Aasen are on the “watchlist”. Asked what that means, Senator Senjem says that means they will be watched… and possibly not voted on this session.

Assistant Senate Minority Leader Terri Bonoff called Senator Senjem’s choice of words “unfortunate” and said that DFLers and Republicans need to govern “in concert” and not as enemies.

Appeals Providing Sick Immigrants Life Saving Care Says MN Governor

Poor, sick undocumented immigrants in Minnesota on dialysis and cancer treatments are being kept alive thanks to appeals being filed with the help of state employees. A provision drawn up by Republican lawmakers and slipped into the state’s special session budget bill cut off Emergency Medical Care funding to undocumented immigrants at the beginning of the year.

Hospitals and the State Department of Human Services only became aware of the change in state law in December. That set off a panic filing of appeals for the immigrants to extend the treatments. Appeal filings became complicated because many of the immigrants do not speak English.

On Tuesday Governor Mark Dayton praised his Department of Human Services Commissioner Lucinda Jessen for filing the appeals.

“Commissioner Jessen has rightfully used her discretion to allow people who are directly effected, who really are in emergency situations to make appeals and that continues their health care while that process is going on”, said Governor Dayton. “But that can’t occur indefinitely. So it is going to require a legislative action and possibly some additional funding.”

On Thursday, House Speaker Kurt Zellers defended the Republicans who wrote the anti-immigrant provision into the state’s budget, but promised the law would get reexamined. Governor Dayton says Commissioner Jessen has had some “very preliminary discussions” with the House and Senate leadership about changing the law.

Transcript of Governor Dayton’s comments on the Emergency Medical Care crisis. … Continue Reading

Anti-Immigrant Law To Be Reevaluated Says MN GOP Leader

A law that tossed seriously ill undocumented immigrants off Emergency Medical Care will be reevaluated promises Minnesota House Speaker Kurt Zellers. The provision in the Republican authored legislation which never had a public hearing was added to a large budget bill during a special session in July.

“We’ll evaluate it. And if there needs to be a fix or correction. We’ll do that,” Zellers told a press conference on Friday.

Governor Mark Dayton who signed the legislation says he was not aware of the provision when he signed the bill into law. He says the several pages of provisions that targeted immigrants were intentional and came from the Republican chairs of the committee that drafted the legislation.

“I think there was an intentionality there,” said Governor Dayton. “So it’s really incumbent on them to say what their intentions was and whether this was the outcome that they intended, and if so why. And if not, let’s go back and correct it.”

The law which went into effect this month essentially forces undocumented immigrants on life-saving kidney dialysis and cancer treatments to seek more expensive care through hospital emergency rooms.

“I think some of it really goes beyond the pale of what Minnesotans think is fair treatment of fellow human beings, which is to discontinue people’s emergency treatment and threaten their lives,” said Governor Dayton.

Hospitals forced to swallow costs on uncompensated care, government transparency issues … Continue Reading

Not “Yes HE Can”, But “Yes WE Can” Says Rep. Ellison

Despite Republican congressional resistance that’s made it difficult to make headway on progressive issues, Minnesota Congressman Keith Ellison is optimistic about 2012.

“America is ready” Representative Ellison told a supportive crowd at the “Blue State Ball”. “This is a progressive moment.”

Republicans have made a lot of mistakes since winning a majority in the US House. The latest gaffe of opposing a payroll tax cut has hurt their standings in polls even more than Democrats. However Representative Ellison says despite that, and a group of Presidential candidates that even the Republican base finds uninspiring, Democrats need to unite and fight or they will not take advantage of the moment.

“We cannot depend upon the incompetence, ignorance and bigotry of our opposition. We have got to hang together and move forward. We are in a progressive moment, y’all.”

Movement needs to power Obama, not the other way around … Continue Reading

GOP Candidates Ignore Americans with Mental Disabilities

Rick Westendorf, an Iowan with a mental disability, told The UpTake on Caucus night that the candidates competing for the Republican presidential nomination have not addressed the rights of Americans with mental disabilities.

Westendorf, who lives in a group home in Waterloo, Iowa, is appalled that the candidates have paid lip service to opposing Social Security benefits. He mentioned seeing a television advertisement recently that appeared to attack the popular program. No GOP presidential candidates have actually advocated for eliminating Social Security, but former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum has favored making immediate cuts to the program. He did so in Fort Dodge, Iowa., and again Friday in Keene, New Hampshire.

“That would mean that I couldn’t live in a group home,” said Westendorf. “But people need those kinds of places. What about people who have to live in group homes because they don’t have any other place to live?”

“People are going to get very mad if we lose our funding, and have to go find work even though we can’t work.”

Progressives Challenge Obama In Iowa

Video by Roger Routh

For three years progressives have been trying to get President Barack Obama to live up to their expectations. And so far according to the founder of Progressive Democrats of America, they’ve been disappointed.

That’s why Tim Carpenter is organizing people to go to the Iowa caucus and vote for “uncommitted” as a way challenge President Obama.

“We’re organizing uncommitted slates to go to the caucus on Tuesday to challenge Barack Obama because he gave up on his promise to single payer (health care). He took too long to get troops out of Iraq. There’s still troops in Afghanistan. And we need a financial transaction tax.”

Carpenter’s call to action can be backed up with political muscle. Progressive Democrats of America was formed out of the people who fueled the Presidential campaigns of Howard Dean and Dennis Kucinich.

Carpenter appeared with the Reverend Jesse Jackson at an organizing meeting in a Des Moines area church this week. They both endorsed an “inside outside” strategy — asking activists to go to the caucuses and work inside the Democratic party as well as participating in the “occupy” movement that works outside the party.

Transcript of Progressive Democrats of America Founder Tim Carpenter’s remarks … Continue Reading

New MN Anti-Immigrant Law Targets The Sick

Video by Bill Sorem

UPDATE: Because of there have been so many appeals, the Department of Human Services has postponed implementing the new policy until January 8, 2012.

A provision stuck onto a Republican authored bill during Minnesota’s one day budget special session this past July may mean death for seriously ill undocumented workers. The law which goes into effect on January 1, 2012 prevents undocumented immigrants from receiving medical care under Minnesota’s Emergency Medical Assistance program.

Immigrant rights groups, community leaders and Representative Karen Clark (DFL-St. Paul) are calling on Governor Mark Dayton to take executive action to assure that nobody dies because of the law change.

About half of the people who would lose their medical care are in Hennepin County according to Hennepin County Commissioner Gail Dorfman. ” It’s an impact of 22 million dollars on lost emergency medical assistance in Hennepin county alone. So we’re really worried about folks who are in nursing homes, folks who are on dialysis, chemotherapy, have a serious mental illness or rely on emergency medical assistance for their care and for their medication and they will lose that on January First.”

County officials are scrambling to notify people who have only until tomorrow (Thursday December 30) to file an appeal with the Department of Human Services to prevent a cutoff of lifesaving services. Complicating the matter is many of the people don’t speak English.

If funding is cut off, it is possible hospitals will have to absorb the cost of providing care to the undocumented immigrants said Representative Carlos Mariani (DFL 65B). “But frankly its very unfair for them to have to do that, because it makes it harder for them to provide medical care for everyone in the community.”

Representative Karen Clark (DFL-61A) says Governor Dayton has told her he is “‘distressed” to find out this was in the omnibus budget bill. “So it’s clear that most of us who would never support this, including the Governor, on any full blown discussion were taken a bit by surprise.”

So how did such a draconian provision get inserted into a major budget bill, get passed and then signed by Governor Dayton?
… Continue Reading

Oakland Dampens Occupy With Mud, New Port Blockade Planned

Oakland, CA, December 5, 2011. Occupy Oakland’s original site is now a mud flat. The city has turned on the sprinklers to keep the plaza a field of mud.

A few tents border the square. The tree house which has been occupied since day one is still there. Occupiers take turns in the tree house. A bystander noted that since most of the original protestors were not homeless, they’ve merely gone home until the next action.

There are a few specific actions, Burger King was targeted that day. The group has organized a port blockade on December 12 to stretch from Oakland to Portland Oregon. Click here to see blockade organizing poster. At this point it’s not clear if the Longshoremen will support it.

Holiday lights twinkle from the City Center and quiet prevails, a far cry from a few weeks ago. Organizers haven’t given up, they are just waiting. … Continue Reading

OccupyMN Can Stay on Plaza, Just Can’t Sleep

A solidarity rally convened on the People’s Plaza (Hennepin County Government Center) on the day the county issued new roles for the occupation. New rules prohibit sleeping. One speaker questioned how that was to be enforced. Do deputies have to tap everyone with eyes closed to see if they are sleeping? If they wake up as a result of the tap, they are no longer violating the rule.

The speaker went on to say, “We can’t allow ourselves to be distracted. The one percent would like nothing more than to shift the conversation away from what we have been doing to define the problem of income inequality in this country and have us focus on the sheriff tapping people to see if you are awake or not.”

Union representatives, community organizers, Women Against Military Madness all added their voices in support of the Occupy Movement. One speaker said, “They may take our toilets but they can’t take our ideas.”
The OccypyMN movement began on the Plaza on Oct 7, 2011, so they are now in the second month of occupation.

OccupyMN Wins Free Speech Battle With Hennepin County

Chalk up a victory for free speech at The People’s Plaza (also known as the Hennepin County Government Center). OccupyMN’s protest signs are back and Hennepin County workers have relented in their attempts to take them down.

Overnight, County workers had taken taken down OccupyMN’s signs and moved the encampment’s tables, food and everything else to the western side of the plaza. The reason given was the need to “winterize” the fountains and moving water in the plaza.

The participants after initial dismay decided to recreate much of the infrastructure, setting up signs. A face-off with county security was peaceably resolved after consultations with county commissioners and other staff members. Minnesota ACLU entered the discussion questioning infringement of First Amendment Rights. The plaza was reorganized on the western side and activities resumed as usual.