Health Care Reform

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Why is “national security” defined ONLY in ways that assume MILITARISM?

October 26, 2019 GlenAnderson 0

The term “national security” is almost always ASSUMED to imply the need for more militarism, more fear of people in other countries, more willingness to fight wars, more military weapons, more military spending, and more nuclear weapons. That is a VERY NARROW channeling of our vision and our thinking. Really, our nation is NOT SECURE in many other ways.  Our nation is NOT SECURE when: Many people are poor Many people are homeless Many people lack decent health care Many people feel alienated from society Many people are very angry Many people own guns that endanger themselves, their families and […]

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New study shows ANY use of nuclear weapons would hurt environment, climate, health

October 12, 2019 GlenAnderson 0

Nuclear weapons are MUCH MORE than merely a “peace” issue.  The new report shows that ANY use of nuclear weapons would cause extremely serious damage to our health, our environment and our climate. We must ELIMINATE NUCLEAR WEAPONS before they eliminate us!   Physicians for Social Responsibility (www.psr.org) reports this: A groundbreaking new climate study shows just how urgent it is to prevent nuclear war and eliminate nuclear weapons before they eliminate us. “Rapidly expanding nuclear arsenals in Pakistan and India portend regional and global catastrophe,” published in Science Advances on October 2 by leading researchers Owen Brian Toon and […]

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Ralph Nader’s article: “25 Ways the Canadian Health Care System is Better than Obamacare for the 2020 Elections”

October 12, 2019 GlenAnderson 0

This article is interesting.  We need to focus on real health care reform and not settle for Obamacare or other weak alternatives.  See Ralph Nader’s article here: https://www.commondreams.org/views/2019/09/19/25-ways-canadian-health-care-system-better-obamacare-2020-elections?cd-origin=rss&utm_term=AO&utm_campaign=Daily%20Newsletter&utm_content=email&utm_source=Daily%20Newsletter&utm_medium=Email        

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“Being Christian in America in a Time of Crisis”

October 6, 2019 GlenAnderson 0

The October 2019 episode of “Glen’s Parallax Perspectives” takes a fresh look at some of our nation’s social and political issues – especially in light of religious faith.  Many of the public policy issues that our nation is grappling with have been pushed hard from conservative Christian viewpoints, but those are NOT the only voices of Christianity. Moderate, liberal and progressive Christians have insights that differ greatly from the highly publicized views that have gained political power. Our October 2019 interview features three retired Christian ministers sharing faith-based insights and perspectives that are VERY DIFFERENT from those that have been […]

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What bold, positive realities would you want for 4 years from now?

October 6, 2019 GlenAnderson 0

I am always encouraging people to envision and organize bold goals for a significantly better future.  Recently I posted to my blog this article inviting us to do that:  http://parallaxperspectives.org/lets-boldly-create-the-future-we-really-want-2 Now I invite you to take the next step. Please read (or re-read) that blog post and send me your e-mail suggestions for this topic: What bold, good reality would you want for four years from now — October 2023? Instead of feeling constrained by the current conditions that are bogging our nation down and curtailing our imaginations, I invite you to BOLDLY AND CREATIVELY IMAGINE the future you really […]

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Local people’s priorities for the federal budget are the OPPOSITE of Congress’s.

September 27, 2019 GlenAnderson 0

Twice in late summer 2019 the Olympia Coalition to Abolish Nuclear Weapons organized and staffed information booths at public events (Olympia’s Harbor Days from Fri. Aug. 30 to Sun. Sept. 1, and Olympia’s International Peace Day event on Sat. Sept. 21). I labeled six jars with different possible uses for our federal budget.  Our volunteers handed each visitor to our booth a stack of ten pennies and invited them to put the pennies into the various jars to show how the visitor would choose to spend the federal budget. The results (listed below) were similar for both events, except “Environment […]

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If Democrats nominate Biden or another neoliberal “centrist,” Trump could win in 2020.

September 27, 2019 GlenAnderson 0

Voters in 2016 were angry at the status quo, and they wanted Bernie Sanders, but the institutional Democratic Party manipulated things in order to cram Hillary Clinton down our throats instead.  Hillary thought the status quo was OK with just a little tinkering around the edges, and her “centrism” failed to inspire voters.  Voters voted for a radical non-politician named Trump and hoped for the best. Now the institutional Democratic Party is repeating their same mistake by opposing the true progressives (Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren) and trying to push Joe Biden or another “centrist” down our throats. 2020 will […]

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“Replace Negativity and Centrism with Bold Progress.”

September 27, 2019 GlenAnderson 0

A great many issues are important, but neither of the two big political parties is doing nearly enough to solve these problems.  While voting has some value, the most progress in solving problems will occur when ordinary people organize nonviolently, strategically, and vigorously from the grassroots. The article I am attaching below fleshes this out briefly.  For more information, see resources I’ve posted to this blog’s “Organizing” category. During 2019 The Olympian is publishing five op-eds that I am writing.  The one at this link was published in the newspaper on Fri. Sept. 27, 2019: BOC — 2019.09.19 — FINAL […]

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Sharp contrasts between economic equality in Norway vs. gross inequality in the U.S.

September 22, 2019 GlenAnderson 0

The headline of the article I’m linking below asks, “Is Norway better off with socialism than the U.S. is with capitalism?” The article’s sub-head says: “The numbers show that the U.S. has wealth, but that wealth is collected in only a few hands. Norway has wealth, but it is spread more evenly.” Actually, the headline’s use of the word “socialism” somewhat overstates the case. Norway’s economy really is basically capitalist, but Norway has deliberately designed its government and its economy to serve the broad public rather than a rich elite. The article linked here includes stark contrasts between Norway and […]

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Protect TRUTH and DEMOCRACY from Trump’s constant abuses!

September 22, 2019 GlenAnderson 0

Trump is relentlessly, repeatedly attacking TRUTH and attacking DEMOCRACY and other humane values in so many may ways that people are increasingly afraid that our constitutional government will be replaced by Trump’s dictatorship. Congress is not doing nearly enough to protect us.  Trump has been stacking the courts with young, right-wing extremists who will continue imposing Trumpism upon us for decades into the future.  Media ownership is concentrating in fewer hands, and those are increasingly right-wing, so now fewer Americans know what is really happening.   A recent article was titled:  “How Democracy Dies: Big Brother is Erasing the Public […]

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How to stay focused on OUR message and not let an opponent create the soundbite that they want

September 22, 2019 GlenAnderson 0

  For EVERY issue we work on, we need to COMMUNICATE EFFECTIVELY with various kinds of audiences.  Sometimes this includes people who disagree with us — and sometimes people who want to attack or derail us. In order to make progress, we need to stand strong on OUR messages and not letting anyone hijack the conversation or distract the other listeners.  This is true whether we’re talking about Universal Single-Payer health care, changing our economic system, protecting the climate, abolishing nuclear weapons, or any other issue. HERE IS A GOOD EXAMPLE: Universal Single-Payer health care (“Medicare for All”) would save […]

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Trump appointed MANY, MANY judges — young right-wing extremists who will enforce Trumpism for MANY DECADES into the future.

September 14, 2019 GlenAnderson 0

Trump and the Republicans do NOT want an honest government that will function properly and serve the public interest (by protecting consumers, the environment, social justice, constitutional rights, etc.), Trump and the Republicans DO want government to perform the bad functions (military violence, cruelty to immigrants, violations of human rights in the U.S. and worldwide, massive imprisonment, etc.). Accordingly, Trump has refused to fill many vacancies for high-level federal positions that serve diplomacy, the environment, and other useful functions.  Now the Federal Elections Commission — which is responsible for making sure elections are fair — is prevented from functioning because […]

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Let’s Boldly Create the Future We Really Want!

September 9, 2019 GlenAnderson 0

I wrote this powerful, inspiring essay because we have much more potential for solving problems and creating a better future than most people realize. Regardless of which issues you care about, I encourage you to read the essay at this link: Let’s Boldly Create the Future We Really Want