Egalitarianism: Its common forms

Egalitarianism can take many forms. The more common forms are:

Economic egalitarianism - equality with respect to material possessions;

Moral egalitarianism - equality in moral worth,

Legal egalitarianism – equality under the law,

Political egalitarianism - equality in political power,

Gender egalitarianism -  equality regardless of gender, and

Opportunity egalitarianism - equality in economic and social opportunity.

Read more: Egalitarianism

Trial lawyers: America's best defense...

Trial lawyers are America’s best defense against tyranny. Trial lawyers have the courage and ability to pierce political deception and fraud. Because of this, tyrants and those sustained by tyrants hate trial lawyers. “I shall not rest,” Adolph Hitler raged, “until every German sees that it is a shameful thing to be a lawyer.”

Survey Finds Declining Number of Doctors Give Charity Care

Survey Finds Declining Number of Doctors Give Charity Care
A survey by the Center for Studying Health System Change found that only 68 percent of doctors gave some form of charity care. This number is down from 76 percent, which was recorded 10 years ago. Busy schedules, reduced reimbursement rates and debt from medical school have contributed to the problem. Ceci Connolly, The Washington Post 03/23/2006 The Washington Post

A Republican Supreme Court protects Big Business fraud....

A conservative Republican Supreme Court, with no resistance from a minority of Democratic appointees, turned its back on workingmen and workingwomen.

In Merrill Lynch v. Dabit, 04-1371, the U.S. Supreme Court blocked state class-action lawsuits by stockholders who were tricked into holding onto declining shares.

“It was a major victory for Merrill Lynch & Co., which faced a spate of lawsuits prompted in part by New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer's 2002 probe into the investment banking firm's practices. Spitzer uncovered records showing that Merrill Lynch analysts publicly recommended that investors buy stocks that were described privately as a ‘disaster’ or ‘dog.’ Merrill Lynch agreed to a $100 million fine.”

William Federman, the Oklahoma City attorney for the brokers, said: "It sends a signal to investors this court is seeking to continue what Congress started, to protect big business.”

I believe the equality of man....

“I believe the equality of man, and I believe that religious duties consist in doing justice, loving mercy, and endeavoring to make our fellow-creatures happy.” Tom Paine. Those are simple but powerful words. In the hands of tyrants and greedy men, they’re also meaningless words. There was a time, not long ago, when courts welcomed workingmen and workingwomen. Not so today. Now courts are exclusive venues for the “haves and have-more.”

Blogger use the "O" word (as in Olbermann), and O'Reilly loses it...

Blogger, Mike Stark, takes on Bill O’Reilly.

Starks uses the “O” word (as in Olbermann), and O’Reilly threatens to Fox Security pay Mike Stark a visit. Here’s how it happened:

From the March 2 broadcast of Westwood One's The Radio Factor with Bill O'Reilly:

“O'REILLY: Orlando, Florida, Mike, go.

CALLER: Hey Bill, I appreciate you taking my call.

O'REILLY: Sure.

CALLER: I like to listen to you during the day, I think Keith Olbermann's show --

O'REILLY: There ya go, Mike is -- he's a gone guy. You know, we have his -- we have your phone numbers, by the way. So, if you're listening, Mike, we have your phone number, and we're going to turn it over to Fox security, and you'll be getting a little visit.

HILL: Maybe Mike is from the mothership.

O'REILLY: No, Maybe Mike is going to get into big trouble, because we're not going to play around. When you call us, ladies and gentleman, just so you know, we do have your phone number, and if you say anything untoward, obscene, or anything like that, Fox security then will contact your local authorities, and you will be held accountable. Fair?

HILL: That's fair.

O'REILLY: So, just -- all you guys who do this kind of a thing, you know, I know some shock jocks. Whatever. You will be held accountable. Believe it.

We'll be right back.”

Secret energy meetings public record

Nothing sanitizes like sunlight. Such was the case when the light settled on the "secret energy meetings" between the Bush administration and Big Oil. The pustule of influence peddling is now a matter of record.

As a result of several Freedom of Information Act lawsuits, the U.S. Department of Energy begrudgingly produced almost "13,500 pages relating to previously secret proceedings of the Bush administration's energy task force." Although heavily edited, the energy task force documents read like a "Who's Who" of Big Oil and its progeny. ExxonMobil was one of the Big Oil oligarchs who had extraordinary influence on the Bush administration. The energy task force documents also reflect the Bush administration's verbatim adoption of Big Oil's worldview in matters of U.S. domestic and foreign policy from the "price at the pump" to war.

Ah but, Big Oil's Teapot Dome access to the Bush administration was pricey, involving Jack-Abramoff-like influence peddling. During the 2000 election cycle, ExxonMobil "gave $1,375,250 to political campaigns," 89 percent of which went to Republican candidates. Only one other company eclipsed ExxonMobil. Guess who? If you guessed Enron, you're right!

Don't feel bad for Big Oil; secret meetings and unlimited access to Bush and Cheney pays well. ExxonMobil would later rack up profits of $36 billion, "the highest ever for a U.S. company." According to Deutsche Bank oil analyst, Dr J.J. Traynor, ExxonMobil is the U.S. oil company most likely to benefit from regime change in Iraq.

There's no right-wing conspiracy here. Nah, corruption in the Bush administration is blatant. All you have to do is look.

Bush simply ignored 2003 warning of civil war in Iraq.....

Recently, Pres. Bush denied Iraq is on the verge of civil war:

"I don't buy your premise that there's going to be a civil war…. I heard loud and clear that they understand that they're going to choose unification, and we're going to help them do so.”

Meanwhile, in “Iraq study warned of civil war,” Knight Ridder reports, in 2003, the Bush administration was warned of civil war in Iraq:

“U.S. intelligence agencies repeatedly warned the White House beginning more than two years ago that the insurgency in Iraq had deep local roots, was likely to worsen and could lead to civil war, according to former senior intelligence officials who helped craft the reports….Robert Hutchings, the chair of the National Intelligence Council from 2003 to 2005, said the October 2003 study was part of a ‘steady stream’ of dozens of intelligence reports warning Bush and his top lieutenants that the insurgency was intensifying and expanding.”

But, like 9/11 and hurricane Katrina, Bush simply ignored warnings:

"'Frankly, senior officials simply weren't ready to pay attention to
analysis that didn't conform to their own optimistic scenarios,' Hutchings said."

Why have intelligence, Mr. President, if you're going to manipulate it or ignore it?

New videotape: Bush bewildered when told the levees might fail in New Orleans as a result of hurricane Katrina...

When you think about it, George W. Bush didn't succeeded at any private enterprises before entering the realm of politics: Arbusto, Spectrum 7 Energy Corp., and Harken Energy, all a failure.

It was only in the realm of politics that Bush's incompetence was obscured. With Karl Rove as wordsmith, political rhetoric became Bush's camouflage.

On 9/11, as a nation, we paid dearly for Pres. Bush's incompetence. During hurricane Katrina, as a state, we paid the same price.

With little effort we can recall the bewildered look on the face of Pres. Bush when he's told about the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. Today, Associated Press reveals federal disaster officials warned Bush and Homeland Securities czar, Michael Chertoff, the impending disaster from hurricane Katrina “could breach levees, risk lives in New Orleans' Superdome and overwhelm rescuers.” For his part, the bewildered Pres. Bush of 9/11 appeared clueless:

Bush didn't ask a single question during the final government-wide briefing the day before Katrina struck on Aug. 29 but assured soon-to-be-battered state officials: "We are fully prepared."

Confidential videotape supports Michael Brown's accusations of Bush administration's ineffectiveness:

"I'm concerned about ... their ability to respond to a catastrophe within a catastrophe," Brown told his bosses the afternoon before Katrina made landfall.

Chertoff would blame the incompetence on the "fog war." Michael Brown, former FEMA director, would tell the Associated Press otherwise:

"I don't buy the `fog of war' defense," Brown told the AP in an
interview Wednesday. "It was a fog of bureaucracy."

Read: Tape: Bush, Chertoff Warned Before Katrina