Letters to the Editor

• @ DoloresFlower: HRC's Accomplishments

  [Read the article: A gay-marriage anniversary]
  [Read more letters about this article: Here]

  Shame on you, DoloresFlower!

  How many times have I posted HRC's legislative (and other) accomplishments on Salon? At least three that I recall!

  What, exactly, are you looking for?

  One more time, with gusto, I will provide this "list". However, a) you have to read it; and b) you have to see the "facts" there, not what you "hope" to see.

  HILLARY CLINTON HAS SPONSORED SIGNIFICANT LEGISLATION IN THE U.S. SENATE. IT INCLUDES:

  -- a bill to provide government grants to people suffering health problems from 911;

  -- a bill to facilitate nationwide availability of 2-1-1 telephone service for information and referral on human services. volunteer services, and for other purposes;

  -- a bill to prohibit financial holding companies and national banks from engaging, directly or indirectly, in real estate brokerage or real estate management activities, and for other purposes;

  -- a bill to establish limitations on the United States military presence in Iraq and on United States aid to Iraq for security and reconstruction, and for other purposes;

  -- a bill to impose a temporary oil profit fee and to use the proceeds of the fee collected to provide a Strategic Energy Fund and expand certain energy tax incentives, and for other purposes;

  -- a bill to create a national set of voluntary national expectations for mathematics and science education in kindergarten through grade 12, and for other purposes;

  -- a bill to amend title XIX and XXI of the Social Security Act to permit States the option of coverage of legal immigrants under the Medicaid Program and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP);

  -- a bill to amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to provide more effective remedies of victims of discrimination in the payment of wages on the basis of sex, and for other purposes;

  -- a bill to amend titles XIX and XXI of the Social Security Act to ensure that every child in the United States has access to affordable, quality health insurance coverage, and for other purposes;

  -- a bill to amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for integration of mental health services and mental health treatment outreach teams, and for other purposes;

  -- a bill to ensure the distribution of fresh fruits and vegetables to schools and service institutions in the United States, and for other purposes;

  -- a bill to improve the diagnosis and treatment of traumatic brain injury in members and former members of the Armed Forces, to review and expand telehealth and telemental health programs of the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes;

  -- a bill to amend title XIX of the Social Security Act to expand access to contraceptive services for women and men under the Medicaid program, help low income women and couples prevent unintended pregnancies and reduce abortion, and for other purposes;

  -- a bill to provide for the provision by hospitals receiving Federal funds through the Medicare program or Medicaid program of emergency contraceptives to women who are survivors of sexual assault;

  -- a bill to establish the Federal Emergency Management Agency as an independent agency, and for other purposes;

  -- a bill to amend title 10, United States Code, to require emergency contraception to be available at all military health care treatment facilities;

  -- a bill to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to establish a commemorative trail in connection with the Women's Rights National Historical Park to link properties that are historically and thematically associated with the struggle for women's suffrage, and for other purposes;

  -- a bill to amend the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 to expand family and medical leave for spouses, sons, daughters, and parents of servicemembers with combat-related injuries;

  -- a bill to require a report on contingency planning for the redeployment of United States forces from Iraq;

  -- a bill to amend the Truth in Lending Act, to provide for enhanced disclosures to consumers and enhanced regulation of mortgage brokers, and for other purposes;

  -- a bill to amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to provide for an increase in the Federal minimum wage and to ensure that increases in the Federal minimum wage keep pace with any pay adjustments for Members of Congress;

  In Arkansas:

  -- She started the first statewide advocacy organization for abused and neglected children;

  -- She started the first Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) in the nation;

  -- She established state-wide educational standards, working with teachers and parents;

  Permalink Wednesday, February 20, 2008 06:16 PM

• Obama's No-Show

  [Read the article: A gay-marriage anniversary]
  [Read more letters about this article: Here]

  I've been reading a lot lately about Obama's "opportunism" and his record of cherry-picking legislation to support (or not) in the U.S. Senate and in the Illinois State Senate. From what I have read, it appears that Obama is quite good about speaking from both sides of his mouth at once on issues ranging from the Iraq War, to "influence peddling" (lobbyists and PACs), to voting for tax subsidies for certain industries (those in Illinois), while vetoing others, among other issues.

  Along those lines, I see this photo "snub" as another example of selective opportunism: it's fine as long as it's widely popular and accepted; not so great if it's considered a 'fringe' issue or a 'fringe' group.

  Permalink Wednesday, February 20, 2008 06:28 PM

• @ RJforHRC

  [Read the article: A gay-marriage anniversary]
  [Read more letters about this article: Here]

  Glad to provide it -- and this is really just a fraction of what she has done in the Senate and prior to that!

  Permalink Wednesday, February 20, 2008 06:50 PM