Barry L. Liebowitz, M.D.
GOP Campaigns to End Entitlements
By Tom Toolen
WASHINGTON--Republican and Tea Party politicians are bent on an ominous campaign to destroy and replace so-called Entitlements-the government programs that minorities and the poor have relied upon as safety nets for decades.
These social and health care programs originated as a result of hard-fought struggles by civil rights activists, clergy, unions and other social progressives.
They include Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, the latter of which is not officially called an Entitlement, but is nonetheless the most important government healthcare plan for the poor, according to pundits.
In January, Republicans in the House of Representatives voted to repeal and replace ObamaCare, which many progressives believe is the most significant social legislation in decades because it insures an estimated 32 million Americans, nearly half of which are working class minorities.
While Democrats called the vote “symbolic” and meaningless, Republicans were quietly arguing that the grandstanding vote was the beginning of an offensive to destroy ObamaCare, or more correctly, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
If successful, gains made by activists for decades could be reversed, say observers. Many Republicans are targeting Medicaid, which is the most vulnerable of the programs because it serves mostly the poor and is controlled by the states, many of which are opposed to both Entitlements and ObamaCare.
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Rep. Yvette Clark (D-Brooklyn)
WASHINGTON--The future of the faith-based initiatives program under the Obama Administration appears to be in limbo.
A random survey of clergy and political leaders indicated both fear and frustration over a lackluster commitment by President Obama and his Administration to funding programs linked to different faiths.
Rep. Yvette D. Clarke (D-Brooklyn), a strong supporter of Obama, noted, however, that her concern lies specifically with the failure on the part of the Administration in funding the 2011 fiscal year budget of the Strengthening Communities Fund.
“U...Read More
A new book shows the spiritual metamorphosis of the Dalai Lama.
NEW YORK--Heroes are born, not made. But for the Dalai Lama, it just might be both.
In his new book, Escape from the Land of Snows: The Young Dalai Lama’s Harrowing Flight to Freedom and the Making of a Spiritual Hero, Stephan Talty claims that it was becoming a refugee that transformed a 24-year-old reluctant monk into a world-renowned holy man.
In the 1930s, a group of Tibetan monks began an extensive search for the latest reincarnation of the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of the Gelugpa sect of Tibetan Buddhism.
Through a series of visions and omens, th...Read More
