The man who received 345,937 votes (and $11.6 million of health lobbyist donations), has overruled Barack Obama, the choice of 69,498,215 Americans, who presented his proposals to a joint session of Congress last week. President Baucus’ plan, which omits a public insurance option and other key elements favored by the occupant of the White House as well as other Congressional committees, is seen as holding...

After bitterly contesting the case, a British oil trading giant has agreed to a multimillion-pound payout to settle a huge damages claim from thousands of Africans who fell ill from tonnes of toxic waste dumped illegally in one of the worst pollution incidents in decades, reports The Independent. The Western world has shown remarkable tolerance towards economic/business/environmental/political criminals, while...

Ever since the collapse of the mighty Soviet Union, the doomsayers are having field day predicting the break-up of India and Pakistan. Last year, a leading Russian political analyst stated that the economic turmoil in the USA had confirmed his long-held view that the country would divide into separate parts. Cashing on this phobia, Slate offered last month a “week-long thought experiment” on “the...

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus’s plan has been released — and has set off a flurry of news articles, analysis and blog posts on the left, center and right, many of which take positions on the proposed plan. In response to a reader’s email about offering a compact roundup on the plan, here are some must reads/must views. The Christian Science Monitor offers this summary: Among...

Pat Bagley, Salt Lake Tribune This cartoon is copyrighted and licensed to run on TMV. Reserved. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

As my brother would say, What a tool. He really thought he could get Republican support if he only gave up enough, ceded enough ground, mollified and appeased just a little more. Good going, Max. You jettisoned the public option to get the support of so-called “moderate” Republicans, and now you’re left with nothing.

There comes a time in history when an adult enters the fray of uncivil discourse, shakes America by her broad shoulders, and admonishes everyone that enough is enough. I’m uncertain whether former President Jimmy Carter is that heroic adult. Carter in an interview Tuesday and later in an address to his own forum said Rep. Joe Wilson’s “You lie” outburst to President Barack Obama during...

From Sunday’s op-ed: In the meantime, a certain damage has been done — to Obama and to the country. The inmates took over the asylum, trivializing and poisoning the national discourse while the president bided his time. The lies that Obama called out so strongly in his speech — from “death panels” to “government takeover” — ran amok. So did all the other incendiary...

Obviously at this point with the need to reconcile the various proposals we do not know what the final form will be for the Baucus proposal (America’s Healthy Future Act). But from the details contained in his announcement and outlined in this press release my preliminary reaction is positive. It looks to be a balanced approach which works to solve the current problems without creating a massive new program. For...

That’s right, what’s the point of Sen. Max Baucus’s health-care reform proposal? Is it to win bipartisan support? Yes, probably, given that Baucus all along has been trying to work with the few Republicans who have shown a slight (if hollow) interest in reform — namely, the GOP members of the Gang of Six. Not surprisingly, though, the Republicans in question, notably Sens. Charles Grassley...

Our political Quote of the Day comes from Dick Polman on apparent Presidential candidate wannabe Republican Rick Santorum: Speaking of Santorum, he has voiced the worst hypocrisy of the week (so far). In a conference call with reporters yesterday, sponsored by the Republican party, the ex-Pennsylvania senator said it would be an “abomination” for the Senate Democratic majority to pass health care...

http://patriotroom.com/article/wwe-s-linda-mcmahon-prepares-senate-run-in-ct/trackback This cartoon is copyrighted and licensed to run on TMV. All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

Here is some “simple arithmetic” about projected health care costs from the Kaiser Family Foundation:

Dr. Jim Yong Kim will become the 17th president of Dartmouth College next week. A guest on Bill Moyers’ Journal last Week, Kim is an internationally recognized physician and humanitarian. His goal at Dartmouth is to tell young people that “a few committed souls can change the world.” Yong says that in his 25 years working in global health what he’s learned is that the fundamental challenge...

An attempt At a Real “Reset Button” on Health Care” by Jon Wells With the convening of Congress, the debate over health care reform has once again reared its ugly head. Despite promises of pushing a “reset button” on the back-and-forth rhetoric, the President’s speech served more as a further partisan rebuke to critics rather than a genuine moment of leadership and bipartisanship....

David Fitzsimmons, The Arizona Star This cartoon is copyrighted and licensed to run on TMV. All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

Via Mahablog:

The Difference Between Passion and Paranoia by Rick Moran I have been taken to task in the past for railing against those whose rants against President Obama have crossed the line of reason and entered the dangerous world of paranoia. I include in this category the Birthers, of course, as well as those who believe Obama wishes to set up some kind of dictatorship, and those who believe our freedoms have been...

Daryl Cagle, MSNBC.com This cartoon is copyrighted and licensed to run on TMV. All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

WASHINGTON — If you saw a woman struck by a car, would you call an ambulance right away? Or would you first ask for her papers to make sure she was not an illegal immigrant? If someone living down the street from you were suffering from the H1N1 flu, wouldn’t you want him to get immediate medical help? Would you rather see him in pain and perhaps spread the disease to others in your neighborhood? ...

Following the last round of speeches, we have found out one thing… President Obama has claimed the Max Baucus compromise health care bill as his own. So you can call it the Baucus Plan or the Obama Plan or the compromise, or whatever you like. But this is, at least for now, Obama’s plan. While we still don’t have a full copy of what the Finance Committee is cooking, some of the details have...

Pres. Obama gave a rousing, campaign-style speech in Philadelphia today in which he spoke up strongly for the public option.

Kevin asks: Did the Washington Post fulfill its duty to inform the public last night by running a mere eight separate pieces about Joe Wilson’s outburst during President Obama’s healthcare speech on Wednesday? Or is anything less than a dozen a sign that they aren’t really trying anymore? After all, Politico had at least 15 Wilson-related pieces, including a big front pager by Andie Coller...

I didn’t see the outburst that cost Serena her semi-final match, but I saw (as in, television saw) her smash her racket after losing the first set. Even that was pretty jarring. Strange. A sport where the crowd watches in respectful silence, while a champion smashes expensive equipment that most fans would be grateful to own. Cross-posted at Conventional Folly

[ Editor's Note: The title and URL for this post has been changed from the original. -- PMA ] They probably will not succeed in what they are trying to do (at least not this time), but it’s frightening to some of us to know that there are organized groups with this agenda: A nationwide anti-abortion group launched an effort in Florida Friday to outlaw all abortions and certain types of birth control,...