A public plan or option does not necessarily require a governmental entity as an administrator, nor the creation of a subsidized non-profit foundation, a healthcare co-operative, or anything resembling a government-run program as part of the proposed local Health Care Exchanges. We could merely require that minimum healthcare coverage be offered to every American in a “public” plan by every private sector...

Here is a good piece by Ezra Klein from last month on the attitude disconnect between defense spending and everything else. The “fighter jet” reference is to the F-22:

Nothing significant has happened, but suddenly the economy is looking better. Excitement over snippets of good news, or more accurately less-bad news, is underscoring how much of it all is psychological and suggesting that Obama’s aggressive stimulus attack, no matter how flawed, wasteful and even wrong-headed, has been crucial to keeping us from going over the edge. In the past few days, the usually sober...

A Reason Behind The Rage by Eugene Robinson Washington Post Columnist WASHINGTON — Could it be the heat that’s making people so angry and unreasonable at those town-hall meetings on health care? Might it just be the effect that Raymond Chandler described so brilliantly in the opening lines of his 1938 short story “Red Wind”: “There was a desert wind blowing that night....

On 8/9/09 Alec MacGillis in the Washington Post outlined one of the largest problems today in our Constitution that distorts the legislative process and often thwarts the will of a large majority of Americans. The composition of the U.S. Senate permits several small state Senators to essentially wield excessive power. MacGillis wrote: “The Senate Finance Committee’s “Gang of Six” that is...

When you read something LIKE THIS how can you ever bother reading or listening to that person again? Will this become a new talking point? Each day the quality of American political “debate” sinks lower and lower. We’re already past the septic tank level. (FOOTNOTE: I had many arguments with my late father about this commentator, who I didn’t agree with but loved his verbal and written...

In debating the subject of cash for clunkers I recently heard talk show host Tom Sullivan make some interesting comments. One point he made was the fact that the program is probably not really helping with the people it was intended to help. The theoretical goal of the program is to get polluting cars off the road and to get people into cars that are in better condition. The problem is that while the program...

In these dismal times, there is a piece of good news for over three billion poor people around the world. An effective public private partnership is required to make it work but the methods are quite easy and low cost. According to the World Health Organization and several other expert groups, it will prevent the loss of nearly one percentage point of GDP on average caused by health deficiencies. The loss occurs...

I am never surprised by the ignorance of many people, but some expressions of stupidity sometimes amaze me. I find it difficult to swallow when some Americans compare any U.S. elected official they oppose to Chancellor Adolph Hitler of Germany’s Third Reich. Many years ago, a few on the left suggested that of President Bush but most mainstream Democrats publicly repudiated the connection. Now some prominent...

Gary McCoy, Cagle Cartoons This cartoon is copyrighted and licensed to appear on TMV. All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

Several weeks ago, about 425 active and retired employees of The San Diego Union-Tribune were asked in an email newsletter they publish what they would do if they were dictator for a day. Naturally, most of the replies were humorous. Allow me to don the imperial crown for a moment. I would tell the demonstrators disrupting town hall meetings with their elected representatives on the proposed health care reform...

In his weekly You Tube-radio address, President Barack Obama says there are hopeful signs on the economic front and makes his pitch for health care reform — noting “outlandish rumors” about health care reform including the one raised by talk show hosts and conservative politicians about it including a “death panel”: Embedded video from CNN Video The “death list” charge...

Our political Quote of the Day comes from the Atlantic’s always perceptive Marc Ambinder who offers this perspective on the increasing ugliness of the healthcare Town Hall meetings: There’s lots of lamenting on the left about all the teabaggers showing up and town hall meetings on health care being held by returning members. The right’s all atwitter about organized labor and the left sending...

This post is in three parts. First, the bad news about the economy. Second, the economy according to Fox News. Third, those glimmers of economic hope. The bad news: Today’s “good” news that the unemployment rate fell to 9.4 percent—the first rate drop in 15 months—as the U.S. economy “only” shed 247,000 jobs in July, is of course no comfort to the millions of Americans...

When you read THIS about a protester encouraging others to bring guns and also to get violent you have to ask — isn’t it clear where this is heading? And then there’s THIS threat from an apparent protest saying if things keep up the town hall proponents are going to find out about the second amendment. This is a classic escalation. Can’t we just envision the future headline now? Note...

Now this is a crisis that truly impacts Cuba’s bottom line: Cuba, in the grip of a serious economic crisis, is running short of toilet paper and may not get sufficient supplies until the end of the year, officials with state-run companies said on Friday. Officials said they were lowering the prices of 24 basic goods to help Cubans get through the difficulties provoked in part by the global financial crisis...

They’re up, they’re down, and they’re all over the place depending upon who is doing the polling. And sadly they are completely meaningless. They reflect a fickle, highly divided and generally ignorant public that has the attention span of an American Idol Judge. Meaningless poll questions about strongly or slightly disagreeing or agreeing with some pre-formulated simplistic positions, constitute a...

The latest CNN poll confirms what most of the town hall videos show: the angry demonstrators against Democratic health reform plans are, for the most part, far older than 50. Those older than 50 tend to oppose Democratic health care reform and those under 50 tend to support it. Forget for a moment whether or not these protests are truly organic or astroturf, the one demographic standout is age. (UPDATE: Per...

TMV is simultaneously an outpost from the 24/7 info-entertainment news cycle and yet it is a part of it. Perhaps those who work in the media, politics, mass communications, press, or public advocacy provide their brains with hourly dopamine fixes by constantly seeing and hearing something new, but most people don’t need the constant barrage of pointless facts, rumors, gossip and snippets of opinion that today...

The arrival of the “People’s Car” (equivalent US$2,421) — Nano – on Indian roads “is a symbol of the coming-of-age of mass consumerism in the developing world,” says Andrew Buncombe of The Independent. “India’s roads are broken and inadequate, the country is overcrowded and there is a middle class of anywhere up to 300 million people who might be tempted...

Funding the President’s Healthcare Program: Plans to Increase Middle-Class Taxes? by Michael Reagan In last week’s column, we discussed President Obama and his administration’s dangerous habit of making important policy statements and decisions before having all of the facts available. Well, this week some of President Obama’s top lieutenants, including Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, have countered...

A suggestion to Democrats and Republicans: why not lighten up on the upcoming healthcare reform townhalls? News reports have already explained what will happen: Democrats will be trying to explain their view of healthcare reform and — in the best tradition of democracy — GOPers will try to pack the meetings and in some cases drown out a detailed discussion so there are some conflict-riddled clips...

Back on October 16, 1995, I attended the Million Man March (MMM) organized by Nation Of Islam leader Minister Louis Farrakhan. While I wasn’t a supporter of the Nation Of Islam, I was very curious about the entire event. Hmm… A million black men pledging to be better husbands, fathers, leaders, etc? What’s not to like about that? Sure Minister Farrakhan was/is controversy personified,...

Way back in January, 2009, I started posting on the F-22 Raptor program, on how, “One of the first weapon systems-related decisions the Obama administration will have to make is whether to purchase additional Lockheed-Martin F-22 Raptors, after the last one of a 183 aircraft order has been delivered.” Already back then, the F-22 issue, and those of related weapon systems, such as the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter,...

The Obama Administration is making an effort to “name and shame” them, but the vampires in banking and on Wall Street are still busy draining liquidity out of the American financial system. According to the McClatchy newspapers, “The first report under the Home Affordable Modification Program, involving more than 30 lenders that together collect payments on 85 percent of American mortgages,...