Game On! by Michael Reagan Well, Democrats in Washington did it. They unilaterally passed a $938 billion health care plan that was overwhelmingly disapproved by Americans. But not to worry, the United Nations Health Organization proclaimed our leaders courageous for their actions. I will prefer to call them extinct. Voters fought, called, protested, and debated up … [Read more...] about Health Care Reform: Game On! (Guest Voice)
Renewed Fear Mongering about Veterans’ Health Benefits
Already back in the winter of 2008, even before Barack Obama had taken the oath of office, cyberspace was rife with rumors and innuendoes about how the new president would cut off funds for TRICARE For Life; how he would “[cut] it out of the budget as a means to provide funding for those things he promised during the campaign.” (TRICARE for Life is an excellent and essential … [Read more...] about Renewed Fear Mongering about Veterans’ Health Benefits
The Individual Mandate: Republicans Were For It Before They Were Against It
What do John McCain, Mitt Romney, and Tommy Thompson have in common? Well, they're all conservative Republicans. What else? … [Read more...] about The Individual Mandate: Republicans Were For It Before They Were Against It
Final Scenes of the Farce
Senate Republicans have sent David Vitter out to do to health care what he was caught doing with minions of the DC Madam almost three years ago. By this logic, John Ensign should be up next instructing employers on better ways to cover their workers in good faith. Even strait-laced Tom Coburn is getting into the spirit of the thing with an amendment barring coverage of … [Read more...] about Final Scenes of the Farce
Film Documents Kennedy’s Immigration Reform Defeat and Foreshadows Death of Bipartisanship
When HBO2 airs "The Senator's Bargain" tonight at 8 p.m. EP/PT, it'll be doing so during a most fitting week will have a different context than it would have if it debuted just a few weeks ago. If it had aired a few weeks ago, to the many who admired the late Massachusetts Sen. Edward M. Kennedy it would have been excruciatingly painful to watch. The reason: it documents … [Read more...] about Film Documents Kennedy’s Immigration Reform Defeat and Foreshadows Death of Bipartisanship
Reload: Pistol Packing Palin’s Perverted Pretext
I come here today to defend Sarah Palin, not look down the barrel of my .30 caliber Luger semiautomatic pistol poised to pull the trigger. The former Alaska governor, best known for coining cult popular phrases as "palling around with terrorists" and "death panels," has concocted a new hip jargon in opposition to the health overhaul legislation. It is "Commonsense … [Read more...] about Reload: Pistol Packing Palin’s Perverted Pretext
Jamie Leigh Jones Gets Her Day in Court (Thank You, Al Franken!)
Business Insider Law Review reports what Ms. Jones told the court: … [Read more...] about Jamie Leigh Jones Gets Her Day in Court (Thank You, Al Franken!)
Thread On Peak Oil And Its Implications
Last fall I came across an article that I wanted to write about but I didn't know what to say that would fit within TMV guidelines (I even talked to Joe about letting me break them). The world is much closer to running out of oil than official estimates admit, according to a whistleblower at the International Energy Agency who claims it has been deliberately underplaying a … [Read more...] about Thread On Peak Oil And Its Implications
Grassley Touts Health Care Bill He Voted to Kill
This is beyond belief: … [Read more...] about Grassley Touts Health Care Bill He Voted to Kill
The Latest Violent Response to Health Care Vote
They're starting to come too fast to post them individually anymore, but here is another: … [Read more...] about The Latest Violent Response to Health Care Vote
U.S. Health Care Reform—One More European Viewpoint
A couple of days ago, I posted a European reaction to the passage of Health Care Reform legislation. It was an article in the German Spiegel, commenting on the good and the bad consequences and implications of such legislation for America, Europe and Obama. Of course there have been numerous other reactions worldwide, and of course some may not be interested in or … [Read more...] about U.S. Health Care Reform—One More European Viewpoint
Michelle Obama (NOT!) Appears on The Simpsons
On Sunday First Lady Michelle Obama made an appearance on The Simpson's. Or, rather, an animated version of her voiced by actress Angela Bassett did. Rather than post it here, I'll direct you to The Readout, the website of one of my favorite XM radio shows POTUS (Politics of the United States) so you can view it there. (I now listen almost exclusively to XM radio and alternate … [Read more...] about Michelle Obama (NOT!) Appears on The Simpsons
DADT Enforcement Changes To Be Announced This Week
Defense Secretary Robert Gates is close to announcing Don't Ask Don't Tell changes: “I think he is prepared to offer a way ahead on that subject this week,” Geoff Morrell, the Pentagon press secretary, told reporters Tuesday. Gates will address “the changes that he is going to be making to the department's policy to provide for a more humane enforcement and application of … [Read more...] about DADT Enforcement Changes To Be Announced This Week
The Surging Popularity of Health-Care Reform
Given Republicans' emphasis on public opinion lately, falsely claiming that a majority of the American people were against health-care reform (when they were really just against the bill as it wound its way in ugly fashion through Congress, and when much of the opposition to it was coming from the left, which didn't think it went nearly far enough), I wonder what they'll say … [Read more...] about The Surging Popularity of Health-Care Reform
Quote of the Day: Did Health Care Reform Victory Reflect Major Obama Political Style Change?
Our political Quote of the Day comes from New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd who suggests that the health care reform battle reflects an important shift in President Barack Obama. Dowd starts out detailing how the Dems were shocked that after being counted out, viewed as legisitively ineffectual and stalemated, and basically a bunch of political wimps they sat in the … [Read more...] about Quote of the Day: Did Health Care Reform Victory Reflect Major Obama Political Style Change?
Liberty, Community and the “Blue Beast”
A very liberal colleague of mine opined recently on Facebook if God was more concerned about budget issues which in his view only affected the rich, or in making sure that health care was expanded. I tend to think that most of my pastor friends, who tend to be liberal are thinking the same thing. They tend to believe that making sure that people have health care is not only … [Read more...] about Liberty, Community and the “Blue Beast”
Voters already shifting on healthcare reform?
As Elrod pointed out, a post-showdown poll on healthcare shows that 49% percent of the public supported passage of the bill. One day earlier, CNN released a poll showing that the public (pre-showdown) disapproved of Obama's record on healthcare by a margin of 58-40. It was also the first CNN poll that showed a majority of the public (51%) disapproving of Obama's overall … [Read more...] about Voters already shifting on healthcare reform?
It Depends On What the Meaning of “Repeal and Start Over” Is
A trend? Georgia Rep. Phil Gingrey (R): “When we say start over, we don’t mean throw everything out – throw out the baby with the bath water. We mean, take the best of this bill and combine it with our ideas like buying insurance across state lines and equalizing the tax treatment and creating high-risk pools. “Of course, all of the language regarding electronic medical … [Read more...] about It Depends On What the Meaning of “Repeal and Start Over” Is
Professional counterinsurgency blogging
If you want to hear from some of the smartest men and women on the front lines in Afghanistan and around the globe, visit the official blog of the Army and Marine Corps Counterinsurgency (COIN) Center at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas. The COIN Center also has its own page on Facebook and its own feed on Twitter. For starters, read this post on the importance of even the … [Read more...] about Professional counterinsurgency blogging
Obama Gets Chance to Earn His Nobel Peace Prize: Gazeta of Russia
Will the current crisis in relations between the U.S. and Israel push the Jewish State into a corner - causing it to attack Iran, and forcing the U.S. to 'fall into line'? With the Kremlin having just hosted talks among 'the world's leading diplomats', Gazeta columnist Fyodor Lukyanov gives a Russian view of the Middle East landscape, and warns of some of the land mines laying … [Read more...] about Obama Gets Chance to Earn His Nobel Peace Prize: Gazeta of Russia