There have been a raft of point-counterpoint articles today flying back and forth between the Firedoglake crew and health care policy experts like Ezra Klein and Jonathan Cohn. Here they are, and you may want to read them in this order: … [Read more...] about Split Between Progressives on Health Care Reform Continues
Fiasco!: West Bets Climate Change Will Hurt Poor the Most – Le Quotidien d’Oran of Algeria
It's a lowdown dirty allegation, but is it true? Have the large multinationals concluded that a little global warming wouldn't be bad for their bottom lines? Furthermore, are their actions based on the belief that people in the developing world would be hurt the most? That is precisely what K. Selim of Algeria's Le Quotidien d’Oran charges in this hard-hitting attack on … [Read more...] about Fiasco!: West Bets Climate Change Will Hurt Poor the Most – Le Quotidien d’Oran of Algeria
How The Grinch Filibustered Christmas
RJ Matson, The St. Louis Post Dispatch This cartoon is copyrighted and licensed to appear on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction strictly prohibited. All rights reserved. … [Read more...] about How The Grinch Filibustered Christmas
This Is Totally Awe-Inspiring
In Nazareth, religion, science, and history have come together just days before Christmas. I don't care what religion you are or if you have one at all: This is profoundly moving. ... and darn it, I just noticed that it's an AP story, so I can't link to it directly or quote from it. Here is the site where I found the link. It's the top headline on the right. … [Read more...] about This Is Totally Awe-Inspiring
Mexico City Legalizes Same Sex Marriage
City legislators passed the bill 39-20. Mexico City is the first Latin American city to legalize gay marriage. The LATimes: The bill calls for changing the definition of marriage in the city's civil code. Marriage is currently defined as the union of a man and a woman. The new definition will be "the free uniting of two people." The change would allow same-sex couples to … [Read more...] about Mexico City Legalizes Same Sex Marriage
It’s The Public, Not The Process, Fools
Sometime between now and the day next year President Barack Obama signs the historic healthcare bill into law -- based on the path they are now headed -- I want to know how much the private insurance carriers gain in all this. We know they will pick up potentially 31 million new customers. We know some of their practices of arbitrarily denying claims and refusing to insure … [Read more...] about It’s The Public, Not The Process, Fools
About that Filibuster…
Deja Vu' is a cruel mistress, as I'm sure most of us with a few gray hairs have figured out by now. But in the wake of the crumbling health care debacle ... (I'm sorry - "debate") it's hitting some of us awfully hard today. I couldn't help but notice quite a few supporters of Obamacare (tm) chiming in with their mournful regrets about the Senate filibuster. These include the … [Read more...] about About that Filibuster…
Don’t Pull A Gun At A Snowball Fight
You have undoubtedly heard the highlights: Hundreds of 20- and 30-somethings show up for a Twitter fueled snowball fight at 14th and U streets NW in DC on Saturday. All was apparently fun and games until a snowball hit a Hummer driven by an off-duty DC policeman. He pulled his gun. Unsurprisingly, many in the geeky crowd had video cameras. Video was quickly posted to … [Read more...] about Don’t Pull A Gun At A Snowball Fight
4 Thoughts on Health Insurance Reform
Notice I never call it health care reform? That's because it isn't. Very little of what is being discussed will change what happens between you and your doctor beyond how (and how much) he* gets paid. As I see it, there are 4 points of view on the bill currently being rammed through the Senate: 1. It goes too far. This point of view has a problem with anything that might … [Read more...] about 4 Thoughts on Health Insurance Reform
Ending the Abuse of the Supermajority Rule
The difficulty of ending a filibuster because of the 60-vote rule, combined with the increasing abuse of the filibuster itself, has made the Senate a place where it is next to impossible to get anything done. … [Read more...] about Ending the Abuse of the Supermajority Rule
Back to the “War” on Christmas
The following is cross-posted from PoliBlog: The LAT has a good piece on seasonal complaining that is worth reading: Stop that Christmas griping: please spare me the gauzy romanticization of some pure, pre-commercial American Christmas past. Maybe it's because ours is the most untraditional and coldly utilitarian of cultures, but whether we're liberals or … [Read more...] about Back to the “War” on Christmas
Adapt, Or Become Irrelevant
Jonathan Chait has written a superb piece for The New Republic on the emergence of what he calls "Republican nihilism." … [Read more...] about Adapt, Or Become Irrelevant
My Quote Of The Day
"What the American people ought to pray is that somebody can't make the vote tonight.That's what they ought to pray." The person was Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Oklahoma, speaking on the Senate floor Sunday afternoon before this morning's 60-40 vote cutting off a filibuster on the health reform bill. The quote, courtesy of MSNBC's First Read, prompted Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin … [Read more...] about My Quote Of The Day
Reform: A Triumph of Process Over Prudence
I suppose it is too much to expect that either party could deal effectively with the health care crisis. In fact, I would argue that our system was not set up to make such massive changes in American life so quickly, that the very nature of the legislative process prevents prudent lawmakers from overreaching and trying to do too much, too soon. Part of that is the dance that … [Read more...] about Reform: A Triumph of Process Over Prudence
The Franken – Lieberman Smackdown
Was it really that bad when Al Franken, holding the temporary gavel for the health care debate, told Joe Lieberman, "I object?" As with most things in the political arena, it seems to depend on who you ask. Today I have a new column up at Pajamas Media where I look at some of the history of U.S. Senate floor fights and what this one might mean for Franken's future efforts in … [Read more...] about The Franken – Lieberman Smackdown
Praying for Misfortune in the Senate
I'm glad that Dana Milbank has front-and-centered this perversion of religious belief: … [Read more...] about Praying for Misfortune in the Senate
The Fed’s Financial Death Panels
As Ben Bernanke, Time's Person of the Year, heads toward his second term as Chairman, there is no sign of relief for the most hapless victims of the bank bailouts--millions of retired Americans whose fixed incomes have plunged as a result of the Fed's near-zero interest rates. In his cover interview, Bernanke explains that "convalescent" banks, which have been taking … [Read more...] about The Fed’s Financial Death Panels
The Fruitcake Chronicles: A Rebellious Trash Can (Part 3 of 6 installments)
As Steve walked toward the kitchen garbage, the fruitcake weighed particularly heavy in his hand and on his conscience. Unable to resist a gracious gift from a persuasive widow, Steve had been forced to break his first Christmas resolution. Weeks before he had determined not to allow Christmas to intrude upon his November. Sadly, he found himself a week before Thanksgiving, … [Read more...] about The Fruitcake Chronicles: A Rebellious Trash Can (Part 3 of 6 installments)
On Obama’s Afghan Plan: Iraqi News Agency, Iraq
Army cadets during the invocation before President Obama addressed them on his decision to send an additional 30,000 troops to Afghanistan, at West Point, December 1. So what do Iraqis have to say about President Obama's newest surge -- in Afghanistan? Writing for the Iraqi News Agency, Mahmoud Ibrahim Al Hoyan has penned a reaction reminiscent of the kind of content we … [Read more...] about On Obama’s Afghan Plan: Iraqi News Agency, Iraq
Senate Cloture Vote
In one of the least exciting (or at least least unexpected) news events of the year, the Senate has voted just as it was supposed to and invoked cloture on the health care bill. The vote was, not surprisingly, 60-40. … [Read more...] about Senate Cloture Vote