While I understand the argument that illegals should not get taxpayer money, to the degree that they participate in the plan, it lowers the cost for the rest of us, so this is literally cutting off one’s nose to spite one’s face.
Rahm Emanuel, and the Obama White House, are shocked (see pic), shocked, to find that there are people accusing them of race baiting on this bill.
Well, it’s not surprising, Emanuel has been demagoguing the immigration issue, with the help of his DINO friend, and clay headed quarterback Heath Shuler for years.
Rahm Emanuel’s modus operandi has always been to sh%$ on Democratic core constituencies wherever possible, and this has Rahm’s fingerprints all over it.
What’s more, looking at a time-line of his career, it’s pretty clear that if Rahm wants it, it’s bad for the Democrats.
Here is how the merged Senate bill compares to the legislation passed in the House. The merged Senate legislation has lower affordability standards, covers less people, invests less in prevention, does not require all large employers to provide health insurance, and includes a weaker public option. But the bill goes further in controlling health care spending and reducing the deficit.
I still don’t think that we will get a bill that will provide meaningful healthcare reform.
Too many people *cough* Barack Obama *cough* just want something that they can call healthcare reform.
I’ve known the Old Pinko for years, and we exchange emails frequently, and I sent him notice of the twitter meme about using some celebrities to read the bill if the Republicans demand a full reading on the floor of the Senate.
His response:
They should use folks, perhaps children, who have serious illnesses and no health insurance. That, that would really stick it too them.
I will note, however, that I would probably avoid using children, since the right wing in general, and Michelle Malkin, and her deranged Minions™ in particular, already have a history of going after people whose politics they find distasteful, including 12 year old boys critically injured in auto accidents.
Now, if only he’d post more frequently to his blog.
Obviously, I have opinions on the behavior of the Church, and particularly the US Conference of Bishops, but to get true clarity, you need the viewpoint of someone raised in the faith. Case in point is thhis post by Lance Mannion:
Taking orders from the priests is exactly what JFK had to promise he wouldn’t do when he ran for President.
Several Democrats, including Rep. Jason Altmire, D-Pennsylvania, said they are in touch with their Catholic bishops back home. Altmire said he must have the approval of his bishop in Pittsburgh before he can vote yes.
That’s from CNN by way of Ed Brayton by way of Mike the Mad Biologist. And Altmire was talking about a health care reform bill that hadn’t been amended by Stupak-Pitts yet. He was planning to ask his bishop for permission to vote to expand health care to the poor and protect the sick from losing it.
Mr. Mannion was a devout Catholic in his youth, and lays some serious whup ass on the Church. I highly recommend that you read it.
It is remarkable the change. In 1928, Al Smith was the target of claims that a picture of him opening the Holland Tunnel was actually a “tunnel to the Pope,” and today, it appears that the Conference of Bishops is demanding a tunnel to the pope.
I would also point you to the debate on the BBC about whether or not the Catholic Church was a force for good in the world, between Ann Widdecombe and Archbishop John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan on the pro side, and Christopher Hitchens and Stephen Fry (of Fry and Laurie, Blackadder, etc) on the other.
Hitchens is, as always, an obnoxious drunk, who delights in offending the religious, and so was not interesting, but Laurie, I think, has genuine affection for faith in general, but not the church.
There is a difference between criticizing a religion for it’s beliefs and observances, and criticizing any organization for its policies.
The Catholic Church is a hierarchical absolute monarchy, and as such, their policies, whether it be the Pope lying about the use of condoms to prevent aids, or the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops lobbying against healthcare, though not, it should be noted not saying a word on the death penalty, which is also deemed a sin, need to be viewed in the exact same context as the United States setting up Gulags and torturing people.
A condemnation of torture, and wars of choice, is no more a condemnation of Americans than a condemnation of the Church in its actions regarding AIDS, or healthcare for the poor, or the complicity of its officers of state in concealing child abuse.
The BBC vid is after break. It’s broken into 5 parts, and cycles though, and Fry is on at about 2:20 in the 3rd segment.
He was an overpriced rookie flameout with the brain of a turnip* then, and he’s an overpriced rookie flameout with the brain of a turnip* now.
So, big pharma is trying to get a bill through Congress for draconian exclusivity periods for so called “biologics” drugs. It’s 12 years, but with minor changes, snipping a hydroxyl, or adding a time released variant, they could drug companies could extend their government granted monopolies virtually infinitely. (also here, both from Jane Hamshire)
Well, in response to Jane’s push against these provisions, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) turned on their lobbyists, and wrote statements that 42 Congressmen read into the record, almost verbatim.
The kicker is that there were two versions of their talking points, a Republican version and a Democratic version, so depending on party, they were using different cheat sheets….Except, of course for Heath Shuler (DINO-Loser Land), who somehow or other managed to use the Republican version of the talking points.
As a Washington Redskin’s fan, this wanker has been bedeviling me since 1994…..Please, make it stop!!!
Monty Python’s dead parrot sketch after the break.
The following congressmen, Ann Kirkpatrick, Harry Mitchell, Gabrielle Giffords, Dennis Moore, John Hall, Alan Grayson, Mark Schauer, Mike Arcuri, Steve Kagen, Jerry McNerney, Melissa Bean, Debbie Halvorson, Bill Foster, Tim Walz, Bill Owens, Carol Shea-Porter, Tim Bishop, Dina Titus, Mary Jo Kilroy, and Kurt Schrader all voted for healthcare reform and against the Stupak amendment, and they all have districts that imply a close election.
You can donate to them all at once at the link, or separately, as, for example, Grayson has already raised over $400,000 on act blue, and Melissa Bean is way too friendly with the banking industry, though she is good on other things.
In this case Frank Kratovil, who was looking for both money and sweat equity.
My reply:
I live in Owings Mills, very close to your district, and might be inclined to contribute or volunteer for efforts in Baltimore County, except for the vote on Healthcare Reform.
First, I do not believe that this would be a good use of my time. As Harry S Truman said, “Given the choice between a Republican and someone who acts like a Republican, people will vote for the real Republican all the time,” and I believe that the voters of MD-1 will choose the real Republican regardless of what I do.
Secondly, on a more personal level, I am self-employed, and use MHIP for my insurance, because there is no other insurance available due to my wife’s pre-existing conditions, and I have seen cuts in coverage and a rate hike in excess of 50% just this year.
Third, anyone who cites the Washington Post editorial board on healthcare [he linked to some WaPo Op/Eds], where they have consistently and deliberately got the facts wrong, is being either clueless or disengenuous.
Letting Perry serve as the spokesman for a federalist solution to the health-care system is a bit like letting Dick Fuld testify on the adequacy of self-regulation on Wall Street, or Donald Rumsfeld explain that occupations are easy.
Texas has, no big surprise, the largest percentage of uninsured in the nation.
Though to be fair, Texas Governor Rick Perry has really nice hair.
On a related note, one wonders how much longer he gets to the Washington Post OP/ED page, and by extension editorial page editor Fred Hiatt, c*cks*ck*rs.
I figure that the Bull Durham/Dan Froomkin rule cuts in eventually.
Kratovil, a freshman Democrat from the Eastern Shore, ended months of uncertainty by announcing that he would vote against the House plan, which would extend health insurance to an estimated 36 million Americans who lack coverage. The Marylander, among the most vulnerable House members in the country in next year’s election, has long been skeptical of his party’s proposal but had left open the possibility of supporting it.
He already had a tough row to how, seeing as how Wayne Gilchrest’s endorsement won’t mean anything next time around, and now he’s going to discover that Harry S Truman’s old adage, “Given the choice between a Republican and someone who acts like a Republican, people will vote for the real Republican all the time,” is true.
What’s more, there was a lot of support from outside the district that will not be getting as a result of this decision.
If you are looking for where to put your time and money in the 2010 elections, look elsewhere.
When Tancredo claims that all the veterans hate the VA, and would much rather have vouchers, Kos responds, “I’m a veteran, I did not get a deferment because I was too depressed to fight in a war that I supported in Vietnam.”
Tancredo stormed off the set when Kos was not forthcoming with an apology.
Awww….Kos hurt his widdle feewings….Poor Tom Tancredo….He had to go off and cry.
Note that some of the constituencies in the AMA, most notably, the “American Assn. of Neurological Surgeons, the American Society of General Surgeons and the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery,” came out against this, but note that these are people who make their money when preventative care fails.
Republicans will overwhelmingly reject the Democrats’ healthcare reform measure when it is reaches the House floor, according to a key lawmaker.
Rep. Kevin McCarthy (Calif.), who serves as deputy GOP whip, told The Hill that the number of Republicans supporting the sweeping legislation will be “very, very close to zero.
Mr. Benin, much like I did, “assumed it was a foregone conclusion that every House Republican would vote against reform, just as every House Republican voted against the economic recovery package and against this year’s budget plan,” while this quote implies that there might be 1 or 2, or perhaps even a few more votes for the bill.
I think that this situation can be explained in 4 words, Anh “Joseph” Quang Cao, the Republican who defeated incumbent William “Dollar Bill” Jefferson in an overwhelmingly Republican district, because Jefferson was under indictment for corruption.
He knows that no matter how much support Republicans throw his way, and they won’t throw much, he’s a goner unless he actually considers his district’s needs.
Even in Louisiana, he cannot count on his opposition facing corruption charges for every election.
BTW, an assist on this clusterf%$# goes to Barack Obama, because without his inaction, he would likely have already signed something better than we are likely to get.
Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives plan to offer an alternative to Democrats’ massive healthcare reform bill that would not raise taxes or require people or businesses to buy health insurance, the House Republican leader said on Sunday.
It’s not gonna happen.
First, the Republicans are simply too invested in “No”, and second, their proposal will have to hew to the ideology of their caucus, which will make it so absolutely appalling that it will send Blue Dogs gibbering to demand a public option,
Hatch asserted that the health bills, which he believes represent a “step-by-step approach to socialized medicine,” will lead to Americans’ dependence on Democrats for their health and other issues.
“And if they get there, of course, you’re going to have a very rough time having a two-party system in this country, because almost everybody’s going to say, ‘All we ever were, all we ever are, all we ever hope to be depends on the Democratic Party,’ ” Hatch said during an interview with the conservative CNSNews.com.
“That’s their goal,” Hatch added. “That’s what keeps Democrats in power.”
What it is all about is that they are afraid that, like the New Deal, the passage of successful programs will give the Democrats a generation in power.
It’s not about what is right for the country, it’s about power.
