"Health Care Reform" right now is a screw-job in the making

Universal health care without a public option is a monstrous waste of money. It's pouring a trillion dollars down a corrupt hole. How do we know this? Look at the current system. Look at what it costs for medical procedures. 30% of health care dollars don't go to health care, they go to health care administration (profit and overhead). Is this a system we want to pour one trillion dollars of our money into? Read on.

On Wednesday, they admitted to Congress their intention to continue the practice of "recission", meaning cancelling policies as soon as customers get sick.

....Late in the hearing, [Bart] Stupak, the committee chairman, put the executives on the spot. Stupak asked each of them whether he would at least commit his company to immediately stop rescissions except where they could show "intentional fraud."

The answer from all three executives: "No."

Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.) said that a public insurance plan should be a part of any overhaul because it would force private companies to treat consumers fairly or risk losing them. "This is precisely why we need a public option," Dingell said.

It would seem a no-brainer that Obama would be able to pass his health care this year. Democrats control the House and control the Senate. Slam dunk.

Not so fast. The health care industry has bought off enough senators that passage of a fuzzy (ie: worthless) bill seems more and more of a reality.

Look at Max Baucus, Democratic chair of one of the two committees tasked with passing health care. He's being bought off to the tune of $1500 a day.

Not surprisingly, his Finance Committee has released a draft version of the bill and a public option is missing.

An NBC/WSJ poll finds:

76 percent of respondents said it was either "extremely" or "quite" important to "give people a choice of both a public plan administered by the federal government and a private plan for their health insurance."

But without the public stepping up, and the President stepping in and personally taking control of the matter, this will be a massive give-away to corporate health care.

Here are the top 10 recipients of health care bribes (ie: contributions) in the House and the Senate:

TOP 10 SENATE RECIPIENTS:
McCain, John (R-AZ) $251,834
McConnell, Mitch (R-KY) $200,200
Baucus, Max (D-MT) $183,750
Lieberman, Joe (I-CT) $101,400
Chambliss, Saxby (R-GA) $98,600
Collins, Susan (R-ME) $96,500
Kyl, Jon (R-AZ) $90,450
Warner, Mark (D-VA) $89,700
Hatch, Orrin (R-UT) $85,903
Nelson, Ben (D-NE) $83,300

TOP 10 HOUSE RECIPIENTS:
Cantor, Eric (R-VA) $113,850
Camp, Dave (R-MI) $112,923
Pomeroy, Earl (D-ND) $104,500
Boehner, John (R-OH) $101,200
Deal, Nathan (R-GA) $100,000
Towns, Edolphus (D-NY) $87,750
Rogers, Mike (R-AL) $74,000
Blunt, Roy (R-MO) $72,800
Ryan, Paul (R-WI) $69,000
Tanner, John (D-TN) $68,500

So when you hear these "leaders" talk about health care proposals, make sure you see it through the same set of bought-and-paid-for glasses that they do.

And Max Baucus? Watch Lee Stranahan's videos

Stewart: Repubs a repressed minority, like Iranian protesters

Jon Stewart devoted two segments last night to Republican claims that their plight is akin to that of Iranians protesting a rigged election.

Because dozens of dead people in the streets trying to protest the results of a rigged election are comparable to the GOP driving their party into the ground by embracing every half-assed economic idea and phony war to come down the pike. I also have information that, like the GOP, Iranians are upset that David Letterman made fun of Sarah Palin's knocked-up kid.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Irandecision 2009 - Iranians Support the GOP
www.thedailyshow.com

Murder in the White House

Colbert gives Obama his first positive coverage, then sides with PETA over the fly murder.

Obama, in an interview with CNBC, hinted that Fox News gave him no favorable coverage. Stephen, of course, thought it was him Obama was speaking about.

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Stephen's Positive Obama Coverage
www.colbertnation.com

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Murder in the White House - Fly Widow Interview
www.colbertnation.com

Health care Mafia

There's a reason that 73% of the public wants a public option on health care: they've seen what happens when insurance companies run things.

Witness testimony today on Capitol Hill where they admit that if you get breast cancer, they have the right to cancel your insurance and prosecute you for fraud.


First of Lee Stranahan's self-produced commericals

George W. on how to fix the economy

"I know it's going to be the private sector that leads this country out of the current economic times we're in. You can spend your money better than the government can spend your money." - George W. Bush

(Bob Cesca)
Really, Mr. Bush? Are you suggesting that Wall Street corruption, credit card spending, bad mortgages, massive consumer debt and your administration's encouraging of all four aren't what got us into this mess in the first place -- and that somehow the people responsible will rescue the economy? That's rich.

Adding... Wasn't TARP passed by George W. Bush?

John Cole takes on Obama's lack of support for gay rights

The President is taking a lot of flak form the right because he won't overturn The Defense Of Marriage Act. His reasoning is that this is a matter for Congress, because once enacted into law, Presidents cannot change it on a whim.

Cole says:

Obama reiterated his support for the repeal of DOMA. But guess what? Obama is the President, not a congressmen, and those are the folks you need to pressure, and given their behavior on DADT, you are doing a pretty crappy job. [...] Nothing would be worse for the gay rights movement than to turn these issues into perks of the oval office- elect a Democrat, DADT is suspended. Elect a Republican, DADT is enacted. This has to come from Congress. But, by all means, keep flinging poo at Obama. It feels good, and you get to say clever things like “Hey, unlike Republicans, at least we keep our President honest” while you are shooting at the wrong person.

I say:

Huzzah!

From the front lines of the Palin "War on Jokes"

Can't make this stuff up....

Glenn Beck: delusional, liar or both?

Glenn Beck now:

During the Iraq War, for anyone who cares to know the truth, I was on the air chastising people that were saying that Hollywood should shut up or that if you have a different opinion you should shut up.

Glenn Beck then:

Who has hacked you off the most over the last 6 months?
Dixie Chicks: Not necessarily the whole group, but definitely the fat butter hog that spoke out against Bush while in Europe only to say later that it was a joke, and then again later to say she stands behind what she said in the first place.

No, the right doesn't embrace terror..... NEVER!

(Crooks and Liars)

Scott Roeder is the guy who assassinated George Tiller. The other one speaks for itself. This stuff is being sold over at Cafe Press.

Supply-side wet dream

(Bob Cesca)
California is really seriously screwed.

All of the Republicans who can't wait to see what it looks like when bailouts are refused and a major clusterfuck ensues are about to get their wish. And I don't mean that sarcastically. The refusal to raise taxes while killing social programs will result in the ultimate supply-side nirvana: Super rich people stepping over the bodies of poor people.

I can't hear you over the sound of Ed Schultz's brass balls clanging

Joe Doucheborough asked Ed Schultz for his opinion on the question: "Does Dick Cheney want Americans to get killed in another attack so he'll be proven right?"

Now, Joe knew the answer, because Ed said it last night on The Ed Show. But Ed stepped up and said "absolutely" and then talked about how he thinks Dick Cheney is a ruthless politician that is all about power.

Joe then does what Joe does: condescendingly sat back and scolded while his myna birds nodded their heads.

McCain/Palin: hypocritical d'bags

As if you didn't already know. But this whole Letterman flap is ridiculous. John McCain shows his hypocrisy, again.

McCain today:
“I don’t understand why Letterman would say that about a young woman… They deserve some kind of protection from being the butt of late-night hosts.”

McCain in 1998:
“Why is Chelsea Clinton so ugly? Because Janet Reno is her father.”

And let's look at Sarah's indignant responses to Dave and ask why she didn't go after her buddy Jay Leno for making a similar joke?

"The Tonight Show With Jay Leno," 9/2/08
Gov. Palin announced over the weekend that her 17-year-old unmarried daughter is five months pregnant. And you thought John Edwards was in trouble before! Now he has really done it. --

Shannyn Moore from Huff Post contributes "Top 10 Reasons Sarah Palin's "Outrage" is Misplaced and A Little Late..."

Some of the better ones....
8) from the Tonight Show: "All the Republicans are heaping praise on Governor Palin. Fred Thompson said, as an actor, he could see them making a movie about Sarah Palin and her family. Didn't they already make that movie? I think it was called 'Knocked Up!'"--Jay Leno

4) Rush Limbaugh: "Everyone knows the Clintons have a cat. Socks is the White House cat. But did you know there is a White House dog?" Limbaugh put up a picture of Chelsea Clinton. At the time, Chelsea Clinton was 13 years old.

The same people who back up Palin's high drama assertions against Letterman ignored the connections between Bill O'Reilly's irresponsible incitement and the murder of Dr. George Tiller. David Letterman, a late night entertainer, apologized. Fox News Bill O'Reilly has not. -- Shannyn Moore

Shit: O'Reilly loses his big time; Hannity fails to give one

(Huff Post)
Wow. Joan Walsh went on the O'Reilly Factor tonight having publicly vowed to be well-prepared to defend the reproductive rights of women and the legality of Dr. George Tiller's clinical practice, and truly doled out some major ownage without raising her voice or raising the temperature at all. It was an artful performance of talking headery, and what can I say? By the end of their two segments, O'Reilly is reduced to a gibbering, shout-faced wreck. If you need to know how far Walsh pummeled O'Reilly into pure insipidity, wait for the moment where he says to her: "My constitutional rights say I can say what I say, you can say what you say, as vile as you say it, you can say it, and I would never condemn you for saying it. You are misguided, you have blood on your hands because you portrayed this man as a hero."

Right. Bill O'Reilly would never condemn you for speaking your mind, if you don't count the whole YOU ARE VILE and YOU HAVE BLOOD ON YOUR HANDS condemnation part!

(UPDATE: Joan Walsh has a very amusing post up: "Why I Went On 'The O'Reilly Factor.'" Best riff: "It was a kaleidoscopic nightmare, a TV acid trip, and I don't do acid. It almost seems like O'Reilly does, but I don't think so. The man is driven by demons. God bless him and save him.")

The whole exchange called to mind a passage of Shakespeare, Julius Caesar, IV.iii:

BRUTUS: You have done that you should be sorry for. There is no terror, Cassius, in your threats, For I am arm'd so strong in honesty That they pass by me as the idle wind, Which I respect not.

Joan Walsh: spoken like a Stoic!

MEANWHILE:
(Huff Post) - click through for video

Fix News host Sean Hannity only devoted one sentence to discussing the shooting at the Holocaust Museum on his program this week, Media Matters reports. This comes after Hannity had criticized other networks for not giving significant coverage to the recent shooting at an Army recruiting center in Arkansas. Instead of discussing the shooting at the Holocaust museum, Hannity did, according to Media Matters, dedicate significant time on his show this week to "David Letterman's jokes about Sarah Palin, the firing of Miss California Carrie Prejean, and actor Craig T. Nelson's take on the proper role of government."