Jack & Jill Politics

Republican Strategy for Killing Healthcare Reform Stays Constant: Delay, Delay, Delay Hotlist
by mcjoan
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Mon Nov 02, 2009 at 04:46:04 PM PST

Not very creative, those Republicans. From Roll Call [sub req.]:

Acknowledging they can’t stop the Senate from bringing up a health care reform bill, Republicans have mapped out a strategy to draw out the debate, attack the measure’s core components and force difficult votes on vulnerable Democrats.

Republicans have no illusions of substantively altering the Senate bill. But they plan to use targeted amendments to attack the legislation issue by issue, offering detailed GOP alternatives in a concerted bid to turn the public against the measure and to try to set the table for electoral gains in 2010....

Republican Senate aides and operatives familiar with the leadership’s floor strategy say leadership will put different Senators in charge of various themes. Their responsibilities will include messaging and spearheading Republican amendments.

Finance ranking member Chuck Grassley (Iowa) will probably handle all things tax-related; Sen. Susan Collins (Maine), a former state insurance regulator, will likely deal with health care premiums; Budget ranking member Judd Gregg (N.H.) will tackle the bill’s deficit implications; Cornyn will focus on malpractice reform.

Good thing Baucus spent so much time negotiating with Grassley, huh? As if we needed more evidence that those negotiations were not done in good faith on the Republican side. And what about Susan Collins, that great moderate that Olympia Snowe was supposed to be able to bring around. The article also points out that Nebraska Republican Mike Johanns will be conducting town meetings in Nebraska during the floor debate, undoubtedly an effort to try to put Ben Nelson in a bind, an effort that's unlikely to do much to sway Nelson, or whip up much angry froth against him back home. Nebraskans don't really seem to work that way. But Johanns may as well knock himself out.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/11/2/799732/...

one of my favorite episodes on The Boondocks was on last night.

LUV
'THE ITIS'.

admit it, you know that episode is a classic.

Monday, November 02, 2009


Uh Oh

by digby


The queen bee's got her stinger out:

Today:

The sense that the Obamas are flirting with disaster by parading their happy family life was magnified by Michelle’s Marie Antoinette-like appearance this week on the cover of Glamour magazine — at a time when many Americans continue to lose their homes or jobs every month.

In the interview with Glamour, Michelle discussed her fashion choices and appeared to tease her husband: “One thing I’ve learnt about male role models is that they don’t hesitate to invest in themselves.” The timing and content of the piece prompted Sally Quinn, a veteran Washington style-watcher, to suggest that the first lady had been badly advised.

“I’m not sure if I had been her adviser I would have said for her to do the Glamour cover because it might begin to trivialise her and what her role is,” she said.

The enthusiasm for the Obama family has until now obliged most Republicans to bite their tongues when discussing Michelle and the children, but there were mutterings last week that the president might be using his enviable private life as a diversion from awkward political realities — notably the prospect this week of Democratic defeats in elections for state governors in New Jersey and Virginia.

“Funny how every time there’s a crisis we end up reading about Michelle,” noted one Republican insider. “It’s great to see that the first couple have such a wonderful relationship,” added a Times website reader. “Now can the president please get down to solving the country’s problems?”



Yesterday:

According to society sources, Sally invited Hillary to a luncheon when the Clintons came to town in 1993. Sally stocked her guest list with her best buddies and prepared to usher the first lady into the capital's social whirl. Apparently, Hillary didn't accept. Miffed, Sally wrote a catty piece in the Post about Mrs. Clinton. Hillary made sure that Quinn rarely made it into the White House dinners or social events.

In return, Sally started talking trash about Hillary to her buddies, and her animus became a staple of the social scene. "There's just something about her that pisses people off," Quinn is quoted as saying in a New Yorker article about Hillary.

Quinn's antipathy to Hillary became the subject of a New York Observer piece in 1996 that turned the spotlight on Sally, now 56. "No longer a journalistic star, Ms. Quinn seems restless and unsatisfied," wrote Mary Jacoby, "despite her wealth and prominence and her Georgetown mansion with swimming pool and tennis court, not to mention her house in the Hamptons." Wondering about the roots of Quinn's spat with Mrs. Clinton, a younger and more powerful woman, Jacoby wondered if Quinn was "frightened" that her good looks were fading and "bitter because she's no longer on center stage."



I think we all know where all that led.

Sally and the rest of the village tabbies are very, very hard to please. By Democrats anyway. If it isn't that they are bringing down the morals of the country with their modern, serious, complicated marriages, they are being a little bit too uppity with their old-fashioned, fun uncomplicated marriages. They prefer something dull and lifeless like George and Laura's or Nancy and Ronnie's, where the president calls the first lady "mommie" and the first lady stares at the president like he's the cutest Jonas Brother. (One assumes that it helps if the couples have blue blood or are at least Hollywood Royalty --- the respectable, conservative kind, of course.)

I would suggest that Michelle get herself over to the Bradlee parlor and apologize for failing to consult the *right people* before this backbiting gets out of hand. She needs to realize that if she wants to survive in the sleepy little hamlet called Washington DC, she and her family belong to Sally. And Sally will not be ignored.



http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2009/11/uh-oh-by...

Or Michelle can give Silly Sally the Hillary Clinton treatment.

ok, I'll say it..

Bitch, Please.

According to a recent article in the Washington Post, many of the healthcare policy decisions that we think are being made in Washington, will instead be made in your state capital. Is this a good thing? I think not. In my opinion, politics is about not making decisions. Politicians almost never get voted out of office for indecision or inaction. Instead, politicians get voted out of office for making decisions that are unpopular. If you have a large enough constituency it really doesn't matter what decision you make someone's not to be happy.

more...

KARMA is indeed a wicked bitch

Monday, November 02, 2009
Top McCain campaign adviser running out of insurance, has pre-existing condition
by John Aravosis (DC) on 11/02/2009 12:18:00 PM

Amazing story. And not that different from a lot of people. America is changing. More and more people are working on their own, freelancing, consulting. None of us have access to reasonable health care - at least not reasonable once you're "of a certain age." From the Washington Post:

If history had taken a different course, Doug Holtz-Eakin would be inside the McCain White House driving the Republican president's domestic agenda, including health-care reform. But now, one year after Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) lost the presidential election, the man who was by McCain's side as the campaign's top health-care guru remains unemployed -- and his COBRA health coverage is running out.

Irony of ironies, it gets worse. Holtz-Eakin, who is about to start shopping for insurance on the individual market, is 51. And he has one of those pesky "preexisting conditions" that insurance companies often cite in denying coverage.

"A right renal autotransplant," he said, pointing to his abdomen as he described the 1990 transplant surgery he went through after one of his kidneys was damaged in an accident. "They got rid of the artery, moved my kidney and rebuilt me for the 21st century. If you look at my file, any insurance company would go, 'Hmm . . .' "

Good luck.

http://www.americablog.com/2009/11/top-mccain-c...

A right renal autotransplant secondary to trauma is a one and done operation. He does not require immunosuppressive drugs like Cellcept or Prograf. It should have little impact on his ability to get insurance as it is not the type of pre-exisiting condition that generally requres further treatment.
If he has COPD, a history of cancer, diabetes, congestive heart failure, severe hypertension, heart disease (other than CHF), or a myriad of less common diseases, than he might have trouble finding insurance.

AZ GOP Committeman: Ask "Brown People" About Crime in Tucson

An Arizona Republican National Committeeman called a Tucson conservative talk radio program last week and advised an Arizona Democratic County Chairperson that if he wanted to learn about crime in Tucson he should "ask the brown people."

Bruce Ash called the Jon Justice show to discuss Proposition 200, an unfunded proposition on the Arizona ballot which would mandate a hiring ratio of 2.4 police officers per 1,000 residents. But for the first few minutes of his on-air time Ash was focused on belittling Jeff Rogers, Pima County Democratic Party Chair. Ash said Rogers "sits in his little house in midtown, with his kids who go to school, with his little job...in his little neighborhood," and then, in a startling assertion, accused Rogers of being "blind to all the crime" because Rogers didn't life in a Hispanic neighborhood: "It may not be happening in his neighborhood but you ask any of the brown people who live on the South side, or the West side, or the South Central side of Tucson." Statistics tracking crime and neighborhoods kept by the Tucson Police Department do not support Ash's suggestion that crime is higher in Hispanic neighborhoods.

The Arizona political blog Rum, Romanism and Rebellion posted a link to Ash's on-air comments. Blogger Ted Prezelski said that while he found Ash's comments "condescending and patronizing" he was willing to give Ash the benefit of the doubt: "I don't think Ash was trying to be racist. But I think he was clumsy and insensitive while he was making a point about who was affected by crime in our community." Prezelski added that by voicing these misleading statements, Ash has not only done an injustice to the targeted communities but to all of Tucson: "These sort of assumptions about crime are not only hurtful to South and West siders, but detrimental to our city as a whole."




Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marlene-h-phillip...

GO PHILLIES!

'Emotional' Michelle Obama announces White House mentoring program for girls

By Robin Givhan
In her own version of "Pay It Forward," first lady Michelle Obama, who has often talked about the influence of role models in her life, announced a year-long mentoring program at the White House for area high school girls.

Monday afternoon, thirteen young women gathered around a polished wood table, austerely set with water glasses and blue folders, in the State Dining room for a get to know you conversation with the senior women from the White House staff who will serve as their mentors. That list includes a who's who of fancy titles and impressive resumes -- among them, senior advisor Valerie Jarrett, domestic policy advisor Melody Barnes, Obama's chief of staff Susan Sher and social secretary Desiree Rogers.

The germ of the idea was planted in March when Obama invited a star-studded array of women, ranging from entertainers to math geniuses, to fan out across the area and share their stories with students. At the end of the day, the women and a group of girls gathered at the White House for dinner. The first lady, in today's remarks, recalled that evening saying that "that was the best thing we've done so far." She wanted to replicate that experience on a larger scale.

The young women, who were selected by their principals, will not be traditional interns but will be tutored by their mentors on everything from careers and financial literacy to how to write a college essay and health and fitness.

Obama said she became interested in the power of mentoring as a corporate lawyer in Chicago. Her office, she said, was on the 47th floor of a downtown building and her windows faced south towards her old neighborhood. Kids who were just as smart and capable as she was missed out on opportunities and successes "by a hair," she said.

And then she got a bit verklempt. "We've got the most powerful seat in the land to be a bridge-builder," she told the girls, her eyes tearing and voice cracking. "And I'm so excited and touched and moved to have you all here.... I can get emotional."

A young men's program, rooted in the West Wing, will launch soon.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/2009/11/02/...

now the teabaggers are going after dear Charlie Crist, and his perfect hair.

oh Charlie, watch out...LOL

Perfect hair and perfect tan.

and his new WIFE...lol

Excellence in Barbados Starts with Discipline
Last Updated Nov 2009

By Nikole Hannah-Jones

November 1, 2009) - ST. THOMAS PARISH, BARBADOS - Danielle Ifill puts her hand on her hip and poses for her friends as she dons the evergreen mortarboard that signals her upcoming graduation.

In the auditorium of her worn-looking high school, Lester Vaughan secondary school, teacher Wilma Wiggins makes sure Ifill’s matching gown hangs the proper distance from the floor.

While Wiggins measures, the 16-year-old with mahogany skin and ebony eyes casts a wistful glance at the school yard she’ll soon leave. A few months from now, she’ll start a computer engineering program at the local polytechnic university. With a smile, she says she’s prepared, but nervous. “I’m going to miss it,” she says. “But I am ready.”

If this were an American tale, Ifill would likely be cast as an exception. The Black girl who made it out, who managed to find a place among the 56 percent of African-American children who graduate from high school, and the 40 percent of those who go to college.

But here in Barbados, this tiny eastern-most island of the Caribbean, Ifill’s story is instead the rule that defies notions of Black educational inferiority and underachievement. Barbados graduates 98 percent of its high school students; 53 percent go on to college. This 90 percent-Black nation not far from U.S. shores has the second-highest literacy rate in the world. With 99.7 percent of its population literate, it falls one–tenth of a point behind the three nations tied for first in the world: Cuba, Estonia and Poland (the United States is ranked 17th).

That this developing Black nation has managed to create a world-renowned education system offers a lesson for American schools entrenched in what seems to be an irreconcilable Black-White racial achievement gap: race doesn’t have to predict academic success. The key to Barbados’ success is four-fold—high expectations for all students, strict discipline, substantial education spending and a culture that embraces education as a form of nationalism.

“I cannot perceive of meeting someone in my society who can’t read,” says Dr. James Carmichael, a former secondary school teacher and computer scientist. “Education is part of the national conscious.” Expectations for achievement are perhaps most illustrated by a nation’s willingness to spend money on it.

Barbados funnels nearly a fifth of its national budget into education, and spends 6.9 percent of its entire gross national product on education, according to the CIA World Factbook, making it 24th in the world. The United States ranks 57th.

Students here attend school for free from pre-kindergarten to university. The government also provides free breakfast and lunch to all students, something the United States provides only to low-income students.

But Barbados goes further in on key area: health care. Barbadians of all ages have universal free access to health care. If a child is sick, he or she can go to a neighborhood clinic near school for treatment. The schools have a referral system built in for children who need glasses or dental care.

“Students don’t have to stay home if they’re sick in Barbados,” says Dr. Dan C. Carter, a former official in the education ministry. “This means they can be in the classroom learning.”

All of these factors help place Barbados first among developing nations on the United Nations’ Human Development Index, an indicator of not just a nation’s wealth, but its quality of life.

For instance, the United States has the second highest GDP per capita in the world, but ranks 12th on the human development index. Quality of life indicators for African-Americans, such as life expectancy and infant mortality, rival that of some Third World countries.

Tiny Barbados, in contrast, ranks 39th for per capita GDP but 31st among all nations on the quality of life index.

Another important factor that makes education work in Barbados is discipline. Diana Wilson, principal of the Lester Vaughn secondary school, calls it the “bedrock” of the school system.

The disciplinary conditioning begins with school uniforms and ends with the distinct threat that if a student does something particularly bad he or she can be flogged with a bamboo cane.

All students wear uniforms color-coded by public school. The skirts fall below the knees, no jewelry can be worn, nor any shoes other than plain black ones. The state pays for uniforms if parents can’t.

“Uniforms are a form of discipline,” Mary Ann Redman, the teacher’s union president, says. “They help remove class distinction and are less distracting.”

Teachers in Barbados are held in esteem and relationships between teachers and students are nurturing but formal. Disrespectful behavior isn’t tolerated, and teachers use several forms of discipline, including in-school suspension and even taking students to visit detention and drug rehab centers.

But the ultimate tool in their disciplinary arsenal — one that is increasingly controversial worldwide — remains corporal punishment. Barbadians young and old recount the fear of floggings — a seldom-used but effective threat. “I had a caning once in primary school,” says Rudder, of the education ministry. “Never again. It was a deterrent for me.”

It’s unlikely U.S. schools would ever embrace such punishment. But other methods, such as uniforms, parent involvement and creating an environment of respect, Carmichael says, can be implemented and successful in certain American schools where, like Barbados, nearly every seat is occupied by a brown-skinned child.

“My mother preached to us every day, ‘You can’t get through life without an education,’ ” Danielle Ifill says at her graduation practice. “We hear it all the time from everyone.”

Nikole Hannah-Jones is a reporter for The Oregonian.

http://www.afro.com/tabId/551/itemId/5128/Excel...

A disturbing trend indeed

There is only 2 months, yes I said 2 months before we enter the second decade of the 21st century, the 2010’s. As we enter the 2010’s I am looking forward to some radical personal changes in my own life (for the good, of course) and radical changes that will effect the society around me. When the year 2010 begins I am hoping very zealously that there will be a conflict in the black communities in Canada and the United States. As Shay of Booker Rising suggested we need to create a crisis betwen the Buppies and the Ghettofabulous and believe you me, I am respecting and standing by my Bloggist-In-Chief on that matter. Some may think I am crazy for wishing any type of conflict but I dare to say that I’m just being crazy as a fox!

http://ftloveblog70.wordpress.com/2009/11/02/a-...

deleted by the poster

Here is a quote from this excellent op-ed:

What Obama Is Up Against

Monday 02 November 2009

by: Russ Baker, t r u t h o u t | News Analysis



The first anniversary of Barack Obama's historic election finds many of his supporters already grousing. Fair enough: Obama has been more vigorous in some areas than others. But one essential question goes unasked: How much can any president accomplish against the wishes of recalcitrant power centers within his own government?

We Americans harbor a quaint belief that a new president takes charge of a government that eagerly awaits his next command. Like an orchestra conductor or perhaps a football coach, he can inspire or bludgeon and get what he wants. But that's not how things work at the top, especially where "national security" is concerned. The Pentagon and CIA are powerful and independent fiefdoms characterized by entrenched agendas and constant intrigue. They are full of lifers, who see an elected president largely as an annoyance, and have ways of dealing with those who won't come to heel.

Compound that with the Bush-Cheney administration's aggressive seeding of its staunch loyalists throughout the bureaucracy, and you have a pretty tough situation. Obama, then, has to contend not only with the big donors and corporate lobbies. His biggest problem resides right inside his "team."

very interesting article, and I agree with it.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB100014240527487...

A 1990 page bill??

You expect us to take this op-ed seriously.

"The House also pretends Medicare payments to doctors will be cut by 21.5% next year and deeper after that, "saving" about $250 billion. ObamaCare will be lucky to cost under $2 trillion over 10 years; it will grow more after that."


Insurance companies are flayed for not paying for any kind of care no matter how expensive or extreme. But the feds do the same thing and will expand that non payment by just paying 50 cents or less on each dollar of healthcare cost. For Medicare recipients that will mean shifting the cost to Medigap insurance.

I will add the following prediction: If you are 60 years old and are not the patient of a young doctor, you may be SOL finding a doctor who will take care of you as a patient once you are on Medicare.

Everyone knows that the Wall Street op-eds are extremely bias to the point so why use that as a source.