Tidbits

The House Is Rockin’ on Healthcare

Dennis Kucinich and Anthony Weiner are stepping it up for single-payer. Too bad the Obamacrats have taken it off the table.

Canada did not establish its national health care program with a bold, immediate political move by the federal government.

The initial progress came at the provincial level, led by the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation’s Tommy Douglas when he served from 1941 to 1960 premier of Saskatchewan. The universal, publicly-funded “single-payer” health care system that Douglas and his socialist allies developed in Saskatchewan proved to be so successful and so popular that it was eventually adopted by other provinces and, ultimately, by Canada’s federal government.

For his efforts, Douglas would be hailed in a national survey as “The Greatest Canadian” of all time. But Douglas’ regional initiative also offers a lesson for Americans.

Those of us who know that the only real cure for what ails the U.S. health care system is a universal public plan that provides health care for all Americans while controlling costs recognize the frustrating reality that there are many economic and political barriers to the federal action that would create a single-payer system. This makes clearing the way experimentation at the state level all the more important.

And, remarkably, the forces of real reform have won a congressional victory on that front, a victory that ought not be underestimated.

By a 25-19 vote, the House Committee on Education and Labor on Friday approved an amendment to the House’s health-care reform bill allowing states to create single-payer health care systems if they so choose.

Carolyn Maloney Uses the “N” Word While Attacking Gillibrand; Biiiiiiiiig Mistake

You better watch your mouth, Carolyn Maloney. You better cross every “t” and dot every “i” in your nominating petitions.

And make sure your campaign cash numbers add up, because you’re in the big leagues now.

Your plan to challenge Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand in the 2010 Democratic primary concerns some big people, and they’re watching your every move.

So, you can’t go around using the N-word, even if you were relating a story someone told you. It doesn’t matter that you quickly apologized for repeating a word you “find disgusting.”

That’s not going to stop Gillibrand and her army of endorsers, including the Rev. Al Sharpton, from trying to capitalize on every gaffe and paint you as a ditz.

I agree, and furthermore, EWWWWWW. That word is indefensible to me! All she had to do was say “the n-word” while telling the story, and she would still have made her point. Frankly, I don’t think there’s any excuse for any white person saying it in any context. She is a great public servant and fighter for women, but she’s got to be a lot smarter or she’s going to be out before she is even in.

Morning Widdershins: “HEY MA, I’M ON TV!”

Sonia Sotomayor

You have to hand it to Sonia Sotomayor. After three days of torture, sitting under hot lights, cameras clicking, and facing a full panel of obtuse politicians, she held up well. Speaking for myself, she managed to sit through the b.s. without having to resort to that famous “temperament” issue they wanted to hang around her neck as proof that she is possibly unfit to share the bench with Antonin Scalia, the arbiter of all things neutral.

I don’t know much about Sonia Sotomayor. She could as easily be 5 steps to the right of Scalia for all I know. But from what I learned of her past judicial rulings they went mostly unanswered. As a nominee to a lifetime appointment on the Supreme Court, we have every right to review past decisions made by a sitting judge in a determination to understand how each has arrived in their conclusion based on precedent, study, and rulings. We barely got there owing to the circus atmosphere surrounding her appearance. It had pretty much gotten to the point that I was yearning for another 2 hour presentation of the life and times of Michael Jackson, equipped with commentary supplied by Al Sharpton pumped up with his usual signature of righteous indignation.

Instead, we were subjected to three days of “theater”. Starting with Chuck Schumer who lost control of his emotions during his presentation of her background, choking on tears as her sketched her life story, it went downhill from there. When it became time for individual senators to begin the inquisition, the lines were firmly drawn. The Dems took their 10 minute allotted time to make sweeping statements and fell all over themselves with “gushing tributes” before proceeding to questions. Much of their posturing was in highlighting themselves for the audience back home. No surprises there unless one considers Sen. DemRepubDem Specter who must have had difficulty finding his proper seat. Right side, left side, where do I park my sorry butt this time?

The Repubs, led by Jeff Sessions and Lindsey Graham, focused their attention on the “wise Latina” comment uttered years ago by the nominee. From the constant pounding in their insistence to get to the bottom of what she said (i.e., she is a closet racist), you would have come away believing that she had advocated for the beating of puppies and the dissolution of the Disney Channel! Never tiring of beating that dead horse, they continued down this tired old road hoping, I assume, that she would at last throw up her hands and admit that yes, she was smarter than any white man who ever lived and as soon as she was sworn in she intended to consign them all to a desert island to await their fate. Give me a break here!

As if that weren’t enough to sink her chances, then Lindsay Graham could point to her questionable “judicial temperament” as reason to be concerned. He even admonished her to review that assessment for the future which I took to mean that she should never leave home without that bottle of Midol tucked away in her purse.