Why vote for Obama if he is so powerless?

You're crushing my HOPE and making me sad Bubba!

"If ignorance is bliss, why aren't more people happy?"

I would suggest writing your Congressman and Senators. But if they are the same as mine, well, you know.

So what was the point of moderates voting for Obama? Oh yeah, some others wanted to see criminals prosecuted for war crimes. Others may have been hoping he’d make a getting off fossil fuels a priority like Kennedy’s “moon-shot”. Others would like to see a solar panel on the White House lawn next to the garden (nice touch by the First Lady).

Never mind.

Obama has certainly proven to be a good orator. The jury is still out on what kind of leader he is. Some advice from Bill Maher ; (link...)

As someone not affiliated with a party, I can tell you, 2010 will be loss if a health care plan without universal coverage is passed. I voted for Obama partially to help teach Republicans a lesson last time. I will teach the Democrats a lesson next time.

The lesson is, when you have a super majority, use it. Because next time, in politics, is too late. Fifty years of this stupid battle to prop up corporate interest proves it.

You can't put all this on Obama. He knew the political realities and laid them out. He also laid out some good principles to at least get moving in the right direction. And he pissed off the AMA yesterday when he said he would not support medical malpractice tort "reform." I would like to see him offer some more specific recommendations, though.

For those who care: (from DKos front page)

Call Sen. Dodd, who is Kennedy's standard-bearer on this one, and tell him a robust public option must be included in the draft that goes to markup: Tel: (202) 224-2823 | Fax: (202) 224-1083. You can also e-mail the committee: help_comments@help.senate.gov. While you're at it, here's the rest of the Democrats on the committee:

Tom Harkin (IA): (202) 224-3254
Barbara A. Mikulski (MD): (202) 224-4654
Jeff Bingaman (NM): (202) 224-5521
Patty Murray (WA: (202) 224-2621
Jack Reed (RI): (202) 224-4642
Bernard Sanders (I) (VT): (202) 224-5141
Sherrod Brown (OH): (202) 224-2315
Robert P. Casey, Jr. (PA): (202) 224-6324
Kay Hagan (NC): (202) 224-6342
Jeff Merkley (OR): (202) 224-3753

Help the HELP committee help all of us, but making them hold the line on the public option. While you're at it, call the White House at (202) 456-1414, or e-mail President Obama.

"If ignorance is bliss, why aren't more people happy?"

In listening to liberal talk radio the other day a caller suggested a march to Washington for healthcare for all. I'm thinking this is what needs to be done to emphasize the importance of the issue.

Wouldn't it be nice to some day be able to change employers, move to a different state, or even become self-employed while maintaining the same health insurance?

the Middle East, mountaintop removal--when a jackass flies, you don't ask how high.

He is a politician at his core, a good one in terms of skills, but a politician nonetheless. In the end we may benefit or not, but it will be incidental to whatever advances his political career. Ask Rev. Wright.

Please read Noah's excellent piece on healthcare.

Ask Rev. Wright.

Why? (And mountaintop removal? Say what?!)

The Isolationism of Health Reform: Why won't Congress consider how other countries do it?
By Timothy Noah
article at Slate.com

Here's a piece:
The political establishment's hubristic refusal to consider how other countries manage health care is encapsulated in the cliché "uniquely American," which is what Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., the lead legislator on health care reform, says he wishes his bill to be. It therefore goes without saying that the finance committee Baucus chairs could find no place in this year's exhaustive health care hearings for a single expert on how other countries achieve better health outcomes for their populations while typically spending, on a per capita basis, half what we do. When the finance committee releases its draft bill this week, it will be almost completely free of foreign influence.

I just wish our media and the Dems would consistently keep asking GOP congress critters why the exact same kind of health care they demand for themselves isn't good enough for the rest of America.

That's going on the offensive and helping regular people relate to the blatant hypocrisy of DC politics.

"If ignorance is bliss, why aren't more people happy?"

Go here and sign the petition:
(link...)

"If ignorance is bliss, why aren't more people happy?"

If they aren't interested in what is best for the people, then who are they supporting?

Looks like maybe the health care industry?
(link...)

"If ignorance is bliss, why aren't more people happy?"

I listened to "Outside the Beltway" Sunday. They had a doctor from Physicians for a National Health Plan and an executive from an HMO as guests, plus some Republican radio clown who sounded like he would be announcing a run for Illinois governor soon.

The two professionals had a litany of facts at their disposal and obviously understood the mechanics of our system and its strengths and weaknesses. They disagreed over reform costs and approaches, but not over facts. The Republican would just occasionally say, "If you think the government can do a better job, you're crazy." Completely outclassed and barely part of the conversation, he finally suggested that maybe we should pay men to have regular prostate check ups, completely contradicting himself. The others sat silent for a moment, then resumed their discussion as if it had been interrupted by a belch.

It occurred to me that Republicans typically offer exactly that much value to any discussion. Thus I present the belch test: if it's too complicated to say while belching, it is too complicated for the Republican Party.

Low Taxes. Ahh. Try it yourself!