Author Archives: pandora

About pandora

A stay-at-home mom with an obsession for National politics.

Obama To Republicans: Go Ahead And Vote Against HCR

Today President Obama drew the line on where HCR will go.  (Via Ezra Klein – full transcript posted there)

And so Obama gave no quarter today. Gone was the pretense that Democrats and Republicans basically agree on health-care reform. “Many Republicans in Congress just have a fundamental disagreement over whether we should have more or less oversight of insurance companies,” Obama said. “And if they truly believe that less regulation would lead to higher quality, more affordable health insurance, then they should vote against the proposal I’ve put forward.”

Gone was vague language and gesturing coyness Democrats have favored on the path forward. “The United States Congress owes the American people a final vote on health care reform,” Obama said. “We have debated this issue thoroughly, not just for a year, but for decades. Reform has already passed the House with a majority. It has already passed the Senate with a supermajority of sixty votes. And now it deserves the same kind of up-or-down vote that was cast on welfare reform, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, COBRA health coverage for the unemployed, and both Bush tax cuts.”

So that’s it, then: The health-care reform bill that Congress will vote on will be a close relative of the health-care reform bills that Congress has already passed. No Plan Bs, no starting over, no accommodation with continued obstructionism. “I have therefore asked leaders in both houses of Congress to finish their work and schedule a vote in the next few weeks,” Obama said. “From now until then, I will do everything in my power to make the case for reform.”

Can’t get any clearer than that.  Bet Republican heads are exploding.

McCarthyite Tactics

Via Andrew Sullivan:

Liz Cheney ratchets up the disgusting campaign led by Senator Chuck Grassley to impugn DOJ appointees who represented Gitmo detainees. Ackerman:

You know, [the lawyers who] provided the representation that the Rehnquist and Roberts Supreme Court has repeatedly ruled those detainees are entitled? And which even the military commissions provide for? Instead, there’s this McCarthyite tactic of calling Justice Department lawyers the “Gitmo Nine,” a name that oh-so-cleverly suggests that those lawyers were themselves detained at Guantanamo.

Liz Cheney, of course, redubbed them the “Al-Qaeda Seven.”  And she wants names named.  How very McCarthyite of her.

Grassley knows exactly what he’s doing. He’s taking one of the strengths of the American justice system — the fact that everyone is entitled to legal representation — and implying that it’s unseemly. It’s a testament to the weakness of his character that he will never forthrightly accuse these attorneys of what he’s implying — sympathy with accused terrorists — in a way that they could refute. What a pathetic excuse for a man. Those of us in the media have an obligation to call this smear campaign what it is.

I won’t hold my breath on the media calling them out.

Could someone tell me why Republicans hate our justice system and why anyone takes their Constitution blather and Founding Fathers quoting seriously?  These people would have labeled John Adams a terrorist sympathizer.

Umm… About That Bill Senator Bunning Said “Tough Sh*t” To…

Not only did he put 2000 Federal Transportation workers out of work, but he triggered a 21 percent cut in Medicare fees to doctors.

Political gridlock in the Senate triggered a 21 percent cut in Medicare fees to doctors Monday, as the American Medical Association warned of a “meltdown” for seniors and the Obama administration scrambled to contain the damage.

Funding to temporarily stave off the cuts was part of a bill passed last week by the House. But the Senate failed to act on the one-month fix because Republican Sen. Jim Bunning of Kentucky objected that the $10 billion measure would add to the deficit.

Republican leaders have since pledged to help pass the temporary legislation. The administration, meanwhile, is ordering Medicare billing contractors not to pay any claims from doctors for the first 10 business days of March, hoping the Senate will move swiftly and physicians can be reimbursed in full. Medicare usually pays electronic claims in 14 days.

And to think all Bunning suffered was missing a basketball game.  Hope that little stunt was worth it, Senator, because Bunning so owns this mess.

And continues to own it.  Just in…

Sen. Jim Bunning continues to object to extending unemployment benefits. On Monday, the Kentucky Republican once again prevented a vote on a bill that would extend eligibility for enhanced unemployment benefits and subsidized health insurance for laid-off workers by 30 days.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) asked for unanimous consent to move forward with the bill. If Congress fails to pass an extension, the National Employment Law Project estimates that 1.2 million people will lose their benefits in March.

“Religious” Leaflet Handed To Woman And Girls Just Asking For It

This sort of stuff makes my blood boil.

BRISTOL, Va. – Nineteen-year-old Keshia Canter handed three burgers, fries and milkshakes to a car-load of Tuesday afternoon customers at the Hi-Lo Burger’s drive-though window. A lady sitting in the backseat leaned forward, between the two men in front, and handed her a leaflet: “Women & Girls” it said across the top.

“Even though nothing is showing, you’re being ungodly,” Canter recalled the woman telling her. “You make men want to be sinful.”

Guess Keshia was guilty of having lady parts.

“You may have been given this leaflet because of the way you are dressed,” it begins. “Have you thought about standing before the true and living God to be judged?”

“Scripture tells us that when a man looks on a woman to lust for her he has already committed adultery in his heart. If you are dressed in a way that tempts a men to do this secret (or not so secret) sin, you are a participant in the sin,” the leaflet states. “By the way, some rape victims would not have been raped if they had dressed properly. So can we really say they were innocent victims?”

The hand-out is signed “anonymous.”

Anonymous cowards.  BTW, love the… btw, some rape victims would not have been raped if they had dressed properly. So can we really say they were innocent victims?”

This leaflet makes the assumption that rape only happens to women who weren’t “dressed properly” when the truth is rape happens to women of all ages, body types and clothing choices.  It’s violence.  And no one asks to be raped.

This leaflet is also extremely insulting to men.  Yet again men are portrayed as a gender incapable of self-control – who are excused for a violent act because they have gentlemen body parts.

What’s disturbing is that this “she asked for it” defense still carries weight in society.  And for anyone subscribing to this mindset do you also believe people who drive flashy cars or live in showy houses deserve to be robbed?  Aren’t they just asking for it as well?

3 Pit-Bull Attacks In 3 Days

I found this amazing and horrifying.

THE BLOODY paw prints were still in the snow, and a bunch of white gauze lay nearby.

The pinkish snow was packed down where two pit bulls had attacked a 10-year-old boy – severely injuring his right arm and puncturing his neck, left arm and back with their teeth shortly after 11 a.m. yesterday.

The child had been walking with two boys who had both dogs on leashes. The dogs – one brown and the other white with brown spots – began fighting each other, then turned on the 10-year-old, said Capt. Ben Naish, police spokesman.

It was the third vicious pit-bull attack in Philadelphia in three days.

On Friday, a victim’s wrist was nearly severed. On Saturday, a woman was mauled to death. And last night, doctors were trying to save a little boy’s arm. All three attacks involved dogs known to the victims.

Now, I’m fully expecting the response that you can’t blame the breed and that pit-bulls are some of the sweetest dogs, but… they scare the hell out of me.  There are simply far too many of these stories.  And it’s the severity of these attacks – and the fact that the dog involved had no previous history of violence, but rather just snapped – that most concerns me.  And when it comes to maiming and death certain breeds stand out.

According to the Clifton study, pit bulls, Rottweilers, Presa Canarios and their mixes are responsible for 74% of attacks that were included in the study, 68% of the attacks upon children, 82% of the attacks upon adults, 65% of the deaths, and 68% of the maimings. In more than two-thirds of the cases included in the study, the life-threatening or fatal attack was apparently the first known dangerous behavior by the animal in question. Clifton states:

If almost any other dog has a bad moment, someone may get bitten, but will not be maimed for life or killed, and the actuarial risk is accordingly reasonable. If a pit bull terrier or a Rottweiler has a bad moment, often someone is maimed or killed–and that has now created off-the-chart actuarial risk, for which the dogs as well as their victims are paying the price.

Clifton’s opinions are as interesting as his statistics. For example, he says, “Pit bulls and Rottweilers are accordingly dogs who not only must be handled with special precautions, but also must be regulated with special requirements appropriate to the risk they may pose to the public and other animals, if they are to be kept at all.”

The life-threatening or fatal attack was apparently the first known dangerous behavior by the animal in question.  Either someone is lying or this is a big problem.  Let me be clear.  ALL dogs bite.  But what we’re dealing with when it comes to certain breeds is an attack so vicious and relentless it resembles the behavior of a wild animal rather than a household pet.

Erb was unable to stop the dog from clamping down on her daughter’s throat, and the dog was still attacking Staab when medics arrived, police said.

The attack was stopped only after responding police officers shot the dog to death. After the shooting, a second pit bull charged the cops, prompting them to kill that animal too, police said.

Staab was pronounced dead at 7:24 a.m. in her mother’s home.

Wow, just wow.  But these sorts of stories involving pit-bulls have become almost expected.  Seriously, when we hear about attacks like this our first thought isn’t Golden Retriever.  And, no, I’m not advocating outlawing certain breeds.  That said, I really don’t want to be in the same room with those breeds – which is my problem/phobia, not yours.

And just to add some HCR politics into the mix… if domestic violence can be classified as a preexisting condition then how long before insurance companies charge more depending on what breed of dog you own?

A Miscarriage Of Justice

Utah’s proposed legislation is hardly surprising since we already knew the pro-life movement is all about controlling and punishing women.

A bill passed by the Utah House and Senate this week and waiting for the governor’s signature, will make it a crime for a woman to have a miscarriage…. In addition to criminalizing an intentional attempt to induce a miscarriage or abortion, the bill also creates a standard that could make women legally responsible for miscarriages caused by “reckless” behavior. Using the legal standard of “reckless behavior” all a district attorney needs to show is that a woman behaved in a manner that is thought to cause miscarriage, even if she didn’t intend to lose the pregnancy.

Reckless behavior?  Like wearing high heels?  This is just crazy.  It also promises to be a bureaucratic nightmare – not that conservatives will have a problem with government spending over this.  But how exactly would you prove such things?  Dan Savage asks the same questions…

If every miscarriage is a potential homicide, how does Utah avoid launching a criminal investigation every time a woman has a miscarriage? And women have a lot of miscarriages: one in four pregnancies end in a miscarriage. And how is Utah supposed to know when a pregnant woman has had a miscarriage? You’re going to have to create some sort of pregnancy registry to keep track of all those fetuses, Utah. Perhaps you could start issuing “conception certificates” to women who get pregnant? And then, if there isn’t a baby within nine months of the issuance of a conception certificate, the woman could be hauled in for questioning and she could be indicted for criminal homicide if it’s determined that she intentionally or accidentally induced a miscarriage. Of course, lots of women miscarry before they even realize their pregnant… so Utah will have to pass another law, one that compels all sexually active women—actually, let’s just say all women, Utah, since some sexually active women claim they’re chaste—to come in for mandatory monthly pregnancy tests…

One in four pregnancies end in miscarriage.  Guess doctors are going to have to start reporting patients to the government of Utah.  And these idiots are the ones screaming about freedom and comparing Democrats to nazis.  Project much.

Scott Brown Is a Big, Fat RINO!

I’m dyin’ here.

Scott Brown was in and out of the Senate chamber and had voted against his party before most of his colleagues had even arrived.

“It’s a small step, but it’s still a step,” Brown told reporters after casting a procedural vote in favor of the Democratic jobs bill, bucking his party leaders and the strategy of opposition they have carried out since President Obama took office.

Unlike Republicans I never had high hopes for Scott Brown – I never chanted #41!  I am however enjoying this… immensely.

I’m Sure Republicans Will Support This

Because tax breaks just rock!

Cash-strapped legislators have recommended spending cuts for Missouri schools and shelters for battered women, but so far the yachting class can enjoy another season of clear sailing.

Thanks to a longstanding tax exemption, Missouri’s marina set can opt to pay a small fee in lieu of sales taxes and shave as much as $30,000 off the purchase of a $500,000 boat.

That tax exemption alone is depriving state and local coffers of more than $6 million a year, according to some estimates. It’s just one of more than 130 untaxed transactions that are getting renewed attention in Jefferson City because of the state’s continuing budget crisis.

For now, however, yachts are treated like baby formula for the poor, tickets to the state fair and even newsprint —all are exempt from state and local sales taxes.

I’m beginning to think we’re doomed because there’s something so very wrong with this picture.

Help Me Understand What This Year’s CPAC Straw Poll Means

I’m really not sure what to make of Ron Paul’s victory in CPAC’s straw poll.  And, make no mistake, it was a pretty big victory.

Nate breaks it down:

But the most revealing result from CPAC 2010, one that didn’t surprise me but ought to wake up national political reporters, is this one: Ron Paul won this year’s CPAC straw poll with 31 percent. Next best was Mitt Romney with 22 percent. Amazingly, Paul’s support was more than that for Sarah Palin (7 percent), Tim Pawlenty (6), Mike Pence (5), Newt Gingrich (4), Mike Huckabee (4), Mitch Daniels (2), and Rick Santorum (2) combined. Yes, that’s right–combined. By compare, just a year ago, Paul tied with Palin for third at 13 percent, with Romney winning and Bobby Jindal (who dat?) second at 14 percent.

I’m kinda wondering if Sarah Palin’s snub of CPAC resulted in her dismal performance.  Of all the results, Mitt Romney’s is the least surprising – that guy is destined to take second place.  Thoughts?

UPDATED: Schools + Student Issued Laptops + Webcams = Spying At School and At Home

UPDATE 02/20/10:

This isn’t looking good for the school district.

District spokesman Doug Young acknowledged yesterday that officials had remotely activated computer webcams 42 times, but only in an attempt to recover missing or stolen laptops, and never to spy on students. He said families had not been notified about the possibility that the cameras on the 2,300 laptops could be activated in their homes without their permission.

So… they did it and they didn’t let families know it could be done.  And the “only in an attempt to recover missing or stolen laptops, and never to spy on students” excuse stinks to high heaven since the reason this was uncovered was due to their disciplining a student for “improper behavior.”

Looks like somebody’s in big trouble.

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If these charges are true, somebody better end up in jail.

(Major h/t to MJ.  Thanks!)

According to the filings in Blake J Robbins v Lower Merion School District (PA) et al, the laptops issued to high-school students in the well-heeled Philly suburb have webcams that can be covertly activated by the schools’ administrators, who have used this facility to spy on students and even their families. The issue came to light when the Robbins’s child was disciplined for “improper behavior in his home” and the Vice Principal used a photo taken by the webcam as evidence. The suit is a class action, brought on behalf of all students issued with these machines.

Improper behavior in his home?  His home? And the Vice Principal produced evidence?  Bet that evidence ends up being used against the Vice Principal.

If true, these allegations are about as creepy as they come. I don’t know about you, but I often have the laptop in the room while I’m getting dressed, having private discussions with my family, and so on.

So do I, and so do my children.  Again, if true, does this school district now have child pornography on their files?  We already know that certain districts are okay with strip searching, so maybe this isn’t that big of leap.  These allegations make my blood run cold.

I Would Like To Thank Health Insurance Companies For Making My Point

I’m certain everyone has heard of Anthem’s 39% rate increase in health insurance, but did you realize raising rates is all the rage?  Actually, if you’re one of the individually insured these rate hikes aren’t new at all.  They’re simply part of individual health insurance.

At 11:30 a.m. today, Sebelius will release the report, obtained by TPMDC and titled “Insurance Companies Prosper, Families Suffer: Our Broken Health Insurance System.”

It finds that Anthem’s rate increase (now delayed until May) is “not unique” and that experts say premiums will keep rising.

The report quotes National Association of Insurance Commissioners officials predicting the nation will “see rate increases of 20, 25, 30 percent.”

“These massive increases are disturbing examples of the problems that make reforming our health insurance system more important than ever,” the report states.

Why these companies must be suffering financially.   Or not…

Last year, as working families struggled with rising health care costs and a recession, the five largest health insurance companies – WellPoint, UnitedHealth Group, Cigna, Aetna, and Humana – took in combined profits of $12.2 billion, up 56 percent over 2008.

These health insurance companies’ profits grew even as nominal GDP decreased by 1 percent over this same time period.

And recent data show that the CEOs of America’s five largest insurers were each compensated up to $24 million in 2008.

Those are some really big profit numbers.

But it’s the timing of these rate hikes that confuses me and makes me think these companies have jumped the gun on returning to business as usual.  You’d think they’d lay low until HCR was officially pronounced dead.  This move has breathed new life into the patient, and strengthens – in tangible, immediate ways – what we’ve been saying all along, that the system is broken and cannot be sustained.

Something else interesting is happening in HCR.  The Public Option has returned, and is gaining support.

So I’d like to take this moment to thank the Health Insurance Industry for simply being you.