Howard be first but you all know that.

Congrats Reed on your first firstie!!

a fine october day

maples on fire
a fine clear bitter lime
overtakes the understory
crimson oaks flame at the
corners, the sumac runs the margins
like wildfire
skybright sunwarm windlight
heart is content
for a little

.

Um. I'm looking at John Edwards's health care page, and that doesn't look like single-payer at all. It looks like his plan would keep the private insurance companies in charge, and it would just help pay for private insurance for people who can't afford it.

Kucinich is the only candidate who is explicitly promoting a true universal single-payer system; there's a bill in the House, the Conyers/Kucinich bill (HR 676), which would implement such a system. It was first introduced in 2003, at which point John Edwards was still a Senator. If he supports single-payer, then why didn't he assist this effort by, for instance, introducing a companion bill in the Senate (which HR 676 still lacks)? 

Hey puddle, ♥ nice poem!

Health care coverage... a knotty problem. I was all for universal single payer until I went to work at JC Penney. I get great coverage for under $1k per year. If we get universal single payer they will drop their plan like a rock (they co-fund the insurance to keep it low for us) and I will be stuck with federal insurance I can't afford.

Personally, I wish they would go after the out-of-control malpractice industry instead. Get rid of malpractice insurance (and, yes, lawsuits). Punish careless doctors by taking away their licenses for life.

It's malpractice that has ruined health care for us, pure and simple.

-- volney

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/1588

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/1588

Oops....did not even press post... sorry for the duplicate post.  I did not post either.  The page sort of jumped and there it was.  Oops.

That's OK, keeps things lively during insomniac hour. ;-)

45. last thread:

So the Iraqi police mortared us. Why am I not surprised?

Here's something that still bothers me. Several months ago there was a highly coordinated attack on a US base where several soldiers were killed.

The attackers arrived in a convoy of black Humvees like those used by the US and the driver of the lead vehicle was a blonde caucasian. I believe they were also dressed like US troops.

The media reported the attack, how mysterious it was, and speculated about its origin, then the story died out. We never were told who did it.

As I recall it was right about the time of an appropriations vote or something. I am still wondering if it was a black ops attack perpetrated by our government on our own troops.

-- volney

Um. I'm looking at John Edwards's health care page, and that doesn't look like single-payer at all. It looks like his plan would keep the private insurance companies in charge, and it would just help pay for private insurance for people who can't afford it.

Look behind any Edwards proposal and you'll find not just smoke and mirrors, but a record that belies the rhetoric.

He isn't the anti-hillary -- he is hillary.

Get back to me when you're serious about winning.

Great ending. It should convince people to support Edwards. But why would anyone want to get back to you?

10.

Hillary on a good hair day?

Just wanted to rib Phil a bit before zzzville...what was that only team to come back from being down three games to one?

In all fairness, Phil was half right in predicting the Rockies and Indians. But then, so would any coin have been.

Hillary on a good hair day?

You've seen the still. Now enjoy the movie!

John Edwards has a lot of good ideas for better health care and health care system, but his approach to insurance is half hearted. If the government is going to ask for public money from individuals and businesses, government should do the job.

We should take that burden off business. It can be an extension of the S-Chip idea, a sliding scale of premiums, that competes with the private market - at the top of the scale even the wealthy can be a part of the government plan, if they want to pay the full premium.

Private insurance will compete with the government plan, more, as income of the individual increases.

Also, one thing that all plans don't address is a "manhattan project" revolution into which agricultural, environmental, industrial, household, and personal care hemicals are causing our chronic degenerative diseases. Regulation and banning them is something we come out at the bottom of, among developed countries. 45 years after the publication of Silent Spring, it is about time.

It is pathetic that "prevention" has become code for "early detection" which has nothing to do with preventing the disease in the first place.

Good morning, BFA! Sorry, Anni, haven't been off at the beautiful spa (thank God the coupon is good for quite a while yet, because I'm not sure when we'll be able to fit it in!), but did have some trouble with the *internets* over the weekend, so gave the PC a rest for a while and worked on boxes in earnest.

Plus, I have to finish the update of my household furnishings directory. I must update the inventory and get additional coverage because of the move to the new canton. The authorities have already sent me two dunning letters. I wish that they would be as efficient at getting my residence/work permit through the hoops as they are about tax and insurance matters. LOL

I was getting worried about not being able to drive after the 31st of October, as I was under the impression that was when my grace period for my previous license plates ran out. But the Service des Automobiles informed me last Friday that the grace period is all in the interpretation. Because they only received official word on Sept 20 that I had left my official functions, for them the *grace period* only began to run from that date. So I have until Dec 20.

I'd like to get *regularized* with them ASAP but am in a sort of legal status limbo. I can't turn in my old plates and get new ones until I actually receive my new permit. Ah well, it's just a question of time!

*************
By the way, I did re-vote in the *Pulse Poll.* I changed my second place vote to Dodd, but left Gore in first and Edwards in third. As my reason for selecting "Other" (which AL is, I said that Al was the best candidate for Prez (apart from Howard Dean), so I did manage to get my Dean licks in too.

I will not change my vote again.

Gore was well ahead at the time.

And Linda and Suzanne, thanks for all that you are doing to get him to run. I do not believe that he will enter on his own at this point, because the vituperation that would ensue from the Hillary camp would be relentless and nasty ... and would probably in the end only benefit the Rethugs. So, IMHO, our best chance remains for a draft. And if a DFA endorsement is one means to draft him, then so be it! If we cannot support one of the other candidates wholeheartedly, then we should not endorse any one of them. We can simply work to endorse whoever will be the Dem nominee ... and I hope that will be Gore, one way or another.

JMO

**************
Must run right now, but will bbl with some of the headlines.

Have good ones!

I'm calling it for Boston.  

++++

Yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh !

Boston rallied from a 3-1 ALCS deficit by beating the Indians 11-2 in Game 7 and will face Colorado in the World Series.  

• Tim Brown column

Hillary uses people ?

I did not know that:

http://www.suntimes.com/news/elections/614285,CST-NWS-clin22.article

DES MOINES, Iowa -- In a mailing tailored to Iowa voters, presidential contender Hillary Rodham Clinton is using a rare split between Illinois' Democratic senators to provide cover for her vote to declare the Iranian Guard a terrorist organization.

The direct-mail piece features a picture of Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), a supporter of White House hopeful Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), and his explanation of why he disagreed with his ally.

Most senators, including Clinton and Durbin, voted for the Iran resolution. Obama, campaigning in New Hampshire, did not vote. He said he would have opposed it.

Obama has been critical of Clinton, saying the resolution could pave the way for war with Iran. Clinton and others say it's part of a strategy to apply diplomatic pressure on Iran.

The mailing demonstrates the Clinton campaign in Iowa is concerned about the impact of her vote.

...

Good morning, everybody

I've had a wicked thought this morning about Bush Two and his Sadies (sadistic ladies).  Is that unfair to Sadies everywhere?  Can you start a partial list?

Dr. Condoleezza Rice

Lurita Doan

Hariet Miers

Heather Wilson

Barbara Bush

Dr. Lani Kass

Thinking of the Secretary of Education, Margaret Spellings, I went slumming and found something called ExpectMore.gov

Here's a sample page----

Healthy Community Access helps improve access to health services. It provides grants to develop or strengthen integrated community health care delivery systems that coordinate health care services for individuals who are uninsured or underinsured. Communities can spend program funds on a wide range of activities.

NOT PERFORMING
Ineffective

• It is unclear that all Federal funds expand access to health care. Funds can be used for wide variety of activities and the program cannot ensure that the most useful activities are funded. The impact of many of the activities has not been established; it is likely the program subsidizes some activities that are ultimately of limited use.
• The program is duplicative of other Federal, State, local, and private efforts. Several Federal programs seek to address the problems the uninsured. Several private programs have addressed the development of health delivery systems.
• The program does not have historical data demonstrating progress towards achievement of goals. While an independent evaluation is underway of sufficient scope and quality to determine if the program is effective and achieving results, there has been no independent evaluation to date.

We are taking the following actions to improve the performance of the program:

• Ending this poor performing program. No funds were appropriated for this program for Fiscal Year 2006.

15

Fred

I agree with your whole post. Edwards thinks his health care plane will lead toward single payer, but it isn't there yet.

it is truly universal though

Richardson (and my own Senator Harkin) are big on real prevention.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/10/22/america/campaign.php?WT.mc_id=rssamerica

Clinton, Obama and Romney spending about equally

But behind those numbers are wide differences in how the campaigns spend their money. And that provides a glimpse into the different strategies of their campaigns and the financial challenges each candidate faces.

...

Unlike Clinton, Obama built up an in-house staff early on and has relied on these salaried employees far more than outside consultants.

In fact, Obama spent only $332,418 on consultants in the third quarter, compared with $1.3 million for Clinton - and far less than Romney, who spent $4.3 million, and Giuliani, who spent $2.3 million.

One big-ticket consultant for Clinton was Penn Schoen & Berland Associates, which received just over $1 million for the quarter. The firm is headed by Mark Penn, a top Democratic pollster and chief strategist to the Clinton campaign.

...

Obama's spending reflects his Web-heavy campaign. The highest-paid employee was Joseph Rospars, the new media director, who earned $40,000 in the three months, on top of the $30,000 previously earned.

Rospars was formerly on the Internet team for the Dean campaign and is a founder of Blue State Digital, which works with Democratic candidates on Web-based campaigns.

...

21.  Yes, but are they big on prevention in the sense of cleaning up the environment (from washing hands to reprocessing hazardous waste instead of dumping) or in the sense of manipulating individual behaviors that are personally risky--like eating, drinking, smoking, working, recreating too much?  Are they into banning the use of DU in weapons?  Are they into banning the development of bacteria and viruses as military agents?  Are they into the development of more nuclear weapons?

Preaching at people to correct environmental problems that have been created by other people has long been a popular pastime.  It's attractive to the recipients of this "good" advice because it makes them feel that they are in charge of their own destiny.  But, it's all a hoax.  Rodale, the publisher of "prevention magazine" has been profiting from it for decades. 

Too Scary For Little Children.dlc

Edwards comes a lot closer to single payer than anyone but Kucinich, who owns the issues (I know, he's too short!)

bloggie clock is 4 minutes behind already. Just program to reset with NIST on a daily basis!

* rdorgan
Mon, 10/22/07
5:13 am
____________________________________________________________________________

Ever wonder why I cant stand the Red Sucks?  Heres reqson #286

September 1985   Red Sucks 23 1/2 games out of first place.....Concord Hospital, Concord, NH...tv lounge.....huge NFL game on tv between two first place teams......Red Sucks fans unrelenting to turn tv channel from Red Sucks game (again they are completley out of it) to the NFL game...................

I'm thinking that a quasi-governmental pooler for both remittance and payment could save a lot of overhead, the problem is that our private institutions have been totally corrupted by predatory capitalism, short term gain as a goal, and a tax code that promotes recklessness to the economy by aggregation of capital that answers to no one.

Badgers are off to a pretty high flying start on the ice. And they are on here between the news and Charlie Rose, but if you wanted to see the third period on my TV you would have to TIVO it Mike.

paine

Obama's ad  about CAFE standards and melting ice caps is a good one. His complex way of thinking disconnects the point because it actually addresses many issues in one ad, Which is good if you can analyze it. I just don't know where complex issues fit in a discussion that is played out in less than a minute.

27.

captive tv audience --

just wait until "1984" really comes around and there's tvs in every public bathroom stall, with the Food Channel on

Many Dean supporters will not, in good conscience, agree to support the Democratic presidential nominee next year.  They're promising right-in votes instead as political cover and to signify their ceremonial handwashing for the election.

I have a favor to ask if this is your plan.  1) Please write in candidate or former candidate Ron Paul, as opposed to a third party candidate, non-candidate, or other former candidate, as an expression of the preordained effect of your vote, namely, to steer the election towards the Republican candidate as in 2000, & 2) Please contact the Chairman of the Democratic National Committee to advise him of your plan.

paine

Obama's ad  about CAFE standards and melting ice caps is a good one. His complex way of thinking

...

+++

... IMO may be one of the main reasons Obama looses the dem primary.

People like simple (funny that, cause life ain't simple).

IMO may be one of the main reasons Obama looses the dem primary.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It is not easy being higly intelligent and a simple speaker dumbed down to the electorate so sound bites work.

That ad is a tapestry of interwoven thoughts. Not a chance jaywalkers will "get it"

Tom -

Speaking of Ron Paul, supporters have palstered his bumper stickers everyone here in the Boston area -- on mailboxes, poles, etc.

I guess his supporters think the world is their canvass.  I fully expect my Obama sticker to be plastered over with a Paul sticker the next time I'm in the Brighton neighborhood mailing a letter at the local post office. 

Could that be labeled a hit and run ?

I want every voter in America to use that cherished right to pick who they think can best stand at the head of Government; and shame on the Democratic Party if their nominee hasn't given every single voter at least some reason to consider the Democratic choice for the job.

rdorgan wrote "Speaking of Ron Paul, supporters have plastered his bumper stickers everyone here in the Boston area -- on mailboxes, poles, etc."

I’ve witnessed this phenomenon. His supporters fancy themselves as renegade patriots. They campaign at night.

Paul revere rode at night. I don't fear for the future of the Republic from Ron Paul supporters. Here Hillary fans are the only ones with yard signs out.

Phil wrote "I want every voter in America to use that cherished right to pick who they think can best stand at the head of Government; and shame on the Democratic Party if their nominee hasn't given every single voter at least some reason to consider the Democratic choice for the job."

For those following along, that would apparently have been a pig in a previous election.

37.

Yeah, funny that.  I don't see many vehicles sporting Ron Paul stickers.

Rather the stickers seem to be plastered on other people's properties.

What's that term: an Ownership world versus and Opportunity world -- I wonder which one defines the Ninjas of the night ?

37. 

If I ever see an upside-down Ron Paul sticker on a pole, the explanation will be --

-- it pays to use Energizer batteries in one's flashlight before heading out on a night's work.

I have a favor to ask if this is your plan.  1) Please write in candidate or former candidate Ron Paul, as opposed to a third party candidate, non-candidate, or other former candidate, as an expression of the preordained effect of your vote, namely, to steer the election towards the Republican candidate as in 2000, & 2) Please contact the Chairman of the Democratic National Committee to advise him of your plan.

Nice try at intimidation, Tom.

I will of course do none of the above. If the Dems are suicidal enough to nominate Hillary (or Obama), I'll write in Al Gore--or Dennis. I'll also vote indy or Green rather than support Carl Levin--the Senator from Israel.

If it takes another 4 or 8 years of Republican rule to convince Democrats that they have to listen to their base, so be it.

New thread.

Incidentally, Levin sent me a thoroughly disgusting and offensive email justifying his vote in favor of the Lieberputz anti-Iran resolution. AIPAC and White house talking points.

Yes, it is true George, J E does not offer a Single Payer Health Care, he doesn't claim to either.

I'm sure you know how to read his policy to verify, so I won't bother.

But, just to give you peace of mind. Al Gore campaigned for Universal Health care back in 99-2000, and in 2002, he declared we need a Single Payer Health Care.

Most recently, last week, Mr. Gore made clear his position on a several important issues we face and uploaded his videos to current.com, have a look.


"Health Care is a right...
Our current system doesn't work and is way too expensive."
http://current.com/items/84987281_health...

Georgia's Doctors did the insurance companies' bidding and found some
TLC in the Republican controlled state capitol.  Punitive damages limited to
$ 250,000 and Emergency Room doctors immune to lawsuits.

Not only did health insurance premiums keep going up,
so did the MD's malpractice coverage premiums!!

The anecdotal jackpot awards are a drop in the ocean of health care
dollars.  Eliminate the health insurance middlemen denying coverage to
those that need medical care and pricing the rest of us out of the market.

If medicare for seniors works with 2.9 percent of payroll, then another 2.9
percent for everyone else who wants to opt in and even pay something
affordable for the privilege ought to work even better.

Edwards ' plan still gives Americans some choice since as we know there are some Americans who think that they are intrinsically better than others. It does however guarantee healthcare for all. Canada's healthcare plan was not born in one single deliver but evolve. As a doctor. He believes that a siongle payer will prove the winner. As a physician, I know  that dealing with Medicare is better than dealing with most insurance  companies.  As a small business owner, my premiums for my employees go up but they don't get better care and I don't see any rise in my payment. Healthcare is a right.  Edwards knows this and will work for Americans. Hillary's plan is a joke.  After working on petitions for Edwards to be on the ballot, the Democratic Party here in IL isn't so democratic since many people were informed that they should only sign one petition by the party. Let's have a real primary vote everywhere. We don't have any time to waste to set this country back on course. We need a candidate that America will vote for and wil win. Edwards is the one.