While The Body's Still Warm... ::: Kennedy’s Death Spurs Calls to Pass Health Legislation

The death of Sen. Edward Kennedy quickly became a rallying cry for Congress to pass health care overhaul legislation.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office sent an email to reporters at around 2:30 a.m. today, just hours after his death, calling for the passage of health care overhaul. “Ted Kennedy’s dream of quality health care for all Americans will be made real this year because of his leadership and his inspiration,” the statement read.

Kennedy’s Death Spurs Calls to Pass Health Legislation - Washington Wire - WSJ

Also:

Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.), the only senator to have served longer than the late Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), mourned his friend Wednesday, saying his "heart and soul weeps."

Byrd said he hoped healthcare reform legislation in the Senate would be renamed in memoriam of Kennedy.

"I had hoped and prayed that this day would never come," Byrd said in a statement. "My heart and soul weeps at the lost of my best friend in the Senate, my beloved friend, Ted Kennedy."

Byrd's wistful statement focused on the work accomplished with Kennedy during decades together in the Senate, and called on the healthcare bill before Congress to be renamed in honor of Kennedy.

"In his honor and as a tribute to his commitment to his ideals, let us stop the shouting and name calling and have a civilized debate on health care reform which I hope, when legislation has been signed into law, will bear his name for his commitment to insuring the health of every American," Byrd said.

Byrd wants health bill renamed for Kennedy

She'd Never Wear a Che T-Shirt ::: Cuban blogger the voice of youth-oriented counterculture

Great girl, great article.

A couple of excerpts:

Yoani Sánchez, the blogger who has gained an international following detailing the absurdities of daily life in Cuba, is on the phone from her 14th-floor apartment in Havana, where the elevators rarely work. She speaks plainly, boldly, with none of the hemming and hawing common among folks on the island who fear their phones are tapped.

Sánchez is certain hers is. She is constantly followed, too. None of this stops her from finding ways, despite government attempts to block her, of continuing to post to Generación Y, the blog she launched in April 2007 and for which she has won several awards. Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2008.

``Of course I'm afraid. I'm not especially valiant. Maybe it's the panic itself that keeps me moving forward. I fear for my 14-year-old son, though so far the government has left him alone,'' says Sánchez, 33, in her unflappable manner.

TOUGH FIGURE

With her skinny frame and dark hair, she looks a tad like Olive Oyl. But that's where the comparison to Popeye's weak-kneed girlfriend ends. Sánchez is a much tougher figure, a tech-savvy representative of a growing youth-oriented Cuban counterculture who tells it like it is -- about having to feed her family rice with bouillon cubes when there is nothing else, about the surging number of women on the island who deny their realities by popping black-market Valium, about the cops who are assigned to tail her.

From her blog -- desdecuba.com/generationy/ -- translated into more than a dozen languages, she once asked those ``selfless companions who monitor the entrance to my building'' to give her neighbors a break. Their presence inhibited illegal activity in the building, which meant residents could not get anyone to sell them anything on the black market.

``I feel I'm to blame for the commercial strangulation in which the other 143 apartments are plunged, and I have to do something to relieve them,'' Sánchez wrote. ``So, I ask them . . . look the other way when it comes to food.''

``After speaking your mind, you can't one fine day return to silence,'' Sánchez says.

...

``I am part of the counterculture, and the counterculture is growing, but it is very diverse. Maybe one thing we all have in common is that we don't wear Che T-shirts, like foreign kids who consider themselves counterculture do,'' she says. ``In Cuba, Che represents the government. In Cuba, only tourists and members of the Young Communist League wear Che shirts.''

Her blog.

Funny Che shirts.

Rest of the article:
Cuban blogger the voice of youth-oriented counterculture - Cuba - MiamiHerald.com

Oh, Goody! ::: Inspired by Alinsky, FCC 'Diversity' Chief Calls for ‘Confrontational Movement’ to Give Public Broadcasting Dominant Role

I'm getting really tired of the fascist freaks our present administration feels free to empower.

(CNSNews.com) – Mark Lloyd, chief diversity officer of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), called for a “confrontational movement” to combat what he claimed was control of the media by international corporations and to re-establish the regulatory power of government through robust public broadcasting and a more powerful FCC.

Lloyd expressed his regulatory call to arms in his 2006 book, “Prologue to a Farce: Communications and Democracy in America” (University of Illinois Press).

In the book, Lloyd also said that public broadcasting should be funded through new license fees charged to the nation’s private radio and television broadcasters, and that new regulatory fees should be used to fund eight new regional FCC offices.

These offices would be responsible for monitoring political advertising and commentary, children’s educational programs, number of commercials, and content ratings of the programs.

Frequently referencing one of his heroes, left-wing activist Saul Alinsky, Lloyd claims in his book that the history of American communications policy has been one of continued corporate control of every form of communication from the telegraph to the Internet.

...

“Neither Progressive era reforms nor new communications technologies have been able to correct the problems resulting from government abdication of a responsibility to advance the equal capability of citizen discourse,” Lloyd added.

“Corporate liberty has overwhelmed citizen equality,” he wrote.

Government, Lloyd said in his book, is the “only” institution that can manage the communications of the public, arguing that Washington must “ensure” that everyone has an equal ability to communicate.

CNSNews.com - Inspired by Saul Alinsky, FCC 'Diversity' Chief Calls for ‘Confrontational Movement’ to Give Public Broadcasting Dominant Role in Communications

Bush Volunteered for Vietnam... and CBS Sat On The Fact In Exchange for "Fake But Accurate" BS

I actually randomly caught Bernard Goldberg on O'Reilly talking about this last night.

Wonder if the New York Times will follow up on this... they're the ones that famously called the forged documents "fake, but accurate".

I hate the selective media.

Until now, the controversy over the Rather/Mapes story has centered almost entirely on one issue: the legitimacy of the documents – a very important issue, indeed. But it turns out that there was another very important issue, one that goes to the very heart of what the story was about – and one that has gone virtually unnoticed. This is it: Mary Mapes knew before she put the story on the air that George W. Bush, the alleged slacker, had in fact volunteered to go to Vietnam.

Who says? The outside panel CBS brought into to get to the bottom of the so-called “Rathergate” mess says. I recently re-examined the panel’s report after a source, Deep Throat style, told me to “Go to page 130.” When I did, here’s the startling piece of information I found:

Mapes had information prior to the airing of the September 8 [2004] Segment that President Bush, while in the TexANG [Texas Air National Guard] did volunteer for service in Vietnam but was turned down in favor of more experienced pilots. For example, a flight instructor who served in the TexANG with Lieutenant Bush advised Mapes in 1999 that Lieutenant Bush “did want to go to Vietnam but others went first.” Similarly, several others advised Mapes in 1999, and again in 2004 before September 8, that Lieutenant Bush had volunteered to go to Vietnam but did not have enough flight hours to qualify.

More here:
BernardGoldberg.com

(Politics break!) Superb ::: Kate Moss poses in photo shoot for her new Topshop collection

Every once in a while I have to get my fashion obsession on.

More here:
Kate Moss poses in flawless photo shoot (apart from the laddered tights) as she launches new Topshop collection | Mail Online

Send John Mackey Some Love ::: The CEO’s Blog/Health Care Reform – Full Article

One may comment at the bottom of the article, and I must say I am encouraged by many of the posted opinions (and, yes, disheartened by many as well).

Here's his blog piece:

Health Care Reform – Full Article

by John Mackey, August 14, 2009 | Permalink

As you are probably aware, I wrote an Op/Ed piece that was published in the Wall Street Journal earlier this week on health care reform, one of the biggest and most emotional issues facing our country. I was asked to write an Op/Ed piece and I gave my personal opinions. While I am in favor of health care reform, Whole Foods Market as a company has no official position on the issue.

In answer to President Obama’s invitation to all Americans to put forward constructive ideas for reforming our health care system, I wrote this Op/Ed piece called simply “Health Care Reform.” An editor at the Journal rewrote the headline to call it “Whole Foods Alternative to Obamacare,” which led to antagonistic feelings by many. That was not my intention – in fact, I do not mention the President at all in this piece.

I fully realize that there are many opinions on the healthcare debate, including inside my own company. As we, as a nation, continue to discuss this, I am hopeful that both sides can do so in a civil manner that will lead to positive change for all concerned. You are welcome to share your thoughts in the comments section below. (Just remember our comment guidelines prohibit vulgarity and personal attacks.)

Here is the original unedited version that I submitted.

Click this:
The CEO’s Blog � Blog Archive � Health Care Reform – Full Article

They Use The Word "Grassroots"... LOL :::Democrats plan hundreds of reform rallies

Faced with a souring public mood on health care reform, Democrats and their supporters are launching a national grassroots push Wednesday to show lawmakers that the majority of Americans still support overhauling the system.

Reform supporters are planning to hold more than 500 events between Wednesday and when lawmakers return to Washington Sept. 8, ranging from neighborhood organized phone banks to professionally staffed rallies with hundreds of people.

The Democratic National Committee and its grassroots arm, Organizing for America, are helping to organize the effort along with the Health Care for America Now, a group pushing to create government-run insurance plan.

“In these last few weeks of recess we want to demonstrate the energy, passion and commitment that the American people have to health insurance reform so that when members return after Labor Day they know that they can turn their attention to getting this done because they have the backing of the American people,” said DNC spokesman Brad Woodhouse.

Supporters have their work cut out for them. Many lawmakers were thunderstruck over the August recess by the anger and outrage expressed by their constituents in town hall meetings across the country. And in poll after poll, support for reform has eroded throughout the month.

More head-shaking fodder here:
Democrats plan hundreds of reform rallies - Chris Frates - POLITICO.com

ROTF ::: Some Surprised By 'Clunker' Tax

[snip]

But many of those cashing in on the clunkers program are surprised when they get to the treasurer's office windows. That's because the government's rebate of up to $4500 dollars for every clunker is taxable.

"They didn't realize that would be taxable. A lot of people don't realize that. So they're not happy and kind of surprised when they find that out," Nelson said.

For now, the biggest impact of the program hasn't hit this office yet, as most of the paperwork is still in the hands of the dealers. But Nelson expects to see move activity in her office in the next month.

"I'm anxious to see what it's going to be like. I have no idea how many people we're going to see. Hopefully the dealers can process their paperwork in 30 days," Nelson said.

And that's when the line at this office will give some indication of how many cars the government program moved off of local lots.

Nelson adds that if you did recently purchase a vehicle, ensure your dealer gets you the paperwork in time because if they don't you could pay extra interest and penalties.

KELOLAND.COM - Some Surprised By 'Clunker' Tax

Torture-slaying trial, Day 8: Cobbins guilty; jurors to consider death penalty

KNOXVILLE - Jurors this morning convicted Letalvis Cobbins of first-degree murder in the torture-slaying of Knox County couple Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom.

The verdicts, after being reviewed by Criminal Court Judge Richard Baumgartner, were announced before a packed courtroom.

Jurors on Wednesday will shift into a penalty phase in which they will consider evidence about whether Cobbins, 26, of Kentucky, should be executed for the January 2007 kidnapping and murders.

The jury concluded that Cobbins had responsibility in all the crimes committed against Christian, however, the same panel acquitted Cobbins of charges involving the rape of Newsom.

Those acquittals don't mean much, however, since jurors found him guilty of the first-degree murder of Christian, 21, and Newsom, 23.

"I can't even tell you what all those guilty verdicts were that he read," Gary Christian said.

"He raped my daughter. He's responsible for her murder. I've said all along he's going down. He's just started sliding, and tomorrow's going to be the nail in his coffin."

Newsom's mother, Mary Newsom, said: "We got what we wanted, but we still don't have Chris back."

Mary Newsom and her husband, Hugh Newsom, said they hoped that the same Davidson County jury will sentence Cobbins to death, but, "Life without parole would be okay. We just don't want him back on the street."

Torture-slaying trial, Day 8: Cobbins guilty; jurors to consider death penalty � Knoxville News Sentinel

ROTF! Iowahawk Rocks! ::: The 2012 Pelosi GTxi SS/RT Sport Edition

YouTube - The 2012 Pelosi GTxi SS/RT Sport Edition

One More Point... CYITOHTBADT? ::: White House Scandal: Unanswered Questions

CYITOHTBADT = Can You Imagine The Outcry Had The Bush Administration Done This

As others have pointed out, this story would be a behemoth of a scandal if, say, Republican members had forwarded anti-Iraq War emails to the Bush administration, which then blasted out unsolicited pro-war talking points from Karl Rove to thousands of unaware or unwilling recipients.

Guy Benson : White House Scandal: Unanswered Questions - Townhall.com

There's Something Fishy All Right, And It Ain't Us ::: Guy Benson: White House Scandal: Unanswered Questions/Townhall.com

Just a snippet.

After arrogant dismissals of Major Garrett's questions wore thin, the administration began blaming "outside groups" for compiling the email lists in question. In other words, they claim, people may have signed online petitions for independent advocacy groups, who then forwarded those petitions—email addresses included—to the White House. At which point, supposedly, the White House's super-sophisticated mega-email system ingested all of the incoming addresses by default, adding them to a master email listserv. I'm not an expert on mass emails, but that explanation strikes me as a tad fishy.

This account has also proven problematic because many of the original citizens who complained about receiving unsolicited political emails have subsequently stated that they did not sign any online petitions for any groups whatsoever.

So what happened here? HotAir.com’s Allahpundit posted a portion of an email I sent earlier in the week, describing a series of phone calls I received on my radio program last Sunday:

I mentioned this controversy on my show last week & got lots of calls from people who never signed up for WH emails (and never contacted the WH/Obama campaign for any reason), and who still got spammed by Axelrod/Govdelivery. What they all had in common, though, was that they had each emailed their Democrat representatives…within a week of getting the Axelrod email…

Could there have been an unspoken/unofficial effort by the Democrat party asking its elected members to forward all constituent correspondence on health care to a centralized DC location….like, say, the “flag” snitch address? Perhaps that’s how these email lists were compiled.

Read it all here:
Guy Benson : White House Scandal: Unanswered Questions - Townhall.com

Well At Least Someone's Paying Attention ::: Glenn Beck Exposes Van Jones

Great job (oddly enough, though, with a couple of typos, lol).




YouTube - Glenn Beck exposes Color of Change co-founder Van Jones

Go Gov! ::: NH customers asked to cover tab for clunkers

Frustrated with delays, rejections and computer-system crashes, several New Hampshire auto dealers are making car buyers pledge to cover rebates if the federal government doesn't come through with checks under the Cash for Clunkers program.

Auto dealers say they are doing so because the federal government is a clunker when it comes to sending out rebate checks of $3,500 or $4,500 per car.

But a state consumer protection official said there could be a problem with such a pledge, and at least one customer has refused to sign it.

The New Hampshire Auto Dealers Association created the draft agreement earlier this month and sent it to members, said President Peter McNamara.

Some dealers aren't using the agreement. Others are negotiating the agreement into the deal. McNamara said dealers are having problems getting rebates from the federal government, despite a law that requires any rebate application to be answered within 10 days.

At Bonneville & Son in Manchester, the company has not received a single rebate, despite the 70 Cash for Clunker deals it signed since late July. Manchester Subaru has had one of 25 rebates approved.

In Swanzey, the dealership that includes Toyota of Keene is waiting for money from 130 rebates.

For some dealers, the IOUs surpass $500,000, McNamara said. "For any dealer, $100,000 represents a serious cash-flow issue if you don't know when it's going to come in," he said.

►Cash for Clunkers to end on Monday (6)

Bonneville has car buyers sign statements that terminate the deal if the rebate does not go through, he said.

"The government changed the rules a couple of times, and it kind of puts you on edge," said John Berry, general manager at Bonneville, a Chrysler-Kia dealer.

UnionLeader.com - New Hampshire news, business and sports - NH customers asked to cover tab for clunkers - Friday, Aug. 21, 2009

[UK] Public told to snoop on lightbulb law breakers - Telegraph

From September 1, it will be illegal to import conventional pearl or frosted bulbs of any shape or wattage. Traditional incandescent bulbs of 100 watts will also be banned under European law aimed at reducing energy bills and carbon dioxide emissions.

They will be replaced by energy saving lights, which usually use flourescent tubes, but it is thought some consumers will still prefer their 'traditional' bulbs, particularly for reading lamps.

...

Syed Kamall, a Tory MEP, said he continues to receive letters and emails from people who want to stick with incandescent light bulbs.

He said the Government should be meeting the concerns of those who do not like the bulbs rather than punishing people who continue to use them.

"It is a completely over the top reaction. The problem is not people stocking up or importing incandescent light bulbs, the issue is that there continue to be concerns about the health effects of energy saving light bulbs," he said.

Nigel Farrage, the leader of UKIP, said the public should not be encouraged to snoop.

"Under this Government we begin to resemble East Germany in the 1980s where we snoop and report on local businesses," he said. "No doubt the next move will be to snoop on your parents if they continue to use old fashioned light bulbs."

The uncanny resemblance to East Germany will also be due to all the crappily lit rooms.

Ugh.

Public told to snoop on lightbulb law breakers - Telegraph

LOL! ::: Onion News: White House Reveals Obama Is Bipolar, Has Entered Depressive Phase

YouTube - White House Reveals Obama Is Bipolar, Has Entered Depressive Phase

Superb ::: Obama’s Bait and Switch: Thomas Sowell/NRO

Obama’s Bait and Switch
As we argue about the uninsured, the single-payer camel pokes its nose under the tent.

By Thomas Sowell

Amid all the controversies over medical care, no one seems to be asking a very basic question: Why does it take more than 1,000 pages of legislation to insure people who lack medical insurance?

Despite incessant repetition of the fact that millions of Americans do not have medical insurance, hardy souls who have actually read the mammoth medical-care legislation being rushed through Congress have discovered all sorts of things there that have nothing whatever to do with insuring the uninsured — and everything to do with taking medical decisions out of the hands of doctors and their patients, and transferring those decisions to Washington bureaucrats.

It’s called “bait and switch” when an unscrupulous business advertises one thing and tries to sell you something else. When politicians do it, it is far more dangerous to far more people. Deception is not an incidental aspect of this medical-care legislation. It is at the very heart of it.

This legislation would bring about a massive change of our entire medical-care system, from top to bottom. That an attempt was made to rush it through Congress before the August recess — before anybody in or outside of Congress had time to read it all — should have told us from the outset that we were being played for fools.

Despite President Obama’s recent statements that he is not advocating a “single-payer” system for medical care — which is to say, a government monopoly of power over life-and-death decisions — just a few years ago, he was telling a union audience that he was in favor of a single-payer system. At that time, he pointed out that it was unlikely that such a system could be put in place all at once; it might take a number of years to advance, step by step, toward that goal.

In other words, Barack Obama fully understood the “entering wedge” political strategy that has allowed so many government programs to start off small and apparently innocuous — and then grow to gigantic size and scope over the years.

If telling us that he is not for a single-payer system will soothe us into going along, then it is perfectly understandable why he said it. But that is no reason for us to believe him.

As for those uninsured Americans who are supposedly the reason for all this sound and fury, there is remarkably little interest in why they are uninsured. The endless repetition of the fact that they are uninsured serves a political purpose, but digging into the underlying reasons might undermine that purpose. Many find it sufficient to say that the uninsured cannot “afford” medical insurance. But what you can afford depends not only on how much money you have but also on what your priorities are.

Many people who are uninsured have incomes from which medical-insurance premiums could be paid without any undue strain. But they choose to spend their money on other things. Many young people, especially, don’t buy medical insurance, and elderly people already have Medicare. The poor have Medicaid available, even though many do not bother to sign up for it until they are already in the hospital — which they then can do.

Throwing numbers around about how many people are uninsured may create the impression that the uninsured cannot get medical treatment, when in fact they can get treatment at any hospital emergency room.

Is this ideal? Of course not. But nothing is going to be ideal, whether the current medical-care legislation passes or not. The relevant question is: Are the problems created by the current situation worse than the problems that would be created by the pending legislation? That question never seems to get asked, much less answered.

No small part of our current medical-care problems have been created by politicians who drive up the cost of medical insurance by mandating coverage that many people are unwilling to pay for. Many of us would prefer to pay for treatment of a sprained ankle ourselves, if we can get less expensive insurance to cover us just for catastrophic illnesses. But that is one of many decisions that politicians have taken out of our hands. There will be many more decisions taken out of our hands if Obamacare passes.

— Thomas Sowell is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution. © 2009 Creators Syndicate, Inc.

Obama’s Bait and Switch by Thomas Sowell on National Review Online

Obama and the Ds Really Need To Answer These Questions ::: Facebook/Sarah Palin: No Health Care Reform Without Legal Reform

President Obama's health care "reform" plan has met with significant criticism across the country. Many Americans want change and reform in our current health care system. We recognize that while we have the greatest medical care in the world, there are major problems that we must face, especially in terms of reining in costs and allowing care to be affordable for all. However, as we have seen, current plans being pushed by the Democratic leadership represent change that may not be what we had in mind -- change which poses serious ethical concerns over the government having control over our families’ health care decisions. In addition, the current plans greatly increase costs of health care, while doing lip service toward controlling costs.

We need to address a REAL bipartisan reform proposition that will have REAL impacts on costs and quality of patient care.

As Governor of Alaska, I learned a little bit about being a target for frivolous suits and complaints (Please, do I really need to footnote that?). I went my whole life without needing a lawyer on speed-dial, but all that changes when you become a target for opportunists and people with no scruples. Our nation’s health care providers have been the targets of similar opportunists for years, and they too have found themselves subjected to false, frivolous, and baseless claims. To quote a former president, “I feel your pain.”

So what can we do? First, we cannot have health care reform without tort reform. The two are intertwined. For example, one supposed justification for socialized medicine is the high cost of health care. As Dr. Scott Gottlieb recently noted, “If Mr. Obama is serious about lowering costs, he'll need to reform the economic structures in medicine—especially programs like Medicare.” [1] Two examples of these “economic structures” are high malpractice insurance premiums foisted on physicians (and ultimately passed on to consumers as “high health care costs”) and the billions wasted on defensive medicine.

Dr. Stuart Weinstein, with the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, recently explained the problem:

”The medical liability crisis has had many unintended consequences, most notably a decrease in access to care in a growing number of states and an increase in healthcare costs.
Access is affected as physicians move their practices to states with lower liability rates and change their practice patterns to reduce or eliminate high-risk services. When one considers that half of all neurosurgeons—as well as one third of all orthopedic surgeons, one third of all emergency physicians, and one third of all trauma surgeons—are sued each year, is it any wonder that 70 percent of emergency departments are at risk because they lack available on-call specialist coverage?” [2]

Dr. Weinstein makes good points, points completely ignored by President Obama. Dr. Weinstein details the costs that our out-of-control tort system are causing the health care industry and notes research that “found that liability reforms could reduce defensive medicine practices, leading to a 5 percent to 9 percent reduction in medical expenditures without any effect on mortality or medical complications.” Dr. Weinstein writes:

“If the Kessler and McClellan estimates were applied to total U.S. healthcare spending in 2005, the defensive medicine costs would total between $100 billion and $178 billion per year. Add to this the cost of defending malpractice cases, paying compensation, and covering additional administrative costs (a total of $29.4 billion). Thus, the average American family pays an additional $1,700 to $2,000 per year in healthcare costs simply to cover the costs of defensive medicine.
Excessive litigation and waste in the nation’s current tort system imposes an estimated yearly tort tax of $9,827 for a family of four and increases healthcare spending in the United States by $124 billion. How does this translate to individuals? The average obstetrician-gynecologist (OB-GYN) delivers 100 babies per year. If that OB-GYN must pay a medical liability premium of $200,000 each year (which is the rate in Florida), $2,000 of the delivery cost for each baby goes to pay the cost of the medical liability premium.” [3]

You would think that any effort to reform our health care system would include tort reform, especially if the stated purpose for Obama’s plan to nationalize our health care industry is the current high costs.

So I have new questions for the president: Why no legal reform? Why continue to encourage defensive medicine that wastes billions of dollars and does nothing for the patients? Do you want health care reform to benefit trial attorneys or patients?

Many states, including my own state of Alaska, have enacted caps on lawsuit awards against health care providers. Texas enacted caps and found that one county’s medical malpractice claims dropped 41 percent, and another study found a “55 percent decline” after reform measures were passed. [4] That’s one step in health care reform. Limiting lawyer contingency fees, as is done under the Federal Tort Claims Act, is another step. The State of Alaska pioneered the “loser pays” rule in the United States, which deters frivolous civil law suits by making the loser partially pay the winner’s legal bills. Preventing quack doctors from giving “expert” testimony in court against real doctors is another reform.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry noted that, after his state enacted tort reform measures, the number of doctors applying to practice medicine in Texas “skyrocketed by 57 percent” and that the tort reforms “brought critical specialties to underserved areas.” These are real reforms that actually improve access to health care. [5]

Dr. Weinstein’s research shows that around $200 billion per year could be saved with legal reform. That’s real savings. That’s money that could be used to build roads, schools, or hospitals.
If you want to save health care, let’s listen to our doctors. There should be no health care reform without legal reform. There can be no true health care reform without legal reform.

- Sarah Palin

[1] See http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204409904574350370729883030.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
[2] See http://www.aaos.org/news/aaosnow/nov08/managing7.asp
[3] Id.
[4] See http://www.abajournal.com/magazine/new_laws_and_med_mal_damage_caps_devastate_plaintiff_and_defense_firms_alik/print/
[5] See http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/columns/OpEd-Contributor/Tort-reform-must-be-part-of-health-care-reform-8096175.html

Facebook | Sarah Palin: No Health Care Reform Without Legal Reform

Unbelievable! Insanity! ::: ACLU On Showing Pix of Covert CIA to Gitmo Inmates "we have vigorously defended our clients' interests"

I'm just positive that the media will roundly condemn this as much as they did the Valerie Plame non-story, right? Right?!

(This is from the Washington Post... so there might be some shred of hope. But how about someone else hold their breath for me. Thanks.)

[snip]

If detainees at the U.S. military prison in Cuba are tried, either in federal court or by a military commission, defense lawyers are expected to attempt to call CIA personnel to testify.

The photos were taken by researchers hired by the John Adams Project, a joint effort of the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, to support military counsel at Guantanamo Bay, according to the sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the inquiry. It was unclear whether the Justice Department is also examining those organizations.

Both groups have long said that they will zealously investigate the CIA's interrogation program at "black sites" worldwide as part of the defense of their clients. But government investigators are now looking into whether the defense team went too far by allegedly showing the detainees the photos of CIA officers, in some cases surreptitiously taken outside their homes.

If proved, the allegations would highlight how aggressively both military lawyers and their allies in the human rights community are moving to shed light on the CIA's interrogation practices and defend their clients. Defense attorneys, however, described the investigation as an attempt by the government to intimidate them into not exposing what happened to their clients.

When contacted about the investigation, the ACLU declined to discuss specifics.

"We are confident that no laws or regulations have been broken as we investigated the circumstances of the torture of our clients and as we have vigorously defended our clients' interests," said Anthony D. Romero, the group's executive director. "Rather than investigate the CIA officials who undertook the torture, they are now investigating the military lawyers who have courageously stepped up to defend these clients in these sham proceedings."

It is unclear whether the military lawyers under investigation identified the CIA personnel in the photographs to the al-Qaeda suspects or simply asked the detainees whether they had ever seen them. It is also unclear whether the inquiry involves violations of federal statutes prohibiting the identification of covert CIA officers or violations of military commission rules governing the disclosure of classified information, including to the defendants.

The investigation is being overseen by John Dion, head of the Justice Department's counter-espionage section, who has worked on many high-profile national security cases, including the prosecution of Aldrich H. Ames, the CIA mole who spied for the Soviet Union. The CIA reports security breaches to Dion's office. The Justice Department and the CIA declined to comment.

Air Force Col. Peter R. Masciola, chief military defense counsel at Guantanamo Bay, and his deputy, Michael J. Berrigan, also declined to comment.

The Washington Post could not determine how many and which CIA personnel were photographed, which photographs were shown to detainees, or when.

[snip]

The rest of it:
Lawyers Showed Photos of Covert CIA Officers to Guantanamo Bay Detainees

DeMint, Bachmann Praise and Inspire Grassroots Troops

Well I got the opportunity to sit in on a tele-town hall last night with Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) and Representative Michele Bachmann (R-MN). First thought afterward... we live in an awesome country. I feel that way whenever I, a plebe, can participate in the workings of our Republic.

The tele-town hall was hosted by Americans for Prosperity's Tim Phillips. (I had the opportunity to interview the Texas State Director, Peggy Venable, back in April for my Texas Starts With T mini-doc.)

Anyway, if you're a regular reader, you know how much I love Michele Bachmann, especially for her stand on Light Bulb Freedom of Choice. Unfortunately, with over 18,000(!) people on the call, I never got a chance to tell her so "in person".

The main topic of course was the Health Care bill 'n boondoggle. Here are my favorite statements from the hour, in bullet points, lady first.

Michele Bachmann

• We have 8 years before we face bankruptcy in so many areas, and Obama is wanting to add water to our sinking ship. But the rest of us don't want to say goodbye to the American Dream.
  
• Arrogance in Congress. Conyers's statement about not reading the bill, Pelosi and Reid trying to obfuscate by changing language. Co-ops are still the "public option".
• The bill would create 30 new government bureaucracies. Will you have more power over your healthcare choices, or will government?
  
• No tort reform... 1018 pages of a bill without one mention of it.
• However, among the American people we are witnessing a historic shift towards freedom.
• Despite what the media tells us, Republicans do have ideas. Health Care Freedom of Choice Act. But the Ds do not want bipartisanship.
• With the Comparative Effectiveness Research Act we see the truth behind Obama's red pill/blue pill analogy. Government wants to make these choices for you.
• Spending other people's money is immoral... we are in the right here, so keep the pressure on.
• The trouble Ds are having is that they have to decide whether they're willing to lose an election over this.
• As for Obama... he is! He met with the House of Reps early on and told them that he'd prefer to be a one-term president rather than not see his agenda through. We need to be as committed to freedom. We are enough of what is needed to make a tremendous difference.

Jim DeMint

• Major worry in Senate is that Ds will use procedural trickery to pass the bill, by using "reconciliation" whereby 51 votes are needed to pass it as opposed to 60. He believes that it would be political suicide for the Dems and that it would destroy the Senate. Harry Reid has stated, "Whatever it takes." But the Senate is the place where things get slowed down... more debate, not less.
  
• "Fannie Meds". "Cash for clunkers-type management."
• "I know you're being attacked and vilified. Be civil but insistent." "The power is with you."
  
• "They think Americans are asleep or stupid. They're wrong."
• The Health Care Freedom Plan
• Democrats voted against rollover Health Savings Accounts. They don't want to fix health care, they want to control it.
• Supports interstate competition, tax rebates for individuals like businesses have, wants to loosen gov regulations of what plans must include for those who aren't interested in those types of mandates.
  
• There will always be some who can't afford health insurance, but we are by nature a compassionate people.
• What can States do? He'd like to see them take the federal government to court for over-reaching their boundaries. Nothing gives them the right to do what they've been doing.
• He says he's using stronger language now than ever before. Says this is an exciting and defining time for freedom, that it only seems that the left is more organized with all their groups and things - especially because, by nature, conservatives are more independent - but he feels that it's the opposite. Democrats control all of government, and so it's really the grassroots outcry, not Republicans, that has slowed this thing down.

Senator DeMint has a new book out now as well that fits quite perfectly with this theme, Saving Freedom We Can Stop America's Slide Into Socialism: