Watch March 3, 2010March 17, 2017 HEALTH REFORM IS GOING TO PASS I yield the balance of my time to Rachel Maddow, in this clip – on “the people [she thought] we were supposed to take seriously,” like Chuck Grassley, Lamar Alexander, and John McCain. “I don’t get it,” she says. “Do they think they’re so respected, so mainstream, that no one’s going to fact check them?” She cites an Orrin Hatch op-ed in the Washington Post “that has so many blatant outright laugh-out-loud falsehoods in it, that it made me wonder if maybe there’s a deal or something, where if you’re a United States senator, or you’re a United States senator who’s been in office for 33 years like Orrin Hatch has, you just don’t get fact checked anymore in the Washington Post.” The good news: It looks as though we’re going to get meaningful health insurance reform, with lots of good stuff in it (as noted here and here a couple of months ago). WITH TORT REFORM? The Associated Press reports that the President is open to adding four ideas that Republicans put forward at last week’s summit: “sending investigators disguised as patients to uncover fraud and waste; expanding medical malpractice reform pilot programs; increasing payments to Medicaid providers; and expanding the use of health savings accounts.” I like them all. But really: watch Rachel. Eight minutes.
Promises Kept March 2, 2010March 17, 2017 It is just a bit frustrating when a single legislator (Republican Jim Bunning, in this case, for 17 years a major league pitcher) can grind the Senate to a halt (in this case, causing thousands of workers to be furloughed and jeopardizing unemployment benefits for hundreds of thousands of others). We need to fix that. And we need to do a ton of other things. For starters, we need to act on 290 bills that have passed the House but sit stalled in the Senate. (Like the bill that would reform our financial system – but that the Republicans are hellbent on scuttling, not least because it includes a much-needed Consumer Financial Protection Agency. Paul Krugman explains.) With luck, we are on the cusp of health insurance reform, the cusp of financial reform, and more. But all that said, Politifact.com lists 79 campaign promises Obama has thus far kept. (Politifact is the Pulitzer Prize-winning fact-checking service of the St. Petersburg Times.) In commenting on that list, J.E. Robertson writes: Most of these items are complex campaign pledges that Pres. Obama has been able to follow through on. Some just show he’s a man who follows through on his word, something the media should take more note of. But PolitiFact’s research shows a long list of serious political accomplishments, many of historic import, yet the mainstream media continues to report on the delays seen in enacting the most complex and comprehensive reforms undertaken in a generation, many of which —like healthcare reform, energy policy reform, terror prosecutions and financial regulatory reform— are actually moving forward at a historically meaningful pace, and will likely be achieved in the first half of 2010. There are a further 226 campaign promises officially listed, after extensive fact-checking, as “in the works”, as of this morning. Many of these will be accomplished in 2010, giving Pres. Obama the most extensive record of success in fulfilling specific campaign promises in US history. We can expect this fact will not be widely reported, as the mainstream news media appear determined to posture “objectivity” by refusing to report successes Obama’s opponents refuse to acknowledge. ☞ Here are the 79 promises kept. Politifact fleshes each out with an explanation: No. 6: Create an Advanced Manufacturing Fund to invest in peer-reviewed manufacturing processes No. 15: Create a foreclosure prevention fund for homeowners No. 16: Increase minority access to capital No. 33: Establish a credit card bill of rights No. 36: Expand loan programs for small businesses No. 40: Extend and index the 2007 Alternative Minimum Tax patch No. 50: Expand the Senior Corps volunteer program No. 58: Expand eligibility for State Children’s Health Insurance Fund (SCHIP) No. 76: Expand funding to train primary care providers and public health practitioners No. 77: Increase funding to expand community based prevention programs No. 88: Sign the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities No. 110: Assure that the Veterans Administration budget is prepared as ‘must-pass’ legislation No. 119: Appoint a special adviser to the president on violence against women No. 125: Direct military leaders to end war in Iraq No. 132: No permanent bases in Iraq No. 134: Send two additional brigades to Afghanistan No. 154: Strengthen and expand military exchange programs with other countries No. 167: Make U.S. military aid to Pakistan conditional on anti-terror efforts No. 174: Give a speech at a major Islamic forum in the first 100 days of his administration No. 182: Allocate Homeland Security funding according to risk No. 184: Create a real National Infrastructure Protection Plan No. 200: Appoint a White House Coordinator for Nuclear Security No. 208: Improve relations with Turkey, and its relations with Iraqi Kurds No. 212: Launch an international Add Value to Agriculture Initiative (AVTA) No. 215: Create a rapid response fund for emerging democracies No. 222: Grant Americans unrestricted rights to visit family and send money to Cuba No. 224: Restore funding for the Byrne Justice Assistance Grant (Byrne/JAG) program No. 225: Establish an Energy Partnership for the Americas No. 239: Release presidential records No. 241: Require new hires to sign a form affirming their hiring was not due to political affiliation or contributions. No. 247: Recruit math and science degree graduates to the teaching profession No. 266: Encourage water-conservation efforts in the West No. 269: Increase funding for national parks and forests No. 270: Increase funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund No. 272: Encourage farmers to use more renewable energy and be more energy efficient No. 277: Pursue a wildfire prevention and management plan No. 278: Remove more brush, small trees and vegetation that fuel wildfires No. 284: Expand access to places to hunt and fish No. 290: Push for enactment of Matthew Shepard Act, which expands hate crime law to include sexual orientation and other factors No. 300: Reform mandatory minimum sentences No. 307: Create a White House Office on Urban Policy No. 325: Create an artist corps for schools No. 326: Champion the importance of arts education No. 327: Support increased funding for the NEA No. 332: Add another Space Shuttle flight No. 334: Use the private sector to improve spaceflight No. 336: Partner to enhance the potential of the International Space Station No. 337: Use the International Space Station for fundamental biological and physical research No. 338: Explore whether International Space Station can operate after 2016 No. 342: Work toward deploying a global climate change research and monitoring system No. 345: Enhance earth mapping No. 346: Appoint an assistant to the president for science and technology policy No. 356: Establish special crime programs for the New Orleans area No. 359: Rebuild schools in New Orleans No. 371: Fund a major expansion of AmeriCorps No. 380: Bolster the military’s ability to speak different languages No. 391: Appoint the nation’s first Chief Technology Officer No. 394: Provide grants to early-career researchers No. 411: Work to overturn Ledbetter vs. Goodyear No. 420: Create a national declassification center No. 421: Appoint an American Indian policy adviser No. 427: Ban lobbyist gifts to executive employees No. 435: Create new criminal penalties for mortgage fraud No. 452: Weatherize 1 million homes per year No. 458: Invest in all types of alternative energy No. 459: Enact tax credit for consumers for plug-in hybrid cars No. 460: Ask people and businesses to conserve electricity No. 475: Require states to provide incentives for utilities to reduce energy consumption No. 480: Unprecedented expansion of funding for regional high-speed rail No. 483: Invest in public transportation No. 484: Equalize tax breaks for driving and public transit No. 494: Share environmental technology with other countries No. 498: Provide grants to encourage energy-efficient building codes No. 500: Increase funding for the Environmental Protection Agency No. 502: Get his daughters a puppy No. 503: Appoint at least one Republican to the cabinet No. 506: Raise the small business investment expensing limit to $250,000 through the end of 2009 No. 507: Extend unemployment insurance benefits and temporarily suspend taxes on these benefits No. 513: Reverse restrictions on stem cell research
I Only Made $8.2 Million After Tax, Not $9.3 Million So I'm Going To Have To Let You Go (Even Though I Hired You Under Clinton's Higher Tax Brackets) March 1, 2010March 17, 2017 CHUCK GRASSLEY v. CHUCK GRASSLEY It’s still a cliff-hanger, but I think we’re finally going to get health insurance reform. Here’s the latest from Rachel Maddow. If you don’t watch her every night, the only reason can be that you lack TiVo. And if you lack TiVo (or your cable company equivalent), you have taken the concept of healthy self-sacrifice one order of magnitude too far. (Note to hotel chains: Can’t you finally furnish your rooms with TVs that at least have PAUSE, REWIND, and FAST FORWARD? Surely, Hilton – with an order for its 545,000 rooms – could get an idiot-proof hard-drive-equipped TV? At which point: why would anyone stay anywhere else?) TAX NONSENSE Mike W. forwards this “LETTER FROM THE BOSS” that’s been circling the Internet: As the CEO of this organization, I have resigned myself to the fact that Barrack Obama is our President and that our taxes and government fees will increase in a BIG way. To compensate for these increases, our prices would have to increase by about 10%. But since we cannot increase our prices right now due to the dismal state of the economy, we will have to lay off sixty of our employees instead. This has really been bothering me, since I believe we are family here and I didn’t know how to choose who would have to go. So, this is what I did. I walked through our parking lots and found sixty ‘Obama’ bumper stickers on our employees’ cars and have decided these folks will be the ones to let go. I can’t think of a more fair way to approach this problem. They voted for change, I gave it to them. I will see the rest of you at the annual company picnic. ☞ This is such nonsense. In the first place, taxes have not gone up. In the second, if they do, why lay anyone off? Taxes don’t keep an enterprise from making a profit; they take a slice OF the profit. If this CEO’s company is making a taxable profit, why would he fire people he needs? And if he doesn’t need them, wouldn’t he fire them anyway? More could be said about how dumb (and short-sighted) this is, but I like to think Mike and the others forwarding it are just enjoying a little wry humor (I chuckled, too), not taking it seriously. AL GORE’S OP-ED If you think concern over global climate change is exaggerated (or know people who do), read this (or send it to them). It’s only the habitability of our planet that’s at stake, so it’s worth a few minutes.