hi Jane!

Jane in a plane!

I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m really psyched about maybe seeing Lieberman lose again. Go McCain!

Jane, you blogging FROM the plane? cool! Or did you put the post on a timer before you took off?

hey CTBob

I don’t think you’re supposed to think about that last one at all. Pretty soon, you’ll start ranting and shouting and waving your arms around vigorously, and the next thing you know, those nice folks from the TSA at the Phoenix airport will take you to a little room to cool off a bit.

Wouldn’t want to miss your flight to LA . . . ’cause it’s NOT a short ride from Phoenix.

hey Suzanne!

Jane!

I’m sure Howie will fill you in, as to what you missed. ;)

xxoo

EPU’d dang it.

http://www.dahothouse.com/media/Blue_Dress.jpg

Jane in a plane, not a train, with a train? Speaking of the second train, here’s Jonah Goldberg in a Blue Dress, with a train, courtesy of marymccurnin, EPUd from downstairs.
http://www.dahothouse.com/media/Blue_Dress.jpg

Ahh, Phoenix! Big wave to Jane and even a blown kiss from Hillsboro, TX.

Eeer, A McClooserman ticket?? Serious? My mind boggles!

Jane, re Russ Feingold:

On health care

It’s the No. 1 domestic issue that’s brought up at the town meetings. Lindsay Graham, who’s a senator from South Carolina, and I have come together on a proposal. I support universal health care for all Americans. He doesn’t, necessarily. But we agree that we ought to have a commission that allows three or four states to win a competition to become pilot projects to show their vision of how they can move toward universal coverage in their state.

For some, it might be a single-payer state, it might be an employer coalition, co-op type of approach. He says health savings accounts; I’m skeptical of it. But the idea is that we would actually have some evidence on the ground of what works and what doesn’t.

Hillary’s latest ads here talk soothingly about getting everyone “the health care coverage they need.” [emphasis mine}

Not health care — “coverage.” That’s a transparent — and useless — sop to the insurance industry.

OFG! long time no see

Now if they don’t click on it, after 2 links, they’re really lazy.

I was always in favor of the line-item veto – until about 2002.

However, having learned a hard lesson about bad presidents, I now say – Nuh-uh.

or chicken

I don’t understand the line items veto thingie in terms of neg or pos. I always thought is was a suckie idea but Feingold is my main man.

You see it, lazy, or chicken?

Goin’ nuts out here in the ‘patch. Bought any gas lately? Ya’ think it’ll ever get so expensive they can’t afford to drill for it?

Yeah, that’s irony.

Hiya y’all!

I wrote a cool post today about there being no media coverage of Huckabee’s saying we should ditch the constitution and get a theocracy.

cautious?

Excuses, excuses.

Jane appreciate the Feingold linkerage.

Just ‘plane’ great.

Hillary, on the other hand somehow manages to impress me less almost every single day. I find her ‘pragmatism’ depressing and her continuing ’support’ of Lieberman unconscionable; she is one of his primary enablers, in my view.

As an aside, Jane, and only because I’m curious, how many air-miles do you have to deal with over a year’s time? It must be exhausting, considering that you are always ‘on’ for so many of us. Appreciate you much.

Essentially the line item veto arrogates to the president the authority to legislate funding — which, constitutionally, is not his gig.

A line item veto gives too much power to the President. Bad idea.

imho, it would be a great way for a good president to cut out a lot of crap – OR – an equally good way for a bad president to cut out a lot of good things.

Man-Dog Marriage.

The Clear and Present Danger.

Woooof!!

Hello BobbyG. Yeah, what he said.

double gloving – it does involve doughy and a dress…

Line item veto sounds splendid for this era of the Unitary Executive.

OilFeildGuy!!!

Hello!

just imagine how dangerous boosh would be if, instead of vetoing, he could just draw a line through what he did not like and then sign the legislation.

Yeah, sustain my veto or I’ll use my crayons on anything for your state.

Hillary thinks its really important that we continue that. That is: playing Joe Lieberman’s game of Independent Democrat. Scuse me? Lieberman shoulda gone under Ned Lamont’s bus a long time ago. But, No. He hangs around like a bad tooth. Best thing Short Ride could do for us is veep with the creep. Two warmongering dickhe*ds pimping a war that everyone hates.

I am not allowed to use AlterNet or TPM or the blogs as sources for weekly “current events in politics” assignments.

Why not? Does your school think they aren’t reliable? Maybe an extra credit project to show how much better they are than MSM, like Josh’s revealing USAtty firing story long before MSM caught on, and that his dogged pursuit of it was what made the MSM focus on it.

Shit. Stop procrastinating & just look. You need a laugh.

If you don’t have anything nice to say about Lieberman then come sit by me.

I only have one more week at this school anyway, so it doesn’t matter.

just imagine how dangerous boosh would be if, instead of vetoing, he could just draw a line through what he did not like and then sign the legislation.

Yep. Like oversight… oh, wait – isn’t that what signing statements are for?

Don’t make any sudden moves in the Phoenix airport there Jane…..

Here’s what you missed….. Bill Clinton has lost all respect from me for going the LV voting meltdown he had.

I keep telling you all that hillary will have joe l. as a running mate. You wait and see. Her and john mccain will be fighting over him!

So far as I can tell the 4th democratic candidate, the MSM, is winning hands down!

That’s what you missed…. :-) Now, just move along quietly to your gate, don’t ask questions, don’t be late and you’ll be just fine there at sky harbor. Maybe…..

:-)

zactly.

Or if Congress were to ever, say, send him a military budget with timelines to get of Iraq, one part he’d take – the other he’d veto. Not hard to figure out which is which.

Well, in that case, seems like you could compose a good parting shot to expand small minds.

But why are you changing schools mid-year?

I don’t think about lieberman until a half hour after eating.

Line item veto?
Are you CRAZY?
I shouldn’t even have to try and comprehend the fact that came from Fiengold.
Why not just shutter the Halls of Congress and build a giant throne?

Get serious.

ewwwwwwwww

Why even bother with line item veto now. The asshole in chief would rather use his double secret signing statement pen.

Set down your beverage first. Then get a towel ready, in case you knock the table hard enough to spill it anyway.

Cause I am moving to El Paso and my school now is in Austin.

That gets directed to marymccurrin. I’m just pimping for her.

My spew warning was evidently too late.

Sorry about that.

That was cassie there in 48. now shooing her back over to the desk!

ooooopppssss

Howdy Jane! Pups! Long time no speak!

Jane – what’s up in LA?

As for what to think of Holy Joe stumping for St. John, I’d think that would be – what’s the word I’m looking for – counterproductive?

so it doesn’t matter.
Wrong-o, young lady. You keep going right across the finish line of that school…you’re not only learning these days, you’re teaching yourself knowledge and process. Both matter.

I guess Jonah is right. We are not a serious group.

pimping is just another version of supply side economics

Aha. So, are you still going to Netroots Nation? BTW, you have email.

I imagine we’ll all be at Netroots Nation in one form or other. I will be there as media, doing coverage for Head On Radio and I am hoping that the kids will be there as volunteers and/or bloggers.

Oy, I don’t believe in supply side economics. Does that mean I can’t pimp anymore, even when I believe in the cause?

UnitedHollywood and the WGA folks generally like the DGA deal — and the moguls have opened channels to the WGA, saying the same deal is on the table.

http://unitedhollywood.blogspot.com/

Snarky, I found an actual newspaper with a bit about Huckabee. Hope it’s good enough.
Link

I don’t understand the line items veto thingie in terms of neg or pos. I always thought is was a suckie idea but Feingold is my main man.

My feelings were just the reverse; I used to think the line item veto was a good thing, but when Bush came along, I began to see the error of my ways. It seems to me that our only chance with him was to cram something down his throat along with something he wants. Hasn’t this already happened?

If either Feingold and Lindsey Graham care to know about what’s effed-up about health savings accounts, I’m prepared to give ‘em an ear-full. And then some from the front lines.

Yes I am going to keep learning. I am even doing a science fair project. But I don’t think I am going to convince my teacher that all these sources she’s never heard of know more than the New York Times or the Houston Chronicle.

As for what to think of Holy Joe stumping for St. John, I’d think that would be – what’s the word I’m looking for – counterproductive?

Hardly seems strong enough.

“Suicidal” has a nice ring to it.

sorry, bad attempt at humor

Cool !!! It is perfect!

On that, I understand your frustration. But don’t let it get in your way. Go have fun with the news function in Google using Advanced Search. You’ll be able to narrow down quickly to the info you need. And learn a useful new tool in the process.

eureka springs knows of newspapers in ar that have lots of huckabee stuff – he is my go to guy for that kinda info

Jane: Safe travels. On today, I think Bill Clinton has lost it (you need to see the presser). He is seriously angry about Nevada. I think he will be seen increasingly as a liability. Also, it seems as if he is preparing Hill’s supporters for a loss there. (Basically by saying that it was not fair). Sour grapes about losing – and about the union folks – is not going to help them much down the road.

Its hard out here for a supply sider.

I’d be right there with you! So many of my patients have to deal with them too! It’s insane!

I’m not convinced he wants her to win.

Good! Let me tell you how I found it, in case you need to do this kind of thing again.
I typed in Huckabee AND Constitution into Google. Click “News” when the Google page gives you Web results, and the new results should all be primarily from newspapers/magazines instead of online sources.

Margot I updated my post and now I am going to turn my post into my current events paper in the next 28 minutes! Night y’all. No time to dive. Gotta go show my teacher I am right!

Jane in a plane!

Does this make her a plane Jane?

There is an interesting article up at the Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01…..=1&hp

about a civil suit by a Steven Howards who was arrested for assault after criticizing Cheney in 2006. Apparently the Secret Service engaged in a coverup of the incident since the agents’ stories are all over the place.

Its hard out here for a supply sider.

Not yet. But with any luck, it soon will be.

I thought it was funny. sorta :P

Uhh, Russ, I’m mighty disappointed with ya… WTF is this:

“Here’s 10 things. I want you to vote on these as a package.” Congress would be required to vote on it.

If ya hadn’t noticed the earmarks have sky rocketed from 130+ during Clinton, to over 4,000+ under Shrub… WTF will 10 or 20, or even 50 accomplish…?

Health savings accounts are a swell idea for Joe and Jane Sixpack to invest in while they are try to avoid foreclosure. All that extra cash laying around taking up space in the closet. /s

Health savings accounts would allow health care service and drug prices to rise to offset any perceived benefit from the saved funds.

Health savings accounts are like Bushco tax cuts. They only benefit the wealthy.

Well, I was trying for some British understatement.

hey hugh, i’ve got that one all set to go next into the news ticker.

do coverups about the scandals get their own # on your list?

If you had $500 to spend on a computer for a HS student, would you try for something new? Refurbished? What? We already have router and printer.

Last nite you may have left the thread before you saw some suggestions on a pc/mac to get for your daughter for school.

I suggested this

and left you some Dell links for your price-range or slightly higher. I’d either get a refurbed Mac by googling those words but they are going to cost more (reliable but somewhat higher than your figure) or watch the Dell links I gave you for about 5 days because they discount all the time but keep it running for a couple days.

Those laptops if she wants a Windows box will be just fine, unless she’s using some atypically intensive graphics programs for someone starting college.

McCain & Lieberman slogans:

“On most days, *one* of us is bound to be awake.”

Or:

“We solemnly pledge that, for the good of the American People, we will *never* take our naps at the same time!”

That’s the spirit!

If either Feingold and Lindsey Graham care to know about what’s effed-up about health savings accounts, I’m prepared to give ‘em an ear-full. And then some from the front lines.

Are those as screwed up an idea as I think they are? I spent a few hours in the ER one time, had several tests and xrays, got diagnosed with bronchitis and got a bill for almost $5K! Would a health savings account have helped me in that situation?

I only have one more week at this school anyway, so it doesn’t matter.

Maybe that nifty journalism program you’re going into will have a more broad-minded view of new forms of media, like the blogosphere.

Well, I was trying for some British understatement.

Oh.

Subtlety is not one of my stronger suits…

Yes. If you had $5000.00 in your account.

The ONLY thing that is going to work for health care reform is single payer, universal health care. The fucking insurance companies can go fuck themselves. They have thousands of deaths on their hands. So do the hospitals for overcharging. So do the docs for not standing up for what is right.

Very interesting. I had an alpha husband once, who had an abitious wife (me).

eureka springs knows of newspapers in ar that have lots of huckabee stuff – he is my go to guy for that kinda info

Its hard out here for a supply sider.

On the other hand, a supply of cider would be welcome.

Oh, and tweety apologized for being a sexist. I don’t know when he did it, but I just found out about it this afternoon. Somebody probably posted it.

hard cider

sorry, steve-ar – no slight intended.

Thanks Pete. We’re talking middle of 10th grade, not college yet. Besides, it was time to sell another one of my mom’s bracelets anyway. We now have a reasonable budget for a new machine.

Now, OFG,
Didn’t Alice Roosevelt Longworth have that on a needlepoint pillow?

It was a stupid semi apology.

Either their own entry or added on to the original scandal. Whichever fits better.

and he was drooling again. He must go to the dentist a lot cause he is foul mouthed.

Sounded a lot like, “It’s too bad you all mistook what I meant…”

Thanks, Margot, I didn’t know the “news” trick either.

Sh*t pushed the wrong F***ing button..

eureka springs knows of newspapers in ar that have lots of huckabee stuff – he is my go to guy for that kinda info

If you want the “dirt” on the Huckster, a good place to start is the Arkansas Times..The Weekly Lefty “Rag”

Ernest Dumas columns are a good place to go first:

link

On today, I think Bill Clinton has lost it (you need to see the presser). He is seriously angry about Nevada.

Yep. He looked bad. Very un-Presidential. He came across as a bully.

*How* long, now, has he been traveling with Hillary? This is a couple which apparently needs a lot of space between them, and frequently.

Christy had a whole thread devoted to Tweety’s non-apology apology…!

So they are as screwed up as I thought. One calamity and you are as sunk as can be. My first thought when they were first mentioned as a sort of substitute for insurance was that it was nuts. Nuckin’ futs, in fact.

Yeah. I do think that, possibly unconsciously, the Big Dog is sabotaging her. I think things may be just a little strained in the Clinton household.

It was all of us fascist liberals who didn’t understand the nuances of Tweety’s personality.

Hot apple cider, anyone?

I think things may be just a little strained in the Clinton household.

now why on earth did I read that as stained?

Fern @ 74 hypothesizes that Bill is unconsciously undermining Hill. I had a husband like that.

Haven’t seen punaise in awhile, so i’ll leave you with a pun.

Ghandi wore no shoes and developed thick callouses on his feet.

He didn’t eat much which made him frail.

Ghandi was a religious prophet and his odd diet gave him chronic bad breath.

This made him a:

Super calloused fragile mystic hexed with halitosis.

Goodnight.

Unfortunate choice of words on my part!

see comment #9

Yes, Feingold is just ‘plane’ grating ‘…people …seem …the most down, the most distressed that I’ve ever seen people overall. in 25 years …they’re very frustrated with the administration …I’ve started saying …”Hey, there’s going to be a new President in a year” and people just smile …’

Russ, tell me, are they smilin’ cuz the thought makes them happy or are they grimacing at very idea that it will make any substantive difference in their own lives?

Russ, oh Russ, where at art thou? Russ is you suffering from ‘early onset’ or is you forsaken what we thought you were about?

What is the future worth to you, now Russ? Have you been offered a ’spot’
are you auditioning for the vice?

yO, FG!

good one…

*groan* That was horrendous…! ;-)

If you decide to get a PC, I’d get a new one and I used Dell as an example–I think they make good hdw and stand behind it and they discount all the time–but it might take watching for a few days to get the discount. Either a refurbed Mac or those PCs will be fine for a HS sophomore, and she could use it when she graduates as well.

and punaise shows up. Yeah, I know, that’s a real groaner.

Are you providing the cinnamon schnapps? If not, I will.
http://www.winechateau.com/vsk…..20SCHNAPPS

Oilfieldguy January 17th, 2008 at 8:14 pm
25
A line item veto gives too much power to the President. Bad idea.

___________

hey man! jane on a plane. oil field guy on line at the lake. what’s not to like?

line item veto? fuckwad + signing statements? nothing new here, move right along ……….

No, but I do have cookies and winter ice cream.

Yeah. I do think that, possibly unconsciously, the Big Dog is sabotaging her. I think things may be just a little strained in the Clinton household.

Here is a quote from a 1993 NYT article relating an anecdote:

They still tell the story in Little Rock about a political roast of Mr. Clinton in 1982, when Mr. Bumpers roasted him just a little too well done.

Turning to Mr. Clinton on the dais, Senator Bumpers said: “You’ll understand if Bill is not at his best at tonight. He was working all day on his income taxes, but he couldn’t send them in because when he came to the line for the signature of head of household he couldn’t find Hillary.”

Senator Bumpers, who is also very close with Mrs. Clinton, now winces at the memory of that evening, saying: “That did cause some grief. I felt terrible about that.” Barometers of Congress

NYT

Personally, based on the experiences of a few friends, I’d be inclined to avoid Dell.

I have a hangover just looking at that picture. I hate hangovers.

Oh, and tweety apologized for being a sexist. I don’t know when he did it, but I just found out about it this afternoon. Somebody probably posted it.

He didn’t really apologize for being a sexist; he doesn’t believe he’s a sexist, or a sycophant, or a big mouthed troublemaker who loves to see people squirm, which exhibits a bit of the sadist in him. He really didn’t apologize at all in many ways. He just said that he realizes now that what he said hurt people and he’d try to do better. If you actually heard the words “I’m sorry” in that spiel, or anything comparable, listen again ‘cuz I don’t think they’re there.

I now understand that you are not a talented drinker.

Dell is hell…

I’m finishing off my midnight snack of bread & goat cheese, but thanks all the same.

I never thought of this before tonight. Shame on me. Been there, done that. It’s enough to make me want to vote for Hillary. I get the creeps just thinking about the similarities in our experiences. Just goes to show how you can bury the past.

My teenager years were spent in New Orleans. I was a child prodigy when it came to drinking. Don’t do it too much anymore.

I think Bill knows that Hillary is going to lose.

Mods…need help…can’t post comment at emptywheel’s last post…Thanks!

got anything to dunk in that cider, tex?

the directors guild has reached a tentative agreement w/the producers. buzz around town is that it could be a template for the writers to hammer out a new contract. in fact, the producers have asked for “informal talks” w/the writers, which is a break in the ice wall for the past two months.

more at skippy

Hmmmm. For me, practice made perfect.

Yep. Aisle 124

Mods…need help…can’t post comment at emptywheel’s last post…Thanks!

Yeah, and I can’t even get in over there right now..

I don’t know who told me about it, but I’m glad to know it. I sometimes post in a politics forum, and it has rightwingers who turn their noses up at Salon, Alternet, anything not old school news. (Unless it’s their batty NewsMax or WorldNetDaily!)

Jane,

Didn’t you pledge a $ to whoever asked this question first. Do you think Bubba is regretting fucking Ned now?

TexBetsy — I’ve worn out 5 Compaq laptops. I love ‘em. You may be able to find a stripped down new one at a Walmart or used at a refurbishing store you trust. I really can’t recommend ‘em highly enough.

Health Savings Accounts. Great if you’re young and healthy. BUT. If you get sick in January and build up medical bills that insurance doesn’t cover, its going to take you a whole year to get that HSA money month to month. Meanwhile, the hospital/doctors are going to be tapping their toes faster than Marisa Tomei or Larry Craig wanting their money. [no insult meant to Marisa Tomei–I just loved that ticking, ticking, ticking scene….says it so perfectly!]

Yet another example of Uber-corp using the float to hold your money while you have to pay.

Which reminds me of Qwest and making changes to my phone service and immediate charges vs. time lags on credits. Yep, squeezed by the float again.

Jane, when you asked me the other night if I were maybe expecting to get Feingold for a vice-Prez candidate, I don’t think either of us considered that as a real possibility, now I’m not so certain. The other night that would have been ‘too-good to be true’ are we now at ‘too true to be good’?

Is Russ anglin’ or jus’ danglin? ‘Line-Item’ would benefit whomever becomes next Preznit (to our cost, of curse).

Sure am innerestin’ tymes, fur shore.

mary mcc, it seems like it had a hiccup but appears to be working fine now

Personally, based on the experiences of a few friends, I’d be inclined to avoid Dell.

Fern, I guess to each their own. As far as pcs go, I and some of my friends have had good experiences with Dell Hdw, and they have some decent boxes in Betsy’s price range, (so I thought she might get more bang for her buck there) but there are 300+ OEM Named Partners of MSFT who sell PCs, so there are plenty of choices. I can understand going with what seemed to work best for you, or people you know.

A lot of Softies use HP.

Dell’s Blog

Up now for me, too.

Health Savings Accounts. Great if you’re young and healthy.

I disagree with this. My daughter had a biking accident and spent 4 hours in the er. The bill was $25,000. Young and healthy sometimes doesn’t matter.

& TexBetsy
Here’s a 14-year’s-old website. He built his own computer. I know his mother. You may find some easy hints there. I’ve just hit it once, but it looks interesting.
http://www.jabcomputer.blogspot.com/

Universal health care – not universal health coverage.

non-negotiable.

Glenzilla has posted that Harry Reid is more determined than ever to ram through Telcom Immunity, and it will be next week. I like his quote from Froomkin @ WaPO which sounds about right:

As Froomkin put it on a separate, recent occasion in his column: “Historians looking back on the Bush presidency may well wonder if Congress actually existed.”

“Lawbreaking telecoms still conniving to obtain immunity from Congress” (and Reid is Conniving to Help Him

That’s unconscionable.

‘xactly so.

Thanks eCahn.

Is there any procedural way to stop Reid from bringing it to a vote?

Poodles have put moratorium on any more air travel for a while.

You should’ve seen the long faces this morning.

I disagree with this. My daughter had a biking accident and spent 4 hours in the er. The bill was $25,000. Young and healthy sometimes doesn’t matter.

I agree..Health savings accounts are a joke…You could save you whole life and not come close to paying for even a “minor” serious illness.

filibuster

But… poodles naturally gots long faces.

Wow, I just got back from there… No Problems at all…

Paraplegic man dumped in LA gutter sues hospital

By Jill Serjeant LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – A mentally ill paraplegic man filed a lawsuit on Thursday against a hospital that dumped him in a gutter on Los Angeles’ “Skid Row” — a case that highlighted the plight of the city’s vast homeless population.

If you find a lead but not an answer, let me know. You can send him an email, but he’s studying for exams. I can call his mother.

Is there any procedural way to stop Reid from bringing it to a vote?

I don’t think so..the place to have stopped this was in Committee..With Senate Rules it is almost impossible to get a non approved bill out of committee.

What movie or TV program had such a scene? Disgusting.

Do you mean the run in with the ABC reporter just after the decision on the casino precincts, where he lost control and never regained it.Starts off by telling reporter that he has used an accusatory tone and he will return the same. Downhill from there.
does not sound like the bill who does NYT crosswords in ink in a jiffy.

My regards to your very wise poodles, Jane.

token, who claims toy poodle in his heritage, agrees

Secret Service: Detailed Look at ’06 Turmoil
from NYT > Home Page by KIRK JOHNSON
A minor incident involving Vice President Dick Cheney has blown up into one more major, with Secret Service agents accusing one another of unethical conduct.

And god help you if you have any kind of chronic illness. You’ll be lucky if anyone will cover you with it! The only reason i’ve not been kicked off is because i’m on an employer’s plan which is also union regulated. If not? i’d be out on my ass pronto. (as if i could afford to pay them 300$ a month for a plan on my own anyway! eeesh!)

Your canine companion has a very interesting name, Suzanne.

Yep… ask me now that the total billed amount of my medical adventure hit $70K with my portion around $5K….

And it starts again as of 1/1/08… will have my next CT scans in March which will go towards this years $1500 deductible before it pays at 80%. Don’t ya just love those employers who believe in consumerism in health care.

he is a genuine imitation (snipped) male who is too small to be a real dog, hence the name, token.

BTW I added the Secret Service story into my entry 282 toward the end. It’s about free speech zones and the limitation of interaction of a critical nature with our dear leaders.

More Tex, please? I’m spread thin here with Facebook, work, and FDL. I’m TOO OLD.

Am I wrong to remember the notion of a “dark-horse” candidate for president emerging at a national party convention? It seems to me that there was a tradition that, when two factions at a national convention couldn’t agree, a “dark horse” might emerge and sieze the nomination. But mostly I remember my parents and grandparents talking about this notion.

In any case, let me suggest that, should the Democratic nominating convention becomes deadlocked, Feingold is my candidate for that “dark horse.”

how can i help?

Is there any procedural way to stop Reid from bringing it to a vote?

The main procedural way to hold it off is a fillibuster and Dodd will try to do that.

A lot of people on blogs have said the Dems plan to extend the old bill, but that’s not likely.

Reid hurt the cause of privacy by bringing the Jello Jay Intelligence Committee bill to the floor. All Bush’s allies will team to fillibuster that move, and Dodd/Kennedy/Feingold’s forces will need 60 votes to overcome that.

Rule 22 is the Senate Rule on shutting down a fillibuster and it requires a 3/5 vote (60 votes) as modified in 1975 from the original Rule 22 adopted in 1917.

Those same forces, Rethug Ditto heads, and compliant roll over Dems, can muster the 2/3 vote to invoke cloture on Dodd’s obstruction tactic of fillibuster.

Hi Hugh…. it was fun hearing you on my local radio…. Good job and enjoyed the interview.

it is in the news box on the lakes front page, christine e

i luckily just had my ‘yearly’ for the one chronic condition and that’s under control. My annual with my primary for the asthma and pain meds is in the next few months or so. (our insurance turnover is in july, not at the new year) By then i should have the new job, which should help matters. Dunno how i’ll manage it if i’m working for a separate hospital system but the nearest doctors are from a different set of hospitals in the area. *shrugs*

I’ll cross that bridge when i come to it. For now i’m just concentrating on the Boards and applications.

The ONLY thing that is going to work for health care reform is single payer, universal health care. The fucking insurance companies can go fuck themselves. They have thousands of deaths on their hands. So do the hospitals for overcharging. So do the docs for not standing up for what is right.

Uhhh..

With ever increasing proportions of US MD’s endorsing single payer, the generalization above lumps in allies (docs supporting single-payer) with neutrals and opponents).

Although I agree with the overall sentiment – and make no excuses for the docs opposing single-payer – I’m simply pointing out that MD’s offer potential allies in achieving single payer universal health care.

And in this fight, we’ll need all the allies we can get.

Sorry–my last sentence should have been

Those same forces, Rethug Ditto heads, and compliant roll over Dems, can muster the 3/5(60) vote to invoke cloture on Dodd’s obstruction tactic of fillibuster.

That story really worries me. Do I trust them to guard a Democratic president? Do I trust them to know right from wrong, to tell the truth?
I don’t think so.

My father is currently in the hospital. He has both Medicare and Tricare and should be covered. It is a real generational thing. He comes from a time when it was possible to have both a reasonable retirement and healthcare coverage. Now both these things are essentially out as fixtures of our social system. If you have them great, but there is no guarantee that you will have or keep either.

time for me to head sleepwards. have an 8:15 meeting in the AM unless the streets are covered in sleet.

night all

Surely, you do not mean to suggest that he is an unreal dog. I should think that he might take a wee bit of offence to such a notion, were he to overhear such a thought.

They can read minds, you know?

More about the Evil Dick? What happened?

cool. it occured to me reading the article, at what point does the cover up get its own listing on the list. so many times, the cover up is worse than the originating crime.

nite Betsy.

The public has been brain washed about “socialized’ medicine. Went to the Dentist today and the dental assistant had the TV tuned to FOX which I turned off. The “yak’ somehow got to health insurance and I said unless you are very wealthy, you are one serious illness from bankruptcy. Her response “What can be done about it?”..me “single payer..expand Medicare” Her..”That’s socialized Medicine!!1

I gave up.

Off to look — thanks Suzanne.

the cover up is worse than the originating crime.

it’s not the cheat, it’s the cupidity.

pain free sleep wishes, tex

Now both these things are essentially out as fixtures of our social system. If you have them great, but there is no guarantee that you will have or keep either.

Sadly, among industrialized nation, that is true only in the United States of America.

All of my friends who are Docs support single-payer, Kirk, and all are quite outspoken about it. Good to ’see’ you again, Doctor Murphy.

Nite Betsy!

Chris, this
is the story: Secret Service: Detailed Look at ’06 Turmoil

I work on the pharmacy end, Kirk and i’m all for it. Hell, i know for a fact both the Pharmacists i work for AND all my tech coworkers would be for single payer. We hate having to tell patients the rediculous costs of the medications the Doctor prescribed for them to get better. In a lot of cases we can call the physician and figure out an alternative with a generic, but a lot of times, if the RX coverage denies payment entirely? They’re outta luck.

I hate doing that, and it doesn’t help anyone in the long run. Much less the fact drug prices keep RISING. By all accounts they should be falling the longer they’ve been on the market. HAH! instead they keep going up, the longer the company has their grubby hands on the patent! Then they fight like hell to keep it from going generic.

When talking to MD’s about single payer I use two points…
- They can finally practice medicine and treat patients instead of dealing with defensive medicine & justification paperwork
- Lower overhead as they will not need the referral and authorization staff

Money always works if they forgot their true profession

Hugh, we will be under tricare in a couple of years. Good? Bad? Don’t really know much about it.

i’ll just say he was heavily influenced by my cat during his first month or so here. he was 8 wks old, weighed 2lbs 4oz when i got him. he goes up to all the neighborhood cats and touches noses with them. guess it is the cat equivalent of hiney sniffing.

Thanks for the encouragement. It is always appreciated.

I said unless you are very wealthy, you are one serious illness from bankruptcy. Her response “What can be done about it?”..me “single payer..expand Medicare” Her..”That’s socialized Medicine!!
reply

Sadly, what you described is modern healthcare in the rest of the industrialized world. The Reaganite brainwashing takes a very long time to wear off, witness Obama’s performance yesterday.

Tricare doesn’t cover everything but I would say it is pretty good. It should cover most of my father’s hospitalization. His generic prescriptions cost $3. I think non-generics cost $9 per refill.

A line-item veto bill really got Senator Byrd of WV upset. He fought it tooth and nail and won.

The congress is one branch of government and the Executive branch (represented by the president) is another. If the president wants to suggest legislation he can do so through a member of his party and if he wants to oppose legislation he can do that at any time, in particular he can veto it when it comes to his desk.

But, the Congress has it’s own say and that’s the bill sent to the President. In no way can that Congressional statement be changed by the President. He isn’t part of Congress.

Hear! Hear! Our best allies are righteous MDs, of which there are very many. (But I grant that too many are on the other side.)

Watch KO, other than pulling for Obama a tiny bit on the RayGun comments (and the http://www.HuffPost.obama full on Obama support how this is great and its he super duper CA strategy and John Edwards is a fringe on the Left for saying he is not going to emulate the union busting of RayGun, etc….not that there is anything wrong with that…).

Mitt the Shite went off with his roboto puppet smile on the AP reporter calling him for having senior lobby people like most of the other candidates on both sides.

All the basic summary. Also Colbert or Stewart already tore up Jonah Goldberg (”will boming Iran put a nail in the coffin and we will get the support of Iranian youth”, etc and etc.) Wait until you see Colbert interview Lou Dobbs in Spanish. Man I hope the writters come back, but frauds beware you will be torn to pieces. They even had a guy on there the other day with a website that had been up for 5 days (the next big face book for ideas!) and Colbert was knowing that its because they have to get a good number of tools & some B-lists to cross the picket line – the guy had a beta website had been up 5 days and it was all Oh! the next facebook.

OT..Asian stock markets mostly down..Wall Street should be interesting Friday.

Holy crap — read half of it, and will finish tomorrow. This stuff makes me so angry.

Vote Dems! Lieberman and RayGun for president!

A great read about someone tryin to chase down and interview Seymour Hersh, one of MY hosses.

http://www.counterpunch.org/ali01152008.html

Great read, lots of comedy and in depth analysis mixed together.

Progressive, too. *G*

Ah, a dog among dogs. I have always regarded dogs who appreicated cats as evolved, wise beings, old souls in the way of the world, the template/pattern for whatever sense of diplomacy that their charges, that is, we humans, have developed over the eons since dogs so kindly befriended our forebears. They needn’t have done so, of course, but, as superior beings, they have behaved very compassionately towards their obvious inferiors.

The free market health care industry is bankrupting America. Which is better, to go bankrupt or to adapt to the situation?

Is free market economics a suicide pact?

As I understand it the Edwards or Clinton plan don’t replace the private market at all, they extend it with government plans. It can’t be socialism if government doesn’t acquire and run the entire system.

Maybe we should relabel ‘free market economics’ as ’suicide economics’!

Hey Margot,
Added a bit to profile, and responded (I hope) to wall post. It is a bit hard to see where to go on wall.
Chris

The only prescription meds that I can think of in wide use any more (and for some time. that are relatively cheap both begin with “p”, making it easy to remember *g* are–Penicillin and Prednisone. I’ve watched the costs of meds go up exponentially for some time, (as you have and Kirk has), trying to know and remember the exact cost of anything I’ve ever Rx’d for a patient, depending on their situation, and the pharmaceutical companies considerably over-estimate their cost for R&D in defending this. The fights to extend patents have recently taken the form of complex, lengthy, byzantine litigation.

You have people quitting the House and Senate regularly now, going right to the front of the line as leading lobbyists for the pharmaceutical companies. John Breaux. former Sen. from La. is a prime example, and Trent Lott now forming a company with Breaux is another.

Suz I completely agree… the profit must be taken out of health care completely. All services, drugs and procedures must never be about profit. A single payer system where all pay through payroll deductions based on income. For the self employed they would pay just as they pay social security.
And oh do we want to make social security solvent? No stop top for paying into the system.
Well thats how I feel we can get the profit out of the system and ensure our retirees don’t fall into poverty and have to decide between drugs or food.

the profit must be taken out of health care completely…

Extrapolated out of course, public financing of campaigns is the only way this happens.

Now wait a minuet! Token is a real dog.. just not a big dog… I bet he does alll the things a big dog just in small ways. And if I remember right you have stated he thinks he is a big dog:>)

All of my friends who are Docs support single-payer, Kirk, and all are quite outspoken about it.

Hi DW – good to “see” you, too.

As I’m reading your and Steve-AR and alias and katymine’s comments, I’m realizing the last time I heard a doc oppose single-payer was over four years ago.

As the f’ing insurance megacorps fuck with our medical practices virtually every day, the docs I’ve heard over the past four years – in academic medicine, private practice, and community clinics – they all detest pvt insurance and can’t wait for single payer universal health.

And in the meantime, we grump and swear and resent the massive time sink (and resource sink) squandered on taking care of forms, instead of patients.

The only bright side is that – every once in a great while – one can so demoralize the private insurance ghouls that they just cave.

My favorite was writing a long tirade when asked by some idiot Medicare D (drug plan) megacorp to “justify” the lifesaving mood stabilizer a patient had taken for years.

Pointing out (in writing) the waste of resources (clinical appointment time, pharmacists’ patient ed time, the patient’s time), the monetary cost, and the cost in wasted opportunity for the reviewer (”you know you wnat to be helping people – and Wellcare doesn’t give a damn about you. Their CEO gets tens of millions only if employees like you deny the care people need. Is this how you want to live your life?”) was great fun.

And the med got approved through the year 3000.

That sure would get the corporatist money out of the game and their influence on our representative’s… gee maybe we could get some real good governance!!
Dam where is that edit thingy??

It’s part R&D and the largest chunk nowadays i’m betting goes towards all the advertising money they put into the new drugs once they come out. And all the old ones they still have the patents on. Canada doesn’t allow the insane amount of drug advertising we’ve had here for at least 15 years. I can’t remember the exact year we axed that regulation, but i’m betting costs got shifted to the patients not long after that. Paying of advertising firms is NOT cheap, much less all the ads you see everywhere.

But the drug prices across the border in canada cost half as much as they do here, simply because of that one factor. There’s likely several more, but the biggest difference i’ve seen is that they do NOT allow advertising of medications the way we do here.

Once the patent has run out and generics are allowed? Most of the advertising grinds to a halt for that particular medication, i’ve noticed.

OT:

Its late, have fun (from C&L; Mad Money giving reporting tips to Lauer…):

On the TODAY show this morning, Matt Lauer had the nerve to ask Jim Cramer why he doesn’t just lie about the economy to his viewers.

Lauer: …they say why don’t you guys stop talking about recession because simply by talking about it, you’re going to freak out consumers and definitely push us into one. Is there any logic to that thinking?

Cramer: The answer is that we can, we have to point out the positives with the negatives.

Lauer: But if consumer confidence in spending is a large part of what goes into possibly creating a recession, by talking about it, is there an emotional side to it?

Cramer: There is, but also we have to report the news. And there is an astounding decline in business in the country. If we say that there isn’t, we cannot be possible doing our jobs.

Cheney and his minions. At least some agents knew better, as for the rest and Cheney himself, truly pathetic in every respect.

Thanks for the link.

My favorite was writing a long tirade when asked by some idiot Medicare D (drug plan) megacorp to “justify” the lifesaving mood stabilizer a patient had taken for years.

The makers of antidepressants like Prozac and Paxil never published the results of about a third of the drug trials that they conducted to win government approval, misleading doctors and consumers about the drugs’ true effectiveness, a new analysis has found.

In published trials, about 60 percent of people taking the drugs report significant relief from depression, compared with roughly 40 percent of those on placebo pills. But when the less positive, unpublished trials are included, the advantage shrinks: the drugs outperform placebos, but by a modest margin, concludes the new report, which appears Thursday in The New England Journal of Medicine

NYT

Good for you! If only all docs had the time to address such needs in writing to these greedy companies! But alas we can only keep wishing for changes needed.

Sorry for the extra OT (or I guess this is an open thread); here is another commercial to check out classic sad with hook line and sinker:

http://www.crooksandliars.com/…..n-edwards/

Penicillin is one antibiotic that sometimes has shortages. There are only one or two companies that manufacture it because it doesn’t have the high profit margins of other drugs. So if there is a glitch in production, it becomes scarce fast.

JFC. ding … Ding … DING !!

It’s part R&D and the largest chunk nowadays i’m betting goes towards all the advertising money they put into the new drugs once they come out.

The ad budget is higher that the R&D. A lot of the drugs are “me too” drugs and a lot of the basic research is public funded through NIH and other grants. Canada probably has the best solution..a board reviews the drug and looks at development cost, factors in a fair profit and then sets a price..usually less than half of what we pay.

heh. Alright Kirk! *punches the air in victory*

I love it when we can overcome the greedy gits in those companies. I do my best as a pharmacy tech by knowing all the end runs we can possibly do and discussing those options with the patient and sometimes making calls to the Dcotor. That kind of interlocking communication is why we have so many regulars. But sometimes, that kind of push from the Doctor is so much more than we can do!

It’s part R&D and the largest chunk nowadays i’m betting goes towards all the advertising money they put into the new drugs once they come out. And all the old ones they still have the patents on. Canada doesn’t allow the insane amount of drug advertising we’ve had here for at least 15 years. I can’t remember the exact year we axed that regulation, but i’m betting costs got shifted to the patients not long after that. Paying of advertising firms is NOT cheap, much less all the ads you see everywhere.

But the drug prices across the border in canada cost half as much as they do here, simply because of that one factor. There’s likely several more, but the biggest difference i’ve seen is that they do NOT allow advertising of medications the way we do here.

Once the patent has run out and generics are allowed? Most of the advertising grinds to a halt for that particular medication, i’ve noticed.

This is true, and the advertising budgets have increased the last 10+ years with the direct marketing to patients. I’ve always advocated anything that will educate a patient on meds, diseases, etc., but a by-product of the large increase in advertising is as you say, is one important reason for the rising the cost of drugs.

The reasons for keeping state governments or other large organizations with health plans from getting medications over the border (Illinois resisted this for one) were completely disingenuous in the last 3 years. I’m not aware of a any significant safety problem (*g)) for drugs manufactured in Canada.

late nite threads have always encouraged off topic comments.

I heard Kudlow for all of 5 seconds today. He had on someone who said the economy was tanking. Kudlow’s response: Cut tax rates. The guy is an imbecile. It is precisely the boneheaded tax cuts for the wealthy which fueled the speculative housing bubble which has now burst. So of course we need more of the same.

Kirk, some months ago I decided that it would not be at all pleasant to fall athwart your moral sensibilities. Since mine are quite similar, it is great to know that you are on our side, marshalling facts, speaking to truth, standing for justice and always willing to take it to the streets if necessary. You are among the ‘best’ and I damn-well appreciate it. I salute you.

There are still a lot of its cousins around to use, though. And those are plentiful. We have only one major penicillin that goes out regularly, other than that it’s rarely prescribed in my fairly high volume pharmacy. But the particular cousins? All the time, as in daily.

ditto, dwbartoo. i remember back when kirk was just a commenter (who had very long comments)

Me:I have a sucking chest wound!

Kudlow: Cut the tax rates!

-G

Hence the occurance of resistant TB and rampant Staph.

I heard Kudlow for all of 5 seconds today. He had on someone who said the economy was tanking. Kudlow’s response: Cut tax rates. The guy is an imbecile. It is precisely the boneheaded tax cuts for the wealthy which fueled the speculative housing bubble which has now burst. So of course we need more of the same.

We sre looking at a return to the late 70’s early 80’s when I paid 16.5% for my first house mortgage. This time, however, the Thugs have gutted the economy so maybe we will repeat 1929-~1942.

maybe we will repeat 1929-~1942.

Unfortunately the windows in modern sky scrapers don’t open.

Well folks, this has been a most pleasant evening, but here in Penns Woods
‘get-up’ time is not far off. I thank you all for your wit, your wisdom, your humanity and your grace. And leave you now for dreams of a better tomorrow. Good Night, all.

Yeah, i don’t like the overuse of a lot of antibiotics. I only go to the doctor when i know it’s something i can’t thrash on my own. As in, i don’t go in for a sniffle! The last two years i’ve gone in? Recurrent UTIs and one nasty run in with strep throat. Which isn’t too bad a record for an asthmatic with a chronic pain condition in addition to it.

But other than my usual maintenance appointments and the surgery i had last year for the condition that causes the pain? I don’t go in for petty things. I’m actually glad i got dirty and got sick a lot as a kidlet. It’s helped me in the long run. *grin* Even with all this new stuff bugging me.

There were several bus tours to Mexico to buy drugs for seniors and others here but with the increased border security & restrictions imposed by the border patrol. Now they need passports to return to the US and you cannot bring back more than 3 months of medication.

DHS is saying that they WILL be requiring passports for anyone returning to the US …. so I figure that a whole bunch of needy people are going to run out of their meds in a few months…

I’m not aware of a any significant safety problem (*g)) for drugs manufactured in Canada.

Not just drugs manufactured there but those which pass through their system. I forget but Ireland has become a country that exports drugs manufactured there to us and the Canadians. The Canadians get it for one price and we get it at a much higher one.

My parents were buying the same drugs from the same manufacturer in Mexico that they were dispensed in Oregon.

Hence the occurance of resistant TB and rampant Staph.

There are multiple reasons for Resistant TB, but as to Staph. and many other bugs, far and away the predominant reason is over prescription/high rates of inappropriate Rx of antibiotics, and for years we’ve been seeing ID grand rounds that show drug resistance in smaller more rural hospitals at rates in the same league as larger tertiary hospitals.

More than 70 percent of the bacteria that cause hospital-acquired infections are resistant to at least one of the antibiotics most commonly used to treat them

DHS is saying that they WILL be requiring passports for anyone returning to the US …. so I figure that a whole bunch of needy people are going to run out of their meds in a few months

A lot of needy people have been going without meds they need for all types of reasons. And they get into the health care system way too late in a substantial percentage of cases disease by disease–at which time care is considerably more difficult and more expensive.

There are probably many reliable suppliers of meds from Mexico, and some that are not so reliable. But the reasons for the restrictions in bringing back the medications by DHS or anyone else are not pure as the driven snow based on drug safety alone.

The problems of needed meds vs. food, shelter, etc. is a horrible one increasing rapidly.

Steve-AR zzup/1210074/#comment-1210104″>223

So glad you posted that NEJM study.

Sad but true, placebo response with meds (best possible trial design) is up to 40%.

[Parenthetically, this is why the history of bipolar disorder treatment contians so many “head slam” trends. Like…say….prescribing a med that seems to help - according to peers - and later finding out rigorous clinical trials show it made patients worse - or dead.

I’m looking at you, gabapentin…and Parke-Davis]

Dr. Gary Sachs, director of the Harvard Bipolar Research Program at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, helped design and conduct such a study for Parke-Davis. He said on NPR’s “All Things Considered” program: “Yes, patients get better on Neurontin, but they get better at an even more impressive rate if they don’t get Neurontin.” He called the results “shocking,” saying the patients did better with sugar pills than on Neurontin. However, Parke-Davis withheld the results of that study until 2000 – about when the patent on Neurontin ran out.

Parke-Davis was acquired in 2000 when Pfizer, Inc. bought its parent company, Warner-Lambert. Pfizer has consistently declined to comment on the pending litigation except to say that the alleged actions took place before the year 2000, and that Pfizer does not engage in off-label marketing. However, Neurontin continues to be prescribed and sold for mostly unapproved uses such as bipolar disorder – because doctors were told it worked, and have not been told it doesn’t work

Personally, I’ll never forget the (verrry smarty and savvy) psych faculty member when he saw the definitive meta-analysis showing the 40% placebo.

Jolly fellow, thick St. Petersburg accent:

“Kirrrrk – this means 40% of everyting we do is bullshit – and it works!”

nahant
224

…. If only all docs had the time to address such needs in writing to these greedy companies! But alas we can only keep wishing for changes needed.

Sadly, the surface economics of clinic practice only measure “consumption” [doing something] and ignore “conservation” [preventing something].

In psych, there are billing codes for all manner of meds and therapy combos. And a few codes for providing info – for which the insurers never pay. [hey, they write the rules].

So the whole structure pushes higher use of services (with a higher risk of side effects) and implicitly discourages prevention.

In salaried public sector positions, the doc doesn’t make any more money for doing more prescriptions. Admin uses negative incentives to penalize time spent on “non-billable” codes, thus pushing clinical activity towards doing something

One example:

I worked with a delightful autistic 31 y/o woman (and her wonderful mom). My patient almost never spoke – we could not any “therapy” I had been trained for.

My patient also had a 42 inch waist and diabetes so out of control her glucose was in the 300’s.

On good days.

Of her prescribed psych meds, two cause lethargy (no exercise), another often causes voracious eating, and two make diabetes worse (if not causing diabetes outright).

The billing codes pay (not much) for psychopharm.

The codes pay more – depending on increasing time up to 90 minutes – for psychopharm with therapy.

But I couldn’t code (bill) for psychotherapy – as an adult shrink, I’ve had no training in non-verbal psychotherapy. I’d none to offer her.

Because of the patient’s wonderful mom, we:

(a) slooowly got rid of the two drugs causing lethargy.

(b) bugged pt’s pvt medical doc about diabetes

(c) fired medical doc and got (great) UC endocrinologist

(d) slowly persuaded mom to allow d/c of psych med most likely to worsen diabetes: expected side effect of d/c being hospitalization for change-over [mom had horrible experience prior psych inpt care w/ daughter]

(e) did get rid of psych med most likely to cause/worsen diabetes. did get hospitalization mom felt ok about. pt more attentive to environment after med change.

(f) blood sugar decreased with endo actually treating patient’s diabetes (vs former pvt doc watching numbers go crazy and doing little to sweet fuck all…)

(g) slowly cross-titrated off mood stabilizer causing huge appetite and on different mood stabilizer.

(h) pt unexpectedly shows increased attention and greatly increased verbalization. Some verbalizations intelligible (and meaningful/congruent).

Speech therapy possibly indicated, but mom will probably provide it herself. Besides, there’s no money for it in “the system”.

we docs (me included) had been drugging her [more] speechless and didn’t even know it

(i) blood sugar now in mid 100’s.

(j) oh: next task slooow taper off remaining antipsychotic (also a third generation with metabolic side effects, damn it).

though i’ve left clinic, but mom is fully educated re this objective. it will happen.

Who cares?

Well, under current billing codes, all the above was psychopharm (medication management).

No extra billing for the huge amount of communication time required to do the above (well, except (j)) in 2.5 yrs.

You see, I wasn’t “doing” anything – like writing prescriptions or looking up your bum or cutting out something or stitching up something.

I was just talking and listening and thinking. Along with competence, this happens to be exactly what patients most want from their GP’s and internists and specialists.

And as far the current payment system works, these activities don’t actually exist.

When we docs do these things, the payment system says “NYAAH NYAAHH NYAAAHH – I can’t see you!” and just tries not to pay for more the barest contact time.

Yet all that “non-billable” time saves huge sums: diabetes out of control in obese patients very often leads to kidney failure, vision loss, amputations, and other miseries.

Very costly miseries.

Even though the clinic is “owned” by the same county that has to pay the (Medi-cal) costs for all those problems…and perhaps provide the hospital, in an emergency…

The clinic “loses” money for all the non-billable time spent managing the meds and side effects and health care system.

This doth not please the admin ilk…

So the point isn’t that I as a doc did a-to (near)-j above – docs do that all the time.

The point is that the reimbursement “system” is so fucked up that even non-profit public care agencies are pushed to minimize the least expensive medical care: sitting and talking and thinking through the problem with the patient.

Payment for that is – relatively speaking – jack shit.

Until that changes, I’m afraid nahant’s wise wish will not come true.

Message to Russ Feingold: Don’t “reform” No Child Left Behind. Scrap it. It’s sh%t.