But this process has become pro-forma except in extreme circumstances, such as the aftermath of Lieberman’s decision to endorse Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) in the 2008 presidential election.

So a Senate Committee being hijacked by lobbyists isn’t extreme circumstances?

‘course not.

Good morning, pups. Gail Collins is on vacation. Mr. Kristof is in Karachi, Pakistan and addresses the “Crisis in the Operating Room.” He says one of the most lethal forms of sex discrimination is the systematic inattention to reproductive health care, from family planning to childbirth.

Here he is.

The coffee and tea are ready, the cold drinks are in the fridge, and I’ve got a selection of bagels with cream cheese. We had another drenching downpour last night, and may be in for the same tonight and tomorrow. At least this time the power didn’t go out. Have a great day.

Damn rain keeps missing here!

Heck you can have some of ours. Since the end of May it has rained here all but a handful of days. GArdens are rotting and nothing, but nothing, is fruiting. Corn is a lost cause for all the farmers hereabouts … and it is pissing down bloody rain again this morning. Speaking of things rotting how about them Senators. Their intent was to keep meaningful healthcare reform at bay and they have succeeded beyond the insurance companies wildest dreams. As for Reid taking any kind of leadership.. he reminds me of Sir Joseph Porter… not going to happen

Yep, and our garden is kaput and we are way better off that Texas.

After being sucked in on ending the war by the Democrats the shame would be on me for falling for their sweet lies about taking out even one dollar of profits out of health care.

In America the dollar is KING.

Yep Texas has Kay Bailey going to run for Governator. Who will Perry appoint to her seat, himself?

We the people vs Corporations, The die s cast for America’s next civil war. As Jefferson feared constitutional usurpation of individual right and liberties under the color of law, by corporate aristocrats enabled by undue influence on policy makers, in the lust for endless profit is taking place in healthcare and is the “”protection of corporations,” and a manifestation of Jefferson’s greatest fear for the republic. Corporate Servitude……………………………………

Servitude to insurance health corporations (A Life Tax)
Servitude to Banks ((our money not theirs)
Servitude to Energy Purveyors
Servitude to tax exempt corporations (Blue Cross Blue Shield, Kaiser et als)
Servitude enable under the color of law bought and paid for and written by
corporate lobbyist whose money, not merit buys politicians like MAX!!!!

Max are you a threat to my life and Liberty??????

We the People vs Corporations,….

Sounds like a Supreme Court case.

My question is – do we lose that one now by 5-4 or 6-3?

I am rather shocked by your use of punctuation I guess it is rather naive of us to expect anything different with regards the healthcare situation in this country as there are way too many dollars involved for the corporations not to have exerted a full court press on all the politicians they own I think we have to figure out a way for the critters to lose their lifetime healthcare benefits until we the people get full access to affordable healthcare of course it would be naive of me to think that will happen in my lifetime

9-0

Corporate Identity and profit vs inalienable rights…………..

Hey Jayt,

Hope the hell not……… so much for Justice

sorry lost my reading glasses again …… lol……….

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C…..ood_debate

The Federal Constitution of 1788 did not mention corporations, thereby leaving the chartering of corporations to the states, since the Constitution did not explicitly say otherwise. In the late 1700s and early 1800s, corporations began to be chartered by the states. Corporations already existed in the new nation, but these were primarily educational corporations or institutions chartered by the British crown which continued to exist after the new nation was created from the Confederation. Due to experience as British Colonies and the accompanying corporate colonialism from British corporations chartered by the crown to do business in North America, new corporations were greeted with mixed feelings. Thomas Jefferson wrote in a 1816 letter to George Logan:[5]

I hope we shall… crush in its birth the aristocracy of our moneyed corporations which dare already to challenge our government in a trial of strength, and bid defiance to the laws of our country.

Good morning (or not). I’m trying to be optomistic. Maybe it would be to our advantage to have our reps come home and see some outrage before the final bill is produced.

Leveraged economic servitude is not Liberty!

They’re probably more likely to be confronted by loons like that moron who demanded that President Obama reassure her that the gummint agents weren’t going to come to her door to demand to know how she wanted to die…

do they give a shit about our outrage? i dunno. askin’. all i could do was make it clear to my rep. this is a deal breaker. she won a close election in an R district promarily b/c the incimbent was universally acknowledged as one of the most corrupt, if not THE most corrupt member of Congress. I’m not saying he was, of course. Just saying what I’d read others say. And then there was Obama helping to get Dems elected. I told her– “You vote for something that doesn’t include a public option and I don’t vote for you.” And I won’t.

speaking of loons at town halls…. we’ve all seen the tape of the birther loon in Delaware asking Mike Castle about Obama. It struck me that at least a few people were clapping for her – and that’s just what you could see on camera.

I’m sure if I had contributed $20,000 to my useless critter’s campaign chest he pay a WHOLE lot of attention to my outrage. I didn’t, so he won’t.

Who could have anticipated that Max Baucus cannot even negotiate a capitulation?

well, – it does take a certain amount of time to determine the highest bidder…

I have not waited for them to come home…. I have pounded my representatives daily, and have requested meetings!

at least a few people

To me it appeared that the entire crowd cheered her on, and then proceeded to recite the pledge of allegiance almost like an incantation, but maybe I’m overreacting.

Off to the salt mines… where I lurk…

I’m sure if I had contributed $20,000 to my useless critter’s campaign chest he pay a WHOLE lot of attention to my outrage.

I think you’re overestimating the going price of a critter.

Nice job Max! Are you a distant relative of Justice Taney?

Somehow I don’t think it’s going to work to argue that Jefferson would have favored a strong federally run health care program. Jefferson is used by all sides, but unfortunately his weak federal government hypothesis does nothing to effectively regulate corporations. No one can say if Jefferson would have been Jeffersonian today. I hope not, or we would likely see him at a Ron Paul rally or teabag event.

I had the same impression. But I will say that the nutfucks seem to know how to get their people out…. or maybe it is because we are too damn polite.

I do think we have to picket the politician’s houses, offices, workers houses, offices, harrass the living hell out of them and maybe they will listen hear.

never heard the audio. really? jeez.

…or we would likely see him at a Ron Paul rally or teabag event.

they’d hate him.

the hair, scarf, short pants…

It’s rained so much here in Maine the blueberry fields are molding! Sick of it (the rain and the blueberries molding!). Good morning everyone.

That’s a average 2 day take to stay in congress.
What could he do for you in just two short days.

Our man Murphy took a $21,000. “donation” for an $2.5 million exotic military hardware contract earmark.
Now that’s leveraging your investment dollar.

ironic that i’ve had to really think about our health care system. now. have been told to go for a biopsy. what if it’s bad? I just now really realized how people with terminal illnesses in this country are fucked. And the Rs want you to think that’s what happens in sicialist countries. Jeez.

Mold. Ew.

Unfortunately the outrage is boiling over, but I fear the largest proportion of that outrage is fueled by the ignorance peddled by our MSM and is directed at exactly the wrong target.

I’m starting to really believe that we’re going to implement a system that’s event WORSE than our current one and it’s going to take an even bigger disaster to wake people from their media induced delusions.

From what I’ve seen, he would more likely be distinguished by the lack of a gut. Unlike them, whatever sign he carried would be beautifully worded.

Good luck, I hope it turns out to be nothing.

And what I heard on NPR this morning as my alarm was trying to wake me made me really despair about health care.

The “Gang of six” sound like they want to keep the same system but shift more of the costs to We the People — and force us all to buy expensive for-profit insurance.

Once it’s illegal to be uninsured, we won’t have to listen to people bitching about it so much. We’ll still, certainly have uninsured, but they will have to keep quiet about it.

According to the wingnuts, going to the ER for pap smears and other testing is free and cost effective to prove that America has the best health care system in the world! See?

….but don’t be surprised if you get a hefty bill after going to the hospital though! The wingnuts want you to ignore this part. See? It’s all good.

some hope though. saw part of that show “happy Hour” on Fox Business channel last night. Guess who they were talkling to? One of our moast favoritist congress people — Michelle Bachman. Praising our current health care system. All it needs, really is malpractice reform. The one guy on the panel who is a total free market absolutist whackjob told Bachman that insurace companies were monopolistic and had no competition so they should be sued by DOJ and broken up. Then some woman on the panel said “I just don’t buy this ‘government = bad; insurance companies = good’ stuff. Some of these insurance companies are downright evil.” And the third woman on the panel piped up “And I’ve experienced that personally.” So, Michelle Bachman got trashed. On a FOX network. Amazing.

Right. Doesn’t cost anybody anything.

Of course. It’s te best healthcare system in the world, doncha know? That dopn’t come cheap ya know. The Canadians are flocking to MI ao they don’t die, doncha know? God Bless America.

Thanks.

Bill Maher said the U.S. is a stupid nation. I would also add heartless. Chris Hedges article helps explain.
http://www.truthdig.com/report…..lliterate/

Once it’s illegal to be uninsured, we won’t have to listen to people bitching about it so much. We’ll still, certainly have uninsured, but they will have to keep quiet about it.

We the People -> Outta Sight, Outta Mind, Outta Luck.

inspiring, isn’t it?

yay.

No one can say if Jefferson would have been Jeffersonian today. I hope not, or we would likely see him at a Ron Paul rally or teabag event.

Or a feature writer for FDL!

I had to stop when I read this:

A third of high school graduates, along with 42 percent of college graduates, never read a book after they finish school.

Without a data source (which he doesn’t give), I find it incredible that a higher % of HS graduates read books than C graduates.

Good morning everyone. Gonna go read a book (War at the Top of the World by Eric Margolis) myself after democracynow headlines.

We the people wanted a single payer plan but we had that watered down to “public option” now that has been watered down to “fuckyou” so I guess making it mandatory to buy lousy healthcare at premium cost is all we have left for reform.

Well, except for that slavery thing.

Books are for lurning and wunce you have grajuaited thair is no need to lurn more

Thanks for the link.

Nearly a third of the nation’s population is illiterate or barely literate.

I caught that too. Must have been a typo.

Maybe, but advocating a single-payer health care system, or even a strong government option? I think we’re seeing different facets of the “American Sphinx.”

I know. It’s so infuriating the lies & deceits being spewed by the right wing of this country over health care. Hell, some of them are even hanging Democrats in effigy over it. Of course, 8 years of war criminals in the White House didn’t make these assholes flinch!

Well there is a few one-word description of folks from the wilds of Montana who get shaken down in the big city:

SUCKER
RUBE
MARK

Shame it only took a piker from Iowa to do it; it’ll give Grassley the bighead.

Struggled hard to understand how he could have justified that. Didn’t get very far.

Even if it’s a typo, not to have caught such a gigantic error throws the whole article into doubt.

He would have supported the lesser of the two tyrannies.

Shouldn’t let a minor flaw mar the effect of an overall strong argument.

I’m completely evidence driven. If the evidence is inaccurate, then I discard the whole essay.

I love some of what Hedges has written. His book on war is the best I’ve ever read (sample of a dozen or more). But he sometimes goes off on a screed, like his anti-atheist work. This seems more like a screed than an evidence driven argument.

The subject is worth serious treatment, but I don’t think Hedges advanced the discussion.

servitude………………

“Equal protection under the law” “Life” Dred Scott had no Constitutional protection. Who will be the first American denied standing to challenge mandated healthcare while the illegitimate government interests being protected are corporations at the expense of life and liberty?