While Blue Cross’ pet senator Kent Conrad pushes for co-ops, a scandal on the North Dakota prairie shows what happens when BCBS — which would be part of the co-op system — is allowed monopoly status in a given area.

The last brief has just been filed in support of summary judgment in al-Haramain v. Obama. The critical states secrets case of the Bush/Cheney era is now set to be argued and decided by the court.

You’d think they could have hid the fact that WellPoint’s former VP authored the Max Tax plan.

The White House is hammering the 60 progressive House members who pledged to vote against any health care bill that does not have a public option, trying to get their number below the 40 vote threshold. But Raul Grijalva is cracking the whip and maintaining discipline, and says accepting “triggers” is unacceptable.

The conservatives are up in arms about Obama’s speech to school kids, but I don’t think they realize what they are unleashing on their own households. The blowback is going to be something fierce — not from liberals, but from teenagers.

NYCEve met with Yvette Clarke and asked her directly if she’s vote against any bill that does not have a robust public option — no triggers, no co-ops, all the way through conference. Her answer: an emphatic yes.

“There is no health care reform without a robust public option,” she says.

I’ll see your Michael Capuano and Sam Farr and raise you a John Conyers, who pledges to oppose any health care bill that does not have a Medicare-like public plan. No triggers, no co-ops, no BS:

Thanks to Rep. Sutton for doing the right thing. Call her office and make sure that she knows that a “public option” does not mean co-ops and does not mean triggers.

Sutton’s offices: (440) 245-5350, (202) 225-3401, (330) 865-8450

You really have to hand it to the right-wing. They know how to work the refs.

If you are one of the 3,103 who donated $6,071.43 to Capuano or the 2,870 who donated $5,691.07 to Farr based on the letter they signed to vote against any bill that does not have a robust public option, call them and tell them you want it back.