Senator Baucus wants everyone to have the chance to buy junk insurance from his insurance company constituents. This will let him pretend Americans have insurance and the people he is trying to please can make tons of money.

Hello Firedoglake. It’s great to be here. My name is John Garamendi, and I am California’s Lieutenant Governor here to chat with you today about health care reform and the need for a robust public option. I am the Democratic candidate for California’s 10th Congressional District. A special election will be held on November 3rd.

I support single-payer Medicare for All, but think comprehensive health care reform with a robust public option

One of the manifest triumphs of the internet era is the immediacy with which news is digested and delivered. Those much-vaunted “editors” that beltway journalists once told bloggers we so desperately needed but sadly lacked have now been dispensed with courtesy of Twitter, and we get to see the unvarnished genius of our media elites without mediation as their every thought occurs to them.

California Lt. Governor John Garamendi will be joining us for a live chat today, Monday, at 2pm Pacific (5pm Eastern), to talk about health care reform and the importance of a public option.

Mr. Garamendi, the leading candidate to fill the now vacant seat for California’s 10th Congressional District, was twice California’s State Insurance Commissioner.

Obama just said he “believes” a public option would bring down costs.

A modest proposal: free market conservatives and libertarians should work normal hours today. After all, Labor Day and what it represents is antithetical to everything they believe.Over the years, the workers of our country have had to unite to gain many of the advantages that we enjoy today. There was once a time when the standard work week was 56 hours, and children as young as 6 were part of the

November 2008: Max Baucus circulates a white paper — the “generic Democratic health care plan” — which includes a public plan, and an emphasis on affordability and availability.

September 2009: Max Baucus circulates a health care bill forcing low- to middle-income to buy “junk” insurance they can’t afford to use to earn Republican support, which amounts to a giant transfer of wealth to the insurance industry.

Max Baucus has wasted months by shining on everyone. And the Administration has wasted months and its own credibility waiting for Max Baucus and the Gang of Six to deliver. They failed.

Once again, we see the different ways in which Democrats and Republicans deal with scandals and setbacks, real or ginned-up, and the different ways our media elites treat Republican and Democratic setbacks — real or ginned-up.

As a nation, we are failing the most vulnerable members of our society. The number of homeless schoolchildren, uprooted amidst the financial turmoil of the last few years is rising: There were 679,000 homeless students reported in 2006-7, a total that surpassed one million by last spring…