I'm not happy with Obama's lip service to transparency at all. If it's beyond the scope of national security, as meetings with health care executives undoubtedly are, it should be public record. Boo.

Obama slurpers don't care about his lying and promise-breaking. As long as he delivers Socialism down our gullets, he's A-OK!

"Of all the compensation in the United States, more than a third is now going to "executives and other highly compensated employees."

Employees is the key word here. These aren't self-employed persons pulling themselves up by the bootstraps. These aren't even investors making money by risking their own money. These are employees who, as far as I'm concerned, are stealing from both their stockholders and their fellow employees from lower levels of their organizations.

In addition, with the tax breaks that these clowns get, they often pay a lower effective tax rate than the rest of us, meaning we have to make up the difference.

In short, they're stealing from everybody (legalized theft, but theft just the same).

A mandate to have medical coverage is a disappointing aspect of reform unless there is a companion mandate to provide an option. Case and point.

Our son bought health insurance after he was no longer eligible on our policy. He was diagnosed with cancer 13 months later and his policy was recinded. The legal bills fighting that took money from his care and ultimately lost anyway. He had missed reporting a sprained wrist.

After the recinded insurance there were no policies available? So good a mandate would do.

According to the Taliban, Bergdahl was intoxicated.

A witness on the base said he walked off with 3 men. ***some witness! Why didn't this witness try to stop him? Why didn't the witness stop the 3 men from coming near the barracks?

Most of the guys serving have very little training before serving their tours. Then there's the case of serving more than one tour of duty. The military have made it difficult to get diagnosed for stress disorders.

But, to bad mouth this soldier is disgusting.

One thing about Israel, they would not bad-mouth their soldiers, they would do any and everything to get the soldier back.

Chris, that's the point I've been making. But apparently it goes over everyone's head.

Look at the what's happening within government of all levels.

Fire dept's, law enforcement, teachers...all being laid off

But, look at the high-level mgmt:
City council, city managers, city mayors, city attorney, county supv's, state assembly, state senate, state governor, state attorney, U.S. Senate, U.S. Rep (congress) - they haven't laid off any of these positions.

It is being preached from the right of big government - yet, nothing is done from the top, only at the bottom!

Chris and annjell, I agree, and it's unconscionable. I deal with it by reading Dilbert. It's funny because it's true. If we can't laugh at it, we'll end up crying.

would consider extending a 'defense umbrella' over the Middle East

I'd rather extend a universal health care umbrella over the United States.

For some reason, that "fool me once" expression seems to trip up conservatives. I'm not sure why.

Since they have no shame, their brains refuse to let them utter the phrase "shame on me."

Sanford is on his thrid vacation in a matter of weeks. Looks like the GOP has found their successor to G W Bush.

I loved the Vanity Fair piece, though I couldn't stomach more than the first page. Any response from Palin yet?

Conservatives get tripped up over "Fool me once..." because they have been fooled, chumped, co-opted, suckered and made idiots of, by the party that courts them most assiduously

* For some reason, that "fool me once" expression seems to trip up conservatives. I'm not sure why.

Three, intertwined, reasons: 1) For them, learning is *hard*, even from experience (so they can get fooled again and again). 2)They're reluctant to ever accept responsibility, for anything. 3)"Dems bad, everything is their fault" is a tenet of faith for them, more important than "love thy brother".

So, Knight Sanford is on his next trip. Apparently, no one looked up the sites I provided, C-Street may have funded this trip!!!

Slouching towards a snaggletoothed America

NYT: Pinch of Reality Threatens the California Dream

The fallout is already evident. Summer school was canceled in many districts. In Eureka, near the Oregon border, the Old Town Dental Center is about to close. Its patient base is 90 percent Medicaid, and the state’s program will no longer pay for anything beyond tooth extractions.

“There are a lot of people that are just not showing up,” said Nicole Eleck, the receptionist there. “Half our patients are saying, ‘If something bothers me, I will wait until it needs to get pulled.’ ”

Herrmann Spetzler, the chief executive of Open Door Community Health Centers, which operates 10 clinics in rural northern California, said clinics that are the only providers for miles around might close.

“If you sit in our waiting room, you will see the faces of everyone who lives in our region,” he said. “There is the local judge, the policeman, the mom with kids and the homeless person. In my health centers, we’ve had $5 million in cut since July, and we don’t know what the future will bring.”

What comes next is anybody’s guess, but it may be that California’s standing as paradise is meeting an organic end.

“In the end, we do not know for sure whether the California public really wants the California dream anymore,” said Bruce E. Cain, a professor of political science at the University of California, Berkeley. “The population is too diverse to have a common vision of what it wants to provide to everyone. Some people want the old dream, some want the gated privatized version, and some would like to secede and get away from it all.”

Michael W, look at Anthony Woods for Congress, in Cali.

I'm sending money for this campaign.

Interesting link re: Democrats from "red" states voting in favor of the gun amendment.

Interesting that one of my senators, Dick Lugar, is a Republican from a red state, and yet voted against it.

As for my other senator, Democrat Evan Bayh ... the less said the better.

Koreyel,

I enjoyed your piece. However, I don't think that's the case.

Drug abuse is so rampant here. So, people are stressed out, some have turned to meth.

As I said during the election, the drugs were sent here to keep people from knowing what was happening.

Drug labs set up in hotel/motel rooms here, in cars, apartments, houses. Then, look at how the sober-living, half-way houses have branched out to areas considered well-to-do, from Malibu to Laguna & Newport Beach.

If religion didn't control people before, the drugs will. In the end, people will be forced to further control trying to get "rehabilitation" from the drugs.

A friend of mine lives in Temecula, Cali and said that she will be moving out of the county all together when her lease expires. This area is not cheap either. She complained about neighbors selling drugs, shootings in the parking lot....

Re: both the executive comp. and Mark Sanford - it would appear that the citizens of SC could save some money by eliminating his position. His travel schedule suggests that he is non-essential.

In the "Open Thread" vein, here's an item I ran across that probably should go into Saturday's "This Week In God" post, but I figured, "What the heck?".

Even the crazy members of the Westboro Baptist Church are remembering Michael Jackson... in their own twisted way! The notorious family remade "We Are the World" into "God Hates the World" with fun new lyrics like "God hates the world, and all her people. You everyone face a fiery day for your proud sinning".

They didn't leave the gays out either, who they refer to as "fag beasts". This would actually be kind of funny if they didn't use small children to spread these messages of hate.

Link to video

Michael W,

Here's a very interesting read:

http://metaphoria.org/ac4t0712.html
"Under the Guise of Freedom:Fascism Ultimate Destination" 12-26-2007

I say it's interesting because - notice how the right keep touting "capitalism," and the bible

This article talks about all of this, and how capitalism is really about having people spend money for goods & services even though they can't afford it.

As I said, very interesting!!!

.
Hey, ya forgot this one: Aliens have established an Earth-sized base on Jupiter, exactly fifteen years after their first ship crashed there.

And they claim to be "moderates"!!!
.

Mr. Obama is pretty dang impressive.
After 8 years of watching George W stumble about inept and incurious,
I welcome the intelligent Barack.
Transparency may yet come in varied forms.

The President made a very clear and compelling case that America has to reform health care and must do it now. It's matter of fiscal responsibility - a matter of being able to maintain a healthy economy.

* It's hard to reconcile moves like these with pre-inauguration promises of more transparency: "Invoking an argument used by President George W. Bush, the Obama administration has turned down a request from a watchdog group for a list of health industry executives who have visited the White House to discuss the massive healthcare overhaul." -- Steve Benen

Well, that seems to have been a storm in a teacup... The list will now be released. I do wish that Obama *had not* walked through the door that he Bush/Cheney opened for him. And I wish getting the info out wasn't *quite* as painful as pulling teeth... But... At least he *is* releasing it :)

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/07/in-response-to-lawsuit-threat-white-house-releases-names-of-health-industry-executives-who-visited-w.php

The final portion of the transcript for the White House/blogger conference call on health care reform is up at Show Me Progress and They gave us a republic

Jake Tapper asked this RIDICULOUS question at the presser:

"You said earlier that you wanted to tell the American people what's in it for them. How will their family benefit from the health care reform? But experts say that in addition to the benefits that you're pushing, there is going to have to be some sacrifice in order for there to be true cost-cutting measures, such as Americans giving up tests, referrals, choice, end-of-life care."

Eric Cantor (R-VA) is on C-SPAN's, "Washington Journal right now. I wonder what lies he'll spout today.

"Invoking an argument used by President George W. Bush, the Obama administration has turned down a request from a watchdog group for a list of health industry executives who have visited the White House to discuss the massive healthcare overhaul."

Still waiting to see that visitor's log from GW's first term!!

I couldn't get the Thune/gun thread comment box to work, so here:
True conservatives would support States rights about concealed carry laws and vote *against* the recent Federal bill demanding cross-state acceptance of concealed-carry permits.

tyrannogenius

*

Not everyone gets a European vacation like Mark Sanford.

The Congressional Recess is coming, so don't forget to sign up for the Fellowship's Vacation Bible School.

See:

http://notionscapital.wordpress.com/2009/07/22/c-street-vacation-bible-school/

Excuse me. A classic is something that everybody wants to have read and nobody wants to read. Help me! Help to find sites on the: Benefit cosmetics promotional code. I found only this - Benefit cosmetics available. Up to cash back from over popular online stores. My place or yours gina an alluring affair of pink pepper, wild raspberry and patchouli. With love :-(, Walker from Madagascar.