This is incredibly sad.
Should the President write letters of condolence to family members?
I would. The letters are for the living, not the deceased.
Year: 2009
Franken Denies Lieberman ‘Additional Moment’ to Continue Speaking the Senate Floor
You go, Al.
We all know these lengthy speeches by the Republicans are an attempt to slow down debate so there is no health insurance reform at all. Let Sen. Lieberman go pout when he finally loses this fight, and all those campaign contributions from the for-profit health insurance industry.
Danny Davis Likes Dorothy Brown for Cook Co. Board President, and So Do I
Rep. Danny Davis endorsed Dorothy Brown for Cook County Board President. In desperation, Todd Stroger played the race card, stupidly, I think.
U.S. Rep. Danny Davis (D-Ill.) threw his support behind Dorothy Brown in the crowded Democratic primary for Cook County Board president.
Davis noted that a recent poll showed Brown, the Cook County Circuit Court Clerk, leading the pack and he said that factored into his decision.
Davis dropped his own candidacy for board president earlier this year after failing to convince incumbent Todd Stroger to drop out.
Brown, who lost a 2007 bid to unseat Mayor Daley, thanked Davis for his support and said it would help propel her to victory in the four-candidate race.
The Sun-Times says Stroger released the following statement: “Congressman Davis has made a point of expressing his desire to not create or involve himself in any issue that would divide the African-American community. However, this endorsement has the potential to do just that.”
That’s just silly, Todd.
I would like to see Dorothy Brown issue a strong statement condemning patronage jobs. That happens, and I’m all in.
Bengals Receiver Chris Henry Dies
Charlotte-Mecklenburg police say Cincinnati Bengals receiver Chris Henry has died, one day after suffering serious injuries upon falling out of the back of a pickup truck in what authorities describe as a domestic dispute with his fiancee.
Police say Henry died at 6:36 a.m. Thursday. Henry was 26.
Away from the team because of a broken forearm, Henry was rushed to the hospital Wednesday after being found on a residential road. Police say a dispute began at a home about a half-mile away, and Henry jumped into the bed of the pickup truck as his fiancee was driving away from the residence.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the family, the Cincinnati Bengals and their fans.
Like a Kid in a Candy Story, Blago’s Attorney Says Interviewing Obama Would Be ‘Awesome’
Honestly, it sounds like Rod Blagojevich has hired attorneys with less judgement than he has.
One of Rod Blagojevich’s attorneys said Wednesday it was possible the defense could call President Obama to take the witness stand if the corruption charges against the former governor go to trial, but added that it wasn’t clear that doing so would be necessary.
Defense attorney Samuel E. Adam said following a hearing in the case that it would be "an awesome experience in any career" to question Obama, who is not accused of any wrongdoing but did answer questions from federal investigators.
Blagojevich is charged with scheming to sell or trade Obama’s former U.S. Senate seat, campaign fundraising abuses and other offenses. He has denied wrongdoing.
Note, the President is not accused of any wrongdoing.
Sam Adams sounds like he’s had a few too many beers.
True Health Care Reform: No For-Profit Health Insurance Companies
Some health care reform ramblings.
The Republicans are crying about having to read a 2,000 page bill. Locally, Republican Isaac Hayes, challenging Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. for Congress, has lamented Jackson’s support of health care reform. In a strange move, on his campaign blog, Hayes reproduces a press release from Jackson’s Web page where Jackson calls the passage of the House health care reform bill, “A monumental and historic step forward.” The press release is quite inspirational:
“A MONUMENTAL AND HISTORIC STEP FORWARD”
Jackson votes for landmark health care overhaul legislation
Washington, D.C. — Congressman Jesse L. Jackson, Jr. voted today in strong support of legislation to overhaul the nation’s health care system — the Affordable Health Care for America Act. He called passage of the bill “a monumental, historic step forward.”
“For nearly 100 years, politicians of all stripes and in both parties have attempted to bring comprehensive reform to our nation’s health care system. Now, a century later, we — at long last — are delivering on the promise of making quality, affordable health care available to all Americans.
“This is change we can believe in, progress we can count on and a right we should all enjoy.
“This landmark bill reinforces the promise of our founding documents. It renews the meaning of our creed and reflects the enduring, eternal truth that We all are created equal and endowed with certain unalienable Rights. We should all have health care.
“In passing this bill, we begin a new era in America. Gone will be the days when citizens go untreated, becoming sicker and sicker because they can’t afford to see the doctor or get medicine. Gone will be the days when they can’t get coverage because of a previous illness or condition. Gone will be the days when Americans are at risk of falling into poverty or going to an early grave because health care was delayed, dropped or denied.”
“We are a better nation than that,” Jackson said.
“We can cure the sick. We can help those in need. We each can pursue our own paths and yet still be our brother’s keeper. That’s at the heart of this reform. That’s at the heart of America.
“This health care reform bill builds on what works and fixes what’s broken. It provides more security and stability to those who have health insurance and expands access to affordable, quality coverage to those who don’t. It does this in a way that allows the American people to see the doctor they want, for the health care they need, in a revamped system that is more efficient, less costly and of higher quality.
“This reform is urgent. It is indisputable. It forms a more perfect Union.”
I would not be quoting my opponent on my Web site, especially when my opponent is as erudite as Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr.
Hayes deserves to lose.
Here’s a start on proper health care reform: Congress must make for-profit health care insurance companies illegal. If you want to sell bowling balls for profit, go for it. If you want to do health insurance for profit, forget it.
That would be a start.
Dr. No: Joe Lieberman Loves Campaign Cash More Than Human Lives
From the Ron Reagan show on Air America Radio:
Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman has finally realized his life’s goal of becoming America’s foremost exemplar of hypocrisy and moral cowardice… and did I forget to mention dishonesty and small-minded spite? Let’s throw those in the mix as well.
A quick review: three months ago, Lieberman sat down with the Connecticut Post and reiterated his long-standing position that a Medicare buy-in should be available for people 55 to 64 years old
Again, this is something Lieberman has been saying for years: it was central to his health care platform when he was Al Gore’s running mate in 2000 and it was been his position ever since. That is, it was his position until it became part of the Senate’s proposed health care legislation. At that point, the guy who’d made a Medicare buy-in the centerpiece of his health care reform philosophy suddenly morphed into Dr. No.
On CBS last weekend, in one brief outpouring of nausea-inducing self-interest, Lieberman managed to betray assurances he had reportedly given to the Senate leadership and a number of his Senate colleagues; contradict his own oft-stated position; and, just for good measure, attempt to mislead the country about the fiscal consequences of a Medicare buy-in. Contrary to what Lieberman is currently pretending to believe, a buy-in would not, according to the Congressional Budget Office, drive up the deficit.
What’s going on here? Having heard no better explanation, I currently subscribe to what has become the conventional wisdom about the Senate’s selfish pain-in-the-ass-in-chief: Lieberman is still piqued at Democrats for not only abandoning him (for the Democratic candidate) during his near-loss in his 2006 reelection race in Connecticut, but for not backing him as the candidate of choice for the Democratic Presidential nomination back in 2004. Anyone who witnessed his cozy “debate” with Dick Cheney in 2000 will have no trouble imagining why Democrats picked someone else as their standard-bearer.
Lieberman loves campaign cash more than human lives.
Pittsburgh About to Tax College Tuition
The mayor of Pittsburgh calls it the “Fair Share Tax.” But to officials at the city’s 10 colleges and universities and many of their 100,000 students, it is anything but.
On Wednesday, the City Council is expected to give preliminary approval to Mayor Luke Ravenstahl’s proposal for a 1 percent tuition tax on students attending college in Pittsburgh, which he says will raise $16.2 million in annual revenue that is needed to pay pensions for retired city employees. Final Council action will be on Monday.
The tax would be the first of its kind in the nation, and other cities are watching closely as they try to find ways to close their own budget gaps.
Students and college officials argue that the tax will drive students away and place an unfair burden on institutions that already contribute substantially to the city. They add that the measure comes at an especially difficult time for colleges, as endowment values have fallen and requests for financial aid have risen.
The tax, which will most likely end up in the courts, represents a turning point for Pittsburgh, which has remade itself after the steel mills shut down, becoming a hub for nonprofit hospitals and universities. Yet it has been unable to draw significant revenue from its new identity.
“It’s really a disappointment that we’re in this situation,” Mayor Ravenstahl said. “Our colleges and universities are giving less and less while they increase tuition and executive pay and expand their campuses, removing high-value land from the tax rolls. The cost to provide public safety and public works services continues to increase, but our revenue continues to decrease.”
The tax, which would take effect as early as July, would range from about $20 a year for students at cheaper schools like the Community College of Allegheny County to just over $400 for students at the city’s priciest university, Carnegie Mellon.
Probably good reason to not go to college at the University of Pittsburgh, unless yuinz want to pay lots of taxes n’nat.
Evangelist Oral Roberts Dead At Age 91
Evangelist Oral Roberts, who rose from tent revivals to found a multimillion-dollar organization and an Oklahoma university bearing his name, has died. He was 91.
His spokesman A. Larry Ross said by phone from Carrollton, Texas, that Roberts died Tuesday of complications from pneumonia in Newport Beach, Calif. Roberts was hospitalized after a fall on Saturday. He had survived two heart attacks in the 1990s and a broken hip in 2006.
I still remember 1987, when Roberts claimed to have had a vision from a 900-foot-tall Jesus who told him that unless he raised $8 million by that March, God would "call him home," that God would kill him.
He got his money.
Good News from the Nation’s Capital: DC City Council Votes To Legalize Gay Marriage
Hats off to the Washington, D.C., City Council!
The Washington, D.C., City Council voted Tuesday to legalize gay marriage in the nation’s capital, handing supporters a victory after a string of recent defeats in Maine, New York and New Jersey.
Mayor Adrian Fenty has promised to sign the bill, which passed 11-2, and gay couples could begin marrying as early as March. Congress, which has final say over Washington’s laws, could reject it, but Democratic leaders have suggested they are reluctant to do so.
The bill had overwhelming support among council members and was expected to pass, though opponents have vowed to try to get Congress or voters to overturn it.
David Catania, who introduced the bill and is one of two openly gay council members, called the bill a "matter of social justice" before the vote.
Two members voted "I do" when their names came up, and when the vote finished a packed chamber erupted into cheers and clapping. The "no" votes included former mayor Marion Barry, now a council member.
Thank you, D.C.! And hats off to WTAE, once again the first to get breaking news to my inbox!