Monthly archives: March, 2010

Rep. Ellsworth on Health Care Reform: ‘In My Core I Know it’s the Right Decision for Hoosiers’

Announces Support for Bill to Reduce Costs, Improve Access to Affordable Insurance Options, Ends Insurance Company Abuses, Cut the Deficit by $1 Trillion and Prevent Federal Funding of Abortion

Washington, D.C.–(TURNINGLEFT)– March 19, 2010. Later this week, the House is expected to consider legislation to reform our nation’s health care system. The Affordable Health Care for America Act will reduce health care costs, prevent federal funding of abortion, reduce the deficit by over $1 trillion and improve Hoosiers’ access to affordable insurance options. Rep. Brad Ellsworth today announced he will support the bill and issued the following statement:

“Like most Americans I was frustrated by this process throughout. Unfortunately many in both parties made snap judgments on whether or not they would support this bill based on politics, not policy. I was sent here to look at all sides of the argument in a thoughtful manner and I knew that the status quo was no longer acceptable. I needed to answer only one question when deciding whether to support this reform: will this bill benefit Hoosiers? Put simply, in my core I know it does.”

“There is no issue more important or more personal to every single Hoosier than our health and well-being. My job is to look beyond all the political games, study the bill carefully, and do my best to make the right decision for Indiana.”

“After months of meetings and conversations with thousands of Hoosiers, health care experts and pro-life advocates, I am confident supporting health care reform is the right decision for Hoosiers.”

“Starting this year, children with pre-existing conditions will never again be denied coverage. Indiana small businesses will get the tax breaks they desperately need to reduce their health care costs and invest those savings in growing their businesses and creating jobs for Hoosiers. And our seniors will see significant savings on their prescription drug bills as we start to close the Medicare Part D donut hole.

“As a pro-life Hoosier, one of my central concerns has been preventing federal funding of elective abortion. Throughout my brief time in Congress, I have held firm to my pro-life principles, even when it meant going against my party, and I am proud of my 100% pro-life voting record on abortion-related issues. I have spent time listening carefully to constituents, pro-life leaders, policy experts and reading all the details of every bill. After assurance from the Catholic Health Association, Catholic Nuns and pro-life advocates I am confident in my heart that this bill meets my pro-life principles and upholds the policy of no federal funding for elective abortions. More than that, it invests $250 million in support services for women facing unplanned pregnancies and over a billion dollars to help families afford adoption services. These investments will reduce the number of abortions in America.”

“In addition to meeting my pro-life principles, the plan reduces costs, improves access to affordable insurance options, covers pre-existing conditions, and does not add one penny to the deficit – my five principles for health care reform.”

Source: ellsworth.house.gov


Rep. Broun Calls Civil War ‘The Great War Of Yankee Aggression’ (Video)

Still fighting the Civil War, and apparently unhappy that his children and grandchildren will live in a country with a better health care system than he did before entering Congress, Rep. Paul Broun (R-GA) calls the Civil War "The Great War of Yankee Aggression."

Enjoy the short video clip from Media Matters.


Health Care Battle Tipping In Obama’s Favor As Vote Nears

President Obama

What a nice headline to read in the Sun-Times: "Health care battle tipping in Obama’s favor as vote nears."

Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeet.

From the Chicago Sun-Times:

One by one, House Democratic fence-sitters began choosing sides Friday, and the long, turbulent struggle over landmark health care legislation tilted unmistakably in President Barack Obama’s direction.

In full campaign mode, his voice rising, the president all but claimed victory, declaring to a cheering audience in Virginia, "We are going to fix health care in America."

With the showdown vote set for Sunday in the House, Obama decided to make one final, personal appeal to rank-and-file Democrats, arranging a Saturday visit to the Capitol. Republicans, unanimous in opposition to the bill, complained anew about its cost and reach.

Under a complex — and controversial — procedure the Democrats have devised, a single vote probably will be held to send one bill to Obama for his signature and to ship a second, fix-it measure to the Senate for final passage in the next several days.

Democratic leaders and Obama focused last-minute lobbying efforts on two groups of Democrats, 37 who voted against an earlier bill in the House and 40 who voted for it only after first makingL sure it would include strict abortion limits that now have been modified.

Democratic leaders worked late Friday attempting to resolve the dispute over abortion. Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., who succeeded last November in inserting strict anti-abortion language into the House bill, hopes to do so again. That prospect angered lawmakers who support abortion rights.

"We’re not going to vote for a bill that restricts a woman’s right to choose beyond current law," said Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., as she left an evening meeting with Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Abortion opponents are divided over whether restrictions on taxpayer funding currently in the bill go far enough.

Reps. John Boccieri of Ohio, Scott Murphy of New York and Allen Boyd and Suzanne Kosmas of Florida became the latest Democrats to announce support for the bill after voting against an earlier version that passed, bringing the number of switches in favor of the bill to seven.

This is sweet, and it’s history in the making.

This vote will be historic. Fitting that it should come on a Sunday.

To all members currently serving in the United States Congress: Vote YES on this bill. Be a part of history-in-the-making.

FYI: the picture above, in XHTML language, is aligned to the CENTER. That’s where this bill really comes from: the CENTER.

Vote for it with confidence. Vote for AMERICA. Vote, that all "… might have life, and might have it abundantly."


Chicago’s Bloody Thursday: 15 People Shot In Six Hours

From the Chicago Sun-Times:

Fifteen people were shot — including one man who died — all over the city Thursday night in just under six hours.

At 5:30 p.m. a 16-year-old boy was shot in the arm on the North Side in the 5000 block of North Kenmore Avenue, according to police News Affairs Officer Veejay Zala.

The boy did not suffer life threatening injuries and was taken to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, Zala said.

At 6:37 p.m. a 19-year-old man playing basketball in Cole Park, 8500 S. King Dr., was shot after trying to break up a fight. He was taken to Jackson Park Hospital in good condition, police said.

A 21-year-old man was shot in the mid-section at 6:48 p.m. in the 4500 block of West Altgeld Street, according to Zala.

At 7:15 p.m. four men were shot in the 7700 block of South Loomis Boulevard, according to Zala.

Fire Media Affairs Director Larry Langford said one 31-year-old man was taken in critical condition to John H. Stroger Hospital of Cook County, one 19-year-old was taken to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood in an unidentified condition and a 24-year-old suffered a graze wound and was taken to Stroger.

A fourth man was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn with a gunshot wound to the leg, Langford said.

What the hell are we doing to each other? What kind of world are we leaving to our children? This is not about them shooting those people. This is about us and the world in which we have decided we wish to live.

What the hell are we doing with the time we’ve been given?


Notre Dame to Host Pointless Debate Between Atheist and Catholic Apologist

Q: What do you get when you combine the fundamentalist and ascerbic right with the extreme liberal and ascerbic left?

A: Disaster

The University of Notre Dame is hosting a debate between two men who make their living being absurd and contentious.  Nothing good will  come from this shouting match.  The only appropriate host for this meeting would be Jerry Springer.

From Notre Dame’s Observer:

Notre Dame will host a public debate on April 7 between famed atheist Christopher Hitchens and Catholic apologetic Dinesh D’Souza.

More than 10 departments on campus, including the College of Arts and Letters and the Student Union Board, will sponsor the event, “Is Religion the Problem?” It will be held at 7:30 p.m. at the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center.

Students should expect a heated debate, as D’Souza has described atheism as “the opiate of the morally corrupt” and Hitchens has cited Christianity as “a wicked cult.”

According to a press release, the conversation will focus on the arguments for and against organized religion and its impact on past and future generations.

Sophomore Malcolm Phelan, one of the event organizers along with fellow sophomore Daniel O’Duffy, Dean of the College of Arts and Letters Joseph Stanfiel and Professor Micheal Rea from the Center for the Philosophy of Religion, said one of the main reasons for putting the event together was to challenge current students beliefs.

“We are trying to get students to think about things that they take for granted for most of their lives,” he said. “These questions lead to thought and conversation within a community, challenging positions and enriching beliefs.”

“The opiate of the morally corrupt???” Really, Dinesh? Is that the most outrageous thing you could think of?

For a healthy understanding of atheism v. religion, I recommend an excellent source: Patience with God: Faith for People Who Don’t Like Religion (or Atheism) by Frank Schaeffer.

My advice to Domers? Stay home from the circus and buy Schaeffer’s book.


Gov. Pat Quinn Eyeing Suburban Sen. Susan Garrett as Potential Running Mate

Susan Garrett

From the Chicago Tribune:

Veteran suburban lawmaker Sen. Susan Garrett has emerged as a leading choice of Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn to become his running mate, top party sources familiar with the discussions said today.

The 60-year-old from Lake Forest shares Quinn’s liberal views, and the governor believes she could help articulate his message as the lieutenant governor candidate in what’s already a contentious general election battle, said the sources, who asked not to be named so they don’t pre-empt Quinn.

Garrett acknowledged that she was contacted Sunday by the governor’s chief of staff, Jerry Stermer, about her interest in the post, then met privately with Quinn this week. Garrett said Thursday that she’s submitting an application to the Web site Democrats have set up for prospective lieutenant governor nominees.

The senator said she would bring an independence to the office, along with her promotion of ethics reforms at the Illinois Toll Highway Authority, clean water issues, health care and job creation.

Very interesting. The GOP would face an even steeper uphill battle, especially considering this:

Republican governor candidate Sen. Bill Brady of Bloomington is a conservative who has opposed abortion rights and expanded health coverage for women. Those views are considered a potential liability, particularly among moderate women in the still heavily Republican suburbs.


Springfield About to Lighten-Up on ‘Sexting’ Teens

Some common sense from Springfield via the Chicago Trib:

Students under 18 who use computers or cell phones to share nude photos of their peers would earn little more than a scolding under a measure the Illinois Senate approved Thursday to address the “sexting” phenomenon.

Offenders would not face criminal charges, but would get juvenile court supervision that could result in counseling or community service. The bill doesn’t address youths who send or receive racy photos if they don’t distribute them.

“We’re not trying to prosecute them if they keep it between themselves,” said Rep. Darlene Senger, R-Naperville, who got a similar bill through the Illinois House last week. “It’s when the third party is involved. That’s when you get the situations where so-and-so committed suicide because the picture got up everywhere.”

No, I do not think it is wise at all for young people to send nude pictures of themselves to each other, regardless of the medium they use. But face it: kids are stupid sometimes. They make incredible mistakes as juveniles, and that’s why the law treats them differently until they reach the incredible old age of 17 in Illinois, and even then law enforcement and prosecutors have discretion. The current law is insane. No adolescent should be marked for life as a registered sex offender for sexting.

I hope after this law passes, there will be reconsideration for those lads and lasses who have been condemned to a life of humiliation because of their stupid, but typically youthful, indiscretions.


CBO: Health-Care Reform Bill Cuts Deficit $1.3 Trillion Over 20 Years, Covers 95%

First, from Ezra Klein at the Washington Post:

Washington has spent the past week or so waiting for the Congressional Budget Office to release its preliminary estimate of the Senate bill with the reconciliation fixes. Not only are those numbers important for the debate, but Democratic leaders refuse to release the actual text of their changes until CBO releases the specifics of its analysis.

According to a Democratic source, CBO has finished its work and will release the official preliminary score later today. But here are the basic numbers: The bill will cost $940 billion over the first 10 years and reduce the deficit by $130 billion during that period. In the second 10 years — so, 2020 to 2029 — it will reduce the deficit by $1.2 trillion. The legislation will cover 32 million Americans, or 95 percent of the legal population.

To put this in context, that’s more deficit reduction than either the House or Senate bill, and more coverage than the Senate bill.

Next, from the New York Times:

U.S. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said on Thursday that proposed final healthcare legislation would cut the U.S. deficit by more than $100 billion over the first 10 years.

Hoyer told reporters that the Congressional Budget Office said the sweeping healthcare overhaul would cut the deficit by more than $1 trillion over the subsequent decade. The CBO is expected to release its official estimate of the cost of the Democratic-written legislation on Thursday.

This is good news for liberals, good news for conservatives, good news for all.


Cardinal George Pushing Sainthood for First Black American Catholic Priest

Father Augustus Tolton

From the Sun-Times:

The Archdiocese of Chicago announced today that Cardinal Francis George is pushing sainthood for a Chicago clergyman who was born into slavery and went on to become the first black American Catholic priest.

Father Augustus Tolton, who died in 1897, was a priest in Quincy, Ill., New York, Baltimore and Texas before coming to Chicago in 1889.

Tolton was born in 1854, and was seven years old when he escaped with his Roman Catholic mother from a Missouri slave owner.

Cool.

Wow.  He was only 33-years-old when he died.

Look at that young man staring back at you from Eternity.

And ask him to pray for you.


Coward Shoots 7-Year-Old Desiree Sanders on Chicago’s South Side (Video)

This is as sad as sad gets.

From ABC 7 News Chicago:

A 7-year-old girl is in critical condition after being shot on the city’s South Side.

It happened on the southeast corner of the intersection of 80th and Manistee.

Desiree Sanders was out playing on the sidewalk outside of her home when she was shot.

Police were combing the area Wednesday evening for evidence and trying to talk to any witnesses in the neighborhood.

She was not the intended target, police say.

Seven years old.