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![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) lithera | |
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I'm over half done with Christmas shopping.
I have Kyna, Max, Eve, Brian, Ian, Ben, Meredith, my sister, her husband and Liam left...
And, of course, random presents for people I may have forgotten or I run into unexpectedly over the holidays.
*nods*
Okay. Ten people left.
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![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/syndicated.gif) electoralvote | |
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http://www.electoral-vote.com/evp2009/Senate/Maps/Dec04-s.html http://www.electoral-vote.com/evp2009/Senate/Maps/Dec04-s.html
Health-Care Bill Faces New Obstacles
Permalink
The decision by majority leader Harry Reid not to pursue using the budget reconcilation
process to pass the health-care bill has come back to bite him. Going the regular route
means he needs all 60 members of his caucus to vote for cloture, even if some of them may
end up opposing the underlying bill. It is well known that all senators are smart enough
to count to 60; in fact, when counting money they can often count into the millions. As
a consequence of this situation, every Democrat can blackmail Reid by
threatening not to vote for cloture unless he gets his or her way on something. It is already
happening.
Several cases in point. Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE) has
said
that he will block the bill unless it has a provision banning abortion that is as tough as the one
Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI) got added to the House bill. Needless to say, many Senate Democrats do not
want such an amendment and would vote against it were it not for the fact that losing Nelson's
vote might doom the bill. Of course, some ingenious Democrat might couple this amendment with another
one banning all subsidies to corn farmers, but that is unlikely to happen. Nelson has the others
over a barrel and everyone knows it.
Another amendment, quite different from Nelson's, is one Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND) is going to
propose. He wants to allow reimportation of drugs from Canada. Dorgan is surely aware that
North Dakota has a 400-mile-long border with Canada, putting that country's drug stores within
easy reach of many North Dakotans. The amendment would get a lot of support from both Democrats
and Republicans and would probably pass if there were an actual vote on it. The problem is that such
an amendment would kill the
secret deal
between the administration and the drug companies and unleash
a torrent of advertising from them opposing the bill. Reid does not want this.
Then there is Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) who has also threatened to torpedo the bill. He doesn't
have a pet amendment, but seems to enjoy being the center of attention. Several other senators,
including Mary Landrieu (D-LA) and Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) have come close to saying they won't
vote for a bill with a public option, and one senator, Bernie Sanders (I-VT), has said he
won't vote for one
unless it has a public option.
Click here for full story
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joshreadscomics | |
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http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheComicsCurmudgeon/~3/qotK-S5NZR0/ http://joshreads.com/?p=5070 
Apartment 3-G, 12/4/09
As Bobbie’s finger tapped his hollow metal chest with an echoing “thump,” Alec realized that she was right. What was the point of doing this the fancy way? He was just a simple robot, built by Bobbie to hunt down and destroy her cheating husband. No more play-acting at free will; it was time to get down to business.
Family Circus, 12/4/09
There’s something incredibly repulsive to me about how vigorously Jeffy is wiping the slobber off of his face with his unitard-clad forearm. Each and every one of those adults is covered with a thick, viscous layer of Jeffy drool.
Hagar the Horrible, 12/4/09
Yes, Helga, but most people aren’t sad and desperate alcoholics!
Mark Trail, 12/4/09
Normally I do not root for the terrible death of adorable puppies, but Sassy’s continued moronic behavior is making me rethink that policy. Maybe it’s time to let natural selection take its course, you know? On the other hand, if Sassy manages to also take out the malformed Rusty-thing along with her, she will paradoxically become a true hero-dog, unworthy of death.
Marmaduke, 12/4/09
And by “odd-looking toupee” we mean “still-bleeding scalp,” obviously! Actually it’s kind of amazing how that interpretation doesn’t require a change to anybody’s facial expression or body language in this panel.
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animikwaan | |
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i am not an enrolled american indian; i could chase down a c.i.b.* through my father, but i haven't. i am a canadian indian and i am enrolled there. i have free healthcare in canada and cheaper rx's than the general populace. i had all four of my wisdom teeth removed while i lived there. my grandmother, at the time, had two jobs. one of them, was to drive the people from our isolated reserve to see specialists in sudbury, two hours away, or to elliot lake, three hours away. i had my teeth removed in elliot lake. my grandmother pulled strings so that she could be my driver for the day, as i was released the same day despite being under regular anesthesia. if you have a second, you should watch the video embedded called "a new beginning." * certificate of indian blood -- ask me the politics behind that shit.- - - - - New Hopes on Health Care for American IndiansBy PAM BELLUCK Published: December 1, 2009 The meeting last month was a watershed: the leaders of 564 American Indian tribes were invited to Washington to talk with cabinet members and President Obama, who called it “the largest and most widely attended gathering of tribal leaders in our history.” Topping the list of their needs was better health care. “Native Americans die of illnesses like tuberculosis, alcoholism, diabetes, pneumonia and influenza at far higher rates,” Mr. Obama said. “We’re going to have to do more to address disparities in health care delivery.” The health care overhaul now being debated in Congress appears poised to bring the most significant improvements to the Indian health system in decades. After months of negotiations, provisions under consideration could, over time, direct streams of money to the Indian health care system and give Indians more treatment options. Some proposals, like exempting Indians from penalties for not obtaining insurance, may meet resistance from lawmakers opposed to expanding benefits for Indians, many of whom receive free medical care. But advocates say the changes recognize Indians’ unique status and could ease what Senator Byron L. Dorgan, Democrat of North Dakota, calls “full-scale health care rationing going on on Indian reservations....” read the rest here
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