Richard Cohen has it right

After all these months, a columnist has finally written something compelling about health care. Of all people, Richard Cohen wrote a column I wish everyone would read. T. R. Reid's book is excellent, and would make a great last-minute gift.

Happy holidays to all!

Cheer up for Thanksgiving

Has the non-stop carping and obstruction by the right wing got you down? Not to mention the persistent recession and the conservadem grandstanding? Me too. Maybe you'll feel better if you read Andrew Sullivan's post on why he's still optimistic about Obama's prospects.

Yes Men gallery

You may have heard about a news conference in which the "Yes Men" pulled off a clever stunt, claiming that the Chamber of Commerce had changed its policy on climate change. This isn't their first such caper. TPM has a gallery of hoaxes they've pulled off in the last few years. I especially love the golden skeleton award. Check it out!

Free Market Facts

Who are the "socialists"? Harold Meyerson has a good op-ed on the state of the free market today.

Finally a good Maureen Dowd column

She usually dips into her reserve of frivolity when writing her columns, but this one by Maureen Dowd is serious and spot on. Check it out!

Assigned watching

Just kidding, of course. But if I could assign a lesson for every American interested in the healthcare deliberabtions, it would be the C-Span program Q & A from Sunday, Sept. 6. If you can spare an hour, follow this link. T. R. Reid, a journalist who has lived abroad on several occasions, has written a book on healthcare in other prosperous democracies. You may have seen his PBS Frontline program on the subject. He took his sore shoulder around the world to see how it would be addressed by various systems and discusses what he found with Brian Lamb of C-Span. I think Reid's major contribution is the observation that other countries decided that everyone had to have health care as a moral obligation and designed a program with that in mind. That isn't what we're doing, but it should be, and Obama pointed that out in his message to Congress.

No new thing under the sun

A good tip from TPM: Rick Perlstein has written an excellent column on the history of right wing craziness. What we're seeing now is nothing new, he says, and some of his examples from FDR through the civil rights era are pretty amazing. What is new is that the media now takes the crazies seriously.

Hunter's healthcare rant

Hunter at DailyKos writes to the President about healthcare. You'll love his simple explanation.

A Guilty Pleasure

The whole Sanford saga is pretty sad, especially for the kids, but TPM has a video that's too funny to miss. Click the link they provide and be sure not to have any beverage in your mouth when you watch this one!

Some common sense on health care

Robert Reich sends a letter to the President with some very cogent observations on the health care debate.

The media is finally turning on Cheney

He gets more respect than he deserves and is all over the TV these days, but Dick Cheney has finally gone far enough off the deep end that even the usually unserious Maureen Dowd has turned on him. Check out her May 13 column.

What James Carville said

He's always good for a snappy comment, and here's his latest (from a DSCC email):

"I've always said politics is like the circus: the worst job is cleaning up after the elephants."

Ah, the Perks of One Party Rule

We all know how the Republicans have corrupted Butler County government, but these folks are pikers compared to the Repubs who just lost their grip in New York. Check out this article that was highlighted in Daily Kos today. Wow!

Legacy

Apparently Bush, Rove, Cheney et. al. have finally completed their absurd legacy tour. From Andrew Sullivan's blog, here's a link to a reality-based legacy wrapup by The Economist.