Democrats Push To End Insurers' Antitrust Exemption

Oct 23, 2009 - In the ongoing health care overhaul drama, the Obama administration and the health insurance industry have gone from uneasy allies to bitter adversaries. One result is that health insurers stand to lose a privilege their industry has enjoyed for the past 64 years: They, like Major League Baseball, have been exempt from federal antitrust laws. Congressional Democrats are now pushing to strip the health insurance industry of that exemption. - 6 Comments

Closing the Books on GW Bush Economic Record

Sep 15, 2009 - Thursday's annual Census Bureau report on income, poverty and access to health care-the Bureau's principal report card on the well-being of average Americans-closes the books on the economic record of George W. Bush. It's not a record many Republicans are likely to point to with pride. - 0 Comments

A Failure of Capitalism

Aug 20, 2009 - Richard A. Posner (Atlantic Magazine) A Failure of Capitalism Aug 18 2009, 3:16PM Honesty about the Stimulus On August 6, Christina Romer, the chairman of the President's Council of Economic Advisers, gave a talk entitled "So, Is It Working? An Assessment of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act at the Five-Month Mark." - 1 Comment

And then there was five! Gay marriage legal in Maine.

May 06, 2009 - Maine Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage by The Associated Press NPR.org, May 6, 2009 · Maine's governor signed a freshly passed bill Wednesday approving gay marriage, making it the fifth state to approve the practice and moving New England closer to allowing it throughout the region. New Hampshire legislators were also poised to send a gay marriage bill to their governor, who hasn't indicated whether he'll sign it. If he does, Rhode Island would be the region's sole holdout. - 14 Comments

'Torturing Democracy'

May 30, 2009 - by Bill Moyers and Michael Winship ...During his speech to the conservative American Enterprise Institute last week -- immediately on the heels of President Obama's address at the National Archives -- former Vice President Dick Cheney used the euphemism "enhanced interrogation" a full dozen times. Smothering the reality of torture in euphemism of course has a political value, enabling its defenders to diminish the horror and possible illegality. It also gives partisans the opening they need to divert our attention by turning the future of the prison at Guantanamo Bay into a "wedge issue," as noted on the front page of Sunday's New York Times. - 3 Comments

The Right Stimulus (The best I have seen IMHO)

Jan 30, 2009 - The Right Stimulus Republicans need to provide one since Congressional Democrats haven't. by Matthew Continetti The economy is in recession. There's no end in sight. - 10 Comments

Will the Democrats let Obama put the country ahead of the party?

Jan 09, 2009 - The Note, 1/9/09: Obama Pressed From Left on Stimulus January 09, 2009 8:37 AM By RICK KLEIN With the rollout comes the blowback. And with them both comes the presidential-sized challenge for the not-yet president. It turns out you don’t have to look very hard to find the fault lines in President-elect Barack Obama’s bid for a massive stimulus bill. - 1 Comment

Too many cooks spoil the gov't

Jan 28, 2009 - Obama's White House: Big posts, overlapping tasks By CHARLES BABINGTON – 1 hour ago WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is building a White House staff so loaded with big names and overlapping duties that it could collapse into chaos unless managed with a juggler's skill. It's an administration that seems "addicted to czars," says one longtime observer of government organization. Obama has installed a White House health czar who doubles as secretary of Health and Human Services. - 5 Comments

10 Bush Pardons to Watch For

Jan 19, 2009 - Published on Monday, January 19, 2009 by Politico by Josh Gerstein As the clock ticks down on his presidency, George W. Bush has shown few signs he plans to indulge in the frenzy of last-minute pardons that marked Bill Clinton's final hours in the Oval Office. Bush could quickly leap back into the spotlight in the next two days if he issues a blanket pardon immunizing CIA and military interrogators, as well as their bosses, from criminal prosecution over harsh treatment of prisoners from the war on terror (Reuters/Jonathan Ernst)But Bush could quickly leap back into the spotlight in the next two days if he issues a blanket pardon immunizing CIA and military interrogators, as well as their bosses, from criminal prosecution over harsh treatment of prisoners from the war on terror. - 0 Comments

Something Old is Change?

Nov 21, 2008 - www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-clintonistas_frinov21,0,2743526.story chicagotribune.com BARACK OBAMA Obama's Clinton-era picks tend to fit the Bill Hillary Clinton, former staffers up for top jobs By Christi Parsons and Peter Nicholas Washington Bureau November 21, 2008 WASHINGTON — The roster shaping up for the Barack Obama administration is starting to look a little familiar, with an ironic pattern emerging as one name after another is added to the list. A striking number of new and potential team members can trace their professional history to the same political birthplace—the administration of President Bill Clinton. There's Sen. - 12 Comments