"Too bad we can't afford to treat your leukemia" (Updated)
It's hard enough to tell a patient he or she has cancer. It's worse telling someone they have cancer that we can't cure. But telling someone she has a leukemia that responds well to treatment, but we...
View ArticleIs North Korea approaching a "Why now?" moment?
Very few world leaders are actually crazy, though some perhaps want to be perceived that way. Richard Nixon supposedly said a US president ought to seem to 'have a few screws loose', so adversaries...
View ArticleVISA's reason/excuse re. WikiLeaks
Last Wednesday, inspired by this diary, http://www.dailykos.com/...I wrote and e-mailed the CEO of VISA the letter below, asking why they had quit accepting contributions to WikiLeaks. For what it's...
View ArticleWikiLeaks founder 'free' on "mansion arrest"
WikiLeaks Founder Ordered Freed as Court Rejects Appeal is the headline on the story in the New York Times, but "Freed" is relative. He's on house arrest, or "mansion arrest" as his lawyer calls it....
View ArticleGood news follow-up on "Too Bad We Can't Afford to Treat Your Leukemia"
About a month ago I did a big tug on everybody's heart strings with this diary "Too Bad We Can't Afford to Treat Your...
View ArticleHealth care in Cuba -- Right Wingers should read WikiLeaks
UPDATE 2: This cable is worth reading, but it should be followed by reading Michael Moore's reply. Note also, I mistakenly thought the cable was just released today, because of the January 31 date....
View ArticleJudicial reform starts with you, Lamar Smith
For decades, I've been represented in Congress by Lamar Smith. He's now chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. If anyone in the country could strike a strong blow to restore confidence in the...
View ArticleBradley Manning, Liberator of Tunisia, Egypt, and maybe Libya
Just for giggles, let's compare the effectiveness of foreign policy of the current and former administrations with what Bradley Manning has (allegedly) accomplished.The Big Serious People of the...
View ArticleCalling BS on the President, politely
It's hard, but I guess that's what we should be trying to do.This morning I was one paragraph into this storyhttp://www.nytimes.com/... and blurted out, "Rubbish!"Maybe I'm mellowing, or maybe my...
View Article"Reduce capital gains tax rates? -- That's the war cry of the rich in the...
That's what we should say every time anyone advocates a lower capital gains tax. So far, conservatives have almost monopolized the "class war" meme. Rubbish. They get away with it partly because...
View ArticleThis would make it harder to get pain treated
I'm always dubious when the government gets into the business of mandating "education". I worry that the mandate will go through before any careful thought about what should be taught and who is...
View ArticleShould we have declared war on Osama bin Laden, or on Al Qaeda?
And shouldn't we indict Anwar al-Awlaki?Al Qaeda seems to "fall between the cracks" between being a criminal organization and a foreign nation at war with us. If we'd declared war, it clearly would...
View ArticleThe first industry that can't afford health insurance for its workforce
The first industry that can't seem to afford health insurance for its employees is the nursing home industry. It's ironic, but it shouldn't be surprising.This story from the New York...
View ArticleHow should you respond if the FBI targets you?
A story in today's New York Times brought me back to this train of thought.http://www.nytimes.com/..."For Anarchist, Details of Life as F.B.I. Target" by Colin Monyhan and Scott Shane is worth reading...
View ArticleHelp limit the damage from Weiner
In today’s New York Times is an article, “Republicans Challenge Democrats on Weiner Donations” by Raymond Hernandez. http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/...Wasting no time, Republicans are calling on...
View ArticleUS helps folks detour around internet censors -- abroad
"U.S. Underwrites Internet Detour Around Censors"http://www.nytimes.com/... Somebody in the Obama administration realizes that free speech is the enemy of oppression, and is putting money into helping...
View ArticleObama owes Nick Tschida a thank-you and an apology
Today at the "What to Do When the President is Just Not that Into You" panel, an obviously dedicated volunteer for Organizing for America spoke up on behalf of Obama's policies. Perhaps unwisely, in...
View ArticleSend John Roberts and Boehner to Guantanamo?
Right now the President seems to have the right to declare anyone, even a US citizen, a "terrorist" and ship him off to Guantanamo. I wish exactly that would happen to one or two Supreme Court...
View ArticleThe email I'm trying to send to my Congressman
My Congressman is Lamar Smith, a conservative Republican from Texas. Usually I have no trouble getting on his web site to send him an e-mail. Getting a meaningful response is another story. Sometimes...
View ArticleWouldn't it be up to the President to decide which bills to pay?
The New York Times has an article about how the Treasury Department is struggling with the question of which bills to pay if they can't borrow more money and pay them all.http://www.nytimes.com/...That...
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