"Party" Contributions, Indeed!

This news flash caught my attention this evening: Republican National Committee Spends Nearly $2,000 of "Party" Contributions at Lesbian-Themed Las Vegas Night Club.

Here's an article from The New York Daily News

Talk about a grand ol' party!

Records show the Republican National Committee dropped $1,946 at a West Hollywood, Calif. strip club last month, but a spokesperson insisted that RNC chairman Michael Steele was not among the ooglers.

"The chairman was never at the location in question, he had no knowledge of the expenditure, nor does he find the use of committee funds at such a location at all acceptable," said RNC spokeswoman Doug Heye, who added that the committee was investigating the expenditure.

Records filed with the Federal Election Commission show the RNC picked up the hefty tab at Voyeur West Hollywood, a high-end strip club that has hosted such notables as bad girl Lindsay Lohan and supermodel Heidi Klum.

In a review last October, the Los Angeles Times said the bar's "dark, leather-heavy interior is reminiscent of the masked orgy scene" in "Eyes Wide Shut," the 1999 Stanley Kubrick film starring Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman.

The club features a heavy net suspended above the lounge area where topless performers - dressed in little more than masks and bikini-bottoms - writhe above the heads of clubgoers, the paper reported.

"Even more provocative scenes," the paper added, "are played out in an enclosed glass booth area adjacent to the club's dance floor area."

The kinky costs come at a time when Steele is already under fire from many within the GOP for his high-flying ways.

He recently took some heat for moving the RNC annual meeting from Washington, D.C. to Hawaii.
And one recent analysis by Politico.com found that compared with 2005, the last comparable year preceding a midterm election, RNC spending on private jets had doubled, limo trips had tripled, and meal expenses jumped from $306,000 to $599,000.

The RNC has still managed to out-raise the Democratic National Committee during most recent months, records show. But the DNC was more than happy to express a little mock outrage yesterday over the the RNC's latest expenditures.

"If limos, chartered aircraft and sex clubs are where they think their donors money should be spent - who are we to judge?" jabbed DNC spokesman Brad Woodhouse. "But it shouldn't give voters much confidence in Republicans when they say they want to get back in charge of federal spending."

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2010/03/29/2010-03-29_gop_family_values_michael_steeles_rnc_staffers_ran_up_almost_2k_at_strip_club.html#ixzz0jd96sSxV

So Why Hasn't the Sky Fallen on the Commies Who Passed Health Care Yet?

Just before the historic vote on the House floor that would send Health Care Reform to the President's desk, Republican Minority Leader John Boehner of Ohio announced that we were about 24 hours from Armageddon." Yet, it hit me this morning that the sun is still shining.

It wasn't quite as warm as the overheated rhetoric the Republicans hurled at those who wanted reform: "Today we turning back the clock," said Congressman Devin Nunes of California. "For most of the 21st century people have fled the ghosts of communists dictators, [but] with passage of this bill, they will haunt Americans for generations . . . Today Democrats in the House will finally lay the cornerstone of their socialist utopia on the backs of the American people." But, it seemed, the planet would live to see another day, perhaps another year even, before the sulfur and brimstone fell from the sky, the rivers turned to blood, and the United Socialist States of America was founded.

Perhaps this really isn't all that surprising. The Republicans' sooth-saying really isn't all that accurate. In fact, as psychics go, they kinda suck. Just look at the predictions Reagan about the passage of Medicare: "[I]f you don't [stop Medicare] and I don't do it, one of these days, you and I are going to spend our sunset years telling our children and children's children what it was once like in America when men were free." [1961]

This hasn't quite been the case. For even as Republicans sought to undermine Medicare, seniors began to realize its benefits. Since 1965, according to a study from Health Affairs, "the health of the elderly population has improved, as measured by both longevity and functional status." For example, life expectancy at age 65 increased from 14.3 years in 1960 to 17.8 years in 1998, and the chronically disabled elderly population declined from 24.9 percent in 1982 to 21.3 in 1994. Moreover, prior to Medicare, one in three seniors were living in poverty. Today, nearly all seniors have access to affordable care, and only about 14 percent of seniors are below the poverty line.

It is not too much to hope to see these kinds of results for ALL Americans as a result of the passage of health reform. Will the bill create a North American utopia? Probably not. But, the sky isn't going to fall either. And given the choice of the two, I'll stick with progress.

The Pro-Life Far Right at Its Finest

Ok, forget about the threatening signs and the bricks that have been thrown through windows for a moment, and listen the voicemails that Congressman Bart Stupack (a pro-life Democrat) received after voting in favor of health reform.


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18 Good Things about Health Care Reform

1. SMALL BUSINESS TAX CREDITS—Offers tax credits to small businesses to make employee coverage more affordable. Tax credits of up to 35 percent of premiums will be immediately available to firms that choose to offer coverage. Effective beginning for calendar year 2010. (Beginning in 2014, the small business tax credits will cover 50 percent of premiums.)

2. BEGINS TO CLOSE THE MEDICARE PART D DONUT HOLE—Provides a $250 rebate to Medicare beneficiaries who hit the donut hole in 2010. Effective for calendar year 2010. (Beginning in 2011, institutes a 50% discount on brand‐name drugs in the donut hole; also completely closes the donut hole by 2020.)

3. FREE PREVENTIVE CARE UNDER MEDICARE—Eliminates co‐payments for preventive services and exempts preventive services from deductibles under the Medicare program. Effective beginning January 1, 2011.

4. HELP FOR EARLY RETIREES—Creates a temporary re‐insurance program (until the Exchanges are available) to help offset the costs of expensive premiums for employers and retirees for health benefits for retirees age 55‐64. Effective 90 days after enactment.

5. ENDS RESCISSIONS—Bans insurance companies from dropping people from coverage when they get sick. Effective 6 months after enactment.

6. NO DISCRIMINATION AGAINST CHILDREN WITH PRE‐EXISTING CONDITIONS—Prohibits new health plans in all markets plus grandfathered group health plans from denying coverage to children with pre‐existing conditions. Effective 6 months after enactment. (Beginning in 2014, this prohibition would apply to all persons.)

7. BANS LIFETIME LIMITS ON COVERAGE—Prohibits health insurance companies from placing lifetime caps on coverage. Effective 6 months after enactment.

8. BANS RESTRICTIVE ANNUAL LIMITS ON COVERAGE—Tightly restricts the use of annual limits to ensure access to needed care in all new plans and grandfathered group health plans. These tight restrictions will be defined by HHS. Effective 6 months after enactment. (Beginning in 2014, the use of any annual limits would be prohibited for all new plans and grandfathered group health plans.)

9. FREE PREVENTIVE CARE UNDER NEW PRIVATE PLANS—Requires new private plans to cover preventive services with no co‐payments and with preventive services being exempt from deductibles. Effective 6 months after enactment.

10. NEW, INDEPENDENT APPEALS PROCESS—Ensures consumers in new plans have access to an effective internal and external appeals process to appeal decisions by their health insurance plan. Effective 6 months after enactment.

11. ENSURING VALUE FOR PREMIUM PAYMENTS—Requires plans in the individual and small group market to spend 80 percent of premium dollars on medical services, and plans in the large group market to spend 85 percent. Insurers that do not meet these thresholds must provide rebates to policyholders. Effective on January 1, 2011.

12. IMMEDIATE HELP FOR THE UNINSURED UNTIL EXCHANGE IS AVAILABLE (INTERIM HIGH‐RISK POOL)—Provides immediate access to affordable insurance for Americans who are uninsured because of a pre‐existing condition ‐ through a temporary subsidized high‐risk pool. Effective 90 days after enactment.

13. EXTENDS COVERAGE FOR YOUNG PEOPLE UP TO 26TH BIRTHDAY THROUGH PARENTS’ INSURANCE – Requires new health plans and certain grandfathered plans to allow young people up to their 26th birthday to remain on their parents’ insurance policy, at the parents’ choice. Effective 6 months after enactment.

14. COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTERS—Increases funding for Community Health Centers to allow for nearly a doubling of the number of patients seen by the centers over the next 5 years. Effective beginning in fiscal year 2010.

15. INCREASING NUMBER OF PRIMARY CARE DOCTORS—Provides new investment in training programs to increase the number of primary care doctors, nurses, and public health professionals. Effective beginning in fiscal year 2010.

16. PROHIBITING DISCRIMINATION BASED ON SALARY—Prohibits group health plans from establishing any eligibility rules for health care coverage that have the effect of discriminating in favor of higher wage employees. Effective 6 months after enactment.

17. HEALTH INSURANCE CONSUMER INFORMATION—Provides aid to states in establishing offices of health insurance consumer assistance in order to help individuals with the filing of complaints and appeals. Effective beginning in FY 2010.

18. CREATES NEW, VOLUNTARY, PUBLIC LONG‐TERM CARE INSURANCE PROGRAM—Creates a long‐term care insurance program to be financed by voluntary payroll deductions to provide home and community-based services to adults who become functionally disabled. Effective on January 1, 2011.

Tea Party America

Recently, a close friend of mine who is a registered Republican, told me that she was seriously thinking about changing her party affiliation because the Right has become too mean-spirited, even hateful, in its opposition to the Democratic agenda. A glance at the campaign signs carried by Tea Party protesters seeking to "persuade" House members to vote no on comprehensive health reform would seem to bear this out.

Here's a great one that seems to indicate that if conservatives can't win with votes, that they can always shoot those with whom they disagree. Nice.



And don't forget to add a slice of racism:



Changing a party affiliation to disassociate oneself with the people who support these ideas? Makes sense to me.

Cost of Family Health Insurance Plan to Double by 2020 Without Reform

Without health care reform, health insurance premiums could almost double by 2020, according to a report by the Commonwealth Fund, a 90-year-old non-profit health care charity.

According to "Paying the Price: How Health Insurance Premiums Are Eating Up Middle-Class Incomes," employer-sponsored family plans will rise from an average cost of $12,298 in 2008 to $23,842 in 2020 (the same coverage would have cost close to $9,200 in 2003) if health-care costs continue to rise at the current rate.

The study found that:

The rapid rise in health insurance premiums has severely strained U.S. families and employers in recent years. This analysis of federal data finds that if premiums for employer-sponsored insurance grow in each state at the projected national rate of increase, then the average premium for family coverage would rise from $12,298 (the 2008 average) to $23,842 by 2020--a 94 percent increase. However, if health system reforms were able to slow premium growth by 1 percentage point in all states, by 2020 employers and families together would save $2,571 per premium for family coverage, compared with projected trends. If growth could be slowed by 1.5 percentage points--a target recently agreed to by a major industry coalition--yearly savings would equal $3,759. The analysis presents state-by-state data on premium costs for 2003 and 2008, as well as projections, using various assumptions, for costs in 2015 and 2020.

The author of the study, Cathy Shoen, senior vice president of the Commonwealth Fund, said in a news release:

"With health spending projected to double if we stay on our current path, middle- and lower-income families are at high risk of losing their coverage or facing long-term stagnant incomes. Employers and employees share premium costs, but we know that take-home pay and retirement savings are being sacrificed to maintain health benefits. Reforms that slow the growth of health-care costs could go a long way toward health and financial stability for working families."

Employer-based premiums for family coverage increased an average of 33 percent between 2003 and 2008, ranging from a low of 25 percent in Michigan, Texas and Ohio to a high of 45 percent in Indiana and North Carolina.

Click here to see charts from the study.

Healthcare Reform Now . . . Not Later . . . Not Gradually . . . Now!

The Republicans favor an incremental approach--must be all that progress they made during their eight years in power.

This letter, one of thousands the White House receives, has become a speaking point for the President. At it's core is a woman who health care premiums run over $700 a month. For her (like millions of Americans) waiting simply isn't an option.

Here is the text of the letter sent by Natoma Canfield of Medina to President Barack Obama in December, as released by the White House:

Dear President Obama

I am 50 years old. I was diagnosed with carcinoma in-situ 16 years ago and following my divorce 12 years ago I became self-employed. After my Cobra ran out I was able to find costly, but affordable health insurance. As a responsible individual, I have struggled to maintain my individual coverage and have increased my deductible and out of pocket-limits in an attempt to control my cost and keep my health insurance.

Last year (2009) my insurance premium was increased over 25% even though I increased my deductible and out of pocket to the highest limits available. I paid out over $6075.24 in premiums, $2415.26 for medical care, $225 in co-pays and $1500 for prescriptions. I never reached my deductible of $2500 so the insurance company only paid out a total $935.32 to my providers.

I must repeat, in 2009 my insurance company received $6075.24 in premiums and paid out only $935.32! Incredibly I have just been notified that my premium for next year 2010 has been increased over 40% to $8496.24($708.02 per month)!!!! This is the same insurance company I have been with for over 11 cancer free years!!!
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I need your Health reform bill to help me!!! I simply can no longer afford to pay for my health care costs!! Thanks to this incredible premium increase demanded by my insurance company, January will be my last month of insurance.

I live in the house my mother & father built in 1958 and I am so afraid of the possibility I might loose this family heirloom as a result of my being forced to drop my health care insurance. The health insurance industry technically has not denied me insurance directly, but indirectly they have by increasing my costs. They perceive me as becoming a higher risk factor to them despite being a loyal customer. I will never be able to obtain new health insurance due to the lack of real competition.

We are talking about Anthem who apparently has no respect for your attempts to reform the health insurance industry.

Please stay focused in your reform attempts as I and many others are in desperate need of your help.

Sincerely

Natoma Canfield

Bill Maher on Education Reform

Courtesy of the Huffington Post
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bill-maher/new-rule-dont-fire-the-te_b_497554.html

New Rule: Let's not fire the teachers when students don't learn - let's fire the parents. Last week President Obama defended the firing of every single teacher in a struggling high school in a poor Rhode Island neighborhood. And the kids were outraged. They said, "Why blame our teachers?" and "Who's President Obama?" I think it was Whitney Houston who said, "I believe that children are our future - teach them well and let them lead the way." And that's the last sound piece of educational advice this country has gotten - from a crack head in the '80's.

Yes, America has found its new boogeyman to blame for our crumbling educational system. It's just too easy to blame the teachers, what with their cushy teachers' lounges, their fat-cat salaries, and their absolute authority in deciding who gets a hall pass. We all remember high school - canning the entire faculty is a nationwide revenge fantasy. Take that, Mrs. Crabtree! And guess what? We're chewing gum and no, we didn't bring enough for everybody.

But isn't it convenient that once again it turns out that the problem isn't us, and the fix is something that doesn't require us to change our behavior or spend any money. It's so simple: Fire the bad teachers, hire good ones from some undisclosed location, and hey, while we're at it let's cut taxes more. It's the kind of comprehensive educational solution that could only come from a completely ignorant people.

Firing all the teachers may feel good - we're Americans, kicking people when they're down is what we do - but it's not really their fault. Now, undeniably, there are some bad teachers out there. They don't know the material, they don't make things interesting, they have sex with the same kid every day instead of spreading the love around... But every school has crappy teachers. Yale has crappy teachers - they must, they gave us George Bush.

According to all the studies, it doesn't matter what teachers do. Although everyone appreciates foreplay. What matters is what parents do. The number one predictor of a child's academic success is parental involvement. It doesn't even matter if your kid goes to private or public school. So save the twenty grand a year and treat yourself to a nice vacation away from the little bastards.

It's also been proven that just having books in the house makes a huge difference in a child's development. If your home is adorned with nothing but Hummel dolls, DVD's, and bleeding Jesuses, congratulations, you've just given your children the gift of Duh. Sarah Palin said recently she wrote on her hand because her father used to do it. I rest my case.

When there are no books in the house, and there are no parents in the house, you know who raises the kids? That's right, the television. Kids aren't keeping up with their studies; they're keeping up with the Kardashians. We're allowing the television, as babysitter, to turn us into a nation of slutty idiots. By the way, one sign your 9-year-old may be watching too much One Tree Hill: if she has an imaginary friend with benefits.

Do Nothing Repbulicans

From our friends at http://www.ksdp.org/

Kansas Republicans are setting a new bar for legislative lethargy.

First, under their failed leadership the Appropriations Committee has yet to produce any budget-balancing recommendations. Next, not content to simply do nothing some are attempting to nullify the hard work and actions of others through the Freedom From Healthcare Act.

Now, they've stopped showing up to do their job. With so little going on, it was only a matter of time before Republican legislators realized they didn't need to be there to get nothing done. The Topeka Capitol Journal is reporting on the culture of absences and tardiness that GOP leadership has allowed to develop in the state legislature:

“The average senator missed six days out of the possible 94 work days over 1 1/2 legislative sessions. … Three Democrats and 13 Republicans exceeded the Senate average.”

Don’t expect the leaders of the Kansas Republican Party to reform the negligent behavior of their fellow Republicans. During his failed Presidential campaign, Sam Brownback racked up one of the worst attendance records in the US Senate. Throughout his career, House Speaker Mike O’Neal has missed almost 100 days, more than the equivalent of an entire legislative session. With leadership like that it’s no curiosity why GOP attendance has been so bad. Don’t expect O’Neal to reform the do-nothing culture of the legislature as long as he remains speaker.

I've posted a totally hot yearbook of Senator Fro-back, I mean Brownback, for your viewing pleasure.