The right-wing media, the voices of the GOP, in overdrive to kill health care

I linked to this video in the post below about Obama's conference call with the bloggers. But, it really deserves its own post. The GOP's extreme noise machine is in overdrive trying to kill health care reform. Rush, Hannity, Kristol, Ingram...these people are just out-of-control. And, while it goes without saying that they're lying, it's still shocking to hear just how far they go.

This is what we're up against in the health care reform debate. These are the voices of the GOP. Read More......

House Democrats outraised their Republican counterparts in June by a 2 to 1 margin

This is good news. Now Democrats need to show us why we should be happy that they're in power. Read More......

Official House GOP Website Promoting Video Of Rep Saying Obama’s Mom Might Have Aborted Him

No matter how bad our guys are, their guys are always worse. Read More......

Obama's conference call with bloggers on health care reform

As we've noted throughout the day, the pace is really picking up around the health care reform debate. And, the President is becoming much more engaged. Around 5:30 pm, Obama had on a on-the-record conference call with progressive bloggers. He was joined at the White House by David Axelrod, Nancy Anne DeParle and the White House online guy, Jesse Lee. This was Obama's first serious interaction with the progressive blogosphere. And, yes, AMERICAblog got invited. I joined to the call for us. Anyone who reads this blog knows that health care reform is a key issue for both John and me -- and we want real reform to pass.

The President gave brief remarks about the health care reform debate, noting that the blogs can cut through the conventional wisdom and debunk the myths about this legislative battle. (Yes, we can and we do.) Obama wants to keep up the pressure on Members of Congress, because the default position in DC is "inertia." That's true. But, Obama and Axelrod seem keenly aware that the operating position of the GOP is to defeat health care reform. Both mentioned the comment made by Senator DeMint about health care being Obama's "Waterloo." I'll link to the transcript when it becomes available.

Obama took questions from John Amato from Crooks and Liars, Jonathan Singer from MyDD, David Dayen from D-Day, Cheryl Contee from Jack and Jill Politics, Gerald Weinand, formerly of Turn Maine Blue who launches DirigoBlue.com later tonight (what a way to start), and Joan McCarter from DailyKos. The questions covered a range of topics. Cheryl asked if the public option would cover the self-employed and small businesses. Obama responded that those would be "primary beneficiaries of the public option." McJoan noted that some on the Senate Finance Committee were still working on a "co-op" (which would substitute for a public option.) Obama didn't seem convinced, noting co-ops are "hard to get off the ground." He added, a "robust public option is the best way to go."

Before he left, the President mentioned his criteria for reform: Does it cover all Americans; Will it drive down costs over the long-term; Will it improve quality; Are prevention and wellness included; Does it contain insurance reforms on issues like pre-existing conditions; does it provide relief to small business; and, is there a serious public option. He warned that the different bills coming from the House and Senate may not have all of those provisions, but the conference committee will be critical.

I didn't get a question to Obama, but asked Axelrod, who stayed on the call along with DeParle, when they're going to give up on bipartisanship -- especially since we know the GOP's agenda is to kill reform. I noted that both he and the President quoted DeMint. Axelrod also mentioned Bill Kristol's column telling Republicans to "kill it" (captured along with other right wing rants on this video.) Axelrod maintained there were still a few GOPers who didn't listen to Kristol, but added, "Ultimately, the goal is to get fundamental reform." It is. And, the GOP's goal is to kill reform to damage Obama and the Democratic Party -- even if that means great damage to the American people.

The White House appears to be pulling out all the stops. Read More......

“This is not the way things should be in America”

Where are the senators from South Carolina?

After 25 years with the same company, Andy Stark lost his job and his health insurance.

While he found other work, it paid 30 percent less and had no benefits.

Then his wife got cancer.

Now the Simpsonville couple is struggling to pay medical bills they expect will total about $140,000.

“This is not the way things should be in America,” Andy Stark said.

Read More......

RNC chair Steele calls Obama's health care proposal "socialism"

No, socialism is being beholden to some bureaucrat at Blue Cross who denies everything, and can't even give you a straight answer as to whether an emergency is covered or not (more on that separate, and new, Blue Cross horror story later). Read More......

Is the GOP baiting Obama into taking ownership of the lousy economy Bush gave him?

Greg Sargent says that's exactly their plan:

When Barack Obama took ownership of the ailing economy the other day by saying, “give it to me,” grabbing the attention of the political world, the President was following a well-thought-out plan.

A plan thought out by House Republicans, that is.

According to a senior House GOP aide, GOP Rep Eric Cantor has deliberately been using the phrase “Obama’s economy” again and again in recent weeks in hopes of realizing a specific political goal: Baiting Obama into to making the economy his own.

Cantor has been steadily using the phrase since at least the beginning of June. He used it most recently on July 11th, during the GOP’s national radio address, saying: “Simply put, this is now President Obama’s economy and the American people are beginning to question whether his policies are working.”

Several days later, Obama said: “I love those folks who helped get us in this mess and now say, ‘This is Obama’s economy,’ That’s fine. Give it to me.”

That was what Cantor’s office was hoping for all along...

Read More......

Afraid of rationing health care? Blue Cross just did it to me.

Surprise! CareFirst Blue Cross Blue Shield has cut me off again. You'll recall that last year Blue Cross stopped covering my prescriptions for the year at the end of October because my asthma pushed them beyond their $1500 annual limit. You'll also recall that I discovered at that time that my "best you can buy" self-employed insurance with Blue Cross has been offering me the same annual prescription drug limit, $1500, since 1997 when I started with their coverage - yes, the amount never goes up, in spite of inflation and rising drug prices, and in spite of the fact that my premium just went up around 25%.

This time, CareFirst Blue Cross is refusing to cover a prescription that they've been covering for a year now because, suddenly, after I spent $120 on the prescription to get enough to cover my time house-sitting for Chris and his wife while they're on vacation, Blue Cross has decided that my prescription isn't "medically necessary."

Let me explain what this prescription is.

It's called hydroxyzine. It's for itching. In my case, it's not itching as in, "gosh, my ankle itches, I think I'll scratch it." It's allergy-induced itching that wakes you up in the middle of the night and feels as if you have a thousand insects crawling on your scalp and other body parts. You literally wake up scratching your head, without even realizing you're doing it, that's how bad it is.

It's been getting worse every year. That's why I finally started taking allergy shots last year, in the hopes of beating it. And, at the same time, I found out that my allergies were inducing asthma. And not just, oh take a puff and get over it asthma, but the kind that was running the risk of permanently reducing my lung capacity - I believe the quote from the nurse was, if we don't get this under control you'll be walking around with an oxygen tank in twenty years.

Anyway, now you know what we're dealing with.

So, over the years, as the itching grew worse. At first, over the counter chlorpheniramine maleate helped. But then, as the itching grew worse, it stopped helping. A variety of doctors, including allergy and asthma specialists, have prescribed everything under the sun to stop it. They prescribed Zyrtec, and Claritin, Clarinex and Singulair, Xyzol and Allergra, and I'm sure a few more drugs I'm not remembering at this moment. Nothing seemed to get the itching under control. Until they prescribed hydroxyzine.

Hydroxzyine is the only drug that has significantly helped alleviate the itching.

And Blue Cross just cut me off. They say my hydroxzyine isn't medically necessary. You see, a Dr. James King, sitting in Baltimore, who has never met me, and doesn't even have access to the files my three different doctors have on me, has decided that, on reviewing my file (well, on reviewing whatever he actually has there in Baltimore), that my two specialists and general practitioner are wrong.

But the good news is that I can file an appeal with the faceless bureaucrat who cut me off. And who gets to decide my appeal? The same faceless bureaucrats at Blue Cross. At least with a federal medical plan, if a faceless bureaucrat cuts you off you can write to your congressman. Now all I have is some guy in Baltimore who's never even met me, and works for a company whose incentive is to deny me coverage in order to save money.

And they say we don't ration health care in America.

And remember, I'm one of the guys with "good" health coverage. The system is broken. For all of us. Pam follows up with some of her health care horror stories. What are some of yours? Read More......

What were they thinking?

Incredibly stupid.

The Treasury Department is scrapping plans to hire a cartoonist to lighten the mood of its employees who manage the nation's $1.2 trillion debt, after a senator questioned its merits.

The cartoonist would have been hired by Treasury's Bureau of Public Debt, which accounts for borrowed federal spending, at a time Congress is embroiled in a debate about increased government spending.

"Our training staff felt that at a time when employees are working extra hours, it might have been helpful," said Kim Treat, a spokesman for the bureau.

Read More......

The Washington Post underestimates, and misunderstands, the president's power to lead

Today's Washington Post editorial on "Don't Ask Don't Tell" suggests that President Obama should sit back and wait until Congress finally decides, if ever, to act on repealing the military's gay ban. While Joe and I appreciate that AMERICAblog got a mention in the editorial, we don't appreciate the Post's narrow-minded view of the president as little more than a figurehead. America's Queen, as it were. Don't get me wrong, Joe and I love a good queen, but when it comes to our presidents, we prefer someone who leads. I get into this much more, including how Obama is finally (thankfully) taking the lead on the health care debate, in our new gay section. Read More......

Obama to meet with President-Prophet of Mormon Church (which baptized his mother last year )

Today, Barack Obama is meeting with the President-Prophet of the Mormon Church, Thomas Monson. This is how that meeting appears on the White House guidance for today:

The President will meet with Senate Majority Leader Reid and Latter-Day Saints Church President Monson. This meeting is closed press.

As we reported in May, the Mormon Church posthumously baptized Obama's mother, Stanley Anne Dunham last year. Mormons do that. They baptize your relatives, without your knowledge or permission, after they're dead - in order to forcibly convert them to the Mormon faith. Seriously.

Jake Tapper, from ABC News, got confirmation last May from Mormon headquarters - they did in fact baptize Obama's mother last summer:

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints confirmed Tuesday afternoon that someone improperly, posthumously baptized the late mother of President Obama into the Mormon faith.

Last June 4 -- the day after then-Sen. Obama secured enough delegates to win the Democratic presidential nominee -- someone had the president's mother Stanley Ann Dunham, who died in 1995 of cancer, baptized.

On June 11, she received the endowment.

The White House had no comment.

The baptism and endowment which appear on FamilySearch.org, the LDS Church's genealogical site, were first reported by John Aravosis at the liberal Americablog.

So, Obama and Monson should have plenty to discuss. Read More......

Commercial real estate shows more trouble

Hitting 20 year high failures shouldn't be much of a problem for the banks since they all have flashy numbers and are shoveling out massive bonuses again. Besides, this market segment only represents 13% of the GDP who who would really notice? The banks have been saved, so Mission Accomplished.

Commercial mortgages at U.S. banks have been failing at the fastest rate in nearly 20 years, the Wall Street Journal said, citing its own analysis.

Losses on loans used to finance commercial spaces would possibly reach about $30 billion by the end of 2009 at the current rate, the article said.

Read More......

Obama is going to take the lead on health care reform. Finally.

Two articles on the front page of today's Washington Post highlight the increasing focus on Obama and health care reform. First, the Washington Post-ABC News poll:

Since April, approval of Obama's handling of health care has dropped from 57 percent to 49 percent, with disapproval rising from 29 percent to 44 percent. Obama still maintains a large advantage over congressional Republicans in terms of public trust on the issue, even as the GOP has closed the gap.

One wonders, at least I wonder, if this drop is because Obama hasn't taken a strong leadership role in the health care debate, yet. That's going to change this week:

With skepticism about the president's health-care reform effort mounting on Capitol Hill -- even within his own party -- the White House has launched a new phase of its strategy designed to dramatically increase public pressure on Congress: all Obama, all the time.

Senior White House aides promise "an aggressive public and private schedule" for Obama as he presses his case for reform, including a prime-time news conference on Wednesday, a trip to Cleveland, and heavy use of Internet video to broadcast his message beyond the reach of the traditional media.

"Our strategy has been to allow this process to advance to the point where it made sense for the president to take the baton. Now's that time," said senior adviser David Axelrod. "I don't know whether he will Twitter or tweet. But he's going to be very, very visible."

Another senior White House aide added: "It's time to raise the stakes on this."

Duh. Good to know the brain trust at the White House figured that out.

It's crunch time and the President needs to lead.

Absent from the Post's analysis of the health care situation is what's really going on up on Capitol Hill. From several trusted sources, I've been told that the insurance industry is in overdrive. There is an army of insurance company lobbyists roaming the halls of Congress. Many are former members of Congress and former staffers to key members in the health care debate. The insurance industry has hired lobbyists at almost every major firm in DC, meaning those firms can't be retained to work for reform. If this is an inside game, the insurance industry owns the playing field. Many members of Congress are will to do the insurance industry's dirty work. That includes all the GOPers and most of the Blue Dogs. That's why Obama has to take this debate outside of Capitol Hill.

It is time to really raise the stakes. This is it. Read More......

Monday Morning Open Thread

Good morning.

The health care battle is fully engaged. The TODAY Show just did a two-minute piece using the GOP talking point, "What's the Rush?" I wouldn't expect people who have very good health insurance to understand the rush. But, that's part of what we're up against. Members of Congress and their staffs have excellent coverage, as do most of the traditional media types and all of the insurance industry lobbyists. I doubt Rep. Mike Ross (D-AR), who is leading the effort to kill reform in the House Energy anc Commerce Committee, has spent too much time haggling with insurance company bureaucrats. (Shortly after its brief health care report, The TODAY Show then launched into over six minutes of back-to-back reports on Michael Jackson and Paula Abdul. Yeah, what's the rush?)

In addition to pushing health care reform, your president is meeting with the President-Prophet of the Mormon Church today.

What else? Read More......

China's internal credit bubble receives warning

How bad does it have to be for any public official to speak out openly about such an economic problem in China? It sounds quite similar to the bubbles we've experienced in the West and it could explain some of the surprisingly high (though doubtfully true) figures out of China in recent months. The West is certainly no stranger to real estate bubbles and we know how that worked out. Juicing the economy to hide other problems only creates new problems.

China's top banking regulator on Sunday warned of the risks from surging bank lending, singling out the dangers of unhealthy growth in the property market.

"(We) must control the risk of real estate loans," said Liu Mingkang, the head of the China Banking Regulatory Commission, adding that measures must be taken to better evaluate the creditworthiness of borrowers.

Liu said bank lending had helped stabilize the economy so far but made one of his strongest calls yet to banks to guard against taking excessive risks.

Read More......

Frank McCourt died

The author of "Angela's Ashes" was only 78.

Frank McCourt had spent many years working as a school teacher in the US, and enjoyed fame only after retirement with the publication of Angela's Ashes in 1996. The book was instantly popular with both critics and readers, winning a Pulitzer Prize and selling millions of copies. A film adaptation was released in 1999 starring Robert Carlyle and Emily Watson. He also wrote two further autobiographical works, 'Tis and Teacher Man.

"Worse than the ordinary miserable childhood is the miserable Irish childhood, and worse yet is the miserable Irish Catholic childhood," was the unforgettable opening to Angela's Ashes. As he described in the book, he was born in Brooklyn, New York City, on 19 August 1930, the eldest of seven siblings. The family moved back to Limerick, Ireland, shortly after the death of his sister Margaret in 1935, when she was just a few weeks old.

Read More......

Only in Italy

Regardless of what anyone thinks about the Pope, this is pretty funny. The Guardian:

But the patrol that pulled over a Ford Fiesta on Friday doing 112mph was surprised to find at the wheel a 56-year-old nun who claimed she needed to be at the pope's side after the pontiff lost his balance in the bathroom and broke his wrist.

In the back were two fellow Salesian nuns, aged 65 and 78, who had jumped in the car in Turin when news broke of Pope Benedict's fall near Aosta, where he is spending his summer holiday.

"The police were shocked to find three nuns of a certain age in the Fiesta," confessed the nun, named only as AM. "But we were afraid of getting there late. I know you shouldn't go so fast, but the news of his Holiness's injury had made us truly anxious."

The pope underwent surgery on Friday and was able to hold a blessing on Sunday with his right wrist in plaster.

The police chose not to forgive the nun, pointing out that she was 30mph over the limit. They suspended her licence for a month and issued a €375 (£323) fine. But AM is a "determined sort", said her lawyer, Anna Orecchioni.

Read More......