Open thread

My wonderful Cingular phone (aka pocket pc) had a little upgrade it wanted me to add today. It proceeded to wipe my phone clean - all the programs I added, the contacts, the URLs, the tether to my laptop as a modem, everything is gone. Nice. Oh yeah, and I also can't access the Internet anymore via the Web browser or email. I will never understand how regular mortals, who don't have any geek genes in them, are able to make anything work nowadays. Our devices aren't just smarter than us, they're so advanced we can't even get them to work. Ah progress. Read the rest of this post...

LA hospital threatened with closure

CNN recently covered the story of Edith Isabel Rodriguez, who died in the ER of a large LA hospital, even after the family phoned 911 from the lobby of the hospital, begging for help as Edith died on the floor of the ER waiting room. The story reminded me of two visits to a hospital on the Eastern Shore of Maryland when my mother called 911 after my father collapsed during his cancer treatment. Both times the process was painfully delayed as the hospital insisted upon clarifying his health insurance program. He survived both visits, thankfully, though the process triggered enormous stress for my mother and could have endangered his survival. At the time I wondered just how common this was so after following the CNN story, I see that it's common enough.

This story again brings me to my own personal experiences with the health plan in France that the GOP likes to kick around so often. Years ago I was taken to an ER in France and the first thing they did, as treat me and the financial aspects were addressed afterwards. A shocking idea for a hospital, isn't it? Last autumn I had a similar ER experience as an elderly friend in France had to be rushed to the hospital. In both cases, the costs for treatment were dramatically less expensive than what I witness in the US and the actual cost to me was very little, free for my war veteran friend. Navigating bills in France is also a lot easier, not to mention much faster.

Regulators in LA are now considering closing the hospital but again, while extreme, I wonder if such offensive treatment is as limited as some would have us believe. Haven't we all had poor experiences with the modern health care system in the US? Michael Moore has a very valid point in "Sicko" that this is a problem that impacts everyone, Democrats and Republicans alike, East Coast to West Coast and all points in between. As my dad (who was a Republican) used to say, until politicians in Washington have to live with the same miserable health care as the rest of the country, nothing will change. There was recently had a politician out west who lived on food stamps briefly, but to date, I can't remember anyone in politics trying to live through a family health crisis with the same health care as an average American. Let's see who is willing to take on the wrath of Big Health/Big Pharma after "Sicko" reignites this simmering issue. Read the rest of this post...

Hillary beats top GOP candidates in Newsweek poll

(Source: ABC's "This Week")

The issue of Hillary's "electability" comes up pretty often. Interestingly, she beats the other GOP candidates in national polls. But, as Joe always says, you have to look at the state polls to truly get a sense of what's happening (you can win the national vote but still lose the electoral vote, as we all know). Still, this is good news for the Clinton camp, and for all of us should Hillary be the nominee.

And actually, perhaps even more interesting, are the margins of Hillary's victory. Thompson and Romney are GOP favorites, but in the national poll, Hillary trounces them the most. That suggests that the stranglehold that "conservatives" have over the GOP will be a detriment in national elections. Read the rest of this post...

Elizabeth Edwards: "I'm completely comfortable with gay marriage.''

Wow.

Elizabeth Edwards, starring at the kickoff event of San Francisco's signature Gay Pride Parade, came out in support of legalized gay marriage today -- taking a position which she acknowledged is at odds with her husband, presidential candidate John Edwards.

"I don't know why somebody else's marriage has anything to do with me,'' she said. "I'm completely comfortable with gay marriage.''

Compare and contrast:

In 2004, aides to Sen. John F. Kerry (Mass.), the Democratic presidential nominee, were so worried about black voters' feelings about same-sex marriage that they put Bill Clinton on a conference call with 3,000 black pastors so the former president could reassure the pastors that Kerry truly did oppose same-sex marriage.

And contrast a little more:

Democratic political consultant Bob Shrum claims in his new book that during the 2004 elections, Bill Clinton advised John Kerry to support the Federal Marriage Amendment, i.e., the anti-gay amendment to the US Constitution that would have banned gay marriage and vitiated scores of other rights that gay couples may have, including health insurance, inheritance, child custody, parenting, and more. Shrum reports that Kerry refused to endorse the amendment.

I decided to check with Bill Clinton's office and the Kerry-Edwards 2004 campaign to find out if this is true. Here is what I found.

Jay Carson, spokesman for President Clinton told me:

"I checked and it's completely untrue. He never advised John Kerry to support the gay marriage ban President Bush was pushing."

A senior Kerry-Edwards 2004 campaign staffer told me:

"It's definitely true. Newsweek had reported that Clinton had said Kerry should support some of the state [anti-gay] ballot initiatives. Clinton believed it would be this grand master stroke to neutralize Bush's base."

Pillow talk matters. I want my civil rights, I don't want to be on the receiving end of constant triangulation. Mrs. Edwards will be a force for good, at least as it concerns the civil and human rights of gay and lesbian Americans. As much as I like the man, I can't say the same about Mr. Clinton. He's going to be advising Hillary to throw us under the bus. That doesn't mean Hillary will, but her top two advisers have a history of legislative gay-bashing for political gain. That's of legitimate concern. Read the rest of this post...

ABC's Jake Tapper: Romney "fuzzing" description of Mormon religion

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ABC's Jake Tapper explained on THIS WEEK today that GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney is "fuzzing" his description of his Mormon faith in order to make it sound more mainstream to American voters. Tapper also explains why asking about Romney's Mormonism is fair game (basically, because Romney is running as a faith-based candidate, so it's fair to ask him about the faith that he says will influence his judgment). Not to mention, the Republicans routinely judge others by their faith if that faith happens to be Islam (or any version of Christianity that isn't Southern Baptist). What's the difference here? Read the rest of this post...

Edwards attacked for poverty fighting

How dare John Edwards create an organization to fight poverty in a time of war. Instead of setting up an organization to combat poverty in America, he should have been using the state of Massachusetts to fund his trips all over the US to build his political network at great taxpayer expense. Heck, he should have also broken with tradition and traveled to the Vatican to see an archbishop become a cardinal because that could have also helped attract right wing catholic voters.

Take notice of how Democratic candidates who either make money or try to help others are widely criticized but the criticism is much more localized and limited when it is a Republican. Both Romney and Edwards were doing what was/is legal under the law so I find it hypocritical to attack Edwards who was targeting a valid cause, which sure, perhaps it did help keep him networked, but is still targeting a good cause that still needs attention. It seems to me that everyone benefited from the cause and that's OK. Meanwhile, Romney's good cause was naked ambition on the bill of Massachusetts taxpayers, who he now uses as the butt of his jokes when traveling around the country. Did the taxpayers who funded Romney's boondoggles around the US truly see any benefit? Help me understand that point because I don't see it. Save the outrage and attacks for when a real problem shows up, such as pumping billions back to contributors who prosper from the misery of others as we see in Iraq and post-Katrina. Save the criticisms for so-called conservatives that don't hesitate sticking the bill on taxpayers instead of political campaign donations. This attack on Edwards is a yawner. Read the rest of this post...

Sunday Talk Shows Open Thread

Looks like the dominant issue today is immigration. Even Trent "treat them like goats" Lott is making an appearance. The Senate is supposed to finish the immigration this week -- one way or another. Then, they'll start taking votes on Iraq again. Here's the line up:

ABC's "This Week" - Sens. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., and Jeff Sessions, R-Ala.; actor David Hyde Pierce.

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CBS' "Face the Nation" - Former New York Mayor Ed Koch; political consultant Ed Rollins; actor Sam Waterston.

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NBC's "Meet the Press" - Former presidential candidate Pat Buchanan; Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill.

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CNN's "Late Edition" - Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet; Sens. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, and Ron Wyden, D-Ore.; Dennis Ross, former U.S. Mideast envoy; Egyptian Ambassador Nabil Fahmy; Israeli Ambassador Sallai Meridor.

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"Fox News Sunday" - Sens. Trent Lott, R-Miss., and Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.; Cal Ripken Jr., former Baltimore Orioles shortstop.

You know what to do. So do it. Read the rest of this post...

What now for Blair?

He's already mastered the role of Chief Poodle to The Idiot so it's a rather tough act to follow. The normal plans are in order for memoirs - possibly around £5m ($10m) - despite the false outrage at UK soldiers who sold their own memoirs after being captured by Iranian forces and of course, the big speaking tour of America so he can tell right wingers how great the so-called war on terror could be if only people stopped asking questions. How exciting it will be to hear more excuses followed by his apologists telling us how he softened the American plans for war. Sheesh, I only hope he finds a new way of telling everyone how he actually succeeded in moving Bush on issues such as human rights and global warming.

With EU presidency support limited to Sarkozy and Blair holding sparse support at the UN, he's also talking about creating and running some kind of interfaith organization to bridge the delta between world religions. Yes, an interesting theory except for that little disaster in Iraq that makes him about as popular as Bush in the Middle East. Even in the UK, British Muslims are suspicious of the environment that Blair has created, with a majority still believing that the government failed to provide the full truth about the 2005 London bombings, so why would he remotely think his presence will be any better elsewhere?

Even with his soon-coming announcement (or formality) of converting to Catholicism, how genuine is that if he was so afraid to make the change while Prime Minister? His triangulation of everything knows no limits and he is consistently a phony who believes in Tony Blair and nothing else. Blair will live a very comfortable life with his soon-coming earnings and pension, but the Blair-as-savior-to (fill in the blank) is a bore and laughable. Just because he feels guilty for the problems he created doesn't mean he would make a great leader for fixing those problems. Until he decides to accept even a little responsibility, listening to his pompous plans only reinforces the belief that he remains a egotistical fraud and divider. Read the rest of this post...

John Howard continues racist policies in Australia

Australia has a long and painful history of racism related to the Indigenous Australians. Over time, just as the US and other countries have tried addressing racism, the Australian government has made periodic attempts to fix previous or ongoing wrongs. Now that the campaign season is in motion, John Howard, the right wing PM who found it necessary to attack Barak Obama earlier this year about the war and who has been a strong supporter both of Bush and the failed war in Iraq (but not enough to put his money where his mouth is and send more troops) has promoted a plan that is as bizarre as it is paternalistic and racist.

There have been numerous reports lately about widespread pedophilia within Indigenous Australian communities. Howard's response to these reported problems has been to ban alcohol and pornography in those communities. Now I can see how these moves are red meat to the racist right wing of Australia who support Howard but I'm still looking for the specific connections, other than politics. If Howard was proposing a serious program to stop pedophilia, that would be smart and helpful to everyone, but this is a disgusting, cheap diversion that I thought had been left in Australia's ugly past. It also cheapens the seriousness of pedophilia and leaves children susceptible to the problem since it does nothing to address the core problem. Read the rest of this post...