Via Avedon Carol, this little item from Caltics:

Now it looks like they're moving to up the Hooverite ante, and two of California's powerful federal politicians are at the center of the debate. Sen. Dianne Feinstein is joining 6 other Senators to demand that Speaker Nancy Pelosi approve a commission to recommend cuts to Medicare and Social Security - or else they'll refuse to vote to increase the US government's debt ceiling: ...

Look, I'm totally sure that paying to bail out the insurance companies by cutting Medicare won't have any real effects on old people who are going to die soon anyhow. Especially given this great news:

Senators from both parties on Tuesday put new pressure on Speaker Nancy Pelosi to turn the power to trim entitlement benefits over to an independent commission.

Sens. Conrad, Gregg, Evan Bayh (D-Ind.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), George Voinovich (R-Ohio) and Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) publicly vowed to vote against raising the debt ceiling if a budget reform commission bill doesn't come along with it.

Six others had previously made such threats, bringing the total to 13 senators drawing a hard line on the committee legislation.

“You rarely do have the leverage to make a fundamental change,” [shock doctrine!] said Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), who said he hasn’t ruled out offering the independent commission legislation as an amendment to the healthcare reform bill.

Yay!

Indiana Memorial Union Board to present nonpartisan health care debate with IU professors

WHAT: Nonpartisan health care debate at Indiana University
WHEN: Oct. 26, 7 p.m.
WHERE: Whittenberger Auditorium, Indiana Memorial Union. This event is free and open to the public.

Forum: Voices of Reason for Health Care Reform

The program will be on Thursday October 22 from 7:00-9:00 p.m. at Ivy Tech Community College, in Ivy Hall Auditorium. This event is free and open to the public.

Panelists include:

* James G. Anderson, Ph.D. Purdue University Professor of Medical Sociology; Professor of Health Communication; Fellow, American College of Medical Informatics
* Julia Vaughn, Health Policy Consultant with Citizens Action Coalition of Indiana, member of the Steering Committee of Hoosiers for a Commonsense Health Plan

Health care reform panel set for Thursday night

Participants in the panel discussion include Washington, D.C. resident Donna Smith of the National Nurses Organizing Committee; Rob Stone, a Bloomington, Ind.-based emergency room physician and Indiana coordinator for Physicians for a National Health Program; and William Connolly, a professor of philosophy and religion at the University of Evansville and a member of the steering committee of Hoosiers for a Commonsense Health Plan.