This is a copy of the long reply that Maggie Mahar made to my post "Why Is Maggie Mahar Lying About Health Reform?" at TPMCafe. I've now gone through in turn and posted responses to her statements. I will not have time to do another round of replies, but hopefully this will be enough. I suggest that people show up to the Firedoglake book salon on November 9 and ask her to stop saying that the public "option" is anything at all like "Medicare E (for everyone)."

I am, of course, not lying about Health Care reform.

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On November 9, Maggie Mahar is doing a book salon at Firedoglake on her book Money-Driven Medicine. I think it probably contains many useful facts, and even decided to order it last week from Amazon. For example, it correctly points out that the largest problems in the American health care system today are unnecessary procedures and overpayment for services. However, I now know that I will need to closely scrutinize its every word before accepting it as true. Why will it be hard to take this book at face value? Because Mahar has lately engaged in a complete flight of fancy about the proposed "public option."

That's the kindest explanation I can think of.

Bloggeth the formerly-liberal perfesser a few days ago:

What this suggests is that the really important thing, for reformers, is to get the principle of universality established. Once that happens, there’s no going back.

Yeah, well, I guess it helps if you define universe.

If it were really Medicare for Everybody we would just pass HR 676. Whatever they are talking about, it isn't everybody in, nobody out. Do we have a policy expert that can deconstruct this for us?

Look out Paula! Looks like you've got some competition. Although, I confess to being curious: which of you will be better hunting down embarrassing blog comments posted by your boss' political enemies? Shutting down bloggers focused upon issues the rest of the media ignores? Cause that's really what all this mostly unConstitutional and anti-democratic domestic spying monitoring is all about.

The Democrats are now pushing the public option as "Medicare for Everyone" despite the fact that the public option proposals will not be available to everyone and won't result in universal coverage. The timing of this with the planned scoring of HR 676 is simply shameless.

We said it last summer, now Atrios and Yglesias are saying it. Democrats on Capitol Hill need to turn off the damn TV.

Update: Well, at least they don't hate me because I'm queer. Whew. I feel so much better:

In an email to the Huffington Post on Monday, Harwood clarified that the quote was not meant to convey any displeasure on the part of the administration for the gay community's public advocacy.

"My comments quoting an Obama adviser about liberal bloggers/pajamas weren't about the LGBT community or the marchers," he wrote. "They referred more broadly to those grumbling on the left about an array of issues in addition to gay rights, including the war in Afghanistan and health care and Guantanamo -- and whether all that added up to trouble with Obama's liberal base..."

I have a writing assignment due today. I'm going to make the deadline, but I just looked at the time and I'm sort of amazed at how quickly the morning got away from me. Because I've been reading original sources, analysis and commentary from many different places all morning, and even though I'm a fast reader, it has still taken some time. It's too important to me, a pajama wearing blogger, to check and double source my facts and otherwise make sure what I'm about to write is reality-based and correct, to prepare my pieces any other way.

If I were employed by the mainstream press, I wouldn't have to do any of those things. I could just toss off an anonymously sourced playground insult and add some snotty, insider comment, and call it day.

I wonder if the next Blogger Ethics Conference will have a panel on the latest in fleece and microfiber jammies. I hope so.

Ken Bern's America's National Parks just finished a week long run. The parks are either beautiful or important, The parks were established on Indian land and the Indians living there for millennia were evicted, discarded like old shoes. The parks were not discovered by us; the Indians knew about them and respected them.

Aren't we beautiful and moral people? We can tell evryone how to behave.

AP has the following calming health care reform article: When Medicare is the piggy bank. Rob Peter to pay Blue Cross.

The CBO confirms today my long-held suspicion that the vaunted "public option" is not much more than a high-risk pool and forecasts that premiums will actually be slightly higher than private offerings.

Currently, private health insurance is available via the following mechanisms:



1. Large employer group coverage

2. Small group market (small business)

3. Individual market (self-employed, unattached)
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Beck was brought to Faux because of his ability to be an American version of radio Rwanda. Murdoch is deliberately trying to destabilize our country, what I don’t get is why we are letting him get away with it.

First of all, kudos to all of those who worked on persuading Beck’s advertisers to drop him. Make no mistake, NewsCorp is vulnerable to this sort of tactic.

PhillyBurbs.com

He also repeatedly told seniors that he does not support a Medicare-for-all type health system.

"We can't have a single-payer system," he said. "We can't afford it."

As you know this is a lie. HR 676 would SAVE the taxpayers $400 billion a year.

If you live in Murphy's district, please contact Murphy and tell him that HR 676 would save us $400 billion a year. Please write a letter to the local newspapers explaining the same.

[Welcome, Lubbock bloggers! -- lambert]

The GOP is in retreat across the land. They don't want to admit it, but they are. So they're responding with ratcheting up their rhetoric and trying to dodge the truth via dissembling, distraction, and pretty pictures.

They remind me of academics fighting over whose name goes first on a paper.To give you an example of that kind of infighting: Niall Ferguson and Paul Krugman are feuding.

The tone of the discussion is ... .

One of them is a “poseur”. The other is “patronising”. One suffers from “verbal diarrhoea”. The other is a “whiner”.

A bust-up on the set of High School Musical 4 perhaps? A scrap behind the catwalk at a Milan fashion show? No. Those accusations were slung round in an increasingly bitter public row between two of the world’s most distinguished commentators on global finance and economics, professors Paul Krugman and Niall Ferguson, of Princeton and Harvard, respectively.

It started as an argument about bond prices. But last week it blew up into a row about racism, printing money, spending our way out of recession, and the fate of the global economy.

Nice to see that economists can be as well-behaved as United States Senators.

Perhaps constituents can evolve toward more professional treatment of one another than their Senators and Congressional Representatives indulged themselves in over the slavery that, the North will tell you, provoked the Civil War.
Today, at least, a few of us seemed able to avoid beating each other with sticks on the floor of a town hall meeting to discuss health care reform.

Not that there weren't comments and statements designed to provoke reaction aplenty.

I could cherry-pick the phrasing for the code, but if I give you just one example perhaps you can fill in the rest for yourselves. One pro-Republican audience member summed up his objections to the socialism emanating from Washington this way:

"When you've got a coon up a tree, bark at him!!"

That's Lubbock. In 2009. You can probably find out a fair amount more at lubbockleft.com. I met the blogger from that platform today, and several other progressives, liberals, Democrats, and folks who had questions for Congressman Randy Neugebauer.

A friend of mine pointed out recently that a post which doesn't stir up comment -- and rebuttal -- is an inefficient use of space

Fox Fabricates 'Death Book' for Vets

So when do we start filing complaints with the FCC in a systematic effort to get Murdoch's FCC license pulled? And when do we start to contact his institutional investors and bond holders and suggest that investing in lies might not be consistent with their fiduciary responsibility? When do we start to exact a serious price for this sort of editorial subversion?

The new 'Obamacare' plan that's getting crudely cobbled together right now in Congress features a system of mandates that are supposed to accomplish a number of key goals. These wonderful mandates -- we are told -- 'ensure universal coverage,' and 'drive down costs,' -- by 'preventing individuals and companies from gaming the system.'

Are any of these assessments accurate? Do these mandates actually ensure healthcare for everyone? Can they drive down and/or contain runaway costs in healthcare or lower overhead?

In a word, no.

Or, no - at least, if we are to judge these mandates based on their track record from places they've been previously implemented such as Massachussetts, California, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Maine.

That's according, anyway, to John Geyman, MD, Physicians for a National Health Plan.

So - let's look at some of the facts. . (via Progressive Review)

Is New York Times writer Gail Collins catching on?
Check out the challenges she issues to resident conservative David Brooks:

My version of reality is that:

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I haven't been able to debunk this further than to note that the article the commenter linked to (on which I posted earlier) doesn't cover this claim. So could somebody please tell me where the idea comes from that Universal Health Care will actually discourage people from going to medical school and becoming MDs? I mean, the impression I get is this is soft, greenish-brown, stinky and sticky...

There a many reasons this won’t work, but here’s a big one nobodies talking about:
Under his plan a nurse practitioner (ARNP) is considered the same as a family physician (MD). When you hear the term "Primary Care Provider" please realize Obama means MD OR ARNP. The Primary Care Medical Homes will be staffed by either an MD or ARNP and Obama has legislation in place to grant ARNPs the same privileges, scope of practice as an MD as well as pay them as an MD. On top of this, nurse practitioners are now earning a "Doctor of Nurse Practitioner" license and are legally allowed to refer to themselves as "Doctor" in clinics/hospitals.
Don’t get me wrong, nurse practitioners offer an enormous value wherever they work. They are a wonderful help. BUT, to a young medical student who is under $250,000 in debt and who will accumulate >20,000 hours of supervised training in med school/residence (NP programs are ~500 hours) it feels like we’re cheated to be put in that position.
Med students go into debt big time to just complete medical school. A PhD chemist on the other had makes as much as a general practioner, but get a stipend that covers his living expenses and tuition. You have to be a saint to go into general practice with that kind of debt hanging over your head. Unless the governmetns wants to subsidize the training of general practioners, fewer and fewer med students will be going into that.
"Capitalists tax things. Communists ban or cap things. Bans and caps never work because there’s always a way around them.

The way to stop this is to drastically increase the personal income tax rate on the wealthy, while, simultaneously, drastically lowering the business tax rate. This will discourage the "personal jackpot" mentality and encourage the wealthy to keep their wealth in their business.

I also have this horrific sense that this is something drawn from/about to go "mainstream"

I'm sure you all recall the early days of the NSA Hoovering up all domestic data warrantless wiretapping scandal, when they referred to it as the "Terrorist Surveillance Program" and assured us that they were only targeting Al-Qaeda operatives.

Naturally, this turned out to be a lie enhanced duplicity technique, because it turns out they were spying on all of us everyday American citizens. Nobody was off the target list, and we were all potential Al-Qaeda operatives.

Now, there's a big hubbub about some sketchy CIA assassination ring, apparently answering to Cheney himself. Nobody's willing to talk about the nitty-gritty details, but it's enough to have even Nancy "off the table" Pelosi spooked or pissed off enough to start publicly discussing how fucked-up it was, whatever "it" was.

The public justification for this shadowy, super-classified, apparently reprehensible death squad?

They were only targeting Al-Qaeda operatives.

Yeah, okay, I'm gonna go ahead and call bullshit. Does anyone seriously doubt that what we'll eventually learn is that they formed a group to assassinate American citizens in the National Interest? Consider this, via TPM:

Vince Cannistraro, a former CIA counterterrorism chief, told TPMmuckraker that because we've been in a state of war against al Qaeda since just after September 11, there would have been no need for a secret CIA program that received special legal authorization...

As for what the program did involve, Cannistraro suggested that it involved Americans as targets, and that it went beyond surveillance, but declined to elaborate. He added that, though Cheney may have directly ordered the CIA to keep Congress in the dark, the veep wasn't acting alone. "The approval was from the president," said Cannistraro.

Hmm, I wonder...

The Center for American Regress [yeah, i stole that from paul krugman] Progress has basically been the Third Way In Exile, waiting for the return of [the corporate wing of] the Democratic party.

I sent a complaint letter to John Cornyn over something really outstandingly Cornynish awhile back, and now I regularly get his "updates" in my email.
For a multitude of reasons, I'm one of the voices speaking out to try and stop the panic about "pandemic" influenza. I'm also one of the people who's bemused by the rush to stop calling this "swine flu". (Can't help thinking John Soules Foods, Smithfield, Tyson et. al. are in on the rush to alter the nomenclature; cynical, I am.) So below I'm reproducing, as best I can (you'll need to imagine the "United States Senate" seal fading out through the print midpage) his latest missive. Then I'll add the link for what the CDC says about the flu outbreak. I'm also adding a little information about influenza surveillance in case you're interested. Decide for yourself if Sen. Cornyn is credible, eh?

Update from U.S. Senator John Cornyn Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Update on the H1N1 (Swine Flu) Virus

We are all concerned by recent developments regarding the H1N1 virus, commonly known as the swine flu, and particularly the sad news that the first casualty in the United States was a 23-month-old toddler from Mexico who had travelled to Texas with family. Because there is a lot of fear and misinformation out there, I wanted to take a moment to share with you some facts about the H1N1 flu outbreak and how Texans can best protect themselves.

Cases of the H1N1 flu, while predominantly affecting Mexico, have been confirmed in several states, including Texas. H1N1 viruses do not normally infect humans; however, sporadic human infections with swine flu occasionally do occur. The symptoms of this flu are similar to the symptoms of seasonal flu seen each year.

The H1N1 flu is spread through human contact, so washing your hands often and covering your mouth with a tissue when you sneeze or cough can help you stay healthy. Stay home if you are feeling sick, and avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Heed the advice of your local public health officials.

I have talked with Texas Health Commissioner David Lakey, as well as Governor Rick Perry, who informed me that several local school districts along the border and near San Antonio have made the decision to proactively close several schools as a precautionary measure. As of right now, there are just three known severe cases of the H1N1 virus in the state of Texas.

I have also been briefed by Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano on the situation and I remain in close contact with Homeland Security and federal health officials, along with state and local leaders in Texas. I stand ready to assist the Governor, Commissioner Lakey, and local leaders in any way that I can.

For more information on these and other topics, go directly to my Web site. To view floor speeches, interviews and other video messages from me, please visit my YouTube Channel. To receive additional updates, please select the issues that interest you listed on the right. It’s an honor to serve you in the United States Senate.

Sincerely,

U.S. Senator John Cornyn

Group launches health care offensive

Firing some of the first shots in the coming showdown over health care, a conservative group led by the former owner of the Hospital Corporation of America is beginning a multimillion-dollar campaign Tuesday in opposition to government-run coverage.

Conservatives for Patients Rights is going on TV, radio and the Web in the same week President Barack Obama hosts a health care summit at the White House. The group’s leader, Richard Scott, is hoping a pro-free-market message will rally the right to join the fray on what may be the most hard-fought policy battle in the first year of the new administration.

Here is an excellent observation by the Business Pundit:

"MSM (mainstream media) reports and government announcements leave us with a sense that something is off. We try to assuage our unease with online facts, leaks, and answers. That seeking, combined with the mainstream media’s ineffective communication, opens a portal for opportunistic publicity hounds. Like Hal Turner.

Yesterday, Turner announced that he had obtained leaked “bank stress test reults” (sic) from regulators. He pithily stated that “they are very bad.” "

snip.

Interesting times:

(TPM link)

So, as far as I can tell, Rep. Jane Harman [D-Ca] was conspiring with the Israelis to drop some spy charges in exchange for some lobbying on her behalf, and Alberto Gonzales had an NSA warrantless wiretap™ (wait for it) on her phone and overheard the deal.

In exchange for not investigating, Gonzales asked her to attack the NYT's exposé on (wait for it) NSA warrantless wiretapping. The one she had personally requested be held back until before after the 2004 election (Department of With Democrats Like These, anyone?)

And so she goes free, although the Israelis didn't get her that committee chair she wanted in the first place.

One has to wonder just how much dirt Hoover Gonzales and Rove had on everyone in Washington, and more importantly, how many other favors they blackmailed out of people. And it certainly explains some of those bizarre, neo-Maoist ritual apologies.

Evidently if the lady in question is the Queen of England, and what you give her is a video ipod, yes. Amazing what louts we have dictating our manners, propriety and etiquette in the eighth week of the 44th Presidency, especially when you consider that Bush 43 often gave self-centered gifts to go with his loutish behavior. He got praise for his loutishness, you may recall.