Items from Around the Web 3/21/10

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Heroine of the Hour - The Daily Beast

"Without her, the current bill certainly would not have succeeded. And her achievement is of larger historical significance, as no other speaker in modern times can claim to have done so much to bring to the brink of passage a bill of such broad significance."

GLOW Health Care Reform Congress Nancy Pelosi

Democrats Predict Slim Margin in Health Vote Sunday - NYTimes.com

"House Democrats who had withheld support of the health care legislation because of abortion concerns said Sunday afternoon that they would back the bill, all but assuring that Democrats would have the 216 votes needed for passage."

GLOW Health Care Reform Congress

Throwing Around Epitaphs - Paul Krugman Blog - NYTimes.com

"It sounds as if Rove expects heath reform to pass — and strangely, he doesn’t seem as delighted as he should be if he really believes it will be a political disaster for Democrats."

GLOW Health Care Reform Republican Hypocrisy

Op-Ed Columnist - Is Any Illness Covered by Insurance? - NYTimes.com

"The existing system is preposterous: we rely on insurance companies whose business model is based on accepting premiums from healthy people and devising ways to exclude from coverage those who most desperately need medical care."

GLOW Health Care Reform

Machiavelli and the Struggle for Power in New York | NBC New York

"Machiavelli, the great 16th century Italian philosopher, said that the goal of politics had to be to seize power and hold it -- that there was no room for morality in politics. Machiavelli put it simply: 'Politics have no relation to morals.'

And what’s been happening in New York’s Republican politics certainly sounds Machiavellian."

GLOW 2010 Republican Hypocrisy

Gas-drilling practice to get federal scrutiny | theithacajournal.com | The Ithaca Journal

"A controversial practice to stimulate gas production from the Marcellus Shale is getting a closer look by federal regulators amid concerns over its impact on health and safety.

The Environmental Protection Agency announced Thursday it's beginning the first phases of a multi-year study that will assess the safety of hydraulic fracturing, a process that injects chemical solutions into the ground to fracture shale and release natural gas."

GLOW Energy Environment

Letter to the editor: Supporting Volker will bring more of the same

So three county chairmen plan to support Sen. Dale Volker. He’s been in office for 38 years, and look what we have to show for it.

All three apparently feel that he has reduced our tax burden. Would someone please remind these chairmen that we are the highest-taxed state in the nation and facing a $9 billion deficit. Isn’t it time for some new blood?

John Lincoln

East Aurora

The Buffalo News, March 19th 2010

Items from Around the Web 3/20/10

Saturday, March 20, 2010

Rep. Maurice Hinchey: How We Got Into this Mess: The Legacy of George W. Bush's Fuzzy Math

"Determining just how deep of a hole the Bush administration dug for our country isn't about re-litigating the past. On the contrary, understanding what mistakes were made is essential to ensuring that similar problems do not occur in the future. That is why I've called on the director of the Congressional Budget Office to make a detailed analysis of the fiscal circumstances President Obama inherited when taking office in January of 2009.

The American people deserve a full accounting of the Bush administration's disastrous economic policies that got us into this mess."

GLOW Economy Republican Hypocrisy

Mark Green: On Sunday, Will GOP be on Wrong Side of History Again?

"Republicans warn Democrats about the political downside if Obama-Pelosi win Sunday's vote on Health Care. Actually, it's the GOP that's in a lose-lose -- either the Democrats earn due credit for change or the public will blame the GOP for opposing major social breakthroughs as it so often has.

It's happening again, and for much the same reasons. At the brink of a major social advance, the GOP is standing at the doorway of history shouting STOP! Let the free market status quo continue to screw things up, is in effect the message. Whatever the short-term headlines and polls -- and probably a third of America will buy whatever anti-government rhetoric if offered -- there's a long-term cost to a party that's been so consistently on the wrong side of reform and reality."

GLOW Republican Obstruction

Key appointees at Treasury used as pawns in unrelated legislative battles - washingtonpost.com

"For more than a year, the Treasury Department has grappled with a monumental global economic crisis while many of its most senior people have had to walk out of internal meetings at critical moments and have been barred from joining in-depth exchanges with foreign governments.

That's because the appointments of these officials have been blocked at times by various Republican senators."

GLOW Republican Obstruction Economy

State GOP in turmoil after its chairman backs a Democrat : City of Buffalo : The Buffalo News

"The state Republican Party erupted in turmoil Friday when its chairman stood on the steps of the Capitol in Albany and endorsed Democrat Steve Levy — the Suffolk county executive — for governor. "

GLOW 2010 Republicans

Op-Ed Columnist - Saints Preserve Us - NYTimes.com

"But in 10 years, people will look back in amazement that we once lived in a time when Americans couldn’t get health care coverage if they were sick, when insurance companies could cut off your benefits for being sick, and when run-of-the-mill serious illnesses routinely destroyed families’ financial security."

GLOW President Obama Health Care Reform

Op-Ed Columnist - Could Obama Be Invincible? - NYTimes.com

"This idea that he wants reform 'because it’s the right thing to do' resonates with people. Whether they agree with him or not, they seem to genuinely believe that he has good intentions and that he is, at his base, a good man. This view of him has so penetrated the public that it often goes unspoken.

But, it shows up in the polls, albeit in indirect ways. "

GLOW President Obama Health Care Reform

Obama Tells Congress - Act Soon on Financial Reform - NYTimes.com

"The U.S. needs major changes to its financial system so consumers are better protected, banks fortified and the economy safeguarded from sliding into another Depression, President Barack Obama said Saturday. "

GLOW President Obama Wall Street Reform Economy

Items from Around the Web 3/19/10

Friday, March 19, 2010

Democrats should use Slaughter Solution to pass health care reform | democratandchronicle.com | Democrat and Chronicle

"The debate about health care reform long ago stopped being about health.

Power and politics have hijacked the effort. It's time for Democrats to take control and pass reform."

GLOW Health Care Reform Republican Obstruction

Supporting Volker will bring more of the same : Everybody's Column : The Buffalo News

"So three county chairmen plan to support Sen. Dale Volker. He’s been in office for 38 years, and look what we have to show for it. "

GLOW Volker Albany Dysfunction

Cuomo probes pension padding : City & Region : The Buffalo News

"Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo on Thursday sent letters to 28 local and state agencies throughout New York to determine how overtime is being used — or abused — to increase employee pensions.

Cuomo called pension padding a 'scam' upon taxpayers that’s been going on for decades and needs to stop."

GLOW Andrew Cuomo Taxes

Op-Ed Columnist - Closing Arguments on Health Care - NYTimes.com

"Actually, the proposed reform does more to control health care costs than any previous legislation, paying for expanded coverage by reducing the rate at which Medicare costs will grow, substantially improving Medicare’s long-run financing along the way. And this combination of broader coverage and cost control is no accident: It has long been clear to health-policy experts that these concerns go hand in hand. The United States is the only advanced nation without universal health care, and it also has by far the world’s highest health care costs."

GLOW Health Care Reform

Editorial - In This (or That) Corner, From Long Island - NYTimes.com

"Expect to hear more on those lines as Mr. Levy introduces himself to the state. Some of us already know him well and know that immigration is a complex issue that demands a range of solutions and cool, constructive discussion. Mr. Levy is the last person to offer that."

GLOW 2010 Republican Extremism

Editorial - On the Verge of Health Care Reform - NYTimes.com

"They can then challenge the Republicans — who are refusing as a bloc to support reform — to explain in this fall’s campaign why they are so devoted to a status quo that denies affordable health care to tens of millions of uninsured Americans and means that millions more Americans could be just one layoff away from losing their coverage."

GLOW Health Care Reform Republican Extremism

Video: Intro - Progressivism Is Cancer | The Daily Show | Comedy Central

"If you miss this important show about the cancer that is destroying America, you might die."

If you missed Jon Stewart's dead-on satire of Glenn Beck last night, here it is. It is in two parts.

GLOW Media Republican Extremism Video

303 Highway Improvement Projects Underway or Completed in New York Thanks to Stimulus Law - PRNewswire - Entrepreneur.com

"There are currently 303 American Recovery & Reinvestment Act (ARRA)-financed highway construction projects underway or completed in New York involving $636.6 million in funds, according to data released today by the Washington, D.C.-based American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA). The projects underway or completed have supported or are supporting 17,768 jobs in New York that would otherwise not exist, says ARTBA Vice President of Economics & Research Dr. Bill Buechner."

The article is accompanied by a chart, breaking down the figures by Congressional District. The 26th gets over $43 million dollars, despite the fact that Chris Lee opposed the Stimulus Bill.

GLOW Infrastructure Stimulus Bill Chris Lee Republican Hypocrisy

Coburn Warns Vote-Switchers on Health Care - The Caucus Blog - NYTimes.com

" 'There is no limit to what the other side will do to protect the insurance companies,' Speaker Nancy Pelosi said."

GLOW Health Care Reform Republican Obstruction Republican Extremism

After a Bitter Campaign, Forging an Alliance - NYTimes.com

"Sixteen months after Mr. Obama surprised nearly everyone by picking her as secretary of state, the two have again surprised nearly everyone by forging a credible partnership. Mrs. Clinton has proved to be an eager team player, a tireless defender of the administration."

GLOW President Obama Hillary Clinton Foreign Policy

Pell Grant Increase Proposed - NYTimes.com

"The federal government would provide $36 billion in new financing for Pell grants to needy students over the next 10 years under legislation announced Thursday by Congressional Democrats. "

GLOW Education

Democrats Say Health Bill Will Pay for Itself in the Long Run - NYTimes.com

"House Democrats initiated a 72-hour countdown Thursday on their yearlong effort to overhaul the health care system, unveiling a nearly final version of the legislation that promptly won additional support with a promise that the bill would more than pay for itself over the next decade. "

GLOW Health Care Reform Congress Deficit Reduction

Schumer: NY to get billions under new health bill |

"Sen. Charles Schumer says increased Medicaid reimbursement in the reconciliation health care bill proposed in Washington would save New York billions of dollars over the next 10 years. "

GLOW Health Care Reform Medicaid Schumer

Tom Toles Political Cartoons - The Washington Post - washingtonpost.com

Texas "history" in cartoon form.

GLOW Republican Extremism

Eugene Robinson - Democrats discover the benefits of taking a stand on health reform - washingtonpost.com

"The poll numbers started to turn around when Democratic leaders took a stand. Having the courage of one's convictions: What a concept. "

GLOW Health Care Reform Democrats Republican Hypocrisy

Charles E. Schumer and Lindsey O. Graham - The right way to mend immigration - washingtonpost.com

"The American people deserve more than empty rhetoric and impractical calls for mass deportation. We urge the public and our colleagues to join our bipartisan efforts in enacting these reforms. "

GLOW Schumer Immigration

Tuesday was a big day for the local Dems.

I've been a bit too busy to write about it until now--actually I still am, but if it doesn't get done now it never will. Tuesday was, of course, election day for village posts like the board of trustees and village justice. If you're like me and don't live inside a village, you didn't miss much, but there were several notable wins this year after we failed to make any headway last year.

In Geneseo, the Democratic ticket made a clean sweep, winning reelection for all three of their candidates by margins of roughly three to two. Nunda narrowly lost a Democratic trustee by a margin of 21 votes (out of more than 300 cast), but Corfu and Leroy both had victories of Democratic challengers for trustee seats over Republican incumbents.

And on top of that, Tuesday was the day of the special election down in New York City to insure that the disgraced wretch, repeat party switcher, and convicted criminal Hiram Monserrate didn't get his seat back--he was defeated handily by then Assemblyman, now Senator, Jose Peralta. Good riddance.