Slide Show Readers shared their thoughts on this article.
Where Everybody Knows You're Numb
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Thaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat's right. 
| Rick Scott gave up a lucrative career as a health industry CEO after being forced to resign amidst the largest Medicare fraud settlement in history.* He went on to found Conservatives for Patients' Rights, a swiftboat-style campaign to kill Obamacare. He was even a featured speaker at his local Tea Party protest! Rick is one of our favorites. * He was totally going to quit that job, anyway. |
| Zach Wamp wears many different hats. He was elected to Congress by the people of Tennessee, but he spends most of his time running for governor and saying crazy things being awesome. He, like us, firmly believes health care is a privilege, not a right. |
| Glenn Beck is ushering in a new era of fear mongering and histrionics every weeknight on his self-titled Fox News show. We basically wrote our health care platform by copy-and-pasting from transcripts of his show. Glenns hobbies include hunting for socialists, building giant props for his show, and crying. |
| Betsey McCaughey served one term as Lieutenant Governor of New York under Governor Pataki, but was not invited back on the ticket when the Gov. sought re-election. Despite that little setback and a failed run for governor Betsey has established a lucrative career with the Hudson Institute, a conservative think tank that receives massive funding from giant health care corporations. She is the go-to person when the health industry needs an op-ed article written in a major newspaper. |
| The Chamber of Commerce is our secret weapon. When people think of the Chamber, they think of the business owners in their community. But what they dont know is that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is a massive lobbying organization that spends most of its time fighting pro-consumer legislation and lining the pockets of giant corporations. The Chamber has been in the anti-health care reform game for years. Whenever we get blue, we check out this little sampling of their greatest hits over a glass of scotch. Cheers us right up. |
| Most people know Rush Limbaugh as one of the countrys foremost experts on prescription drugs. But Rush is playing a much bigger role in the health care debate than that. Every day he educates his 20 million listeners on the finer points of Obamacare, like the little known tidbit that once this plan passes the government will be able to tell you not only what kind of car to drive but what kind of TV to purchase. Rush will never let the facts get in the way of scaring the bejeezus out of his listeners. |
| John Goodman is the President and CEO of the National Center for Policy Analysis, a think tank dedicated to defeating Obamacare, ending the Family Medical Leave Act, and destroying Social(ist) Security. He also runs a cyber organizing operation called a "blog" that tells us everything we need to know about Obamacare at research time. Which is all to say, when it comes to health policy, hes the Dan to our Rosanne. |
Latest Twitters:
- Healthcare is perfect the way it is. We're working 2 get that same level of perfection w/private fire depts http://tinyurl.com/ma734o #haarm about an hour ago
- Welcome visitors from @americablog. You are responsible for the demise of this great country. #haarm about 13 hours ago
- ARGH. We've been out-fear mongered by @cprights' latest ad YET AGAIN. They are so clever with the ""truth"" about HC reform. #haarm about 19 hours ago
- Over 10,000 crazies in DC demanding affordable HC today. Disgusting. #HAARM holding our own rally next week w/over 1mill ppl! #healthcare09 about 22 hours ago
- Having the cable company block ABC from my TV as we speak. Here's the town hall you SHOULD be watching. http://tinyurl.com/ly4euw #HAARM 1 day ago
viva le tour
July 4, 2009
and so begins one of the greatest sporting events of all time. Being there in person remains high on my 'to do' list. Deciding a venue(s) would be the challenge of a lifetime thou ... what a beautiful country.Tour de France 2009
One of these years I'm doing it :)
michael jackson dead
June 25, 2009
King Of Pop Rushed To L.A. Hospital After 911 CallFont size Print Share 37 Comments
PHOTOMichael Jackson, shown announcing that he will play 10 concerts, in March. (AP Photo/Joel Ryan)
INTERACTIVEMichael JacksonThe pop icon's career has gone from moonwalk to perp walk and back.
There are conflicting reports about whether or not Michael Jackson has died. While the entertainment Web site TMZ.com has reported his death, the Los Angeles Times is reporting the pop star is in a coma and family have are arriving at his bedside.
CBS News has not confirmed Jackson's death, but the Los Angeles Fire Department Thursday confirmed that he was rushed to UCLA Medical Center, reports KCBS in Los Angeles.
Jackson was not breathing when paramedics arrived.
Capt. Steve Ruda said paramedics responded to a call at Jackson's home around 12:26 p.m. The paramedics performed CPR and took him to UCLA Medical Center, Ruda told The Los Angeles Times.
The emergency entrance at the UCLA Medical Center, which is near Jackson's rented home, was roped off Thursday with police tape.
News trucks were gathered, helicopters flew overhead, and orange cones were laid out to redirect traffic.
"We have no statements as far as transporting Michael Jackson,'' Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Devin Gales said.
-- Edited by My Turn on Thursday 25th of June 2009 03:33:16 PM
a good news bad news sort of day
June 25, 2009
the good news. i was wogging with one of my daughters a couple of weeks ago and noticed a mole on her back that looked suspicious to me. the kid is red haired and very fair and as much as i have stomped the sunscreen message into her shes succumbed to the i want a tan thing just like everybody else her age. the bad news for her is that she has no health coverage. well, thats not exactly true since she purchased some after this discovery but they are charging her 1/4 of her income for it and it doesnt go into effect til mid july and even then she has to pay the first 2500. out of pocket. but the good news is that we went online and found a free skin cancer screening near to where she lives and i took her this afternoon and all is well. the mole in question is "normal". i still want her to have it removed dammit. but the visions i was having of her spending the rest of her life paying for melanoma treatment, or worse, dying from not receiving adequate treatment, are soothed for the time being. i really hope that this administration comes up with a health care plan soon. its the standard these days for employers to not offer coverage and so many people her age are without it. oh and did i mention that they raised her rates after acceptance because shes of child bearing age? yep, they raised the rates by 50 percent over the advertised price. blech.the bad news is that my car wasnt so lucky. coming back from the y the other day it started making some serious metal on metal kinds of noise so i limped it home and had it towed to the mechanic. the good news here is that he only charged me 29 dollars to replace a belt and change the oil and diagnose the problem. the bad news is that the major problem is that the ac compressor went kaput because the belt broke and took out some small pin and it will be over a thou to fix it. this is the commuter car and its pushing 190k now so that kind of investment aint happening. the good news here is that it doesnt effect its drivability only the ac. so the choices im left with are to sell it and get a new one, or live with it and replace it by next summer or get a portable car ac and try that. the mechanic tells me that cabelas makes one that sells for 80 dollars tho he has no idea if they work or not. i wish there were solar car air conditioners. ive heard the new prius has a solar powered heating and ac system so maybe there is. what i do know is that the humidity here has been so high that the thought of driving 75 miles each way to work without it in rush hour traffic is nausea inducing. the good news tho is that the cash for clunker voucher program made it thru congress and should be available any day. im gonna look into this. i wonder how much a stripped prius costs? my jobs situations all seem a bit precarious these days tho so far so good but im reluctant to lease or take a car loan out but getting handed a voucher for 4500 seems too good to pass up. i agree with the guy in the saturn commercial who says that the ads by car companies to take back your car of you get laid off sounds like the worst day ever to him. can you imagine that scenario? heck id consider that saturn but i think the guy in the ad was laid off too when the saturn division folded:)
im thinking they need to stop taking the philosophy courses
June 29, 2009
Parents Won't Say if Tot Is Boy or Girl
AOL News
(June 29) - A Swedish couple's decision to keep their toddler's gender a secret is stirring debate, especially now that the parents are expecting a second child.
"Pop" is 2 ½ years old, but so far only those who change the child's diapers know whether the youngster is a boy or a girl, TheLocal.se, an English-language site for Swedish news, said last week.
Skip over this content Back in March, the parents gave an interview to the Svenska Dagbladet newspaper, saying they decided not to reveal their child's sex because they believe gender is a social construction.
"We want Pop to grow up more freely and avoid being forced into a specific gender mold from the outset," said the childs mother, "Nora." (The paper used fake names for the entire family to protect their privacy.)
"It's cruel to bring a child into the world with a blue or pink stamp on their forehead," the mother said.
The parents, both 24 years old, said they never use personal pronouns when referring to the child. They just say "Pop."
The tot wears everything from dresses to pants, and Pop is usually the one who decides what to wear on any given morning. Pop's hairstyle is also changed on a regular basis, so it doesnt provide any clues.
Swedish gender equality expert Kristina Henkel told The Local that the experiment could make Pop a stronger person, since he or she wont be subject to gender stereotypes.
Skip over this content "Girls are told they are cute in their dresses, and boys are told they are cool with their car toys. But if you give them no gender they will be seen more as a human or not a stereotype as a boy or girl," said Henkel.
But Toronto psychologist Susan Pinker, author of the book 'The Sexual Paradox,' said keeping a child's sex a secret is a really bad idea.
"Ignoring children's natures simply doesn't work," she said. "Child-rearing should not be about providing an opportunity to prove an ideological point, but about responding to each child's needs as an individual."
Pinker said the truth is bound to come out when Pop starts school. But Pop's parents say they will only reveal the childs sex when Pop decides it is time.
"The kid is too young to decide anything on its own. Someone please rescue the kid from its crazy parents," wrote one poster on The Local's comment boards.
But others thought the parents were doing the right thing.
"They're actually thinking about how they're raising their child rather than just going along with what society expects, which, in my opinion, is much better than the majority of people who raise their kids to fit their own vision of what they think their kids should be," another poster wrote.
resistance is futile...or is it?
July 2, 2009
U.S. Nuns Facing Vatican Scrutiny
James Estrin/The New York Times
Mother Mary Clare Millea has been appointed by the Vatican to study the activities of some orders of nuns in the United States.
The Vatican is quietly conducting two sweeping investigations of American nuns, a development that has startled and dismayed nuns who fear they are the targets of a doctrinal inquisition.
Skip to next paragraph 
Jim Wilson/The New York Times
Sister Sandra M. Schneiders has urged fellow nuns not to participate in the study that is being conducted by the Vatican.
Readers' Comments
Share your thoughts.
Nuns were the often-unsung workers who helped build the Roman Catholic Church in this country, planting schools and hospitals and keeping parishes humming. But for the last three decades, their numbers have been declining to 60,000 today from 180,000 in 1965.
While some nuns say they are grateful that the Vatican is finally paying attention to their dwindling communities, many fear that the real motivation is to reel in American nuns who have reinterpreted their calling for the modern world.
In the last four decades since the reforms of the Second Vatican Council, many American nuns stopped wearing religious habits, left convents to live independently and went into new lines of work: academia and other professions, social and political advocacy and grass-roots organizations that serve the poor or promote spirituality. A few nuns have also been active in organizations that advocate changes in the church like ordaining women and married men as priests.
Some sisters surmise that the Vatican and even some American bishops are trying to shift them back into living in convents, wearing habits or at least identifiable religious garb, ordering their schedules around daily prayers and working primarily in Roman Catholic institutions, like schools and hospitals.
They think of us as an ecclesiastical work force, said Sister Sandra M. Schneiders, professor emerita of New Testament and spirituality at the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley, in California. Whereas we are religious, were living the life of total dedication to Christ, and out of that flows a profound concern for the good of all humanity. So our vision of our lives, and their vision of us as a work force, are just not on the same planet.
The more extensive of the two investigations is called an Apostolic Visitation, and the Vatican has provided only a vague rationale for it: to look into the quality of the life of womens religious institutes. The visitation is being conducted by Mother Mary Clare Millea, an apple-cheeked American with a black habit and smiling eyes, who is the superior general of her order, the Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and lives in Rome.
In an interview in a formal sitting room at her orders United States headquarters in Hamden, Conn., Mother Clare said she had already met one-on-one with 127 superiors general of womens orders, many in that room but also in Chicago, Los Angeles, Rome and St. Louis. She is preparing questionnaires to send to each congregation of women and recruiting teams of investigators, mostly nuns and some priests, who will make visits to congregations that she selects. The visitation focuses only on nuns actively engaged in working in society and the church, not cloistered, contemplative nuns.
Mother Clares task is to prepare a confidential report to the Vatican on the state of each of about 340 qualified congregations of nuns in the United States, as well as a summary with her recommendations, all of which she hopes to complete by mid-2011.
The investigation was ordered by Cardinal Franc Rodé, head of the Vatican office that deals with religious orders. In a speech in Massachusetts last year, Cardinal Rodé offered barbed criticism of some American nuns who have opted for ways that take them outside the church.
Given this backdrop, Sister Schneiders, the professor in Berkeley, urged her fellow sisters not to cooperate with the visitation, saying the investigators should be treated as uninvited guests who should be received in the parlor, not given the run of the house. She wrote this in a private e-mail message to a few friends, but it became public and was widely circulated.
Mother Clare said she was aware that some womens institutes werent happy to hear of the visitation, but that so far about 55 percent had responded in person or in writing.
Its an opportunity for us to re-evaluate ourselves, to make our reality known and also to be challenged to live authentically who we say we are, she said.
Each congregation of nuns will be evaluated based on how well they are living in fidelity both to their congregations own internal norms and constitution, and to the churchs guidelines for religious life, Mother Clare said. For instance, if a congregations stated mission is to serve youth, are the nuns doing that? If they do not live in a convent, are they attending Mass and keeping the sacraments? Are their superiors exercising adequate supervision?
Theres no intention to make us all identical, she said.
Church historians said that the Vatican usually ordered an apostolic visitation when a particular institution had gone seriously astray. In the wake of the priest sexual-abuse scandal, the Vatican ordered a visitation of American seminaries. It is now conducting a visitation of the Legionaries of Christ, a mens order whose founder, the Rev. Marcial Maciel Degollado, sexually abused young seminarians, fathered a child and was accused of financial improprieties. He died in 2008.
But the investigation of American nuns surprised many because there was no obvious precipitating cause.
woo hoo india!
July 2, 2009
Indian Court Overturns Gay Sex Ban
Adnan Abidi/Reuters
Gay rights activists celebrated during a rally in New Delhi on Thursday after the citys highest court decriminalized homosexuality.
NEW DELHI In a landmark ruling Thursday that could usher in an era of greater freedom for gay men and lesbians in India, New Delhis highest court decriminalized homosexuality.
The inclusiveness that Indian society traditionally displayed, literally in every aspect of life, is manifest in recognizing a role in society for everyone, judges of the Delhi High Court wrote in a 105-page decision, Indias first to directly address rights for gay men and lesbians. Those perceived by the majority as deviants or different are not on that score excluded or ostracized, the decision said.
Homosexuality has been illegal in India since 1861, when British rulers codified a law prohibiting carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal. The law, known as Section 377 of Indias penal code, has long been viewed as an archaic holdover from colonialism by its detractors.
Clearly, we are all thrilled, said Anjali Gopalan, the executive director and founder of the Naz Foundation, an AIDS awareness group that sued to have Section 377 changed.
It is a first major step, Ms. Gopalan said during a news conference in Delhi, but there are many more battles.
Thursdays decision applies only in the territory of Indias capital city, but it is likely to force Indias government either to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court, or change the law nationwide, lawyers and advocates said.
Outside the hall where the Naz Foundation news conference was held, dozens of young men and women gathered to celebrate, along with a group of hijras, men who dress and act like women who classify themselves as belonging to neither gender. It is a victory of human rights, not just of gay rights, said one 22-year-old man who only identified himself as Manish.
Gay men and women have rarely been prosecuted under Section 377 in India in modern times, but it has been used to harass, blackmail and jail people.
Britain legalized homosexuality in England and Wales in 1967, but many of its former colonies, including Singapore, Zimbabwe and Malaysia, still retain strict laws against same-sex relations.
Indias society is generally unwelcoming of homosexuality except in the most cosmopolitan circles. It is not uncommon for gay men and women to marry heterosexuals and have families, while carrying on secret relationships with members of the same sex.
In their decision, Chief Justice A. P. Shah and Justice S. Muralidhar declared Section 377, as it pertains to consensual sex among people above the age of 18, in violation of important parts of Indias Constitution. Consensual sex amongst adults is legal, which includes even gay sex and sex among the same sexes, they said.
The old law violates Article 14 of the Constitution, which guarantees all people equality before the law; Article 15, which prohibits discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth; and Article 21, which guarantees protection of life and personal liberty, the judges said.
Acceptance of homosexuality has thawed somewhat in recent years in some urban areas. Gay pride parades in Indian cities last weekend attracted thousands of marchers, and several recent Bollywood movies, like Dostana, have included gay themes and characters, often played by Bollywoods biggest heterosexual stars.
Still, the decision was condemned from many corners in India. This is wrong, said Maulana Abdul Khaliq Madrasi, a vice chancellor of Dar ul-Uloom, the main university for Islamic education in India. The decision to bring Western culture to India, he said, will corrupt Indian boys and girls.
The High Courts decision should be overturned, said Murli Manohar Joshi, the leader of the main opposition Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party. The High Court cannot decide all things, he said.
The ruling comes after a decade-long, broad-based campaign organized by gay rights advocates, authors, celebrities, lawyers and AIDS awareness groups from around the world. India has one of the worlds largest populations of people with AIDS, and Section 377 was viewed by many advocates as a hurdle to education about safer sex.
Now that the High Court has ruled against Section 377, some say the next step is a change in the way that society views gay people.
The real problem is still the stigma attached, especially outside big cities, said Ritu Dalmia, one of Indias best-known chefs, who lives with her girlfriend in New Delhi.
Change particularly needs to happen in rural India, she said in an e-mail message Thursday afternoon. I have met women who were forced to sleep with men so that they could be cured of homosexuality, she said.
Today is a historical moment where at least some tiny steps have been taken, but there is still a very, very long road ahead, she said.
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