maven&meddler

If the blog seems a bit thin by the end of the week, don’t despair. Although it would be kind of cool if Maven’s absence did cause you to despair just a little bit. I’m traveling to the big wedding event in Florida, that promises to be as much family reunion ( Mr. Maven’s side of the clan ) as anything. I’m on tap as the Official Photographer, which is always a bit scary since I’m hardly a professional.

Anyway, I’ll be having a blast and I hope that your week goes well too. I’ll be back sometime next week.

In a historic eleventh hour vote in the House, we have a health insurance reform bill. I wasn’t exactly jumping up and down for joy however. The bill is like a lot of things that are born of committee’s … they don’t resemble any of their parents, and nobody really seems to want to take ownership of the bastard, “heinz 57” offspring.

About all you can say for it is that it’s a limping lurch in the right direction.

The Stupak Amendment in drag.

The Stupak Amendment just goes to prove that. BlueLyon commented that it just goes to prove that there are still those who’d vote to bring back wire coathangers. The Hyde Amendment just wasn’t enough for these people, who will insert themselves into anything in an attempt to interfere with a woman’s right to choose.

Mr. Maven commented ascerbically this morning over coffee that these same people who worry about there being enough access to guns that kill people ( uhhh, Ft. Hood and Orlando, just this last week. Hasan bought his weapons ‘off campus’.) but they don’t seem to equate needless gun deaths with aborted fetuses. Isn’t that convenient? I guess if the proponents of a woman’s choice would step up as campaign contributors and lobbyists on the same level as the gun manufacturers there would be less fuss and debate.

For all the seniors that were so terrified, they can take a deep breath now and notice that the infamous ‘doughnut hole’ has been closed? Yes, that was what the nasty Liberals did for you.

The stranglehold that for-profit insurance companies have had in the way of monopolies will be done away with, since the bill has a new anti-trust component. UnitedHealthcare and the rest will have to actually show us they truly believe in a free and open marketplace with lots of competition … in other words, walk the walk.

Medicare will be left alone, since as we all know it is politically toxic to mess with it.

In fact, after American’s get on a first name basis with reformed health insurance they’ll probably do just what people in other countries did. Decide it’s so good that they’ll slap the crap out of any politician that dares to fiddle with it.

Now the fight continues, since there is a Senate bill that needs to pass and then a further revision in each house.

It ain’t over. Sen. Lindsay Graham - always there to fight for bipartisanship, truth and the American Way, has declared the Senate bill “dead on arrival”.

Here’s Graham making the statement:

One thing that we wonder: Has everybody finally gotten a clue about the role that lobbyists and campaign contributions by corporations play in running policy in this country? If we could get rid of that, the actual living, breathing citizens would once again be in charge. But do you see either party leading the charge? Nope.

Don’t you wish the ‘teabaggers’ would worry as much about the amount of money flowing from K Street lobbying firms into campaign coffers as they do about the legitimacy of Obama’s birth certificate?

It looks for all the world like the Supreme Court could actually end up deciding that corporations (bundles of dusty documents) are the same thing as a person, and that they get the same First Amendment ‘voice’. If that isn’t bullshit, I don’t know what is. Maybe we ought to start issuing death certificates and printing obits when a corporation goes Chapter 7. We could put the corporate charter in a shoe box and bury it under a tree in the backyard.

My sister-in-law (the bride to be - long story) and I were going over some of the wedding details on the phone yesterday, and the subject got around to politics. She remarked about how clueless their fellow denizens of the Florida country club were about any of the issues. It wasn’t until after I hung up that I remembered that the last time I was down there, I couldn’t find a single NPR station on the radio. Ft. Myers, FL. isn’t exactly a ‘college town’ unless you’re talking ElderHostel.

Could there be a connection? Probably.

Before you read this on Monday morning and slide back to doing actual work, do take a look at the screaming freaking deal on MS Office 2007 and the West African roasted pousssain recipe under Lifestyle and Food.

Otherwise, there’s still plenty of good stuff to browse through … seeing the low numbers for blog readers on Sunday, you missed a bunch of good stuff.

Well, early to bed, sort of early to rise. Work, work work tomorrow.

Sit.

I’ll let myself out.

maven