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Comments Posted By nellie

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Senate debates Health Care Bill

javaz, I’m working on a website to make the real news more accessible — because i feel the same way you do. I love that this site is about opinion and discussion, because the news is so vast.

HP is one of many aggregation sites — they pick through articles and post just what they think will bring them traffic. What we need is an aggregation site that doesn’t need to make money, but has enough money to pay people to do all the combing of all the news sources out there. If I ever won the lottery….

» Posted By nellie On November 21, 2009 @ 4:38 pm

tu vas!

Or would it be the imperative Va-tu! or maybe Va-t’en!… Oh forget it! just say, Genial!!

» Posted By nellie On November 21, 2009 @ 4:31 pm

Thank you.

» Posted By nellie On November 21, 2009 @ 4:29 pm

You tell em, Bob!

» Posted By nellie On November 21, 2009 @ 3:17 pm

And they keep deliberately citing Medicare Advantage cuts, as if Medicare Advantage is a Medicare program. They are extremely devious.

» Posted By nellie On November 21, 2009 @ 3:09 pm

Stabenow just said “After this vote we start the REAL DEBATE.”

I am very confused by this statement.

» Posted By nellie On November 21, 2009 @ 3:08 pm

Pepe, you actually got me to laugh during this dour, sour, GOP diatribe!!

I love that — Wackaloon. May I use it in the future?

» Posted By nellie On November 21, 2009 @ 2:28 pm

I had the same problem, BDM. Try their Beta Flash option — that’s what I’m watching now and it’s working very well.

» Posted By nellie On November 21, 2009 @ 2:25 pm

There it is! Tort reform.

McCain is just as convincing in the senate as he was on the campaign trail.

» Posted By nellie On November 21, 2009 @ 2:23 pm

They’re too busy trying to confuse people into believing that Medicare Advantage is a Medicare program.

» Posted By nellie On November 21, 2009 @ 2:18 pm

That’s just what this debate is crying out for. Alcohol.

» Posted By nellie On November 21, 2009 @ 2:17 pm

He’s scary. I’m thanking our lucky stars he is not our president.

» Posted By nellie On November 21, 2009 @ 2:15 pm

Just Kyl and McCain.

McCain is saying David Broder is the most respected columnist in America.

I think I’ll go make a salad…

» Posted By nellie On November 21, 2009 @ 2:05 pm

Sen Bennet from Utah is talking about a choice between this bill and “other solutions.” What “other solutions”???

He says the GOP has been unable to bring any of its ideas forward… Like those ideas on the blank sheets of paper they were waving at the president during the address to the joint session?

I’m beginning to think all the trolls over at HP are actually GOP senators.

» Posted By nellie On November 21, 2009 @ 2:01 pm

You might actually be saving important portions of your sanity!

» Posted By nellie On November 21, 2009 @ 1:23 pm

we’re all colleagues here 🙂

» Posted By nellie On November 21, 2009 @ 1:22 pm

I’m just repeating what he said — but we all know how unreliable his word can be…

» Posted By nellie On November 21, 2009 @ 1:21 pm

Thanks. I’m just striving not to be confused. It’s a full time job!

» Posted By nellie On November 21, 2009 @ 1:18 pm

Looks like it.

» Posted By nellie On November 21, 2009 @ 1:16 pm

Did I hear the magic words “out of time”?

» Posted By nellie On November 21, 2009 @ 1:02 pm

Orin makes my brain sad.

» Posted By nellie On November 21, 2009 @ 12:56 pm

What the hell is Coburn talking about… Eight-year-old children seeing adult cardiologists…

This is coming off the rails.

» Posted By nellie On November 21, 2009 @ 12:40 pm

LOL Btio! If you’re saying your mind was EVEN sharper when you were younger, you must have been a force to reckon with!

» Posted By nellie On November 21, 2009 @ 12:38 pm

I actually like the process. I even like the idea of unlimited debate subject to cloture. The problem is that the rules are manipulated by money and lobbyists. I think the problem really lies there. We wouldn’t be debating abortion if not for the interference from the Catholic Church.

» Posted By nellie On November 21, 2009 @ 12:36 pm

Not from what I see. Once debate is closed, that is the end of the filibuster. The bill moves from the amendment process to the vote.

» Posted By nellie On November 21, 2009 @ 12:34 pm

This is from the senate page re amendments and voting once a bill reaches the floor. I don’t see mention of filibuster here:

If an amendment is considered under a time limitation, Senators may make no motions or points of order, or propose other amendments, until all the time for debating the amendment has been used or yielded back. Sometimes, however, the Senate unanimously consents to lay aside pending amendments temporarily in order to consider another amendment to the measure.

The amending process continues until the Senate orders the bill engrossed and read a third time, which precludes further amendment. Then the Senate votes on final passage.

Here are the rules on the conference report:

Once the two chambers go to conference, the respective House and Senate conferees bargain and negotiate to resolve the matters in bicameral disagreement. Resolution is embodied in a conference report, signed by a majority of Senate conferees and House conferees. The conference report must be agreed to by both chambers before it is cleared for presidential consideration. In the Senate, conference reports are usually brought up by unanimous consent at a time agreed to by the party leaders and floor managers. Because conference reports are privileged, if any Senator objects to the unanimous consent request, a nondebatable motion can be made to take up the conference report. Approval of the conference report itself is subject to extended debate, but conference reports are not open to amendment.

The last sentence refers to the repeat of the debate process — where once again, a filibuster is possible.

Source: http://www.senate.gov/legislative/common/briefing/Senate_legislative_process.htm

» Posted By nellie On November 21, 2009 @ 12:25 pm

Indeed.

I’m reading the process for amending. It makes sense that after amendments are added, people might feel differently about the bill. Which would open an opportunity for another cloture, but my understanding is that cloture is to end debate. Amendments are not debate.

But I’ll check again.

» Posted By nellie On November 21, 2009 @ 12:22 pm

C-SPAN is running so poorly on my computer. I wonder if they’re getting swamped by traffic.

I hope so! But it means I have to keep reloading the page.

» Posted By nellie On November 21, 2009 @ 12:10 pm

You put that very well!

» Posted By nellie On November 21, 2009 @ 12:09 pm

Exactly.

What comes out of conference is the proof in the pudding. That’s another reason it’s so important to call senators and House reps, because whoever is on the conference committee is going to determine what this legislation really is. We can be pretty confident that provisions that are in both the House and Senate bills will end up in the final bill — but where there’s disagreement, anything could happen.

It’s so important that the Senate bill has a public option — that means we’re getting public option in the final bill.

» Posted By nellie On November 21, 2009 @ 12:04 pm