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Comments Posted By nellie

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President Obama Hit the Reset Button on Healthcare Reform Like only He Could

Barack Obama’s speeches, as we hear them in the context of political wrangling, are not his true speeches. Years from now, when the wrangling has stopped and we can think about the ideals and concepts he presented, disconnected from the partisan environment in which they were spoken, I think we will come to see these speeches as even more powerful and meaningful than we imagine today.

» Posted By nellie On September 10, 2009 @ 7:17 pm

That was Sick!

Barack Obama is a man not to be underestimated or second guessed. I supposed I sound like cheerleader for the president in times where he seems to be falling down on his promises, but his campaigning during the election gave me an idea about who this man is. He cannot be taken lightly or counted out prematurely.

» Posted By nellie On September 10, 2009 @ 6:59 pm

Latest Shuttle Mission to Hubble Yields New Moments of Zen

I know about you Taurus types — tread carefully and always bring the common sense! You will be rewarded with fierce loyalty and affection.

» Posted By nellie On December 4, 2009 @ 12:15 pm

KQuark, these are spectacular! Thanks so much for posting. Do you know what causes the bubble effect in the Bubble Nebula? Photos from space are always breathtaking — the variety of formations and colors.

Is it me, or does Carina look like she’s giving us the finger…

» Posted By nellie On December 4, 2009 @ 12:13 pm

Baucus Releases Private Healthcare Insurance Bill

Didn’t Harry Reid once mention that he might bypass the Finance Committee? It’s looking like it’s time to make that move.

» Posted By nellie On September 16, 2009 @ 8:05 pm

At this point, the bill just needs to get out of committee, for crying out loud. It seems clear now that the HELP bill will be the blueprint for the Senate Bill. They just need Baucus to get off the dime. Enough stalling already — because that’s all this is.

» Posted By nellie On September 16, 2009 @ 7:37 pm

I stand corrected, KQuark. I thought I had read that the bill expands Medicare, but I see it’s Medicaid. I think I’m left with the same concerns, though, since this bill seems to do nothing to get costs under control. That is the attraction of a public option done correctly.

» Posted By nellie On September 8, 2009 @ 3:45 pm

We have so many different polls and no idea what the questions are — how they’re worded. The latest poll from Rasmussen, I believe, shows 77% of respondents in favor of a public option. So I don’t know.

All I know is that the Baucus bill seems to be designed to sabotage Madicare. By putting low-income people on Medicare, it is adding a group of people with more health issues, and not spreading the risk by adding people who are healthier. Again, the insurance companies get to cherry pick the most healthy people, and Medicare is left to support the population with the most health issues — without any cost controls.

The Baucus bill is a non starter. But I hope they get it out of committee as soon as they can, so the Senate can vote it down.

» Posted By nellie On September 8, 2009 @ 2:51 pm

Hide the kids and double bolt all the doors

hee hee

Believe me, I can relate!

A great blast from the past — thank you!

» Posted By nellie On September 8, 2009 @ 4:45 pm

We seem to be on the same page. 🙂

Can you check the link, Kalima? I think it’s down and I want to see the video.

» Posted By nellie On September 8, 2009 @ 2:56 pm

It’s not the socioeconomic problems. It’s the constant message from this society that kids of color can’t succeed. Today, the president did a lot to counter that message

» Posted By nellie On September 8, 2009 @ 2:54 pm

I read the speech yesterday. It always impresses me how forthright the president is willing to be about his own shortcomings. He uses himself as an example of someone whose life could have gone in the wrong direction. That’s a brave thing to do. And it’s inspiring for kids who already see themselves on a bad road and think there’s no way out.

This speech is going to be so important for children of color. I don’t even care about all the right wing backlash about the speech. There are times when, as a person of color. I just don’t care what the white folks are fuming about. This is going to change the way children of color think about school, think about themselves, think about their potential. I’m so glad he’s doing this. It’s really needed in communities of color.

I read several articles during Mr. Obama’s campaign and soon after the election about how African American children were suddenly doing better in school. This is going to strengthen that impact. Kids of color are constantly subjected to negative stereotyping and propaganda. It’s really difficult for parents to combat when kids are watching tv and listening to music. But nothing combats a stereotype like a living role model. And that’s what we have in President Obama.

So let the right wing rail on. It’s another bout of hysteria that misses the point entirely. And that’s fine with me.

» Posted By nellie On September 8, 2009 @ 7:13 am

Keep Hope Alive and As a Public Plan

I agree AdLib. There is so much political capital riding on this reform, for the president and the congress. I think we’ll get something real.

» Posted By nellie On September 8, 2009 @ 7:06 am

Me, too, KQuark. I think the House progressives are going to be the fail safe. We’ll either get a bill w a public option, or no bill at all. And the second possibility would be devastating for the Democratic Party. I don’t think they’re going to let it happen.

» Posted By nellie On September 6, 2009 @ 2:49 pm

In H.R. 3200 there is a cap on any copay. It’s $5,000 for an individual and $10,000 for a family. With insurance companies mandated to cover anyone who wants insurance, and mandated to pay claims, losing the excuse of pre-existing conditions, they’re going to have to bring their costs under control. If they’re smart, they’ll start looking at those CEO salaries in a different light.

Personally, I think the public option would be the best cost control mechanism, but there are other aspects to reform that are just as important.

» Posted By nellie On September 6, 2009 @ 2:47 pm

I’m willing to wait to hear what the president says. We’ve heard report after report about the public option, and none of it has turned out to be reliable.

» Posted By nellie On September 6, 2009 @ 12:16 pm

What the president and congress have accomplished so far

That’s why I’m putting these lists together. I plan to email them to various places, including so called progressive blogs and media that seem to have lost all perspective. And I’ll certainly post them to Huffy.

» Posted By nellie On September 6, 2009 @ 3:35 pm

Those things come under executive orders and other presidential actions (as does much of AdLib’s list). I’m going to do a separate post for those items. They’re also critically important. They include things like stem cell research, lifting the gag orders on clinics, and opening travel to Cuba.

» Posted By nellie On September 6, 2009 @ 1:38 pm

I don’t think any of us will know until we have a bill. And that’s going to be a few weeks away. Congress is in control of this thing, and congress, overall, wants a public plan. So who knows.

» Posted By nellie On September 6, 2009 @ 12:38 pm

Great list. I will keep this. It angers me when people lose sight of how much this president has done. The backlash really ticks me off.

» Posted By nellie On September 6, 2009 @ 11:27 am

P.S. This is what I considered “major” legislation only. It doesn’t include the innumerable administrative bills passed by the president each day that help grease the wheels of our government machinery.

» Posted By nellie On September 6, 2009 @ 8:19 am

I love ya’ back, Mr. President

I can understand your disappointment but I can’t agree with it. I look at the backlash from insurance on health care reform, the lack of support in the senate, and it’s clear to me that the president is battling forces that are entrenched and powerful. What he has accomplished in the face of this kind of opposition, and considering the depth of the mess he was handed, I’m pleased with what I’ve seen so far. It’s not perfect. But it’s good.

» Posted By nellie On September 6, 2009 @ 3:34 pm

I think the president is modeling good behavior. He knows the GOP is a pool of swirling puss. He’s worked with them in the senate. I don’t think he has any illusions about them at all.

But he knows his audience — and it’s young people. He’s being the kind of president they expect and that he wants them to be in the future.

Barack is tough. People think he’s a softy, but he’s not. Tough people know how to be nice, and it’s often misunderstood as being weak. It’s actually a sign of strength.

» Posted By nellie On September 6, 2009 @ 6:40 am

Is Our Children Learning?

LOL.

I boycotted HuffPo for a week because the moderators refused to scrub those offensive posts while scrubbing others. I made my boycott VERY public on facebook and explained exactly why I was doing it. There was another poster who took screen shots and said he was sending them to any outlet he could think of. I’m sure there were others who took similar actions

That little marketing ploy lasted about two days. I’m back at Huffy, and I don’t see those posts any more. So they got the message.

» Posted By nellie On September 6, 2009 @ 6:36 am

The GOP is on negativity overdrive. It’s their only hope for regaining power.

If our press and commentators would discuss these ridiculous tactics as power strategies rather than struggling to frame them as legitimate concerns from a loyal opposition, I’d have a lot more respect for our political dialogue. It’s hard for me to take these things seriously. It stuns me when the pundits do.

» Posted By nellie On September 6, 2009 @ 6:31 am

Partisanship: Are you on the RIGHT side?

The marriage analogy is a really good one. I used to say that under Bush we were suffering from Abused Citizen Syndrome.

Abused spouses don’t stop looking for the right person — but they do have trust issues when they find one. I think the progressives are having major trust issues right now. And dealing with residual anger, which is getting thrown at Mr. Obama.

It’s a sad situation. I wish a liberal president could get a little support. But they’re always attacked from the right and from the left. And people wonder why things don’t change….

» Posted By nellie On September 6, 2009 @ 6:23 am

In all fairness, Clinton was treated just as badly by the right wing. Mr. Obama’s ethnicity just adds another wrinkle to the fabric, but it wouldn’t have mattered who won the presidency. If a democrat wins, you can expect this kind of hostile hysteria to be drummed up by the right wing. Because it’s all they have. Their policies are not people friendly, and so the only way for them to win votes and gain power is to demonize their opponents.

Too many Americans are vulnerable to this kind of hate mongering. Because they are afraid and angry and have so little.

» Posted By nellie On September 5, 2009 @ 10:45 am

The American media has always been a tool of the wealthy. Yellow journalism has been with us forever. We rail against the media, but in reality our complaints are nothing new.

What keeps this society going is the public continually struggling to make its voice heard and its priorities coded into our legal system. Civil rights was not brought about by the elites. It was forced on the system by the public.

» Posted By nellie On September 5, 2009 @ 10:39 am

The real division is entrenched wealth — which expresses itself in corporatism and capitalistic greed — and the rest of us. When I look at most policy questions, they usually boil down to what’s best for the public vs what’s best for a handful of CEOs. Green cars vs. oil companies. Single payer health coverage vs. insurance. Information vs. big media. Peace vs. war.

A handful of people have a disproportionate influence on our political discourse. And ultimately, you’re absolutely right, it does boil down to right vs. wrong.

» Posted By nellie On September 4, 2009 @ 12:21 pm

Hillary Rodham Clinton as SOS: The Good, The Bad and The Bluto

I have to stick up for HIllary as SOS. I like the direction we’re taking with the rest of the world. I can’t think of a place we’re stumbling except Afghanistan. And I’m just a peacenik. I want us home. I like her stance on nation building in that country and increasing foreign aid. The problems I see stem primarily from the use of contractors in military functions, and the Dept of Defense has to share some of the blame for that decision.

I think she’s a doing a great job. Her only slip, imho, was yelling at that college student. She could have cut him a little slack. But it just shows how tough she is. I still think it was a good pick.

» Posted By nellie On September 3, 2009 @ 7:13 pm