Hey, John McCain, when are you giving up YOUR taxpayer-funded health insurance?

I’m still sniffling a bit, but the prognosis is in: I’m going to live. Luckily, this was fairly minor and didn’t require a doctor visit. Millions of others around the country aren’t as lucky.

John McCain must think we’re all rolling in the estimated $100 million he and his wife are supposedly worth. After all, we can pay for our own damn health insurance with the $5,000 per year credit he’s proposing, can’t we? First of all, Mr. McCain, MOST of those with employer-sponsored health insurance are already paying a percentage of the premium costs. Secondly, when was the last time YOU went out shopping for health insurance? Haven’t you been on taxpayer-funded health insurance most of your life now? Five thousand dollars’ tax credit? Get serious. If someone in your house has pre-existing conditions or is of an age where pregnancy is a consideration, five grand won’t touch it. Where do you think the average family is getting $5,000 for health insurance premiums, Mr. McCain, when they’re struggling to keep a roof over their kids’ heads, food in their mouths, and pay for everything else that’s skyrocketing these days?

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/30/us/politics/30mccain.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

Mr. McCain’s health care plan would shift the emphasis from insurance provided by employers to insurance bought by individuals, to foster competition and drive down prices. To do so he is calling for eliminating the tax breaks that currently encourage employers to provide health insurance for their workers, and replacing them with $5,000 tax credits for families to buy their own insurance.

His proposal to move away from employer-based coverage was similar to one that President Bush pushed for last year, to little effect. And his call for expanding coverage through market-based competition is in stark contrast to the Democrats’ proposals to move toward universal health care coverage, with government subsidies to help lower-income people afford their premiums.

Mr. McCain proposes states seeking out high-risk pools for those of us with preexisting conditions that can’t qualify for regular health insurance coverage. Of course, he insists that the “market” will keep these prices low.

Mr. McCain, gotta’ question for you, Sir: When are you giving up YOUR taxpayer-funded health insurance? If you are so convinced that the “market” (complete with its double-digit premium increases over the past several years,) will adjust to create competition, please: Go out and get yourself some health insurance. Today. You’ll have some fun doing this. After all, you’ve had cancer. There are evidently other members of your family that may have problems obtaining insurance as well. I’m not an insurance underwriter, but wait till you find out the network of information insurers have about you and your life, and how quickly you can be declined for something that’s not your fault.

I keep making the offer to let Republican elected representatives decline their taxpayer-paid health insurance. After all, if their plan is so great, let them (and their families,) try it first, right? So far, I’ve had no takers. I wonder why.

-S

Was I hallucinating, or did Jason Taylor just dance to the “Monday Night Football” theme on “Dancing with the Stars”?

It’s got to be the cold medicine. There is no other explanation for this.

Then again, if he wanted to dance to USC’s fight song*, I would be more than happy to dance with him.

-S

p.s. All Pac-10 football fans shudder in fear over that fight song. It’s not exactly melodic. Just sayin’.

Send chicken soup and Kleenex, please: I’m sick.

The best refuge when one feels awful: The Heavenly Bed

The Dauphin awoke late last night to check on me. I must have been making funny noises. That stuff happens when you’re so congested it’s tough to breathe.

I took some cold medicine and went back to sleep. He went back to sleep, too.

In the meantime, I’m sure I’ll be fine. Talk amongst yourselves. First subject: What are you doing with the “stimulus” money?

-S

Alert the media: I now own a pink iPod nano

We are the last people on the planet to join the MP3 age. The tax refund came, I’ve wanted an iPod for a couple of years now, so it was Christmas in late April at our house. Imagine how fun it will be at the gym when I can make my own musical selections, instead of listening to what the owner thinks rawks. Then again, the person on the next treadmill will surely enjoy Barber’s “Adagio for Strings”, closely followed by AC/DC’s “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap”.

I can also be one of those annoying people who put their playlist on iTunes for everyone to admire, can’t I? Then again, it may be the aural equivalent of a Rorschach test.

-S
turning Iggy Pop’s “Lust for Life” up to 11, thank you

It’s NFL Draft Day, otherwise known around here as “Where’s Chris Long going?”

As I’ve said before, I’m quite a football fan. I’ve spent the last however many Sunday mornings from September through January watching The Howie Long Show, otherwise known as the FOX Sports NFL pregame coverage. As a result, we were treated to a few mentions this year about Howie’s son Chris, who’s getting drafted TODAY.

We have no chance at Chris. (Bummer!) We have some very good DE’s of our own, but I must confess that it would be fun to watch him play for America’s Team. In the meantime, Liz was nice enough to send me the following article this morning. I think you’ll like it as well!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/25/AR2008042503279.html?hpid=topnews

Although the St. Louis Rams seem to be deciding between choosing Long or Louisiana State defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey with the second selection, Long also could last until the sixth pick. Though at one point his name was bandied about as the possible first pick, Long doesn’t fret over the prospect of falling out of the top five.

“Oh, the sky is falling, I’m a first-round draft pick,” Long said. “Do you know what I mean? Jeez, life is terrible, I’m going to be in the NFL. No matter what happens — I could fall out of the first round, I could be picked in the third round — I don’t care. I just want to play football.”

Good luck, Chris, (are you SURE you don’t want to wear Seahawk blue? We’d only have to give up most of our draft picks for the next ten years…) and it’ll be fun to see how it goes, won’t it?

-S 

My baby picture, by Oscar

Oscar at three months, posted with permission. Copyright Betsy Tinney. (If you’d like to see more like me, please go to www.pinecoon.com.)

My humans called my cat mama last night to say “hi”. I still remember her. Whenever the humans listen to Natalie MacMaster, it reminds me of falling asleep in the kitten nursery, listening to her play the cello. Of course, now I’m more of a Garbage and Foo Fighters man. My main hobbies are still eating, sleeping, hunting insects, and letting the birds in our backyard know that their days are numbered if I ever get out of the house.

I’ve been keeping Strategerie company while she listens to the NFL draft speculation on Sirius this afternoon  works on her manuscript. In the meantime, Mojo and I have a nap on the office floor in the sunshine penciled in.

Oscar

Hey, Senator Chuck Schumer and Senator Jay Rockefeller, you don’t need your free healthcare coverage, do you?

The Senate Democrats think you don’t need health insurance! Just take an aspirin, and don’t forget to make that campaign contribution!

And the Democrats are already backing off on campaign promises for sweeping changes in America’s healthcare system. As I’ve said so many times on TLPC, color me shocked.

http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/dems-hedge-on-healthcare-2008-04-23.html

It is still seven months before Election Day, but already senior Democrats are maneuvering to lower public expectations on the key policy issue.

In the back of their minds is the damage done to President Bush’s second term by his failed attempts to change the nation’s Social Security policy.

For some senators, the promises made by Sens. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) outside of Washington may not match the political reality on Capitol Hill.

God knows they wouldn’t actually want to do something to help the 44 million Americans that don’t have any health care insurance at all, or the 250 million who are somewhat insured but live in fear of a diagnosis that could financially wipe out their family. It would be HARD WORK, wouldn’t it? It would cut into the steroids in MLB hearings, or the singathons on the Capitol steps.

Plus, those people who just aren’t lucky enough to have health insurance can just get their asses elected to Congress so they’ll have the same free health care our elected officials enjoy, won’t they?

Sen. Charles Schumer (N.Y.), a member of Senate Democratic leadership and a key Hillary Clinton ally who also sits on the Finance Committee, said he is “not sure we have the big plan on healthcare.”

“Healthcare I feel strongly about, but I am not sure that we’re ready for a major national healthcare plan,” Schumer said.

Speak for yourself, Senator.

-S

Color me shocked, no, SHOCKED: Feds state Illinois insiders tried to have US Attorney ousted

And here I was, wondering what to write on today’s edition of TLPC…

It seems that there are some politicians in the Chicago area that would prefer Patrick Fitzgerald was doing his thing in someone else’s neighborhood. Anyone who watched the Judicial Committee hearings is now saying, “Duhhhh.”

http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=177986

With federal investigators closing in, Illinois political insiders hoped to avoid prison by having Bush administration architect Karl Rove oust U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, according to accusations made in federal court today.

An attorney for Rove and the Republican insider accused of leaning on him, Bob Kjellander, flatly denied the accusations this afternoon.

The U.S. attorney’s office in Chicago dropped the bombshell allegations as part of the federal corruption trial against Antoin “Tony” Rezko, a former Gov. Rod Blagojevich fundraiser and confidant.

Federal prosecutors say two witnesses could testify that they were told by two separate people close to Kjellander that he was working to get Fitzgerald removed by leaning on Rove, his old friend.

The power play was allegedly plotted before Fitzgerald received a questionably low ranking by the Bush Administration and the controversial ousting of eight U.S. Attorneys.

I still remember my mouth dropping open when the architect of the purge list (actually, we still don’t know who did it, do we?) government official after government official insisted that they had no idea how those eight names made the infamous US Attorney Purge list, not to mention Patrick Fitzgerald’s questionably low job ranking.

If you didn’t laugh, you’d cry.

-S

The Wife’s Bill of Rights

I was just flipping channels on the radio, and heard one of the morning-zoo type DJ’s talking about this. His main objection was to the following amendment:

http://men.msn.com/article.aspx?cp-documentid=6750191&GT1=32001

Amendment II
We have the right to experience PMS in all its glory.
Either give us our space or accept the consequences. We know it’s unfair, but some of us just can’t rein it in. You knew that before you married us. We may shout, cry, belittle, act irrationally. It lasts a few days each month, so please deal with it. Or even better: Bring home dinner, clear the dishes, and give us a big hug.

If men had to experience the miracle that is PMS, there would be additional paid vacation days. I’m not sure why the author of the above list thinks it’s something to be celebrated. I usually spend those days either crying over Hallmark/Kodak commercials (the Pedigree commercial with the poor dog in the pound, just waiting for someone to take him home, should be OUTLAWED,) and consuming as much chocolate as I can. Of course, this is not much different than any other day, but I will cop to a little bit of cranky as well.

If you could add or subtract an amendment from the above list, what would it be?

-S

In the meantime, congratulations to Danica Patrick on her first IndyCar win!

Beautiful, smart and competitive!

Danica Patrick makes history in Japan.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/sports/AP-CAR-IRL-Indy-Japan-300.html?hp

Danica Patrick became the first female winner in IndyCar history Sunday, taking the Indy Japan 300 after the top contenders were forced to pit for fuel in the final laps.

Patrick finished 5.8594 seconds ahead of pole-sitter Helio Castroneves on the 1.5-mile Twin Ring Motegi oval after leader Scott Dixon pitted with five laps left and Dan Wheldon and Tony Kanaan came in a lap later.

”It’s a long time coming. Finally,” Patrick said. ”It was a fuel strategy race, but my team called it perfectly for me. I knew I was on the same strategy as Helio and when I passed him for the lead, I couldn’t believe it. This is fabulous.”

The 26-year-old Patrick won in her 50th career IndyCar start, taking the lead from Castroneves on the 198th lap in the 200-lap race.

If you’d like to learn more about Danica, please go to her website: http://www.danicaracing.com/

The Dauphin has a little crush on her. I have to salute his good taste. After all, he seems to enjoy kick-ass females, doesn’t he?

-S