I actually though this was a body bag until I made out the cat.
11.
schrodinger's cat
I mistyped my e-mail id and now I is in moderation, also made a passing reference to the great white cat that rules this blog
12.
Col. Klink
The good thing is that being from Seattle originally, whenever politics simply gets too depressing I can go back and lose myself in the world of sports where Seattle hasn’t won a major championship in anything since 1979 . Shit, no I can’t.
13.
Hunter Gathers
One of two things:
A – Kitty is cold
B – Kitty found good place to perform a disemboweling, and will strike when human is unaware
So Open Thread means I can basically post about whatever, right? Cuz something I’ve been thinking:
It’s basically starting to look like the White House was right to begin with, a month ago. There was this point where the entire blogosphere (including, loudly, me) was insisting Reid include the public option in the health care bill. The White House was obsessing over negotiating directly with Olympia Snowe, and wanted to grant her the state-by-state “trigger” proposal that would win Snowe’s vote. Reid finally listened to the PCCC or whoever and put the public option directly in the base bill, which basically ended negotiations with Snowe– from that point forward the Senate has been working solely with the Democratic caucus, and the constant meetings with Snowe we had a month ago have stopped.
And it really was pretty cool that Reid did that– it moved the debate forward, it allowed us to see exactly who was willing to come to our side on public health insurance, and it allowed us to say the Democrats actually gave it a shot rather than just giving up to begin with.
But it also killed the last fingernail of hope the public option had. Because without Snowe, the only way to 60 is through Lieberman. And we can all see how that turned out now. And now it’s too late to go back to Snowe, because we’re now talking about a vote within like a week and Snowe is basically just saying, wait, what, I haven’t even read this bill, give me another month to work this out. Which isn’t going to happen.
If we’d continued negotiations with Snowe instead of walking away and trying to go it alone with a 59-member caucus, she very probably would have still been on board at this point. If we’d done that we could have gone around Lieberman and at least could have got a “triggered” public option. The trigger would never, you know, trigger but at least that would leave us in a far better position to try to pass a public option separately in a few years (since all we’d have to do is pass a law saying “the trigger triggers now”).
Now of course I doubt the White House was specifically thinking of Lieberman when they were pushing to get Snowe on board, but their strategy was pretty simple and clear: Don’t move forward with something unless you know you have the votes for it. If you can get 61 votes get them. Having 61 votes sure would have been nice when vote #60 evaporated.
Friend of mine from grad school just released his graphic novel for the iPhone/iTouch. It’s free, and you can get it here, which opens in iTunes, or you can search for it in the App Store by looking for IslandInks. Abram is a really good guy and does fascinating work.
Now, all I need is for someone to put together an app that lets me simulate punching Joe Lieberman in the face. And will let me replace him with other politicians as the need arises.
Ezra’s duking it out with Marcy Wheeler on Twitter.
This week is starting to feel like Primary Hell all over again.
29.
MattR
So I was reading at Pro Football Talk that Fidelity fired four workers for playing fantasy football. This led to a handful of comments like this one:
downwithdansnyder says: December 16, 2009 11:08 AM
__
Another step towards socialism. The Man is going to tell us when we can use the toilet pretty soon.
For some reason, I really enjoyed this response from another commenter:
Hey downwith dan,
__
You need to really do some research. It isn’t in socialism that “the man” tells you when you can take a toilet break. First, “the man” tends to be a capitalist reference. Second, in the US, under capitalism, that is the way it used to be. The boss told you when you could take bathroom breaks, didn’t intsall protective equipment like sprinklers, and did everything to cut costs and increase profit, making the worker a virtual slave working in dangerous conditions. It was the more progressive government intervention that allows you to go to the bathroom when you want, and protects you at work. You know, regulation. Regulation is what keeps you safe at work, and gives you certain liberties your forefathers never enjoyed, especially when they were working in the factory at age 5.
__
If you hate socialism, why do you watch football, which is a socialist sport? Revenues are shared, and there are spending caps in place to keep the playing field level, and give each team an equal chance. If you enjoy capitalism, you should watch baseball. Enjoy your new lame capitalist sport! LMAO
I am almost ashamed that I never made the football=socialism connection before.
30.
bayville
It looks like two of the Progressive media “elites” –Trust Fund Matt and Ezra – are campaigning for Harry Reid to be the CQ Person of the Year.
@valdivia: It’s pictures like this what make me miss my own none-too-friendly and now-dead cat!
She was a pain in the ass about 70% of the time, but about 30% of the time she would snuggle up against me and force me to love her, despite my better judgment. I would have enjoyed this position immensely!
@mcc: Even with Snowe, you still do not have 60. Nelson is jerking everyone off again.
I’m betting this was the strategy all along- Baucus slows everything to a halt, then just bounce things back and forth between those two jackasses until they can kill it.
OK, fantasy football advice needed. I’m in the playoffs, which start this week, and I’m the top seed. Do I start Reggie Wayne on Thursday? He’s been awful the last few weeks, and I don’t even know how much he’ll play between now and post-season.
My alternatives suck, though… I’m stuck with starting Steve Smith and Miles Austin, with the third slot going to Wayne, Jason Avant, Roy Williams or Johnny Knox. Do any of their matchups sound slightly better to you than starting Wayne tomorrow? I’m screwed, huh?
Oh, and don’t laugh… I made it this far with Jay Cutler and Kyle Orton, so anything could happen, right?
@John Cole: What about Collins? I have no idea what’s going in her head, but she’s sitting in a fairly similar spot as Snowe. I don’t see why she couldn’t be workable.
That said, even if we set aside Nelson/Collins/whoever the hell #60 will be, it still seems to me that if the choice is between public option trigger and “I am against everything liberals are for,” Snowe is so very much the way to go.
@MattR: It’s also got the strongest union of the major sports, I believe. I’m really worried that in the next round of bargaining, the league is going to demand the removal of salary floors, which will move them much closer to baseball–not a good thing.
@Sentient Puddle: Collins wasn’t really showing up to any of the negotiations Snowe was. I’m really not sure why Collins and Snowe are behaving so differently. I sorta wonder if the fact Snowe is up for re-election 2 years earlier than Collins may have something to do with this.
It’s also got the strongest union of the major sports, I believe.
Not by a long shot. The strongest union in sports would be the MLBPA, which makes the NFLPA look like a bunch of pro-management stooges. The MLBPA may very well be the strongest union in the country, not just the strongest in sports.
44.
Hunter Gathers
@Roger Moore: The MLBPA is by far the strongest union in the country. They are so damn good a middle reliever can get 5 mil a year. That’s like paying the punter 5 mil. And the NFL doesn’t even have guaranteed contracts.
45.
General Winfield Stuck
I am about to the point with this debate, where I would recommend Reid, or the House first, just shelve the broader bill and pass a robust PO. Then the Senate taking it up as a reconciliation bill with the strongest PO they can muster from the 52 liberal senators Harkin says he has who would vote for it.
Wrap that sucker up and shove it down Ben Nelson’s purdy little pie hole, and drop kick Lieberman into the GOP with malice.
Then Obama should propose a national NO PUMA day to be permanently marked as the Wankers Holiday, where for one day a year it is illegal for them to utter one goddamn word on pain of wedgie. That is all.
It’s also got the strongest union of the major sports, I believe. I’m really worried that in the next round of bargaining, the league is going to demand the removal of salary floors, which will move them much closer to baseball—not a good thing.
I could chat for hours about the upcoming NFL labor negotiations, but work will not allow me that luxury. I understand your fear about salary floors, but I am kinda hopeful that the fact that 2010 will be played without a salary floor will show the union it’s importance.
JenJen – That is a tough, tough choice. I would probably go with Wayne just because it would anger me the most if he had a great game on my bench.
This week is starting to feel like Primary Hell all over again.
No shit, but it lacks TEH FUNNEEZ of things like Tuzla, myiq2xu getting torn to shreds here, and pretty much any ridiculous thing the PUMAs did. I’m still digging for a giggle when it comes to health care reform.
And of course democrats would be so stupid as to pass a mandated insurance provision that would end up damaging the very people they depend on for votes, without necessary mitigation of the impact of a mandate provision on those very dem voters. Jeebus, it is dumb out today.
Just a request for the hand wringers and bill kill crowd, why don’t you just wait for a final bill for voting before going all native. Is that too much to ask? And spend the time till then addressing your concerns to your elected reps, who would be glad to have your input, instead of wailing like lost children on blogs. Just an idea.
51.
ondioline
THIS IS LIKE A SUPER-DOUBLE-FAKEOUT BECAUSE IT ISN’T THE VOLUMINOUS WHITE FURBAG THAT SUPPOSEDLY HANGS OUT AROUND HERE BUT INSTEAD SOME OTHER CAT WHICH TEASES BUT DOESN’T SATISFY AS AN APPEARANCE BY THE WEIGHTY PALE FELINE WOULD (WHO WE’RE ALL WAITING FOR, SECRETLY OR NOT-SO-SECRETLY)
52.
South of I-10
I saw Santa on the road today. He drives a Chevy pick-up and is an LSU fan. He resembles Uncle Jesse from the Dukes of Hazzard.
53.
Roger Moore
@Hunter Gathers:
Giving a middle reliever $5M per season isn’t necessarily unreasonable, as long as you’re talking about a quality reliever. A quality middle reliever should be worth 2-3 wins above replacement, which translates into around $5M in the current MLB economy.
That’s really the key to what makes the MLBPA so effective. The union isn’t directly holding the owners up for extra money. They’re just asking for an open market, and the market forces set the crazy sounding salaries.
@General Winfield Stuck: gee, i guess by that logic we should just let Aetna write the bills, shouldn’t we, cuz we can always complain later. really, no point in complaining about anything during the process, right?
there is a lot of magic thinking going on here, and it is not on the part of the people who say kill the bill.
there are some good things in it. but they are incremental items for the most part. and no, it is not a sufficient trade-off to enshrine insurance companies in the driver’s seat.
I didn’t say you shouldn’t complain, I said you should direct your complaints, or concerns to people who matter that will be voting to pass legislation.
Magical thinking? double jeebus. How magical is it to slam a bill that hasn’t been made public. And is not near the final bill to be voted into law. BUT LET’S KILL IT ANYWAYS CAUSE IT FEELS GOOD. WE CAN PRETEND IT EXISTS IN THE DARKEST PARTS OF OUR IMAGINATIONS.
there are some good things in it.
This is my whole point. YOU DO NOT KNOW WHAT IS IN THE BILL. You have rumors, and poilico et al reading entrails provided by anonymous legislative aids.
AND IT IS NOT THE FINAL MOTHERFUCKING BILL
57.
sparky
@General Winfield Stuck: oh, i agree with you as to it’s not being the final bill. that’s why i didn’t get worked up over this over the summer.
but i have to disagree with you in part. if there is NO public option and NO current expansion, unless there is a magic super-secret idea that is under wraps, i am unaware of any major expansion on the public side. i would be happy to be wrong.
58.
Morgan
Sorry for the crappy pic quality and apparently confusing angle. Maybe this well help clear things up: close-up
If it ends up being nothing but wingnut welfare to the insurance companies, with no significant expansion in coverage and void of real reforms protecting consumers, then I will join you in opposing it. I do stop short of rejection just because for now there is no federal involvement with a PO or med. buy in, if the above requirements are met in a solid way.
It will be a lot easier down the road to pass a PO and on an expedited basis by reconciliation, I think. All Pelosi has to do is round up the votes and pass a bill in a few days bypassing committees. And the senate do the same, though I don’t know if a cloture vote would be necessary to get it on the floor for reconciliation. A majority leader has all sorts of parliamentarian tricks to maybe get around that.
edit – if the final bill would save lives, then I will be for it, that is my test. It trumps all the cost control concerns, all politicking, and ideology. If it means that we will still be on track for the system to collapse. Then at least more peoples will be above ground rather than below, until said collapse.
@licensed to kill time: Quadruple this comment or whatever the count is up to now. That’s exactly what I saw. And then, kitteh. Cute, cute, cute kitty.
@Morgan: You included no link. You fix! (h/t Steeplejack). Really cute cat, by the way.
jeffreyw, that’s it. I’m moving in. Get ready, ‘coz here I come!
62.
gogol's wife
@Morgan:
The brilliant white paws and muzzle set off against black fur, plus vibrant pink nose, look just like my beautiful Louis. But Louis is bigger than Tunch so probably wouldn’t fit inside a hoodie.
We have the complete text of the House bill as passed. We have the complete text of Reid’s Senate bill currently being debated. It seems clear at this point that the Senate bill which passes will be the bill being debated with minor changes, because the Senate is now obsessed with schedule and will likely keep amendment votes to a minimum. The bill which passes conference will by the nature of conference be a combination of provisions from the two bills.
There is no mystery about what the final bill will look like at this point. It will be a mixture of text from the Senate bill under debate, the House bill that passed, maybe one or two of the Senate amendments currently under consideration, plus one new last-minute amendment to remove the public option. We have the text to basically all of these things except the last.
Still a lot of ifs, and small details with big effect that can be changed at any point by the bills manager, which is Reid, and the conference, which I think will not be a normal one, not for this bill. If Reid appoints people like Baucus and Conrad to the conference then that will portend bad things. But if it’s Harkin and Rockefeller, that will be a promising thing, along with conference instructions.
The House has drawn deep lines in the sand on a PO, and won’t be rolled easily by the senate. This too big, with too much blood sweat and tears that had gone on for decades trying to change the HCS.
You might be right in the end, but you sure don’t know it now.
We have the text to basically all of these things except the last.
When you add the House bill and the still unknown passed product of the Senate bill, you have a wide amount of possibilities, which include a PO still in the House bill. Not all that definitive at this point, is it?
68.
Dr. Morpheus
Hey sparky, kindly show which of the senate bills actually puts any of the insurance companies in the driver’s seat.
Verse, paragraph, etc.
And while you’re at it, let me know how you’re going to get a more progressive bill even as far as the current bills are later on when the GOPpers have something to crow about and the bulk of the Democratic wing are demoralized by a stinging defeat.
Oh, and how’s killing this bill going to help climate change, DADT, immigration reform, etc.? ‘Cause the Democrats won’t exactly be negotiating from a position of strength after losing this one, will they?
69.
jibeaux
After reading this thread, I am beginning to think we could form a consensus around increasing the subsidies for health care via a nice fat tax on major league baseball players. There could even be a reciprocal provision that the subsidy recipients go have to fill the stands at Oakland or something, I dunno. Does anyone go to major league games any more? I know the last time I compared values, the minor leagues for $4 which INCLUDES inflatable samurai wrestling and the mascot driving around in a tiny car chucking t-shirts was hands-down the better deal.
70.
WaterGirl
@Morgan: The photo was small so I couldn’t tell what it was either, but once I clicked on the photo so it opened in its own window, I could easily see what it was. Finding the kitty was a delight that would have been lost in the close-up. No apologies!
71.
flukebucket
@Morgan: How about doing that with the Kindle so I can see what is being read.
I just looked at pictures of my cousin’s baby (born on 12/9) and now I’ve just had word that my baby’s cousin could be on the way. I am down as the second birth partner (you get two max here in socialist Britain), so I’mma chargin’ mah cell phone. Happy dance, happy dance.
74.
Roger Moore
@jibeaux:
I like the idea of a tax on MLB players, but I think it should be extended to anyone with an MLB player-like income. Honestly, for all people bitch about professional athletes’ salaries, you’re not talking about a big business. As an example, Goldman Sachs gives out substantially more money in bonuses than the combined salaries of all the athletes in the four major sports leagues.
And yes, plenty of people do go to baseball games. Attendance was off a little bit in 2009 compared to 2008, but it was still over 70 million. The cheap tickets at most MLB parks are still affordable enough that the average working stiff can bring the whole family without breaking the bank.
75.
Morgan
@flukebucket: I think it may have been The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, but I can’t say for sure. If not that, probably Beat The Reaper.
jibeaux
Okay, well, if we can’t front page it I will still just politely remind people to use gop.am for nefarious purposes.
valdivia
cutest pic, love the snuggled cat.
ellaesther
I’m sorry. I see neither feet, nor a pet.
Oh, how quickly civilization loses its moorings!
stacie
That’s the humane way to get a cat in your belly.
flukebucket
That one scared me a little bit. It took me a while to figure out what was going on.
Brachiator
Cute Kindle
licensed to kill time
Ok, bad eyes here – but I saw an opened bag with some suspicious packets of white powder. Really!
NOW I see the kitteh…
schrodinger's cat
@stacie:
If you value your life, don’t try this with Tunch.
BTW where is the great white kitteh of BJ?
valdivia
@ellaesther:
pet inside hoodie sweater Ella.
Senyordave
I actually though this was a body bag until I made out the cat.
schrodinger's cat
I mistyped my e-mail id and now I is in moderation, also made a passing reference to the great white cat that rules this blog
Col. Klink
The good thing is that being from Seattle originally, whenever politics simply gets too depressing I can go back and lose myself in the world of sports where Seattle
hasn’t won a major championship in anything since 1979. Shit, no I can’t.Hunter Gathers
One of two things:
A – Kitty is cold
B – Kitty found good place to perform a disemboweling, and will strike when human is unaware
MattR
@licensed to kill time:
Annie
Way too cute. Makes me want to climb right in….
Michael D.
@licensed to kill time:
Exactly the same thing I saw.
burnspbesq
@Col. Klink:
Well, if you’re a YooDub fan you can enjoy the great sucking sound that is emanating from Westwood this year.
GReynoldsCT00
I can haz afternoon on the couch?
licensed to kill time
@MattR:
@Michael D.:
Thanks, I was thinking I’d revealed a certain frame of mind or something. It looks like one of those Seized Contraband pics.
ellaesther
@valdivia: I DEMAND THAT PETS BE MORE VISIBLE!
Ahem. My apologies.
But I stand by my “no feet” ruling! (Even that one cat paw is barely visible!)
mcc
So Open Thread means I can basically post about whatever, right? Cuz something I’ve been thinking:
It’s basically starting to look like the White House was right to begin with, a month ago. There was this point where the entire blogosphere (including, loudly, me) was insisting Reid include the public option in the health care bill. The White House was obsessing over negotiating directly with Olympia Snowe, and wanted to grant her the state-by-state “trigger” proposal that would win Snowe’s vote. Reid finally listened to the PCCC or whoever and put the public option directly in the base bill, which basically ended negotiations with Snowe– from that point forward the Senate has been working solely with the Democratic caucus, and the constant meetings with Snowe we had a month ago have stopped.
And it really was pretty cool that Reid did that– it moved the debate forward, it allowed us to see exactly who was willing to come to our side on public health insurance, and it allowed us to say the Democrats actually gave it a shot rather than just giving up to begin with.
But it also killed the last fingernail of hope the public option had. Because without Snowe, the only way to 60 is through Lieberman. And we can all see how that turned out now. And now it’s too late to go back to Snowe, because we’re now talking about a vote within like a week and Snowe is basically just saying, wait, what, I haven’t even read this bill, give me another month to work this out. Which isn’t going to happen.
If we’d continued negotiations with Snowe instead of walking away and trying to go it alone with a 59-member caucus, she very probably would have still been on board at this point. If we’d done that we could have gone around Lieberman and at least could have got a “triggered” public option. The trigger would never, you know, trigger but at least that would leave us in a far better position to try to pass a public option separately in a few years (since all we’d have to do is pass a law saying “the trigger triggers now”).
Now of course I doubt the White House was specifically thinking of Lieberman when they were pushing to get Snowe on board, but their strategy was pretty simple and clear: Don’t move forward with something unless you know you have the votes for it. If you can get 61 votes get them. Having 61 votes sure would have been nice when vote #60 evaporated.
Incertus
Friend of mine from grad school just released his graphic novel for the iPhone/iTouch. It’s free, and you can get it here, which opens in iTunes, or you can search for it in the App Store by looking for IslandInks. Abram is a really good guy and does fascinating work.
Now, all I need is for someone to put together an app that lets me simulate punching Joe Lieberman in the face. And will let me replace him with other politicians as the need arises.
The Moar You Know
@Hunter Gathers: Why can’t it be both?
valdivia
@ellaesther:
LOL. it is true, he is very incognito in this pic, but he look so comfy that kitteh.
Col. Klink
@ burnspbesq
At least Jake is stayin…
ET
Ok that is so cute it is wrong.
As I tell my cat frequently, he needs to tone the volume down on the Cute Meter ’cause he has got it set to lethal levels.
PeakVT
What we need around here are some cats in racks.
JenJen
Ezra’s duking it out with Marcy Wheeler on Twitter.
This week is starting to feel like Primary Hell all over again.
MattR
So I was reading at Pro Football Talk that Fidelity fired four workers for playing fantasy football. This led to a handful of comments like this one:
For some reason, I really enjoyed this response from another commenter:
I am almost ashamed that I never made the football=socialism connection before.
bayville
It looks like two of the Progressive media “elites” –Trust Fund Matt and Ezra – are campaigning for Harry Reid to be the CQ Person of the Year.
ellaesther
@valdivia: It’s pictures like this what make me miss my own none-too-friendly and now-dead cat!
She was a pain in the ass about 70% of the time, but about 30% of the time she would snuggle up against me and force me to love her, despite my better judgment. I would have enjoyed this position immensely!
John Cole
@mcc: Even with Snowe, you still do not have 60. Nelson is jerking everyone off again.
I’m betting this was the strategy all along- Baucus slows everything to a halt, then just bounce things back and forth between those two jackasses until they can kill it.
JenJen
OK, fantasy football advice needed. I’m in the playoffs, which start this week, and I’m the top seed. Do I start Reggie Wayne on Thursday? He’s been awful the last few weeks, and I don’t even know how much he’ll play between now and post-season.
My alternatives suck, though… I’m stuck with starting Steve Smith and Miles Austin, with the third slot going to Wayne, Jason Avant, Roy Williams or Johnny Knox. Do any of their matchups sound slightly better to you than starting Wayne tomorrow? I’m screwed, huh?
Oh, and don’t laugh… I made it this far with Jay Cutler and Kyle Orton, so anything could happen, right?
mp1900
(this doesn’t cost anything)
Click to give food and care for animals
http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/clickToGive/home.faces?siteId=3&ThirdPartyClicks=ARS_linktous_125_01
Sponsors pay for the food and care.
Sentient Puddle
@John Cole: What about Collins? I have no idea what’s going in her head, but she’s sitting in a fairly similar spot as Snowe. I don’t see why she couldn’t be workable.
That said, even if we set aside Nelson/Collins/whoever the hell #60 will be, it still seems to me that if the choice is between public option trigger and “I am against everything liberals are for,” Snowe is so very much the way to go.
valdivia
@ellaesther:
love your description of your relationship with your cat.
nothing better than cuddling with a cat, no matter how annoying they get.
Incertus
@MattR: It’s also got the strongest union of the major sports, I believe. I’m really worried that in the next round of bargaining, the league is going to demand the removal of salary floors, which will move them much closer to baseball–not a good thing.
mcc
@Sentient Puddle: Collins wasn’t really showing up to any of the negotiations Snowe was. I’m really not sure why Collins and Snowe are behaving so differently. I sorta wonder if the fact Snowe is up for re-election 2 years earlier than Collins may have something to do with this.
Poopyman
@ licensed to kill time , MattR, et all:
Me too, but I saw an industrial-size bag of cake icing, not powder.
To each our own Rorschach, eh?
Violet
@flukebucket:
Me too. It looked vaguely NSFW until I figured out what was going on. Clearly my mind is in the gutter.
licensed to kill time
@Poopyman:
I bet you eat the icing straight out of the bag, too. ;-)
Poopyman
You say that like it might be a problem.
Mmmmmm. Icing.
Roger Moore
@Incertus:
Not by a long shot. The strongest union in sports would be the MLBPA, which makes the NFLPA look like a bunch of pro-management stooges. The MLBPA may very well be the strongest union in the country, not just the strongest in sports.
Hunter Gathers
@Roger Moore: The MLBPA is by far the strongest union in the country. They are so damn good a middle reliever can get 5 mil a year. That’s like paying the punter 5 mil. And the NFL doesn’t even have guaranteed contracts.
General Winfield Stuck
I am about to the point with this debate, where I would recommend Reid, or the House first, just shelve the broader bill and pass a robust PO. Then the Senate taking it up as a reconciliation bill with the strongest PO they can muster from the 52 liberal senators Harkin says he has who would vote for it.
Wrap that sucker up and shove it down Ben Nelson’s purdy little pie hole, and drop kick Lieberman into the GOP with malice.
Then Obama should propose a national NO PUMA day to be permanently marked as the Wankers Holiday, where for one day a year it is illegal for them to utter one goddamn word on pain of wedgie. That is all.
MattR
@Incertus:
I could chat for hours about the upcoming NFL labor negotiations, but work will not allow me that luxury. I understand your fear about salary floors, but I am kinda hopeful that the fact that 2010 will be played without a salary floor will show the union it’s importance.
JenJen – That is a tough, tough choice. I would probably go with Wayne just because it would anger me the most if he had a great game on my bench.
Kevin K.
No shit, but it lacks TEH FUNNEEZ of things like Tuzla, myiq2xu getting torn to shreds here, and pretty much any ridiculous thing the PUMAs did. I’m still digging for a giggle when it comes to health care reform.
Susan Kitchens
GOP.AM, Michael Steele, and sites that, er, aren’t part of their liking:
Gone, but not forgotten. Nope. Not forgotten at all.
Carol
Help If you can:
Soup Kitchen Fire Destroys Food and Presents for Thousands of Needy – Action Needed Hotlist
General Winfield Stuck
And of course democrats would be so stupid as to pass a mandated insurance provision that would end up damaging the very people they depend on for votes, without necessary mitigation of the impact of a mandate provision on those very dem voters. Jeebus, it is dumb out today.
Just a request for the hand wringers and bill kill crowd, why don’t you just wait for a final bill for voting before going all native. Is that too much to ask? And spend the time till then addressing your concerns to your elected reps, who would be glad to have your input, instead of wailing like lost children on blogs. Just an idea.
ondioline
THIS IS LIKE A SUPER-DOUBLE-FAKEOUT BECAUSE IT ISN’T THE VOLUMINOUS WHITE FURBAG THAT SUPPOSEDLY HANGS OUT AROUND HERE BUT INSTEAD SOME OTHER CAT WHICH TEASES BUT DOESN’T SATISFY AS AN APPEARANCE BY THE WEIGHTY PALE FELINE WOULD (WHO WE’RE ALL WAITING FOR, SECRETLY OR NOT-SO-SECRETLY)
South of I-10
I saw Santa on the road today. He drives a Chevy pick-up and is an LSU fan. He resembles Uncle Jesse from the Dukes of Hazzard.
Roger Moore
@Hunter Gathers:
Giving a middle reliever $5M per season isn’t necessarily unreasonable, as long as you’re talking about a quality reliever. A quality middle reliever should be worth 2-3 wins above replacement, which translates into around $5M in the current MLB economy.
That’s really the key to what makes the MLBPA so effective. The union isn’t directly holding the owners up for extra money. They’re just asking for an open market, and the market forces set the crazy sounding salaries.
jeffreyw
@Poopyman:
mmm…icing
sparky
@General Winfield Stuck: gee, i guess by that logic we should just let Aetna write the bills, shouldn’t we, cuz we can always complain later. really, no point in complaining about anything during the process, right?
there is a lot of magic thinking going on here, and it is not on the part of the people who say kill the bill.
there are some good things in it. but they are incremental items for the most part. and no, it is not a sufficient trade-off to enshrine insurance companies in the driver’s seat.
General Winfield Stuck
@sparky:
I didn’t say you shouldn’t complain, I said you should direct your complaints, or concerns to people who matter that will be voting to pass legislation.
Magical thinking? double jeebus. How magical is it to slam a bill that hasn’t been made public. And is not near the final bill to be voted into law. BUT LET’S KILL IT ANYWAYS CAUSE IT FEELS GOOD. WE CAN PRETEND IT EXISTS IN THE DARKEST PARTS OF OUR IMAGINATIONS.
This is my whole point. YOU DO NOT KNOW WHAT IS IN THE BILL. You have rumors, and poilico et al reading entrails provided by anonymous legislative aids.
AND IT IS NOT THE FINAL MOTHERFUCKING BILL
sparky
@General Winfield Stuck: oh, i agree with you as to it’s not being the final bill. that’s why i didn’t get worked up over this over the summer.
but i have to disagree with you in part. if there is NO public option and NO current expansion, unless there is a magic super-secret idea that is under wraps, i am unaware of any major expansion on the public side. i would be happy to be wrong.
Morgan
Sorry for the crappy pic quality and apparently confusing angle. Maybe this well help clear things up: close-up
valdivia
@Morgan:
even cuter up close.
General Winfield Stuck
@sparky:
If it ends up being nothing but wingnut welfare to the insurance companies, with no significant expansion in coverage and void of real reforms protecting consumers, then I will join you in opposing it. I do stop short of rejection just because for now there is no federal involvement with a PO or med. buy in, if the above requirements are met in a solid way.
It will be a lot easier down the road to pass a PO and on an expedited basis by reconciliation, I think. All Pelosi has to do is round up the votes and pass a bill in a few days bypassing committees. And the senate do the same, though I don’t know if a cloture vote would be necessary to get it on the floor for reconciliation. A majority leader has all sorts of parliamentarian tricks to maybe get around that.
edit – if the final bill would save lives, then I will be for it, that is my test. It trumps all the cost control concerns, all politicking, and ideology. If it means that we will still be on track for the system to collapse. Then at least more peoples will be above ground rather than below, until said collapse.
asiangrrlMN
@licensed to kill time: Quadruple this comment or whatever the count is up to now. That’s exactly what I saw. And then, kitteh. Cute, cute, cute kitty.
@Morgan: You included no link. You fix! (h/t Steeplejack). Really cute cat, by the way.
jeffreyw, that’s it. I’m moving in. Get ready, ‘coz here I come!
gogol's wife
@Morgan:
The brilliant white paws and muzzle set off against black fur, plus vibrant pink nose, look just like my beautiful Louis. But Louis is bigger than Tunch so probably wouldn’t fit inside a hoodie.
gnomedad
@Senyordave:
Speaking of body bags, the Tauntaun Sleeping Bag is now an actual product and in stock.
asiangrrlMN
@Morgan: You did fix as I was writing my comment, so nebber mind. Very very cute! And, looks so happy, too.
mcc
@General Winfield Stuck:
We have the complete text of the House bill as passed. We have the complete text of Reid’s Senate bill currently being debated. It seems clear at this point that the Senate bill which passes will be the bill being debated with minor changes, because the Senate is now obsessed with schedule and will likely keep amendment votes to a minimum. The bill which passes conference will by the nature of conference be a combination of provisions from the two bills.
There is no mystery about what the final bill will look like at this point. It will be a mixture of text from the Senate bill under debate, the House bill that passed, maybe one or two of the Senate amendments currently under consideration, plus one new last-minute amendment to remove the public option. We have the text to basically all of these things except the last.
General Winfield Stuck
@mcc:
Still a lot of ifs, and small details with big effect that can be changed at any point by the bills manager, which is Reid, and the conference, which I think will not be a normal one, not for this bill. If Reid appoints people like Baucus and Conrad to the conference then that will portend bad things. But if it’s Harkin and Rockefeller, that will be a promising thing, along with conference instructions.
The House has drawn deep lines in the sand on a PO, and won’t be rolled easily by the senate. This too big, with too much blood sweat and tears that had gone on for decades trying to change the HCS.
You might be right in the end, but you sure don’t know it now.
General Winfield Stuck
@mcc:
When you add the House bill and the still unknown passed product of the Senate bill, you have a wide amount of possibilities, which include a PO still in the House bill. Not all that definitive at this point, is it?
Dr. Morpheus
Hey sparky, kindly show which of the senate bills actually puts any of the insurance companies in the driver’s seat.
Verse, paragraph, etc.
And while you’re at it, let me know how you’re going to get a more progressive bill even as far as the current bills are later on when the GOPpers have something to crow about and the bulk of the Democratic wing are demoralized by a stinging defeat.
Oh, and how’s killing this bill going to help climate change, DADT, immigration reform, etc.? ‘Cause the Democrats won’t exactly be negotiating from a position of strength after losing this one, will they?
jibeaux
After reading this thread, I am beginning to think we could form a consensus around increasing the subsidies for health care via a nice fat tax on major league baseball players. There could even be a reciprocal provision that the subsidy recipients go have to fill the stands at Oakland or something, I dunno. Does anyone go to major league games any more? I know the last time I compared values, the minor leagues for $4 which INCLUDES inflatable samurai wrestling and the mascot driving around in a tiny car chucking t-shirts was hands-down the better deal.
WaterGirl
@Morgan: The photo was small so I couldn’t tell what it was either, but once I clicked on the photo so it opened in its own window, I could easily see what it was. Finding the kitty was a delight that would have been lost in the close-up. No apologies!
flukebucket
@Morgan: How about doing that with the Kindle so I can see what is being read.
JenJen
@MattR:
I know. I think I might have to keep him in there just for that, but wish I could find a better reason. :-( Thanks for your thoughts!
By the way, I know I shouldn’t always make such snap judgments, but honestly, this may be the Worst Article Ever Written:
Two Black Role Models Done In By Hubris
She’s talking about Tiger Woods and Barack Obama. Yes, seriously.
R-Jud
I just looked at pictures of my cousin’s baby (born on 12/9) and now I’ve just had word that my baby’s cousin could be on the way. I am down as the second birth partner (you get two max here in socialist Britain), so I’mma chargin’ mah cell phone. Happy dance, happy dance.
Roger Moore
@jibeaux:
I like the idea of a tax on MLB players, but I think it should be extended to anyone with an MLB player-like income. Honestly, for all people bitch about professional athletes’ salaries, you’re not talking about a big business. As an example, Goldman Sachs gives out substantially more money in bonuses than the combined salaries of all the athletes in the four major sports leagues.
And yes, plenty of people do go to baseball games. Attendance was off a little bit in 2009 compared to 2008, but it was still over 70 million. The cheap tickets at most MLB parks are still affordable enough that the average working stiff can bring the whole family without breaking the bank.
Morgan
@flukebucket: I think it may have been The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, but I can’t say for sure. If not that, probably Beat The Reaper.
Steeplejack
@asiangrrlMN:
I love you too.