Economic Crisis Will Cause Health Crisis

Paul Krugman, Nobel Prize-winning economist, published a thought-provoking piece about the economic crisis and its effect on urgency of universal health care. I'll quote the first and last paragraphs, but you really should read the whole article to understand the excellent analysis:

The whole world is in recession. But the United States is the only wealthy country in which the economic catastrophe will also be a health care catastrophe — in which millions of people will lose their health insurance along with their jobs, and therefore lose access to essential care.
. . .
The bottom line, then, is that this is no time to let campaign promises of guaranteed health care be quietly forgotten. It is, instead, a time to put the push for universal care front and center. Health care now!

It has always baffled me that those who claim to support economic freedom are satisfied with the reality that most people are tied to their employers if they want health care for their families. Now that middle-class families are losing health care benefits, perhaps the wisdom of breaking that link will become more apparent to more people.

Fair Pay for My Daughter and Yours

It's been only nine days? Every single day brings a sharp break with where our country was under the administration that ended just nine days ago - and today was no exception. Today, President Obama signed into law the Lillie Ledbetter Fair Pay Act - blocked by Bush and Senate Republicans last session - which nullifies a stunningly bad Supreme Court decision and ensures that fair pay really means fair pay.
Near the end of a 19 year career at Goodyear Tire, Ledbetter learned that she'd been underpaid for her entire tenure there. She sued, but the Supreme Court in 2007 agreed with Goodyear that she'd missed her chance because she didn't sue Gooodyear within 180 days of their decision to underpay her.
The new law - which every male Republican senator except Areln Specter voted against - extends the statute for another 180 days after each discriminatory paycheck, the way the law was prior to the decision. As the President said, this was about justice.

Apparently, I am being missed, so...

...I do have a few observations:

First, legitimate criticisms of policy are appropriate. Cheap shots at the personal appearance of officeholders are not. One of the problems with allowing the Frat Boys on both sides to play is that they really do not know the difference.

Second, anyone who thinks the Bush Justice Department did not engage in political investigations & indictments belongs in the 27% of those delusional folks who still think W. did a good job. Or maybe the .001% who think the Earth is flat. KC now has the distinction of being the only place with a former US Attorney who was clearly guilty of committing perjury by lying to Congress. Even the Kansas Bar should be embarrassed to have him practicing behind the Wheat Curtain (as Judge Moore used to call it).

One thing is certain: Schlozman committed perjury beyond anything Bill Waris ever did. (The only lie Bill Waris ever told was the one he had to tell to plead guilty to a crime he did not commit to save his family from that nightmare.)

As for Gov. Bozo? A few thoughts (having read the complaint):

A. Do we really think what he was doing is a lot different from what a wiretap would have picked up during a chat between Bush & Chaney? Which is certainly not a defense of Gov. Bozo's clumsey crapola.

B. Do we really think that the decision to charge him by complaint (instead of a Grand Jury indictment), and staging a pre-dawn raid on the home of a sitting Democratic governor at a time most likely to derail good coverage of the Obama transition, was apolitical? Assuming that Gov. Bozo was engaged in anything beyond political masturbation, it would seem that a prosecutor would hold off allerting him until there was a "bidder" in this "auction". Unless...

C. Think there is any chance Fitzgerald might be considering a run for governor or senator in the future? Any chance less than 100%? He has been chasing Mayor Dailey, too. Jumping the gun on Gov. Bozo assured that he became untouchable (pardon the Chicago pun) by the new administration, which is pretty well forced to keep him .

Glad you missed me.