To start your weekend off right, this look back by Paul Slansky. Though, as usual, we are open to commenters who want to tell us why you think you will remember this week.
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House Health Care Plan
The key committee chairmen put out an outline today of their approach to health care reform (more in-depth info here), and there’s one thing they want you to know about it: “Uniquely American,” said House Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller. Added Energy and Commerce’s Henry Waxman: “Uniquely American.” And what does …
House Passes Iran Resolution
The U.S. House of Representatives today overwhelmingly passed a resolution 405-1, with two voting present, criticizing Iran for its recent crack down on protestors and communication lines in the wake of last week’s contested election. Ron Raul was the lone dissenter.
The House of Representatives expresses its support for all Iranian
…
Moving Past Notre Dame
I doubt it was anything other than a coincidence, but it’s worth noting that on the same day that Obama spoke about the importance of “comprehensive immigration reform” in remarks before Hispanic Prayer Breakfast, the U.S. Catholic Bishops called for reform of the nation’s immigration laws at their annual gathering and offered their …
There Will Be Blood
The Washington Post’s increasingly strident op-ed page offers a double-barreled neocon assault on President Obama’s Iran position today by Charles Krauthammer and Paul Wolfowitz. And it’s interesting to see these fellows–among the smartest of the neos–deploy the usual intellectual shortcuts in the neoconservative bag of tricks: Broad, …
Must-Read Health Care Story of the Day
In the latest issue of dead-tree TIME, our colleague Michael Grunwald tells us how the Mayo Clinic manages to offer better health care and spend less money at the same time.
The Finance Committee’s Work in Progress
The Washington Post’s Ezra Klein has gotten hold of an outline of the health care reform bill that the Senate Finance Committee is working on. It gives a clue to their direction, although it is certain to change–perhaps substantially–between now and the time the committee begins formally drafting the bill after the July Fourth recess. …
Power to the Tweeple!
Today’s Pentagon news briefing included a discussion of the influence of social networking in general and Twitter in particular. We learned that the Secretary of Defense doesn’t have a clue how to Tweet, but the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs does:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAvSmf5iDss&hl=en&fs=1&]
H/T: The C-SPAN …
The Low Bar For Great Exhortations: W vs. Obama
Drudge is in a twist. Huffington Post is atwitter. The last president, George W. Bush, we are told, “slams” and “attacks” the current president. Big news, right? Especially big because Bush has been doing such a good job of not pulling a Cheney up to now.
But once we click through the headlines, what do we find? A Washington Times …
A Public Plan: Three-Quarters Want To Have That Choice
Both the NYT/CBS and Wall Street Journal/NBC polls out today have produced some “honeymoon is over” headlines. But buried in the WSJ/NBC poll is this bit of data that is of interest to those of us following the health care debate. Asked whether a health care overhaul should give people a choice of both private insurance and a plan …
Latest Column
My reporting from Iran.
A note on communications: Several commenters have asked if I was prevented from blogging while I was in Iraq. The answer is yes and no. The problems were mostly technical: the wireless system in my hotel was so slow I was unable to open Word Press. The one time I did post, I did it via email and Karen put it …
Health Care: Not So Fast
All those promises of speedy action on health care reform legislation are starting to look a lot more dubious in the two Senate committees that have major jurisdiction. This week has been a reality check, thanks to some early estimates by the Congressional Budget Office. Here’s a look at where things stand.
UPDATE: At Kaiser Health …
The G.O.P. Health Care Plan(s)
Here’s a story from me about the plethora of G.O.P. alternative health care proposals. As I was about to blog this House Minority Leader John Boehner’s spokesman Michael Steel, having read my story, emailed to remind me that their plans have no less detail than the Dems’ plans at this point. Fair enough — Karen made a similar point this …