LiveBlog for Tuesday, October 27, 2009

kurtzHoward Kurtz, media columnist for “The Washington Post,” calls in at 6:05am Pacific to talk about his latest column, “Armchair Quarterbacks.”

Rep. Chris Murphy (D-CT) calls in at 6:30am Pacific to talk about health care reform.

Pierce• Humorist Charlie Pierce , author of “Idiot America” calls in at 7:30am Pacific to riff on the news of the day.

Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) calls in at 8:30am Pacific to talk about health care reform.

• Health care legislation heading to the Senate floor will give millions of Americans the option of purchasing government-run insurance coverage, Majority Leader Harry Reid announced yesterday. Reid said individual states would have the choice of opting out of the program.

• The government will release figures this week expected to show that the economy has emerged from its recession and is in the early stages of recovery. But the following week, the government will issue another set of figures expected to show unemployment continuing to rise toward and possibly above a clearly recessionary 10 percent.

An al-Qaida linked group claimed responsibility for the twin suicide bombings in the heart of Baghdad that killed at least 155 people ahead of January’s elections.

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Someone above asked about the anti-abortion amendment and another said it was no big deal because abortion is still legal. Here's the thing--this amendment says that private insurance companies cannot cover abortions. Currently they can if they like. I wonder what all the free-market, anti-regulation, pro-insurance-companies-can-do-what-they-want conservatives think about the government telling them that they CANNOT provide coverage for abortions. Shouldn't they be outraged? I mean, if they weren't hypocritical.

And here's Michelle Malkin in Scots:

Hollywuid hearts Obama. Obama hearts government-directed national service. 'at is wa ye won’t be able tae change th' tv channel aw week withit gettin' lectured abit th' need tae gie aff th' cooch an' dae somethin'. (after yer favorite shows ur ower, ay coorse.) creeped it? ye shoods be. the entertainment industry, inspired by obama’s $6 billion expansion ay government volunteerism spendin', is coordinatin' plot lines an' ads tae push public service. “the message will be nearly ubiquitoos,” reports th' los angeles times, “startin' in th' morn wi' programs sic' as ‘today’ an' ‘the view,’ an' 'en echoed oan soap operas, prime-time series an' late-necht shows.” first quine michelle obama, a relentless americorps promoter fa publicly extolled th' tinseltoon initiatife lest month, will bunnit aff th' week wi' an appearance oan “the jay leno show” oan friday.

have a great aftershow evveyboddy

PS: "Check out da Ali G translator! Just type in wot ya want to say, an' da whoohoo.co.uk translator will convert hit into Ali G speek!"

195: there is plenty of blame to go around. - i could not imagine, as a reporter called upon after that, not demanding a follow-thru.

So Gingrich is now a moderate Republican??

When did this happen?

Well goodbye y'all, have a day.

And remember: hi/bye. Everybody's doing it.

Every time I hear this War crap from Fox, I remember this: it was the Bush White House who banned Helen Thomas when she had the temerity to ask what the he** he was doing in Iraq.

And here it is in Scottie:

Is Steph’s brither jumpin' up an' doon oan his cooch? is he accusin' steph ay bein' “glib,” an' “repressed?”

maddow would be better than gibbs and repressive combined.

"there's the proof that obama is dishonest, folks. you heard how intense that cheer was. it shows how many fake soldiers he hired for this photo op." - rush, later today

Afghan is not a war
it's a debacle
a ruin
a quagmire
a disaster

187 188 No Sparta for you... or anyone else today

I don't mind drs making $290K, I do mind them making
millions

now Jim from Deetroit

Well I gotta run. Have a good day everyone.

Time to get going - everyone have a good day bloggos!

Matt from Dee Town

Represent!

#57, #150: "The micropopulous states that will opt out will become even more micropopulous. It’s a quality of life issue, and those that want to live will go where healthcare is affordable."

So this could be a way for certain states to get rid of their tired, their poor, their huddled masses yearning to be insured - and save themselves a whole lot of money on social services and healthcare (not to mention lose a lot of inconvenient voters)? That could be a dangerous precedent.

182: it's just a flesh wound.

why does obama hate the troops so much ?

And like Bagdad Bob saying all is well even as Saddam's kingdom collapsed, you still have the right wing noise machine saying all is well when it comes to the GOP.

Medicare may pay less than private insurance, but it also costs doctors less. They don't need to spend the money on office staff to be constantly negotiating with and filling out appeal paperwork with hostile insurance providers when they're doing a medicare claim.

got a hardball tweet ? - like charlie brown did at every house ? what a crappy halloween.

169---Well apparently only repressed, gay people can spot fraud. More power to 'em.

We have the same problem here in Western Colorado, doctors can't make it on medicare rates. Last year my town ran out of doctors who were willing to take new medicare patients. The city had to do some kind of subsidy to get doctors to take medicare patients again.

If that's a problem, then Medicare rates for rural areas need to be adjusted. Weakening the PO by getting rid of the Medicare link is not the solution.

175: the trick is to look beyond the balloonatic fringe. it turns out that falcon butters heene was outside the box. ask for his insights.

#173, I can never find a balloonist with that in his repertoire.

173: you make smokey robinson cry.

Pervertimento for Bagpipes, Bicycle and Balloons

something PeterW has played no doubt

The network of record? Watched by 1% of the population?

The Home for Young Hussies and Trollops
Steph's Alma Mater

160: france is repressive and gay.

Hannity is
So
Damned
Annoying

Here's a good news story about free mental health care for Vets so they don't have to wait in long lines at the VA:
http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_13648186?source=r...

154: clearly, what steph's brother meant was "kliban-possessed".
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.goo...

152 great post Ivan. Craphammer is perfect, so is the
idea of beating up his ugly mug in the paper. At least
it's better than nothing

Hedgecock is nothing more than a male bird in the bush. Remember a bird in the hand is worth many in the bush. So screw Bush!

#156.

No busses at the Town Hall I attended. No one was "bussed in".

Did it happen in other states? Certainly. Most of them blue. They didn't need to "bus" anyone in the Red States.

144 Amen Spiff
we have no choice but to keep trying

"Trying to find out what the hell is really going on behind
the blizzard of lies put out by the 24 chief conspiracies
on this planet is hard work, long hours, and low pay;
and if by chance you do find out part of it, the fanatics
of every ideology will jump all over you with spiked heels"
Robert Anton Wilson, The Illuminati Papers p. 90

This post is for Jim: Church of Scientology is convicted of fraud in France. Ha ha.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-f...

149: sounds both civil and practical.
i'm with you.
social darwinism:
it's not just a good idea, it's the law.

Mugged by right wing morons..

#148, who do you think bussed the town hall people in? AHIP did.

Local organizations do not spend political money on national battles. They spend them on local ones.

And the chances that opt-out will be in the hands of one man (Perry) are just about zero.

Bret Hume, bite my ass.