Over the weekend, President Obama sent the directive down to the HHS department to come up with new rules to extend hospital visitation rights to same-sex partners (or, for that matter, whoever the patient dicates). The new rules, spelled out here, once implemented, would apply to any hospital that receives Medicare or Medicaid funding (that […]

The pack of teabaggers in the hotel lobby this morning reminded me that today is tax day. They’re apparently heading out on the Mall today to bitch about having to pay their share for roads, bridges, police officers and firefighters and all those other aspects of civilization they use every day that taxes, y’know, pay […]

Like most road Mondays, I had lunch with the usual pack of travelling co-workers on the way to the office. As we often do, we talked about our project, and how our agency can’t be as efficient as private industry can be at doing certain things, because we have to account for regulations that they […]

…I hope I look half as good and have half as much apparent energy, chutzpah, and, uh, gonads as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Who am I kidding, she’s probably in better shape than I am right now. I suspect she has a portrait of an old crumbling zombie wearing a tasteful pantsuit hidden in her […]

…but this is as good an explanation as any for why I self-identify as a Democrat rather than something else: Sayeth President Obama as he worked to corral House Democrats to support the health care reform bill: …Something inspired you to get involved, and something inspired you to be a Democrat instead of running as […]

That was the pull quote from the President’s message a little after midnight, after the House passed the health care reform bill. This business isn’t quite over yet; the Senate has to pass another piece of fix-it legislation, though (knock on whatever hard surface you have on hand) it doesn’t appear there’ll be a serious […]

Long week, though reasonably productive. Still, happy to be heading into the weekend. Before I get to the tunes, a little something worth your time: A reasonably thorough but not overly long overview of the health care bill, that, with luck, is going to see a vote (and hopefully get passed) on Sunday afternoon. Not […]

What wonkette said: Just pass the damned thing, and own it. Health care reform is the kind of thing politicians should be proud of delivering to their constituents, not trying to run from while still passing it. So, House Democrats, go with “deem and pass” if you feel you have have to if it’ll get […]

In today’s latest edition of “People elsewhere on the internet have said interesting things”, I point you, dear reader, to the always excellent slacktivist, where the author examines the way American political factions have advocated for their position on health care reform in terms of popular game show programs. In short, President Obama and most […]

In the last two and a quarter centuries of American history, it’s always been fashionable for politicians and politically motivated organizations to include callbacks to well-known historical documents and quotations in their speeches and published materials. President Obama titled his speech on race in America during the 2008 campain “A More Perfect Union,” referencing the […]