Blatantly Obvious

Couple of random thoughts about two high profile men this am.

First, didn’t we know this already?

John Edwards Admits Paternity of Rielle Hunter’s Child, Quinn

It’s all over the news today as if it’s, um, news. I thought we’d already been there done that. Or maybe I merely assumed that because there’s been an unrelenting preponderance of evidence all along, the case was closed. My bad. I guess he had to say it to seal it.

Second, I missed Scott Brown’s wildly inappropriate comments about his daughters during his acceptance speech Tuesday night. In case you did too, here’s the cringe-worthy moment caught on camera:

That’s not just an embarrassing dad. That’s a man who’s got little respect for women. Thanks, Massachusetts. We owe you one.

Reaction Pickup Roundup

FOXNews: Brown Win Forces Democrats to Re-Evaluate Health Care Reform Game Plan

FOXNews again: Excuses, Excuses: Democrats Dig Deep to Explain Loss in Massachusetts

Politico: Liberal spin – Live Pulse – POLITICO.com

Politico again and Pittsburgh Post Gazette: The fallout: Democrats rethinking health care bill

Salon: Democrats search for solutions after Republican Scott Brown wins …

NYT: Liberal Groups Urge Passage of Health Care Bill

Atlantic Online: The Post-Coakley Panic Of 2010

U.S. News and World Report: Activist: Scott Brown Victory Not a Referendum on Healthcare

After last night’s election, progressives and healthcare reform advocates are understandably discouraged. But they say the last thing Democrats should do right now is back down on healthcare.

“To interpret this as a national referendum on healthcare would be a mistake,” says Richard Kirsch, national director of Health Care for America Now, the largest reform advocacy group. “What the Congress needs to understand is that people expect Democrats and people in government to get something done. Using this as an excuse not to do healthcare would be totally self-defeating.”


Mass Effect

It’s not that I don’t have an opinion or that I’m not paying attention.

It’s just that I’m not going to be able to say anything about the Massachusetts special election until results are in and HCAN has made its official statement public.

When that happens, I will post it here.

UPDATE: Statement’s up.

Sticky Situation

Hope you had a good long weekend. I did. With the exception of sitting in a cab that had gum strewn across the back seat. Know what happens when you unknowingly lean back against it? You bring it home on the back of your new jacket.

But I have discovered that WD-40 is the key to removing gum. It helps that the jacket is black, and the outside is more nylon than fabric. But should you encounter such an incident at some point, there’s your solution.

You’re Welcome

Sorry I flaked yesterday. I don’t have a good excuse, but I’m totally making it up to you this morning with the following parody of Jersey Shore. Yes, the show is absolutely ridiculous, but I’m having trouble not watching. I haven’t seen last night’s doubleheader yet, but I’m guessing there was drinking, dancing, and maybe a fight:


Oh Snap!

A friend just put a photo of me on Facebook from last weekend. Apparently, I snap when I dance. I am not sure when I picked up that ultracool move, but now that I’ve seen what it looks like, I am going to have to seriously reconsider.

UPDATE: Apparently this is news to no one but me, and yet no one felt the need to tell me. For the record, I’m also now seriously reconsidering my choice in friends.

Christmas Just Came Again

We long suspected AHIP was funneling money to the Chamber while standing up and claiming to be all in favor of reform. We just didn’t have proof. Thank you, Peter Stone, for digging up the proof. National Journal:

Just as dealings with the Obama administration and congressional Democrats soured last summer, six of the nation’s biggest health insurers began quietly pumping big money into third-party television ads aimed at killing or significantly modifying the major health reform bills moving through Congress.

That money, between $10 million and $20 million, came from Aetna, Cigna, Humana, Kaiser Foundation Health Plans, UnitedHealth Group and Wellpoint, according to two health care lobbyists familiar with the transactions. The companies are all members of the powerful trade group America’s Health Insurance Plans.

The funds were solicited by AHIP and funneled to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to help underwrite tens of millions of dollars of television ads by two business coalitions set up and subsidized by the chamber. Each insurer kicked in at least $1 million and some gave multi-million dollar donations.

“There’s no question that AHIP has quietly solicited monies from their members which were funneled over to the chamber for their ads,” said a source. The total donated by the health insurers, according to one estimate, was as much as one quarter of the chamber’s total healthcare advertising budget.

Read the whole article. Here’s our statement in response:

“AHIP has paid lip service to reform while paying the Chamber to oppose it. Insurers rigged and gamed the political system the same way they do with people’s health insurance claims and medical care.

We’ve assumed all along the insurance industry was secretly funding the Chamber of Commerce’s vicious campaign against reform. The National Journal article exposes AHIP and its member companies for what they are – corporate machines that care about profits, not people.

We demand the Chamber of Commerce reveal exactly how much money it has received from the insurance industry to kill reform, and we demand AHIP and the insurance companies reveal how much money they are funneling into other front groups besides the Chamber.

Every time we see an ad against reform, Americans should ask which insurance company paid for it. And going forward, we should now always be asking, ‘When the Chamber of Commerce talks, who’s paying?’

If the National Journal found evidence of $20 million, imagine how much more of our overpriced premiums have been used to pay for deceitful ads to protect insurance profits.

We simply cannot trust the health insurance industry to act in anyone’s best interest but its own.”


Funny and then Not So Much

My friend Jenny has a very clever post up today called 10 Resolutions I Can Actually Keep. An excerpt:

2. Gain Weight

I will add carbs to my diet with reckless abandon. I will start each meal with a generous helping of bread and rolls onto which I will spread an obnoxious amount of butter. I will stuff food into my mouth with such fervor it will make other eaters uncomfortable to watch. I vow to eat everything a la mode, including ice cream.

3. Workout Less

This will actually take serious effort. The only thing harder would be to shower less. If I need the proverbial cup of sugar, I will drive to my neighbor’s garage and beep until she comes out and hands it to me. I will take elevators in two-story buildings. Lastly, I will drop my membership to the gym and use the money I save to buy more carbs.

And then in the “less than humorous” column, there’s last night’s 60 Minutes piece detailing the disastrous VP candidate that was Sarah Palin. It’s nothing you didn’t already know and/or suspect, but it’s infuriating nonetheless. Sullivan has a good wrap. Here’s the video:



Random

This could be one of those things that’s been bumping around online for a while, but Levana just sent it to me so as far as I’m concerned, it’s newish enough to post:

How to tell if your cat is plotting to kill you

I could be in trouble.

Can You Hear Me Now?

You sure can. I’m doing my usual Jeff Santos Show spot in about 2 minutes. Click on the live link here (or the podcast link after the show).