The U.S. Supreme Court has denied Virginia’s petition to have its lawsuit against federal health-care legislation bypass appellate review and be heard directly by the court.
As a result, the lawsuit will continue on its current path to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which is scheduled to hear the case May 10 in Richmond.
Vicki Kennedy Praises Health Care Passage
The huge unseen presence hung over the Capitol yesterday as the democrats voted for the hotly debated Health Care Reform Legislation. That presence was the spirit of the Lion of the Senate: Senator Teddy Kennedy. Health Care Legislation was Kennedy’s life-long goal during his long tenure in public service. His widow, Vicki Kennedy, visited the grave of her deceased husband to reflect.
Huffington Post:
Appearing on CNN’s ‘John King, USA’ the widow of former Sen. Ted Kennedy pointed to the commitment made by President Barack Obama and Speaker Nancy Pelosi as particularly critical for reform’s passage.
“I think that President Obama showed incredible determination and courage and focus when he continued this battle; and Speaker Pelosi to continue to rally the troops and the leaders in the House of Representatives showed incredible determination and focus and courage,” Kennedy said. “And I think it is a real tribute to all the members of the House of Representatives as well. I think it is a real tribute to all of them and I am deeply, deeply, grateful, as I think are the American people.”
Kennedy echoed a common refrain from her late husband — a longtime health care reform champion — in arguing that the public will fully embrace the legislation’s passage.“You know Teddy always said that when we finally pass health care reform and when people understand what’s in the bill and what benefits there are for them, they are going to say ‘What took you so long?’ And I think that’s going to happen here,” Kennedy said
Michael Moore: My Congressman, Bart Stupak, Has Neither a Uterus Nor a Brain
Michael Moore is a strange person. I have never seen one of his films. I have always assumed that he was far too liberal for my taste. Yet he is an interesting, thought-provoking man at times, in the interviews with him that I have seen. He has a middle class background with middle class values. He also seems to think capitalism is evil. Perhaps I misunderstood him though. He is not what people sometimes call ‘the Hollywood elite.’ I found his letter in the Huffington Post and almost didn’t read it.
I am going to ask you to read his letter. Please do not comment on Michael Moore. Our like or dislike of him is not the issue. Please respond to what he says. Any part of it. There are many layers in what he has to say.
Friends,
I live in Michigan, in one of the 31 counties represented in the U.S. House of Representatives by none other than Mr. Bart Stupak, a Democrat. You’ve probably never heard of him. He’s a pretty quiet guy, a former Michigan State Police trooper who boldly decided to run some 18 years ago as a Democrat in a rural part of Michigan that votes almost exclusively for Republicans (yes, I know — what am I doing here? I’ll save that story for a future letter).
His voting record is pretty conservative for a Democrat, but he’s had a few shining moments. In the wake of the Columbine shootings, he voted for some gun control, a not-too-popular position to take here in northern Michigan. The NRA came after him with all they had in 2000.
Senate Finance Committee Passes Health Care Bill
As the Senate Finance Committee passed a $829 Billion bill that reshapes the health care system today, sides squared off for the mother-lode of battles: The White House vs The Health Care Insurance Lobby.
Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME) was the lone Republican to cast her vote in favor of this reform.
According to the Washington Post:
…[A]ttacks on the leading Democratic reform plan this week by the insurance lobby left little doubt that two of the most powerful institutions involved in the debate — the White House and the nation’s insurance companies — have abandoned any real hope of forging a compromise. What was a tenuous truce has turned quickly into an all-out battle, with both sides ratcheting up the hostilities.
As the Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday approved a 10-year, $829 billion bill to remake the health-care system, Obama’s top advisers and the insurers moved into a more intense stage of conflict.
“The insurance industry has decided to lead the charge against health reform, and everyone recognizes their motives: profits,” said White House deputy communications director Dan Pfeiffer. “We are going to make sure they can’t sink this effort at the last minute.”
After watching all those commercials intended to scare the crap out of people, after listening to all those tea party people, after listening so many say that we have the best health system in the world, one has ask themself: Why are we letting the people who have been cheating us and robbing us blind all these years dictate national policy?
Health Care Donations to Candidates
The Manassas blog Republican bad-boys are trying their level best to tie Candidate Deeds into the ACORN scandal. I guess the model is Cooch. (Eye rolling time) Give it up, bad-boys, it won’t work. However, it did start off a vicious circle of following the money.
Both gubernatorial candidates donations seemed to follow some patterns. Tobacco, transportation, health care/physicians and carbon based energy industries seemed to follow McDonnell. Verizon was a heavy contributor but they didn’t seem to follow a party. The pork industry seemed to follow McDonnell. Lots of money has come out of Smithfield, VA… Luters, Smithfield, etc.
The one that totally torqued me was Anthem. It wasn’t who they gave money to but the fact that they were giving away $180,000 to Virginia campaigns. Why? Where is this money coming from (she asks innocently.)? Why are these clowns in a position to donate this much money? Check it out for yourself at www.vpap.org.
Perhaps this is where health care reform should start. Those who insure us need to stop giving away money. If they stopped giving away money, perhaps our premiums would be cheaper. I got no further than Anthem. I was totally disgusted.
