Caption this photo of Rachel Maddow from Newsbusters.

Photo is now after the jump – I didn’t like seeing it on the front page anymore…

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Jenna Lee was talking to Rep Peter Welch (D-VT) about Obamacare today.

Lee: So you’re proposing (if I could just jump in here) you’re proposing  to provide an up and down vote on some of the key provisions in the law, a few of them that you’ve already mentioned [ed: pre-existing conditions, child in entry level job right out of high school] and you feel that that way it would be a good way, it seems almost to edit, you can go piece by piece through the law. Talk to us a little about that, your idea, and reaction so far from both sides of the aisle on that.

Welch: The Republicans said they’re gonna have open which would give us these up and down votes but they’re not gonna do it on health care and that’s unfortunate because I actually do think editing it is what the American people want. You know, if you ask people, ‘should you be able to get insurance if you have a pre-existing condition?’ they say, ‘yes’, so why not let us vote yes or no on all of these independent provisions some of which are very popular and supported, others of which may need some more work. And my position is that my constituents are entitled to know where I stand on each of these provisions and the point of an up or down vote is that I’m on record and then people can decide two years from now whether they want me to return or whether they want to send me packing.

Lee: So as of when…

Welch: [interrupting] It’s about accountability.

Lee: I see.  the latest information I have is just from about a day ago as far as how many members sign on because that could happen at any time. It looks like it’s only Democratic members. Any Republicans sign on with your proposal?

Welch: No, the Republicans are really united in this repeal, so it’s repeal and erase everything. And you know that’s a major decision that they made. This was a great campaign issue for them and as I said they beat us up. But we’re not campaigning now. There’s the responsibility of government. And the question that any of us who have been elected has to ask is what are the impacts of our legislation on the people that we represent? And taking away these insurance reforms is unnecessary and very unwise.

Lee: A quick final question, I only have about 30 seconds here, but does it feel like there’s a change beyond just the repeal of healthcare law, does it feel like there’s a change in the dynamic between the two parties and that the two parties can work together on this issue and others?

Welch: Well, it remains to be seen. I’m hopeful because I actually think a lot of folks who – everybody who got elected –  comes here with the same goals and aspirations. And this partisan line is getting in the way. We saw in the Lame Duck session a lot of progress being made on a bipartisan basis and if America is going to start addressing its problems we have to work together in order to do that.

Lee: Congressman Welch, a pleasure to have you as always and we look forward to talking to you again sir.

Welch: Thank you.

I did this transcription because of a couple things I heard Mr. Welch say. The first thing that drew my attention was his statement about people liking the pre-existing condition provision. He said, “You know, if you ask people, ‘should you be able to get insurance if you have a pre-existing condition?’ they say, ‘yes’, so why not let us vote yes or no on all of these independent provisions some of which are very popular and supported, others of which may need some more work.”

If you ask people if they’d like to be able to get car insurance after their car is in an accident or if they’d like to get renter’s or homeowner’s insurance after their place is broken into or burns down they’d say yes too.

Ask people if they’d essentially like something for nothing and they’ll say yes.

Years ago I was in the position of having a child with pre-existing conditions and in need of insurance. This was right about the time that a law was passed so that if you had a pre-existing condition and, say, changed jobs, as long as you were covered by the prior insurance company for that condition, the new insurance company would cover you as well. Up until that time, my daughter would not be covered for her condition for one year under the policy the rest of the family was on. After that year she’d be covered completely. Yes, costs for that one year can be high depending on the condition, but it’s not forever. It’s not as though the person can never be insured.

The second part that jumped out was when Rep. Welch said about repealing Obamacare:

This was a great campaign issue for them and as I said they beat us up. But we’re not campaigning now.

“But we’re not campaigning now”… Does that mean that he believes that people should campaign on what gets them elected and then fuggedaboudit? Kind of sounds like it, but then his next sentences also caught my attention.

There’s the responsibility of government. And the question that any of us who have been elected has to ask is what are the impacts of our legislation on the people that we represent?

Did he ask the question before they voted on a bill that no one had read, that Nancy Pelosi said had to be passed before anyone could find out what was in it?

Durbin (D-IL) doesn’t believe in the Laffer Curve. He might need to take another intro to Economics course.

We are learning, unfortunately, that the new Republican leadership replaced ‘pay as you go’ with ‘pretend as you go’. The latest Republican artifice is even funnier than the Laffer Curve.

So, I was getting tired of the old look even with the header changes, so I made a new one!

Of course this is only possible using the 12 hour clock when we’re doing this in the afternoon, but by 1:11 am I was asleep.

Happy 1:11 (pm) on 1/1/11.

It’ll be more fun on Veterans’ Day when it’s 11:11 on 11/11/11.

Happy New Year!

Wishing all (2) of my readers a healthy, happy, and prosperous New Year!

MSNBC brings us a story about seat belts and school buses.

Ashley Brown, 16, and Alicia Bonura, 18, both of Beaumont, Texas, died March 29, 2006. They were on a bus carrying their West Brook High School soccer team when it overturned near Devers, Texas, on its way to a playoff game in Humble.

Their friend Allison Forman was among the 21 injured in the bus accident. Allison’s dad, Steve, and Ashley’s dad, Brad think that if the bus had been safer, their children wouldn’t be dead or injured.

So they successfully lobbied for a state law in Texas to mandate seat belts in all school buses. Ashley and Alicia’s Law.

But there aren’t seat belts in the buses. The Texas Education Agency hasn’t put them in because the state legislature has reduced the necessary funding by two thirds.

I feel for Ashley and Alicia’s families. I feel for the teens that were injured and their families. But mandating  seat belts in buses isn’t the answer.

As the story states, buses are very safe vehicles. The smaller, special needs buses will have seat belts for two reasons, one is that the smaller buses are categorized like cars and second because special needs students may require a belt or harness to ensure the child stays in his or her seat.

I’ve put children on both types of buses. I’ve ridden on the large buses as an adult, when going on a field trip with my son’s second grade class.  The article correctly describes the seats and arrangement of the seats on a school bus. The article also brings these statistics:

About 440,000 public school buses carry 24 million children more than 4.3 billion miles a year, but only about six children die each year in bus accidents, according to annual statistics compiled the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. About 800 children, by contrast, die every year walking, biking or being driven to school in cars or other passenger vehicles, said Ron Medford, the agency’s deputy director.

Adding seat belts to buses could cost anywhere from $8,000 to $15,000 per bus and belts don’t work on buses the way they do in cars. Even seat belts in cars don’t work for children the way they do for adults which is why car seats are mandated for children.

Even on municipal buses, which don’t have the seating arrangement or padding of school buses, one doesn’t think twice about the fact that there is no seat belt.

So, while I am sorry about the loss of life and injuries in that bus accident, the costs far outweigh the benefits.

Luke 2: 10-11

¹⁰And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

¹¹For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

KJV

Merry Christmas to all!

A beautiful Christmas song:

Mary, did you know
That your baby boy will one day walk on water?
Mary, did you know
That your baby boy will save our sons and daughters?
Did you know
That your baby boy has come to make you new?
This child that you’ve delivered
Will soon deliver you

Mary, did you know
That your baby boy will give sight to a blind man?
Mary, did you know
That your baby boy will calm a storm with his hand?
Did you know
That your baby boy has walked where angels trod?
When you kiss your little baby
You’ve kissed the face of God

Mary, did you know?
The blind will see
The deaf will hear
The dead will live again
The lame will leap
The dumb will speak
The praises of the lamb

Mary, did you know
That your baby boy is Lord of all creation?
Mary, did you know
That your baby boy will one day rule the nations?
Did you know
That your baby boy is heaven’s perfect lamb?
This sleeping child you’re holding
Is the great I AM

(buddy greene, mark lowry)

It Came Upon A Midnight Clear

It came upon a midnight clear
That glorious song of old
From angels bending near the earth
To touch their harp of gold

Peace on earth, good will to men
From heaven’s all gracious King
The world in solemn stillness lay
To hear the angels sing

Still through the cloven skies they come
With peaceful wings unfurled
And still their heavenly music floats
O’er all the weary world

Above its sad and lowly plains
They bend on hovering wing
And ever o’er its Babel sounds
The blessed angels sing

For lo! The days are hastening on
By prophet barbs foretold
When with the ever circling years
Comes round the age of gold

When peace shall overall the earth
Its ancient splendors fling
And the whole world send back the song
Which now the angels sing.

Previous:

Santa Claus, Santa Claus You Are Much Too Fat
The Little Drummer Boy
Joy To The World
I Saw Three Ships Come Sailing In
Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring
O Come All Ye Faithful
We Three Kings
O Holy Night
Angels We Have Heard on High, Gloria
Carol of the Bells/God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
White Christmas

White Christmas

(The Incomparable Bing Crosby – from Holiday Inn)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vPfOjAw5Z0
I’m dreaming of a white Christmas
Just like the ones I used to know
Where the treetops glisten,
and children listen
To hear sleigh bells in the snowI’m dreaming of a white Christmas
With every Christmas card I write
May your days be merry and bright
And may all your Christmases be white

I’m dreaming of a white Christmas
With every Christmas card I write
May your days be merry and bright
And may all your Christmases be white

Previous:
Santa Claus, Santa Claus You Are Much Too Fat
The Little Drummer Boy
Joy To The World
I Saw Three Ships Come Sailing In
Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring
O Come All Ye Faithful
We Three Kings
O Holy Night
Angels We Have Heard on High, Gloria
Carol of the Bells/God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen