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July 2, 2009, at 7:02 am

The Republican Healthcare Plan

As near as I can tell, the Republican Healthcare Plan is that no change is necessary. Except mayble less government coverage than today.

If ‘free market’ healthcare is the best approach then why hasn’t it:

1. reduced costs?
2. increased quality?
3. eliminated the phrase “pre-existing conditions” from our vocabulary?
4. covered all Americans?
5. caused the insurance industry to establish preventive healthcare programs?

Please explain how the current program benefits America when America ranks 37th in world healthcare.

Anyone?

While I am not a fan of an ‘all insurance’ health plan, I will take this over what we have now regardless of what Leader Limbaugh says.

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July 2, 2009, at 6:13 am

One final (I promise) thought on Mark Sanford

What bothers me most about South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford’s affair isn’t the fact that he abandoned his wife and children on Father’s Day weekend to be with his mistress – though that is pretty reprehensible. What bothers me the most is his continued statements that his mistress is his soul mate. In an interview with the Associated Press, Gov. Sanford said, “I will be able to die knowing that I had met my soul mate,” and the “soul mate” he’s referring to isn’t his wife.

As a man who’s never taken marriage lightly, I just really want to punch Mark Sanford right in the face, because he’s a Grade-A jackass.

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July 2, 2009, at 5:41 am

Check out Taco Bell’s new green menu!

Sounds delicious to me!

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July 2, 2009, at 4:45 am

Thursday Music – 07/02/09

This week’s musical selections go back in time with some oldies but goodies. First up is”Pretty Woman” by Roy Orbison:

Next up is “Heartbreak Hotel” by none other than Elvis:



And finally, here’s one of my personal favorites, a favorite I happily share with my stepdaughter, Johnny Cash with “Ring of Fire”:

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July 1, 2009, at 5:43 pm

Schwarzenegger declares fiscal emergency in California

There’s bad news coming out of California, where Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has declared a fiscal emergency to address California’s deficit Gov. Schwarzenegger has ordered state offices closed three days a month to save cash, and the Legislature will have 45 days to send him a plan to balance the state’s budget, which ended the fiscal year with a $24.3 billion deficit. California’s budget shortfall is expected to grow by $7 billion because the Legislature did not enact several stopgap measures Tuesday, and if lawmakers fail to act within the 45 days, they cannot adjourn or act on other bills until they solve the crisis. It’s also worth noting California’s state economy would be the eighth largest national economy in the world, so a collapse of California’s economy certainly wouldn’t bode well for any economic recovery in the nation – and possibly the world.

I guess the silver lining in this story is that as bad as Wisconsin’s budget deficit is, it could always be worse.

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July 1, 2009, at 12:33 pm

Bar throws fundraiser for man who kills passenger

Here’s the setup:

Jay Taylor got drunk.

Jay Taylor made a choice to drive while drunk.

Jay Taylor chose to drive a motorcycle, for which he didn’t have a license, drunk.

Jay Taylor, driving drunk on the motorcycle he wasn’t licensed to drive, killed his female passenger, who happened to be his girlfriend.

In response to the tragedy, Taylor’s favorite tavern, Fatties on the Lake in Campbellsport (where he also happens to be a bartender) has decided to throw a fundraiser – for Jay Taylor:

On the fliers it posted around that area, the bar says Taylor was in a “very bad and tragic bike accident” but doesn’t mention his role in that crash or say exactly how the money will be used.

The flier says he can’t work or get insurance. “We hope that you will join us for some of the fun activities that we are going to hold to help our friend down this long, hard road ahead of him,” it reads.

This has to be a new low.

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July 1, 2009, at 12:22 pm

You scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours

I wish I could say I’m shocked, but I’m not:

A struggling Hawaiian bank received $135 million in bailout funding in January after the office of a U.S. Senator with large stock holdings in the company called federal regulators.

Central Pacific Financial Corp. “was an unlikely candidate” for assistance under the Troubled Asset Relief Program by the time the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. received a phone call from the office of Sen. Daniel Inouye, according to a joint report by the Washington Post and Propublica.org.

It’s worth noting experts told the Post and ProPublica that the phone call did not violate any laws, but while the call may not have violated any laws, it still stinks to high heaven in my opinion.

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July 1, 2009, at 12:13 pm

Why does that sound so familiar?

In a recent press release attacking Rep. Gwen Moore, Republican Congressional candidate Dan Sebring said the following (emphasis mine):

Has it slipped the Congresswoman’s mind that we are currently engaged in two wars, and America’s young men and women continue to stand in harm’s way so that we may sleep comfortably under the blanket of freedom they help provide?”

As I read the press release, I couldn’t help but be struck by how familiar the line I emphasized seemed, and thanks to The Google, I’ve figured out why it sounds so familiar:



Apparently Dan Sebring’s a really big fan of “A Few Good Men,” and while I can’t blame him (it’s a great movie), it seems odd to use a line from a movie in a press release for your Congressional campaign.

But hey, Dan Sebring’s an unconventional candidate running an unconventional campaign, so I look forward to hearing more movie lines quoted in future press releases from his campaign.

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July 1, 2009, at 10:04 am

Abortions down in Wisconsin

The number of abortions performed in Wisconsin dropped slightly last year to its lowest level since the state began keeping records three decades ago, according to a report released by the state yesterday. According to the report, the state Department of Health Services study found that 8,229 abortions were performed in Wisconsin last year, down from 8,267 in 2007. It’s worth noting the number of abortions performed in Wisconsin has now fallen for five straight years since 10,557 abortions were reported in 2003. The 2008 number also was the lowest since Wisconsin started tracking abortions in 1974. It seems illogical that the number of abortions performed in Wisconsin has actually decreased during the tenure of a Democratic governor, but curiously enough, the number of abortions performed in the United States actually declined during the presidency of Democrat Bill Clinton, as shown below:

Abortion Rate

(Source link for the chart above)

So what does it all mean? How is it that the number of abortions in Wisconsin has actually decreased during Gov. Jim Doyle’s time in office?

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July 1, 2009, at 3:16 am

Happy Birthday to Blogging Blue

Blogging Blue is two years old today. In honor of the occasion, here’s a little ditty by the Beatles:

It’s been a good two years. I’d like to thank those of you who read and contribute on a regular basis (all 4.2 of you), because you folks have made the past two years quite enjoyable. This has been a great two years, and I look forward to many more!

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