A fork in the road.

[hay rick]

Paul Krugman had an excellent column on a subject that has been lurking in the back of my mind for some time now. The column, "Baucus and the Threshold", asks the question: "How bad does a bill have to be to make it too bad to vote for?" Link here: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/18/opinion/18krugman.html?_r=1

Krugman itemizes three major objections to Baucus's rendition of the health care bill: 1) he offers a complex and ineffectual employer mandate; 2) his plan doesn't offer enough aid to "lower-middle-class" families; and 3) the small non-profit insurance cooperatives he offers as an alternative to a public option have been described by the CBO as "unlikely to establish a significant market presence in many areas of the country.”

I'm a single-payer guy myself, but also a political pragmatist. I think it was a mistake for Obama to take single-payer off the table before serious discussion began, but I can envision supporting a bill that offers a strong public option. In the end, the Senate will have a bill to vote on and it will be up to us to express our support or opposition. The answer to Krugman's question will come as a yea or a nay.

If the Senate bill is close to what Baucus proposes I will request my Senators to vote against it. I don't care if the Democratic Party, my Democratic Senators (Lautenberg and Menendez), and Obama all support it. Every other OECD country is able to provide almost universal health care at little more than half the cost of our system. A "reform" bill that falls significantly short of universal coverage, increases costs for millions of middle-class families, and that merely seeks to "slow the increase" of health care costs is- a joke, a failure, a disgrace, and ultimately- a catastrophe.

So here's the question. Do we support a Democratic-authored and supported health care bill just because we are Democrats? Speaking as a progressive, if they don't scuttle the Baucus plan, I'm ready to jump ship on this issue.

[rrneck]

1. If I don't like what comes out of the sausage grinder

they will lose my vote.

We sent them up there to do the people's business, and it's time it got done.

[imdjh]

2. Now I have that stupid song stuck in my head.

This, is our fork in the road
Love's last episode
There's nowhere to go, oh no

You made your choice, now it's up to me
To bow out gracefully
Though you hold the key, but baby

Whenever you call me, I'll be there
Whenever you want me, I'll be there
Whenever you need me, I'll be there
I'll be around

I, knew just what to say
Now I found out today
That all the words had slipped away, but I know

There's always a chance
A tiny spark remains, yeah
And sparks turn into flames
And love can burn once again, but I know you know

Whenever you call me, I'll be there
Whenever you want me, I'll be there
Whenever you need me, I'll be there
I'll be around...yeah

Whenever you call me, I'll be there
Whenever you want me, I'll be there
Even if I have to call, I'll be there
I'll be around

Just call me at home, I'll be there
I'll never leave you alone, I'll be there
Just call out your name you know I know you know
I'll be around

[hay rick]

3. And here's the music

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zT20nJ6hkU&feature=related

[Arugula Latte]

5. That's funny -- The Green Day Song "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" was the one that popped into

my head.

Another turning point;
a fork stuck in the road.

Time grabs you by the wrist;
directs you where to go.

So make the best of this test
and don't ask why.

It's not a question
but a lesson learned in time.

It's something unpredictable
but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life.

So take the photographs
and still frames in your mind.

Hang it on a shelf
In good health and good time.

Tattoos of memories
and dead skin on trial.

For what it's worth,
it was worth all the while.

It's something unpredictable
but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life.

It's something unpredictable
but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life.

It's something unpredictable
but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otXzaqbhZY4

[Louisiana1976]

4. "If you see a fork in the road, take it."--Yogi Berra