Breathless

Compassion Fashion
Given the agreed-upon desirability of protecting citizens against the worst, the question then became one of costs and benefits — and health care was one of those areas where even conservatives used to be willing to accept government intervention in the name of compassion, given the clear evidence that covering the uninsured would not, in fact, cost very much money...Now, however, compassion is out of fashion — indeed, lack of compassion has become a matter of principle, at least among the G.O.P.’s base. (Paul Krugman, NYT, 9/16/2011)


So let's boil the entire health care debate down to a single question.  Here it is: does the guy who is 60 lbs. overweight sitting on the sofa eating a cheeseburger and drinking a six-pack of beer get a government-funded heart transplant?  Yes or no?


Hang Time
...Congressional Democrats are hanging back, saying they could support one or another of the components of the jobs plan, but not the whole package. Senator Mary Landrieu of Louisiana wants to protect the oil companies to which she is beholden from losing outdated and overly generous tax breaks. Harry Reid, the Senate majority leader, seemed to be preparing to bury the jobs program in Senate rigmarole. Senator Bob Casey and others threatened to slice and dice the program to death. (NYT, 9/16/2011)


Obstructionists!


Belly of the Beast
Solyndra, the solar panel company whose highly publicized failure and consequent investigation by federal authorities has flashed across headlines recently, isn't the only business to go belly up after benefiting from a piece of the $800 billion economic stimulus package passed in 2009.  At least four other companies have received stimulus funding only to later file for bankruptcy, and two of those were working on alternative energy.  (Foxnews.com, 9/15/2011)


The green energy sinkhole courtesy of Obama and the Left.


Stupid Is
At the 30th annual Carter Town Hall on Wednesday, former President Jimmy Carter told his audience he thought the Supreme Court decision to roll back restrictions on corporate spending in federal campaigns was "one of the stupidest rulings ever consummated or perpetrated on the American people."


The Citizens United ruling was decided 5-4 in 2010 and received criticism for allowing a flood of special interest money in politics. President Barack Obama was a major critic, saying the decision was "a major victory for big oil, Wall Street banks, health insurance companies and the other powerful interests that marshal their power every day in Washington to drown out the voices of everyday Americans."  (Huffington Post, 9/16/2011)


How ironic that Carter - the stupidest president - has now identified the stupidest Supreme Court decision.  No word from the Carter camp about the pernicious impact of union special interest money or, for that matter, contributions from billionaires like Buffett, Soros, Lewis, Spielberg, etc.