Leslie H's blog

Out of the Senate Finance committee it comes ... dripping with the slobber of corporate lap dogs. It is not what AHIP wrote. It is not as generous to Americans as the plan AHIP wrote. I kid you not. I just read it at dkos. Go read for yourself.
Baucus' Health Care Plan is worse than the AHIP plan  

Digby says: 

It's a good day to be an insurance company CEO. An mandate from the
government forcing people to buy your product and no serious competition from anybody but your monopolistic buddies in the industry, all of whom look after each other very, very well.
Read more

Whether it is for those who have a decent income but no employer coverage and can't afford private insurance (have you actually tried to buy family coverage for a family of 3 when Mom is over 45?), or it is for young people just getting started or for middle class single mothers (not eligible for any other govt benefits) with kids to cover or to make small businesses attractive for people to work in and relieve the strangle hold of for-profit insurance from the small business man's neck ... America NEEDS a public option in THIS year's health care reform package.

In fact, if you don't include a public option, you may as well do nothing.Read more

This is an off the cuff post that is basically about a book I'm reading now called Big Box Swindle (www.BigBoxSwindle.com) by Stacy Mitchell.

I remember my father telling me three decades ago after returning from a business trip that they were moving textile finishing operations out of the country. He was flabbergasted that they could ship cut cloth off-shore, have it assembled, ship it back and make it cost less than doing all that here. As a Personnel Manager in the textile industry the implications for the people in the mills that he knew personally and cared about worried him. He didn't say that ... but I could see that worry on his face. Read more

in an email received from a local Democrat, it looks like NC Spin's rumor page (from the sept. 28 air date) says the RSCC doesn't so much like their chances of winning in NC. I'm hoping they're right on that.

from NC Spin....

"Republicans throwing in the towel on Dole?

We heard rumor this week that the Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee was pulling out of North Carolina and redirecting funds and energy to another Senate campaign they thought they could win. According to Tom Fetzer, one of Dole`s campaign managers, this might just be rumor, although the Dole campaign cannot have any formal contact with the 527 group.Read more

TrueMeckDem posted a Char-O article about the surge in voter registrations across NC. There is a similar article in today's N&O. The money quote of this one is from Bob Hall, Director of democracy-NC:

"The only way not to have long lines is to increase early voting sites."

I've been out registering new voters and helping voters register at their current addresses a few times over the last month. It is a truly wonderful experience. And it's the easiest dang thing I've ever done. Read more

We had a nice rain today. I have the windows open and the cross breeze gently passing me as I type is really wonderful. Reminds me of home. But I can't keep from wondering why the farm ponds around here still have not recovered.

I pass a good half dozen of them, ponds that is, between my home in downtown Clayton and my work on Aviation Blvd. These are just open field farm ponds. It doesn't look like any of them are spring fed, but still, not one of them is "full." Read more