Who'da thunk it?

There was something interesting OMB Chief Peter Orszag said this morning in his comments at the National Press Club. He pointed to Paul Starr's recent piece which argued that the Public Option has gotten much more press attention than it deserves relative to the importance of the 'exchanges' in terms of creating competition and reducing costs. [. . .] Orszag's only explicit reference was to the over-focus on the Public Option. But that point only makes sense in the concept of the policy critique. So I suspect this reference may tell us more about White House thinking than people realize.

Shorter Josh Marshall - the Obama Administration opposes the public option. I am shocked I tell you. Shocked!

Speaking for me only

My question is rhetorical really, in response to Village Blogger Extraordinaire and disingenuous Obama Lackey Ezra Klein.

The fact is the Village Bloggers' cherished "reforms" are cherished by the insurance industry for a reason - it is the gateway to getting the federal subsidy money. The insurance industry does not oppose the Exchange, they DEMAND it. They do not oppose the individual mandate, they DEMAND it.

Bart Stupak and Ben Nelson put them in a bit of a pickle though. The Stupak Amendment is a direct assault on women's privacy rights and the progressive value of valuing women's health. The price of giving the insurance industry their Exchange and Individual Mandates will be the Stupak Amendment. The price is too high for some Democrats.

So the REAL question is this - what is the insurance industry, the Obama Administration and its Village Lackeys willing to do to save the Insurance Industry Profit Protection portions of "health care reform?" We do not need that "reform" to provide assistance to 30 million Americans who do not have health insurance. So what's the point? What Price The Exchange?

Speaking for me only

Via mcjoan, Ben Nelson threatens a filibuster if the Stupak Amendment is not included:

The Senate health care bill does not provide federal money for abortion, maintaining the status quo. But like Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) and a sizable bloc of conservative House Democrats, Nelson says that's not good enough. Nelson said he plans to introduce an amendment to the Senate bill roughly resembling Stupak's. Would he vote for a final bill if he can't get that language included? "No," he told reporters.

The answer to this problem is perfectly simple and obvious - eliminate the Exchanges and the mandates. Instead use the money to expand Medicaid eligbility. What we have is a health insurance assistance bill anyway. Anti-choice and anti-women's health provisions are not a price we should be willing to pay so that the word "reform" can be bandied about by Obama and his lackeys.

Speaking for me only

The Civil War (Oregon-Oregon State) is tomorrow night at Autzen Stadium in Eugene. The winner is the Pac 10 champ and heads to the Rose Bowl to pummel Big Ten champ Ohio State.

The Game of the Decade! (Alabama-Florida) is Saturday. Gator DE Carlos Dunlap has been suspended indefinitely. I assume his Gator career is over.

This is an Open Thread.

The Hill reports on Tom Carper's continued efforts to capitulate to Olympia Snowe:

Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), who has been tapped by Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to come up with a Plan B approach to the public option controversy that has divided Democrats, has been working closely with liberal and conservative Democrats, as well as Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine). [. . .] Recently, he has touted a so-called hammer public option that he believes answers centrists' criticisms that the public option in Reid's bill is government-run and government-funded. The public option would kick in for states where insurance companies fail to meet standards of availability and affordability of plans. Unlike Snowe's trigger proposal, which would give insurers at least one year to satisfy those requirements, Carper's public option would start the first year the bill goes into effect. States might be permitted to opt into the public option even if the benchmarks are met.

All in all, a pretty silly proposal. But I think there is one thing from it that can be used - make the opt out provision subject to a trigger. In other words, states can opt out ONLY if they meet "standards of availability and affordability of plans." A trigger for the opt out. I like that idea. And I'll give Carper the credit for it.

Speaking for me only

A mistrial has been declared for the fourth time against John Gotti, Jr. The jury did not find the testimony of mob informants credible.

Several were unconvinced by the prosecution case that relied on the increasingly controversial use of mob informants....[S]ome jurors said after the trial ended that they did not find a self-confessed multiple murderer a convincing witness.

AUSA Elie Honig took the loss graciously: [More....]

Tiger Woods made a terrible decision today. He publicly apologized for "transgressions" against his family.

Whatever Tiger needed to say to his family should have been said only to his family. It is outrageous that he shared their issues with the public.

The ironic thing is Tiger thinks that will end the instrusions into his private life. What Tiger has done is issue an open invitation. What a terrible and indefensible decision.

Speaking for me only

I did not see it and I have seen no reaction to it. Here is the speech. Here are my reactions:

The President said "I want to speak to you tonight about our effort in Afghanistan -- the nature of our commitment there, the scope of our interests, and the strategy that my administration will pursue to bring this war to a successful conclusion." I think the speech should be judged on how well it fulfilled those three stated objectives. More . .

I just got a new HP Mini 311 Netbook with Windows 7 that I'm trying to set up tonight. My Verizon broadband device was 2 years old and eligible for an upgrade, so instead of getting another one, I got the Netbook from Verizon for $149 (instead of $699.) I'll report back with a review as soon as I've got it all working.

My good friend Anita Thompson has a new post at HuffPo on the People cover photo of Johnny Depp as the Sexiest Man Alive. He's wearing his Gonzo medal, and Anita explains how Hunter and Johnny became friends and what "Gonzo" is all about. I hope Johnny calls her soon, because I've asked her to badger him into not abandoning his plan to star in the film version of Shantaram, which now that I've read all 900 pages of the book and loved it, I think he's perfect for. Production has been stalled for a few years, and the latest word is that it's on indefinite hold. [More...]

Unfortunately, I won't be able to live blog the President's speech. (Can't speak for Jeralyn.) My full reactions won't come until tomorrow.

However, the NYTimes has some excerpts:

Ezra Klein, Village Blogger Extraordinaire, continues his disingenuous assault on the public option:

Dylan Matthews beats me to the punch with some well-deserved shots at Howard Dean's contention that absent the public option, "this bill is worthless and should be defeated." No, it isn't, and it shouldn't.

Ezra's willful misreading of Howard Dean is simply another example of his utter dishonesty in this debate. He is not to believed on this issue. What Dean is saying is not that expansion of health assistance to the less well off to allow them to get health insurance coverage is worthless. What Dean is saying that the "reforms" in the bill are worthless and that the individual mandate is too high a price to pay for Ezra's precious (and worthless) Exchange. More . . .

Tiger Woods will receive a citation for careless driving, no criminal charges will be filed. Woods has withdrawn from his tournament this week, citing injuries sustained in his car accident.

In other news, Roman Polanski won't be released until Friday.

Update: Is this really a video of Marilyn Monroe smoking pot? Looks like a cigarette to me, from the way she's holding it, but lots of folks say it's pot.