WASHINGTON - Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska is asking Senate leaders to eliminate a controversial Medicaid deal for his state in the health care bill.

The moderate [sic] Democrat [...] has been criticized because Nebraska was exempted paying any cost of a proposed expansion of Medicaid.

All other states would have to pick up a portion of the tab after the first few years.

Nelson's been arguing ever since that he never wanted a special deal for Nebraska [...]

That didn't quiet the controversy so Nelson took it one step further on Friday and asked for the deal to be withdrawn and replaced with a provision treating all states equally. (Nelson seeks deletion of Nebraska Medicaid Deal - AP Jan 15/2010)

How was it not his idea? Did he get politically roofi'd or something?

What if All 50 States Get Ben Nelson's Medicaid Deal? by Kate Pickett, TIME Magazine, Jan 15, 2010

[...] The 49 other states, by contrast, would have full federal funding for a few years, but would eventually have to pick up part of the tab. As soon as word of the special treatment broke, the deal became known as the "Cornhusker Kickback" and Nelson was roundly mocked.  ...

[Nelson] insists the deal wasn't his idea and, in a January 15 letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Nelson asked that special treatment for Nebraska be excluded from final legislation. In the same letter, however, Nelson repeated something he has been saying since word of his special got around -- that newly eligible Medicaid enrollees in all states should be fully and permanently paid for by the federal government. At first, this seemed like a crude and overly expensive solution, but as negotiations continue between House and Senate leaders over final legislative language, the idea of lessening the Medicaid burden for states is gaining traction. "Senator Nelson's deal has been a blessing to those states like New York that were feeling left out. It brought the issue back into public recognition" says James Tallon, a former New York State Assemblyman and current president of the United Hospital Fund, a non-profit philanthropic group which studies health care in New York. [...]

In addition to Schwarzenegger ... many other governors -- including New York's David Paterson, a Democrat -- have publicly protested the legislation on the basis of the Medicaid expansion, saying it amounts to an unfunded mandate. ...

[A]t least 13 state attorneys general have said Nelson's special deal is unconstitutional. But extending the Cornhusker Kickback to all 50 states would be a lot more than a quick, short-term fix to a political problem. By further nationalizing Medicaid, a public insurance program that's now jointly funded by states and the federal government, Democratic reform could move the health insurance system even further under the umbrella of the federal government, which was the main criticism of the much maligned "public option."  [... more ...]

1. Fans of a James Cameron blockbuster instantly and weirdly band cultishly around a frickin movie.

2. Avatar viewers report depression after seeing movie. (CNN 01/11/2010)

3. What the hell is behind Titanic Crying Parties:

[...] Critics have commented that the Titanic hyteria is the result of the contagion phenomena, similar to the public outpouring of grief after the death of Diana last summer. [...]

Die-hard fans of the Cameron film have been referred to as 'Titaniacs' and, like 'Deadheads', they kept on trucking back to the theatre to relive the experience. Some people have seen the movie almost every day since it was released, a remarkable feat given the length of the film and the difficulties in buying tickets through to the end of March.

Fans have been reported in theatres yelling at other filmgoers who were not crying during the film's emotional scenes.

Some have taken cold showers so they can appreciate how Jack and Rose must have felt after the Titanic sank. Young females have been reported visiting the Halifax gravesite of the aforementioned Titanic victim J. Dawson and leaving floral bouquets, movie ticket stubs and, in one case, a pair of panties on his headstone.

Other fans have been holding crying parties, where the listen to the soundtrack CD and sob together while they listen.

On the Internet, fans debate endlessly about tiny plot points that most filmgoers wouldn't even notice. These 'rivet counters' obsess over minute details in the sets, re-examine sub-plots, plead for information about a video release date, spread rumours about the actors' personal lives,
hypothesize about the film's ambiguities and lend each other moral support since their friends and families think that they're crazy.

IMO it's lame to deride any creative work just because some of its fans go bonkers (or in the above case(s), overly so because those who are bonking primarily happen to female).

lol!~ They just called him a "curious newcomer" and "going through an interesting transformation".

The first thing Haitians should have seen on Wednesday at dawn was U.S. cargo planes dropping clean water, meals, concrete-breaking tools, and leaflets telling them more help was on the way. This would have given them hope - energy - and some tools to help them dig out at least some of their loved ones. None of that came. Even today there is chaos developing because no help has arrived - with no news that help is near. Although a huge relief response was organized, it was slow to arrive and even now it is bogged down. This was a terrible error on the part of our government planners. Haiti is just over an hour by air from Florida. Initial air drop flights didn't even need to land. What sort of thinking is in charge of our disaster planning, that it ignores immediate first aid - followed by massive relief?