Mark Vogt profiled in the Enquirer

Our own Mark Vogt - Kenton County's Property Value Administrator - got a nice write-up in the Enquirer:

Vogt, who has more than 25 years experience in running the office that assess and records property values for taxation purposes, is preparing to run for another term in 2010. And he's undaunted by the radically changed dynamics of Kenton County politics.

"I'm a PVA, not a politician," Vogt said last week. "That might hurt me if a good politician runs against me, but I've always been about doing the best job and now worry about party politics."

..."I'm in the process of beginning to collect money, and should have about $10,000 in the bank in a month or so," Vogt said. "I suspect I'll have opposition, so I'm being pretty diligent about that."

President Obama's weekly address

Governor Beshear's weekly address

Help for children

There's a good editorial in today's Courier-Journal:

Gov. Steve Beshear announced Friday that Kentucky will direct about $4 million in federal stimulus money to child welfare programs that the state cut earlier this year. This news comes as a drink of water after months of drought, during which welfare agencies' ability to provide basic services to needy children was badly debilitated.

...When the cuts were initially announced in February, the state's 50 private child welfare agencies were forced to eliminate more than 100 jobs, and remaining staff had to take on more responsibilities for less pay. The adults employed by these agencies have sacrificed their own financial security in order to preserve core services for children. Mr. Beshear's announcement of the funds' restoration shows an overdue commitment to children on the part of the state that resembles that of these dedicated child-services workers.

Editorial comic roundup

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The New Justice

From today's New York Times:

President Obama seems to have made an inspired choice in picking Judge Sonia Sotomayor for the Supreme Court. She has an impressive judicial record, a stellar academic background and a compelling life story. Judge Sotomayor would also be a trailblazing figure in the mold of Thurgood Marshall, becoming the first member of the nation’s large and growing but still under-represented Hispanic population to serve on the court.

Based on what we know now, the Senate should confirm her so she can join the court when it begins its new term in October.

...Judge Sotomayor is more than just a distinguished member of two underrepresented groups. She is an accomplished lawyer and judge, who could become an extraordinary Supreme Court justice.

Obama Announces Supreme Court Nominee

C-SPAN interviews President Obama

New ad from Americans United for Change

President Obama's weekly address

Obama signs credit card reform bill

President Obama issued this press release earlier today:

WASHINGTON – Today, President Obama signs the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure (CARD) Act of 2009, marking a turning point for American consumers and ending the days of unfair rate hikes and hidden fees.

Americans need a healthy flow of credit in our economy, but for too long credit card contracts and practices have been unfairly and deceptively complicated, often leading consumers to pay more than they reasonably expect. Every year, Americans pay around $15 billion in penalty fees. Nearly 80 percent of American families have a credit card, and 44 percent of families carry a balance on their credit cards. To tackle these problems, the Administration moved swiftly with the Congress to enact reforms.

"With this new law, consumers will have the strong and reliable protections they deserve. We will continue to press for reform that is built on transparency, accountability, and mutual responsibility – values fundamental to the new foundation we seek to build for our economy," President Obama said.

In the Senate and throughout the campaign, President Obama called for measures to strengthen consumer protection in the credit card market. This legislation was made possible by the leadership of Chairman Frank and Representatives Maloney and Gutierrez in the House, and Chairman Dodd, Ranking Member Shelby and Senator Levin in the Senate. It builds on the strong first step taken by the Federal Reserve toward improving disclosures and ending unfair practices.


Principles for Long-term Credit Card Reform

• First, there have to be strong and reliable protections for consumers.


• Second, all the forms and statements that credit card companies send out have to have plain language that is in plain sight.


• Third, we have to make sure that people can shop for a credit card that meets their needs without fear of being taken advantage of.


• Finally, we need more accountability in the system, so that we can hold those responsible who do engage in deceptive practices that hurt families and consumers.

The Administration applauds the legislative efforts of both the House and the Senate. By working closely together, the House Financial Services Committee and the Senate Banking Committee were able quickly to enact strong protections that the President signs into law today. Below we highlight the critical elements of reform in this new law:

• Bans Unfair Rate Increases


• Prevents Unfair Fee Traps


• Plain Sight /Plain Language Disclosures


• Accountability


• Protections for Students and Young People

Key Elements of the Credit CARD Act of 2009
Bans Unfair Rate Increases: Financial institutions will no longer raise rates unfairly, and consumers will have confidence that the interest rates on their existing balances will not be hiked.

• Bans Retroactive Rate Increases: Bans rate increases on existing balances due to "any time, any reason" or "universal default" and severely restricts retroactive rate increases due to late payment.


• First Year Protection: Contract terms must be clearly spelled out and stable for the entirety of the first year. Firms may continue to offer promotional rates with new accounts or during the life of an account, but these rates must be clearly disclosed and last at least 6 months.

Bans Unfair Fee Traps:

• Ends Late Fee Traps: Institutions will have to give card holders a reasonable time to pay the monthly bill – at least 21 calendar days from time of mailing. The act also ends late fee traps such as weekend deadlines, due dates that change each month, and deadlines that fall in the middle of the day.


• Enforces Fair Interest Calculation: Credit card companies will be required to apply excess payments to the highest interest balance first, as consumers expect them to do. The act also ends the confusing and unfair practice by which issuers use the balance in a previous month to calculate interest charges on the current month, so called "double-cycle" billing.


• Requires Opt-In to Over-Limit Fees: Consumers will find it easier to avoid over-limit fees because institutions will have to obtain a consumer’s permission to process transactions that would place the account over the limit.


• Restrains Unfair Sub-Prime Fees: Fees on subprime, low-limit credit cards will be substantially restricted.


• Limits Fees on Gift and Stored Value Cards: The act enhances disclosure on fees for gift and stored value cards and restricts inactivity fees unless the card has been inactive for at least 12 months.

Plain Sight/Plain Language Disclosures: Credit card contract terms will be disclosed in language that consumers can see and understand so they can avoid unnecessary costs and manage their finances.

• Plain Language in Plain Sight: Creditors will give consumers clear disclosures of account terms before consumers open an account, and clear statements of the activity on consumers’ accounts afterwards. For example, pre-opening disclosures will highlight fees consumers may be charged and periodic statements will conspicuously display fees they have paid in the current month and the year to date as well as the reasons for those fees. These disclosures will help consumers make informed choices about using the right financial products and managing their own financial needs. Model disclosures will be updated regularly based on reviews of the market, empirical research, and testing with consumers to ensure that disclosures remain clear, useful, and relevant.


• Real Information about the Financial Consequences of Decisions: Issuers will be required to show the consequences to consumers of their credit decisions.


• Issuers will need to display on periodic statements how long it would take to pay off the existing balance – and the total interest cost – if the consumer paid only the minimum due.


• Issuers will also have to display the payment amount and total interest cost to pay off the existing balance in 36 months.

Accountability: The act will help ensure accountability from both credit card issuers and regulators who are responsible for preventing unfair practices and enforcing protections.

• Public posting of credit card contracts: Today credit card contracts are usually available only in hard copy and not in plain language. Now issuers will be required to make contracts available on the Internet in a usable format. Regulators and consumer advocates will be better able to monitor changes in credit card terms and evaluate whether current disclosures and protections are adequate.


• Holds regulators accountable to enforce the law: Regulators will be required to report annually to the Congress on their enforcement of credit card protections


• Holds regulators accountable to keep protections current:


• Regulators will be required to request public input on trends in the credit card market and potential consumer protection issues on a biennial basis to determine what new regulations or disclosures might be needed.


• Regulators will be required either to update the applicable rules, or to publish findings if they deem further regulation unnecessary.


• Increases penalties: Card issuers that violate these new restrictions will face significantly higher penalties than under current law, which should make violations less likely in the first place.

Cleans Up Credit Card Practices For Young People at Universities. The act contains new protections for college students and young adults, including a requirement that card issuers and universities disclose agreements with respect to the marketing or distribution of credit cards to students.

President Obama's speech on national security

Yesterday, President Obama delivered a speech at the National Archives on the subject of national security. In case you weren't able to watch it live, here's the video:

Governor Beshear's weekly address

Sen Durbin debunks McConnell talking point

Here's one of Mitch McConnell's favorite talking points recently: Closing Guantanamo would result in the failure to keep terrorists "out of our neighborhoods and off of the battlefield." Sen. Dick Durbin does a great job pointing out the nonsense of Mitch's claims.



Mike Luckovich also has a good comic on this subject:

Beshear Announces $52M for Energy Programs

Today Governor Steve Beshear issued this press release:

FRANKFORT, KY – Underscoring his vision to make Kentucky a national leader in energy, Governor Steve Beshear announced today a $52 million blueprint to create nearly 600 jobs by increasing efficiency and renewable energy efforts in schools, farms, homes, government buildings and private sector initiatives throughout the Commonwealth.

The funding for the plan is part of the federal stimulus plan or the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

Kentucky’s allocation for energy initiatives and planning is $52,533,000 that will be utilized over the next three years, pending approval by the U.S. Department of Energy in the next several months.

“The programs that will receive the funding will have a wide-ranging and positive impact on the Commonwealth both immediately and for years to come,” Gov. Beshear said today in announcing the energy blueprint. “These programs are designed to support Kentucky’s seven-point strategy for energy independence that will position Kentucky as a national leader in production, conservation and efficiency efforts.

The Governor’s comprehensive energy plan, released last year, calls for significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions while creating some 40,000 jobs tied to energy production and conservation between now and 2025.

Specifics of the state’s proposed stimulus funding plan include:

• Purchasing and installing energy efficiency or renewable energy equipment and materials for the retrofit of a state-of-the-art Advanced Battery Strategic Planning facility and the proposed advanced battery manufacturing facility to be built in Glendale, Ky.



• Dramatically improving energy efficiency in government buildings by installing an Energy Management System and establishing the Kentucky Green Bank, a revolving loan fund for energy efficiency improvements.



• Expanding the Kentucky Energy Efficiency program in public schools, as well as the Green and Healthy Schools program, to help Kentucky schools better manage energy use, while also educating students, faculty and staff on efficiency and conservation efforts.

“Strengthening these programs will support approximately 150 new and retained jobs through a system of local energy managers, regional coordinators, technicians and engineers that will be available to guide school districts through the process of implementing energy efficiency programs,” said Len Peters, secretary of the Energy and Environment Cabinet. “These programs help us reach our goals of increasing energy efficiency and significantly reducing our carbon output over the next 15 years.”

• Expanding an industrial/ commercial sustainability program modeled after an U.S. Department of Energy Program (USDOE) to increase the number of onsite energy efficiency assessments at industrial and commercial facilities.



• Supporting a Governor’s Office of Agriculture Policy initiative for a new on-farm energy efficiency and production program that will provide grants to farmers for energy assessments and for technical assistance in applying for USDA grants, thus creating increased funding opportunities for Kentucky farmers.



• Exploring the development of smart grid concepts and their application in the state and establish a Home Performance with Energy Star program, which will provide energy assessments and improvement recommendations in existing homes.

Upon USDOE approval Kentucky will be authorized to spend up to 50 percent of the total allocation with the remaining balance being authorized based on demonstrated performance. The ARRA funds must be expended by 2012.

For more information on State Energy Program funds awarded under the ARRA see the attached fact sheet and visit www.kentuckyatwork.ky.gov.

The Republican Party ♥ Dick Cheney

Editorial comic roundup

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Obama Announces National Fuel Efficiency Policy

President Obama issued this press release earlier today:

WASHINGTON, DC – President Obama today – for the first time in history – set in motion a new national policy aimed at both increasing fuel economy and reducing greenhouse gas pollution for all new cars and trucks sold in the United States. The new standards, covering model years 2012-2016, and ultimately requiring an average fuel economy standard of 35.5 mpg in 2016, are projected to save 1.8 billion barrels of oil over the life of the program with a fuel economy gain averaging more than 5 percent per year and a reduction of approximately 900 million metric tons in greenhouse gas emissions. This would surpass the CAFE law passed by Congress in 2007 required an average fuel economy of 35 mpg in 2020.

"In the past, an agreement such as this would have been considered impossible," said President Obama. "That is why this announcement is so important, for it represents not only a change in policy in Washington, but the harbinger of a change in the way business is done in Washington. As a result of this agreement, we will save 1.8 billion barrels of oil over the lifetime of the vehicles sold in the next five years. And at a time of historic crisis in our auto industry, this rule provides the clear certainty that will allow these companies to plan for a future in which they are building the cars of the 21st century."

This groundbreaking policy delivers on the President’s commitment to enact more stringent fuel economy standards and represents an unprecedented collaboration between the Department of Transportation (DOT), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the world’s largest auto manufacturers, the United Auto Workers, leaders in the environmental community, the State of California, and other state governments.

"The President brought all stakeholders to the table and came up with a plan to help the auto industry, safeguard consumers, and protect human health and the environment for all Americans," said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. "A supposedly 'unsolvable' problem was solved by unprecedented partnerships. As a result, we will keep Americans healthier, cut tons of pollution from the air we breathe, and make a lasting down payment on cutting our greenhouse gas emissions."

"A clear and uniform national policy is not only good news for consumers who will save money at the pump, but this policy is also good news for the auto industry which will no longer be subject to a costly patchwork of differing rules and regulations," said Carol M. Browner, Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change. "This an incredible step forward for our country and another way for Americans to become more energy independent and reduce air pollution.",

A national policy on fuel economy standards and greenhouse gas emissions is welcomed by the auto manufacturers because it provides regulatory certainty and predictability and includes flexibilities that will significantly reduce the cost of compliance. The collaboration of federal agencies also allows for clearer rules for all automakers, instead of three standards (DOT, EPA and a state standard).

"President Obama is uniting federal and state governments, the auto industry, labor unions and the environmental community behind a program that will provide for the biggest leap in history to make automobiles more fuel efficient," said Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. "This program lessens our dependence on oil and is good for America and the planet."

Jobs of the Future

Here's a great new ad from Americans United for Change:

McConnell's hypocrisy on full display

This weekend Mitch McConnell performed a complete flip-flop on the subject of filibustering judicial nominees. McConnell was asked to defend a past statement of his:

...back in 2005, when Democrats were blocking President Bush’s nominees, you were prepared to impose the nuclear option which would block filibusters, and I want to put up what you said so eloquently at the time. "Regardless of party, any president's judicial nominees, after full debate, deserve a simple up-or-down vote." So if filibusters were wrong under President Bush, shouldn't they be wrong under President Obama?

Easy enough question, right? Somehow Mitch is unable to give a straight answer:



Typical Republican hypocrisy.

Newsweek interviews President Obama

Newsweek recently interviewed President Obama. Here's an excerpt:

What's your reaction to Vice President Cheney's ongoing [criticism]? He's not quite twittering your administration [laughter] but he's coming fairly close.
You know, Dick Cheney had a strong perspective about national security. It was tested in the early years of the Bush administration, and I think it resulted in a series of very bad decisions. I think what's interesting is that, in some ways, Dick Cheney actually lost these arguments inside the Bush administration.

And so he may have won early with Colin Powell and Condi Rice, but over the last two or three years of the Bush administration, I think there was a recognition among Republicans and Bush administration officials that these enhanced interrogation techniques that were being applied—that they had applied early on—were potentially counterproductive; that a posture of never talking to our enemies, of unilateral action, of framing national security only in terms of the application of force, often unilateral—that that wasn't producing.

And so it's interesting to me to see the vice president spending so much time trying to vindicate himself and relitigate the last eight years when, as I said, I think, actually, a lot of these arguments were settled even before we took over the White House.

President Obama's weekly address

Governor Beshear's weekly address

Dick Cheney on the comics page

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GOP Whack-A-Mole

The Old Faithful of Nonsense

Eugene Robinson takes on Dick Cheney today. Great stuff!

[Face the Nation host Bob] Schieffer asked [Cheney] about Rush Limbaugh's assertion that the Republican Party would be better off if Colin Powell left and became a Democrat. One would think that Cheney would have at least a measure of respect for a longtime colleague with whom he had served in two administrations. But one would be wrong.

"Well, if I had to choose in terms of being a Republican, I'd go with Rush Limbaugh, I think," Cheney said. "I think my take on it was Colin had already left the party. I didn't know he was still a Republican."

Let's see: Given a choice between a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and secretary of state who has given to his nation a lifetime of exemplary public service or an entertainer who brags about how much money he makes from bombast and bluster, Cheney would go with the gasbag. This is advice that's supposed to help the Republican Party?

An Honest Investigation on Torture

On Supreme Court, cable news turns to Republicans

Media Matters today issued a report on the so-called "liberal media." It turns out that the media isn't as Democratic-friendly as the Rush Limbaughs would have you believe:

A Media Matters for America analysis of daytime cable news shows in the week following Justice David Souter's May 1 retirement announcement found that significantly more Republican members of Congress, especially on Fox News, participated in discussions about or touching on the Supreme Court than did Democratic members of Congress and Obama administration officials.

During daytime programming (9 a.m.-5 p.m. ET) on CNN, Fox News Channel, and MSNBC last week from May 4 to May 8, nine Republican members of Congress made guest appearances in segments during which the Supreme Court was either discussed or mentioned. By contrast, only two Democratic members of Congress -- and no members of the Obama administration -- appeared as guests in such segments over that time period.

Is it 1996? Or 2009?

A new ad from the DNC uses this morning's political talk show lineups to illustrate how little has changed in the past 13 years for the Republican party.

White House Correspondents' Association dinner

The Associated Press has the story on last night's White House Correspondents' Association dinner:

WASHINGTON (AP) — It was the hottest ticket in town, a black-tie dinner gathering of Washington's political and media elite but Dick Cheney couldn't make it.

The former vice president was busy, President Barack Obama joked, working on his memoir "tentatively titled, 'How to Shoot Friends and Interrogate People.' "

...The chairman of Republican National Committee, Michael Steele, was "in the house tonight," Obama noted. "Or as he would say, 'In the heezy.' "

"Michael for the last time, the Republican Party does not qualify for a bailout," Obama told Steele. "Rush Limbaugh does not count as a troubled asset, I'm sorry."

Obama had some classic lines last night. Here's the video of Obama's remarks:

Happy Mothers' Day!

Here's a cute video from Americans United for Change:

President Obama's weekly address

Those brand new humble Republicans

Joe Conason is good this week. Here's an excerpt from his latest column:

All that Republicans have to do, according to Mr. Limbaugh and his imitators, is to wait for the Obama administration to sink under the weight of its own liberalism, because then disillusioned Americans will return the one true faith of Reaganite conservatism to power. Today, America is ruled by "the most liberal -- far-out radical, liberal president and Democrat Party ever, at least in any of our lifetimes," he says, so "the opportunity to contrast the Republican Party and conservatism with what Obama is doing is great. It's easy. It's profound."

In short, there is no need to re-brand, let alone rethink or reconsider. Forget the listening tour. As Limbaugh put it, "We need a teaching tour."

That kind of arrogance is startling, given the thrashing that Republicans and conservatives continue to suffer in the voting booths, on Capitol Hill and in public-opinion surveys. The defection of Sen. Arlen Specter to the Democrats, in a desperate attempt to save his threatened Pennsylvania seat, was only the latest in a series of severe warnings that the GOP is endangered. In New York's conservative-leaning 20th Congressional District, an unknown Democrat edged out the leader of the State Assembly's Republicans -- after the national party had virtually announced a victory in advance of the special election there.

Governor Beshear's weekly address

Bunning votes against foreclosure prevention

Yesterday the Senate passed the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act with staggering bipartisan support. Only five Republicans voted against it. The AFP has more:

The US Senate passed legislation Wednesday aimed at preventing home foreclosures and ease access to credit, targeting key factors at the heart of the global economic crisis.

Lawmakers voted 91-5 to approve the "Helping Families Save Their Homes Act" championed by Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd, a Democrat.

"This bill is principally designed to provide that long sought for relief for people who are facing foreclosure. The bill does other things, but, certainly, a major target is to deal with people's housing issues and respectfully to stem the tide," Dodd said.

Wouldn't ya know, our own Jim Bunning was one of the "no" votes?

Bunning would rather stick to his rigid anti-government ideology than see the federal government helping to fix the economy. Simply shameful.

A Dynamic Leader?

Gotta love all the bickering going on within the Kentucky Republican Party. Check out the new ad from the DNC:

Davis votes against diagnosing the economy

After being the only Kentucky representative to vote against credit cardholder protections, Geoff Davis has done it once again. This time he's the only member of Kentucky's delegation to vote against the bipartisan effort to diagnose the financial crisis. AFP has more:

The House voted 367-59 for a bill aimed at curbing financial fraud that included the proposal for an independent panel modeled on the bipartisan commission that investigated the September 11 attacks of 2001.

...Republican Representative Darrell Issa, who has been pushing for the new commission since last fall, said: "You cannot solve a problem until you've accurately diagnosed it.

"A truly independent and nonpartisan commission can put forward an assessment that will help us avoid repeating the mistakes that got us into this crisis in the first place."

What an embarrassment Davis is.

Sebelius makes case for new U.S. health plan

Reuters has the story:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on Wednesday said a proposed government health insurance plan backed by President Barack Obama would compete with private insurers rather than lead to a socialized system as Republicans claim.

In her first appearance before a congressional panel since taking office, Sebelius fielded questions about a new government health plan that would help cover the estimated 46 million uninsured Americans.

"Dismantling the private market... is not something the president supports. He supports moving forward and filling the gap, not disrupting the entire market," Sebelius told the House Ways and Means Committee.

Click here to read the entire article.

GOP moves away from mainstream

The most recent Tom Teepen column is good:

The decision of Pennsylvania’s Republican senator, Arlen Specter, to jump ship and swim to the Democrats is being cheered in the GOP’s dominant conservative circles as a welcome, further ideological purification. One by one, the party is being purged of its bothersome moderates.

Even granting the obvious — that Specter’s act was a desperation move to save his political skin — the reason for that desperation is hardly something for the party to celebrate, or so you would think.

...With Specter outta here, Republicans have just about blown the Northeast, once a strength. They are weakening in the mountain West and Midwest. The party’s arch-conservatives may be thrilled by the defection of moderates — voters and candidates alike — but others have a hard time seeing happy days ahead for the GOP as it drifts toward becoming a regionally based party of the neo-Confederate South.

Obama putting USA back on right track

The Fox News crowd has been consistently bashing the Obama administration, going so far as to call Obama a "fascist":



Fortunately, America isn't buying this right-wing lunacy. Polls show that people think the country is getting back on the right track:

More editorial comics

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Davis votes against credit cardholder protections

The House of Representatives voted this week on the Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights Act of 2009. The bill passed with overwhelming bipartisan support, with 105 of 178 Republicans voting in favor. All of Kentucky's representatives voted yes -- except for our own ultra-partisan Geoff Davis, that is.

Has Davis ever put us, his constituents, before the desires of the big finance corporations?

Out of Touch

Today's column by Bob Herbert is awesome:

The incredibly clueless stewards of the incredibly shrinking Republican Party would do well to recall that it was supposedly Abe Lincoln, a Republican, who said you can’t fool all of the people all of the time.

Not only has the G.O.P. spent years trying to fool everybody in sight with its phony-baloney, dime-store philosophies, it’s now trapped in the patently pathetic phase of fooling itself.

The economy has imploded, the auto industry is in danger of being vaporized and more than half of all working Americans are worried that they may lose their jobs in the next year. So what’s the Republican response? To build a wall of obstruction in front of efforts to get the economy moving again, and then to stand in front of that wall chanting gibberish about smaller government, lower taxes, spending cuts and Ronald Reagan.

President Obama's weekly address

Governor Beshear's weekly address

Let's Go... Republicans?

Eugene Robinson is great! Check out his latest column:

The one thing I can say about the Republicans is that they have been generally supportive of Obama in his approach to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. On myriad domestic issues, however, they have been consistently obstructionist. As Obama said Wednesday: "Opposing our approach on every front is probably not a good political strategy."

It's also not good for the country. The economic crisis is of such depth and complexity that no one can be certain how best to tackle it. There's a broad consensus in favor of health-care reform, but the details remain to be worked out. Energy is a huge and complicated issue, but shifting to a "green" economy will involve big dislocations and require considerable sacrifice. None of this stuff is easy, and while I support Obama's progressive approach in all these areas, I realize that vigorous debate can only increase the odds of getting the big policy choices right.

...A modern Republican Party would have argued for a modified stimulus package, not a bunch of tax cuts that most economists agree couldn't possibly do what a stimulus is supposed to do. A modern Republican Party would share in the Democrats' outrage at the inefficiency and unfairness of our health insurance system and would work to shape true reform rather than prevent it. A modern Republican Party would recognize that "no" is not the answer that Americans want to hear.

An Affordable Salvation

Be sure to check out today's column by Paul Krugman:

The 2008 election ended the reign of junk science in our nation’s capital, and the chances of meaningful action on climate change, probably through a cap-and-trade system on emissions, have risen sharply.

But the opponents of action claim that limiting emissions would have devastating effects on the U.S. economy. So it’s important to understand that just as denials that climate change is happening are junk science, predictions of economic disaster if we try to do anything about climate change are junk economics.

...the best available estimates suggest that the costs of an emissions-limitation program would be modest, as long as it’s implemented gradually. And committing ourselves now might actually help the economy recover from its current slump.