Hark! the foe is calling.

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 05:17 AM | Comments (89)
Post contains 13 words, total size 1 kb.

FIFTEEN INCHES of snow reported in Winterset this morning. I just turned on the front porch light, and the drifts have taken over our whole front yard.

Now I'm not saying that this is an epic blizzard, but the pack of wolves rampaging down our street hunting for unlucky morons who dare go out in the elements are all wearing little knitted booties on their paws.

I was promised Global Warming. Where is it?

Posted by: Russ from Winterset at 03:44 AM | Comments (181)
Post contains 82 words, total size 1 kb.

A very sad day.

Thousands of police, fire and other emergency vehicles in the 10 mile long procession from McChord AFB to the Tacoma Dome.

Posted by: Dave in Texas at 08:03 PM | Comments (34)
Post contains 45 words, total size 1 kb.

First quote in Allah's quotes of the day.

Several trillion? Do we even bother counting the trillions anymore?

Sign me up. I had no idea we'd be talking about just a "relatively small fraction of the world's total economic output."

Can't wait 'till Obama submits the treaty for ratification. Cannot. Wait.

In unrelated news:

There will be a Democratic primary challenger to Obama, and he will not seek reelection.

Posted by: Ace at 07:52 PM | Comments (193)
Post contains 107 words, total size 1 kb.

Good evening morons.

Average Age at First Sex by Country
Why oh why couldn't my middle school have sponsored a class trip to Iceland? Also are Indians that prudish or just good liars?

Pretension Watch: Okay this week I've been hearing commentators pronouncing Copenhagen as 'copen-HAH-gan' instead of the usual 'copen-HAY-gen'. I guess this is supposed to sound more authentic or something.

Now I'm no Scandi gutterspeak expert but I am pretty sure that most words in the Filthy Tongue are not pronounced the way they look to us. And according to a co-worker who speaks Danish they actually pronounce København more like 'coop-en-hown'. So there pretentious snoti-snots. more...

Posted by: Open Blog at 06:15 PM | Comments (906)
Post contains 321 words, total size 3 kb.

Above the post update:

Reid just made a statement.

Senate leaders said they had reached a "broad agreement" late Tuesday on a compromise to replace the government-run insurance plan in the chamber's health-care package, but they declined to release details, pending analysis by congressional budget analysts.

"Tonight we've overcome a real problem that we had," Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) told reporters, adding that the Senate was approaching the end of "a long journey."

"Not everyone is going to agree with every piece we sent over" to the Congressional Budget Office, he said. But "is the end in sight? The answer's yes."

There's a lot of confusion about if they are dropping the public option or not (hence the question mark in the headline). Reid says they aren't killing but it looks like depends on what the definition of "public option" is.

In place of a government-run plan, originally designed as a way of forcing competition on private industry, officials said the Democrats had tentatively settled on a private insurance arrangement to be supervised by the federal agency that oversees the system through which lawmakers purchase coverage. Additionally, the tentative deal calls for Medicare to be opened to uninsured Americans beginning at age 55, a significant expansion of the large government health care program that currently serves the 65-and-over population.

That will drive the Olbermann Left out of their minds. They'll claim it's simply going to enrich insurance companies. Obviously, the details will be what matter.

Original Post...
Wow.

The Senate majority leader, Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, said Senate leaders “have a broad agreement” on dropping a government-run plan from the health care bill, and that the Congressional Budget Office would review the implications of such a move on the budget.

“I told head of C.B.O. we would send him something he would have to score,” Mr. Reid said. He added that he had asked Senators Charles E. Schumer and Mark Pryor to work together with a group of liberals and moderates on making sure the health care bill has a vehicle to expand coverage to achieve the aims of the so-called public option.

Well, that will kill the idea of the House just passing the Senate version of the bill PA posted on.

Earlier tonight, the Senate killed Ben Nelson abortion prohibition amendment.
Not really a surprise but he sounds like he's hanging tough on this being a make or break issue for him.

Nelson said he will not draft a compromised version on his original amendment: "I had no Plan B, and I'm not looking for a Plan B. Others may be."

But he left the door open for other senators, including Majority Leader Harry Reid, to find a workable solution. "I always listen to the Leader, if the Leader has something to say. But it's not my intent to go looking to achieve a compromise... If others are trying to develop a Plan B -- you always look at Plan B -- but I can't imagine how it would be satisfactory."

A reporter then simply asked, "Are you a 'no' vote now" on final passage?

"They've made it harder to be supportive," he replied.

I'm still not convinced he won't cave in the end and use whatever weasel language Reid offers up as cover to support the bill. No doubt a few hundred million dollars in aid to Nebraska to help it go down, just ask Mary Landrieu.

Right now though, the whole dropping of the public option (or whatever the hell this is) throws everything into turmoil.

Thanks to Dave in Texas for graciously allowing me to move my post up. Be sure to check out his Medal of Honor v. Home Owner Association post below. I really hate those idiots (the HOAs, not the Medal of Honor recipients).

Posted by: DrewM at 05:33 PM | Comments (129)
Post contains 658 words, total size 5 kb.

Like Obama said, "they acted stupidly". Which he didn't really say, but they did.

Barfoot won the Medal of Honor for actions while his platoon was under German assault near Carano, Italy, in May 1944. He was credited with standing up to three German tanks with a bazooka and stopping their advance.

He also won the Purple Heart and other decorations, and served in Korea and Vietnam before retiring from the service in 1974.

Seriously people, what the hell were you thinking? Aesthetic guidelines? A rusted out 51 International Harvester in the front yard is an "aesthetic guideline" (I know this because I had to correct the spelling for my neighbor, who wouldn't even come to the door to show me the letter until I put on a bathrobe).

There's nothing quite so petty as picking a fight with an elderly war hero, and in the process pissing off the rest of the country plus two Senators. Good thinking!

Posted by: Dave in Texas at 05:31 PM | Comments (43)
Post contains 181 words, total size 1 kb.

Weak.

Posted by: Ace at 04:03 PM | Comments (116)
Post contains 5 words, total size 1 kb.

(A series of daily-ish roundups of the day's Climate news and commentary.)

This is by no means a comprehensive recap. The stories come from a variety of sources, and I highly recommend exploring the linked sites for more breaking news.

(after the break...) more...

Posted by: Open Blog at 03:00 PM | Comments (91)
Post contains 703 words, total size 5 kb.

THE PLOY: Bypass conference and pass the Senate version verbatim. So don't count on interminable negotiations resolving differences in conference. The Senate version, which appears to shape shift dramatically by the day is the battlefield. Period. A desperation move for sure, but politicians are at their most dangerous when desperate. more...

Posted by: Purple Avenger at 02:21 PM | Comments (48)
Post contains 72 words, total size 1 kb.