Pass the Health Care Bill - Then Improve It

Peter Dreier, 12.25.2009

Peter Dreier is E.P. Clapp Distinguished Professor of Politics at Occidental College

There are many lessons to learn from the health care war that has raged over the past year. We'll get to some of them below. But here's the bottom li...

'Twas the night before Health Care (C'mon! Everybody join in!)

Steve Marmel, 12.24.2009

Marmel is a comedian, a writer and a TV producer. It's not as impressive as it sounds.

I would like your help to write the longest "Night Before Christmas" poem ever. Think we can write one as long as a three-gabillion page bill?

Lieberman Calls Prescription Plan Unnecessary; "I've Been Off My Meds For Years"

Andy Borowitz, 12.24.2009

BorowitzReport.com

Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev) took Mr. Lieberman's comments in stride, saying only that they "explained a lot."

Missing Ted Kennedy: Health Care Reform Package Would Have Been So Different

Steve Clemons, 12.24.2009

Publisher of "The Washington Note"

Obama's victory ahead in signing major health care legislation would have been cleaner, stronger, better with Ted Kennedy at his side.

A Christian Conservative That Cared

Charles Karel Bouley, 12.24.2009

Talk Show Host, Entertainer, Author, Reporter, Comic

His name was William Wilberforce. He's proof an evangelical Christian conservative can be a good person.

Steps in Reconciling House and Senate Bills

Bill Lucey, 12.23.2009

writer on politics and history

Assuming that the Senate approves the health care reform bill on Christmas Eve morning, what happens next?

Eat Right and Exercize in Futlity

Ned Goldreyer, 12.23.2009

Syndicalist, Idler, Eukaryote

The crisis in our current health care crisis has finally reached the crisis point. We must now take the issue firmly by the shoulders as one would a ...

On Health Care Promises, I Agree With Obama: "We ARE Tired" (VIDEO)

David Sirota, 12.24.2009

Newspaper columnist, radio host (AM760), bestselling author

There's a lot of righteous - and rightful - outrage that President Obama is now blatantly lying about his campaign promise to give every American a ch...

Whoever Jesus Was, He Wasn't A Petty Partisan

Todd Wilkinson, 12.24.2009

Environmental journalist

It's a strange time to call oneself a Christian. What does it mean? Who establishes the definition? And upon what -- or whose -- divine authority do the arbiters judge the veracity of believers?

Take the First Step and Support the President

Russell Simmons, 12.24.2009

Founder of GlobalGrind.com

We are left with a bill that neither side is incredibly happy about, but from experience, I know it means that it is a good piece of legislation.

The Democrats' Authoritarian Health "Reform" Bill and the Ascendency of Corporatism in the Democratic Party

Miles Mogulescu, 12.24.2009

Entertainment attorney

From the moment he was elected, Obama has governed not as a progressive liberal but as a corporatist liberal. Progressive liberals hoped Obama would be like FDR. Instead, he's been like Bill Clinton on steroids.

For GOP Senators, "Wealth Care" Trumps Health Care

Joe Vecchio, 12.23.2009

Social and political commentator

Other than obstructing the advance of the health care bill, what alternatives to greater or improved health care coverage have the GOP proposed?

Why Democrats Couldn't (Read: Wouldn't) Save the Public Option

Dan Sweeney, 12.23.2009

Columnist for City Link Magazine

The truth is that the Democratic Party has been bought and sold a thousand times over since FDR said that "Government by organized money is just as dangerous as government by organized mob."

It's Not Over Yet: We Must Finish Health Reform Right!

Jason Rosenbaum, 12.23.2009

Activist living in Washington, DC

While the Senate bill includes significant reforms, it looks weak in comparison with the one produced earlier in the House.

Political Labels 101: A Lesson for Republicans and Teabaggers

Mitchell Bard, 12.23.2009

Writer and Filmmaker

I acknowledge that a fair debate on health care can be had. But what I have no patience for is the ignorance being injected into our national consciousness, most recently by Sarah Palin.

Can You Reverse Multiple Sclerosis? Yes, Says One Woman. Here's How.

Abigail Pesta, 12.23.2009

How do you cure an incurable disease? Ask Kate Milliken. The 37-year-old New York City video producer was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis -- the aut...

PASS THE HEALTH-CARE BILL: It's Deeply Flawed, but It's Better Than Nothing

Michael J.W. Stickings, 12.23.2009

Founder and editor of The Reaction, a liberal political blog

Very early Monday morning, just after 1 am, the Senate, by a vote of 60 to 40, the minimum required, ended a Republican filibuster of the health-care ...

Let Me Down Easy

Yazmany Arboleda, 12.23.2009

Artist

At a time of debate around "death panels", Anna Deavere Smith brings to life a rich, diverse range of perspectives on how we live and die in America today.

Tips to Save (Face) this X-mas

Rosalyn Hoffman, 12.23.2009

Author, Bitches on a Budget

A bitch loves any excuse for a party (ask us about Uncle Tim's indictment soirée), but let's set some ground rules. All good parties have an element ...

Will Someone Help Sen. Graham with All Those Black Folks?

Cliff Albright, 12.24.2009

Political Consultant; Race-Talk Contributor

Sen. Graham outlined the many reasons why it was unconscionable to burden his state with health care. Among his complaints: South Carolina has too much unemployment and too many Black people. What?

Obama Dresses As Santa Claus, Meets With Children

Matthew Filipowicz, 12.23.2009

Comedian, Cartoonist, Satirist

After several unpopular compromises on health care reform, and after the revelation that the White House didn't put any pressure on Joe Lieberman to s...