Avi Livingstone, mother and midwife, moves on

I’m still stunned over this.  I didn’t know her real well, but I coached her son in soccer last year and she was always there to support him.  She was also my client and I had spoken to her just days ago.  I know that people involved with the schools, where she was very active, are in shock.

She was on the way back from a trip to Oregon and apparently fell asleep while driving.  She had kids in the car, one of them seriously hurt but doing better.  Thankfully all of the kids survived.

Jojo posted in a thread below this link to the article about her death.  I would caution that the photographs of the vehicle are quite dramatic.

If anyone has photographs of her to post, please send them.

Addendum: The photo above is of Avi and her son Ilon and Tofu’s daughter.  Thanks to Tofu who sent the photo.

An existential moment for the public option – where we’re at

It’d be nice to have a public option come out of the Senate Finance Committee, all but guaranteeing a public option in the final bill.  If there was any doubt, Paul Kirk has now pledged to vote for a public option.  Unless Baucus can find another reason to delay, the three public option amendments will be debated and voted upon tomorrow.  All eyes are on the conservative Democrats in the committee, none of whom have firmly taken a stand one way or another.

In the House, opposition to the public option is wavering.

Jane Hampshire sets up the status of the conservative Senate Finance Committee Democrats as follows:

Max Baucus — has said he supports a public plan, despite the fact that his bill doesn’t contain one.

Bill Nelson — acknowledges that a public option would address lack of competition in the health care industry, but said he was against it, then he was “open” to it, and most recently says it must be subject to triggers. Bill Nelson — says emerging public option is “attractive.”

Kent Conrad — Has always said that “there aren’t enough votes for a public option,” but wouldn’t say if he was one of them.  Told Ezra Klein today he would only be open to one that wasn’t tied to Medicare rates — which Schumer’s “level playing field” isn’t.

Blanche Lincoln — said in July that a public insurance option should be included in any health care bill, but since then has changed her position like some people change their hair color.

Tom Carper — thinks the job of the Senate Finance Committee is to honor back room deals with PhRMA.  Won’t say how he feels about a public option.

There are 13 Democrats and 10 Republicans on the committee, which means they can only lose two Democratic votes and still pass the amendment.   So, in order for a public plan to come out of Finance, three of these are going to have to get off the fence.

Again, these Democrats have not said they would ultimately vote against a public option.  They’ve only said repeatedly “we don’t have the votes.”

The pressure is on Baucus, who has taken in over 3 million in donations from insurance companies.

This is the time to hit these Senators with emails and telephone calls.  The following are talking points:

• The CBO scoring of the House bill shows an additional $85 billion in savings over the Blue Dog/Energy & Commerce version: the public option will save money and bend that cost curve.
• The public option remains popular with majorities of Americans.
• The public option is popular with swing state voters.
• In national polling, voters oppose a mandate to purchase private insurance by 64% to 34% but support a mandate with a choice of private or public insurance by 60% to 37%.

There’s room for cautious optimism at this point, but if even Schumer’s weak public option makes it into the Finance Committee bill, it will be the starting point for negotiations in consolidation with the HELP bill and eventually with the House bill.

The liberal PACs have been busy.  Here’s what they’ve been hitting Baucus with in Montana, where the majority support a public option, but he’s taken over 3 million in insurance interest donations.

Addendum: Evan Bayh says the Republicans are irrelevant.

Rep. Raúl Grijalva, a major force behind the public option, slams Baucus in an Op-Ed.

And Howard Dean is warning of a backlash if the Democrats do not pass a public option.

Sometimes SNL has it and sometimes it doesn’t.  They don’t have a good character actor for Glenn Beck, and you’d think he’d be easy.

Blue Cross Blues

Kill the Wabbit

An old friend sent me this link reminding me that millions of Americans our age were introduced to opera and specifically Wagner through this cartoon.

It is a little disrespectful on a certain level, but then Wagner was a bit of a pre-fascist so a number of people think he deserves it.  A bit, though his views have been oversimplified by both Nazis appropriating him and Nazi opponents too willing to concede the point.  He actually got himself into trouble early in life for his associations with left politics rather than right, but in the view of many historians his later writings have tended to eclipse some of the complexity of the man.  But that’s a topic for another post.