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These are some of the more recent polls specifically on support for the public option, and bear in mind that one of the lower results, Rasmussen, worded the public option to sound like single payer rather than merely an option.
Meanwhile, the Progressive Caucus “isn’t bluffing.”
“We have never had the Progressive Caucus organized the way it is right now,” Burner said during a Friday roundtable with Roll Call. “This is not the normal scenario. And Speaker [Nancy] Pelosi [D-Calif.] knows it.”
….
As an unusually contentious public debate over the reform drive has put Democrats on the defensive over the August recess, liberal leaders have been upping the ante on the public plan to beat back a building perception it would end up getting scrapped in conference negotiations.
Burner said liberals have new organizational muscle to back up their threat. As evidence, she pointed to a fundraising effort coordinated by MoveOn.org and left-wing bloggers that netted about $400,000 in small-dollar donations in just a few days for 60 members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. Those lawmakers signed an Aug. 17 letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius pledging to vote against a bill that doesn’t include a robust public plan.
As I’ve said, I would just as soon have everything in the bill scrapped but the public option. Don’t put any additional requirements on the for-profit folks. Just give us a competative public option and let the market do its thing. Have you ever seen conservatives so terrified of the free market?
And here’s a nice andecdote: “How I survived the Swedish Death Panel.”
Addendum: Add Mark Warner to the list of Senators willing to vote for the public option. I think that brings us to 48, two votes away if the Democrats have the guts to invoke reconciliation.
Second addendum: “Republicans for the Public Option” – aimed at Grassely.
Still has the “Garberville Nude Beach” on the list, though somebody said there’s only private access. I wonder how many people the Bay Guardian is sending up to trespass.
Monday Morning Magazine this morning hosted Barbara Kennedy for the Richardson Grove upgrade opposition. They met last week in Garberville and may pursue litigation. They have raised a number of issues about the process, specifically that lack of adequate time for public input. She didn’t really address impact on the grove itself, but rather the anticipated increase in traffic once the large trucks are allowed through by the straightening (as opposed to widening) and the impact on local culture as well as corporate takeover of the local economy.
Again, I lean for the straightening for reasons I’ve previously stated here. What the opposition hasn’t really answered for me is how the widening will increase traffic. In theory it may even reduce traffic, by eliminating the off-loading. Basically, I’ve heard from several small business owners who tell me they actually have a better chance of competing with big boxes and chains if they don’t have to pay extra freight charges for the offloading. Certainly WalMart, Home Depot, Lowe’s, Kmart, Shop4Less, Safeway, Costco and Target have not been deterred by the road, and small businesses have been going under, so I question the logic.
But I’m open to argument. Certainly there are people who feel very strongly that we should maintain the road as a big-box-resistant bottleneck.
You can find the show on the KMUD archives. I think the topic was discussed from 7:30 to 8:00. And of course the opposition maintains a blog.
Is the use of a Minotaur to gore detainees a form of torture under the Geneva Convention?
I’ve disabled the video because it was causing my dial-up readers grief. You can still access the video here.
Looks like they’ve raised pledges for half the amount which would be necessary to keep it open. The plan submitted involves converting the institution to a 501c3 non-profit, but that would mean that the HSU administration would have to give up some control.
Just the latest I’ve come across. I can’t make out all the words, but according to this Kos post the woman speaking is a cancer survivor speaking about her inability to obtain coverage due to her pre-existing condition. She is booed by some in the crowd. The Kos poster provides an intro:
The fourth speaker was the first one to support reform, a 60-ish woman who had had cancer in the 90s, has been cancer-free for many years, and now could not get a policy due to her pre-existing condition. The audio for this is only fair, and since David was filming from the progressive ghetto in the audience you get an exaggerated view of how much the audience supported her. The snippet in the Register video lets you hear the booing and catcalls loud and clear:
This morning I was watching on CSPAN a town hall meeting in Virginia. I didn’t recognize the representative, but Dr. Howard Dean was there to speak. The opposition had been booing and cat calling throughout the presentation, but when Dean got up there was an overt attempt to drown him out with the chant of “baby killer” until some individuals were physically removed from the room, no doubt on their way to log onto the Malkin blog to report that their free speech rights had been violated by union thugs or something.
At this meeting however, it was clear from the “thank you signs” being held up that the majority by far supported the house bill the representative was pushing – not sure which one it was.
I will be at Thompson’s town hall meeting at Redwood Acres this Wednesday evening. Hope to see some of you there.
4-0, with Jill Duffy out of town. Now we just wait for the inevitable HELP lawsuit as the Board focuses on the land use element.
THOUSANDS EXPECTED AT ORGANIC PLANET FESTIVAL
Thousands of festival-goers are expected to delight in all-day music, scores of exhibits, dozens of workshops and tons of organic food that will be on display on the Eureka waterfront during the fifth annual Organic Planet Festival on Sunday, August 30.
The annual celebration of natural and non-toxic living at Halvorsen Park is the brainchild of Californians for Alternatives to Toxics (CATs), which has spearheaded the campaign against dangerous chemicals since 1982.
The serious theme of the end-of-summer party is how to transform every-day life from harmful to healthy. The bevy of exhibits will range from organic gardening techniques to alternative building materials.
Highlighting the festivities will be a keynote address by gardening guru Mike McGrath, host of the nationally syndicated radio show “You Bet Your Garden,” and an all-day lineup of music topped by legendary bluegrass artist Del McCoury and his band, and international reggae star Tanya Stephens.
The festival also will feature the world’s largest organic salad, an eco-organic fashion show, a kids’ village, a $1,000 grocery giveaway, door prizes and a donated food drive.
To discourage cars, a shuttle bus will offer rides from Arcata and there will be ‘valet parking’ for bicycles.
The festival runs from 10:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Tickets–$12 in advance or $15 at the gate–can be purchased at the Eureka or Arcata Coops, the Works in Eureka or Arcata and Wild Horse Records in Garberville.
For more information, visit www.organicplanetfestival.org or call the CATs office at 707/445-5100.
Dear Friends,
This has been a wonderful season at the park. The Community Farm is in full swing providing CSA baskets to many households and fresh produce available at the Farmers Market in the Town Square on Fridays. The trails are full of people walking their dogs, hikers, and joggers and herd of goats deployed to keep down the poison oak, invasive species, and to help reduce the fire hazard from the underbrush.
However, it’s important to keep in mind that while the Park is temporarily allowed to keep the gates open to a short list of activities, there are many common activities that are currently prohibited by zoning regulations. As you may recall, in February it was brought to our attention that many activities, including hiking, biking and picnicking at the Park are not allowable under current Agriculture Exclusive Zoning.
On March 25, as recommended by the Planning Department, the Community Park filed a General Plan Amendment petition to rezone park property and obtain a new zoning classification that will better serve community needs at the park. That application was relatively simple and included a very brief project description as Kirk Girard suggested at the public planning meeting.
The Park Board has reviewed all the available zoning designations and found that each of the available zonings are missing key elements. We have concluded that the Community Park needs a requires a new zoning to fulfill community needs at Park. We have begun to collate all the key components that we would like to see in a new zoning. The information from the various community planning sessions; input from various park users, groups and community members and the information from the completed studies have all been incorporated into this draft.
We have not as yet had any feedback from the Planners regarding the concept of creating a “Community Park Zone” so we do not know how it will be received by them. While it may be a bit premature to release this information, we certainly want to keep you informed and most importantly, we want to take your input on this draft concept. The draft zoning proposal is attached here and copies of the maps that show proposed locations for various community activities are available on the “Communications and Updates” page on our website at: www.sohumpark.org/updates.html
· Farming and Conservation Use Map
Current zoning documents and maps can be found in our Communications and Updates page in the Document Library. You can submit your comments to contact@sohumpark.org or send them to: SHCP, PO Box 185, Garberville, CA 95542.
Please note that the meeting that was scheduled for the Board of Supervisors to make a decision on the Park’s petition on September 22 has been postponed by the Planning Department due to their current workload on the General Plan Update. We will let you know when the new date has been scheduled. Until then, we’d like to hear what you’re thinking.
Best Regards,
Kathryn Lobato
Sohum Parlance II 
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