Since the Senate passed its version of a health overhaul on Christmas Eve, most of the debate has focused on the politics of the effort. By now, many people have forgotten what the bill would actually do. So here's a short refresher: expand coverage to roughly 30 million people; ban insurance companies from excluding people or raising their rates, because [of] a "pre-existing medical condition;" more controversial[ly] it requires everyone to have insurance -- But help will be available. If you're poor, you'll get health insurance for free through the Medicaid program; Middle-class people who have to buy their own policies would get government subsidies; And small businesses would get tax credits to encourage them to help pay for insurance for their workers. Those who have to buy their own health insurance get another leg up — a new marketplace called an exchange. There they could pool their buying power and compare their options. [A] new payment system would be based on how health care professionals do their jobs, rather than just how many tests they order or exams they perform. Now House Democrats are being asked to cast a vote for the bill the Senate passed Christmas Eve. And, at least initially, they'll have to approve that Senate bill with no changes. [A] so-called fix bill will carry the compromises now being made between the Senate and the House. That bill is also likely to alter the way the health care program is paid for. Don't expect a House vote on the Senate bill until they get some assurances about what that second bill will do — and that the Senate can actually pass it.

Don't die without sharing your PIN numbers. That seems to be the lesson learned from Verizon's recent botched handling of a deceased man's account. Bill Young of Calvin, W.Va died in June 2009, but Verizon Wireless continued to bill him until February 2010.

Critics are worried the law will open up a Pandora's box of unintended legal consequences On Monday afternoon, a controversial Utah bill that charges pregnant women and girls with murder for having miscarriages caused by "intentional or knowing" acts, was signed into law by Gov. Gary Herbert.

It is no accident that the U.S. was historically a protectionist economy. The Founding Fathers understood the value of protectionism, so they explicitly granted Congress the power “to regulate commerce with foreign nations”

The modern "conservative" movement is nothing more than a massively funded and highly effective communications strategy to shift America into an oligarchy that functions for the super wealthy through tax cuts and for corporations through the elimination of safety regulations for the public good and the privatization of government

Why creeping consolidation is crushing American livelihoods. - If any single number captures the state of the American economy over the last decade, it is zero. That was the net gain in jobs between 1999 and 2009—nada, nil, zip. By painful contrast, from the 1940s through the 1990s, recessions came and went, but no decade ended without at least a 20 percent increase in the number of jobs.

For weeks, the U.S. public followed the biggest offensive of the Afghanistan War against what it was told was a "city of 80,000 people" as well as the logistical hub of the Taliban in that part of Helmand. That idea was a central element in the overall impression built up in February that Marja was a major strategic objective, more important than other district centres in Helmand. It turns out, however, that the picture of Marja presented by military officials and obediently reported by major news media is one of the clearest and most dramatic pieces of misinformation of the entire war, apparently aimed at hyping the offensive as a historic turning point in the conflict.

Lawmakers often contend that lobbying, campaign contributions and fancy parties do not sway their votes, yet at least one company begs to differ. As The Washington Examiner reports, Pfizer based its recent decision to grant CEO Jeff Kindler a raise, at least in part, on his "developing and advancing U.S. and global public policies that serve the overall interests of our Company and our shareholders."

Proving that Progressive and Liberal Democrats who act like Democrats rather than Republicans and show some guts can win over Republicans.

Rep. Dennis Kucinich appeared on CSpan recently. I found myself asking why Kucinich is in such a philosophical minority in Washington when everything he says addresses the serious economic and physical realities grinding down the American citizenry. Kucinich speaks with passion, clarity and morality. Kucinich admits that Obama received an “unmitigated mess” from George Bush. But he contends Washington is now too paralyzed to restore justice. He warns that we can’t afford to get gridlocked by partisanship. “The country is collapsing!” he declares. Kucinich maintains that health care is one of a three-pronged crisis. Our broken political system is not providing jobs, universal health care or saving homes for its citizens. Our administration and Congress are not holding insurance companies accountable for the price gouging happening and even profoundly escalating right now. Kucinich believes the proposed health care bill has a CENTRAL FLAW. It is LOCKING IN PRIVATIZATION. There is no process for control of premiums. Kucinich’s rhetoric does not hold back. He calls this government a “cash cow” for corporations. It is providing corporations such as insurance companies with a “license to steal.” At one point he warns of us becoming “slaves on a health insurance plantation.”

In the case, Kansas church members led by Fred Phelps traveled to the Westminster, Md., funeral of Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder, who was killed in Iraq in 2006. they displayed their usual signs and caused disruption and emotional pain for Snyder's family, according to the family's brief. "Phelps' activities added insult and injury during a time of grief and mourning," wrote Sean Summers of the York, Pa., firm Barley Snyder in the petition to the high court, filed on behalf of Snyder's surviving father, Albert. "Matthew deserved better. A civilized society deserved better." A jury awarded the Snyder family $10 million in compensatory and punitive damages for intentional infliction of emotional distress, an amount later reduced to $5 million. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit reversed, on First Amendment grounds.

Eisenhower was thought by many of his countrymen and women to be pretty much of a failure. His remarks about the “military industrial complex” were ignored for decades until 20/20 historical hindsight forced us to reexamine them. Cut to forty-nine years later: America is undeniably in economic ruins. Our health care system is an international joke. The American people are sick and getting sicker by the year. National health insurance – the kind they’ve had in England since 1947 – is not an option. In plainspeak, we piss away far too much of our national treasure on things that go BOOM.

"These recently discovered documents buttress previously disclosed evidence that Reagan’s CIA Director William J. Casey played a key behind-the-scenes role in pushing this political action initiative, which recruited well-heeled private-sector conservatives to subsidize the secretive government operations." Robert Parry

While Haitian resilience has been duly recognized around the world, few appear to be interested in talking to Haitians about how to rebuild their communities and how the billions likely to be pledged to their country will be used. And no one is talking about what recourse Haitians will have if promised projects are never completed, or worse, pledged money never arrives. Unfortunately, past failures can be found in every community across Haiti - water projects that were promised but never built, resulting in water-borne illness and death; food aid that was delivered, but spoiled or sold in markets below the prices asked by local farmers; non-government organizations that started educational programs, but then shifted priorities, leaving children without access to schools.

An appointed senator in office just a year, Colorado Democrat Michael Bennet faces his first election with voters in a sour mood. The former Denver schools superintendent is tapping into that angst, however, with a sweeping anti-Washington agenda aimed at reforming a Congress he says "defies common sense at every turn."

Dennis Kucinich on Countdown. Still won't be voting for this healthcare bill as it stands now. "It's a bailout for the insurance companies."

U.S. officials say the long-anticipated draw down of troops is not a sign of waning commitment to Haiti, only a change in the nature of the operation. Security will now be the responsibility of the 10,000-strong U.N. peacekeeping force and the Haitian police. "Our mission is largely accomplished," Fraser said. American forces arrived in the immediate aftermath of the quake to treat the wounded, provide emergency water and rations and help prevent a feared outbreak of violence among desperate survivors. They also helped reopen the airport and seaport.

PALIN: We used to hustle over the border for health care we received in Canada. And I think now, isn’t that ironic?

I want to start today by pointing to a post by Jonathan Chait at The New Republic. Chait attempts to refute the suggestion the Wall Street Journal put forth in an editorial claiming that the minimum wage increase was to blame for rising youth unemployment numbers. The chart to the left appeared in the Journal to augment the editorial board's argument.

"There are no constraints left to halt America’s slide into a totalitarian capitalism. Electoral politics are a sham. The media have been debased and defanged by corporate owners. The working class has been impoverished and is now being plunged into profound despair. The legal system has been corrupted to serve corporate interests. Popular institutions, from labor unions to political parties, have been destroyed or emasculated by corporate power. And any form of protest, no matter how tepid, is blocked by an internal security apparatus that is starting to rival that of the East German secret police. The mounting anger and hatred, coursing through the bloodstream of the body politic, make violence and counter-violence inevitable. Brace yourself. The American empire is over. And the descent is going to be horrifying."