Prairie's Reading: Wendell Potter on Medical Ratios.

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Over at Huffington Post, Wendell Potter, former Cigna executive who is now doing heroic advocacy for healthcare reform, blogs about a healthcare amendment you need to know about. Senators Franken and Rockefeller are pushing to hold for-profit insurance companies to account by mandating they spend 90% of every premium dollar on medical care.

It's called MLR -- medical loss ratio.

An interesting twist of phrase. Actually providing the service for which people are paying their insurance companies is considered a "loss."

It should be Moral Leadership Return.

Insurance companies actually having ethics, moral responsibility, you know, all those old-fashioned values that the values crowd corrupts to line the pockets of Wall Street, buy the yachts and the Bentleys and Gulfstreams and the penthouse lofts and mcMansions.

Dancing around their 21st century version of the Golden Calf while turning a blind eye to the parable values of the Jewish guy with the loaves and fishes and healing touch.
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crossposted at Firedoglake's The Seminal and Clotheslineblog

Why they call him Dick.

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Dick Cheney comes back out of his sludgehole to accuse the president of giving aid and comfort to the enemy.

Just in case you were missin' the good ol' days of Senator Joseph McCarthy and Governor George Wallace.
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Idea of the Day

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Dylan Ratigan nails it: you can't be a bank if you don't lend money.
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obviously far too simple an idea for the government to do.
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My definition of government has always been that which protects the powerless from the powerful.
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For too long, the government has been protecting the powerful.
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Enough.

Prairie Recommends: Elizabeth Warren

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One of the clearest voices on what's really at risk in this Great [shhh, don't call it Dep]Recession is Elizabeth Warren.

You'd think the idiots with their screamfests and crossfirization of inane talking points and moguls pushing their in-house hatemongers would realize that survival of the middle class is in their best interest, too.

That survival must include jobs. Education. And health care.

Oh, and Ben Nelson and Stupak and their ilk keeping their noses out of women's vaginas. Maybe this is their way of overcompensating for their own Inner Ensigns?
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Prairie Recommends: Froomkin Interviews Dorgan

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Those of us who've been privileged to know Byron Dorgan since his days in the North Dakota state capitol in Bismarck know the strength of his expertise, his commitment to the country, and his cut-through-the-chaff wisdom.
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Froomkin's interview with Dorgan on matters economic is must reading.
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Undermining....

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Joe Lie-berman and the friendly folk at Fox news have been quick to ramp up the Fort Hood shootings into national security. Hearings to come.

Not to be outdone, Senator John McCain joins in the fray at an event for Mitch McConnell:

"This may sound a little harsh, but I think we ought to make sure that political correctness never impedes national security...."

Nor political opportunism neither, Senators?

Wonder which one of these guys will be first up in the lazy Rolodexes of the Sunday morning gas bag shows?

President Obama set exactly the right tone and the right message in his memorial service comments.

Give the guy due process, convict him and and carry out appropriate punishment.
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crossposted at firedoglake's The Seminal

The Wall

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Mr. Geithner, tear down this Wall Street.
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In this era of greed that puts the Golden Calf worshipers to shame, of bonuses that should be labeled booty stolen by pirates, of Goldman Sachs never met Rabbi Hillel, where is the one who will at long last drive the money changers out of Congress and K Street?

Where is the one who will remember the Golden Rule?
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And why hasn't Senator Lieberman's conscience spoken to him about this? Too busy with fearmongering about healthcare reform and breaking the "thou shalt not bear false witness..." and warmongering?
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