Unless some legislator pulls off a last-minute double-cross, health care reform will pass the Senate this week. Count me among those who consider this an awesome achievement. It’s a seriously flawed bill, we’ll spend years if not decades fixing it, but it’s nonetheless a huge step forward.

The political scientist Barbara Sinclair has done the math. In the 1960s, she finds, “extended-debate-related problems” — threatened or actual filibusters — affected only 8 percent of major legislation. By the 1980s, that had risen to 27 percent. But after Democrats retook control of Congress in 2006 and Republicans found themselves in the minority, it soared to 70 percent.

Ah yes, the party of no. No ideas, no leadership, no reason to exist.

More Paul Krugman here.

What Changed? White House Now Supports Franken Rape Amendment

Sen. Al Franken’s (D-MN) “rape amendment,” which guarantees that rape victims who work for defense contractors can pursue charges against their employers, has been championed by many but opposed by Obama’s Department of Defense. The Pentagon initially called the measure unenforceable. But the provision, part of the defense appropriations bill, made it through conference committee and is now supported by the White House.

So White House staff, after a week or so perusing contract and grant law, came up with a “clever construct,” the official said. The contractors, in order to stay in the lucrative government contract business, don’t have to remove the arbitration clauses. But they can’t enforce them.

Chapter 2,395 in “If you have to lie to make your point, you don’t have a point to make”:

Fox-backed seniors group exposed as conservative front

WASHINGTON — The seniors group American Seniors Association (ASA) describes itself as a conservative alternative to the AARP and has attracted notable press coverage this year for its opposition to health care reform. A Raw Story investigation, however, reveals that the group has a massive web of affiliations to right-wing activists, think tanks, politicians, media and executives — signaling ideological motivations than extend well beyond serving the interests of seniors.

But Fox News has touted ASA’s opposition to health reform legislation, repeatedly billing ASA as a burgeoning political force and serious threat to the AARP and offering the group considerable attention and air-time.

Kucinich: ‘Class war is over, working people lost’

WASHINGTON — Reflecting on the growing divide between Wall Street and Main Street, Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) on Wednesday offered a powerful critique on the state of the economy in an open committee hearing.

“The separation between the finance economy and the real economy is real. This is not some fake idea. You can’t call that class warfare. That’s a fact.”

No shit.

Chuck Norris is so rabidly crazed by the notion that perhaps our mediocre, yet extremely profitable insurance scam industry might be changed that he goes, in the words of Tropic Thunder, Full Retard:

Chuck Norris: Mary Might Have Aborted Jesus Christ Under ObamaCare/’Herodcare’

In his latest syndicated column, Chuck Norris wonders if the Obama health care plan would have resulted in some dire consequences if it had been around in times past: Namely the abortion of Jesus Christ Himself, under the regime of “Herodcare.”

Lastly, as we near the eve of another Christmas, I wonder: What would have happened if Mother Mary had been covered by Obamacare? What if that young, poor and uninsured teenage woman had been provided the federal funds (via Obamacare) and facilities (via Planned Parenthood, etc.) to avoid the ridicule, ostracizing, persecution and possible stoning because of her out-of-wedlock pregnancy? Imagine all the great souls who could have been erased from history and the influence of mankind if their parents had been as progressive as Washington’s wise men and women! Will Obamacare morph into Herodcare for the unborn?

What if…you shut the fuck up?

Huge Signature Gathering Success Sends Pot Legalization to Ballot

The Tax & Regulate Cannabis 2010 campaign has just achieved a major victory in its efforts to legalize marijuana for all adults in California — they have gathered the signatures necessary for inclusion on the state’s November ballot.

This win means that Californians will be the first in the nation to decide whether they believe marijuana ought be taxed and regulated for all adults over 21, much the same way alcohol is.

Police shoot U.S. student’s laptop upon entry to Israel

An American student entering Israel from Egypt via the border crossing at Taba two weeks ago stood stunned as Israeli Border Police officers determined her laptop computer was a security threat and shot it three times.

Sussman blogged that she then heard an announcement on the loudspeaker that “was something along the lines of, ‘Do not to be alarmed by gunshots because the Israeli security needs to blow up suspicious passenger luggage.’”

If these are supposed to be the “chosen people” then somebody didn’t choose very well…

Despite Previous Lawsuits, Arpaio Issues New Order Forcing Inmates To Listen To Christmas Carols

The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office, run by the controversial Sheriff Joe Arpaio, released a “news brief” this week announcing that it will be forcing the system’s 8,000 inmates to listen to “Christmas music” during the holiday season, even though the Arpaio has faced six lawsuits over the issue in the past two years.

In previous grievances, inmates have called Arpaio’s stunt “cruel and unusual punishment” and said that it is forcing them to “participate in religious celebrations.” As the Phoenix New Times points out, “The practice of forcing people to listen to crappy music all day long has been used in the past for interrogation purposes. For example, the U.S. military blared Metallica music at detainees in Guantanamo Bay with the intention of breaking them down psychologically.”

What a jackass.

How bankers destroy £7 for every £1 they create: Hospital cleaners are more valuable to society, say researchers

Bankers may be good at making money for themselves – and sometimes for their banks – but they are a drain on society, a study has found.

Childcare workers, by contrast, free up potential wealth by helping parents keep working – generating up to £9.50 for every pound they are paid.

Please share this with every Glen Beckian, “free market” nitwit you encounter.

Senate rejects plan to import low-cost drugs

WASHINGTON — The Senate rejected a plan Tuesday to allow Americans to import low-cost prescriptions from abroad, handing drug makers a victory that may help secure passage of President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul.

Though Obama supported the importation of low-price drugs when he was running for the White House last year, the FDA last week criticized Dorgan’s proposal for not doing enough to ensure that drugs entering the U.S. from abroad will be safe. Dorgan countered that his amendment had strong safeguards, allowing imports only of FDA-approved drugs from FDA-approved foreign plants.

Stop giving away the store to these creeps. Nationalize ‘em. They don’t like competition, we’ll take care of that.