Health Care Reform Turns Ugly, Terminal Toward Passage - Attributed News Sources

Holiday Happenings!

In one of the ugliest endings for a "health care reform" bill that originated over 100 years ago with Theodore Roosevelt, the U. S. senate passed this weekend something akin to a beginning of a not-so momentous change. Dana Milbank writes an inside view from the Washington Post about the outlandish and outrageous antics of our reps with, "An ugly finale for health-care reform."

And the Trenton, New Jersey on-line paper issues an editorial "Call to Action" from a staff writer regarding some among us who are returning to Kansas for the holidays:

Finally, a word to those GOP lawmakers, such as Congresswoman Michele Bachmann and Sens. Jim DeMint and Sam Brownback, who joined in the "prayercast," a webcast organized last week by the Family Research Council Action, to ask for divine intervention in the health-care debate. Since the stated purpose of this event was to seek the Jesus' guidance, it would be well to heed his words on the matter of social services and, presumably, health care: "Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me."

Kansas City's "Prime Buzz" describes the last minute manipulations of Kansas GOP Senator[s] Sam Brownback and Pat Roberts in using troop funding around the health-care reform bill:

At any other time this would not be controversial, especially among the GOP lawmakers who have rarely missed a chance to turn a vote on funding the military into a solemn pledge of patriotism. But the partisan divide in the Senate this year is a chasm, and the bottom apparently has not been found yet.

Looking to stop the Democrats’ health care reform bill any way they could, Republicans tried to delay a vote on the defense bill to keep the Senate from getting back to it.

And to add insult to ruin for the anti-abortion social conservative base of the shattered GOP, according to BBC News, a U. S. Army general in Northern Iraq has decided to court martial service members of both sexes for "getting pregnant."

The 18 inch snow storm that hit the nation's capital seems to have frayed the nerves at the heart of Homeland Security when a Washington DC police detective driving a Hummer became stuck in the street. Onlookers, perhaps ornery or angry at the sight, began pelting the vehicle with snowballs which prompted the plain clothes to draw his gun.