From Coalition of the Obvious, via Avedon, this useful "compare and contrast" on national health care systems. It especially means something to me because a few years back, after my unemployment ran out and I was working an hourly job, I developed pneumonia and couldn't afford to pay for a chest x-ray. I'm glad I'm still alive to tell the tale:

During my time in Venezuela, I developed a cough that went on for three weeks and progressively worsened. Finally, after I had become incredibly congested and developed a fever, I decided to attend a Barrio Adentro clinic. The closest one available was a Barrio Adentro II Centro de Diagonostico Integral (CDI) and I headed in without my medical records or calling to make an appointment. Immediately, I was ushered into a small room where Carmen, a friendly Cuban doctor, began questioning me about my symptoms. She listened to my lungs and walked me over to another examination room where, again without waiting, I had x-rays taken.

Afterwards, the technician walked me to a chair and apologized profusely that I had to wait for the x-rays to be developed, promising that it would take no more than five minutes. Sure enough, five minutes later he returned with both x-rays developed. Carmen studied the x-rays and informed me that I had pneumonia, showing me the telltale shadows. She sent me away with my x-rays, three medications to treat my pneumonia, congestion, and fever, and made me promise to come back if my conditioned failed to improve or worsened within three days.

I walked out of the clinic with a diagnosis and treatment within twenty-five minutes of entering, without paying a dime. There was no wait, no paperwork, and no questions about my ability to pay, my nationality, or whether, as a foreigner, I was entitled to free comprehensive health care. There was no monetary value connected with my physical well-being; the care I received was not contingent upon my ability to pay. I was treated with dignity, respect, and compassion, my illness was cured and I was able to continue with my journey in Venezuela.

This past year, a family friend was not so lucky. At the age of 56, she was going back to school and was uninsured. She came down with what she thought was a severe case of the flu, and as her condition worsened she decided not to see a doctor because of the cost. She died at home in bed, losing her life to a system that did not respect her basic human right to survive.

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Balloon Juice: The White House has declared a "major victory," thanks to 105 sellout Dems and...(cough) 'leaders' Hoyer, Pelosi...and Barack Obama. This is "change you can believe in?" Reprehensible. Oh, and they caved on the War Funding bill, too.

The Hill: Darth Cheney gets the last laugh as congress concedes another defeat to the Bush Crime Family. And they also stiffed 'em on this one.

Liberty Street: All religious conservatives want is a total explanation for everything. Kinda like my children when they were four.

The Existentialist Cowboy: How Bush helped establish a corporate "New World Order."

Vagabond Scholar: Right-Wing Cartoon Watch

The Daily Banter: A wide-ranging interview with Rolling Stone's Matt Taibbi.

Sign for your support of Sen. Dodd's hold on FISA until retroactive telecom immunity is removed.

Corrente: Because you'd think this story has everything: Dodd, alone among the Democrats, stands up to a Bipartisan juggernaut to grant the telcos retroactive immunity for massive lawbreaking-a story the Times itself broke-by saying he'll put a hold on the bill. Reid, the Senate [cough] leader, says he'll ignore the hold. Dodd raises the ante, says he'll [gasp] filibuster. Biden joins in. Hillary and Obama waver on the sidelines.

We've got the Jimmy Stewart figure, standing alone against great odds. We've got dissension in the Democratic caucus. We've got craven politicians. We've got bags of corporate cash.

In short, we've got a rich, compelling narrative, filled with drama, human failings, and high principle.

And if all that's not enough, Dodd's from the Time's circulation catchment: Connecticut. What, the locals aren't interested in their Senator?

So, you'd think the Times would be all over this; or at least give it a paragraph in the Week in Review.

But n-o-o-o-o-o-o-o! I wonder why not? Read on...

Here's Rudy telling everybody what a hero he was on 9/11.

Giuliani: I was at ground zero as often, if not more, than most of the workers ... I was there working with them. I was exposed to exactly the same things they were exposed to. So in that sense, I'm one of them," Giuliani told reporters in Cincinnati Thursday. 

He's since backtracked, but when you see him say this...well...Giuliani knew exactly what he was doing. Playing his America's Mayor" character. His response was actually quite disturbing too.

"The way I said it, I probably could have said it better, but what I was trying to say was, I was there quite a bit, there are people that were there more than me, people that were [there] less than me. There were people there less than me, people on my staff, who already have had serious health consequences and they weren't there as often as I was," Giuliani said, "but I wasn't trying to suggest a competition of any kind, which is the way it come across. And I think I could have said it better. You know, what I was saying was 'I'm there with you.'"

Giuliani reiterated Friday that he, too, may get sick from the time he spent at Ground Zero following the attacks...

He fed Stu Bykofsky's new BFF---conservative host Mike Gallagher this defense.  A friend who I grew up with in NY was a fireman at ground zero---actually working there for a long time. He still has a bad cough even after he retired two years ago.

BradBlog has all the breaking Diebold news up!

Facing South: GOP rises to the defense of...(cough)...candy canes.

The Reaction: G-Dub's deceptive admission of responsibility. This is a fine analysis of the Preznint's disingenous speech.

Suburban Guerrilla: Doing God's work...

Busy, Busy, Busy: Shorter George Will

Mainstream Baptist: Rhetoric of Religious Right threatening to Jews

FireDogLake:

"Michelle Malkin, still aglow from her recent capital punishment endorphins-and-Aste Spumante moment, is now one of many in the up with savagery crowd calling for the NYT's James Risen and Eric Lichtblau to be waterboarded until they cough up their NSA wiretap sources...read on"

--John Amato

I have no problem with Bill defending himself against what he believes are attacks against his (cough) good name. Then he puts on Jacob Laksin of Frontpagemag and Todd Manzi from Human Events, two uber-conservatives to opine to his audience about how bad liberal groups are and how the media just regurgitates whatever stories they print. That's sure fair and balanced Bill. O'Reilly is one of the biggest cowards I have ever seen; a millionaire who can't take any criticism. Please Bill, you know the saying so get out of the kitchen already. He constantly gets on his soap-box when somebody he takes issue with refuses to come on his show, but ducks Media Matters whenever they want to go on The Factor to defend themselves. I'll have the video up late tonight.