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(Casper Weinberger - Long before Iran-Contra, but the spots are the same)

I almost forgot Casper Weinberger was a holdover from the Nixon administration. During the Ford period he was Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare, responsible for slashing budgets long before Reagan made him Secretary of Defense.

So, with the current state of Health Care reform going in full siege mode, I thought I would dig out an Issues And Answers episode from October 10, 1974 where Weinberger gives his two cents regarding a National Health Care package:

Edward P. Morgan (ABC News): “Let me quote to you from a speech you made a month ago when you said ‘since price controls were lifted, the cost of medical care has increased fifty percent faster than the economy as a whole. And this we must and will moderate.’ Are you talking about some kind of controls over medical costs?

Sec. Casper Weinberger: “Well I have said with considerable roughness, because I’m a free market man, I don’t like controls. But I do think there is not a free market in Health Care and I do think the increases have outstripped the cost of living , and the cost of living is obviously racing away at totally unacceptable levels now. And so I personally have felt for some time that cost controls are necessary in the health field. And as a matter of fact they’re contained in our bill of National Health Insurance. But meanwhile, before that bill was enacted there have been very high rises in healthcare costs, particularly in hospital rooms. Some of these can be justified as passing on additional costs that hospitals are incurring. But the fact that they are going faster than the CPI, the Consumer Price Index, is a matter of very grave worry to us because it erodes the ability of anybody to receive health care, and for another thing it’s costing the Government a billion dollars extra in our own health programs . . . .

Morgan: “ Mister Secretary, our time is running out . . . . .

Stop me if you've heard this, but I don't recall any Healthcare Bill that was enacted to bring down the cost of Healthcare - do you?

Oddly, Edward P. Morgan stops and shifts the conversation rather quickly over to Betty Ford's recent Cancer surgery and the subject of National Health Insurance is never brought up again.

Maybe it was the timeclock, but cynicism makes me wonder otherwise.

(Yes, it's worse than what they're telling you, but I can't tell you how bad.")

"Senator Hart, you say there is a risk of a catastrophic accident at the nuclear plant, and you say it is difficult to quantify it. I'll respect that difficultly, but let me ask you this - do you think that the risk is sufficient so that Pennsylvania should be considering immediate or phased future evacuation of part of the area? Hart: yes I do."

Face The Nation - April 1, 1978. Senator Gary Hart (yes, the 1988 Presidential candidate) was Chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee on Nuclear Regulation at the time and faced a panel of questioners (Robert Shakne of CBS News, David Burnham of The New York Times and moderator George Herman) who pretty much echoed the prevailing fear of the day. It was clear from the tone of the questions that there was a ton of miscommunication going on between Metropolitan Edison and the NRC and there was enough blame to go around. But the reporters did a pretty good job of hammering away, even if they didn't get anything concrete. That would all have to wait for the hearings.

Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens) at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert in 2006--Peace Train

There's nothing particularly cheering about this morning's bobblehead lineup. It's the same old politcos and pundits, making the same old arguments. Honestly, it's enough to make me fear that we are in fact tied on the tracks rather than riding on board the peace train. But as I was gathering the various schedules for this morning's shows, I caught this article, courtesy of the AP (not exactly known for their pro-progressive slant): Under Obama, `war on terror' catchphrase fading and that little glimmer of hope burned a little more brightly inside me that we are taking back our country from bumper sticker slogan wars and irrational fears and letting the grown ups be in charge. So ride the peace train with me, C&Lers:

Cause out on the edge of darkness, there rides a peace train
Oh peace train take this country, come take me home again

Now I've been smiling lately, thinking about the good things to come
And I believe it could be, something good has begun

Will this something good begin with this morning's line up?

ABC's "This Week" - Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., and Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass.

CBS' "Face the Nation" - Sens. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

NBC's "Meet the Press" - Sens. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, and John Kerry, D-Mass.

NBC's "The Chris Matthews Show" - Panel: Bob Woodward, Kelly O'Donnell, Anne Kornblut, Howard Fineman. Topics: Can Obama use his big momentum to rescue the economy? Will Obama investigate torture in the Bush years?

CNN's "State of the Union" - Govs. Tim Pawlenty, R-Minn., and Jennifer Granholm, D-Mich.; Sens. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and John Ensign, R-Nev.

CNN's "Fareed Zakaria GPS" - Fareed broadcasts from Davos, Switzerland, home of the World Economic Forum. He sits down with 4 heads of state to discuss how to survive a seemingly inevitable global economic depression.

"Fox News Sunday" - Sens. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Jon Kyl, R-Ariz.; Michael Steele, chairman of the Republican National Committee.

It doesn't seem likely, but there's always hope. As I hum along to Yusuf, tell me what's catching your eye this morning.

Dionne Warwick - "Walk On By" (Original video pulled-let's hope this one stays up)

Wow, the media really is going to listen to Barack Obama as he says he wants to look forward, not backwards, because the line-up this morning -- with the exception of Press Spokesbunny Dana Perino on the new "State of the Union" and "Fareed Zakaria GPS" -- is all Obama, all the time. So come on, people, let's just walk on by all those Bushies slinking off into the sunset. Shh....pay no attention to those "oh my God, we got away with it!" smirks on their faces, nor the high fives given to them to the FOXNews gang. Silly little non-serious people. The Very Serious Villagers don't think it's worth discussing, unlike my buddy, Blue Gal, who has her own thoughts on Bush's legacy.

ABC's "This Week" - David Axelrod, senior adviser to President-elect Barack Obama.

CBS' "Face the Nation" - Lawrence Summers, Obama's choice for director of the National Economic Council.

NBC's "Meet the Press" - Rahm Emanuel, Obama's choice for chief of staff.

NBC's "The Chris Matthews Show" - Panel: Dan Rather, Katty Kay, Helene Cooper, Mark Whitaker. Topics: Is Obama's inauguration a turning point for America? Will historians give Bush credit for making tough decisions? Meter Questions: Will historians give Bush credit for making tough decisions? YES: 10 NO: 2; Will Obama's challenges result from his own missteps or partisan warfare?. YES: 7 No: 5

CNN's "State of the Union" - President-elect Barack Obama; Axelrod; Dana Perino, press secretary to President George W. Bush; Bush White House counselor Ed Gillespie. This appears to be a FOUR hour show. WTF?

CNN's "Fareed Zakaria GPS" - "The legacy of America's most unpopular president"

"Fox News Sunday" - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.; Robert Gibbs, Obama's choice for press secretary.

So, what's catching your eye this morning?

It's no coincidence that right wing/Conservative guests far outnumber the left wing guests this week on the Sunday talkers. The country just rejected Conservatives and the entire GOP and gave Obama a complete mandate, but does that matter to the networks?

Atrios:

Highlighted this before, but on the teevee on Sunday we have:

7 Appearances by Republican current elected officeholders
3 Appearances by Democratic current elected officeholders.
2 Appearances by Republican former elected officeholders.
1 Appearance by a Bush Cabinet Secretary.
T. Boone Pickens
Ted Turner.

On FOX News Sunday, they have this line up:

''Fox News Sunday'' -- Sens. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., and Byron Dorgan, D-N.D.; Gov. Tim Pawlenty, R-Minn.; former Lt. Gov. Michael Steele, R-Md.

CBS' ''Face the Nation'' -- Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass.; Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala.; Gov. Bobby Jindal, R-La.; former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga.

Wow, FOX found it in the kindness of their hearts to put on Dorgan. And Newt's presidential run gets a boost from CBS. Do any of these networks think America might like to know what and how change is going to happen? It looks like the Corporate media are going to try and make this a center-right nation at all costs.

Dancing Queen from the movie Mamma Mia

Yes, I'm a big dork as well as a "woman of a certain age" and I went to see Mamma Mia this weekend.  I'm old enough to remember when ABBA was the biggest thing out of the Eurovision contest and I saw the musical a few years ago as well.  Definitely not geared for everyone, but it was very fun for my niece, my young'uns and me (my husband won't admit he liked it, but I saw a smile on his face a couple of times). However, as much as I enjoyed myself, I have to admit Pierce Brosnan's singing is highly cringeworthy (I won't lie, they clearly didn't audition any of the cast for their singing ability). 

But I was inspired to pick this video by Nancy Pelosi's appearance ABC's Meet the Press, because I suspect there's gonna be a whole lot of dancing going on there.  She's going to be promoting her book, Know Your Power: A Message To America's Daughters, while conveniently not exercising ANY of her Constitutionally-mandated powers herself.  And the omnipresent Holy Joe Lieberman and Huckleberry Graham will be appearing on Meet the Press and FOXNews Sunday, respectively. I'll refrain from humming "Gimme, Gimme, Gimme" in honor of them.  Would that this election turn into their personal Waterloo.

ABC's "This Week" - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and former Gov. Tom Ridge, R-Pa.; David Gergen, former White House adviser.

CBS' "Face the Nation" - Former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin; Carly Fiorina, adviser to John McCain's campaign.

NBC's "Meet the Press" - Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., and Joe Lieberman, I-Conn.

CNN's "Late Edition" - Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo.; former Rep. Rob Portman, R-Ohio; Kenneth Blackwell, former Ohio secretary of state; Ron Kirk, former Dallas mayor; Maj. Gen. Mark Hertling, the commander of U.S. forces in northern Iraq; Tzipi Livni, Israeli foreign minister; James K. Glassman, undersecretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs; Laura Tyson, adviser to Barack Obama; Nancy Pfotenhauer, adviser to McCain.

"Fox News Sunday" - Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and former Sen. Tom Daschle, D-S.D.; Ashley Judd, actress.

"Chris Matthews Show" - Panel: Eugene Robinson, Gloria Borger, Elisabeth Bumiller, Joe Klein.  Topics:  What could Obama get done if he's elected president?  Would Congressional Democrats work with a President McCain?  Meter Questions:  Would Obama be able to cut deals with Republicans in Congress?  YES: 10  NO: 2;  Would McCain meet stiff opposition from Democrats in Congress?  YES: 11  NO: 1

 So other than my terrible taste in movies, what's catching your eye this morning?