Evidently John Boehner is so incensed over that tanning tax in the Affordable Care Act that he's vowed to do everything within his power to stop the implementation of "Obamacare". His remarks came in the context of his reassurance that he really, really doesn't want to shut down the government, but then, there's that pesky health care law...

Of course, in a divided government, the likelihood of a government shutdown depends almost entirely on how flexible Republicans and Democrats are during negotiations over the budget and federal spending. So if Boehner's pursuit of "smaller, less costly, and more accountable government" is dramatically out of sync with President Obama's priorities (like implementing his health care law), a temporary shutdown may just be inevitable.

"I am committed to doing everything that I can do and our team can do to prevent Obamacare from being implemented," Boehner said. "When I say everything, I mean everything."

So that we're clear here, Boehner is prepared to shut down the entire federal government to prevent the following:

• Non-discriminatory coverage for all Americans (e.g., no more pre-existing conditions exclusions)
• Government assistance to make insurance costs affordable for individuals
• Coverage of children until they reach age 26
• Preventive care and wellness
• Elimination of lifetime and annual limits on coverage
• Expanded Medicaid coverage for the poor

These are just a few benefits under the Affordable Care Act. Whether or not you believe there was a better way to go with this, these are still very real, very important benefits, especially elimination of pre-existing conditions exclusions.

John Boehner has vowed to shut down the government to stop this from happening. The entire government. He justifies it this way:

"Our goal is to have a smaller, less costly, and more accountable government here in Washington, DC," Boehner told reporters. "Our goal is not to shut down the government."

A less costly government? Pretty laughable coming from the man who wants to make the Bush tax cuts permanent at a greater cost than the entire 10-year bill for "Obamacare".

Democrats have to stop running from the Affordable Care Act and own it, straight up. On September 23rd -- 7 days from now-- insurers will no longer be able to terminate policies when people get sick. They'll have to cover emergency services without prior authorizations that leave patients in ER hallways. Women will have access to OB/GYN care without a referral from a primary doctor. Children under the age of 19 may not be excluded for pre-existing conditions. Lifetime dollar limits are a thing of the past, policies cannot be rescinded, and preventive health coverage is included at no additional cost.

These are meaningful to many, many people. Democrats need to start taking ownership of this instead of letting John Boehner re-prioritize tax cuts for the rich as a more important agenda item.

I know putting together a convention of this magnitude is no small task.

There have been many glitches and complaints, which is par for the course and I know the DNC have tried to do the best they could with parking and credentials and whatnot. But I have asked the DNC for weeks and weeks how they could help me get around during the convention because I have a handicap placard in California due to a real problem walking distances from my nerve damage. I got no response.

I didn't see this link on their website. I wish it was more prominently placed. Obviously, there is a tremendous amount of security and many checkpoints, but there is no assistance available for those that are elderly or not in the best of health, who would not be able to walk miles and stand in the blistering heat waiting to proceed to the Pepsi Center. It's hot and the high altitudes have many people flustered. How many of them knew that Denver would be so hard to maneuver in? I certainly didn't.

When I finally got to the first check point, I asked if there were any carts to take the elderly and handicapped to the next stop. I was told that they were only there to get water for the Secret Service. Hey, they did an amazing job and needed the help too, but what about all the elderly people that came here, dressed to the nines and high heels, because this is an important event to them and they had to travel miles and stand for hour long check points to even see the Pepsi Center? I saw some almost passing out.

I made many calls, not asking for special treatment, but for decent treatment of a handicapped person. When I called ten times on Tuesday, I got voice mails and then was told I would be called back. Nothing happened. I left an angry message yesterday telling them I'd write about it and now suddenly I find out that there is help available. Really? Well, it's too late now. I'm already devastated. I'm pretty good at putting on a happy face when I'm being interviewed and never want to make it much of an issue to my readers, but I just couldn't handle the pain of trying to go out any more.

I have to take some of the blame too. I had people helping me and they came up short too in finding out all that could have been done. I'm writing this to voice a complaint so that the next time an organization puts on a huge event, they seriously take into consideration what all handicapped and elderly folks have to go through to even show up to support or cover that event. I promise to do a better job in finding out how to help those in need of assistance for future events. And I don't think this is only a DNC problem. They are being very kind now and said they misunderstood my situation. I believe them, but I think it's a systemic problem that needs more attention. Telling someone that you are handicapped is not always understood and I get that that's why my calls were misinterpreted. I hope to help those in need in the future because this is a serious issue for many people.

The Convention still has been a blast and I think it's been a valuable experience.

Cynics' Party has recovered McCain's press release (recently scrubbed from the Psychogeezer's website) announcing disgraced AG Troy King as Alabama State Campaign Chair.

The Agonist: Our long national obsession with cars

naked capitalism: The death of globalisation consensus

Fafblog! Veepstakes 2008: Turgid For Change Edition

NotionsCapital: Turdblossom found

BlondeSense: Over There

(h/t Chris)

Well, given that Malkin and LGF are getting their collective knickers in a bunch over Rachael Ray wearing a fringed scarf in a recent ad for Dunkin' Donuts, shall we hear calls from them to boycott the McCain campaign, as it is quite clear from these photos that McCain's daughter and blog-mistress is showing her sympathy for them "terrists" and Ay-rabs like that them Yasser Arafat?

And as C&Ler Sean points out, the "Keffiyeh is also called a Shemagh and is used by almost every military force in the Middle East right now. You can buy it at most Army-Navy stores and is very popular amongst British, Australian, and US troops. It is not only used by the troops to help cover their mouths and faces during sand storms, but worn as a scarf to prevent suburn along the back of their necks during the day."

So what say you, Charles Johnson and Jesse, er...Michelle Malkin? Will you accuse the troops of sympathizing with the enemy and "mainstreaming terrorism"?

Thorogood was such a trooper in the 80s, playing constantly in clubs in San Francisco, that I actually thought he lived in the Bay Area. But he's from... Delaware. In the late 70's "Move It On Over" and his cover of "Who Do You Love" were hits on San Francisco radio and we were playing his high energy rootsy blues alongside the Pretenders, Clash, Blondie, Talking Heads, Generation X and (pre-Michael Savage) the Dead Kennedys. Bad to the Bone, his sixth album, came out in 1982. Here's the title track:

at The Aristocrats, here's an excerpt:

Republicans, when confronted with a 'problem' choose several activities from the list below:

ignore it, deny it
borrow a mountain of money for you know, whatever
talk to your prostitute about it
email Wright "goddamn America" youtube
blame it on Dems 'San Francisco values'
capitalize it collateralize it securitize it and sell it to the world
call it al Qaeda in (wherever it is)
cover it with a big flag
pretend you've already solved it in the future

Open thread below...and we've also got the Oregon/Kentucky Primaries Open Thread going at the same time...

Download | play Download | play (h/t BillW)

This morning on CBS' Sunday Morning Ben Stein gave his take on the Eliot Spitzer scandal and his thoughts may surprise you. I'm no fan of Stein, but I think he may have made some valid points. As with many political scandals involving sex, it's the naughtiness that gets the coverage and many important issues are often overlooked. As Stein puts it, it sets a dangerous precedent when a handful of appointed officials brings down elected officials, seriously impacting the will of the voters.

"...However, in Governor Spitzer's case he got humiliated, disgraced and then the voters lost the guy they voted for. It is deeply scary to me that a few employees of the federal executive branch can start a train rolling that has such immense effects on the electoral process. Basically a few career civil servants have nullified the will of the voters of the Empire state, over something clearly wrong, I don't doubt that, but it's not a political crime, not treason, not terrorism..."

What do you think? Does he have a valid point?

Chris Wallace was outraged today over Obama's pastor remarks and I think it's very fair to raise the issue.

I did a Google search on Chris Wallace/John Hagee to see if he ever mentioned his name on Fox News Sunday and guess what? I didn't find a mention anywhere of this controversial---anti-Catholic---McCain endorsement. In fact, I found only one post on the FOX News website which was a video of McCain saying that he didn't have to agree with everything someone says who supports him. We know there was only a brief spot on CNN and MSNBC pretty much stayed away from it completely outside of KO. (Tweety was silent)

So, only as a media question: Why no mention of McCain and the barrage on Obama? Shouldn't they both be held to the same standard of coverage? How would Hillary have been covered by Chris Wallace if a similar story hit the news?

Hillary Fundraising in Feb:

In a remarkable financial recovery, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton raised $35 million in February even as Democratic rival Barack Obama was outspending her in key March 4 battlegrounds.

McCain:

Likely Republican presidential nominee John McCain raised a little over $12 million in February, two campaign sources tell CNN's John King.

Barack has raised possibly 50 million from some reports in the same time period. Didn't the McCain camp say they raised tons of cash over the NY Times story? What an embarassing turnout for McMaverick.

NOW on PBS:

Temporary workers and independent contractors make up nearly a third of the U.S. workforce, and represent a growing asset to companies who rely on freelance flexibility. But corporations are using the designation "freelancer" to avoid paying health care and other benefits, even though many of these workers put in the same hours as their covered counterparts. This week, NOW looks at the effect of this tactic on the lives and personal economy of freelance workers.

We also examine an Enterprising Idea to help independent workers manage their personal needs, including benefits, networking, and investment help. Freelancers Union, founded by former labor lawyer and MacArthur grant recipient Sara Horowitz, provides a safety net for over 60,000 workers, but how is it viewed by the traditional labor movement?

This is part of NOW's series on social entrepreneurs called "Enterprising Ideas".

At NOW's website, learn more about the issue, read personal stories of freelance workers, and watch recent more NOW reports of America's hard-pressed workforce.

I've been freelancing for several years in order to be able to be at home with my kids. Luckily, we have health insurance through my husband's employer because a private account would be completely cost prohibitive. While my situation is extraordinarily lucky, it is gratifying to see a recognition that freelancers and temp employees deserve benefits as well.