• I’ve put a new comment system into place. Let me know if you like it. I think, I hope, I can change back if you don’t.
  • I’m gonna consider amount of comments and traffic today about Joe Wilson’s outburst. I guess a right wing blog linked to me because a lot of the comments are clearly off the wall. “Joe Wilson is a true patriot and should be lifted up on our shoulders.” “It’s about time the Republicans said something to this assmaggot Obama. It’s long overdue!!” There are more but they all are about the same. Only a few are thoughtful. There was one person who made a point that I thought was relatively insightful. He/she stated, “there is no method for clarifying whether or not a person qualifies for the plan. If it is not explicitly written into the bill that illegals are not eligible, they will slip into the system.” This is the most thoughtful response of the bunch. The commentor admits, though, that he has not read the bill by stating if it is not explicitly written into the bill. It is. Page 143 states: “Nothing in this subtitle shall allow Federal payments for affordability credits on behalf of individuals who were not lawfully present in the United States.” Read and then comment. You sound smarter that way.

Keith has more:

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  • New census data is out. Since I live here in North Carolina, I was interested in North Carolina numbers. One out of six North Carolina residents lack health insurance coverage. Over the past three years an average of our 1.5 million residents were without health care. The national average was 15.5%. North Carolina averaged almost 17% of its residents without health insurance.
  • Median income fell almost $2000 from 2007 to 2008. The median income for Americans in 2008 was $50,303. This is a 3.6% decline in median income which is the largest one-year decline on record (since 1967). I think this completely and totally closes the book on Bush’s tax cuts. Median income dropped throughout President Bush’s tenure.
  • After Joe Wilson’s outburst, Democratic challenger Rob Miller has raked in over $500,000 from over 14,000 individual donors. That’s what I’m talking about!
  • ACORN continues to have issues.
  • I haven’t talked about the resignation/firing of Van Jones. I didn’t talk about it because I didn’t know anything about the man. I would like to think I follow politics pretty closely and I don’t remember ever hearing this guy’s name. Yet when he resigned people like Glenn Beck rejoiced. Why? As I understand the controversy, Van Jones said something crazy eight years ago. I don’t see this as a victory for the right but a capitulation of the Obama White House. I guarantee George W. Bush would not have accepted the resignation under such circumstances — remember Rumsfeld.
  • Paula Abdul is out. Ellen DeGeneres is in. Ellen is funny and Paula really isn’t. That is your American Idol update.