Monday 12:12 am, January 18th, 2010
BOSTON – A panicky White House and Democratic allies scrambled Sunday for a plan to salvage their hard-fought health care package in case a Republican wins Tuesday’s Senate race in Massachusetts, which would enable the GOP to block further Senate action.
The likeliest scenario would require persuading House Democrats to accept a bill the Senate passed last month, despite their objections to several parts.
Aides consulted Sunday amid fears that Republican Scott Brown will defeat Democrat Martha Coakley in the special election to fill the late Edward M. Kennedy’s seat. A Brown win would give the GOP 41 Senate votes, enough to filibuster and block final passage of the House-Senate compromise on health care now being crafted.
House Democrats, especially liberals, viewed those compromises as vital because they view the Senate-passed version as doing too little to help working families. Under the Senate-passed bill, 94 percent of Americans would be covered forced to purchase private coverage under penalty of law, compared to 96 percent in the version passed last year by the House.
The House plan would increase taxes on millionaires while the Senate plan would tax so-called Cadillac, high-cost health insurance plans enjoyed by many corporate executives as well as some union members.
When the House passed its version, members assumed it would be reconciled with the Senate bill and then sent back to both chambers for final approval, even if by the narrowest of margins.
A GOP win in Massachusetts on Tuesday would likely kill that plan, because Republicans could block Senate action on the reconciled bill.
The newly discussed fallback would require House Democrats to swallow hard and approve the Senate-passed bill without changes. President Barack Obama could sign it into law without another Senate vote needed.
Nail, meet coffin.
Tuesday 10:52 am, January 5th, 2010
“My solution has always been a means test. If you have $100k in taxable income you don’t get paid. Finished. I’m not sure that is legally possible. But to me it is the only option. The alternative will impoverish those that are/will be dependent on SS benefits. Raising taxes on America’s 90 million workers and their employers is just bad economics. It should not be considered.”
Bruce Kastings - S.S. trust fund year end results
Saturday 10:24 am, January 2nd, 2010
2009
2010?
Saturday 1:23 am, December 19th, 2009
Why the Phantom Menace totally sucked, and why George Lucas is a total sell out -
Link
I like the point in volume three - the first two films were great, but that was before Lucas had a chance to exploit his fan base… which is why he produced enhanced versions later.
Tuesday 4:33 pm, November 17th, 2009
This has to be sweetest debug environment ever. The video sound track isn’t bad either.
Hat tip to Steve for the link.
Friday 12:52 am, November 6th, 2009
programmer mode. 
love it! the 64-bit binary display block is awesome!
Friday 12:15 pm, October 30th, 2009
This is a very nice addition to the OS!
Tuesday 10:37 am, September 22nd, 2009
It’s about bloody time.
Sunday 10:46 am, September 20th, 2009
Sooner or later market participants will figure out this recovery and this rally are both nothing but hot air and wishful thinking. Until they do, enjoy the party. In the meantime, try not to confuse cash-for-clunkers, housing schemes, and other government stimulus programs for sustainable demand. A massive secular shift in attitudes has taken place as cash-strapped, credit weary consumers have at long last decided “Less Is More”.
Peek credit
One thing people are spending on - the ZuneHD. Tried to pick one up at Best Buy yesterday, but they were sold out.
Sunday 10:34 am, September 20th, 2009
For anyone sitting on the sidelines wondering if they’ve missed out on something - S&P Price to earnings ratio.
I bought into this rally way back April, and sold in May. Wish I had seen the correlation between government security purchases and the run up back then, I probably would have stayed in longer. Regardless, I’m not really feeling as if I’ve missed out.
See this post by Steve for more data.
