“Why would (a public insurance option) drive private insurance out of business? If private insurers say that the marketplace provides the best quality health care; if they tell us that they’re offering a good deal, then why is it that the government, which they say can’t run anything, suddenly is going to drive them out of business? That’s not logical.” — President Barack Obama, June 23

Quite frankly, I’m really pissed about the debate going on over health care right now, especially on the doctor/medical business side. I do plan on expanding on this, in the future, but I’m curious to know what other people think?

This pissed me off so much, that it brought me out of blogging hibernation.

“There are times when an abortion is necessary. I know that. When you have a black and a white. Or a rape.”

– Our 37th President, Richard Milhous Nixon in tapes released very recently. It’s not that he’s basically not pro-choice, it’s the whole black/white babies are equally horrible as being raped. horrific.

“The combination of Palin’s attractiveness as a candidate and her ability to expose liberals made her a celebrity among Republicans. The only thing I have against her is that she threatens to surpass me in attracting the left’s hatred.”

– Ann Coulter on Sarah Pallin’s heavy influence on the Republicans over the past year.

Today, there are going to be a lot of people talking about the last 100 Days in American history. As the president is compared today to Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s iconic “100 Day” goal, and ever president’s since then, I’m really thinking we should be looking more forward.

Back in the FDR days, the president could just demand vast policy changes and implementation like a 16-year-old handing out fliers for a Times Square pizza joint for $5.15 an hour. Our federal government was so innocuous — really, it was Roosevelt who made it such a big, regulatory part of our lives in the 1930s/40s in the first place.

Anyway, so yeah, Obama has accomplished a pretty good amount of stuff in the past three months, though I think the economy is still faaaaaar from being repaired. But fortunately so far he’s repealed the global gag rule, signed the Lilly Ledbetter Equal Pay Act, stared some pirates down and won, thawed tensions with a lot of global frenemies, pushed that gigantic bailout/stimulus package through, unveiled some seriously depressing Bush-era torture memos, and got a dog. Hell, he’s even swayed a Republican to switch sides — how’s that for day 99?!

But looking at what we have to achieve, it looks like the goals for the U.S. really is just to get the entire country on the same level on the most pressing issues in all matters domestic. Over the next few days, I’m going to take a look at issues both domestic and foreign and what we should tackle by Labor Day.

Any suggestions? Feel free to comment or hit me up at michelle {at} urbanesse.com. Guest posts are always welcome.

Just when the GOP couldn’t look any worse, Arlen Specter, Pennsylvania’s Republican Senator is, well, no longer a Republican. Now, whenever Al Franken is affirmed for the Senate (God knows when that’ll happen), the Democrats will have a filibuster-proof majority, thus, possibly an even more rigorously progressive agenda in Congress.

Specter’s statement this morning:

“I have been a Republican since 1966. I have been working extremely hard for the party, for its candidates and for the ideals of a Republican Party whose tent is big enough to welcome diverse points of view. While I have been comfortable being a Republican, my party has not defined who I am. I have taken each issue one at a time and have exercised independent judgment to do what I thought was best for Pennsylvania and the nation. Since my election in 1980, as part of the Reagan Big Tent, the Republican Party has moved far to the right. Last year, more than 200,000 Republicans in Pennsylvania changed their registration to become Democrats. I now find my political philosophy more in line with Democrats than Republicans.”

Wowza! This will be interesting, since Obama likes to tout Specter’s moderate bipartisanship on pivotal issues.

What I love about Earth Day, is that it’s a science-based holiday… unfortunately, because it’s a secular, science based holiday that has nothing to do with commemorating a war in some capacity, or something Jesus did 2,000 years ago, we don’t get off from work.

But here’s some pathetic related news on this Earth Day morn:

…[Only] 31% of American adults believe their fellow countrymen are environmentally aware.

Fifty-three percent (53%) say most Americans are not environmentally aware. Adults under the age of 40 believe this more strongly than their elders.

Seventy-two percent (72%) of Americans think individuals can improve the environment by their actions, and just 15% disagree.

Yep, only a third of Americans have faith in each other to realize that the EARTH IS MELTING. Even though there’s evidence out there that shows the polar ice caps, which reflect the sun’s rays back out into space, keeping the earth cool, will be melted within a couple of generations.

And honestly, the statistic is probably reflective of the real world — you know that when the economy bounces back, people will be lining up to buy Hummers again, and no one will care about improving mass transit, getting solar panels on public school rooftops, and recycling their useless $3 plastic water bottles.

Happy stupid Earth Day. We’re all gonna melt.