Single-payer is good for business

My growing software company’s health-insurance premiums have more than doubled over the past four years. This is not sustainable and the governor’s bill would do nothing to change it; rather, it would preserve the status quo of the failed “market” system, which actually provides more of a monopoly than a competitive market. SB 300, in contrast, would ensure full coverage for all Pennsylvania residents, regardless of their employment or social status.

Say it with me, health insurance is not healthcare.

Survey USA, which has been the gold standard of polls this election season, just released their latest results for Pennsylvania.

Hillary leads Obama by 18 points. MyDD has more.

SUSA was the one that correctly predicted Hillary’s 10 point win in California when many others showed it to be a close race or even had Obama ahead.

On the Chanting Obama Protesters…

It looks as though at a recent campaign event for Senator Clinton some Obama supporters were chanting “Hillary go home” or some such.

First off, let me say that the Obama supporters were completely within their Constitutional rights as the right to express one’s ideas publicly (especially one’s political ideas) is one of the founding pillars of this democracy. I realize that each side wants to make sure the best candidate wins the nomination (and of course each side thinks that its candidate is the best candidate) and is fighting to make sure that happens.  Read more 

John Morgan reminds to watch what politicians fund rather than listen to what they say; he also gives us the happy news that the Pennsylvania House has voted to expand access to healthcare. Susie tells us that universal health insurance is not the same thing as universial health care. Greg Palmer reports that religious leaders are supporting Rendell’s health plan.

Some people prefer milk from cows which have not been given hormones, specifically recombinant bovine somatotropin, or rBST. Other people don’t give a shit or have never heard of the issue and just get the cheapest cow squeezins’ they see in the dairy case. But if you as a dairyman choose not to use these hormones, shouldn’t you have a right to put a label on your milk bottles saying so?

Not in Pennsylvania you don’t. Because it makes other milk producers, who do use hormones, products look bad. Via the Allentown Morning Call:

The state Department of Agriculture is delaying ordering dairy farmers to stop labeling their products as free of an artificial hormone until it does more research on the controversial supplement injected into cows to boost milk production.

Last month, Pennsylvania became the first state to announce it was putting an end to milk sold with a label indicating it is free of a genetically engineered growth hormone. It gave the 19 farmers who do not use recombinant bovine somatotropin, or rBST, until Jan. 1 to remove any variation of that wording from their milk containers.

The farmers will now have until Feb. 1 to comply.Opponents from Pennsylvania and across the nation flooded the agency with calls and e-mails, prompting Gov. Ed Rendell to delay the implementation by a month.

Hmm, weren’t we told that didn’t work and never made any difference? But back on topic, let’s look at the “state’s” take on the matter:  Read more 

The Ink-Wire’s headline-writing copy editor Gets It:

Religious Bias Gets OK in State Job Ads

A Christian college in Western Pennsylvania and a faith-based coalition can use a state-sponsored job site specifically to hire Christians, according to the settlement of a religious discrimination suit.
Attorneys for Geneva College in Beaver Falls and the Association of Faith-Based Organizations, a coalition in Springfield, Va., filed the federal suit over Pennsylvania’s online CareerLink job-listing site in December. The state and federal governments were named as defendants.

The plaintiffs argued they were wrongly denied use of the employment service, which includes an Internet service called CareerLink. The service has a nondiscrimination policy barring job postings that require applicants to have particular religious backgrounds.

Just change every instance of the word “religious” or “faith” to “race”, all instances of “Christian” or “Christianity” to “white,” and “belief” to “color.”.  Read more