The Public Option is a No-Brainer!

Senator Bernie Sanders stated on Thursday that the public option has 50 votes in the Senate.  [....] We all know that the public option passed in the House with a solid majority.  We are also well aware that the CBO has clearly stated that the public option would save the most money by far and reduce the deficit our country is facing.  Health insurance reform and the economy are inseparable.  We have a mechanism before us that would reduce the deficit, provide choice in a monopolized industry thereby drive down insurance costs, which will continue to positively impact our economy, and while we are at it, save lives. The public option should be a no-brainer!

Pass Obama’s Proposal Now

OK, the Healthcare Summit is done, and the Republicans have weighed in saying, “Start over.”  The pundits have spoken, and the spin machines are operating full throttle. It should be clear by now that we are not going to get any co-operation from the other side of the aisle.

Congressman Weiner Tells It Like It Is!

My Letter from Anthem stating they are not sure I am covered … 6 days before my surgery.

I am having a cervical fusion on March 1st. As if that is not stressfull enough, I get this vague letter from ANTHEM today, 6 days before I am admitted. Here is what people are in for IF the do not get on board with INSURANCE REFORM for ALL.

22 Senators Support Public Option. Let’s Reconcile!

Adam Green of  Progressive Change just announced on MSNBC’s Ed show on Monday, February 22nd that 22 senators now support a public option. In every state where a poll is taken, the public option has on average 55 to 60 percent support over any other health care reform plan.  Join the fight for real health care reform.  Sign the petition.  Call your senator.  Take action.

Majority of Americans Want a Public Option. True or False?

About a week ago, house members Alan Grayson (D-FL), Chellie Pingree (D-ME) and Jared Polis (D-CO) began an online petition/letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, calling for the passage of a public option using reconciliation. Senator Michael Bennett took up the charge in the senate with three other senators at his side.  Their bravery to stand up against a party that choses not to function and special interests groups has sparked a much needed light in the midst of darkness on health reform for all Americans.

Possible Dem/Rep 2010 Candidate Line Up Poll

At last count, Connecticut has fifteen candidates running for governor, nine for secretary of state, ten for attorney general, and ten for US senate. As we progress through the campaign season, no doubt the numbers will decrease and clear front-runners will emerge in time for the state party conventions in May. Attorney General (D) Dick Blumenthal’s race for US Senate continues to be far ahead of the pack.  Daily Kos’s last poll results still shows Blumenthal with a 19 percent lead over Simmons, a 21 percent lead over McMahon and a 22% lead over Schiff.  Specifically: Blumenthal (D) 54 | Simmons (R) 35, Blumenthal (D) 56 | McMahon (R) 34, Blumenthal (D) 56 | Schiff (R) 33.

Just for the heck of it, we combined the numbers from various polls for governor, secretary of state, attorney general and US senate and came up with three possible slates for the Democrats and the Republicans in order of the highest polling numbers to the lowest. 

Which Schools are Smarter, Public, Magnet, Charter or Private?

I received a link to an article, “Charters, Unions Clash Over State Money,” that was published in the New Haven Independent on January 27th.  I was asked to give my opinion on same.  My initial thoughts were: why are we fighting over funds for students in public schools?  Have we not taken enough from public schools already? Issues on testing, diversity, funding, parent involvement equal access, expectation and more are critical matters that need to be up front and out in the open for all to discuss.

My personal opinion is that I am a community school person.  If it takes a village to raise a child, why is the village sending its child on long bus rides far away from the village borders to learn?  So I went on a journey to find answers.  What I am hearing is:

• We must integrate our schools and provide a culturally diverse education to our students for enrichment so children of different villages with different ethnicities will now go to each others schools.
• The public schools in the urban villages are not able to provide a quality education so we will give parents a choice to send their

Lamont Delivers Strong Message on the Economy

When I awoke on Tuesday morning and peeked out the window at the grey skies and persistent snow, I thought for sure that Ned Lamont’s campaign folks would have sent a message to all stating that “due to inclement weather” the formal announcement at Hartford’s Old State House had been postponed.  That meant that I could snuggle deeper into my blankets with a cup of hot coffee/cocoa, watch the morning news and let the day — and the snow — slip away.  Not so.  I scrolled through my messages and found that the event was on schedule.

None of my meetings were rescheduled save one (sigh).

By 11:00 am, Hartford’s Old State House was filled to capacity with well over 300 eager folks.  Lamont, energized and confident, delivered a speech that cut to the heart of what’s wrong in our state — and in our country — the economy, stating that:

“Politicians spend their lives trying to figure out how to divide up the economic pie into pieces, I’ve spent my life expanding the economic pie and for 20 years, the economic pie here in Connecticut has been shrinking,” Lamont said … “Sure we have

Lamont and Malloy. The Race Heats Up.

Some of my fellow Democrats are all in a snit over Ned Lamont’s new campaign manager, Joe Abbey, a Virginian (Heavens to Mergatroid!), who pushed back hard on Dan Malloy’s sometimes rather glib campaign rhetoric.  Malloy is a good guy, no doubt.  He has done well as Stamford’s Mayor and as a former prosecutor in the wild, wild West of Brooklyn NYC.  He is pushing hard on what he sees as all the right buttons against his opponent in order to bring voters (and in this case, Delegates) to select him as the Democratic Gubernatorial nominee.  Read the “Malloy Advocate” online and beyond a shadow of a doubt, the former prosecutor is doing everything he can to paint his opponent as the Big Bad Wolf, ready to blow our house down with a huff and puff of his big bad money.

DeNardis, Shays & Wright Jump into CT Governor’s Race

Pollsters’ heads must be spinning.  DeNardis, Shays and Wright brings the total of gubernatorial candidates, this week, up to 17! I do not recall a gubernatorial race in Connecticut where there were so many candidates running for the same office.  The secretary of state race continues to see additional candidates, as well.

As much as one can argue that polls do not matter, we take them, we run them, and often.  Quinnipiac’s most recent poll (released on January 21st) on Connecticut’s 2010 races shows Democrats Lamont, Blumenthal and Bysiewicz leading in their respective races for Governor, US Senator and Attorney General. [....]  We decided to add our two cents and ran a poll last week that showed different results.  The question, “If today were voting day, who do you think would win …” The response:

Governor:  Figueroa 69%, Lamont 15%, Malloy 12%

Secretary of State:  Merrill 57%, Harris 29%, Garcia 14%

Attorney General:  Bysiewicz 50%, Jepsen 33%, Staples 17%

US Senate:  Mertens 80%, Blumenthal 14%

Will the additional candidates make any significant change in voters minds?  Vote in this week’s G Poll and hopefully, no more new candidates.

CT Gubernatorial Race Update – Who Will You Voting For?

Fourteen candidates, the last time I checked, have tossed their hat into the rink.  With the ideology in Washington from the far side of the right beginning to trickle down, many of us are doing all that we can to ensure change comes to Connecticut in the form of a Democratic governor.