BFD: Healthcare Reform Signed into Law

President Obama signed the health insurance reform bill into law yesterday in the East Room of the White House.   "I'm signing this reform bill into law on behalf of my mother," he said, "who argued with insurance companies even as she battled cancer in her final days."  Transcript here.



And it's a Big Fucking Deal.  So said no less than Joe Biden, the Vice-President of the United States.  On live nationwide television, sort of.

And Press Secretary Robert Gibbs tweeted shortly thereafter:  "And yes, Mr. Vice-President, you're right."

Be prepared for an unceasing campaign by the Republicans to repeal the law, at least from now till the November elections. 

From the L.A. Times, a map of how the House voted on Sunday:

Click to enlarge.

And FYI:  the Wikipedia article on the legislation provides an overview and many helpful links.

F-Bombing Fox News

There can be no debate on the morality of torture: this is the clearest choice between good and evil you will ever see, despite the Righteous Right's murky attempts to confuse the issue.

Yet even among conservatives, it seems light is beginning to dawn. As witness Fox News anchor Shepherd Smith's passionate outburst during a discussion of the subject on April 22:

THIS IS AMERICA. WE DON'T FUCKING TORTURE. Period. Amen. End of story.

On a related note, an ABC/Washington Post poll last week of 1072 adults nationwide found that only 21 percent identify as Republican (and 35 as Democrat, 38 as independent). That's down from 32 percent Republican at election time last November.

(Here in Texas, 55.5 percent of voters went for McCain, 43.8 for Obama.)

The Republican party - the imperial party, the party of hatred, lies, big business, greed, wealth, war, and torture - is deservedly shrinking into irrelevance and obsolescence. But the remaining true believers are a hard, mean, nasty bunch; and that's dangerous.