We've all noticed how extreme the Republican Party has become. When a moderate voice speaks up to be heard, it is quickly extinguished. Case in point: Kevin Stevenson, now former Republican Party spokesman for Marathon County, Wisconsin.

As you may know, if the appointment of Congressman McHugh to Secretary of the Army is confirmed by Congress there will be an election to fill the vacant seat. This gives us another chance to add to our congressional majority. It is a bit early but I'd like to explore some of the potential Democratic candidates, as well as some of the potential Republican opposition.

The healthcare wars are heating up as the various groups stake out their positions. I don't follow the political side of things much, but I do read the proposals with a lot of anxiety these days. The reasons I'm nervous mostly center around fiscal issues. Bluntly, I see affordable healthcare for all as not being some kind of luxury that Americans want but which may have to wait indefinitely, its a matter of life and death for many people. Various estimates have from 20,000 to 100,000 Americans dying and a much larger number of our people becoming permanently injured because of preventable injuries caused by lack of access to affordable medical care each year.

Peter Roff, writing at U.S. News & World Report, suggests that some Democrats on Capitol Hill are concerned that voting for the International Monetary Fund's "global bailout" that the House leadership wants to attach to the war supplemental next week could jeopardize their re-election chances.

Nate Silver -- whose poll and statistical work is usually quite sound -- seems to be terribly off in advancing and endorsing a ratings of senators according to how "progressive" they supposedly are, without even defining that word.

A year or so ago, I ordered pancakes with real maple syrup at a restaurant. As my order came, Hekebolos remarked "Enjoy American maple syrup while it still exists." It's no longer news that climate change means that areas that used to have cold enough winters to produce maple syrup might now be too warm.

Infant mortality is defined as the number of deaths of infants (one year of age or less) per 1000 live births. If the best indicator of the policies followed by our political leaders is the quality of health, education and prosperity that their constituents enjoy, we can safely say that our nations private health care system and Republican leadership have failed miserably.

I just got back from a meeting of Organizing For America on health care reform. It was one of hundreds being held around the country today. I met 9 people I had never seen before, including two RNs, a psychologist, a lawyer, and a neurosurgeon. Two people were in wheel chairs and three had chronic debilitating illnesses. And like the six blind men and the elephant, depending on what our personal experience had been, we all had differing views on what is wrong with health care and what needs to be done.

A few weeks back the Wall St Journal wrote a mash note expressing its love for Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty and his budget busting ways. What we have is a governor creating a budget through fiat by abusing the statutory power of unallotment in a legally dubious fashion by usurping a constitutional power reserved for the legislature. Is anyone surprised that the folks at the Wall St Journal think the path to conservative restoration is through the abuse of executive power?

This week, thousands of community leaders and hundreds of local organizations are holding events in 40 cities to kick off the Campaign to Reform Immigration for America.

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