Via Corrente a report in The Hill: Liberals will get single-payer vote on House floor

Seeking to dampen liberal anger about deals cut with centrists, Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) said House leaders have agreed to allow a floor vote on a government-run, single-payer system.

“A lot of members on our committee want a vote on that,” said Waxman said in an interview. “I believe their wishes will be accommodated.”

Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) offered a single-payer amendment in the Energy and Commerce Committee on Friday, but withdrew it after Waxman said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) had promised a floor vote.

A roll call vote will highlight who needs to be “trained” in the 2010 election. I don’t care what kind of crap bill, if any, gets passed. If it isn’t Medicare-for-All it will be too expensive and reward the insurance industry.

Representative Weiner of Brooklyn also called the Republicans on the committee out by offering an amendment to eliminate the current Medicare program. For some reason the Repubs didn’t vote for it after bad-mouthing “government-run programs” for years.

The Feds finished their work, so now it’s the turn of the state’s attorney to deal with the local Sheriff’s Office: Morris’ ‘criminal enterprise’

SHALIMAR — Former Sheriff Charlie Morris and four members of his administrative staff face state racketeering charges for their roles in a “criminal enterprise.”

A sixth, Sabra Thornton, identified as Morris’ mistress, will be charged with grand theft.

In a detailed charging document made public Thursday, state prosecutors said the Sheriff’s Office from 2006 to 2009 operated as a criminal enterprise at its highest levels, with the sheriff using public money to buy gifts and pay off thousands of dollars in debt for a top female employee, Thornton, his former chief of staff.

The other four are accused of helping keep it quiet.

Thornton drew a large salary from the Sheriff’s Office even though “there was no evidence that (she) performed any work,” the charging document said.

If you had evidence of the “work” she performed we would be dealing with network satellite trucks and the state’s attorney would be on CNN every night for weeks.

[Read more →]

The CBC reports on the continuing wildfire emergency in British Columbia: Lillooet under wildfire evacuation alert

Residents of Lillooet, B.C., have been warned to be ready to leave at a moment’s notice as the Mount McLean forest fire continues to burn out of control.

Firefighters are still working hard to extinguish the wildfire, which is burning about four kilometres from the southwestern Interior town of 2,300 people over an area more than two square kilometres and is so far uncontained.

According to the CBC wildfire map there are 14 uncontained, and 6 contained fires burning in British Columbia, most, if not all started by lightning strikes during the current the current heat wave. The majority of the fires are in the southern third of the province, which is just north of Washington state. Seattle, Washington recorded a record high temperature of 102° this past week.

Table For One

Slurp…

[Editor: Petrov does like the crowded conditions of eating with the other cats on the ground. He jumps up on the entrance to the “Dogloo” and I put a spoonful before him.]

Friday Ark