Harry and Louise May Have Changed Their Minds

E.J. Dionne, Jr. has reported in the Washington Post (6/8/2009) that health care reform can mean as many as 50 million new customers for the health care industry, while President Obama has said that:

"Reform cannot mean focusing on expanded coverage alone" as he emphasized that reform must also be about "A serious, sustained effort to reduce the growth rate of health care costs."

Read more about why "Harry and Louise" -- "ad people" representatives of the health care industry who lead the charge in killing health care in the 1990's -- may have changed their minds at "Harry & Louise Have Changed".

Bailout Proposal Meets Bipartisan Outrage

Turmoil in the markets combined with the Bush Administration's panicked request for $700 Billion -- more than the war in Iraq has cost to date, is having an effect on voter opinion. Our lead story in our "changing every day" news service sheds the spotlight on The Washington Post's 9/24 story "Economic Fears Give Obama Clear Lead Over McCain in Poll."

We recommend additional reading:

• "Bailout Proposal Meets Bipartisan Outrage", by Lori Montgomery, Paul Kane and Neil Irwin, Washington Post
• "Alternative Solutions Diverge From Administration's Approach", by Anthony Faila and David Cho, Washington Post
• "The Words Left Unspoken in the Bailout Debate," by Steve Pearlstein, Washington Post

When you look at "Alternative Solutions ... ", pay close attention to whether home owners are going to get assistance ... or whether the big bucks will only go to the big gambling mortage investment companies, and also ask yourself whether tax papers need to guarantee the golden parachutes of failing company executives. In some cases, those parachutes are worth as much as $2.5 billion ... which seems quite a bit to us ... especially when in the words of Steve Pearlstein, none of these high rollers have let the words "I'm sorry" cross their lips.

How America Looks to the World

Aaaaghh. Remember all those "ugly American" stories from back in the 1970's and before. Americans were considered rude, insensitive and perhaps, simply oblivious to the local mores and culture of the various counties we had begun to travel in.

Things changed in the late 1980's and continued through the 1990's. Now, it's back to the future ... and it's not a pretty story. In Sunday's Washington Post, Josef Joffe, publisher of a German newspaper, wonders whether the "free and the brave" have lost it. The "free and the brave" is us ... rural, urban, suburban ... all of us together! Of special note is his detail regarding the "fear tax."

That "fear tax" is driving our economy downward. Read about it here.

Valentine's Day - a cartoon to make you laugh

The Pulitzer Prize was awarded to Ann Telnaes for editorial cartooning in 2001. Her work has been posted in newspapers and magazines around the world, and is regularly featured in the Washington Post. Her cartoons have been exhibited at the Library of Congress, in Paris and in Jerusalem and have been collected in two books, "Humor's Edge" and "Dick." Click here for her Happy Valentine's Day cartoon.

Super Tsunami Tuesday

My Rural America made a decision some time ago that we would wait to see who our presidential nominees are before we share much in the way of campaign news, but today is Super Tuesday when 22 states, many of them with significant numbers of rural voters, are voting so see below for some of our favorite recent news coverage. They are chosen to showcase a broad cross section of stories about the two remaining progressive candidates in the race. It bears noting that both of them -- Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, have chosen to be very specific about their plans for rural America, offering detailed policies to assist the rural economy. See these plans at the end of this column. We would also be remiss if we failed to point out that neither of the two leading conservative candidates -- Senator McCain and Governor Romney, have offered specific plans for rural America.

• My Qualms Before the Storm, Salon 2/4/08
• Tuesday's Tipping Point, Boston Globe 2/5/08
• How Edwards Advanced the Debate, Boston Globe 2/2/08
  
• In Democratic Families, Politics Makes Strange Bedfellows , New York Times 2/4/08
  
• Obama, Cultivating California Spirit, Eases Clinton's Grip on the State , New York Times 2/4/08
  
• Bill Clinton's Legacy, How Former President Is Viewed Could Affect Vote , Washington Post 2/4/08
  
• Democrats Flood States With Ads as Tuesday Nears , New York Times 2/3/08
  
• Clinton Aides Hit Obama Ad -- Health Care Ad Called Misleading, Boston Globe 2/3/08
  
• Obama, Clinton Play Their Parts to Perfection by Los Angeles Times 2/2/08
• Clinton Campaigns in California, Obama Hits New Mexico, Los Angeles Times 2/2/08
• Democratic Stalemate, Washington Post 2/4/08
• Clinton, Obama, Insurance, New York Times 2/4/08
• The Cooper Concerns, New York Times 2/4/08

And here are Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Obama's policy proposals for rural America.

Senator Clinton: Creating Opportunity for Rural America
Senator Obama: Plan to Support Rural Communities.

A Threat to Farming and Food Supply? Looking ahead to the 2080's

In some sectors, global warming is being treated as something like a joke. In other sectors, global warming is seen as not only a serious issue but also a life-endangering threat to the world's food supply.

Only a few days ago, President George W. Bush honored Nobel prize winners at the White House. Former Vice President Al Gore , who received the Nobel for his work on global warming, was among the honorees.

In recent writings, Rick Weiss, Washington Post Staff Writer, has emphasized how climate change could mean a global threat to farming and the dependable food supplies we have come to take for granted: Facing a Threat to Farming and Food Supply.