‘When you look at these income eligibility levels, you see just how cruel the existing system is’.

‘For instance, in Alabama, you can’t get Medicaid if your income exceeds 23 percent of the poverty level, or $4,500 for a family of three’.

‘Just think about that for a second’.

‘Do you think you could find a place to live, pay your bills, and feed your family on that income’?

‘But the state of Alabama says if you’re that rich, you can afford to buy health insurance’.

‘In Texas, the state that will be depriving the most people of insurance by rejecting the expansion, only families under 25 percent of the poverty level, or $4,894 for a family of three, will be eligible for Medicaid’.

‘I’m guessing that’s about what Rick Perry spends on boots every year.

‘The states rejecting the expansion of Medicaid are the ones that already make it…

Two weeks after a race and I finally get around to writing the race report.  Ugh, I am the worst blogger ever. Sorry, y’all.  First it was just that my capacity for responsibility (TM Hyperbole and a Half) had been exceeded, which happens about once every other week or so, but then it was compounded by my faltering immune system, which decided to surrender to the germs and assorted funk that all but coats my office and let them march right into my sinuses and make themselves at home in my mucuous membranes. The only way I could cope with life was to take medicine that has the letters “PM” somewhere in its name and then roll myself into a ball on the couch while watching hours of my favorite movies.

Now all is well again! And so let me get this race report out of the way so I…

The Democratic group headed up by Stan Greenberg and James Carville has just put out a report on their recent focus group discussions with Republican voters. It’s a sobering read (pdf) – and definitely helps explain the primal scream now threatening to take down the entire American system of elective government.

Here, for starters, is the word cloud for what these voters say when talking in like-minded focus groups about president Obama:

The base Republican voters in these focus groups view themselves as besieged by minorities seeking free benefits, and see Obama as the Pied Piper of those hoping to abuse the system. They are not explicitly racist about the president or about the beneficiaries of the new goodies (though they had no such qualms during Bush’s Medicare D entitlement). But they believe they are losing an America that a Roanoke evangelical describes like this:

Everybody is above…

“It takes courage to follow your mind. But it takes EVERYTHING to follow your heart.” -unknown

No other time of year is more appropriate than during Hispanic Heritage Month to reclaim recognition of the Puerto Rican 65th Infantry Regiment, the only all-Hispanic unit in the history of the U.S. Army, better known as “The Borinqueneers,” Susana G.. Baumann reports in this article for voxxi.com.

The war courageous stories and sacrifices of tens of thousands of young Puerto Ricans enlisted to fight in World War I, World War II and the Korean War has been compiled and remarkably told in an award-winning film that premiered nationally in 2007. It is still being screened all across the country and abroad.

“Our goal is not only to share this untold story of Puerto Ricans soldiers’ courage and patriotism but also to obtain proper Congressional recognition of their actions. We are asking Congress to award the 65th Infantry Regiment, also known as the Borinqueneers, with the Congressional Gold Medal,”…

No other time of year is more appropriate than during Hispanic Heritage Month to reclaim recognition of the Puerto Rican 65th Infantry Regiment, the only all-Hispanic unit in the history of the U.S. Army, better known as “The Borinqueneers,” Susana G.. Baumann reports in this article for voxxi.com.

The war courageous stories and sacrifices of tens of thousands of young Puerto Ricans enlisted to fight in World War I, World War II and the Korean War has been compiled and remarkably told in an award-winning film that premiered nationally in 2007. It is still being screened all across the country and abroad.

“Our goal is not only to share this untold story of Puerto Ricans soldiers’ courage and patriotism but also to obtain proper Congressional recognition of their actions. We are asking Congress to award the 65th Infantry Regiment, also known as the Borinqueneers, with the Congressional Gold Medal,”…

Fourteen Caribbean nations are suing the governments of the United Kingdom, France and the Netherlands for reparations over what the plaintiffs say is the lingering legacy of the Atlantic slave trade.

In a speech Friday at United Nations General Assembly, Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Ralph Gonsalves said the European nations must pay for their deeds. “The awful legacy of these crimes against humanity – a legacy which exists today in our Caribbean – ought to be repaired for the developmental benefit of our Caribbean societies and all our peoples,” Gonsalves said. “The European nations must partner in a focused, especial way with us to execute this repairing.”

The lawsuits – which are likely to amount to a lengthy battle – are being brought by The Caribbean Community, or Caricom, a regional organization that focuses mostly on issues such as economic integration. They will be brought to…