A government-sponsored "public option" for health care lives on, sort of. Nancy Pelosi is calling this so-called public option "the consumer option," suggesting new framing could help with some lingering doubts by the public, and Harry Reid has put a statewide opt-out provision into the Senate Bill.  Odds are very high that a final version of both bills will include large parts being administered by for-profit insurance companies.  Thus, many millions will remain uninsured or underinsured. The bottom line is you can't provide affordable, accessible coverage with the insurance leeches in the middle - my apologies to leeches. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities has reservations on the help for the poor contained in a merged Senate bill. A family of three earning $27,465 a year before taxes — that is, at 150 percent of the poverty line — would have to pay $1,318 a year for health coverage under the proposed Senate merged health reform bill.  This for families that often have difficulty paying the rent and utilities and putting food on the table. They should have gone with my suggestion, Medicare Part E - Everybody.

In Strange News...The U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Monday announced it is suing the Yes Men, a group of activists who tried last week to impersonate their organization. After the Yes Men staged a fake press conference at the National Press Club to "reveal" the Chamber supported cap-and-trade legislation, the Chamber has decided to sue the group for misappropriating its logo and violating their copyrights.  The Chamber even sued and effectively shut down the company hosting the Yes Men's website, closing hundreds of other company's websites that were hosted by that same web provider.