Chile earthquake toll: more than 700 dead, 2 million displaced
Chile earthquake relief: how you can help
Latest from CNN:
The death toll from Saturday’s 8.8-magnitude earthquake in Chile has risen to 708, Chilean President Michelle Bachelet said.
Calling it an “unthinkable disaster,” Bachelet said a “state of catastrophe” in the hardest-hit regions would continue, allowing for the quick restoration of order and speedy distribution of aid.
Despite looting concerns in some areas, Bachelet said her government reached an agreement with the country’s major supermarkets that would allow them to give away basic foodstuffs they have in stock to those affected by the quake.
Thirty-six hours after the massive earthquake, distribution of electricity remained a key challenge, the president said.
More coverage from the Huffpo, the Associated Press and the BBC, which reports the post-quake tsunami has reached Japan. And The AP explains why, as devastating as the earthquake was for Chile, the result was less horrific than in Haiti.
Ron Brownstein explains it all: on healthcare, Dems have the facts, need the nerve
In an an excellent piece in the National Journal, Ron Brownstein points out that the objective facts are all with the Democrats, whose plan would cover 33 million Americans to the Republicans’ 3, for a minimal cost, and whose core components of healthcare reform are supported by the public, but who need one more thing to get healthcare reform passed: the courage of their convictions. A clip:
Although Democrats arguably should implement those ideas faster — or bolster them with stronger protections against excessive medical malpractice claims — the Senate bill reallocates resources in the health care system effectively enough that the independent Medicare actuary has estimated that the measure would cover 33 million more people by 2019 while increasing total health care spending by less than a penny on the dollar. It’s not perfect, but the plan does provide a solid foundation for a more equitable and efficient health system.
And while the Republicans have done a great job of stoking public skepticism about the plan, what’s clear to most reasonable people is that the public will not become less skeptical unless and until the bill passes, is implemented, and filters out to insurance holders who will no longer face being dropped, and those who could not get insurance, but who subsequently can. Democrats need to suck it up and “go forth,” in the words of Nancy Pelosi, because if as Alexander said today, Republicans spend until November trying to repeal a ban on dropping people or denying them insurance based on pre-existing conditions as he promised today on “This Week”, it won’t be Democrats in those kamikaze planes in November. Read more
Rubio races even futher right; hits Crist on Schiavo case
From the Orlando Sentinel’s Mike Thomas with a hat tip to ThinkProgress:
Marco Rubio’s campaign has put out a new release, whacking Charlie Crist for not being tough on social issues like abortion.
The release includes this mention of the Terri Schiavo case, ” Crist also received criticism on the Terri Schiavo debate about where he really stood on a Congressional bill that would have let Terri’s parents take their lawsuit to save her life to federal courts.”
In other words, Marco seems to favor government intervention in this case. Read more
And they say there’s no climate change…
Back to back earthquakes in Haiti, Japan and now and even stronger one in Chile, a tsunami in the Pacific, freak snowstorms across the U.S., too-warm weather in Canada and bloody cold weather here in South Florida for more than a month now … yeah, climate change is such a hoax … (and what’s sad is, there are some Americans who would be more likely to believe its Armageddon than global warming…) And yet, despite all the clear evidence that something is going seriously wacky with the planet, Democrats continue to cower on climate change legislation, because it got cold in Washington. Head, meet rear end.
Meanwhile, President Obama pledges relief, urges tsunami preparedness.
Charlie Crist: ‘hell no, I won’t go (Independent)’
Florida Gov. Charlie Crist says he's staying a Republican.
[UPDATE: corrected from earlier post] One of the shots heard round the blogosphere this week was the speculation in a South Florida Sun-Sentinel blog post by a right wing “conservative activist from Palm Beach County” named Jack Funari, that Charlie Crist would soon leave the GOP and run for the U.S. Senate as an Independent. I called a good friend of mine today who is an active participant in Republican Party politics in neighboring Broward County, and he barely knew who Funari was. Still, Funari’s post is revving up the newest Florida parlor game: speculating on Crist’s potential future either as a Democrat (as Markos Moulitsas seems to want, having told me in response to a question for my last column that Crist’s future “really comes down to how much of a political survivor he truly is. If he wants to be US Senator, he won’t get to do it as a Republican…”) or as an Independent, as Funari speculates in his “blind sources” screed at the Sun-Sentinel, which cites “highly placed sources” but doesn’t name names, and in which the only thing that’s made clear is that Funari hates him some Charlie Crist (though he denies he’s working for Team Rubio.) Neither my Republican pal nor any Democratic party types I spoke to today had heard anything about Crist jumping parties, which doesn’t mean it won’t happen, but for now, there’s just no proof it will. Read more
Gaston Smith avoids the slammer, Spence-Jones has her day in court
Rev. Gaston Smith
Rev. Gaston Smith brought a bunch of pastors and supporters to court with him today to tout his many virtues, and apparently, it worked. Smith was sentenced to five years probation after being convicted of stealing about $10,000 in county grants, and he’ll have to repay the money and do 40 hours of community service. Jesus saves! Meanwhile, I’m not sure how many pastors showed up for former Smith parishioner Michelle Spence Jones’ hearing downtown on whether the governor had the right to suspend her before her trial on theft charges. The ACLU did show, however, and the judge will now take ten days to decide.
More on the Spence-Jones hearing here. My column in the South Florida Times on the Spence-Jones v. Crist saga is up and running.
Limbaugh on the uninsured: ‘let them eat applesauce!’
In case you’ve gotten confused on where conservatives stand on healthcare, Rush is here to clarify things for you, and his little friends, too. Responding to Democratic Rep. Louise Slaughter’s sad story during the healthcare summit about a constituent who was forced to use her deceased sister’s dentures because she didn’t have insurance with which to get her own, here’s what the wingers had to say:
RUSH LIMBAUGH:
You know I’m getting so many people — this Louise Slaughter comment on the dentures? I’m getting so many people — this is big. I mean, that gets a one-time mention for a laugh, but there are people out there that think this is huge because it’s so stupid. I mean, for example, well, what’s wrong with using a dead person’s teeth? Aren’t the Democrats big into recycling? Save the planet? And so what? So if you don’t have any teeth, so what? What’s applesauce for? Isn’t that why they make applesauce? (full transcript here.)
Limbaugh also told a suspiciously detailed story about “a guy in his neighborhood” who wears dresses, but I’d hate to speculate … Read more
Desiree out
Rogers on the cover of WSJ. She also made the cover of Vogue before her boss, first lady Michelle Obama.
I guess it was inevitable. Desiree Rogers is quitting her job as White House social secretary. For replacements, might I offer that Sally Quinn is available?
UPDATE: Oh, never mind. Good-bye fabulous, hello, finance director …
AMEXgate: don’t ask, don’t tell
The most striking paragraph from today’s Miami Herald/St. Pete Times update on Marco Rubio’s spa cuts and Macaraoni Grill habit with his Republican Party credit card is this:
“I don’t think it’s appropriate for the party to question the former speaker of the House’s judgment as to when it was appropriate to use the card … The cardholders are members of the Legislature. Why would we not trust them to use their due diligence to repay personal expenses?”
That was Katie Gordon, spokeswoman for the Republican Party of Florida, and what she’s saying is pretty stunning. The party simply didn’t bother to enforce the laws governing the spending of donors’ money, which is, by law, only to be for the purposes of influencing elections, because, well, these are powerful lawmakers and therefore we just have to trust their judgment. Really? Isn’t that the same rationale that federal regulators used to let Bernie Madoff steal billions of dollars? He was a powerful, successful man and so they just assumed he knew what he was doing? The money that Marco Rubio spent on himself (he admits that “89 percent” of his credit card bills were for party purposes, meaning that 11 percent was spent outside the rules) didn’t belong to him. It belonged to the donors to the Florida Republican Party, who I’m sure did not intend by their donations to the contribute to the upkeep of Marco Rubio’s minivan (an expense for which he did NOT reimburse the party.) Read more
Yoda phones Darth Vader, wishes him well
Zen-master Obama must have the greatest self-control in the history of mankind. The Times reports he called his nemesis, Dick Cheney on Wednesday, to wish him a speedy recovery from his recent mild “heart” attack. Class act, that. No word on whether Cheney chided the president for not bringing back the guillotine and thumbscrews for use in the “war on terror” or repeated his snark about Obama not winning a second term during the call.
Connect
Book deals
Links
Finalist: Best Liberal Blog
Poll
Loading ...
