Health-care bill wouldn't bring real reform  —  If I were a senator, I would not vote for the current health-care bill.  Any measure that expands private insurers' monopoly over health care and transfers millions of taxpayer dollars to private corporations is not real health-care reform.

Gibbs Lashes Back At Dean, Suggests He's Irrational  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION?  —  On Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs strongly hit back at former DNC Chairman Howard Dean for criticizing the Senate health care bill, suggesting, at one point, that Dean was being irrational …

Democrats Lash Out At Obama Over Health Care Disappointments  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION?  —  Congressional Democrats are starting to voice their anger at President Obama over the way health care legislation has been compromised, blaming him for not fighting harder.

What the Russian papers say  —  MOSCOW, December 16 (RIA Novosti) Russia trading in diplomatic recognition / U.S. uses NATO as a tool to integrate Russia into its project for a new world order - expert / New round of struggle to end Cold War / Russia affected by Climategate /

ClimateGate Just Got Much, Much Bigger  —  Over at ICECAP.us Meteorologist Joe D'Aleo has posted an item on a “Russian Bombshell” highly relevant to the ClimateGate scandal.  The Russian media first posted the story and now some Brits are loving it.  —  The long and the short …

The Left Is Playing With Fire  —  Liberals frustrated with the decision to drop a public option are now attacking a core principle of health care reform: the individual mandate.  Greg Sargent and Ben Smith quote Jim Dean, brother of Howard, in an e-mail that just went out to Democracy for America:

The importance of the individual mandate  —  Markos Moulitsas explains his opposition to the Senate bill, and says it all comes down to the individual mandate.  “Strip out the mandate,” he says, “and the rest of the bill is palatable.  It's not reform, but it's progress in the right direction.

20 Questions for Bill Killers  —  1. Over the medium term, how many other opportunities will exist to provide in excess of $100 billion per year in public subsidies to poor and sick people?  —  2. Would a bill that contained $50 billion in additional subsidies for people making less than 250% of poverty be acceptable?