The Glade 4.0

I cannot provide a link; this information comes from conversations from someone I know in the SG's office.

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Unofficial remarks are not "protest" in this capacity, nor do unofficial requests for someone to be forcibly removed amount to anything. I don't see how unofficial remarks indicate a tainted bench.

Now as to why she hasn't recused herself, that is certainly questionable in my view. I'm not familiar enough with the process to really know whether she's in violation of any ethical standard.

She was Solicitor General and presented the official government case during the initial hearing, when the Court was deciding whether or not to hear the arguments at all.

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Well, some conservative watchdog group (Freedom Watch) filed an amicus brief asking to explain why Kagan needed to recuse herself, but the court, sans Kagan, rejected it without comment.
(see: http://www.supremecourt.gov/orders/cour ... 312zor.pdf and also this decidedly less neutral source http://patriotupdate.com/17563/obamasca ... an-recusal)

See also (http://harthealthstrategies.com/policyb ... 5&inside=1):


Edit: PS, we're hosting Kagan in October where I work. Can't wait *grin*

I demand video of her squirming in response to the question in question.

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"Aaaah! Emotions are weird!" - Amdee
"... Mirrorshades prevent the forces of normalcy from realizing that one is crazed and possibly dangerous. They are the symbol of the sun-staring visionary, the biker, the rocker, the policeman, and similar outlaws." - Bruce Sterling, preface to Mirrorshades

I'm dying to do it lol I'd probably get lynched if I did anything but pitch softballs though. We had Clarence Thomas here a couple years ago, and I know there were some questions some people were dying to ask, but no one did it. Stupid propriety and decorum...

Why would she squirm. She has zero accountability, and a job for life.

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Ezekiel 23:19-20 

What is the point of getting to ask questions if you can't ask the big questions.

Why not just send a foam cutout for everyone to hug and adorn with flowers?

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"...but there exists also in the human heart a depraved taste for equality, which impels the weak to attempt to lower the powerful to their own level and reduces men to prefer equality in slavery to inequality with freedom." - De Tocqueville

Okay okay in all seriousness now... We don't really ask them to come for fawning and accolades. By way of explanation, I work at a law school. One of the things that some of our kids participate in each year is an advocacy competition. Their efforts are judged by a bench of real sitting judges, and we try to bring in someone neat each time. Two years ago Clarence Thomas was the headliner, last year we had a panel of 6th Circuit judges, and this time around Kagan is coming.

So it's not like we asked them to come specifically to do interviews or q&a; they're there to preside over an event for the students. Now granted, they do other stuff while they're here; they'll hold lectures, probably speak at a lunch, etc. But you can probably make a case that it'd be bad form to have them come down and then ask them to defend themselves. In the question of whether Kagan ought to have recused herself over PPACA, someone in one of the articles I read noted that Clarence Thomas made a specific effort to qualify himself once, to explain his rationale for not recusing himself. I don't remember if it was for Monsanto or something else. But anyway, for whatever reason, Kagan hasn't chosen to explain herself, at least not in anything that I've seen. An advocacy competition for the students that a Justice of the US Supreme Court has agreed to attend probably isn't the best venue to choose to start taking her to task for her decisions. It's almost hubris to think that, okay, you haven't bowed to pressure yet to explain why you're still there for PPACA, but today you're going to answer it for us, you know?

Now, that's not to say that the question can't be asked! If she pipes up and says "man you all are too nice, someone give me a hard one!" then it's on

Yeah it was for Monsanto.

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"...but there exists also in the human heart a depraved taste for equality, which impels the weak to attempt to lower the powerful to their own level and reduces men to prefer equality in slavery to inequality with freedom." - De Tocqueville

I'm honestly really worried about the repercussions if this ruled unconstitutional. The people in Washington aren't stupid, they know Medicare is quickly imploding under its own weight and the "Plan" was clearly to avert this catastrophe by slowly transitioning us to public health care as much under the radar as possible. If they actually kill it that's going to prevent any kind of real reform until Medicare collapses, and then what? It's not like they can just raise taxes or borrow money to pay for Medicare. 100% of the taxes we currently collect couldn't pay for Medicare.

The fact of the matter is that without "robbing the rich," the average person can't afford to live to 85. Hell, they can't afford to live to 75. It costs an average of $1.25 million in health care to live from age 65 to 85, and 85 is the current average life expectancy at age 65. Even if we assume that private health care is much more efficient and now it only costs $625,000, well the average person can't pay that either. The majority of people don't retire with $600k, let alone $600k to spend on health care exclusively. We've based a life expectancy of 79 on borrowing two-thirds of the cost. Now we have to transition to a system where the system has to make a profit. That means one-fourth or less (because those loans do have to get paid) of the money currently available for health care will be available then.

What's going to happen to the 401k generation when they learn their nest egg won't even buy them health care? When the government essentially announces you need to be a millionaire to live to 75, and if you want to reach 85 you better have $5 million. You need a joint replacement? Pony up $80,000 or you don't get one. You can't walk and are in agonizing pain every day? We don't care. Assisted living? LOLOLOL you think you can afford that? Here's a gun and some bullets, do society a favor.

I honestly do not think there is a way to save the system Xequecal, not without harsh harsh cuts. How harsh? Illegal immigrants get nothing, sorry for US citizens only. Convicted Criminal in Prison? Nothing, you spat on society society spits on you.

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"Life isn't divided into genres. It's a horrifying, romantic, tragic, comical, science-fiction cowboy detective novel. You know, with a bit of pornography if you're lucky."
— Alan Moore

Hmm, that's interesting.

US life expectancy comparison: http://www.google.com/publicdata/explor ... dl=en&icfg

Having worked in medicine, I hate myself for saying this, but I think we almost need death panels, or simply let the market decide. I have watched so many expensive, major procedures done on non viable candidates because the family insists "everything must be done!" An example would be a valve replacement on a 97 year old dementia patient, but the insurance or medicare cleared it so we did it. Expanding on the nothing for Illegal immigrants we had a wonderful woman, personally, from Trinidad visiting her family have a CVA/+ MI and end up in the ICU...for 5+ months. She was a wonderfully nice woman, but very frail, we coded her multiple times trying to keep her alive. Finally the family worked out something to send her back to Trinidad were she died 3 days latter, and my hospital was stuck with 3+ million dollar bill (not counting DR's hours), resulting in one of our major reasons for closing oru Maternity and Delivery.

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"Life isn't divided into genres. It's a horrifying, romantic, tragic, comical, science-fiction cowboy detective novel. You know, with a bit of pornography if you're lucky."
— Alan Moore

Large diverse population, I honestly expected us to be a bit lower on the scale, and Go Swaziland! You are not on the bottom any more, were 15 is midlife!

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"Life isn't divided into genres. It's a horrifying, romantic, tragic, comical, science-fiction cowboy detective novel. You know, with a bit of pornography if you're lucky."
— Alan Moore

The 97 year old dementia's patient's legal guardian should have every right to buy that procedure. however we have this mindset that "health insurance" = "all medical bills paid."

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I prefer to think of them as "Fighting evil in another dimension"

Additional benefits given to Obama Campaign volunteers:
"All the oxygen they can breathe"
"Unlimited access to public roads"
"As many copies of Cleveland Scene magazine as they can carry"

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Well, to be fair, while the tickets are free, they're probably limited and in demand.

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"Aaaah! Emotions are weird!" - Amdee
"... Mirrorshades prevent the forces of normalcy from realizing that one is crazed and possibly dangerous. They are the symbol of the sun-staring visionary, the biker, the rocker, the policeman, and similar outlaws." - Bruce Sterling, preface to Mirrorshades

And then they can sell them for bucks to pay for their artificial knees.

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"...the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?" -Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn