AP Poll: Most Who Oppose Health Care Law Want It To Do More, Not Less

A new AP poll shows that by a 2-1 margin, those who think the health care law should do more outnumber those who want it to do less.

The poll found that about four in 10 adults think the new law did not go far enough to change the health care system, regardless of whether they support the law, oppose it or remain neutral. On the other side, about one in five say they oppose the law because they think the federal government should not be involved in health care at all.

The AP poll was conducted by Stanford University …

Sharron Angle Doesn’t Like Paying Taxes For Things She Doesn’t Need: Like Autistic Kids

Nevada GOP candidate Sharron Angle made some comments last year that are now going viral about having to pay for  mandates covered under the umbrella of autism.

“Take off the mandates for coverage in the state of Nevada and all over the United States,” Angle said. “You know what I’m talking about. You’re paying for things that you don’t even need.”

“They just passed the latest one. Everything they want to throw at us is covered under ‘autism’ so that’s a mandate that you have to pay for,” she continued. “How about maternity leave? I’m not going to have any …

Reagan Budget Director David Stockman To GOP: You Can’t Get The Job Done

David Stockman, the heralded Reagan Director of the Office and Management and Budget, says Republicans “can’t get the job done” with their effort to replicate the 1994 Contract with America.

“[If] you’re exempting two-thirds of the budget and you’re focusing only on non-defense discretionary, which actually is only about 500 billion or 15 percent of the budget, it’s pretty obvious you can’t get the job done,” said David Stockman, a former adviser to President Reagan, in a recent interview with National Public Radio.

“Some economic analysts have said that if you do that, that by the year 2020, the …

How’s This For Money Well-Spent: Dalai Lama Gives $50,000 To Research Kindness

The Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibet, is giving $50,000 of his personal money to the University of Wisconsin-Madison to look into the science behind kindness.

The grant to the school’s Center for Investigating Healthy Minds comes after the Dalai Lama promoted its work during a visit to Madison in May.

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The center is looking into how healthy qualities of mind such as kindness, empathy and compassion develop and might be nurtured. The center has not decided yet how to use the grant, but [Center Director Richard] Davidson pledges it will be “in the most beneficial way possible.”…

Boehner: Americans Aren’t Ready For Solutions Yet

Would-be House Speaker John Boehner doesn’t believe American are yet ready for solutions because we don’t understand the size of the problem. That’s his excuse for the lack of them in the “Pledge to America,” as he tried to explain to Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday, when Wallace pointed out there “was not one single proposal to cut Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid.”

Boehner responded, “…we can’t have that serious conversation until we lay out the size of the problem. Once Americans understand how big the problem is, then we can begin to talk about potential solutions…”

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Tim Walberg Wants His Congressional Seat Back; Doesn’t Know If Obama Was Born Here Or Is Muslim

Former Congressman Tim Walberg is running to get his Michigan seat back from Democratic Congressman Mark Schauer. However, Walberg is having difficulty determining whether President Obama was born in America or if he’s a Muslim. He couldn’t say for sure when asked on a call-in radio show.

“My question is, do you believe this president was born in America, because I have not seen enough evidence to see he is an American citizen and do you believe that he is a Muslim?” the caller asked.

“You know, I don’t know. I really don’t know. We don’t have enough information about …

Anti-Gay Pastor Vows To Fight Gay Sex Allegations; Preached Death For Gays

Atlanta preacher Eddie Long, profiled on the front page of Sunday’s New York Times, told his congregation Sunday, “I’m not a perfect man.” The twice-married father of four is fighting four lawsuits claiming he forced men into sexual relationships.

“I’ve been accused, I’m under attack. I want you to know, as I said earlier, that I am not a perfect man,” he said. “But this thing, I’m going to fight.”

Long added that he’s “not the man that has been portrayed on the television. That’s not me.”

“And I want you to know one other thing,” he told the …

Are Nuanced Decisions Possible In Policymaking?

by Stuart Shapiro

I often worry that the take-no-prisoners style of politics that jumps on any sign of weakness on the other side of a debate has led to a policymaking process that is often “all or nothing” with many policy questions.  Therefore I was heartened to read this week that the FDA had made a relatively subtle decision on the diabetes drug Avandia.

Presented with what seemed to be a choice between keeping Avandia on the market or withdrawing it, the Obama administration decided on an unusual middle path — allowing sales, but with tight restrictions. Even more unusually, …

“Big Dog” Goes (Almost) Vegan—Will Bill Clinton Inspire A “Seismic Revolution In Health”?

The American Dietetic Association, in its position paper on vegetarian diets, looked at all of the evidence, and found that vegetarian and vegan diets are appropriate for all populations, and that vegans and vegetarians have much lower rates of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and obesity.

The vegan message just got a big boost—Big Dog Bill Clinton has lost 24 pounds on the diet, and is talking about how he expects the diet to save his life.

What If They Threw A Tea Party And Nobody Came?

A scheduled tea party convention in October in Las Vegas has been canceled for lack of interest. It was the follow up to February’s paid Nashville event.  The monies went to speaker Sarah Palin, who was not part of the Vegas event.  So, without a major draw, perhaps tea partiers just don’t want to spend much time with each other.

…the convention was supposed to emphasize Tea Party groups working together — a contrast to the convention in February, which was plagued by infighting among groups, with sponsors and speakers dropping out right up until its opening hours.

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A …

Obama Calls Republican Economic Policies “Disastrous”

In his Saturday radio address, President Obama took dead aim at Republican policies as “an echo of a disastrous decade we can’t afford to relive.”

“It is grounded in (the) same worn out philosophy: cut taxes for millionaires and billionaires; cut the rules for Wall Street and the special interests; and cut the middle class loose to fend for itself,” Obama said, according to a text of his address.

“That’s not a prescription for a better future. It’s an echo of a disastrous decade we can’t afford to relive.”

Obama also said Republicans are not listening to voters.

“And for …