Yes, everyone! It's the big news this pre-Xmas Monday morning. The U.S. Senate wanted to give everyone a present this week, and in the wee hours of this morning a whopping 60 of them voted to end debate on the thoroughly compromised health care bill that's been the talk of the nation lo these many months. As the NYT reports, the vote concluded "a long day of acid, partisan debate" in which Democrats blamed Republicans for pulling out every last stop they had to delay the vote, and Republicans blamed Democrats for everything under the sun, including destroying America and keeping poor, 92-year-old Robert Byrd up way past his bedtime (Democrats, in turn, blamed Republicans for this too).

The 2,700-page bill still needs to be reconciled with the very different one passed by the House last month, and Speaker Nancy Pelosi has already vowed to reject the Senate Bill. The biggest gain of the Senate bill is the insuring of 15 million currently uninsured Americans through an expansion of Medicaid, which will be paid for by raising taxes for people earning over $200,000 a year, and couples earning over $250,000 a year.

We know we're preaching to the converted here (for the most part), and we probably should have caught this semi-gruesome spoof ad by NYC's Upright Citizens Brigade (which once gave birth to Amy Poehler) before Halloween. But here it is, nevertheless, because it still gives us a chuckle, and everybody's in a political mood today anyhow.

In one version of the Senate's health care bill up for debate next week, a provision meant to encourage preventive medicine for employees has been named for Pleasanton-based grocery chain Safeway. The company has a self-insurance program for its 200,000 employees that provides an incentive -- up to a 30% lower premium -- for any worker who takes steps to get healthier, like losing weight, quitting smoking, or lowering their cholesterol.

The so-called "Healthy Measures" program has helped keep Safeway's health care costs flat since it started, and Safeway CEO Steve Burd says, "If the entire country had taken Safeway’s plan design in 2004, by my calculations, we would have a health care bill in this nation that’s $600 billion lower."

Critics argue that incentive programs like this are discriminatory, effectively raising premiums for smokers, the obese and cholesterol-y challenged. The Senate, however, wants to find any way they can to lower the $800 billion-plus price tag on this bill.

Karl Rove made an appearance behind enemy lines last night in SF, at a local gathering at the Ritz-Carlton of conservative bastion The Heritage Foundation. Rove made the astute observation before a crowd of several hundred that the health care debate is providing Republicans with a perfect political rallying point, but it will only succeed if they come up with their own successful plan. No word on whether there were any census workers hanged in effigy, or any fingers bitten off. Hear more about Rove's appearance at KCBS.

Big but vague protest sign, lots of small text.

There were plenty of predictions this past spring that the H1N1 virus was going to come back to bite us in the ass this winter, and last week a White House advisory panel made some dire predictions of a "worst case scenario" in which half the country could get infected, 1.8 million could end up hospitalized, and 90,000 could die -- which would be more than twice the average for a normal flu season. And as we've seen, this flu has been striking many in the 30- to 45-year-old range who may have a pre-existing condition such as asthma, chronic bronchitis, or obesity -- some scientists believe the virus hasn't affected older people in greater numbers due to some pre-existing immunity from an earlier strain of the flu, perhaps from the early 1960s or before. Hopefully if you have any of these pre-existing conditions, if you're preggers, or if you have school-aged kids, you'll run out and get flu shots in October, and the rest of you will wash your goddamn hands twenty times a day and STAY HOME FROM WORK if you show any symptoms. This ain't no SARS! (Perhaps try one of the stylish animal masks above from Samiraboon.)

Also in the news, Rachel Maddow had it; Stanford is seeking people for a swine flu vaccination trial in which they are experimenting to stretch the number of vaccines available using a chemical adjuvant; and airlines like Virgin America have been taking precautions for flu season, such as providing anti-bacterial wipes and sanitizing gel for passengers, face masks for the sick, and removing pillows and blankets for daytime flights -- providing only wrapped, sterile items for red-eyes only.

Oh dear.

We received the following missive from an angry Texas resident (or troll) early this morning. While she doesn't directly point to it, we assume it is in response to this. She writes to us, saying:

I would like to know why you feel you need to attack citizens who are concerned about the Facist [sic] Obama's plan to finish the destruction of the United States of America? Why is it you hate this country so much? It has provided you with the drugs you love, the far left liberals you admire so much, good food, housing, the right to spout your far left liberal sh*t, and to spread your hate. For years while Bush was still in office he was called evey filty [sic] name, and submitted to every virile action of the far left, while you have supported on of the most corrupted politicians in Washington in Pelosi.

Our country is in ruin because of both parties, and you, as one who should be investigating and reporting the facts as you have investigated them, do nothing but add to the hate. You should be trying to build this country-not destroy it.

A country where organized idiots march in favor of a rapist who has murdered three policeman [sic] and the gay community feels it must defile the very religious institutions that are the foundation of this country is not the country I grew up in and I ache for it when I turn on the news.

Several years ago I brought my family to San Francisco. I actually saw someone defecating in a city park there, and knew then I would never go back. Shame on you people.

-- Mickey Mathis, a senior lady in Texas

Sheesh. Replace "Facist Obama" with "Fascist Bush," "Pelosi" with "Cheney," and "I actually saw someone defecating in a city park there" to "I actually saw a teenage boy raping his two-year-old sister in a trailer park there," and then, well, we'd have an angry San Franciscan. Different but the same.

Thanks, Mickey!

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