Knox County Democrats

Tonight, the House passed legislation to reform our ailing health insurance system.  Not a single Republican in Congress voted for the bill which in its first year prohibits insurance companies from denying coverage for children based on pre-existing conditions, prevents insurers from dropping policyholders when they get sick, and offers gap insurance for those who cannot get it because of pre-existing conditions until the rest of the legislation goes into effect.  Soon, Americans can rest a little easier at night knowing that their families aren't at the mercy of for-profit companies who regulate themselves.
 
Here's to this important reform, to those who've worked so hard to make it a reality, and to moving America forward.
 
Check out the effects of this legislation, year by year here: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN1914020220100319
 
UPDATE:
Find out about what the bill means for you and your household.

"We are not bound to win, but we are bound to be true. We are not bound to succeed, but we are bound to let whatever light we have shine. We have been debating health care for decades. It has now been debated for a year. It is in your hands. It is time to pass health care reform for America, and I am confident that you are going to do it tomorrow."

»Transcript

Another GOP Senator throws Americans (and a whole lot of Texans) under the bus for politics:

"The Department of Transportation furloughed nearly 2,000 employees without pay Monday as the government began to feel the impact of Republican Sen. Jim Bunning's one-man blockage of legislation that would keep a host of federal programs operating."

Also:

"States hardest hit by the Monday cutoff ... would be California, where an estimated 201,274 people could lose help, and Florida, where the total is an estimated 105,016. Other potential state totals: Georgia, 48,284; Texas, 82,850 and Illinois, 65,431." [Emphasis mine]

And, from kentucky.com:

"To those who know him, it's not surprising that Bunning answered a Democratic colleague's complaint with a crude profanity. Or that he joked about missing a basketball game while pushing some unemployed Kentuckians into homelessness or bankruptcy."

We had a great turnout for pollworker training on Friday, February 26, 2010.  Thanks to all who attended!

Felix Alvarado, a Democratic Candidate for Governor in the March 2 primary, will visit with us in Knox City at 2:30 on Sunday, January, 24, 2010.  The venue will be announced shortly.

If you haven't already, register to vote!

Charles M. Blow considers the turmoil in the GOP and its present rightward veer at the NY Times:
 
"Simply put, it’s about fear-fueled anger. But anger is not an idea. It’s not a plan. And it’s not a vision for the future...Split hairs about labels if you must, but the Republican brand already has begun a slow slide into obscurity. And turning further right only hastens its demise."
 
 

Paul Campos, a professor of law at the University of Colorado writes in a compelling piece in the Wall Street Journal:
 
"A little intelligence and a few drops of courage remind us that life is full of risk, and that of all the risks we confront in America every day, terrorism is a very minor one."