We all know private American insurers already ration healthcare, and that few Repubilcans, certainly not among those in Congress, will admit it.

But, in any sort of public healthcare, there will have to be rationing, too. GOP poster people from Britain and Canada aside, it happens.

Well, HOW does it happen? On what basis do we make these decisions?

Writing what every Republican should read and no Democrat will likely broach, renowned and provocative bioethicist Peter Singer has delved deeply into quality-of-life issues and related matters in a long piece from the New York Times.

In part from having taught a college class on the psychology of death and dying, I have some additional reflections on the subject.

And, that's why Panetta went public. This raises yet other new questions, a couple of which I've already framed.

Same for independents. You need to beat the rush, cross over, and vote Kay in the GOP primary next spring. I've got the detailed reasoning here.

Bottom line is, if you're disgusted by the latest antic, having to borrow $650 million from the Department of Labor after refusing $550 million in unemployment related stimulus money, you need to cross over in the spring and  not wait until November 2010.

Don't take chances; read about Perry's antics and you'll know what you need to do.

President Barack Obama himself claimed recently GM's restructuring plan is "full of promise." Is it?

"Old" GM may take several years to clear bankruptcy. And, Hummer, at least, among the detritus of "old" GM, has yet to sell. If Beijing's ixnay on its sale to a Chinese maker becomes permanent, will anybody step up next?

The government equity stake in GM, if translated into an estimate of company value as measured by stock price, may have grossly overvalued the company.

And, the government's estimate for "new" GM's recovery time? Well, that, like other things, was probably based on the same talks with Rosie Scenario that  underestimated the depth of the recession.

Read here for a complete roundup of why the "new," or "remnant," GM,  may not be so full of promise. And, why we will probably be talking about this for a few years.

If you believe GM/"new" GM/"remnant" GM CEO Fritz Henderson that he intends to repay all government loans by 2015, then I have a brand-new 2009 Chevy Volt to sell you. Of course, with global warming denier Bob Lutz tapped to be GM's new marketing head, you wont' find a car like that on eBay or anywhere else.

In fact, contra GM's rushed claim, you won't find it on eBay at all. Not right now or in the near future. So, what WILL happen to those "green" cars Obama wants GM to sell? (Oh, and take note, at the first link, of how overvalued a price Team Obama has for GM, if you do the math on the loan value and the equity stake.)

So, between wrong announcements, "old" GM top brass touted for new jobs, and even "New" GM not expected to actually finish clearing bankruptcy for a full year or more, it's likely "new," aka "remnant," GM, will drift further into irrelevance.

So, Mike Allen from the Politico decided to join all the "old media" types from the White House press corps and eat free Obama-cue on the Fourth of July. And, go along with the old media hands from the press corps and not tell anybody.

Guess Politico staff can't break old WaPost habits of selling access. And, folks, it's not just the business side, it's the editorial side that sells access, too. Just in different ways.

Starting with your very own free GOP blood pressure cuff for the "ownership society"?

No, seriously, John Cornyn says the Senate GOP will present its own healthcare reform option</a>, complete with "state-based initiatives."

He refuses to spell out what those are, though.

So, as I note in detail on my blog, call his bluff. Send him a webmail. In addition to that, on my blog, I note that Cornyn offers the best reason yet for MoveOn to keep running its advocacy ads.

Much better than recent previous filings, the state of Massachusetts suit against the Defense of Marriage Act is surely more likely to get legal standing.

BUT... but... but...

As I discuss in detail, there's a downside starting with Massachusetts deliberately avoiding raising the  "full faith and credit clause" of the U.S. Constitution in challenging DOMA.

That's the best explanation I can think of for cyberattacks that knocked out financial and national security websites in the U.S. and South Korea over the Fourth of July.

Washington is being tight-lipped, but who else would do that?

And, I've got more speculation on worse-case scenarios.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?

My suburban Dallas newspaper group recently (last week) shut down, so I'm another casualty of the media implosion.

I'm still interested in staying in the newspaper world, if I can find the right job. (And I will relocate to most parts of the country. Or, I'll take something more "new media." Besides my own blog, I blogged regularly at my newspaper's blog, I know all the basics of Photoshop and digital photography, and have used video on at least the point-and-shoot level of digital cameras.

That said, here's the top part of a generic "communications" resume. Spelled-out e-mail address at bottom:

===

OBJECTIVE: A communications position using my skills and experience in writing, editing, desktop publishing, management, public speaking, and analytical and synthetic thinking.

BACKGROUND: More than 10 years award-winning editing and writing; also marketing, public speaking, page layout/design, photography/editing, research. Strong analytical abilities.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS: PERSUASIVE COMMUNICATIONS: Editorial writing helped pass city and school district bonds, 2004-05, defeated other school bond, Lancaster. PUBLIC SPEAKING: Trained in public speaking and speech writing; have spoken on behalf of newspaper employers to various organizations. CREATIVITY: Have written opinion columns in haiku and other poetic formats; have created editorial cartoons in Photoshop. NEWS: Pollution investigative journalism led to company CEO being terminated; other investigative work connected to Centers for Disease Control tracking a medical syndrome to a Golden Corral restaurant, already closed after reporting on sub-par health inspections. Uncovered newly-constructed high school with non-lockable classrooms and cosmetology classroom in violation of state standards. MANAGEMENT: Partial oversight of four news editors and other staff as assistant managing editor, Today Newspapers; managed staff writer(s), Navasota, Lancaster; managed freelancers, Navasota, Jacksboro.

PROFESSIONAL HONORS
North and East Texas Press Association -- Journalist of the Year, weekly division, 2005.
Texas Press Association Better Newspaper Contests -- First place, sweepstakes: 2002, 2005; first, general excellence, 2004, 2009; first, page design, 2002, 2003; first, news writing, 2002; first, editorials, 2005; (partial list).

E-mail: socraticgadfly AT hotmail DOT com

A new study by the National Academy of Sciences suggests both that this is a fairer way to deal with carbon dioxide emissions as the world moves toward a hoped-for success at the end of the Copenhagen round of climate control negotiations, and specifically to that end, might break the ongoing U.S.-China logjam.

I also note that it could open the door to an internationalized market in carbon cap-and-trade, presumably regulated by the WTO.


And, here in the U.S., if it read to a "yacht tax," fine by me.

Yes, let's write another broken Obama promise up on the chalkboard. This time, just a few months after saying he wanted more pressure from the left, he says, on behalf of Democratic moderates in the Senate, he didn't really mean that on national healthcare, telling advocacy groups they need to shut down their ads against Nelson, Feinstein, Landrieu, etc.

BUT... that's not all. He's also threatening to throw around some muscle.

And, it is rather convenient to do this at the Fourth, a la BushCo news dumps. Plus, if you follow my link, you'll also see who was chosen... and I use that word deliberately... to write this up.

An American expatriate in Honduras, who started there with the Peace Corps several years ago, has this to say:

The Ex president had said several times that it did not matter to him what the Supreme Court and the Congress thought He was going to carry through his referendum, even went to the extreme of robbing funds from other ministries to pay for the referendum. Most people are extremely confused by the Response of Obama, Obama was extremely popular down here, and for him to denounce this action without researching it seems like a betrayal to them. Chavez and the OAS are seen as leftest enteties who are or were trying to illegally influence Honduras's internal politics. (sic per e-mail)

More at my personal blog, including a gander at why, as well as how, Obama has mishandled this. And, I've asked my correspondent to weigh in with further details as he wishes.

Police brutality and possible gay targeting days before the 40th anniversary of Stonewall?  Sad but true, as I detail on my blog, as the Fort Worth Police Department claims it was just doing its job. But, investigating claims of serving intoxicated patrons does NOT need a level of force that leads to one person getting a fractured skull.

Fort Worth has one openly gay city councilman, which will help in efforts to get to the bottom of this, but it still won't be easy. And, the FWPD has looked pretty clueless in its PR so far.

And, BurnedOut in comments, the link shows it's OK now.

Via CNET, it's clear that the anti-science wing of the GOP is going to try to make hay out of an allegedly suppressed report by career EPA staffer Alan Carlin, cited by Smokey Joe Barton last week on the House floor during Waxman-Markey debate.

But, look at Carlin's own Googlepages site, and you'll see some political angles and ax-grinding positions.

Look at my blog for a more detailed analysis on things like cost-benefit analysis, aerosols and more, from Carlin's own words.