Wonkette

Old People Havent Been This Excited Since Golden Girls Was Canceled

Mon, 08 May 2006 12:11:08 -0500

Or maybe since the invention of Viagra. Anyhoo, yesterday a flash mob of old people descended upon the Arlington home of poor Michael Leavitt:<\/p>

Several hundred activists from throughout the country demonstrated at the doorstep of Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt<\/strong> yesterday to protest the administration’s prescription drug plan for senior citizens. The unannounced visit to Leavitt’s home in Arlington County was made by members of the Chicago-based National People’s Action, a coalition of neighborhood advocacy groups that is more than 30 years old.
Betty Gazaway, 72, of Cincinnati, who knocked on Leavitt’s door, said a woman who identified herself as his wife politely told Gazaway that Leavitt was on a plane and could not be reached by phone. Arlington police showed up minutes later and moved the crowd away from the front door of the house.<\/blockquote>
In defending Secretary Leavitt’s decision not to extend the enrollment deadline for Medicare Part D — just a week away, on May 15 (consider that a public service announcement) — an HHS <\/span>spokesman said: “Deadlines are good. They get people to take action.” <\/p>
Our tipster quips: “Guess this only applies for old people and not, say, Iraq.”<\/p>
Touché.<\/p>
Protesters Swarm HHS<\/span> Chief’s Home<\/a> [WP]<\/p>
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Daily Briefing: The Cool Governor

Tue, 11 Oct 2005 08:00:50 -0500

•<\/b> Bush<\/b>, visiting New Orleans, fields complaints about governments response. [WP<\/a>, NYT<\/a>]
•<\/b> White House dismisses doubts about Miers<\/b>. Thune<\/b>: It has been my expectation that President Bush<\/b> would nominate someone in the mold of Justices Scalia<\/b> and Thomas<\/b> and it is my hope that Harriet Miers<\/b> will prove to be such a person. [WT<\/a>]
•<\/b> Michael Leavitt<\/b> outlines flu pandemic fears: What if it werent just New Orleans. What if it were Seattle, San Diego, Corpus Christi, Denver, Chicago, New York? Make your own list. [USAT<\/a>]
•<\/b> Documents related to Miers<\/b> from 1995-2000 released by the Texas State Library and Archives Commission provide a glimpse into her views on the proper separation of powers and the debate over making the civil justice system more fair and predictable. Miers<\/b> considered Bush<\/b> to be cool and the best governor ever. [WP<\/a>, NYT<\/a>]
•<\/b> Fitzgerald<\/b> considered relentless, aggressive, and apolitical. [USAT<\/a>]
•<\/b> Military considers special force for natural disaster relief. [NYT<\/a>]<\/p>
•<\/b> Cuts in programs proposed by Republicans will likely to be scaled back due to Katrina and rising energy prices. [WP<\/a>]
•<\/b> Liberals worried the window of opportunity to tackle issues of health care, housing, jobs, and poverty has closed with conservatives winning out. [NYT<\/a>]
•<\/b> Angela Merkel<\/b> to become first female chancellor of Germany. [USAT<\/a>, FT<\/a>]
•<\/b> Rice<\/b> calls for elections that are free and fair in Central Asia. [NYT<\/a>]
•<\/b> FBI may loosen hiring standards to accept applicants who used marijuana in their youth. [WP<\/a>]
•<\/b> Lawmakers take up blogging. [WP<\/a>]
•<\/b> McCain<\/b> stumps for Schwarzenegger<\/b>. [LAT<\/a>]
•<\/b> Medicare Q&A. [NYT<\/a>]<\/p>

Daily Briefing -- Katrina: A Besieged White House

Mon, 05 Sep 2005 07:18:17 -0500

•<\/b> Rove<\/b> and Bartlett<\/b> devised plan to shift blame to Louisiana and to ignore Democrats attacks; many Bush<\/b> advisors spent weekend at Nicole Devenish<\/b>s wedding in Greece. Chertoff<\/b>s talking point: We will have time to go back and do an after-action report, but the time right now is to look at what the enormous tasks ahead are. [NYT<\/a>]
•<\/b> Officials point fingers over failures in Gulf Coast. Nagin<\/b>: Were still fighting over authority. Hillary<\/b> calls for independent commission to analyze response. [NYT<\/a>, WT<\/a>]
•<\/b> Besieged White House forced to balance problems on the Gulf Coast, complexity of Supreme Court drama, and ongoing challenges in Iraq. [WP<\/a>, WT<\/a>]
•<\/b> High death toll anticipated. Michael Leavitt<\/b>: I think its evident its in the thousands. Chertoff<\/b>: We need to prepare the country for whats coming. [WP<\/a>, NYT<\/a>, LAT<\/a>]<\/p>
•<\/b> Bush<\/b> to revisit Louisiana today. Doris Kearns Goodwin<\/b>: These are the kinds of moments when a president gives voice to the country. Theyre remembered forever, if its done right. [NYT<\/a>]
•<\/b> Years of budget cuts and bureaucratic shuffling have left FEMA unprepared. Former official: Theyve taken emergency management away from the emergency managers. These operations are being run by people who are amateurs at what they are doing. [LAT<\/a>]
•<\/b> Howard Kurtz<\/b>: For once, reporters were acting like concerned citizens, not passive observers. . . Maybe, just maybe, journalism needs to bring more passion to the table -- and not just when cable shows are obsessing on the latest missing white woman. [WP<\/a>]<\/p>