Eight million children in the United States have no health care coverage.

None. When they’re sick or injured, they either go to the emergency room or don’t get any care at all. Yes, this is happening in America!

For years the Republican-controlled Congress and the White House refused to provide coverage to children whose families make too much to qualify for Medicaid coverage, but not enough to purchase their own insurance. When kids fall through these gaping holes in the U.S. health care “system,” we all lose.

Here in Washington state, we’ve been providing health care coverage for these kids anyway. Bully for us. Shame on the Republicans who also refused to provide any relief for Washington taxpayers who have been rightfully paying for coverage for these children.

At last, Aug. 1, (despite the truly baffling threat of a veto by the President) the newly Democratically controlled U.S. House voted to extend health care coverage to 5 million of these children by boosting taxes on cigarettes. A fair trade if there ever was one, I’d say.

But Congressman Dave Reichert voted to prevent it, as did Cathy McMorris and Doc Hastings. Do they think it’s okay that kids can’t see a doctor? Do they like what cigarettes have done to our families? I dunno – it’s a head-scratcher. But what’s clear is that they voted to leave America’s kids (and Washington’s taxpayers) in the ditch. They didn’t want to help either Washington taxpayers or the millions and millions of kids across the country who can’t see a doctor when they need to. It’s sickening, really.

I predict that this brain-cramp of a vote will play a major role in Reichert’s defeat next year when he runs for reelection. Anyone who votes to deny health care coverage to America’s children doesn’t represent American families, particularly the tens of thousands who live in his suburban and rural King and Pierce Counties district.

Thanks to Congressmen Inslee, Baird, Dicks, Larsen and McDermott for the doing the right, if obvious, thing for our kids!

Gee. What a surprise. The tobacco companies are adding more nicotine to cigarettes.

Will it ever stop?

At what point will federal and state legislators say “Enough!” to the duplicitous messages coming from the tobacco companies?

Every year smoking-related illness continues to kill millions of Americans – almost all of whom began smoking as adolescents.

Talk about a Weapon of Mass Destruction!

Yet this Administration and this Congress – with a Senate that’s led ironically by a heart surgeon from Tennessee (oh the conflict!) – has done nothing to rein in the companies who market nothing more than death.

Touting their commitment to the health and safety of America’s children, the Republicans are happy to stand in the way of stem-cell research and they’re happy to pump millions into meaningless, ineffective and ultimately counter-productive “abstinence only” curricula. All in the name of “our children.”

Yet they stand idly by while the cigarette companies devise more efficient ways to kill these same children.

Here’s an idea to get the attention of the administration and Congress: a gaggle of wealthy progressives should buy a tobacco company, say RJR Reynolds. They should then market a cigarette called “Saddam.” The motto would be “We’re Most Delicious!” or “WMD.”

That’d get ‘em moving.

Dealing with reporters can be a little intimidating. O.k. — it can be REALLY intimidating if you don’t do it often. Some quick tips.

First, KNOW YOUR STUFF. And if you don’t, get a reporter to someone who does. It’s o.k. to not know the info; it’s not o.k. to fake it. Reporters want subject-matter experts (SMEs). Be an SME or get out of the way!!!!!!!!!!!!! In the end, reporters will trust you to get them to the right information and you will become - TA DA!! — a source.

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