Unhealthy? Then Shut Up About Health Reform: Maher

Maher calls conservative propaganda 'paranoid,' 'fictional'

(NEWSER) - With conservatives increasingly comparing the strategy of President Obama to the playbook of Saul Alinsky, Bill Maher has two angry responses: "One, why would you invite my outrage by suggesting such a specious link? ... And two, who the fuck is Saul Alinsky?" In a clip picked up by Mediaite , Maher notes that the Alinsky meme is going mainstream, with Newt Gingrich recently ranting that the current election represents "American exceptionalism versus the radicalism of Saul Alinksy." Deadpans Maher, "if Newt hates him, he's probably a divorce lawyer." More»

Obama and Letterman tackle the tough topics, including potatoes

(NEWSER) - President Obama's media blitz continues tonight on The Late Show With David Letterman, where he'll remind the host, "I think it's important to realize that I was actually black before the election." Snippets CBS released after this afternoon's taping reveal lighthearted moments and more serious stretches, as well as an interaction with an audience member who arrived at the Ed Sullivan Theater toting a heart-shaped potato. More»

UnitedHealth Group lays down AstroTurf

(NEWSER) - UnitedHealth Group, the nation’s second-biggest health insurance firm, has been encouraging employees to attend events protesting health-care reform, Talking Points Memo reports. In a clear-cut example of “Astroturf”—fake grassroots action—a memo to employees urges them to call an “advocacy specialist” who can provide talking points for a letter to an elected official or information on protest events in the employee’s area. More»

(NEWSER) - Democrats are taking some unconventional steps to keep town halls civil, the Hill reports. Rep. Betsy Markey plans to hand out copies of George Washington’s Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior to attendees, in a nod to their patriotic zeal. The first rule? “Every Action done in Company, ought to be with Some Sign of Respect, to those that are Present.” Markey parses it thusly: “Respect one another. Don’t yell at people.” More»

Or reject 'collectivist thinking' and let people make own choices

(NEWSER) - The Obama administration claims the anti-obesity bent of its health care plan will lower overall costs by making America thinner. “It won’t,” Jacob Sullum writes in Reason. Even if the government succeeds in slimming down the US—unlikely in Sullum’s opinion—the longer-lived result will actually increase health care costs. And in any case, “we should be wary of a political theory that says taxpayer-funded health care makes everyone's personal habits everyone else's business.” More»