There has been some talk of the coming “Obama comedy crisis,” after what has been a 16-year golden age. But so far Jay Leno seems to be holding up under the challenge. Among Leno’s recent quips:
– “At his confirmation hearing, attorney general nominee Eric Holder said as far as he is concerned, waterboarding is torture. And Treasury secretary nominee Tim Geithner said, ‘So is paying taxes.’”
– “Whenever politicians don’t pay their taxes, ‘Oh, it’s an honest mistake.’ Huh? You know what they call it when you and I don’t pay our taxes? ‘Exhibit A for the prosecution.’”
– “Barack Obama plans to issue an executive order on his first full day in office directing the closing of Guantanamo Bay. He said he needs the money for new prisons to hold Democratic mayors and governors.”
People, including members of Congress, can debate the pros and cons of physician-owned hospitals. But it’s too large and distinct an issue to belong in the legislation to expand the State Children’s Health Insurance Program. Yet the version of the House-passed bill includes language that would bar physician-owned hospitals from expanding, restrict physician investment in such hospitals and prevent new Medicare reimbursement approvals for them. Fortunately, the Senate’s version of the SCHIP bill lacks the tangential attack on the 199 physician-owned hospitals nationwide and 85 in development. Members of Congress should pass a clean SCHIP expansion, and leave any rethinking of physician-owned hospitals for another day.
The Bush administration last weekend quietly released another detainee at Guantanamo Bay, saying that the Afghan man “should no longer be deemed an enemy combatant.” Not only was he not a combatant, sworn statements from Afghan officials corroborate how the man was on our side in fighting the Taliban, but he was turned in by someone from a rival clan who wanted his job. In the past three months, courts or military tribunals have declared that at least 24 detainees were improperly held. This was after the Bush administration assured that only the “worst of the worst” remained at Gitmo.
