Honor Malaria Day--Buy an African kid a $7 mosquito net

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Friday April 25, 2008 · 10:06 AM PDT

2008/04/25 · 10:06

I hope Kos won't mind, given the cause, a rather repetitive diary.

One of the few brights spots these days is that millions of Americans finally realize the importance of global health. Today is world Malaria Day. If you're reading this, you probably already know that this is a huge killer, particularly of kids in sub-Saharan Africa. I was hoping to party with Brad and Angelina to celebrate the occasion. That probably won't happen since my daughter has soccer.

Instead, to honor the occasion I am buying bednets for some African kids. You should too. These cost maybe $7 each, and are among the most gloriously cost-effective things you can ever do to save lives and improve health. The charity link is

https://www.unfoundation.org/...

...there's more.

Poll

5 votes Show Results

I donated to the UN Foundation to keep sleeping kids from being bitten by infected mosquitos

5 votes Vote Now!

I donated to the UN Foundation to keep sleeping kids from being bitten by infected mosquitos

I did

3 votes

I will

1 vote

I ate potato chips instead

1 vote

Kristol, Will, and Lieberman "unmask" Obama's secret Marxist agenda

haroldp

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Saturday April 19, 2008 · 8:15 PM PDT

2008/04/19 · 20:15

Based on conservative reactions, I'm bummed to have missed that Obama fundraiser. As luck would have it, I myself attended Columbia University in 1981. My parents never knew that I spent most of that year hanging out in a now-defunct basement annex arguing the finer points of Marxism with a young Barack Obama. We would spend hours arguing about whether Ira Magaziner applied the insights of Leon Trotsky to health reform.

Friends would stop by. Sinbad would torment us with trivia questions from Marx's Critique of the Gotha Program. Relations between Barack and Hillary were cordial. Yet even then, we could see the strain. Between spiels about Kibbutz crop yields, Hillary regaled us with stories about storming the ramparts in Catalonia with Orwell and attending bullfights with Hemingway in Madrid. One day, James Carville stopped by. Emitting a gaseous belly laugh, he said, "Hill -- that Lincoln Brigade tale is the biggest bunch of horsecrap since the cleanup after the Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte." Barack flashed Carville a light-hearted smile. Hillary glared at both of them. "I'm not bitter," she told me. "Anyway, he says I'm crazy."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...

Poll

106 votes Show Results

Who is the most (unattractively) elitist

106 votes Vote Now!

Who is the most (unattractively) elitist

Barack Obama

3 votes

George Will

25 votes

William Kristol

74 votes

My aunt Gwen

4 votes

An honorable penultimate performance for Hillary Clinton

haroldp

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Friday February 22, 2008 · 9:18 PM PST

2008/02/22 · 21:18

Last night, we watched a fine debate. Senator Clinton badly needed to hurt Senator Obama. She did not do that, and so perhaps lost her final chance of the 2008 campaign. It is satisfying to see my own candidate move closer to victory. But this is a sad moment, too, as I write in a linked diary below (You'll find out why Dionne Warwick comes up...)

Last night's debate: An honorable prospect for Hillary Clinton's exit

haroldp

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Monday February 04, 2008 · 4:45 PM PST

2008/02/04 · 16:45

A brilliant, if annoying health policy researcher has posted a reply to Paul Krugman's column in this morning's New York Times....

haroldp

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Thursday January 31, 2008 · 7:47 PM PST

2008/01/31 · 19:47

The following statement from more than 80 clinicians, public health researchers, and social policy researchers notes the importance of health reform, and also notes why the "individual mandate" issue has taken on undue prominence in the current healthcare debate. (Postscript--Haroldp is not the author. I am just the signer with the quickest blog)

I believe this speaks for itself....

Poll

29 votes Show Results

This documents has influenced my view of health reform

29 votes Vote Now!

This documents has influenced my view of health reform

Yes, this is an impressive document and list of signatories

20 votes

No, I disagree with the letter

4 votes

No comment since I didn't actually read it

5 votes

Barack Obama and the Jewish community, from today's Haaretz

haroldp

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Wednesday January 30, 2008 · 7:36 AM PST

2008/01/30 · 07:36

It's no secret that Barack Obama has encountered uneasiness within the Jewish community, and has been the subject of both legitimate questioning and an ugly whispering campaign. The Haaretz editorial says things well, and notes why many of us with ties of concern and affection to Israel are comfortable Obama supporters, and even more important, do not want acrimony over the Middle East to seep into the campaign....

haroldp

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Monday January 28, 2008 · 9:57 AM PST

2008/01/28 · 09:57

If Senator Clinton wins the nomination, I will work for her and will hope fervently that she wins. She is smart, experienced, and holds policy views I generally share, despite my preference for Obama. She has been terrific in the debates.

That said....

haroldp

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Sunday January 27, 2008 · 9:17 AM PST

2008/01/27 · 09:17

In this breathless political season, Congress is responding to the apparent looming recession by promiscuously mailing checks to millions of people, including many who don't especially need it....

Poll

14 votes Show Results

Should we prune the stimulus package as I describe?

14 votes Vote Now!

Should we prune the stimulus package as I describe?

Yes

11 votes

No, people need the cash

2 votes

No the economy needs the cash even if not every individual does

0 votes

No. It takes too long for public investment to take effect

1 vote

Obama's alleged praise of Reagan: He's in good company

haroldp

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Friday January 25, 2008 · 3:35 PM PST

2008/01/25 · 15:35

Senator Clinton is all over Barack Obama over Obama's alleged praise for the policies of Ronald Reagan.

Not surprisingly, she distorts Senator Obama's comments, which noted Reagan's political success in assembling a working majority for policies Obama clearly and strongly opposed.

Somewhat more surprising, Senator Obama is making the same insight that another gifted candidate, a certain William Jefferson Clinton, made 16 years ago....

Poll

103 votes Show Results

Was Senator Obama right to note Reagan's political skills

103 votes Vote Now!

Was Senator Obama right to note Reagan's political skills

No. Given Reagan's lousy policies, this was inappropriate

16 votes

No. He gives Reagan too much credit.

4 votes

Yes. He was stating an obvious and important political truth

59 votes

Yes. This is a smart way to reach out to Republican and Independent voters

18 votes

No, but Senator Clinton should not have distorted what he said

6 votes

Eight tongue-in-cheek reasons to endorse Barack Obama as our first Jewish President

haroldp

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Thursday January 24, 2008 · 12:51 PM PST

2008/01/24 · 12:51

It's a tough campaign. Pardon this departure from more serious matters.

Some years ago, Nobel author Toni Morrison revealed that Bill Clinton was America’s first Black president. In that spirit, I reveal a comparable secret: Barack Obama, if elected, would be our nation’s first Jewish president. Surprised? You shouldn’t be. The clues are everywhere....

haroldp

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Tuesday January 22, 2008 · 8:29 AM PST

2008/01/22 · 08:29

Last night’s Democratic debate was a thrilling, no-holds-barred affair that will help burnish the eventual nominee. Despite (or because of) some hard blows given and received, substance intruded. One exchange was especially revealing. John Edwards actually gave the best response, but one that highlights the error in his (and Senator Clinton's) lambasting of the Obama health plan...

haroldp

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Monday January 21, 2008 · 8:00 PM PST

2008/01/21 · 20:00

That was a great debate. Despite (and sometimes because of) some hard blows, it made me proud be a Democrat and Obama supporter. But how do we create the working majority Obama wants to create?

Poll

85 votes Show Results

Which candidate impressed you the most in this debate?

85 votes Vote Now!

Which candidate impressed you the most in this debate?

Obama

63 votes

Clinton

2 votes

Edwards

12 votes

None impressed me

4 votes

They all impressed me

4 votes

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Honor Malaria Day--Buy an African kid a $7 mosquito net

Kristol, Will, and Lieberman "unmask" Obama's secret Marxist agenda

An honorable penultimate performance for Hillary Clinton

Reply to Paul Krugman on Mandates

Statement by 85 health experts regarding proposals for health coverage

Barack Obama and the Jewish community, from today's Haaretz

Those Former Friends of Bill (and Hillary)

Fight recession by helping the uninsured

Obama's alleged praise of Reagan: He's in good company

Eight tongue-in-cheek reasons to endorse Barack Obama as our first Jewish President

Universal care, not just universal coverage

Obama and the working majority