Midday Open Thread

• John Boehner (R-OH) is unclear on whether or not gay men and women are really people ... but whatever they are, they're definitely not American:

  Boehner predicted that any action on "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" would lead to a "divisive debate" and "do nothing more than distract the real debate that should occur here about helping to get our economy going again and getting American people back to work."

• The United States of Corporation is here:

  For the first time in recent history, the lobbying, grassroots and advertising budget of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has surpassed the spending of BOTH the Republican National Committee and Democratic National Committee.

• That Joe Lieberman (R-CT) is a funny guy:

  On foreign affairs, I understand what Guantanamo has come to mean in world opinion. But we can fix that, without closing Guantanamo.

  All we have to do is change its name. How about calling it the Richard B. Cheney Resort and Rehabilitation Spa?

  I bet the water sports will be really great.

  Nothing better than a good joke about torture and the collective moral stain on our country, eh, Joe? Seriously, when will this idiot make it official and switch parties?

• It's time for the Republican Contract with America, Part 2:

  Those involved emphasize that it's not a warmed-over version of the 1994 "Contract With America," but the idea is the same: spell out how the GOP would do things differently if put in charge.

• Read the compelling case for impeaching President Obama. Compelling, that is, if you're batshit insane.
• Another reason why we need to just slow down on health care reform:

  A San Diego County woman with a rare genetic disease is looking for a husband -- with really good health insurance, and in a unique way.  [...]

  Carlson's condition, called C4 Complement Deficiency, has no known cure.

  "[It] makes me unable to process bacteria and viruses efficiently and my body attacks itself. It's very similar to lupus," she explained.

  As a mother and housewife for 24 years, Carlson never had to worry about health care, until now. She is divorced and has one year left under COBRA health coverage, but after that, she will have nothing to help pay for numerous doctors appointments and dozens of medications.

  Carlson works part-time from home, but her employer doesn't provide health care. And because of her disorder, insurance companies have denied her coverage. Last week, she turned to the Internet for help.  [...]

  "Let's talk about the tough reality here. And you have pre-existing condition. And in this day and time, if you're trying to get insurance, you are out of luck, period, right?" co-anchor Harry Smith asked.

  "Forget about it, yeah. You forget about it, there's no chance to get it," she replied.

  Carlson told Smith she has uncovered no options to obtain health care. "I've looked, I've searched, there is absolutely no stone that I've left unturned. And there are no other options for me."

• Spend ten minutes with the guy who prints the budget -- not to mention all of the paper coming out of Washington, except:

  Our interview also includes the answer to this question: What is the only thing that the Government Printing Office does not print? Money.

• Lincoln Davis (D-TN) has announced that he will run for a fourth term to represent Tennessee's 4th District.
• Will lightning strike twice?

  Twenty-five years after star-studded anthem "We Are the World" raised millions of dollars to aid famine relief in Africa, celebrities of a different generation were set to gather Monday night to re-record the charity tune to benefit Haiti.

  Among those scheduled to perform on the revamped track the night after the Grammy Awards were Akon, Jason Mraz, Bono, Wyclef Jean, Carlos Santana, Enrique Iglesias, Usher, Toni Braxton and Lady Gaga ...

  Quincy Jones, who produced the 1985 anthem, announced last week that he planned to redo the song to benefit recovery from the deadly Jan. 12 earthquake in Haiti.

• And because we can't spend all of our time worrying about those people in Haiti, Ben Stein has found another cause to rally around:

  The conservative celebrity and economist argues for clemency for James O’Keefe because, well, “when was the last time you read about federal charges against a liberal reporter for going undercover?” He contrasts the treatment of O’Keefe — one of four activists currently being investigated for shady behavior in the local office of Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) — with the treatment of the New Black Panther Party. He does so while mangling a lot of facts.

  Mangling facts is putting it kindly.

• Rush Limbaugh dances.