Free Republic

WASHINGTON (AP) - The little town of Libby, Mont., isn't mentioned by name in the Senate's mammoth health care bill, but it's one of the big winners in the legislation, thanks to the influence of Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont. After pushing for years for help for residents of the area, thousands of whom suffer from asbestos-related illnesses from a now-closed mineral mining operation, Baucus inserted language in a package of last-minute amendments that grants them access to Medicare benefits. He didn't advertise the change, and it takes a close read of the bill to find it. It's just...

I said yesterday it wouldn’t be long before Obama’s Jokers posters started popping up across the country.First, Claire McCaskill.Now, Nebraskans have Jokerized Ben Nelson. (Or rather, he Jokerized himself, didn’t he?)Reader Tim e-mails the photos and this message:“Saw this in small town Nebraska today less than 50 miles from Ben Nelson’s home town. This is pretty surprising to me because this is strictly an agricultural area. Nelson has consistently catered to the agricultural interests in Nebraska and so is pretty popular among the farmers and ranchers in the area. Federal subsidies are a huge percentage of area farm income. But...