Free Republic

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius would be awarded unprecedented new powers under the proposal, including the authority to decide what medical care should be covered by insurers as well as the terms and conditions of coverage and who should receive it. The HHS secretary would also have the power to decide where abortion is allowed under a government-run plan, which has drawn opposition from Republicans and some moderate Democrats. And the bill even empowers the department to establish a Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation that would have the authority to make cost-saving cuts without having to get...

This is not an ad but a call to the odd music listener. The alternative band, They Might Be Giants (TMBG), are featured this month on DirecTV's Freeview as an alternative to Bryan Adams, for which "the Canadian government has already apologized" (South Park). Background http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/They_Might_Be_Giants ...[They Might be Giants] duo released their self-titled debut album in 1986 , and it became a college radio hit. The video for " Don't Let's Start " became a hit on VH1 , earning them a broader following. In 1988 they released their second album, Lincoln . This album caused a major shock...

FUTURE SOUNDTRACK FOR AMERICA Barsuk Records is set to release a fundraising CD compilation, titled future soundtrack for america, a joint project with MoveOn.org and Music For America, on August 10th. The compilation will include R.E.M.'s "The Final Straw (MoveOn mix)." McSweeney's Publishing is also releasing a book with similar fundraising goals that will include a copy of the CD; the future dictionary of america features contributions from an astounding group of almost 200 writers, from Paul Auster to Michael Chabon to Jonathan Franzen to Joyce Carol Oates to Kurt Vonnegut to Wendy Wasserstein. One hundred percent of the proceeds...