CITIZEN ALERT v1.100CA's 100th POST!

A milestone! Hmmm. How to celebrate CITIZEN ALERT'S 100th post? First let's talk Frist.

I am subscribed to many Senator's newsletters on both sides of the aisle, Bill Frist being one of them. Here's some of what he had to say after the election as he described the "wave of voter anger" and tried to analyze why the Republicans had fallen from grace.

Being a physician and scientist, I can’t help but want to analyze the details of these national election results. I’ve only started that process, but at first glance, the one glaring data point is the need for a clearly defined strategy in Iraq.

So, one day before the election the DEMS have no plan for Iraq, and the REPUBS do. One day after the election, suddenly they never had a plan for Iraq. Hmmmm.

I thought the best way to celebrate 100 posts is to look at what Pelosi has planned for the House in the first 100 hours.

Day One: Put new rules in place to "break the link between lobbyists and legislation."

Day Two: Enact all the recommendations made by the commission that investigated the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Time remaining until 100 hours: Raise the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour, maybe in one step. Cut the interest rate on student loans in half. Allow the government to negotiate directly with the pharmaceutical companies for lower drug prices for Medicare patients.

Broaden the types of stem cell research allowed with federal funds _ "I hope with a veto-proof majority," she added in an Associated Press interview Thursday.

All the days after that: "Pay as you go," meaning no increasing the deficit, whether the issue is middle class tax relief, health care or some other priority.

To do that, she said, Bush-era tax cuts would have to be rolled back for those above "a certain level." She mentioned annual incomes of $250,000 or $300,000 a year and higher, and said tax rates for those individuals might revert to those of the Clinton era. Details will have to be worked out, she emphasized.

"We believe in the marketplace," Pelosi said of Democrats, then drew a contrast with Republicans. "They have only rewarded wealth, not work."

"We must share the benefits of our wealth" beyond the privileged few, she added.