Rep. Deborah Pryce (R-OH) is circulating a letter among her 45 Republican colleagues who voted for SCHIP expansion criticizing Democrats for failing to give into the president's demand that more children go without health insurance. Matthew Yglesias is right on here: Thus Pryce et. al. get to signal to their child-hating paymasters that, despite their [yea] vote, they have big businesses [sic] back and are doing the very most they can within the confines of objective political constraints to make sure that working and middle class families get no help with their health care.

Great news- the House just passed HR 3056, which would repeal the program that privatizes tax collection. It won approval by 232-173 (roll call). The Bush administration says it will veto the bill. And the Senate has not begun serious work on a counterpart. But this is a necessary and big step forward nonetheless!

I don't know how I missed this article on Blackwater and all the taxpayer money it wastes in exorbitant wages and profits. Plus, there's this little gem about military wages: An unmarried sergeant given Iraq pay and relief from U.S. taxes makes about $83 to $85 a day, given time in service. A married sergeant with children makes about double that, $170 a day.

When Ted Northouse and Michael Schellenberger wrote "Death of Environmentalism," it got people throughout the progressive policy community thinking about what might be wrong with their strategy for pushing policy. They've turned that article into a book that just came out. In it they put forward what they believe to be a politically viable way to solve global warming. TPM Cafe is currently debating it.