What's New in Michigan Politics January 2012

"In fact there has been an aggressive response from religious men, too. Jason (Molotov) Mitchell, a Christian television producer who has linked Obama to Nazism, released a video in which he accused Gingrich--'the Kim Kardashian of the G.O.P.'--of being 'the walking , talking definition of untrustworthy,' sneered at Callista for being 'quite the missionary,' and asserted that 'Newt and Callista are the last role models we want our sons and daughters looking up to.'"

"The third wife doesn't get to be the first lady." Penny Nance, president of Concerned Women for America.

Mike Huckabee: "I hear from friends who are conservative women who say, 'I will not vote for Newt Gingrich.' I say why? 'He's walked out on two wives.'"

The New Yorker, January 23, 2012.

No surprises in Gov. Snyder's State of the State address. He was his usual, genial, conciliatory, positive self. He took credit for reducing unnecessary, burdensome regulations, the decline in unemployment, and removal of the cap on charter schools. He pledged to proceed on the international bridge despite the lack of support from Republicans in the legislature, stating that it was a jobs issue, not just a bridge issue.

As if Stephen Colbert's SuperPac doesn't provide enough humor to the current shootout for the Republican nomination, Lawrence O'Donnell reported tonight that the Pimps and Prostitutes Coalition has endorsed Ron Paul for the nomination. Dennis Hof, proprietor of the Midnight Bunny Ranch in Nevada, who appeared with two of his "bunnies" on O'Donnell's show said "We're pimpin' for Paul." Cami Parker, former Hustler centerfold, and Caressa Kisses said they believe Paul will do a wonderful job for the country because he supports states rights for drugs and prostitution and because he "wants to keep the Internet free."

Robert Frank in the February 2012 Harper's reviews Jack Abramoff's recently published unapologetic autobiography. Here is one of the most revealing passages from Frank's review of Abramoff's book.

"Capitol Punishment": Abramoff Proudly Describes his Modus Operandi

Robert Frank in the February 2012 Harper's reviews Jack Abramoff's recently published unapologetic autobiography. Here is one of the most revealing passages from Frank's review of Abramoff's book.

"The supremely interesting chapter of the superlobbyist's life goes conspicuously unmentioned in Capitol Punishment. Still, the episode appears to have left its traces. Abramoff's Washington is a place where everyone is a pawn of someone else: a bought man or even an 'asset' of some lobbyist or all-powerful interest. When he would dangle a lucrative lobbying job before a Capitol Hill staffer, Abramoff tells us, 'I would own him...His paycheck may have been signed by the Congress, but he was already working for me, influencing his office for my client's best interests.'"

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Outrageous fees

In response to the Dec. 30 article "Insurers urge state: Change no-fault system": More than scaling back unlimited coverage for catastrophic injuries, there is urgent need to put laws in place to curb the highway robbery perpetrated by the medical system on people who don't have insurance or have namby-pamby coverage that has no teeth to stand up to usurious rates.

To charge auto insurers $1,820 for a CT scan that Medicare allows only $261 is unconscionable. What is worse is that for a person who has no insurance and pays from pocket, the rates charged are even more outrageous.

My son had a surgery for the slightest of ankle fractures. The total time from entry into the revolving door of the hospital to coming out into the parking area was, at tops, three hours. His stay in the operating room was 45 minutes. The bill? A whopping $8,600. That did not include the surgeon's and anesthesiologist's fees and post-surgical medical supplies, all of which were in the stratosphere as well.

Surendra Kelwala, MD