According to Public Citizen, the sum of all malpractice premiums, from which claims are paid, amounts to about 0.6% of healthcare costs, and of that only 1/3 is actually paid out.  As you point out, it is ludicrous to assume that all claims are frivolous, or that even a significant part of them are.  There are 4 to 7 legitimate cases that aren't even prosecuted for every one that is.  Tort "reform" is a ruse used to once again gain the complicity of the non-thinking underclass to act against their own best interests.

I heard that Clarence once also expressed admiration of the miracle of the thermos bottle, and after someone explained the basic principle behind how it works keeping hot things hot and cold things cold, he exclaimed with agitated excitement, "Yes, but how does it know?"

What about the MOE?  Any consideration given to that?  Deciding who got closest or was best based on the final day of polling seems like a crap shoot to me.  I don't mean to pour gasoline on this fire, I'm just asking.  A graph showing the various pollsters vs time would be interesting and a better way to visualize some of the points you were making.

has been made fairly convincingly by many people.  For many years we Democrats have seen our brand slide towards oblivion, almost in direct correlation with the move towards the mythical "middle road".  Clinton's candidacy failed largely because of this.  Not that I'm complaining.  I think it's to our advantage to have the right and left move away from the "middle" because it draws a better contrast between our policies.  McCain was the ultimate "middle of the road, mavericky" whatever, but he tried to get there by switching positions every so often.  This does not work very well in a video rich culture.

having run a mobile food pantry in partnership with a food bank for a while, I would suggest that it is much more efficient and effective to contact your local food bank and see what their needs are, rather than showering them with random cans of food (and good intentions) that are difficult to sort and perhaps not what the clients are most likely to use.  I know, beggars can't be choosers, but progressives can be smart!  This time of year frozen turkeys are often in demand, but please check with the food bank and try to coordinate your efforts.

Sure, it's OK to have right wing nut cases in crucial chair positions, but heaven forbid a lefty!!

What happens if we get MN, AK, and GA?  Then with Sanders we have 59, leaving Joe back in the driver's seat for a filibuster-proof senate.  Of course, no telling how he would vote on any given move to cloture, but still it's a bit troubling, no?

just look at Mass, it's turning into a real Mess

A single-payer health care financing plan would actually help reduce the budget (less so short term during the transition, more in the long term).  It is most likely to be too heavily attacked to pass at the national level, but several states are also working on it, most notably CA.  Kennedy's plan isn't much more than a band aid and very difficult to implement in reality, perhaps more than single-payer which is relatively simple.  Problem is that the private insurers lose business.  I don't know that Obama has enough "political capital" to force through a major overhaul of any sort - it will take a massive grassroots movement to overcome the business interests who will oppose whatever is proposed, so we might as well go for single-payer IMO.

an immediate investigation into voter fraud!

cell-phone only as well, so is my girlfriend (a progressive but not a MyDD subscriber)

I think the idea is fascinating, but doesn't the algorithm actually reduce your musical "biodiversity" as opposed to increasing it, that is, if it's looking for music that fits your current taste, how is it expanding your horizons other than giving you more artists that sound like the artists you already have heard?  Maybe I'm being too critical, but perhaps it should throw in a "mutation" here and there just to stir the pot...