So I got — as a gift — one of those Google G1 phones this weekend.  I’ve of course been tricking/customizing it out to my liking since.  One of the first things I did was download the BBC news application, set to “Americas”; I tend to shutter at the thought of daily updates from any mainstream media outlet on this side of the lake/pond.  After seeing that some guy and his wife had been spying on the US for Cuba for nearly 30 years, I received an update on the widget (yeah, phones have “widgets” now!) titled “US Healthcare Bill Passes In Senate“.  I’ll blame the tiny amount of text room for such a misleading headline, for now.  The Internet version of the article, the real article, reads more specifically: “US Healthcare Bill Passes First Senate Hurdle In Vote“.  Ah, that’s more like it.  Just because this bill passed its first vote doesn’t mean it’s going to be US law anytime soon.  The vote in question was in terms of starting a debate.  Just in this sense (is this bill quality enough to debate about?), the Democrats narrowly won.  Very narrowly.  There was 4 more conservative Democrats holding out, this weekend two of the four voted “yes”.  That’s 58 out of 60 Dems.  Two independent Senators and also one lone Republican voted “yes” on the bill.  The magic number in the Senate is 60.  If anyone wants a bill to pass, they need 60 votes to do so.  Drafters of the health-care package will have their work cut out when official debate on the bill begins Monday the 30th after Thanksgiving weekend.  Look for a 50/50 combination of circus/zoo outside the Senate chambers next week.  Debaters, opposers, teabaggers, reporters, security, birthers, they’ll all be on hand screaming and shouting for attention.  Could get ugly.

-D