This is the third installment of my new weekly news round up column and – not surprisingly – the third week in a row that the health care reform debate and Cheating Charlie Rangel take center stage.

The longer the health care debate goes on, the uglier and messier things get for the Democrats who are pushing it. For that reason, I’d like to thank Senator Max Baucus (D) of Montana for finally generating some bipartisan support with his own health care reform plan. Both sides agree: they hate it. Republicans, including the so-called moderate Gang of Six, balk at numerous problems with the bill including mandated coverage, a 35% tax on existing benefits, reimbursement costs, and immigration and abortion concerns. Democrats hate the plan because it drops the public option, it’s tax measures cut too far down the social latter, and that it doesn’t provide all the funding for other projects such as Medicare and Medicaid that other options do.

With the help of superstars like Charlie Rangel, Democrats now comprise majority of “most corrupt in Congress” list. His problems keep adding up as more and more stories about unreported rental property income come out. I think Richard Cohen summed it pretty well in his editorial in the Washington Post on Tuesday. Rangel hasn’t ended the corruption he was first elected to stop – he’s joined it.

On the other side of the isle, in his own little world of controversy lives Joe Wilson. He’s been doing a lot of fund raising of his own, though his is slightly more legal. After shouting “you lie!” during Obama’s speech, the reports of his campaign contributions have come one after the other. Less than 48 hours after the outburst, he’d raised $750,000. As of today, he’s made $1.8 million.

Wilson’s story seems to fit rather nicely with another narrative that’s been pushed this week about the state of public discourse in this country. Let’s make this very clear: In a democracy, dissent is your civic duty. So why do we hear our leaders equating dissent with racism or claiming that the KKK is coming back, or making ridiculous claims about assassination?

Why does it seem like conservatives see dissent as free speech and liberals see it as a threat to our nation?

In economic news, we seem to have forgotten that we live in a global environment and protectionism doesn’t work any more (if it ever did). Concessions by the Obama administration to union interests are sparking trouble with China and our buy American mojo seems to be working out real well with Canada. Meanwhile we seem to be destined to repeat history, what with credit swaps on the rise and mortgage companies playing fast and loose with the payments of stupid people again – all while we haven’t fully recovered from the last time they pulled these stunts. There is some sanity out there though in the form of the non-partisan GAO that reported last week that the best thing the government could do for the banking industry right now is to privatize Fannie and Freddie.

Other Interesting Stories:
·Incoming Tokyo Government Threatens Split With US
·Afghans Question What Democracy Has Done For Them
·Sotomayor Issues Challenge to a Century of Corporate Law
· Santorum Reportedly Mulling White House Bid

Just remember not to worry too much about all the gloomy headlines. There’s at least one this week that sounds … pretty good.