By Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, on Wed Aug 3, 2011 at 8:30 AM ET  The headline in the passenger’s Washington Post Express newspaper two seats in front of me on the Metro caught my eye: “Home Births Up 20%.” Wow, I thought, that’s impressive.
Inevitably, the headline brought back memories of my children’s births. Three of our four daughters were born at home, and the fourth would have been, but I went into labor while visiting my mother in McLean, Virginia. Instead of rushing back to Baltimore, I hustled across the Potomac to the Bethesda Birthing Center, where Kerry Sophia was born.
Since the turn of the last twentieth century, the trend has been toward hospital births, and now less than 1 percent of all births are at home. Still, that 20 percent increase reported by the Centers for Disease Control is stunning.
 Expense may have something to do with the uptick. One woman quoted in the Associated Press article that ran in the Express said that her home birth cost $3,300 as opposed to over $10,000 in a hospital.
But the trend toward home births is not just about cost. It’s about the kind of experience one wants. That’s why my husband, David, and I chose to have our children at home. The decision took a lot of thought and consideration.
When I was pregnant for the first time, I’d never considered a home birth. My mother had given birth 11 times, each time in a hospital. Without knowing the alternatives, I imagined that was where I would have my own children.
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Kathleen Kennedy Townsend: Giving Birth at Home-A Good Idea?
By Patrick Derocher, on Tue Aug 2, 2011 at 4:04 PM ET Ending weeks of highly contentions debate, President Obama signed the Budget Control Bill into law on Monday afternoon. The long national nightmare, as Gerald Ford might say, is over. After the Budget Control Bill sailed to approval in the Senate, garnering 74 “Ayes” and 26 “Noes,” President Obama signed the compromise he brokered with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. The bill had previously passed in the House of Representatives by a margin of more than 100: 269 “Ayes” to 161 “Noes.” [Politico]
Now that the Bill has been signed into law, the question has been raised as to who will sit on the 12-member “Super Congress” to determine the eventual cuts that will be made to bring the deficit reduction to $2.1 trillion. Provisions have been made for each majority and minority leader to appoint three individuals. Names being tossed around by the punditry include Republicans John Kyl, Mike Crapo, and Paul Ryan, and Democrats Dick Durbin, Max Baucus, and Kent Conrad. [Washington Post]
Somewhat ironically, the budget reduction committee will come with an as-of-yet-undetermined, potentially very high, costs that are just beginning to be worked out. The costs will have to be determined shortly, as the new law requires it be convened within 45 days of the passage- today. [Roll Call]
The 2012 Republican candidates are using the passage of a debt deal as a soap box of sorts from which to discuss their views on the debt and deficit. Only former Utah governor Jon Huntsman has come out fully in support of the bill (though he referred to it as less-than-ideal), while Michele Bachmann, Ron Paul, Tim Pawlenty, and most recently Mitt Romney have come out in opposition to the deal, saying it does not go far enough. Meanwhile, Texas Governor Rick Perry, who has not entered the race but is widely speculated to be a late entrant, has kept completely silent on the matter. [Daily Caller]
Fitch has said that, even if the United States retains its AAA rating, the agency may well downgrade the country’s outlook to negative when it finishes ratings reviews at the end of August. [Reuters]
By Robert Kahne, RP Staff, on Tue Aug 2, 2011 at 3:30 PM ET
Are you one of the lucky few who watches the TV series Friday Night Lights, distraught that the critical darling is finally falling prey to cancellation? Fret not! It appears that a feature length film based on the television series is in the works. Will it be as good as the original film starring Billy Bob Thornton? Probably not, but who knows! [/Film]
It’s a fact of the movie industry nowadays that a big chunk of the revenues coming from a film are earned in foreign markets. This is a great piece by the British newspaper The Guardian about the surprisingly successful fate of the film Captain America in the overseas market. [The Guardian]
Olivia Wilde, star of Cowboys and Aliens, is apparently thinking about playing Linda Lovelace (the star of the pornographic classic Deep Throat). 1. I can’t believe I used the term ‘pornographic classic.’ 2. I will definitely go see this film if Olivia Wilde stars. [Film Junk]
The mobster classic Scarface is returning to theaters for a one day event celebrating the film’s release on Blu-Ray. If you’ve always wanted to see this film on the big screen, here is your chance to do so. If you go, say hello to my little friend for me. [IFC]
Itching for some pictures of The Dark Knight Rises? I know you are. Luckily for you, you can see some pictures at the other end of this link. [The Movie Blog]
By RP Staff, on Tue Aug 2, 2011 at 2:30 PM ET From 2:30 PM to 3:00 PM EDT, the RP will be the guest on Bloomberg Radio, to discuss the debt ceiling crisis and all of the latest developments.
Click here, or on the logo below, to listen to the interview LIVE online.
By Stephanie Doctrow, RP Staff, on Tue Aug 2, 2011 at 1:30 PM ET The Politics of the Media Twitter just announced that it will be adding a new “Possibly Sensitive” filter to alert users to questionable links. [Time Techland]
In a new commercial for his upcoming talk show, Anderson, Anderson Cooper rides his bike around the streets of NYC… without a helmet. Shame on you, Anderson! [NY Magazine]
Check out this analysis of the debt crisis, in Wordle form. [Poynter]
The media has the power to make deserving people famous– and it also gives people like Spencer and Heidi attention they don’t deserve. [Newsweek]
By Jason Atkinson, on Tue Aug 2, 2011 at 12:00 PM ET
courage |ˈkərij; ˈkə-rij|
noun
the ability to do something that frightens one : she called on all her courage to face the ordeal.
• strength in the face of pain or grief : she fought her illness with great courage.
Weclome back Gabby. Your timing last night was perfect and put it all in perspective. America missed you.
By Kristen Hamilton, RP Staff, on Tue Aug 2, 2011 at 10:00 AM ET
Today is my last day in Paris. Sad face. So, please enjoy these last Paris-themed Weekly Web Gems!
Androgyny at its finest – Chanel now has a line of bags that will go perfectly with your boyfriend jeans! [Telegraph.co.uk]
France is now one of 30 countries that can now shop Stella McCartney’s latest e-commerce venture via iPad. Cool. [Independent.co.uk]
Christian Dior’s sales are doing just fine despite months of controversy. [Fashionista]
Balmain may now fit into your price rage! Check it out: [Elle UK]
By Patrick Derocher, on Tue Aug 2, 2011 at 9:30 AM ET  The surprise return of wounded Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was a high point of yesterday's successful debt ceiling vote in the House. The Obama-McConnell compromise debt deal passed the House of Representatives, receiving 269 Ayes and 161 Noes. Prior to the Monday evening vote, there were concerns that the bill might not pass in that chamber, given resistance it was encountering from both sides of the aisle. However, a late endorsement by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi helped push it through, with about one-half of Democrats, including Pelosi, Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, and Assistant Minority Leader James Clyburn all voting yes. [CNN]
Additionally, Arizona Democrat Gabrielle Giffords made an unexpected return to the House floor to vote “Aye” on the compromise bill. Representative Giffords has not been to the Capitol since sustaining a gunshot wound to the head in a January shooting in Tucson that left 13 wounded and 6 dead. Ushered in by her husband, astronaut Mark Kelly, and applauded by her colleagues from both sides of the aisle, Giffords was reportedly alert and engaged with her fellow lawmakers, greeting many of them by name. [The Atlantic]
The House of Representatives website has a list of the “Ayes” and “Noes” recorded for the Obama-McConnell debt deal. Those in italics are Democrats, those not are Republicans [House.gov]
Perhaps proving that the deal was passed on the support of relatively moderate (and willing to compromise) member of the House, both far-right and far-left groups have taken issue with the compromise. Right-wing, usually Tea Party-affiliated, groups are complaining that cuts did not go far enough, while left-wing groups such as MoveOn.org have expressed concern that the deal has been made by placing burden on middle-class and elderly Americans. This is in spite of the fact that cuts are set to be completed in November while no cuts have been made in Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid. [Roll Call]
Some are questioning the real power of Tea Party groups in debt negotiations after fully half of the members of the House Tea Party Caucus voted in favor of the Obama-McConnell deal in spite of vows that they would not vote for an increase in the debt ceiling under any circumstances. This comes on the heels of a poll that said that 53% of self-identified Tea Partiers supported a debt deal that included some combination of spending cuts and tax increases. [NY Times]
With the Obama-McConnell compromise bill passed in the House, it now moves on to the Senate, where it is expected to pass, but needs to do so in time to have the bill on President Obama’s desk by the end of Monday to avoid a default. The bill is set to be voted on at around noon, and though it is expected to pass by a wide margin, there needs to be unanimous consent. [NY Times]
Brookings Institution Fellow, former advisor to Bill Clinton, and No Labels Founding Leader Bill Galston has a piece in The New Republic detailing how President Obama could have better handled the budget crisis, including how it could have been avoided and better managed, especially during talks with Speaker Boehner. [The New Republic]
By Artur Davis, on Tue Aug 2, 2011 at 8:30 AM ET  Let’s get the obligatory observations out of the way first: avoiding a default on the debt ceiling was a necessity for an economy that in many respects is already lifeless. That economic reality, and the refusal of House Republicans to budge on their priorities, tied the hands of both President Obama and congressional Democrats.
But politics grades results by who won and who lost, and on that core question, this is not close: The “compromise” reached Sunday night is a full-throated Democratic concession. It is a stunningly good deal for Republicans and the opposite for Barack Obama.
To take inventory, Republicans secured their most cherished priority by averting a rollback of corporate deductions or the expiration of the Bush tax cuts on the wealthy. Ten days ago, one or the other appeared to be within reach of Democratic negotiators. In addition, John Boehner and Mitch McConnell have installed a “trigger” for future cuts that will muddy the Democrats’ message on Medicare.
In fairness, it shouldn’t: There is a vast difference between handing over Medicare to the private insurance market, as all but four House Republicans voted to do earlier this year, and trimming the growth of provider subsidies. But Democrats failed miserably at making that case during the healthcare debate, when cuts to Medicare Advantage subsidies were ruthlessly, and effectively, turned against Democrats and there is no particular reason to think they will do better next year.
Republicans have also stripped Democrats of the additional discretionary spending they need to shore up their domestic priority list, including job training, education, and infrastructure. Nor did Republicans have to make a tradeoff by giving ground on extending unemployment benefits or the payroll tax cuts. It should gall Democrats even more that Republicans have had to pay no political price for their hostility to middle tax class tax relief and extra assistance to the unemployed–both deeply unpopular GOP stances that Democrats have utterly failed to exploit.
Read the rest of…
Artur Davis: A Breathtaking Comeback for Conservatism
By RP Staff, on Mon Aug 1, 2011 at 5:00 PM ET Another wild, wild day here at The Recovering Politician.
A hearty welcome to all of our new readers from the Show Me State who heard about us from the AP’s story on Rod Jetton, and to all of our neighbors from the Great White North who watched the RP on CTV.
If you are one of the many Americans (or Canadians!) who are disappointed in the final budget deal — or furious that it took so long to be reached — be sure to click here to watch this video. And stay until the last five minutes — I guarantee that Rod Jetton’s imitation of Jeff Smith and Jeff Smith’s imitation of Rod Jetton will give you a laugh. Or three.
Tomorrow, we lead off with contributing RP and former Congressman Artur Davis, who’s reviewed the final budget deal and will give us his thoughts on its merits, and the winners and the losers.
And as always, so much more.
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Expense may have something to do with the uptick. One woman quoted in the Associated Press article that ran in the Express said that her home birth cost $3,300 as opposed to over $10,000 in a hospital.
