The halls of justice.
WASHINGTON – Americans would be fined up to $3,800 for failing to buy health insurance under a plan that circulated in Congress on Tuesday as divisions among Democrats undercut President Barack Obama's effort to regain traction on his health care overhaul. As Obama talked strategy with Democratic leaders at the White House, the one idea that most appeals to his party's liberal base lost ground in Congress. Prospects for a government-run plan to compete with private insurers sank as a leading moderate Democrat said he could no longer support the idea. Just so we agree, let's assume that people without health care are (a) unemployed (b) poor or (c) people with shit jobs who can't afford or aren't offered heath insurance. Agreed? Good. So now, our government says, "Let's fine people for being poor or out of work." Nice. Sometimes I'd like to tell people I'm from Europe. Earlier, a judge in Delaware sided with big-time sports in an effort to b...