The bill extends insurance to 32 million Americans that previously did not have health insurance, reduces the deficit by over $1 trillion over the next two decades, bans the insurance industry practice of denying coverage due to pre-existing conditions, and bans insurance companies from dropping coverage due to health. While Republicans have complained about a lack of bipartisanship, the bill includes over 200 Republican amendments.

Real-estate contributor Barbara Corcoran ranked South Bend first among the “Top 10 Cities for Bargain Homes.” She noted that the median “price is just $89,000, and prices have been rising steadily for almost a full year now.”

There’s certainly a lot of potential growth in the South Bend area. Taking advantage of the University of Notre Dame, the city has opened a high-tech research park known as Innovation Park. Right now the city is focused on being a leader in nanotechnology. Last year Notre Dame was awarded the Midwest Academy of Nanoelectronics and Architectures, which will partner with other research universities to advance the technology. Other developments in South Bend include the newly opened Eddy Street Commons, which combines retail, shopping and dining into one multi-use district.

Here is the full Today Show list:

1. South Bend, Ind.
2. Akron, Ohio
3. Topeka, Kan.
4. New Haven, Conn.
5. Tucson, Ariz.
6. Minneapolis
7. Portland, Maine
8. Miami
9. Kingston, N.Y.
10. Trenton, N.J.

But the $420,000 that USA Drug paid for the pharmacy’s building and land was just the beginning of what Ross and his wife, Holly, made from the sale of Holly’s Health Mart. USA Drug owner Stephen L. LaFrance Sr. also paid the Rosses $500,000 to $1 million for the pharmacy’s assets and paid Holly Ross an additional $100,000 to $250,000 for signing a noncompete agreement. Those numbers, which Mike Ross listed on the financial disclosure reports he files as a member of Congress, bring the total value of the transaction to between $1 million and $1.67 million. And that’s not counting the $2,300 campaign contribution Ross received from LaFrance two weeks after the sale closed.

The outspoken conservative Democrat has repeatedly shunned the public option, despite polling that has shown its popularity. There’s nothing that a little hush money can’t buy. $1 million seems to be worth at least one Blue Dog vote in the House of Representatives. And he’s doing his job working for the pharmacuetical industry well. Him along with other conservatives are doing all that they can to kill the public option.

“I have been skeptical about the public health insurance option from the beginning and used August to get feedback from you, my constituents,” he wrote in a statement that the Washington Post published. “An overwhelming number of you oppose a government-run health insurance option, and it is your feedback that has led me to oppose the public option as well.”

I have always been fascinated by cities: large, small and anywhere in between. Cities are the life blood of the world economy, culture and politics. Over the past many decades, starting with the end to revenue sharing between the federal government and cities, with the economic turmoil of de-industrialization and the migration of “snow birds” to the South, many cities have found it difficult to survive.

Being born and raised in South Bend, Indiana, I have first hand experience with the hardships that cities face today. Right next door in nearby Elkhart County the unemployment rate has soared as the RV and other industries have suffered from high gas prices and deteriorating economic conditions across the country. The problems in Indiana pale in comparison to those of our neighbor to the north in the state of Michigan.

I took a class this past semester titled POLS-B 399 Urban Politics (a big thanks goes out to Professor James Smith for a wonderful experience) at Indiana University South Bend. This work is the culmination of a semester’s worth of studying and research on urban politics with my term paper focusing on the city of Detroit. I hope you find this short report on the state of affairs in Detroit, Michigan to be both informative and useful.

That is just the Prologue. You can find the full version of Detroit: City on the Brink at SmashWords (iPhone/Sony Reader/iPod Touch/PDF) and on Amazon if you have a Kindle for $1.99.

Also, below are the videos of Obama in Elkhart. The first is his speech, the second is the Q & A:

U.S. Senator James Inhofe (R-Okla.) this week was honored with the Oklahoma Independent Petroleum Association’s (OIPA) “2008 Friend of the Wildcatter” award for his service to Oklahoma’s oil and natural gas industry. Inhofe, who serves as ranking Republican on the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, has long supported efforts to increase domestic production.The award recognizes Inhofe as ” ‘Friend of the Wildcatter’ for voting consistently in the 110th Congress to grow the economy, protect Oklahoma’s oil and natural gas industry jobs, and increase domestic exploration and production.”

Talk about a dubious award. Why Inhofe would either accept or tout this is beyond comprehension.