According to the current political forecasting, it appears that health care reform efforts in congress are failing, and that a health care reform bill will not pass this year.
I’m writing to all of my elected officials to let them know that I expect a health care reform bill to pass this fall. If it doesn’t, I will actively campaign against current officeholders — especially if they vote against a bill, but even if they vote for it and it doesn’t pass.
This is the most important piece of legislation of my lifetime- this change will make a massive difference in my life, and in the economic and health recovery of millions of Americans. It’s not a bill that can be let go or set aside for the future. It needs to be done now and it needs to be done right. Without it, economic recovery isn’t possible, and without it, the broken system currently in place will worsen.
Without health care reform, I will most assuredly not live to old age.
Rachel shows that the Health Care industry, the folks making a fortune of you getting sick, is jubilant that Obama is considering getting rid of the “public option” in health care reform. The “public option” would allow you to get insurance through the government, and provide competition for the health care industry. One of the jubilant parties in the health care industry is United Healthcare – my own health insurance through work. Their stock went up considerably at the news that Obama’s health care plans are being crippled.
I want a public option for health insurance. I would immediately take it.
Rachel Maddow exposes the thuggish behavior that Insurance Industry lobbyists are organizing at town hall meetings on health care that are taking place around the country during the congressional break. Paid for by the health insurance industry– loud, semi-violent and threatening crowds of Republicans are disrupting democratic town hall meetings being held by congressional representatives to give information to their constituents on health care reform.
As the nation focuses on Sen. John McCain’s choice of running mate, President Bush has quietly moved to expand the reach of presidential power by ensuring that America remains in a state of permanent war.
Buried in a recent proposal by the Administration is a sentence that has received scant attention — and was buried itself in the very newspaper that exposed it Saturday. It is an affirmation that the United States remains at war with al Qaeda, the Taliban and “associated organizations.”
Part of a proposal for Guantanamo Bay legal detainees, the provision before Congress seeks to “acknowledge again and explicitly that this nation remains engaged in an armed conflict with Al Qaeda, the Taliban, and associated organizations, who have already proclaimed themselves at war with us and who are dedicated to the slaughter of Americans.”
The New York Times’ page 8 placement of the article in its Saturday edition seems to downplay its importance. Such a re-affirmation of war carries broad legal implications that could imperil Americans’ civil liberties and the rights of foreign nationals for decades to come.
It was under the guise of war that President Bush claimed a legal mandate for his warrantless wiretapping program, giving the National Security Agency power to intercept calls Americans made abroad. More of this program has emerged in recent years, and it includes the surveillance of Americans’ information and exchanges online.
“War powers” have also given President Bush cover to hold Americans without habeas corpus — detainment without explanation or charge. Jose Padilla, a Chicago resident arrested in 2002, was held without trial for five years before being convicted of conspiring to kill individuals abroad and provide support for terrorism.
But his arrest was made with proclamations that Padilla had plans to build a “dirty bomb.” He was never convicted of this charge. Padilla’s legal team also claimed that during his time in military custody — the four years he was held without charge — he was tortured with sensory deprivation, sleep deprivation, forced stress positions and injected with drugs.
Times reporter Eric Lichtblau notes that the measure is the latest step that the Administration has taken to “make permanent” key aspects of its “long war” against terrorism. Congress recently passed a much-maligned bill giving telecommunications companies retroactive immunity for their participation in what constitutional experts see as an illegal or borderline-illegal surveillance program, and is considering efforts to give the FBI more power in their investigative techniques.
“It is uncertain whether Congress will take the administration up on its request,” Lichtblau writes. “Some Republicans have already embraced the idea, with Representative Lamar Smith of Texas, the ranking Republican on the Judiciary Committee, introducing a measure almost identical to the administration’s proposal. ‘Since 9/11,’ Mr. Smith said, ‘we have been at war with an unconventional enemy whose primary goal is to kill innocent Americans.'”
If enough Republicans come aboard, Democrats may struggle to defeat the provision. Despite holding majorities in the House and Senate, they have failed to beat back some of President Bush’s purported “security” measures, such as the telecom immunity bill.
Shakespeare’s Sister has an ongoing multi-part “Obama Racism Watch” documenting incidents of racism in the media directed at Senator Obama (similar to their multi-part series “Hillary Clinton Sexism Watch” that is at 106 entries and shows no signs of stopping.)
I won’t go into every incident because they cover it much better than I, but I wanted to note some of the stuff that has happened just in the last few days, because it is just beyond my understanding, and I have to say something about it because it’s so – shocking.
Fox News’ “Terrorist Fist Jab”
Apparently, after introducing her husband to the crowd, Michelle and Barack did a “fist bump” as seen below. Now if you know anyone under 25, they’ve done this — it’s a thing that young people do – an alternative to high-fiving, or shaking hands, specifically done by people when they are awesome. I think I’ve probably done it, although I probably shouldn’t. It’s not a black or white thing, it’s just another way the youths of America are expressing themselves because they are cool.
I think the only people interpreting this as a “Terrorist Fist Jab” is Fox News. Now it’s not hugely surprising to me that people at Fox would not recognize how awesome people greet one another, because no one at Fox is actually awesome. But how did the word “terrorist” get inserted in there? Really, anything you don’t recognize done by people who aren’t the same color as you is now terrorism? How old are these old farts anyway? And when do we get to shuffle them off to the retirement home?
The “Obama as Curious George” T-Shirts
Kelly Newcom of Ash Flat, AR made these T-shirts of Barack Obama as Curious George. But he specifically claims that the are “not racist” ignoring the years and years of shameful history where people used monkeys as derogatory images depicting African Americans.
Racist Anti-Obama Shirt
The reason the image in the above shirts has a bag over his head is because just recently Marietta, Georgia bar owner Mike Norman got in major copyright infringement trouble for selling this shirt in his bar:
Racist Anti-Obama Shirt
What’s bothersome to me is the huge number of blog posts out there with the titles of “is this a racist image?” as though there’s really some possibility that it isn’t.
FoxNews declares Senator Obama’s wife is his “Baby Mama”
Fox News does it again with this caption they showed yesterday under a picture of Michelle Obama:
Racist Fox News Caption
For those of you who may not be familiar with the term “Baby Mama” it means a woman who is the mother of your children, but with whom you are not in a relationship. It is a term used somewhat in the African American community, but not widely, and it’s denounced by some African Americans.
But Michelle Obama is MARRIED to Barack and is his wife, not his “baby mama.” Fox using the term seem to be trying to imply that Senator Obama and his wife aren’t married to each other.
The Obama Sock Monkey
Apparently, someone actually thinks that this Obama Sock Monkey is a viable product for sale and not a unbelievably racist image. Feel free to contact them and tell them they’re douchebags. I can’t even imagine how someone could create this, let alone mass produce it.
Racist Anti-Obama Doll
Racism aimed at Senator Obama’s Young Daughters
Even Senator Obama’s young daughters are under attack. Michelle Obama Watch notes that an “artist’ named Yazmany Arboleda in New York produced an “Exhibition” titled “The Assassination of Barack Obama” that was investigated by the New York Police and the Secret Service.
Among the images in this exhibition are a giant picture of Senator Obama’s daughters, Sasha and Malia Obama, under the title “Nappy Headed Hos.”
Racist Insults to Children
I don’t even know how to conclude this post, really. I know that racism is, unfortunately, still alive and breathing in the United States, but it still feels like a kick in the stomach to see things like expressed like this so publicly. As if these people actually expect the people around them to nod their head in agreement instead of wanting to kick the crap out of them.
2019 Update: Lest it be lost to the ethereal ravages of time, this was the subject of the above posts.
From: gwelsh@indy.rr.com
Subject: Tyrion
Date: April 9, 2008 4:55:22 PM GMT-04:00
To: bil@bilerico.com
It’s quite interesting that you, of all people, would allow the anonymous postings of one Tyrion who has at times called me “crazy”, “bipolar”, a “liar”, “going over the edge”, “lost it”, and “left my brain in Charleston”, among other things, and who has falsely and with defamatory intent accused me of professional misconduct as an attorney. Obviously, you know the identity of this person. You can graciously identify the name of this person, or you can be named as a defendant in a lawsuit and be served with a subpoena commanding you to reveal his identity. Take your pick. If this guy wants to make it his hobby to professionally trash me on anonymous blog postings, then he can suffer the consequences of defending his actions in court. And if you want to serve as his enabler, you can suffer the consequences as well.
My post below about Butler student Evan Strange who asked Chelsea Clinton an inappropriate question spawned an interesting response. I received several emails from Butler student Lauren Laski defending her fellow student. I’m not going to go into detail of what they said, other than that Lauren really needs to take a logic course while she’s there at Butler. But I want to talk about this a little more, because I still think Evan’s a moron, but apparently I need to spell out why for some.
Let’s look at the question Evan actually asked: He asked Chelsea to give her opinion “on the criticism of her mother that how she handled [Bill’s affair] might be a sign of weakness and she might not be a strong enough candidate to be president.”
First, where the hell is this “criticism” coming from? Evan asked the question like everyone has heard this, and it’s a statement of the obvious, and that it’s a question in the minds of most Americans — but it really isn’t. There are a tiny handful of people out there making this criticism – but it’s not average Americans, it’s people like drug-addled Rush Limbaugh, who also thinks Clinton shot Vincent Foster and faked the moon landing herself. The criticism doesn’t have any legitimate basis; it’s a smear campaign like all the others coming from the same right-wing conspiracy nuts. Given that, the question really didn’t need to be asked.
But let’s even suppose there’s actual merit to the question. is Clinton’s “credibility” today affected by the decision she made ten years about how to handle her marital difficulties?
Of course not. The answer to that is so obvious that again, the question really need not be asked. Hillary’s choice about how to handle “Bill’s affair” was a choice that over 100 million Americans have had to face. What do you do when you have a serious problem in your marriage; is it better for your family to stick it out, or to get a divorce with the help of family law claims attorney? There’s no right or wrong answer to that question, as anyone who’s been through it can tell you.You can also contact attorneys from law firm for divorce charges as they can help you legally in dealing with the matters related to relationships. You have to pick what you think would be best for your family and even your community, and hope and pray that the decision you’ve made is the best one. You can also contact experienced divorce attorneys serving in Crossville to give you legal counseling and take the best decision for your future. And you may not know whether it was for decades.
But no matter which option you pick – there’s not a moral failing in making it. Suggesting that Hillary’s credibility is in question over the choice she made to stay married is also calling into question the credibility of 100 million other Americans who’ve had marital difficulties and had to make that choice. That’s a pretty audacious thing for a 20-year-old unmarried college student to do. If Evan has anyone around him who’s been divorced, they should be bitch-slapping him right about now.
I believe that the above answer to Evan’s “question” is obvious to 99% of America. Most people understand exactly what Hillary went through when her marriage got such a public and painful challenge, and most people would have the common sense not to judge her for how she handled it. Most people would never ask such a question in the first place.
Now let’s go back to Evan’s claim that he’s a Hillary supporter and was trying to help her out. I don’t have any evidence as to his real motivation, but his body language and tone belie what he’s saying. Anyone with common sense would understand that asking this question does nothing to help the Clinton campaign – perhaps Evan is genuinely lacking in that common sense, but I don’t think so.
It’s my opinion that Evan wanted to be on national television, that he didn’t mind causing Clinton some bad news cycles, that he was savvy enough to know that Monica’s name uttered in a room with Chelsea Clinton would be explosive, and that he was willing to make himself and the state of Indiana look dumb to ask the question.
Lauren claimed that Evan didn’t intend for his question to make the news. That’s a bit of a stretch, considering that he had interviews with 12 different media outlets; appearing on Fox News and the Today Show, among others. If he was sincere about his question to Chelsea and his motivation in asking it, when the media came calling he would have said “no comment.”
Leave it to an idiot Hoosier to embarrass the state of Indiana now that we’re in the national spotlight. I’m sure it’s the first of many bonehead moves Hoosiers will make when they see television cameras. From the Chicago Tribune:
INDIANAPOLIS – The college student who got a stinging brushback from Chelsea Clinton when he asked about the Monica Lewinsky scandal said Wednesday he’s a Clinton supporter who was trying to get her to show “what makes Hillary so strong.”
Evan Strange, a Butler University student who works on the school’s newspaper, The Butler Collegian, said he had asked Chelsea Clinton her opinion “on the criticism of her mother that how she handled the… scandal might be a sign of weakness and she might not be a strong enough candidate to be president.”
…
Strange’s question at Chelsea Clinton’s appearance Tuesday at the school brought a stinging rebuke from Clinton’s daughter. “Wow, you’re the first person actually that’s ever asked me that question in the, I don’t know maybe, 70 college campuses I’ve now been to, and I do not think that is any of your business,” Chelsea Clinton said during the campaign visit for her mother.
Evan, you’re a dumbass. And you’ve made us all look like dumbasses. Thanks, idiot. If you want to know what Evan looks like so you can, perhaps, throw a mudball at his head if you see him in the street, here’s a video of the moron trying to explain is his idiot question.
