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GOP's McConnell all but surrenders, "Health Bill passage is likely"

HousesofProgress — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 23:42:26 GMT

Speaking at an afternoon press conference four hours before an 8 p.m. procedural vote that would bring the bill to the Senate floor, McConnell said Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) appears to have the necessary 60 votes for the procedural motion -- and that, based on Senate history, eventual passage is likely. "Well over 95 percent of the time, I'm told, when we approve a motion to proceed to a bill, the bill is ultimately approved," McConnell said. "Most of the time, when we proceed on the bill, the bill eventually passes." The Republican leader quickly denied his observation was an admission of defeat, promising stiff opposition up until the final vote in the near future.

Coal Companies Trying to Stop Health Care Reform to 'Stop' Clean Energy Bill

Mark Matson — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 22:57:08 GMT

This should give a good idea on how things are connected. Success build upon success and likewise for defeat.

Corporate front groups and large business trade associations are funneling their resources into defeating health reform. Even though health reform will lower costs for small businesses and boost worker productivity economy-wide, it appears that corporate entities influenced by major polluters are hoping that the defeat of health care legislation will slow President Obama's agenda and derail their true enemy: clean energy reform. [...]
The national Chamber of Commerce is also fighting health reform tooth and nail. Like the West Virginia Chamber, the U.S. Chamber is dominated by coal and polluter interests and denies the science underpinning climate change. [...]
Indeed, one of the most powerful corporate front groups, Americans for Prosperity, is focusing its efforts on defeating health reform. Although AFP is backed by oil industry giant David Koch, his ultimate goal of stopping clean energy appears to begin with stopping health reform.

No Point to Debate, Reconcilliation Needed NOW No?

art3 — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 22:10:53 GMT

point: sen lincoln and landrieu said allow debate but not deal unless u kill off po for trigger. so then if reid is serious about have a po why not do reconciliation r ight now? the 2 weeks of debate are forgone right? the po is dead unless another procdure for passage is used.
http://fdlaction.firedoglake.c...

TPM: Schumer Working w/Landrieu,Lincoln on Trigger over Opt Out

art3 — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 20:21:10 GMT

TPM says Reid has the votes to open debate but Sen Schumer is owrking on a trigger with Linolcn and Landrieu as both say they oppose public option. Progressives have a huge fight ahead on this. Yuck.
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo...

cspan Senate Health debate live coverage online now

HousesofProgress — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 19:27:07 GMT

http://www.cspan.org/Watch/C-S...

2:26 est Its Lincoln on now

Big Coal's PR Spending Spree

desmoinesdem — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 15:19:27 GMT

Good piece by Kate Sheppard for Mother Jones:

The coal industry's major lobby group, the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, shelled out a stunning $47 million last year on lobbying, advertising and "grassroots outreach" efforts to fight climate legislation and tout the benefits of "clean coal." Its efforts to actually develop clean coal technology, however, were a lot less impressive.

Sen. Wyden wins big healthcare concession: You can leave your Health Plan

HousesofProgress — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 14:29:16 GMT

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-...

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) have taken a long stride toward locking down the support of Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.). The three senators announced an agreement Friday on an amendment that would allow many more people who get health insurance at work to opt out and instead purchase coverage on the new health insurance exchanges the bill would create. More important to the debate on the healthcare reform bill that would kick after Thanksgiving -- presuming Senate Democrats unite to clear a procedural vote Saturday evening -- is that the deal could quiet Wyden's frequent complaints that the bill as introduced would do too little to offer consumers more health insurance plans from which to choose or to create a more competitive insurance marketplace that would drive down healthcare costs.

Sen Wyden (D Oregon) is a 'happier' man.

“As I have long said, empowering Americans to choose the health insurance that works best for them and their family is the single best way to hold health insurance companies accountable,” Wyden said in a statement. “While this is just one step in the direction of guaranteeing choices for all Americans, it is a major step because – for the first time – it introduces the concept of individual choice to a marketplace where it has long been foreign. This is a significant step toward real reform.”

Americans increasingly blame Dems for recession

Gray — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 10:01:02 GMT

Remember that we discussed this, not long ago? Looks like the patience of the voters is already running out:

"Nearly two years into the recession, opinion about which political party is responsible for the severe economic downturn is shifting, according to a new national poll.

A CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Friday morning indicates that 38 percent of the public blames Republicans for the country's current economic problems. That's down 15 points from May, when 53 percent blamed the GOP. According to the poll 27 percent now blame the Democrats for the recession, up 6 points from May. Twenty-seven percent now say both parties are responsible for the economic mess.

"The bad news for the Democrats is that the number of Americans who hold the GOP exclusively responsible for the recession has been steadily falling by about two to three points per month," says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. "At that rate, only a handful of voters will blame the economy on the Republicans by the time next year's midterm elections roll around.""
http://opinionator.blogs.nytim...

No surprise, then, that Dem lawmakers are thinking about a new stimulus bill. Let's hope they get it right this time, with a focus on infrastructure projects and JOBS!

Black Caucus Stalls Finance Overhaul

nasrudin — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 02:31:25 GMT

"According to House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D., Mass.), members of the caucus revolted on the grounds that their constituencies weren't allowed sufficient participation in Treasury and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. programs, such as the Troubled Asset Relief Program or FDIC oversight of failed bank assets."
http://online.wsj.com/article/...

Wyden And Baucus To Cosponsor 'Free Choice' Amendment

The Big Hurt — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 01:44:03 GMT

If this amendment passes, it could significantly change--and most experts would say improve--the Senate health care reform bill.
As part of an agreement hashed out at the end of the Finance Committee mark up process, Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) will join forces to amend the Senate health care bill with Wyden's "Free Choice Act." If it can attract 60 votes, it would give low- and middle-class Americans with employer-provided insurance the option of purchasing subsidized insurance in the exchanges.

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo...

Robert Reich on Healthcare Reform: A compromise of a compromise of a compromise of a...

willf — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:43:39 GMT

Upbeat policy wonks and political spinners who tend to see only portions of cups that are full will point out some good things: no pre-existing conditions, insurance exchanges, 30 million more Americans covered. But in reality, the cup is 90 percent empty. Most of us will remain stuck with little or no choice -- dependent on private insurers who care only about the bottom line, who deny our claims, who charge us more and more for co-payments and deductibles, who bury us in forms, who don't take our calls.

The New York Mets and the business of terrorism

shergald — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:36:07 GMT

Aaron Levitt just posted this story on The Electronic Intifada.

When I first learned that the New York Mets were hosting a fundraiser for the nonprofit Hebron Fund at Citi Field in support of the Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron, I honestly assumed it was a joke, albeit a poor one. When I realized this was an actual, planned event, I still found it almost impossible to believe. This is because, even aside from the devastating impact of settlement expansion on the prospects for peace in the region, I have had the misfortune to see, repeatedly and at first hand, the fruits of the Hebron Fund's labors.
During the summers of 2005 and 2006, and very briefly in 2008, I spent several weeks working as a human rights observer in the Tel Rumeida section of Hebron, home of the Beit Hadassah and Tel Rumeida settlements that are supported by The Hebron Fund. During that time, I encountered racist graffiti with such statements as "Gas the Arabs" and "Fatimah, we will rape all Arab women." I repeatedly observed settlers throwing stones and clods of earth at young Palestinian girls on their way to elementary school; yelling racial epithets at Palestinians walking in the streets; pushing, kicking, and spitting on Palestinian children and (occasionally) adults who were quietly minding their own business; and hurling large stones down on Palestinian homes and residents from settlement balconies.
LINK to the rest of this story: http://electronicintifada.net/...

Not quite the definition of terrorism we are used to, is it?

According to the US Code, Title 22, Chapter 38, S 2656f, our country defines terrorism as "premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against noncombatant targets by subnational groups or clandestine agents."

The Hebron settlers' violence certainly meets these criteria and the New York Mets organization must know what they are supporting here.

Texas' gay marriage ban may have banned all marriages

The Big Hurt — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:19:35 GMT

Barbara Ann Radnofsky, a Houston lawyer and Democratic candidate for attorney general, says that a 22-word clause in a 2005 constitutional amendment designed to ban gay marriages erroneously endangers the legal status of all marriages in the state.
The amendment, approved by the Legislature and overwhelmingly ratified by voters, declares that "marriage in this state shall consist only of the union of one man and one woman." But the troublemaking phrase, as Radnofsky sees it, is Subsection B, which declares:
"This state or a political subdivision of this state may not create or recognize any legal status identical or similar to marriage."

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/251...

US Nuclear Stockpile Good For Decades To Come

The Big Hurt — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:50:05 GMT

In a new report, a secretive federal panel has concluded that programs to extend the life of the nation's aging nuclear arms are sufficient to guarantee their destructiveness for decades to come, obviating a need for a costly new generation of more reliable warheads.
The finding, by the Jason panel, an independent group of scientists that advises the federal government on issues of science and technology, bears on the growing debate over whether the United States should ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty or, instead, prepare for the design of new nuclear arms.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11...

report (pdf): http://www.armscontrolwonk.com...

National House ballot updated, 11/20

Chris Bowers — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:22:02 GMT

Just put up today's National House Ballot number: Democrats +3.35, up from Democrats +3.19 yesterday.

Polls added: Daily Kos weekly tracking
Polls removed: None

I will post an update in quick hits on this everyday, so that people are aware of the changes, and better understand where they come from.

Obama approval 49%--44% in Gallup tracking

Chris Bowers — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:11:31 GMT

First time President Obama drops below 50% in that poll.

9th Circuit Court rules half of DOMA unconstitutional

Chris Bowers — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:07:14 GMT

This sets up a Supreme Court case next year.

Judge Stephen Reinhardt of the Ninth Circuit in an order Wednesday seems to have declared the half of DOMA that declares that a same-sex marriage cannot be a marriage under federal law or for purposes of granting federal benefits unconstitutional, a violation of the equal protection component of the due process guarantee of the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/.... (PDF)

I wonder how Roberts, Alito, Thomas and Scalia will rule. Such a mystery...

"Progressive" CAP hosting corporate suits Arne Duncan and Mike Bloomberg on education

Liberaltarian — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:26:26 GMT

The increasingly inaccurately-named Center for American Progress is hosting Ed Secretary Arne Duncan and NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg in their DC offices for an education policy discussion. OpenLeft regulars will know just what a horrible duo those two are, and how ill-fitted their ideas are to an ostensibly "progressive" organization.

Check out posts by Paul Rosenberg and jeffbinnc for the low-down.

If you're in DC and want to go (I encourage heckling and hostile questions), here's the link to RSVP to the event.

Afghan Turf War Pits Taliban Against Gov’t Drug Gangs

counterspin — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:22:32 GMT

From Joe Lauria at Boiling Frogs Post:

The revelation that Afghan President Hamid Karzai's brother Wali is on the Central Intelligence Agency payroll and is a known drug lord has complicated President Obama's already torturous internal debate on Afghanistan and dredged up questions about long-standing ties between the C.I.A. and illegal drugs.
From Laos to Nicaragua to Afghanistan, and many places in between, the C.I.A has a long history of links to illegal drugs as a means to buy allies and fund off-the-books missions.
<...>
"We are already a narco-state," Mohammad Nader Nadery of the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission told the Christian Science Monitor. "If the governors in many parts of the country are involved in the drug trade, if a minister is directly or indirectly getting benefits from drug trade, and if a chief of police gets money from drug traffickers, then how else do you define a narco-state?" Abdul Karim Brahowie, Afghanistan's minister of tribal and frontier affairs, told the paper "the government has become so full of drug smugglers that cabinet meetings have become a farce." After Malalai Joya, a Member of Parliament, denounced drug traffickers and warlords in government, she escaped several attempts on her life.
The U.S. supports this drug-lord government with massive amounts of aid. Washington spends huge sums more fighting the drug-lord-supported Taliban. In August, the Pentagon put 50 Taliban-tied drug traffickers on a list to be captured or killed. But it singled out none tied to the government.

Can States Opt Out Of The Public Option Immediately?

The Big Hurt — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:54:30 GMT

When Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid first announced that he'd chosen to include a public option with an opt-out provision in his health care bill, he suggested that states would be required to offer the government insurance plan for a year before opting out. Well, it appears as if he's dropped that requirement.