Worship of the President by School Children, The Horror of it all

We can't allow this to happen.. We can't allow our children to be indoctrinated by worship of our President. We must stop this now... Oh wait, it is too late.. it already happened and look where it got us.



Yep, that's Pres. Bush... being worshiped in absentia via a cardboard cutout. But did you see how the teacher or whatever she was directed the worship of the picture of the President by these children and they obeyed, they prayed, they bowed, they obviously were worshiping him.

Yet, to hear Fox Noise, and the GOPers things like this never happened, this all just started with Pres. Obama.. Well, proof of the lie that is..

Sorry again, for the lack of posts lately, but you know where I have been.. I will be back soon.. In the meantime please visit my friends Sue and the Complaint Dept. Manager @ Helloooooo Mr President She has been doing a great job of covering everything and keeps the rethugs hoppping...

Then there is also TomCat @ PoliticsPlus who stays on top of the news of the day, gives a wrap up and even throws in a puzzle to while away a few minutes and offers an open thread to just talk about what you might have on your chest.

The video today I got from another great blogger friend Matt @ Osborne Ink. If you haven't checked him out yet.. You are missing a great writer/reporter... Matt is also raising money to do some investigative reporting. Give him a read and if you can throw a few pennies in the pot.. He will be very appreciative. Thanks Matt for sharing with me.

President's Weekly Address: Progress with the G-20 in Pittsburgh

From the White House web site:

Recorded literally on his way back from the G-20 Summit in Pittsburgh, the President uses his Weekly Address to recap the progress made during the intensive discussions with world leaders. From an historic agreement to reform the global financial system, to groundbreaking commitments on reducing subsidies to fossil fuels worldwide, to unity in standing against threats to world peace -- engagement produced tangible results in several areas.

The President this week was given a high honor by chairing the UN Security Council. He is the first US President given this honor. He also brought together ISRAELI Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas since they were elected or put into office and held peace talks with them. This is the first of his outreaches to them in order to achieve lasting peace in the area.

Our President is ambitious if nothing else. He had meetings with Russian President Medvedev whom he has developed a true friendship it appears. At least a good working relationship..

And out of the relationship they and others on the council released information regarding Iran. It stunned the world. But, Israel was aware of it and had warned the world but most people just sloughed it off..

President Obama, not wanting to be like Pres. Bush and being known as the boy who cried wolf, waited until he had definite proof of nuclear buildings that were for bombs not power plants as the Iranians had stated earlier, to release the information. However that doesn't mean he is rushing to war either, as did Pres. Bush. Thank goodness for that. We really have a smart man in office.

Now, here is the President.



I always just post the videos of this.. if anyone would like me to post the transcript, I can start doing that too.. just leave me a message in comments and I will see and answer.. I will be glad to post them along with the video. Thanks all.

Sorry For the Lack Of Posts..

I have been busy this week, trying to help Mom... She is 82 and her flower garden has grown up in weeds.. she was supposed to have had help taking care of it over the summer, but her help let it go to the wayside.

Now, I have been trying to get it caught up so we can get it back in shape before winter sets in. Just to give you an example of what I have been dealing with, here is a picture of the weeds I am cutting, I know it is hard to picture in your mind looking without a perspective..but they are about 8 to 10 feet tall...



And here is my helper...



That's Gizmo, my pom, he never lets me get too far away.. and in the background almost too far to see clearly is my uncle, Fred.. Not sure what I would do without him.

He's like my dad, always there to help me when I need someone. That's why I do things for him.. He always does things for me. Without me asking.. at 84 years old, after serving our country, having 4 back surgeries, or maybe it was 5, he still is out there with me almost every minute..

But, that's why I haven't gotten much posting done this week.. or why I haven't been around visiting much.. Sorry, I will make it up to you all soon.. and be back to my pesty, if that's a word...lol ways...

So, remember love each other, play nice.. and give them GOPers hell for me until I can get back and do it with you.

UPDATE & an APOLOGY! Teh Stupid, Oh It Burns.. These are the People Who Marched On Washington Last Week

UPDATE.. and an APOLOGY to Broadway Carl.. Carlos.. I am so very sorry.. I was tired and that is no excuse. I was just neglectful and didn't give you the credit for finding this wonderful video. I just hope my friend can forgive me. He does beautiful work at his blog and I should be punished..
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Watch this video and you will see why we are having trouble getting anything done. Some of these people are very confused, very brainwashed and very dumb. Well, maybe stupid.

Most of them are loyal Glenn Beck viewers.. of course, they must not watch enough to suffer from whiplash yet, over his backtracking, but they watch enough to be able to quote his ignorant rants.



Just amazes me sometimes, how little people know about things, and how little they bother to check for them selves, they just take something a talking head on radio or the TeeVee Machine at face value and go with it.. Simply Amazing. No, I think it is LAZINESS...

Great New Video With Some Familiar Faces Promoting the Insurance Companies, or Are They?

What a great new video from Funny or Die and MoveOn.org to help push Health Care Reform. This video contains some very familiar faces and has a great message to share.

Tongue in Cheek, Satire, whatever you want to call it.. but it is very good.. Watch and see what you think..

Protect Insurance Companies PSA from Will Ferrell

Now, Call your Congress person.. Republican, Democratic or Independent and let them know, we want the Public Option in any Health Care Reform bill that is passed and make your voice heard and be counted. That's what we need to do in order to get this done.

That's how we can help, that's how we can make sure we get the kind of bill we want passed into law.

Thanks everyone.

Edits of Videos.. Don't Like it When FOX Does it, Don't Like it When the Left Does it

Last night and this morning, as I was browsing some news before I left to help my mom, I saw a little article I was not too happy about. It seems Glenn Beck has been at it with his edit button again..

This time he is taking the President's words where he has been talking about the Constitution and leaving out passages and changing the entire meaning of what he is saying.

Here is what then IL State Sen. Barack Obama had to say.. This was September 2001 in an interview with radio station WBEZ in Chicago.

HOST: Barack Obama, what are your thoughts on the Declaration and Constitution?

OBAMA: Well, you know, I think it's a remarkable document. I think --

HOST: Which one?

OBAMA: The original Constitution, as well as -- as well as the Civil War amendments, but I think it is an imperfect document, and I think it is a document that reflects some deep flaws in American culture -- the colonial culture nascent at that time.

African-Americans were not -- first of all, they weren't African-Americans. The Africans at the time were not considered as part of the polity that was of concern to the framers. I think that, as [program co-panelist] Richard [John] said, it was a nagging problem in the same way that, these days, we might think of environmental issues or some other problem that, where you have to balance, you know, cost-benefits, as opposed to seeing it as a moral problem involving persons of moral worth.

And, in that sense, I think we can say that the Constitution reflected a enormous blind spot in this culture that carries on until this day, and that the framers had that same blind spot. I don't think the two views are contradictory to say that it was a remarkable political document that paved the way for where we are now, and to say that it also reflected the fundamental flaw of this country that continues to this day.

Now, here is how Beck treated it on his program the other day.

OBAMA: The original Constitution [edit] I think it is an imperfect document, and I think it is a document that reflects some deep flaws in American culture -- the colonial culture nascent at that time. [edit] I think we can say that the Constitution reflected a enormous blind spot in this culture [edit] and that the framers had that same blind spot. [edit] It also reflected the fundamental flaw of this country that continues to this day.

Here is the video also so you can see I am not making this up.



Quite a difference there.. He cuts quite a bit out of what the then Senator said.. and changes the meaning completely.

As Media Matters says..

Does Beck really believe that such original elements of the Constitution should not be considered imperfections -- imperfections that were indeed the product of a cultural "blind spot" shared by the 18th century individuals who authored it?

Even if he doesn't, the intent of a segment such as this one is still clear. Beck isn't interested in seriously examining the Constitution, nor does he care to honestly reflect on race in America. Instead, he wants to portray Obama as a man who harbors a generalized and racially motivated resentment toward the Founding Fathers and the document they authored -- exactly the kind of person who would seek to exact race-based justice through reparations, which Beck has already declared to be at the heart of Obama's entire agenda.

This isn't the first time that conservatives have deliberately distorted this interview to make the exact same point. Rush Limbaugh did so last October, and the RNC did it again in May. It's the sort of willfully ignorant, historically inaccurate, deliberately deceptive, and racially provocative argument that has become common in the modern conservative movement. And it shows how untrustworthy individuals like Beck truly are.

Now, for the second part of this.. the left side of my argument..

I am so tired again of reading crap like this from some of the people on the left and the media.. President Obama has come out stronger for the Public Option in the last 3 weeks than he has before, yet this is what I found on Huffington Post.

President Obama has been desperate to ditch the public option for weeks.

-snip-

But every time they tried to jettison the public option through surrogates like Kathleen Sebelius or "senior White House officials" speaking anonymously to media outlets, the base went haywire and Obama's poll numbers started tanking.

This is written by none other than Jane Hamsher.. of course she has never been a fan of Pres. Obama. So it really doesn't surprise me that she is criticizing him but the dishonest way she is doing it is beyond belief. Look at this and you will see what I mean.



Because they used an edited video, which didn't include a part of the speech where he said "Public Option" but did include his trademark (so to speak) "Fired Up, Ready To Go", and this ad was put out by the DNC, she is using this as her basis for saying he is dropping the PO and has been for weeks.

That's just dishonest, and is really I would say a lie.

That's just as much a lie and just as dishonest as Glenn Beck is being with his edits of the Obama interview from 2001 in my opinion.

You can see the entire post by Jane, at Huffington Post.

Maybe I am off base.. you can let me know.. but it just didn't seem right to me for her to say this.. I could be running around with my head in the sand as I have been told. But to me it seems she is just being dishonest, just as the ones on the right are being by editing the videos and the speeches of Pres. Obama from his earlier years.

President's Weekly Address: Progress in the Global Economy

With the next G20 Summit approaching in Pittsburgh, the President goes over the progress in stemming a global economic crisis. He discusses the impact of the Recovery Act, and pledges that "lobbyists for big Wall Street banks" will not prevent real reform for the future, including a new Consumer Financial Protection Agency.

From the address is this portion I thought worth noting:

Central to these reforms is a new Consumer Financial Protection Agency. Part of what led to this crisis were not just decisions made on Wall Street, but also unsustainable mortgage loans made across the country. While many folks took on more than they knew they could afford, too often folks signed contracts they didn’t fully understand offered by lenders who didn’t always tell the truth. That’s why we need clear rules, clearly enforced. And that’s what this agency will do.

Consumers shouldn’t have to worry about loan contracts written to confuse, hidden fees attached to their mortgages, and financial penalties – whether through a credit card or debit card – that appear without a clear warning on their statements. And responsible lenders, including community banks, trying to do the right thing shouldn’t have to worry about ruinous competition from unregulated and unscrupulous competitors.

I will have more later.. I found something that I want to blog about but have some things to do today and will be gone for most of the day.. but will be here this evening and will write it up then.. but till then.. here is our President.

Last Week, The President Promised to Call Out the Lies

Well, here is the start.. of course no one in the media is going to pick up on it and no one will bother to see it and report on it from Fox Noise for sure. But at least we know it is there.

Crooks & Liars wrote it up and I am writing it up.. But if you bother to read the White House Blog you should have seen it yourself. Anita Dunn put up a post about the idiocy of Glenn Beck and Lou Dobbs over the Czars they are whining about.

Of course, they started it and then like good little soldiers members of the GOPers in Congress picked up on it like they are supposed to and started talking it up too. I am not sure which way this works.. if Fox Noise sends the talking points to the RNC or if the RNC sends the talking points to Fox Noise every day.. but it is one or the other.

Here is part of what Ms. Dunn wrote at the White House blog about the Czar situation:

Last week, when the President addressed the Joint Session of Congress in a speech on health reform, he referred to some of the untruths – okay, lies – that have been spread about the plan and sent a clear message to those who seek to undermine his agenda and his presidency with these tactics: "We will call you out." So consider this one of those calls.

Over the past several weeks, we've seen with increasing frequency and volume issues raised around the use of "czars" by this Administration. Although some Members have asked serious questions around the makeup of the White House staff, the bulk of the noise you hear began first with partisan commentators, suggesting that this is somehow a new and sinister development that threatens our democracy. This is, of course, ridiculous. Just to be clear, the job title "czar" doesn’t exist in the Obama Administration. Many of the officials cited by conservative commentators have been confirmed by the Senate. Many hold policy jobs that have existed in previous Administrations. And some hold jobs that involved coordinating the work of agencies on President Obama’s key policy priorities: health insurance reform, energy and green jobs, and building a new foundation for long-lasting economic growth

But of course, it’s really the hypocrisy here that is noteworthy. Just earlier today, Darrell Issa, a Republican from California and one of the leaders in calling for an investigation into the Obama Administration’s use of "czars", had to admit to Fox News that he had never raised any objections to the Bush Administration’s use of "czars". Many of these members who now decry the practice have called on Presidents in the past to appoint "czars" to coordinate activities within the government to address immediate challenges. What is clear is that all of this energy going into these attacks could be used to have a constructive conversation about bringing this country together to address our challenges moving forward – and it doesn’t take a "czar" to bring that about! Just some folks willing to act in good faith.

Way to go Ms. Dunn..and way to name names and call them out. I approve of this message and I approve of the tactics this is taking. But there is more. I did highlight some of the above passages I wanted to make sure you saw.

Yeah, isn't it funny.. they called for more czars under Bush, that was Lamar Alexander, (R,TN(hypocriteville) who did that, and now he is all against the czars that Pres. Obama has. Ms. Dunn goes on to cite more and more of the hypocrisy of the Republicans and the idiots of Fox Noise.

In fact, last year, 176 House Republicans, including Issa, voted for a bill that would create an "Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator" that would advise the President and serve in the White House. By the time the bill passed the Senate, it was co-sponsored by 20 additional senators, including Sen. Alexander.

Damn, don't you hate it when your words come back and bite you in the ass there Senator and Representative? Just really makes you look like a fool doesn't it?

Then there is this little gem from the DNC..



You can read the entire blog post at the link above.. it is really good and she lays out all kinds of other proof of their hypocrisy and lies. Including the fact at least 9 of the so called czars HAVE gone through Senate confirmation, even though Beck says they haven't.

The one thing I didn't notice was the number of czars George Bush had in his administration..According to Tweety tonight.. it was 46.. hmmm I believe unless you use that new math that is going around.. that's just a few more than the 30 that Pres. Obama has.

Comments Have Changed

I have just changed the procedure for comments... from now on you cannot comment here unless you register..

In other words.. no anonymous comments allowed. I am sick and tired of all these wingnuts who want to come here and attack me and others with their outrageous statements and want to hide behind anonymous..

So, from now on, if you can't leave a name you won't comment here.

Don't like it.. move along. My blog, my rules.

WingNuts United in Their Lies, Looking Foolish

After Saturday's WingNut Parade in Washington, DC, and the pictures of them all with their signs and costumes on display for all to see, they have now attacked everyone who called them out for their hypocrisy.

These people slept through the last 8 years of the squandered surplus that Pres. Clinton left for Pres. Bush 43, and never said a word, when he passed his Trillion, yes that is Trillion dollar tax cuts for the wealthiest in our country, then again when he passed the Medicare part D supplement which also added to the deficit and left us in debt to the tune of 1.3 Trillion, again that is TRILLION dollars..

Then we have the wars, of course, not very many and I do mean almost no one disagreed with the war in Afghanistan. However, Iraq was a very different story. Pres. Bush ginned up the intelligence, lied to the American people and to his own staff and administration and pushed Congress into a war with Iraq.

There were protests all over this country and the world against this, yet no one, the media, everyone ignored it. We were considered unpatriotic, treasonous and disloyal for speaking out against the President.

It was estimated there were 6 and 10 Million people in 60 countries around the world. From Wikipedia:

Some of the largest protests took place in Europe. The protest in Rome involved around 3 million people, and is listed in the 2004 Guinness Book of World Records as the largest anti-war rally in history. Opposition to the war was highest in the Middle East, although protests there were relatively small.Mainland China was the only major region not to see any protests, but small demonstrations attended mainly by foreign students were seen later.

Yet, now, since November 4, 2008 and most especially Jan. 20th, 2009 it has become almost popular to speak out against the President. The more hideous the better. Signs, posters, blogs dedicated to putting him down, preachers calling for his death, radio and talk show hosts calling him Hitler, a socialists, a Marxist, a Communist and every other thing or name under the sun. Some even saying he is the Devil, the Anti-Christ, the personification of evil.

All during the 8 years of the Bush Administration it was considered unpatriotic to speak out against the president, after 9-11-01, and especially after we went to war in Afghanistan. Almost all of the talking heads on Fox Noise, because I refuse to call it news.. said so..

Even the Dixie Chicks were basically run out of the country because they dared to criticize the President.

Music superstars the Dixie Chicks are finding out that criticizing President Bush's plans for war in Iraq can cost you air play, big time.

Country stations across the United States have pulled the Chicks from playlists following reports that lead singer Natalie Maines said in a concert in London earlier this week that she was "ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas."

Station managers said their decisions were prompted by calls from irate listeners who thought criticism of the president was unpatriotic.

The group, which got its start in Texas, was one of the darlings of this year's Grammy Awards. The three-woman band that blends blue grass and pop hooks has spawned legions of fans who embrace the ideals of strong women celebrated in some of the trio's songs.

One station in Kansas City, Missouri held a Dixie "chicken toss" party Friday morning, where Chick critics were encouraged to dump the group's tapes, CDs and concert tickets into trash cans.

Houston country station KILT pulled the band's records from its playlist -- at least temporarily -- after 77 percent of people polled on its Web site said they supported the move.

"We've got them off the air for right now," said Jeff Garrison, program director at KILT, which is owned by Viacom's Infinity Broadcasting Corp.

"People are shocked. They cannot believe Texas' own have attacked the state and the president," Garrison said.

Lead singer Maines said in a statement she felt the president was ignoring the opinions of many in the United States and alienating the rest of the world by pushing for war with Iraq.

That's just a portion of the article from CNN.. but you get the picture. If you want to read the rest, click the link above.

As you see, you weren't allowed to criticize the President during the Bush Administration. Oh, there were random people who did, and they were promptly trashed, run out of the country, see above, or literally swept up and put in jail, to be never heard from again.

Yet, we never heard a word from these so called Tea Partiers then. They were perfectly fine with everything that went on. During the 8 years that George Bush was President, lets look at some things that might have gotten someone's attention and lead to a protest.

First lets start with ignoring the intelligence memo of Aug. 2001 which warned him of the impending attack on the United States by Bin Laden.

Then there is the Iraq War, which we have already discussed. Again, never budgeted, never paid for.

Then we have the Tax Cuts, for the wealthy, which put us into massive debt, especially when combined with the Medicare overhaul which gave us Part D, he didn't bother to pay for.

Then, we have the crimes of Torture and imprisonment of innocents from all over the world, even our own citizens. Wiretapping of our own citizens and military members speaking to their spouses.

I could go on but I think that is enough.

Now, we have elected Barack Obama, and he walked in the door with a HUGE deficit, 1.3 Trillion Dollars. An economy on the verge of and in collapse. Upon advise of economists he urged Congress to act and they did.. with very little support from republicans.

He didn't do this because he wanted to, but because he had to.

Pres. Bush, is the one who bailed out the banks with no oversight, Pres. Bush is the one who bailed out the Auto companies with no oversight, not Pres. Obama.

Pres. Obama then came in and cleaned up after this mess he was left, and tried to make it better. He is calling for oversight on the banks and on the stock markets, and he has forced the Auto companies into bankruptcy so they can restructure and stand on their own.

Since, these wingnuts think I lied about all the pictures and about the numbers I want to point out that Politifact rated the pictures as Pants On Fire wrong.. Matter of fact, the picture they are using to try to show it was 2 million at the wingnut rally, was from a rally in 2004.. maybe it was even a war protest.. that would be about how smart most of them are.

By the way.. Here are more pictures from the TeaParty WingNut Rally.. You can see them here. And then again more here.

Nowhere do I see a crowd near the size of what was in DC on January 20th, when the estimates were of 1.5 million people. Again, the DC Fire Department and the Park Police say the size was maybe 60 to 70,000, and that is a generous estimate.

These pictures are not random, these pictures are all through the crowds.. anyone who says they are not all over is a liar.. they are the ones who aren't being honest. Not me.

Something else for your viewing pleasure.. a video presentation..

More Pictures From Wing Nut Land.. 09-12-09

Since some of the earlier pictures prompted a response of wingnuts saying they were wrong and the misspellings were on purpose and I was being dishonest in my reporting of them here are some more I found.











This one is one of the most offensive ones to me, and probably to many of us...



And my response to all of those who were protesting and to all of you who come here and to other progressive and liberal sites and feign outrage at our disgust at your stupidity and ignorance. This is what I have to tell you now.

Pictures From the Wingnuts March, 9-12-09 Failed UPDATE, Picture Added!

Yesterday Glenn Beck had his infamous 9-12-09 rally in Washington,DC. He has been talking about this for months now.

He cried, he boohooed and he whined, that he wanted to bring back the feelings we all had from 9-12-01.

Well, excuse me Mr. Crazy man Beck, but I don't remember feeling like the idiots were on parade on 9-12-01, like they were yesterday. I don't remember feeling like there were going to be killings and lynchings on the Capitol steps like I did yesterday.

I also don't remember feeling like someone opened up the door of the local asylum and let the people off their meds for the last 2 weeks and turned them loose on the streets of Washington, DC to take over.

But, that's what it was like in DC yesterday. The crazies were in charge and they had the signs to prove it.

Here are a couple of real winners here... one even on a child.. who didn't even have a clue I am sure who he was talking about.



And this one, which shows exactly where these people get their ideas and their brainwashing from. Please note the SPELLING...sorry I should have pointed that out earlier.. Thanks Sue for bringing it to my attention again.



For more pictures, go check out Sue's blog at Helloooo...Mr. President, are you listening? She has a great bunch of the Wingnuttery there. She's been watching it for a couple of days and writing about it.. She also has some of the perpetrators coming to her blog that are fun to debate with... lol

Bob Cesca has been posting quite a bit on the wingnuts and the pictures at his place and as always is on top of most of the asshattery. So you can check out Bob Cesca's Awesome Blog! Go! and find all kinds of wonderful stuff.

My newest friend in the blog world is TomCat.. MauiGirl pointed me at him and I have quickly come to love his blog and him.. He is wonderful and has been around for a while, but due to tragic circumstances had to be off the net for a while. Now he is back and better than ever. So go check him out at Politics Plus.

Then there are just all the others on the rolls.. you can check them out but those 3 are the most important. So check out Sue, Bob and Tom.. You won't regret the time you spend at any of them.

There have been some comments and some arguments by certain people about the size of the crowds, so here is a comparison shot of the crowd yesterday and the crowd at Pres. Obama's Inauguration. The picture on the right was taken we know on Jan. 20th and the crowd was estimated at about 1.5 million people. Today, the DC Fire department has estimated the size of the crowd at around 60,000. Nowhere near the 2 million Michelle Malkin tried to claim and what she said ABC News stated, however ABC has refuted that claim and said they NEVER said that in any way shape or form.

Take a look at this shot and tell me what the crowd looks like to you.

Dan Pfeiffer, Helps Explain Pres. Obama's Position on Health Care

My local Show Me Progress blog does a wonderful job of keeping me up to date on all the stuff I need to know of things a lot of other blogs and MSM doesn't bother with. This is one of those things.

Dan Pfeiffer, who is a Deputy Communications Director in the White House held a Blogger Conference call after the President's speech Wednesday night. Here is the highlights and you can click on the link above to see the entire conversation as they transcribed it.

Even if you aren't from Missouri, they are a great blog to follow and read. They do a great job of keeping up with National news too..and cover the President quite well. With all the lack of real news reporting lately any source that can be found to show the truth is good.

But, here is some things I thought were pertinent from Dan's talk with the bloggers.

...Question: ...I was looking at the President's plan that you posted on the White House web site. And I was just wondering what parts if any are negotiable? What parts aren't?

Dan Pfeiffer: I think that the principles thee(sic) President laid out for the plan are not negotiable. The need for competition, the need for choice, the fact that we need to provide more, the insurance, the fact that we need to provide more security and stability for Americans who have insurance, the fact that it, that would, this, back up a step. I would say that the basic principles are non-negotiable as he said in, in his remarks. And he is open to good ideas. He wants to listen to members of Congress from both parties on how to proceed. And wants to work with the Congress. But the very, the core guarantee that Americans who have insurance will get to keep their insurance but get more stability and security. Americans who don't have insurance will get it, be able to achieve it affordably. And that the overall effort is [garbled] to the deficit. Those are the issues that will be part of any bill the President signs.

Question: ...This, this list that you put out, it's not just core principle, it's specific proposals. And so what I'm trying to get a sense of is, are these specific proposals that he's saying this is what I want or this is sort of what I want? Is it all negotiable [crosstalk]?

Dan Pfeiffer: He's, he's saying, he's saying, he's saying this is what I want. I'm not being, the mechanisms for achieving those goals will work with the Congress [garbled] to find the best way to do it, but he's very clear that the, those principles I laid out are, or that he laid out in the speech are what he believes to be real health reform. And he, his intention is to sign a real health reform bill.

It doesn't say who is asking the questions, it could be anyone. Bloggers from across the country are invited to participate in the call.

Dan Pfeiffer: I think that we, I mean, every, couple things, one, there is shocking, frankly shocking amount of agreement amongst all of the bill, the four bills that have been marked up between Senate HELP, Energy Commerce, Ways and Means, etcetera. So, that's good news. There are a lot of details to be worked out amongst them. The, also the good news is that all of them achieve the President's goals. Every American will have access to affordable coverage, Every American will have more security and stability in their health care. There is a mechanism in there that promotes competition and choice and keeps the insurance companies honest. So there's, they all achieve that. There are clearly a lot of, there's a lot of work that needs to be done to meld all of those together. It's probably not constructive at this point to try to pick each one apart. We're gonna continue to work with the Congress to move it, to move them all towards one final solution. If it's, one of the things that is, has sort of stalled progress here has been a series of big questions that have loomed over August. How do you, how do you pay for it? Where's the President come down on some of the financing? We know, what are we gonna do with the public option? What about the individual mandate? What about the employer mandate? Where, where does the White House stand on that? The President has let the legislative process play itself out, but tonight he stood up before Congress and the nation and answered the big questions. Which we believe will, and leaders from the House and Senate agree with us, will give a boost, tremendous boost of momentum to the process....

....Question: ...I'm wondering how you guys are gonna define affordable? I know the, the Baucus bill that just came out yesterday expects basically median income families with a significant medical event in a year to pay thirty-one percent of their income that year, leaving them just seven thousand dollars for things like utilities and education and debt and clothing. And I'm wondering if that is considered affordable.

Dan Pfeiffer: I have read the, some, some of the reports you have about what the Finance Committee is planning on doing. The chairman hasn't released a mark yet. I believe he's not planning on doing that 'til, I think it's in the middle of next week, so we'll have to look at that when it comes. The President did not lay out a specific number tonight, but one of the things he's committed to doing is working with all of the committee, all of the various committees here to make sure that we have one that common, the common sense will tell you was affordable that works. This is a very, this is a critical part as you may remember from the primary campaign. The President was very clear that an individual mandate only worked if you were able to lower the cost to make it affordable for people. And that's something he's committed to in this process.

Question: So common sense is the best measure that you can offer? [crosstalk]

Dan Pfeiffer: Well, what I, what I , what I, kind, the, common sense is not the, it is a critical component of it. We will work with them, but I don't have a number, a specific dollar amount or percentage for you tonight. But we're committed to working with the Congress to make sure it's one that is affordable and that we're not putting undue burdens on middle class families trying to have health care for their family....

-snip- This is the last of the questions but I think it is the MOST IMPORTANT..

.

Question: ...It seemed to me in the speech that the President was open to some sort of trigger for public option. And I am curious if he is actually going to push for a trigger as a sort of compromise between a public option immediately or in twenty thirteen and a certain public option in twenty thirteen and, and the other side. And if so, what kind of trigger are we talking about? What would the level be set at? How would it be triggered? And how does this jibe with the President's end comments about having to do this right now and having to insure the basic principles which include competition right now?

Dan Pfeiffer: Okay, let me, several questions there, let me sort of deal with them one by one. First, I think it's important to take a step back and look at what the President said about the public option. He was very clear about his support for it. He's very clear that it, it is in his plan. It is, he is going to work to make sure it's in any bill, but he is clear that it is, that he, his focus is on the goals here and he's open to other ideas. And he mentions the possibility of a trigger. Now you would have to construct it in a way that it actually, actually increased competition, allowed the consumer choice, and kept the insurance companies honest. There are ways you could design it that would not achieve that. And that's not something that the President would support. So, if, if that is route that, that Congress decides to go we will work with them to insure that it, it achieves those goals. But there was a lot of speculation heading into this about what the President would say about the public option. A lot of people saying that he was going to throw it aside, but he did not do that, he did, I think, in fact, the opposite. I mean, he's clear, he, he wants to be very clear that this is not all health reform and it's not the only way to achieve his goals, but he thinks it's a very valuable tool and it's one that he supports and is willing to push for. In terms of the timeline, you know, it is gonna take some time to get the system, an overall health reform effort up and running. That just, it's a logistical fact of it and we're. We're gonna do that as quickly as possible in order to address some of the immediate concerns. We're gonna work [garbled] very quickly, get the insurance guarantees in place. And, as I mentioned earlier, have this high risk pool available to people with preexisting conditions, many of whom cannot buy insurance even, even the well to do with preexisting conditions who are buying on the individual market or cannot get insurance. So we'll have this high risk available as soon as we, as soon as possible to allow people to get into it to buy catastrophic coverage which will allow them, that will insure them that, if they have a chronic disease, a serious accident, a serious injury, they will be protected from bankruptcy. And frankly all of the, the taxpayer who ends up paying for some of these cases, which are by far the most expensive and take up a significant percentage of health spending in this country, will not be, will not fall on the taxpayer dime. [crosstalk]

Question: I'm sorry, just to clarify, that, that pool, that high risk pool, is that a public program?

Dan Pfeiffer: It, it would have to be started that way, yes.

All right, thank you everyone. We hope to do this again as we move through the process. I hope folks found it helpful and I hope you enjoyed the speech tonight. Thanks so much...

So, once again, this is someone in the White House, close to the President stating that he is strongly supporting the Public Option. I am stating this because I heard again this morning Joe Klein and Howard Fineman say on Tweety's show that the public option was dead.. These idiots get paid so much money to be wrong.

After the speech Wednesday, the Rally in Minnesota yesterday and now this.. how can they continue to say it is dead. The President and all of his spokes people are on the same page here as far as I can tell.. it is the moronic talking heads who are out of step.

Take a look at the rest of the call with the bloggers at Show Me Progress if you would like. I only brought the highlights over..

Fired Up! Ready To Go! Hello, Minnesota!

Pres. Obama was on fire again today in Minnesota talking about Health Care. He rallied the crowd and gave a great speech mostly using the same talking points he used the other night in Congress. One new item he added was the Treasury report he talked about this morning.

When he first came out he asked the group who were first come first serve ticket holders if they were "Fired Up, Ready To Go?" and they responded with Yes We Can.

At the end of his speech he told the story of Greenwood, SC which quickly became a rally cry of the campaign "Fired Up, Ready to Go" and he closed with that chant.

Here is the video link and I will embed it when it becomes available.

Here is the video now:



I hope you enjoy it.

President's Weekly Address

The President's weekly address once again talks about Health Care. This week he points out the numbers of people who have lost their insurance, 17,000 a day... in the last year.

In this week’s address, President Barack Obama highlighted a new report from the Treasury Department that found that about half of all Americans under 65 will lose their health coverage at some point over the next ten years. The report also found that Americans under 21 have more than a 50-percent chance of going uninsured at some point in that time. And more than one-third of Americans will go without coverage for longer than one year. The full Treasury report can be viewed HERE.

He also calls out the republicans again. I thought this was great.. "So if you’re willing to put country before party and the interests of our children above our own; if you refuse to settle for a politics where scoring points is more important than solving problems; and if you believe, as I do, that America can still come together to do great things – then join us. Give us your help. And we will finally get health insurance reform done this year."




Even with insurance, or Medicare, you still fear going to the hospital or doctor, because you don't know how much it will cost you in copays and extras. I have Medicare and even though they pay pretty well, I still have to pay quite a bit.. I had a colonoscopy done and it still cost me $175.00 over what the insurance covered.. That's just crazy.

Plus my meds are now in the donut hole area and I am paying for them now.. thank goodness I don't pay a lot, but I am paying for them now, even the generics are costing me. So, I for one am glad the President made a deal with big Pharma and got them to sit down and hopefully get an arrangement to bring down our drug prices for Medicare D.. that would just be wonderful for me.

But, yeah, bitch at the President for trying to get everyone at the table talking.. that's what needs to be done. No wonder the democrats can't get anything done.. they are too busy shooting themselves in the feet to concentrate on the big picture..

Opposition to Health-Care Reform Revives Christian Right

I have written about Max Blumenthal's book just a couple of days ago, and in the past I wrote about "C" Street and "The Family" the book by Jeff Sharlet who was featured on Rachel Maddow's show and writes for Harper's Magazine.

Here is a piece he did for Harper's where it is titled Six Questions for Jeff, Following up on "The Family". Some excerpts include this:

When I was working on that story, I remember debating how much Hitler we should put in the piece. That is, we wondered how fair it was to dwell on The Family’s invocations of Hitler as a model of “total commitment.” As it turns out, it was quite fair. After I left Ivanwald, a team of researchers and I spent years combing through hundreds of thousands of documents in archives around the country. We discovered that as far back as the 1940s, when The Family began organizing congressmen, the group’s founder, Abraham Vereide, was praising Hitler’s “youth work” as a model to be adopted by Americans. He denounced Hitler himself, but he admired fascism’s cultivation of elites, crucial to what he saw as a God-ordained coming “age of minority control.”

-snip-

The fetish for strongman leadership has continued with Vereide’s successor, Doug Coe, who leads the group today. Throughout his letters in the Billy Graham Center Archive at Wheaton College, I found references to the leadership model of Hitler. In one sermon, variations of which he’s given many times, Coe says: “Jesus said ‘You got to put Him before mother-father-brother-sister.’ Hitler, Lenin, Mao, that’s what they taught the kids. Mao even had the kids killing their own mother and father. But it wasn’t murder. It was for building the new nation. The new kingdom.”

I am telling you, this is really scary stuff, and it just gets worse... yet these are the same people who want to call our President, Hitler? That's just a smoke screen.

In answer to a question about how he feels about the secrecy and betrayal Jeff says this:

I used my real name, I took notes openly, I told them I was a journalist and that I was working on a book (my first), about unusual religious communities around the country. I told them the title, too, Killing the Buddha. Maybe they thought I meant it literally. Regardless, they had a pretty full dossier on me. I even talked about writing and betrayal with them—I tend to agree with Joan Didion’s assessment that “writers are always selling somebody out.” It’s inherent in the process. “Undercover” is a funny word, in that many people think it means the journalist has some kind of secret identity, maybe a fake mustache. I didn’t—it wasn’t necessary. The Family couldn’t imagine that someone might learn to speak their language without sharing their beliefs.

That sentiment is reflected in a letter I found in The Family’s archive, from an inner circle leader to a South African operative. “The Movement,” he writes, “is simply inexplicable to people who are not intimately acquainted with it.” The Family’s political initiatives, he goes on, “have always been misunderstood by ‘outsiders.’” Then he talks about how whole projects have been hurt when Family members leak information to the public. “Thus,” he writes, in conclusion, “I would urge you not to put on paper anything relating to any of the work that you are doing… [unless] you know the recipient well enough to put at the top of the page, ‘PLEASE DESTROY AFTER READING.’”

This is one of my favorite documents out of the hundreds of thousands I reviewed because A, it’s funny—the recipient immediately wrote back to say that he understood and he’d made multiple copies of the letter for all of his associates, one of which I now have; B, it reveals the sense of persecution and victimhood which undergirds so much of that culture of secrecy on the right.

This secrecy is pragmatic—“The more you can make your organization invisible,” preaches Doug Coe, “the more influence it will have”—but it’s also a way for these very influential people to conceive of themselves as akin to the Christians of the first century, struggling nobly against a dominant culture of secularism. Family members imagine themselves as revolutionaries, even as they function as defenders of status quo power.

That kind of self-deception allows a writer only two real responses—deference, or betrayal.

As I said, these people are scary, they are very powerful members of Congress, of big business and of "high society".

The last question, "So is your book a betrayal?" and Jeff says:

According to their belief in themselves as a “new chosen,” an anointed elite that have replaced the Jews in God’s esteem, I am still a member of The Family. And yet here I am, baring their secrets to the world. Does that make me a journalist, or a traitor? You need to enter the moral gray zone between those two terms if you’re going to really explore the inner workings of power. You have to be an insider and an outsider at the same time.

I remember one day Jeff C., one of the house leaders, said, “You oughtta write a book about us. But nobody would believe it.” It was like he was daring me, but he felt safe doing so because he didn’t think the truths of The Family would translate to the outside world. They believe Christ had one message for those closest to him, and then another, diluted message for the rest of the twelve, and so on out to the masses.

One of the brothers called me up after we published “Jesus Plus Nothing” to explain to me that they weren’t upset by the details of what I’d written, all of which he thought were more or less accurate, but by the fact that I’d written anything at all. That, he said, was the betrayal—telling the truth about The Family.

That's just a part of the 6 questions that are asked of Jeff in this article.. You can click on the link above to see the full article and a quick search on Google or whatever search engine you like will find more for you.. I got 236,000 hits on my search using Google..

But, that's just one portion of the problem. There is also the other parts of the Christian Right we have to worry about.

They are the Gary Bauer's and the James Dobson's and the Liberty University portion of the debate, if you can call it that.

Washington Post had an article that detailed a good portion of it yesterday..

The Christian right, facing questions before the presidential election about its continuing potency as a force for cultural and political change, has found new life with Barack Obama in office, particularly around health care.

As the president prepares to address a joint session of Congress on Wednesday night to press for health-care reform, conservative Christian leaders are rallying their troops to oppose him, with online town hall meetings, church gatherings, fundraising appeals, and e-mail and social networking campaigns. FRC Action, the lobbying arm of the Family Research Council, has scheduled a webcast Thursday night for tens of thousands of supporters in which House Minority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) and other speakers will respond to the president's health-care address.

That's just the first paragraphs.. there is much more..

Polls show that the health-care packages on the Hill are widely unpopular among evangelicals. More than seven in 10 white evangelical Protestants in the most recent Washington Post-ABC News poll said they are dissatisfied or angry about the Democratic reform proposals.

A coalition of three dozen conservative Christian organizations, representing 5 million people and calling itself the Freedom Federation, announced its formation last month. It has taken on opposition to health-care reform as its first issue.

"We're not having to build a grand new organization. We're using the strengths of other organizations that understand the needs of their particular constituencies," said Mathew Staver, dean of the Liberty University School of Law and an organizer of the Freedom Federation.

Christian right leaders say it is too soon to tell whether health-care reform will trigger a flood of donations, but they are encouraged by the response they are seeing in other ways.

Gary Bauer, who heads the socially conservative group American Values, said that the list of addresses to which he sends his daily e-mail alerts was down to 170,000 and that he was getting only 50 requests a week to sign up for it before the election. Now, he said, the e-mail list is up to 225,000, and he is getting 1,000 or more requests a week asking to be added.

"The passion that was so evident in the Obama campaign right now, at least, has shifted to our side," he said.

Ok, got your attention? Read the rest at the link above.. I am telling you, we have to fight this.. If we don't get busy and call our Congress persons and get some kind of good Health Care Reform through Congress NOW, we are in for the rethugs taking back Congress and the White House.. and if that's not enough to scare the shit out of you nothing will...

The President's Health Care Speech to the Joint Session of Congress

Here is the President's Speech to the Joint Session of Congress tonight.. I thought it was wonderful...

The President actually said the L word... He said LIE...lol

He called out the liars and was called a liar.. see my previous post.. however Rep. Wilson has since apologized.. but of course he just said his emotions got carried away.

If you haven't seen it or if you want to watch it again.. here it is.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

The Newest Republican Jerk

Rep. Joseph Wilson, (R, SC) who is the idiot who yelled at the President tonight during the speech, Liar or You Lie, is the latest jerk.

When the POTUS was calling out the lies in the Health Care debate we have had over the last few months and he mentioned Illegal immigrants not being covered, which has been debunked numerous times, Mr. Wilson yelled out either liar or you lie, it is really hard to say...

There were several other times, republicans in the Hall booed the President and showed disrespect, never seen before that I can remember. I asked my uncle, who is 84 and watched with me and he said he didn't remember ever seeing it before either.

Watch this clip and see what you think... I am not sure what procedure needs to be done, but from what I heard Keith say, McCain has told him he needs to apologize to the President. We will see.

Clean Energy Needs to be Passed for Our Security

Our Iraq war veterans have seen first hand what the war for profit was all about.. here is a quick little ad that is going to be running to show how they are pushing for the Clean Energy Act to help with our security and how clean energy is tied into it.

VoteVets is a great organization to help promote things that we need to help Veterans, to help get legislation passed to benefit all of us. They really do a great job as you can see from this Ad which will be running all over.

Of course like all organizations, they are non-profit and they are always needing help, so if you can go to their site and drop a few coins in the bucket to help the Vets and keep them on the airwaves.. They are good supporters of the President and help a lot by pushing a Democratic agenda for the most part.

Jon Soltz has been on Rachel's show several times..and he has been on other shows as well.. I won't link to all the appearances but you can look him up.

Here is the ad that will be airing soon.



Check them out, watch some of the other videos they have and see what great work they have done. We may not agree with the war in Iraq and I certainly don't... but we still have to support our veterans. They were sent to do a job, it doesn't matter what they believe, it doesn't matter who they voted for, it was their job and they did it.. Now they need our support.

More on the Max Blumenthal Book From Frank Schaeffer

Sunday I posted a video from Democracy Now with an interview of Max Blumenthal about his new book Republican Gommorah. It is a must see and the book is a must read.

Rachel Maddow has been talking with Frank Schaeffer quite often about the Republican's and the Religious Right and the fringe of the party and how polarized they have become. The group at "C" Street that Jeff Sharlet has written about that has been on Rachel's show quite often lately and I have written about is part of that group.

So is James Dobson of the Focus on the Family fame. You know that name of course, if for no other reason, than he endorsed Sarah Palin, remember, not John McCain, but Sarah Palin.

Frank has a new blog up and in his post today he writes about Max's book. Of course Frank knows the religious right very well, since he was one of the founders of it. We can't really call him a founding father, but he is a founding son...lol

One of the best parts of Frank's piece today was this little gem...

But with a few exceptions (like my late father) most of the people described in Blumenthal's book have no "other side" to them. They are the sick bedrock of what, at any moment, may become a full-blown American fascism. (Sharlet has done great work on showing how these Religious Right folks have also invaded the US Military, especially the chaplaincy ranks.)

My one -- very slight -- criticism of Republican Gomorrah is that Blumenthal neglected to do something that would have bolstered his arguments and given them deeper credibility: introduce a bit of paradox and nuance into his book. He could have made a better case for the left by frankly looking at some of the extremism on the left that has played into the hands of the cynics who control the Religious Right

-snip-

Why should Blumenthal's book to be taken seriously? Take it from this former "insider" he knows what he's talking about. His thesis is less about politics than about the deviant psychology that people like Dobson have cashed in on by feeding delusion, victimhood and failure as a means through which to build a political movement. What Blumenthal reveals is the heart of the most dysfunctional and truly dangerous -- not to mention armed -- darkest reaches of our country.

What should we "do"? Read the book! Then fight like hell to keep Republicans out of power come what may. And maybe (note to progressives!) be a little less critical of President Obama and a little more grateful that he's in the White House!

Once in a while a book comes along about which one can say: If you love our country read this! Republican Gomorrah is one such book. One other thing: if you know any sane Republicans that would like to save what's left of their party beg them to read this book. If you have to beg them in the name of Jesus!

Of course that is my emphasis, but I felt it needed to be pointed out, we have been so critical of Pres. Obama lately. You can read the rest of Frank's blog by going here to Frank Schaeffer. He calls this entry, At Last Dobson is Done in by the Truth.

Frank has done several other really great blog posts and I have mentioned him before. As I said he has been on Rachel's show several times, and he is a great source for all things in the religious field.

With the problems facing our country, with the attacks on our President, now more than ever we need to learn and understand what is going on with the people on the right side of politics. This is something we can do by reading, studying and watching these people. This book by Max is just one more example of the things we are up against.

Be advised, this is a fight, a fight for our lives, for our jobs, for our country. Look what was done to Van Jones, look what they have done to the Health Care Reform battle. Look at the fight we are facing for the ACES bill to even get past committee in the Senate... All because of the so called religious right fighting it.

That's what we are fighting... and we have to be informed to fight and win... So it's time to start preparing. It's a scary thought, but we can't let them win... we have to stand strong and keep fighting them.

One More Time, The President Supports a Public Option

Again, Robert Gibbs, on This Week this morning, states, strongly, plainly and without any waffling that I could see, the President supports the Public Option and wants it in the bill he expects Congress to pass.

What more does anyone expect?

Later George Will says.. and I don't have video of that.. you will just have to take my word for it.. that the President has stated this 111 times according to Mark Steyn.

111 times.. Good grief people.. what more can you want?

Democracy Now Interviews Max Blumenthal

Democracy Now has a wonderful interview with Max Blumenthal that is a must see. He has a new book out called "Republican Gommorah" and it sounds like a must read.

From the introduction to the show:

Fifty years ago, Republican President Dwight Eisenhower issued a warning against the rise of extremist movements within his own party. During his presidency, Eisenhower had endured attacks by Senator Joseph McCarthy, the radical right John Birch Society and others. In a 1959 letter to a World War II veteran, Eisenhower wrote, quote, “Many prominent officials, possessing no standing or expertness as they themselves claim it, attempt to further their own ideas or interests by resorting to statements more distinguished by stridency than by accuracy.”

Half a century later, in a summer of town hall disruptions and birth certificate controversies, what Eisenhower had warned against has come true: that the Republican Party has been captured by its extremist wing. At least that’s what award-winning journalist Max Blumenthal argues in his new book, Republican Gomorrah: Inside the Movement that Shattered the Party.

The book examines the transformation of the GOP from the party of Dwight Eisenhower to the party of Sarah Palin and how this sets the stage for the future of American politics. Max Blumenthal is a Puffin Foundation writing fellow at the Nation Institute. He joins us today for his first extended interview about his book, Republican Gomorrah.

Like I said, the book sounds like a must read..and the interview is great. This is why the attacks are so strong on the President, this is why the Republicans are so deep into the religion and this is why they are so involved in "C" Street. This is another glimpse into the mind of the party that thinks Sarah Palin was Presidential Material.

This is what we are fighting.

My Frustrations Boiling Over Again

You see that picture.. That's what I was talking about the other day. I think that is a disservice to Sen. Kennedy. He did NOT support Medicare for all at this time. Simply because he knew it would not pass.

Yes, he would have loved it, and at one time I think that's what he wanted.. but it is not what he wanted now. If he had, don't you think that's what he would have written in the bill he wrote for the Senate committee he chaired?

The President has now released the logs of visitors to the White House. Everyone was clamoring for them. Now they have them and are bitching about them because they don't like what they see. I am sorry, but to me this is just hypocrisy.

Yes, the President and some of his staff have been meeting with Insurance Company big wigs and Pharma. Isn't that how you make agreements and try to get people to make concessions? By meeting with them? At least that's what I always thought.. but gee, maybe I am wrong.. maybe you don't meet people you want to try to get to lower costs and make concessions with, maybe you are supposed to just shove them away and tell them to go out and cause problems.

Yes, that's what they have done. We have seen that. But still, at least the President and his staff has been attempting to do something. I know, I have my Pollyanna showing again.. or as someone else said.. my head in the sand.

I have been accused of all kinds of things. I just want to have a little faith and trust in my President again.. Is that too much to ask. No, I don't agree with 100% of everything he has done. But I don't expect to have done so with anyone that was elected. But I damn sure agree with a lot more of what he has done than disagree, and I certainly think he has done more positive than negative.

Yesterday, late in the afternoon there was a story out about a phone call between the President and Progressive members of Congress. But for the most part it went unnoticed. And what did get reported was only part of the conversation..The part that went like this. From Greg Sargent at the Plum Line:

I just got off the phone with Dem Rep. Raul Grijalva, one of more than two dozen House progressives who held a conference call with President Obama today to discuss the public option’s fate.

Says Grijalva: The call left him with no doubt that Obama understands House libs are dead serious about not backing any bill without a public plan in it.

“He understands how serious we are about this,” said Grijalva, one of the co-chairs of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, in describing the tone of the conversation. “For many of us this is not a political dance. He got that point.”

Grijalva says Obama asked how far liberals were willing to compromise on the public option, another sign, Grijalva noted, that he grasps that they mean what they say. He added that Obama asked a number of “frank” and “probing” questions, though he declined to say precisely what they were.

But the part that seems to get left out is the last of the conversation.. Where Representative Grijalva goes on to say this:

In another newsworthy tidbit, Grijalva says Obama signaled that discussions about the public option would continue even after his big speech before a joint session of Congress next week. That may be an indication that Obama won’t be mentioning the public option in his speech, but doesn’t want liberals to despair at that prospect.

Said Grijalva: “I didn’t come away from this discussion feeling that we were dead.”

Emphasis mine, and as I have stated numerous times, I don't feel like the President has given up on the Public Option.

If we on the left side of politics could hang together and be as strong as the ones on the right.. if we could just hold our line and be like the right.. we could get this done.

Right now we need to concentrate on the same group I have pointed out before. Instead of attacking the President and saying he has sold us out, we need to be after the members of Congress who have not committed to the Public Option.. We need to make sure we still have the support of those 45 Senators that Governor Dean listed at his site Democracy for America and the ones that have not committed need to be reminded that we are counting on them to vote for the Public Option.

This is what the President said on August 20th when he met with and talked to the people who were his "base and supporters" in Organizing for America, Health Care Forum:

So that is absolutely critical. Now, one of the options we want to provide them is a public option, and there's been -- this has been a confusion around this -- (applause) -- there's been a lot of confusion about this, so let me just clarify. I think a public option is important. And let me explain why.

We're going to have a marketplace where people can select the options that work best for them, the insurance plan that works best for them. A lot of those choices, the overwhelming majority of those choices, will be private insurance options, just like members of Congress have -- they're allowed to choose from various proposals or various plans that are part of the federal employees' health plan.

But what we do think is if we have a public option in there, that can help keep insurers honest; it can provide a benchmark for what an affordable basic plan should look like. And so even though we've got a whole bunch of insurance regulations that ensure that any private insurer that's participating in the exchange is giving you a fair deal, this is sort of like the belt-and-suspenders concept -- it means that not only do they have to abide by these regulations, but they also have to compete with somebody whose interest is not just profit but instead is interested in making sure that the American people get decent care.

Now, having said that -- (applause) -- having said that, I want everybody to be clear that the public option is just one option. It will be voluntary. Nobody is talking about you having to be in the public option. Only -- the only thing that we're talking about is this being available to you as a choice, expanding consumer choice. And we think that's a good idea.

Now, there are a whole bunch of other aspects to health insurance reform, though, that people have to understand. We want to make sure that, for example, insurance companies can't prevent you from getting health insurance because of a preexisting condition. That will be the law whether you're in the health insurance exchange or you're just keeping the insurance that you already have. You should be able to keep it regardless of preexisting condition. You should be able to purchase it. There shouldn't be lifetime caps or yearly caps where you bump up against it and suddenly you've got huge out-of-pocket costs that drive you into bankruptcy. We've got to make sure that there are basic consumer protections on that.

You should be able to keep your health insurance if you get sick or you lose your job or you change jobs. And all too often what happens is when you need insurance most, that's when the insurers decide to drop you. And we've got to make sure that that is against the law. And that's part of what health insurance reform is all about.

So it's going to bring down skyrocketing costs, it's going to save families money, it's going to save businesses money, and it's going to save government money. We are going to make Medicare more efficient, guaranteeing today's seniors better benefits than they have right now. We're going to make sure that that doughnut hole in the middle of their prescription drug plan, that that doughnut hole is closed, because we want to make sure that seniors who are already living on fixed incomes during difficult times aren't having to dig even deeper to increase drug company profits.

So I just want everybody to understand that in addition to providing health insurance for people who don't have it, even if you have health insurance, you've got a stake in this debate. Fourteen thousand people are losing their health insurance every single day. Millions of people all across the country are vulnerable to exclusions because of things like preexisting conditions. Millions of Americans have experienced the fact that premiums have gone up three times faster than inflation and faster than incomes.

And if we go at the pace that we're going right now, there are going to be a whole lot of families who make the decision that they can't afford health insurance because the costs are simply unsustainable.

And if you're a deficit hawk, then you should be especially concerned about passing health care reform, because at the pace we're on right now, Medicare is going to run out of money in eight years. It won't be totally broke, but it will be in the red, because the costs are going up a lot faster than the money that's coming in.

So when you're talking to seniors out there, tell them, number one, nobody is talking about cutting their benefits. Talk to them about the fact that, by the way, Medicare is already a government program -- (laughter and applause) -- so when people say, "Keep government out of our health care," make sure they know that Medicare is a government program. But also explain to them that part of what we want to do is strengthen the program so that it's going to be there over the long haul. We don't want a situation in which Medicare runs short of money because we did not make the changes that were needed early on.

I am absolutely confident that we can get this done, but I want everybody to remember, this has never been easy -- never been easy. When FDR proposed Social Security, all across what was I guess the equivalent of today's Internet, right -- (laughter) -- all the newspapers and the radio shows and all that -- he was accused of being a socialist. He was going to bring socialism to America. How dare he.

When JFK and then Lyndon Johnson proposed Medicare, everybody suggested, this is going to be a government takeover of health care; it's going to destroy your relationship with your doctor. The same arguments that are being made now have been made every time we've tried to propose a significant change that ultimately made people more secure, improved our health care, improved our quality of life.

So we cannot be intimidated by some of these scare tactics. We have to understand that there a lot of people who are invested in the status quo and make a lot of money out of it. We've got to also understand that people are understandably nervous and worried about any significant changes when it comes to something as important as health care, because it touches on your lives, it's very personal -- and so they're more vulnerable to misinformation.

And that's why what all of you do is so important, because people trust you -- your neighbors, your friends, fellow community members -- they trust you. They know you. And if you are presenting the facts clearly and fairly, I'm absolutely confident that we're going to win this debate. But we're going to have a lot of work to do and I'm grateful that you're willing to do it. Let's go get 'em. Thank you very much, everybody.

Again, the President has stated right there, he is in support of the Public Option.. but does anyone talk about this.. NOPE.. we ignore it.. so does the media because it doesn't fit into what they want to say. It doesn't feed the hype of the President abandoning his base and the Republicans winning the battle. And that's what this is all about. The Republicans and big business winning the battle.

Big business, Insurance Companies, Big Pharma and the Republicans.. all part of the Corporate Media and all part of the same pattern of the Rushbos and the Hannity's and the Becks who want the President and the Democrats to fail, so that they can get back in power.. That's the name of the game.

As long as the people who believe the media spin, who feed off this stuff and keep hyping it, it will continue. So keep going... The bill we need to be pushing, if you want to invoke Teddy Kennedy is the one he wrote.. The one from the HELP committee. It can be found here at the HELP committee web site.

That's the full text of the bill, it is only $600 billion over 10 years as scored by the CBO. You can see that in the summary of the bill at this site here.

As I stated before, this bill should be considered bipartisan, with 160 amendments written by Republicans. They have tried to say they didn't have a seat at the table, but that is an out and out lie. The shear hypocrisy of them is astronomical.

President's Weekly Address

With Labor Day approaching, the President commits to rebuilding the economy so that a lifetime of hard work leads to a comfortable retirement, and explains his proposal to help to get there.

I don't know how anyone can not listen to this man and feel confident and hopeful that things are going to be well. How anyone is afraid of him is beyond me. Other than they are just ignorant. Plain and simple.

The Progressive Caucus Letter To Pres. Obama

Here is the letter sent to President Obama... Nowhere does it seem to me they are warning him or sounding worried he is dropping the Public Option... If he has supposedly sent letters to different organizations saying he was dropping it.. that's according to the reporting today. Yet this letter doesn't say anything like that. They are just letting him know how they feel and where they stand and asking him to meet with them and to help them support the Public Option.



Congressional Progressive Caucus

83 Strong and Growing: Open to New and Different Ideas

September 3, 2009

The Honorable Barack Obama
President of the United States of America
1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington, D.C.

Dear President Obama:

Thank you for continuing to work with Members of Congress to draft a health reform bill that will provide the real health care reform this country needs.

We look forward to meeting with you regarding retaining a robust public option in any final health reform bill and request that that meeting take place as soon as possible.

Public opinion polls continue to show that a majority of Americans want the choice of a robust public plan and we stand in solidarity with them. We continue to support the robust public option that was reported out of the Committees on Ways and Means and Education and Labor and will not vote for a weakened bill on the House Floor or returning from a Conference with the Senate.

Any bill that does not provide, at a minimum, a public option built on the Medicare provider system and with reimbursement based on Medicare rates-not negotiated rates-is unacceptable. A plan with negotiated rates would ensure higher costs for the public plan, and would do nothing to achieve the goal of providing choice and competition to keep rates down. The public plan with set rates saves $75 billion, which could be lost if rates are negotiated with providers. Further, this public option must be available immediately and must not be contingent upon any trigger.

Mr. President, the need for reform is urgent. Every day, 14,000 Americans lose their health care coverage. We must have health care reform that will effectively bring down costs and significantly expand access. A health reform bill without a robust public option will not achieve the health reform this country so desperately needs. We cannot vote for anything less.

We look forward to meeting with you to discuss the importance of your support for a robust public plan, which we encourage you to reiterate in your address to the Joint Session of Congress on Wednesday.

Sincerely,

s/
Lynn C. Woolsey
Co-Chair

s/
Raul Grijalva
Co-Chair