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Religion Debate
Sunday, November 08, 2009
Dear Dermot,
Did you watch the religion debate on BBC? I'm curious to know how it was.
Bret
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Health Care PASSES: The Scene In The House When It Happened
By Ryan Grim
The Huffington Post
The House floor erupted in one of the loudest cheers the chamber has heard in years when Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), an hour before midnight, cast the 218th and deciding vote on landmark health care reform.
There were still six minutes and fifty-two seconds on the clock and the chair made a move to gavel the vote closed.
Democrats waived their opposition, keeping the vote open.
Almost every eye in the chamber darted to the far end of the GOP side, where the last possibility for a bipartisan bill sat wedged between Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) and Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska), both of whom were leaning on him, both literally and figuratively.
The White House, two sources told HuffPost, had been working hard to win the vote of Rep. Joseph Cao (R-La.), a freshman in a strongly Democratic district. The pro-life Cao's vote came into play when an amendment from Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) passed overwhelmingly, greatly restricting reproductive rights.
After several minutes, Cao cast a yes vote from his seat, making the bill bipartisan. Reps. Jim Oberstar (D-Minn.) and Mike Honda (D-Calif.) waded into the Republican side of the aisle to get to Cao, rub his shoulders and slap him on the back.
Cantor stormed out as the Democrats applauded their defector.
The majority party had seen plenty of defections earlier. A stunning sixty-four Democrats joined with the GOP to pass Stupak's amendment, 240-194....(Remainder.)
Want Obama to be Bolder? Take to the Streets!
By Dan Froomkin
The Huffington Post
Arianna Huffington and Drew Westen earlier this week posted persuasive arguments that Barack Obama, as president, should govern the way he campaigned for the job: Fired up, with an unswerving focus on changing the status quo and standing up for the people against the vested interests that thrive on politics as usual. Compared to Obama the campaigner, Obama the president has been remarkably timid and conciliatory.
One theory is that what we're seeing is Obama's background as a community organizer coming to the foreground. And as many critics have pointed out, with plenty of justification, the community organizer tendency to seek consensus can look pretty darn naïve and ineffective when one of the parties simply has no interest in compromise -- and indeed sees obstruction as its primary goal.
But there's another part of the community organizing analogy that's been widely overlooked.
Community organizers take strength from the community.
They are able to bring recalcitrant parties to the negotiating table by threatening community action. They can force the hands, say, of tight-fisted landlords, by threatening rent strikes. They can bring inflexible company executives to the table by threatening, say, a picket line or a boycott.
Obama is of course no longer a community organizer. As president, there are plenty of things he can and should achieve unilaterally. And he should mostly if not entirely abandon his attempts at compromise with those who have repeatedly shown that they have no taste for it.
But some of Obama's lack of boldness may stem from the fact that when he looks behind him, there's essentially nobody there....(Remainder.)
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Rep. Steve King Is An Asshole
By Hunter
Daily Kos
So earlier today, Republican Congressman Steve King actually said:
"All Americans have health care, every single one."
What a noble sentiment. And what a spectacularly, blatantly false one. One would have to believe King knows full well it is false, but then again he is a conservative Republican, and conservative Republicans are at this point synonymous with manufactured realities in which tax cuts cause unicorns to fart rainbows of money across the land and decent public education is the gateway to Stalinism. So it is equally possible that King is being honest, at least within the narrow confines of his own head, and he honestly believes that no Americans are out there who do not have basic health care.
But I know some of the very people who King claims do not exist, and I expect you do too. One of my own close relatives suffers from an untreated hernia -- simple enough to fix, but untreated because he is uninsured. He has an option, of course. His "option" is to wait for it to get bad enough to cause an intestinal strangulation -- a likelihood, at this point -- at which point he will be rushed to the emergency room, hopefully operated on, and then receive a bill for some outrageous figure that he will not be able to pay. But he will only receive this treatment if it reaches the point where he will die without it -- merely being incapacitated is insufficient to receive health care.
Alternatively, he will live with the hernia for several years until he turns Medicare-eligible at age 65, the age at which we have decided it is appropriate for the American government to give a flying shit about the health of its citizens, and at which age we have decided it is appropriate for the government to become involved in providing very evil, very socialist health insurance. 63 or 64? Socialism. 65? Oh, that's fine then.
I expect if you asked around, perhaps three in four Americans would know somebody who was not receiving adequate medical care or medication because they simply could not afford it. And the other one in four Americans would be narcissistic, self absorbed assholes....(Remainder.)
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What is the Orange Guy Talking About?
By David Waldman
Daily Kos
The unusually-tinted Minority Leader of the House, John Boehner (R-OH) has been to the floor repeatedly today to try to extract promises from the Democrats managing the health insurance reform bill that if the Stupak amendment is adopted, they'll work to ensure that the amendment's language survives as a part of the final conference report. To their credit, no one has given that pledge.
And their reasoning has been sound. The fact is that nobody can really guarantee what will come out of a conference with the Senate. And that's not to mention the futility of trying to strike deals with an opportunist like Boehner.
But does Boehner have a point in insisting that the floor managers, who are the chairs of the three committees with jurisdiction over the bill, and therefore will likely be the main conferees in the part of the House, can speak with some authority on what's likely to happen in conference, and could even commit if they wanted to to voting in support of the House's official position on the amendment? Sure.
Does that entitle him to such a commitment? Absolutely not.
What's more, Boehner's sputtering apoplepsy at their refusal to give it is either an act, or evidence of his total disconnection from the everyday realities of the legislative process. Actually, I'm betting on a little bit of both.
Boehner's complaint is similar to the one expressed in last night's Rules Committee meeting by the odious Virginia Foxx (R-NC), that Republican amendments adopted in various committee markups of H.R. 3200, the precursor to the bill on the floor today, disappeared from the bill when the three versions were merged into today's product. It's 100% true: things change as bills move from one stage of the process to the next. Happens all the time. And it's been the bane of legislators who thought they'd had a victory under their belt since, well, forever.
In fact, it's often what happens to those annoying Republican motions to recommit that sometimes pass when the Blue Dogs are freed to "vote their districts" (i.e., pretend they're kind of Republican). Rather than allow the actual Republicans to set them up for attacks by forcing difficult votes on those motions, Dems occasionally will just get out of the way, voting to agree to a particularly stupid motion to recommit, often with the knowledge that the language will ultimately be removed in conference, anyway....(Remainder.)
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Healthcare Reform Bill Passes House – and Fox Nation Erupts With Violent Rhetoric
Does this really surprise anyone?
By Julie
News Hounds
Under a headline, “The House Passes Government-Run Healthcare,” Fox Nation readers seem to be chasing their own tails in frustration – and have completely left the realm of sanity and entered the dark, eerie, evil David-Koresh-type world.
But a couple of the saner readers also commented . . . Euroboy, want to kick this off?
(Remainder.)
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Olbermann Calls Out Bachmann and Friends for Their "Press Conference"
By Heather
Crooks and Liars
Keith and Eugene Robinson had the same reaction I did to watching members of Congress out there calling for something close to the overthrow of our government. I agree completely with Eugene Robinson—it was frankly appalling.
OLBERMANN: Good evening from New York.
An elected Republican official today is leading a protest on the west steps of the Capitol that compared health care reform to Nazi death camps and encouraged mindless harassment of and possibly violence against the government. Not tea baggers anymore, not demagogic commentators, an actual congresswoman inciting a hateful rebellion against the rule of law and order. Her name is Michele Bachmann.
Our fifth story on the COUNTDOWN: As if that were not bad enough, Ms. Bachmann today joined by the House minority leader as well as countless other GOP representatives. This orgy of veiled threat and not so veiled racism of white power minority rule now fully the province of the Republican Party. Welcome to the coup!
Congressman Bachmann staging what she tried to claim was a spontaneous meet-up of opponents to health care reform, in 25 buses paid for by the AstroTurf group Americans for Prosperity, could be considered spontaneous. An estimated 4,000 people today answering Ms. Bachmann‘s call, bringing with them on those buses, not just their misunderstanding of health care reform but also their hatred of President Obama, as well as pure hatred, period.
Lee Fang of ThinkProgress.org taking these photographs of a sign that reads “National Socialist Health Care, Dachau, Germany, 1945,” superimposed over the horrific images of the corpses from Dachau. Other signs are slightly less shameful but many in no way related to health care.
Congresswoman Bachmann urging these people to rebel....
(Remainder.)
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Jon Stewart Brilliantly Parodies and Mocks Baron of Batshit Beck
Even as Dioceses File Bankruptcy Over Sex Abuse Cases, Catholic Bishops Threaten to Undermine Health Insurance Reform
By Joe Sudbay
AMERICAblog
Not happy with just ruining the lives of same-sex couples in Maine this week, the Catholic Bishops are trying to bring down health insurance reform in the House over the abortion issue. What really sucks is that members of the House are willing to let the Catholic Bishops, who enabled rampant sex abuse of children, to impose their theocratic view on this issue:
Under the agreement, anti-abortion Democrats will be permitted to offer an amendment on the House floor to the health-care overhaul bill. The amendment would prohibit a new government-run insurance plan created by the health-care bill from offering to cover abortion services, congressional sources said. It would also block people who received federal subsidies for the purchase of health insurance from buying policies that offered coverage for abortions.
The deal clears the way for the dozens of Democratic lawmakers who oppose abortion to lend their support to the health care package, the most dramatic expansion of health coverage in more than 40 years. It also satisfies the demands of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which had threatened to oppose the House bill.
If the amendment from Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) passes, said Richard Doerflinger, associate director of the bishops conference, "we become enthusiastic advocates for moving forward with health care reform."
Obama Faces His Anzio
By Paul Krugman
The New York Times
Remember those Republican boasts that they would turn health care into President Obama’s Waterloo? Well, exit polls suggest that to the extent that health care was an issue in Tuesday’s elections, it worked in Democrats’ favor. But while health care won’t be Mr. Obama’s Waterloo, economic policy is starting to look like his Anzio.
True, the elections weren’t a referendum on Mr. Obama. Most voters focused on local issues — and those who did focus on national issues tended, if anything, to go Democratic. In New Jersey, voters who considered health care the top issue went for Gov. Jon Corzine by a 4-to-1 margin; Chris Christie won voters who were concerned about property taxes and corruption.
Yet there was a national element to the election. Voters across America are in a bad mood, largely because of the still-grim economic situation. And when voters are feeling bad, they turn on whomever currently holds office. Even Michael Bloomberg, the mayor of New York City, saw his supposedly easy reelection turn into a tight race.
And challengers did well even if they had no coherent alternative to offer. Mr. Christie never explained how he can reduce property taxes given New Jersey’s dire fiscal straits — but voters were nonetheless willing to take a flier.
This bodes ill for the Democrats in the midterm elections next year — not because voters will reject their agenda, but because all indications are that a year from now unemployment will still be painfully high. And Republicans may well benefit, despite having become the party of no ideas.
Which brings me to the Anzio analogy.
The World War II battle of Anzio was a classic example of the perils of being too cautious. Allied forces landed far behind enemy lines, catching their opponents by surprise. Instead of following up on this advantage, however, the American commander hunkered down in his beachhead — and soon found himself penned in by German forces on the surrounding hills, suffering heavy casualties.
The parallel with current economic policy runs as follows: early this year, President Obama came into office with a strong mandate and proclaimed the need to take bold action on the economy. His actual actions, however, were cautious rather than bold. They were enough to pull the economy back from the brink, but not enough to bring unemployment down....(Remainder.)
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Broader Measure of U.S. Unemployment Stands at 17.5%
By David Leonhardt
The New York Times
For all the pain caused by the Great Recession, the job market still was not in as bad shape as it had been during the depths of the early 1980s recession — until now.
With the release of the jobs report on Friday, the broadest measure of unemployment and underemployment tracked by the Labor Department has reached its highest level in decades. If statistics went back so far, the measure would almost certainly be at its highest level since the Great Depression.
In all, more than one out of every six workers — 17.5 percent — were unemployed or underemployed in October. The previous recorded high was 17.1 percent, in December 1982.
This includes the officially unemployed, who have looked for work in the last four weeks. It also includes discouraged workers, who have looked in the past year, as well as millions of part-time workers who want to be working full time.
The official jobless rate — 10.2 percent in October, up from 9.8 percent in September — remains lower than the early 1980s peak of 10.8 percent.
The broader rate is highest today, sometimes 20 percent, in states that had big housing bubbles, like California and Arizona, or that have large manufacturing sectors, like Michigan, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island and South Carolina....(Remainder.)
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House Democrats Pass Health-Care Bill
One Republican votes for plan Senate will act next on legislation
By Lori Montgomery and Shailagh Murray
Washington Post
Hours after President Obama exhorted Democratic lawmakers to "answer the call of history," the House hit an unprecedented milestone on the path to health-care reform, approving a trillion-dollar package late Saturday that seeks to overhaul private insurance practices and guarantee comprehensive and affordable coverage to almost every American.
After months of acrimonious partisanship, Democrats closed ranks on a 220-215 vote that included 39 defections, mostly from the party's conservative ranks. But the bill attracted a surprise Republican convert: Rep. Anh "Joseph" Cao of Louisiana, who represents the Democratic-leaning district of New Orleans and had been the target of a last-minute White House lobbying campaign. GOP House leaders had predicted their members would unanimously oppose the bill.
Democrats have sought for decades to provide universal health care, but not since the 1965 passage of Medicare and Medicaid has a chamber of Congress approved such a vast expansion of coverage. Action now shifts to the Senate, which could spend the rest of the year debating its version of the health-care overhaul. Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) hopes to bring a measure to the floor before Thanksgiving, but legislation may not reach Obama's desk before the new year.
At the Capitol, Obama urged the few Democrats who were still wavering on Saturday afternoon to put aside their political fears and embrace the bill's ambitious objectives. "Opportunities like this come around maybe once in a generation," he said afterward. "This is our moment to live up to the trust that the American people have placed in us. Even when it's hard. Especially when it's hard. This is our moment to deliver."...(Remainder.)
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Rep Pete DeFazio on GOP Plan: If You've Got a Problem, Call the Mariana Islands Insurance Commissioner
Right-Wingers Have Been Looking for a Fresh Excuse to Scapegoat Muslims, and Fort Hood Gave Them One
By David Neiwert
Crooks and Liars
The right-wingers were out in force yesterday in their attempt to paint the Fort Hood shootings as an act of radical Islamist jihadi terrorism, and claiming that "political correctness" kept the military from screening him as a threat -- evidently simply because he was Muslim.
Kicking things off bright and early on that front were the gang at Fox Friends, especially Brian Kilmeade and Gretchen Carlson. Kilmeade asked Geraldo Rivera early on the show:
Then Carlson chimed in:
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Crooks and Liars
The right-wingers were out in force yesterday in their attempt to paint the Fort Hood shootings as an act of radical Islamist jihadi terrorism, and claiming that "political correctness" kept the military from screening him as a threat -- evidently simply because he was Muslim.
Kicking things off bright and early on that front were the gang at Fox Friends, especially Brian Kilmeade and Gretchen Carlson. Kilmeade asked Geraldo Rivera early on the show:
Kilmeade: Do you think it’s time for the military to have special debriefings of Muslim Army officers — anybody enlisted? Because if I'm going to be in a foxhole, if I'm gonna be stuck in an outpost, I've gotta know the guy next to me is not gonna wanna kill me.Actually, Brian, they wouldn't have to be Muslim, or anything else, to want that -- especially, one suspects, after more than an hour in close proximity to your charming personality.
Then Carlson chimed in:
Carlson: I want to ask this question another way. Could it be that the military, because our society -- let's face it, our society has become very politically correct -- could it be that the military was also exercising political correctness, even though he had a poor performance report, and even though he spoke openly about being a radical Muslim, and had those supposed postings online, could it be that the military was exercising political correctness in not approaching him as seriously as they would have had he not been a Muslim?(Remainder.)
Mean Jean Schmidt Rails Against Health Care Reform
By Nicole Belle
Crooks and Liars
What color is the sky in Mean Jean Schmidt's world? Because we are clearly through the looking glass when the Wicked Witch of Ohio claims that most Americans are against this bill (LIES), that the CBO says healthcare costs will not be reduced (LIES, although in fairness, they trashed the Republican version), and reduced Medicare benefits (LIES).
Maybe if the Republicans have nothing but lies and scare tactics to offer up as their objection to health care reform, that should tell their tea-baggin' supporters something....(Original.)
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Crooks and Liars
What color is the sky in Mean Jean Schmidt's world? Because we are clearly through the looking glass when the Wicked Witch of Ohio claims that most Americans are against this bill (LIES), that the CBO says healthcare costs will not be reduced (LIES, although in fairness, they trashed the Republican version), and reduced Medicare benefits (LIES).
Maybe if the Republicans have nothing but lies and scare tactics to offer up as their objection to health care reform, that should tell their tea-baggin' supporters something....(Original.)
Rep Paul Broun (R-Wingnuttia) Lies that Health Bill is "Steamroll of Socialism"
By Media Matters
While speaking on the floor of the House in November 7, 2009, Rep. Paul Broun (R-GA) falsely stated the Democratic health care reform bill would amount to a "government takeover of the whole health care system" and called it a "steamroll of socialism." However, the respected FactCheck.org debunked that very claim just a day earlier....(Remainder.)
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While speaking on the floor of the House in November 7, 2009, Rep. Paul Broun (R-GA) falsely stated the Democratic health care reform bill would amount to a "government takeover of the whole health care system" and called it a "steamroll of socialism." However, the respected FactCheck.org debunked that very claim just a day earlier....(Remainder.)
Rep. Broun Says He's Not a Racist Because He's Treated "Illegals"
By Matt Finkelstein
Media Matters
Over the last several months, Rep. Paul Broun (R-GA) has established himself as one of the most extreme members of Congress. Between repeated warnings of an Obama dictatorship and claiming that health care reform will literally "destroy America," Broun's reputation is well deserved.
On Thursday, Broun added to his resume. During a discussion on the House floor, Broun "corrected" one of his colleagues for using the word "immigrant" improperly. "They're not immigrants," Broun said. "They're aliens, they're lawbreakers, they're criminals, and they need to go home."
In the middle of his rant, Broun noted that he's been called racist because of his anti-immigrant sentiments. However, he claimed that such accusations were wrong because he "volunteered as a medical doctor at a clinic" where he treated "illegal aliens":
(Remainder.)
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Media Matters
Over the last several months, Rep. Paul Broun (R-GA) has established himself as one of the most extreme members of Congress. Between repeated warnings of an Obama dictatorship and claiming that health care reform will literally "destroy America," Broun's reputation is well deserved.
On Thursday, Broun added to his resume. During a discussion on the House floor, Broun "corrected" one of his colleagues for using the word "immigrant" improperly. "They're not immigrants," Broun said. "They're aliens, they're lawbreakers, they're criminals, and they need to go home."
In the middle of his rant, Broun noted that he's been called racist because of his anti-immigrant sentiments. However, he claimed that such accusations were wrong because he "volunteered as a medical doctor at a clinic" where he treated "illegal aliens":
BROUN: I want to tell you, I've been accused of being a racist by saying things like that, but I also volunteered as a medical doctor at a clinic called Mercy Clinic in Athens, Georgia, and the vast majority of people who come to that are illegal aliens -- people who have no insurance. And I have devoted my time -- and there are forty-some doctors in our community that have devoted our time to go take care of sick people that need our help. I have a heart for them, but I also believe in the law.Watch it:
(Remainder.)
Eric Cantor Flat Out Lies to Say Dem Health Bill Increases Deficit
By Media Matters
During the November 7, 2009 floor debate over health care reform, House Minority Whip Eric Cantor falsely stated the Democratic proposal would "blow a hole in the deficit." In reality, the Congressional Budget Office said the bill would decrease the federal deficit by $109 billion....(Remainder.)
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During the November 7, 2009 floor debate over health care reform, House Minority Whip Eric Cantor falsely stated the Democratic proposal would "blow a hole in the deficit." In reality, the Congressional Budget Office said the bill would decrease the federal deficit by $109 billion....(Remainder.)
Yet Another Lying Repiglicking, Goodlatte's BS that GOP Plan Outlaws Denying Coverage
By Media Matters
While speaking on the floor of the House on November 6, 2009, Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) falsely claimed the Republican plan "makes it illegal for an insurance company to deny coverage to someone with prior coverage on the basis of a preexisting condition." In reality, the GOP alternative plan does no such thing....(Remainder.)
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While speaking on the floor of the House on November 6, 2009, Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) falsely claimed the Republican plan "makes it illegal for an insurance company to deny coverage to someone with prior coverage on the basis of a preexisting condition." In reality, the GOP alternative plan does no such thing....(Remainder.)
Rep Steve King Moronically Claims that "All Americans Have Health Care"
By Chris Harris
Media Matters
While speaking out against Democratic proposals to increase access to quality, affordable health care, Rep. Steve King (R-IA) claimed, "all Americans have health care, every single one."
Watch:
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Media Matters
While speaking out against Democratic proposals to increase access to quality, affordable health care, Rep. Steve King (R-IA) claimed, "all Americans have health care, every single one."
Watch:
Karl "10 Pounds of Crap in a 5 Pound Bag" Rove Claims Pelosi Broke Promise to Have Bill Available for 72 Hours
The Horror: John Shadegg Uses Baby Maddie as a Prop During Health Care Debate
By John Amato
Crooks and Liars
This is sickening. Rep. John Shadegg uses baby Maddie, a 7-month-old daughter of his Chief of Staff to the floor as a prop during the health-care debate in the House earlier today.
The Political Carnival writes:
How could a father let his child be used as a prop like that? What would have happened if he hurt her in any way? The entire Republican Party is made up of fools, and I mean the staffers as well. And then there are the people who applauded this stunt ...
By the way, John Shadegg does have a somewhat checkered past, if you remember...
(Original.)
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Crooks and Liars
This is sickening. Rep. John Shadegg uses baby Maddie, a 7-month-old daughter of his Chief of Staff to the floor as a prop during the health-care debate in the House earlier today.
The Political Carnival writes:
I wanted to "spit up", and wished Maddy had.Henry Waxman made a joke and said: “That was a remarkable child,” “and a great ventriloquist.”
Yes, John Shadegg actually used an innocent infant as a prop, spoke baby talk, and provided us with nothing more than what was most likely in Maddy's diaper at the time. And for this, he got applause.
The collective (im)maturity of the Rushpublic side of the aisle doesn't come close to measuring up to Maddy's level of sophistication. How utterly humiliating.
How could a father let his child be used as a prop like that? What would have happened if he hurt her in any way? The entire Republican Party is made up of fools, and I mean the staffers as well. And then there are the people who applauded this stunt ...
By the way, John Shadegg does have a somewhat checkered past, if you remember...
(Original.)
WND's Flaming Bag of Fascist Poo, Farah, Claims Ft Hood Shooter Advised Obama Transition
By Media Matters
WorldNetDaily CEO and editor-in-chief Joseph Farah claimed that WND's false report that alleged Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan "advised" the "Obama transition" -- previously debunked by Media Matters for America -- had been subsequently "confirm[ed]" by an official with the Homeland Security Policy Institute (HSPI) at George Washington University, which had listed Hasan as a member of its Presidential Transition Task Force "Event Participants." But the updated article reported only that the official confirmed that the Hasan listed as a "participant" was the alleged shooter, not that he had advised the "Obama transition" -- a falsehood undermined by WND's own reporting that there is no evidence that "the group played any formal role in the official Obama transition."...(Remainder.)
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WorldNetDaily CEO and editor-in-chief Joseph Farah claimed that WND's false report that alleged Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan "advised" the "Obama transition" -- previously debunked by Media Matters for America -- had been subsequently "confirm[ed]" by an official with the Homeland Security Policy Institute (HSPI) at George Washington University, which had listed Hasan as a member of its Presidential Transition Task Force "Event Participants." But the updated article reported only that the official confirmed that the Hasan listed as a "participant" was the alleged shooter, not that he had advised the "Obama transition" -- a falsehood undermined by WND's own reporting that there is no evidence that "the group played any formal role in the official Obama transition."...(Remainder.)
Boehner Pulls a Boner
By scare
Crooks and Liars
How is that the House Minority Leader can mix up the U.S. Constitution with the Declaration of Independence in front of a Tea Party crowd at the Capitol? Who knows..but he did it, pulling out his pocket copy of the Constitution he's pledged to uphold, today pledging to "stand here with our Founding Fathers, who wrote in the preamble: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident ..."
Here's more from Rick Sanchez.
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Crooks and Liars
How is that the House Minority Leader can mix up the U.S. Constitution with the Declaration of Independence in front of a Tea Party crowd at the Capitol? Who knows..but he did it, pulling out his pocket copy of the Constitution he's pledged to uphold, today pledging to "stand here with our Founding Fathers, who wrote in the preamble: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident ..."
Here's more from Rick Sanchez.
SANCHEZ: Representative John Boehner is House minority leader, the number-one Republican in the House of Representatives. So, you would think that he would know the Constitution, know in fact the thing backward and forward.(Original.)
Well, I got a bit of a surprise for you. Here's John Boehner just a short time ago, House Minority Leader John Boehner addressing a TEA Party rally against health care reform from the marble steps of the U.S. Capitol.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BOEHNER: This is my copy -- this is my copy of the Constitution. And I'm going to stand here with our founding fathers who wrote in the preamble, "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: And do you believe it? As most fifth-graders would know, the document Boehner was quoting is not the Constitution. It's the Declaration of Independence. I'm assuming he knows the difference, but maybe -- I'm not sure now.
Those other House Republicans, the ones behind him, Roy Blunt, Virginia Foxx, Michele Bachmann, are they cringing in despair or just blissfully unaware? I don't know.
Shoshanna Johnson Calls Out JAG Tom Kenniff For 'Dangerous' Assumptions on Fort Hood Shootings
By Heather
Crooks and Liars
During some of the media's endless coverage of the Fort Hood shootings today, Larry King brought in former POW Shoshana Johnson, Dr. Phil McGraw and former JAG officer Tom Kenniff to speculate about what the mindset of the accused attacker Nidal Malik Hasan may have been. When Kenniff called some of CNN's previous coverage on the topic "psycho-babble", tried to say that a ranking officer could not be suffering from PTSD and asserted that Hasan's motivations looked more like an act of terrorism because he has a Muslim name, Shoshana Johnson and Phil McGraw both rightfully called him out for it.
When Kenniff while attempting to counter McGraw and Johnson asked Johnson if she had ever been to Iraq, she had to remind him that she was a POW:
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Crooks and Liars
During some of the media's endless coverage of the Fort Hood shootings today, Larry King brought in former POW Shoshana Johnson, Dr. Phil McGraw and former JAG officer Tom Kenniff to speculate about what the mindset of the accused attacker Nidal Malik Hasan may have been. When Kenniff called some of CNN's previous coverage on the topic "psycho-babble", tried to say that a ranking officer could not be suffering from PTSD and asserted that Hasan's motivations looked more like an act of terrorism because he has a Muslim name, Shoshana Johnson and Phil McGraw both rightfully called him out for it.
When Kenniff while attempting to counter McGraw and Johnson asked Johnson if she had ever been to Iraq, she had to remind him that she was a POW:
KENNIF: I spent a year in Iraq, ma'am. Have you ever been to Iraq?Kenniff was obviously unaware that Johnson was in fact the first female African American POW in U.S. history....(Remainder & Transcript.)
JOHNSON: I'm a POW. I got shot.
Tom Tancredo Walks Off the Set of The Ed Show After Markos Calls Him Out as a Chickenhawk
By John Amato
Crooks and Liars
Tom Tancredo stormed off the set of the Ed Show when he was debating health care with Markos Moulitsas. Poor baby.
It all started when Tancredo started trash-talking the Veterans Administration, at which point Markos brought up his chickenhawk past. He got angry and tried the standard conservative whine, realized he was better quitting while he was behind, and then stormed off. The truth hurts, right Tom?
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Crooks and Liars
Tom Tancredo stormed off the set of the Ed Show when he was debating health care with Markos Moulitsas. Poor baby.
It all started when Tancredo started trash-talking the Veterans Administration, at which point Markos brought up his chickenhawk past. He got angry and tried the standard conservative whine, realized he was better quitting while he was behind, and then stormed off. The truth hurts, right Tom?
As a Republican student activist, Tancredo spoke out in favor of the Vietnam War. After graduating from the University of Northern Colorado in June 1969, he became eligible to serve in Vietnam. Tancredo said he went for his physical, telling doctors he'd been treated for depression, and eventually got a "1-Y" deferment.Too many of these cowards discuss our troops when they themselves refused to serve when they had the chance. Here's Jed Lewison:
A few minutes ago on The Ed Show, Tom Tancredo tried to make the case against government health care by claiming that the Veterans Administration is unpopular with U.S. military veterans. The only problem for him was that he was up against Markos...who is one of those veterans, unlike Tancredo, a pro-Vietnam War chickenhawk who got a 1-Y deferment.(Remainder.)
When Markos pointed out that Tancredo was (a) wrong about the Veterans Administration and (b) not qualified to speak for veterans, Tancredo exploded in anger, demanding an apology. Markos did not oblige, and Tancredo stormed off the set.
Media Continues to Misrepresent Abortion Provision in Health Reform Bill
By Media Matters
Media figures continue to falsely claim that a proposed anti-abortion amendment to the House health care reform bill would only have the effect of prohibiting government money from being used to pay for abortions, echoing a myth previously advanced about a proposed amendment to a prior version of that legislation. In fact, language in the current House bill already segregates federal money so it cannot be used directly to fund abortions, and the proposed amendment would effectively ban abortion coverage for some who have it now.
Media advance false, misleading claims on abortion language, push anti-abortion alternative
On Dobbs, Donohue falsely claimed bill "explicitly" says on Page 110 that in the public option "you're going to have paying for abortion." On November 5, Catholic League president Bill Donohue stated: "[House Speaker] Nancy Pelosi is one of the problems here. She continues to deny that abortion is in the bill. Yet I have the bill in front of me. And on Page 110 of this 2,000-page bill, it explicitly says that in the public option that you're going to have paying for abortion." [United Stations Radio Network's The Lou Dobbs Show, 11/5/09]
Malkin: Current bill has "government abortion subsidies." In her November 6 syndicated column, Malkin wrote: "Upwards of 40 pro-life Democrats have objected to the plan's government abortion subsidies. Majority leaders evaded sunlight by keeping a compromise amendment on the matter out of the version of the bill made available to the public. As of Thursday afternoon (less than two days before the scheduled vote), Pelosi had yet to decide whether to permit an abortion ban amendment to her health care bill." [MichelleMalkin.com, 11/6/09]...(Remainder.)
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Media figures continue to falsely claim that a proposed anti-abortion amendment to the House health care reform bill would only have the effect of prohibiting government money from being used to pay for abortions, echoing a myth previously advanced about a proposed amendment to a prior version of that legislation. In fact, language in the current House bill already segregates federal money so it cannot be used directly to fund abortions, and the proposed amendment would effectively ban abortion coverage for some who have it now.
Media advance false, misleading claims on abortion language, push anti-abortion alternative
On Dobbs, Donohue falsely claimed bill "explicitly" says on Page 110 that in the public option "you're going to have paying for abortion." On November 5, Catholic League president Bill Donohue stated: "[House Speaker] Nancy Pelosi is one of the problems here. She continues to deny that abortion is in the bill. Yet I have the bill in front of me. And on Page 110 of this 2,000-page bill, it explicitly says that in the public option that you're going to have paying for abortion." [United Stations Radio Network's The Lou Dobbs Show, 11/5/09]
Malkin: Current bill has "government abortion subsidies." In her November 6 syndicated column, Malkin wrote: "Upwards of 40 pro-life Democrats have objected to the plan's government abortion subsidies. Majority leaders evaded sunlight by keeping a compromise amendment on the matter out of the version of the bill made available to the public. As of Thursday afternoon (less than two days before the scheduled vote), Pelosi had yet to decide whether to permit an abortion ban amendment to her health care bill." [MichelleMalkin.com, 11/6/09]...(Remainder.)
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