The team at International Beatles Freak Day (I-BFD) is excited to announce that they have chosen The Smithereens as their Artist of the Month because of their outstanding enthusiasm and passion in keeping alive the music of the Beatles.
http://www.4shared.com/file/182804558/91b21569/Smithereens_-_Meet_The_Smither.html
http://www.4shared.com/file/182805300/5e2f72c9/Smithereens_-_Meet_The_Smither.html
http://www.4shared.com/file/182805674/10c8e2fc/Smithereens_-_Meet_The_Smither.html
http://www.4shared.com/file/182807074/be4c56c5/Smithereens_-_Meet_The_Smither.html
http://www.4shared.com/file/182808319/cc8223f1/Smithereens_-_Meet_The_Smither.html
http://www.4shared.com/file/182809980/d1b7c2af/Smithereens_-_Meet_The_Smither.html
http://www.4shared.com/file/182810945/4d001f16/Smithereens_-_Meet_The_Smither.html
http://www.4shared.com/file/182811800/e07823cf/Smithereens_-_Meet_The_Smither.html
http://www.4shared.com/file/182812556/6e014e02/Smithereens_-_Meet_The_Smither.html
http://www.4shared.com/file/182814453/3ac28f66/Smithereens_-_Meet_The_Smither.html
http://www.4shared.com/file/182815360/3515fcff/Smithereens_-_Meet_The_Smither.html
http://www.4shared.com/file/182815468/3e816248/Smithereens_-_Meet_The_Smither.html
BlessedIsTruth's Blog 
December 28, 2009 at 4:17 pm |
There were several comments in moderation on previous thread, I just went ahead and approved them.
I was a little behind in replying and I wanted you to know that I did in fact notice, and that I do in fact appreciate.
canción y todos mis amigos
prósperos año y felicidad en 2010!
December 28, 2009 at 4:23 pm |
Rove’s Take
What to expect next in push toward health care reform
http://video.foxnews.com/12902332/?category_id=949437d0db05ed5f5b9954dc049d70b0c12f2749
December 28, 2009 at 5:06 pm |
On Karl Rove’s WhiteBoard
“Special Provisions”
American taxpayers in many states will have to pay for the “special provisions” of the few states.
How on earth did Reid think this was going to fly? Did he think we were too stupid to notice?!
I want to see a list of all of these “special provisions” and the price tag for each.
Everyone’s talking about the Medicaid deal Ben Nelson got for Nebraska.
But the price tag for Medicare Advantage for three counties in Florida and a handful of other states – 5 to 7.5 billion dollars!
Only SOME retirees get this break in SOME states or even SOME counties?!
How on earth can that be fair or even legal?
These two Nelson boys should be tarred and feathered.
And Reid, too, for that matter, for making the absurd statement that other states didn’t get sweetheart deals because they’re represented by inept senators.
Former Alaska Senator Ted Stevens was right to call Reid an “ass” on the Senate floor.
If HCR is so crucial for America, then why didn’t these senators vote aye without these “special provisions?”
December 28, 2009 at 5:30 pm |
Click to access 122809-Republican-Study-Committee.pdf
EXCERPT
Changes for Sen. Bill Nelson (Florida)
As noted above, Nelson was able to secure a deal to keep Medicare Advantage plans enrollees in Florida grandfathered in. Notably, when McCain tried to offer an amendment to allow all enrollees to be grandfathered in, 57 Democrats voted against it.
December 28, 2009 at 5:36 pm |
CRITICISM
Conservative critics have decried the provisions inserted in the Senate bill to help certain locations. On Wednesday, The Wall Street Journal ran an editorial complaining that a “crafty” Nelson had figured out a way to get $3 billion to $5 billion for Florida seniors.
The editorial lumped Florida’s Nelson with Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb. — no relation — who was reluctant to support an overhaul until Senate leaders added a provision giving Nebraska $100 million to help the state’s Medicaid program. Earlier, $300 million in Medicaid support had been steered to Louisiana to ensure the support of Sen. Mary Landrieu.
December 28, 2009 at 5:49 pm |
The Price of ‘History’
Harry Reid delivers a bundle of special-interest favors.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704304504574610473077223550.html
Mr. Nelson admitted yesterday amid a defensive near-meltdown on the Senate floor that
“Three Senators came up to me just now on the [Senate] floor and said, ‘Now we understand what you did. We’ll be seeking this funding too.'”
Mr. Nelson now says “it’s not a special deal for Nebraska.
It is in fact an opportunity to get rid of an unfunded federal mandate.”
You have to admire his political dexterity.
But if having the feds pay for these Medicaid expansions is such a great idea, then why wasn’t that part of the original bill?
Answer: The $30 billion cost would be too high for all 50 states and would make the bill look even more expensive than it is, but as a bribe to buy off one or two Senators, it’s acceptable.
The other states will have to get theirs later, after the Reid bill has been passed under the fantastical ruse that it is “deficit-neutral.”
Taxpayers nationwide will pay sooner or later.
Meanwhile, the Reid bill’s fine print also solves the mystery of Florida Senator Bill Nelson, who is no relation to Ben but is just as crafty.
How could a Florida Democrat, who has built his career denouncing Medicare “cuts,” vote for a bill that pays for a new entitlement for younger Americans by taking more than $400 billion from health-care for seniors?
His brilliant solution:
Include a grandfather clause that exempts Florida seniors who currently have Medicare Advantage benefits from losing them.
This little beauty is worth $3 billion to $5 billion.
(Presumably Arizona, also the home to many retirees, didn’t qualify because its two Senators are Republicans.)
This does mean, of course, that if you turn 65 next year and move to Florida and want Medicare Advantage, you don’t qualify for the Nelson Advantage.
So some seniors will be more equal than others.
But at least Mr. Nelson was able to minimize the chance of a major senior revolt against his support for Medicare cuts.
Thus does your United States Senate, the world’s greatest nondeliberative deliverer of special-interest favors, practice political medicine.
Get used to it.
As President Obama likes to say, it’s “history” in the making.
December 28, 2009 at 5:52 pm |
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2009/dec/23/karl-rove/karl-rove-says-health-care-bill-has-special-treat-/
Menendez said a total of five states would receive protections.
To be honest, we’re not sure how many states or people will be protected since senators and their staff are using different numbers and estimates. We’ll update this item when we find out.
But what we do know is this: Nelson’s provision in the health care bill will protect some seniors in Florida and others in Oregon, New York, New Jersey and California. A chief critic of the provision, McCain, and the independent Kaiser Family Foundation, both say it will cost about $5 billion. McLaughlin, Nelson’s aide, puts the total at about $7.5 billion.
December 28, 2009 at 5:59 pm |
This gentleman has written extensively on legal challenges to HCR “special provisions.”
http://www.examiner.com/x-28973-Essex-County-Conservative-Examiner
December 28, 2009 at 6:04 pm |
Terry Hurlbut
Essex County Conservative Examiner
Legal challenges are already under discussion on three separate issues. As previously reported, the attorneys general of nine States (and the attorney-general-elect of Virginia) have already agreed to consider options for challenging the bill on Constitutional grounds arising from the Nebraska exemption. (Requests for comment by New Jersey Governor-elect Chris Christie are now pending.)
WorldNetDaily.com reports that Matthew Staver of the advocacy group Liberty Counsel has already announced plans to sue on the ground that requiring any person to purchase any product or service as a condition of citizenship or lawful residence far exceeds the scope of the powers of Congress under the Constitution. Staver also charged that the measure “exempts certain religions but not others.” Liberty University, where Staver serves as dean of the law school, will be the first of many anticipated plaintiffs in any such lawsuit.
Separately, Larry Klayman of Freedom Watch USA has already filed his own lawsuit against the White House, complaining that President Barack Obama has met in secret with representatives of Planned Parenthood and other abortion-rights advocacy groups, in violation of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, which requires that any such meetings must be publicly disclosed and publicly accessible.
December 28, 2009 at 6:34 pm |
My friends may not agree with me, but they know that I favor universal coverage. And because I favor universal coverage, I also favor a strong individual mandate. That’s the only way it will work.
And good riddance to the dreaded phrase “pre-existing condition.”
We must help the truly needy pay their premiums.
While we were busy fighting a public “option” which never had a snowball’s chance in hell, we almost didn’t notice these “special provisions” being hoisted upon us.
These politicians should deliver a fair and equitable bill for all Americans, or go back to the drawing board.
I was really hoping that Reid wouldn’t turn out to be as dumb of an ass as Daschle was.
But it seems what he delivered in the end jeopardizes the whole damn thing.
December 28, 2009 at 6:43 pm |
Updated Link after additions and deletions:
December 28, 2009
http://www.4shared.com/play/10329682/efdae9dd/sharing.html
December 28, 2009 at 8:09 pm |
People have cornered these security forces. People ask them ‘why do you do this to your people?’ and the riot guards ask for forgiveness, ‘Bebakhshid’ they can be heard to say.
‘You are Yazid’s – the Khalif against whom the Ashura uprising took place -forces’, the woman shouts at them. One of the protesters then reassures them that they will not be beaten up, all they have to do is say Khameneii is a bastard. The woman can then be heard saying ‘All you can do is kill your people is it?’ and again they plead saying ‘Please We are not killers’.
The sooner they join the people, the sooner they will redeem themselves with the people of Iran.
December 28, 2009 at 8:15 pm |
Know Your Enemy
U.S. wants Pakistan to pursue Taliban-allied group
But the Pakistani government has balked at going after the Haqqani network in North Waziristan, which Islamabad considers a potential ally in Afghanistan.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-fg-north-waziristan28-2009dec28,0,7204537.story
But the Pakistani government tacitly allows the strikes, which frequently target the Haqqani network.
“These drone attacks are disadvantageous for the U.S.,” said Fakhrul Islam, a tribal areas expert at Peshawar University. “The Pakistani population isn’t happy with these attacks, and they give the Taliban a chance to talk about the killing of innocent people as a result of drone strikes.”
Pakistan’s stance toward the Haqqani network is rooted in its nearly 30-year relationship with Jalaluddin Haqqani, a Pashtun warlord who organized mujahedin fighters against Soviet troops in the 1980s. At the time, he had nurtured ties with Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence agency, as well as with the CIA.
Haqqani has maintained strong ties with Pakistan despite Islamabad’s alliance with Washington. Now believed to be in his late 50s, he has handed over control of his network to his son, Sirajuddin. Hussain said the Haqqanis run a fighting force of about 5,000 that splits its time between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The Haqqanis’ alliance with Taliban commander Hafiz Gul Bahadur, also based in North Waziristan, further complicates Pakistan’s strategy in the area. Bahadur agreed to not interfere with the army’s operations in South Waziristan against the rival Pakistani Taliban faction led by Hakimullah Mahsud. A military push into North Waziristan now might be viewed by Bahadur as a betrayal of that agreement.
Some of the Al Qaeda militants who fled South Waziristan are believed to be hiding in North Waziristan. The desolate, largely ungoverned territory may also have become a sanctuary for top Al Qaeda leaders. Although U.S. leaders say they have no firm knowledge of Osama bin Laden’s whereabouts, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said this month that the Al Qaeda leader is probably in North Waziristan.
Pakistani officials say that Al Qaeda remains a priority for them but that now is not the right time for troops to move into North Waziristan.
“Uzbek and Arab fighters from South Waziristan are on the run, and there are elements of [Al Qaeda] in North Waziristan,” the senior Pakistani official said. “But when one has the plate full, one does not want to get into a conflict where you dilute your power. Then you achieve nothing.”
December 28, 2009 at 8:34 pm |
The Latest Recipient of the “What a Maroon!” “What an Ignoranimus!” Award
Chris Matthews Calls Saul Alinsky One Of His Heroes
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2009/12/23/chris-matthews-calls-saul-alinsky-one-his-heroes
Listen here:
http://www.entertonement.com/clips/nsvdjzkfdz–What-a-maroonBugs-Bunny-Looney-Tunes-usmc-
December 28, 2009 at 11:17 pm |
Who knew?!
ICAR Abduction Report Form
http://www.icar1.com/Report_Abduction.html
December 28, 2009 at 11:24 pm |
From Norway (Quick, someone send this to the Chief!)
http://tinyurl.com/ycmdwwq
December 28, 2009 at 11:36 pm |
Bill Uhouse
December 28, 2009 at 11:36 pm |
BILL UHOUSE TESTIMONY
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=A39F2357A997FBD5
December 29, 2009 at 12:20 am |
Area 51 or Test Site Insider the late Bill Uhouse gives a rare interview, Uhouse also features in the book Camouflage by Limited Disclosure by Randy Koppang, with researcher Melinda Leslie. This is the Full release of the Bill Uhouse Interview, and the Final part of Bases 2 Take 2a triple DVD boxed set. Original Uhouse interview recorded in Dec 1994, Update with Melinda 2008
December 29, 2009 at 1:29 am |
December 29, 2009 at 3:40 am |
December 29, 2009 at 3:46 am |
Updated Link after additions
Starting with Page 1 # 4
http://www.4shared.com/play/10329682/efdae9dd/sharing.html
December 29, 2009 at 3:35 pm |
Fascinating!
http://charleslincoln3.wordpress.com/2009/12/27/final-footnote-to-light-vanity-insatiate-cormorant/
December 29, 2009 at 3:54 pm |
Found here:
http://www.memeorandum.com/091229/p8#a091229p8
David Weigel / The Washington Independent:
Orly Taitz Ally Breaks Away, Says He Fell in Love With Her — The word for this is “strange.” For much of 2009, a disbarred attorney named Charles Lincoln played key roles in Orly Taitz’s multiple “birther” lawsuits against President Obama. Lincoln claimed to be a “law clerk” for Taitz …
+
Discussion: Raw Story, Firedoglake and TPMMuckraker
December 29, 2009 at 4:09 pm |
Oh my, this really is embarrassing!
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/2415247/posts?page=45#45
To: Non-Sequitur; parsifal; GBA
I would really appreciate it if someone would comment on the links I provided in # 39. I dont know if this info has been posted elsewhere on FR but it is full of juicy bits.
Dr Charles Lincoln worked directly with, under, and evidently on top of Orly Taitz
45 posted on Saturday, December 26, 2009 3:44:43 PM by woofie
December 29, 2009 at 4:50 pm |
Remember RaceBannon? James (Jim) Bancroft
Apparently he guested on this show:
(Jim comes in just after 27:00. I haven’t listened to the whole thing so I don’t know if he discusses the Obama sighting.)
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/chandler/2009/12/29/chandlers-watch
December 29, 2009 at 5:02 pm |
I haven’t suddenly gained a renewed interest in the eligibility issue.
I stumbled upon the Orly Taitz story this morning, which got me to thinking.
Then I remembered RaceBannon and I wondered how his story was playing out.
I haven’t a doubt that Obama is hiding something, or he wouldn’t be spending so much money keeping it hidden.
Like it or not, Obama is the de facto President of these United States.
And I say the same prayer for him that I said for Bush.
May you turn and face your Creator. And may you more closely align your will with Divine Will.
Amen.
December 29, 2009 at 5:10 pm |
Rasmussen Obama Approval
46% — 53%
“Special Provisions” should be removed from Senate bill. If these senators cannot vote aye without them, then they should never have voted aye in the first place.
December 29, 2009 at 5:22 pm |
the political difficulty of repealing healthcare reform
http://blogs.reuters.com/james-pethokoukis/2009/12/29/repealing-healthcare-reform/
The news regs on private health insurance are likely to be quite popular.
More than likely, any GOP efforts will have to work within the general framework that is created, such as healthcare exchanges.
December 29, 2009 at 5:23 pm |
from Rasmussen:
The good news for Senator Ben Nelson is that he doesn’t have to face Nebraska voters until 2012.
If Governor Dave Heineman challenges Nelson for the Senate job, a new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey shows the Republican would get 61% of the vote while Nelson would get just 30%. Nelson was reelected to a second Senate term in 2006 with 64% of the vote.
Nelson’s health care vote is clearly dragging his numbers down. Just 17% of Nebraska voters approve of the deal their senator made on Medicaid in exchange for his vote in support of the plan. Overall, 64% oppose the health care legislation, including 53% who are Strongly Opposed. In Nebraska, opposition is even stronger than it is nationally.
Fifty-six percent (56%) of voters in the state believe that passage of the legislation will hurt the quality of care, and 62% say it will raise costs.
December 29, 2009 at 5:33 pm |
The deficit reduction commission is a longstanding idea that is now being pushed with renewed fervor by Republican Frank Wolf of Virginia and Democrat Jim Cooper of Tennessee in the House and Democrat Kent Conrad of North Dakota and Republican Judd Gregg of New Hampshire in the Senate.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB20001424052748703939404574566034074899214.html
Democrats are candid, at least in private, about the kind of the deal they have mind this time around.
Democrats would agree to means-test entitlements, which means that middle and upper-middle class (i.e., GOP) voters would get less than they were promised in return for a lifetime of payroll taxes.
Democrats would also agree to cut appropriations by two or three percentage points and live under pay-as-you-go budget rules.
In return, Republicans would agree to an increase in the top income tax rate to as high as 49% and
in addition to
a new energy tax,
a stock transaction tax, or
value-added tax.
(VAT)
December 29, 2009 at 5:40 pm |
The administration also might propose setting up a commission and requiring Congress to act on its recommendations. Sen. Kent Conrad (D., N.D.), who is proposing a deficit-reduction commission of his own, says he believes momentum is building for the idea.
But the administration could propose a commission that doesn’t have much influence.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126204330088008145.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
2. New taxes
One idea that has garnered attention is a value-added tax, essentially a tax on businesses’ sales of goods and services, which is widely used in Western Europe. It would stir fierce opposition among companies at a time when the administration is trying to reassure business that it is safe to start adding jobs again.
Because a VAT is a tax on consumption, it would tend to fall disproportionately on lower-income earners. There are ways to cushion that impact. But administration officials haven’t shown much enthusiasm for a VAT.
Another possibility is a tax on Wall Street trading. That could raise huge sums, as much as $150 billion a year. Some in the administration, including Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, worry it could drive trading offshore unless it is coordinated with other countries, a process that could take years.
December 29, 2009 at 5:49 pm |
http://www.futureofcapitalism.com/2009/11/about-that-50-tax-rate-1
Via the Club for Growth blog comes news of a survey of 300 British entrepreneurs that found 20% of them are planning to leave the country before the tax rate is implemented:
Popular locations for redomiciling include Monte Carlo, Guernsey, Liechtenstein, and the Cayman Islands.
Andy Raynor, Chief Executive of Tenon Group, noted that entrepreneurs are showing their disapproval of the tax measures by “letting their feet do the talking.”
The article also has 10 suggestions from accounting firm KPMG on ways to try to “mitigate the effects,” suggesting that such high tax rates are a bonanza for accountants. The higher the rates, the more worthwhile it becomes for those who can afford it to pay accountants and lawyers to devise ways to try to avoid the taxes.
December 29, 2009 at 6:07 pm |
http://www.twitlonger.com/show/1d4n2
On Tuesday 29th December 2009, @nchevre said:
Dear Green friends,
Unfortunately the current situation is far from normal.
In addition to rumors and innuendos about the potential arrests of Mousavi and karoubi (which have of course not been confirmed), there is a high chance of a stupid move or coup by the government.
Let’s remember that this government has nothing left to lose.
We must watch their moves more closely since in order to save themselves they will stop at nothing.
Our most important duty in the event that something happens is to inform people and organize massive, non-violent protests.
We will of course attend any wide spread protests announced by the leaders of the movement.
Please remember that it is very important to refrain from announcing protests or creating rumors as it is better not to have a protest than to have one in which only few are present.
December 29, 2009 at 6:08 pm |
Iran Updates
December 29, 2009 at 6:23 pm |
Dutch blog for Iran Updates
http://tinyurl.com/yaw5enl
December 29, 2009 at 6:29 pm |
CyrusII says:
29 december 2009 om 18:23 December 29, 2009 at 18:23
Hallo allemaal, Hello all,
Ik was een lange tijd afwezig hier, maar ik heb de draad wel proberen te volgen.
1.I was here a long time away, but I do try to follow the thread.
2.Dit is toch de enige website die inhoudelijk nieuws en opinie brengt over de ontwikkelingen in Iran.
3.This is still the only website that brings substantive news and opinion on developments in Iran.
4.Ik waardeer de inzet van de vaste reageerders ook.
5.I appreciate the commitment of the permanent managers also respond.
Afgelopen zondag was het keerpunt in deze revolutie.
6.Last Sunday was the turning point in this revolution.
7.Veel mensen die er niet in geloofden, zijn na zondag overtuigd dat dit regime gaat vallen.
8.Many people who do not believe, after Sunday convinced that this regime will fall.
Deze beesten (van het regime) zijn bezig met hun laatste stuiptrekkingen.
9.These beasts (the regime) are in their death throes.
10.Niets kan het Iraanse volk nog stoppen.
11.Nothing can stop the Iranian nation still.
12.Ook al proberen westerse leiders de mullahs alsnog te beschermen.
13.Although Western leaders try to protect the mullahs still.
December 29, 2009 at 6:32 pm |
1.Hieronder de nieuwste clip van deze islamitische barbaren versus de goedwillende mensen.
2.This latest clip of these Islamic barbarians vs. the well-meaning people.
*** 3.Warning: kan schokkend zijn…. Warning: may be shocking …. ***
(I hadn’t seen this yet! Truly awful!)
December 29, 2009 at 7:00 pm |
BBC: On Monday, US President Barack Obama said the “iron fist of brutality” had been used to silence protesters, calling the actions of officials an “unjust suppression”. IND: Thank you, Mr. President. Please more often & more boldly. The free world’s stance and actions could tip the balance at such a critical moment.
December 30, 2009 at 5:49 am |
Hola! Rosa, So glad I found you. I listened to the Uhouse tapes, and checked out the sites for Iranian freedom fighters, who I pray for everyday.
Thank you Rosa!
Oh!
Creo en los cuidados de salud para todos.
canción
December 30, 2009 at 5:53 am |
Thank you for Sviatoslav Richter. I have treasured his Brahms performance
in Chicago for many years.
December 30, 2009 at 4:39 pm |
What a great way to start the day! Thanks, song!
December 30, 2009 at 4:47 pm |
canción
Hago, también. canción. Espero. hay cambios. antes. hay nueva ley.
Rosa
December 30, 2009 at 4:53 pm |
Video
Title: Bankrupted By Health Care?
Published: Tue, 29 Dec 2009
Description: Nevada governor among those blasting health bill because of state price
http://www.foxnews.com/search-results/m/28142644/bankrupted-by-health-care.htm
December 30, 2009 at 5:05 pm |
Nevada governor
“These are the things that. Other states are having to be bought off In order to vote for
This is wrong it’s the wrong kind of government to have.
And this is not the future of this country — I’m so very worried about it
But it says that if you’ve got to pay off every senator. To get a vote for something’s wrong inherently with the bill.”
(Yes, exactly!)
December 30, 2009 at 5:23 pm |
http://www.gaypatriot.net/2009/12/21/obamacare-passage-democratic-suicide-pact/
Should this bill become law (and there’s still hope that it won’t), the Democrats will have a hard time hiding its details, you know, those “specifics” Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida faults Republicans for addressing.
The more people learn about those specifics, the less likely they are to support the bill.
(If by “specifics” Gay Patriot means “special provisions” then I agree. Karl Rove was On The Record last night speaking about just how “stinky” these special interest provisions are. And once Americans get wind of this, pun intended, there will be an even bigger uproar.)
December 30, 2009 at 5:40 pm |
Medicaid expansion:
The Senate bill expands eligibility for Medicaid to those earning up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level ($29,326 for a family of four), opening it up to 12 million people.
The House bill pegs eligibility at 150 percent of poverty ($33,075 for a family of four), covering 15 million.
(So approx. 1/2 of the 30,000,000 Americans who will now be covered will be covered under Medicaid! This sucks! Why not help them to purchase a private plan?)
(Between swelling Medicaid rolls with another unfunded mandate to the states and these stinky special provisions, this compromise is looking worse and worse.)
RomneyCare has to be better than this!
And WydenCare even better:
http://wyden.senate.gov/issues/Legislation/Healthy_Americans_Act.cfm
December 30, 2009 at 5:48 pm |
Estoy de acuerdo.
You are welcome Rosa!
December 30, 2009 at 6:23 pm |
Concurro. Sr. Romney. ¿Cuál es su posición?
December 30, 2009 at 6:27 pm |
Sharing
December 30, 2009
http://www.4shared.com/play/10329682/efdae9dd/sharing.html
December 30, 2009 at 6:55 pm |
Chambliss, Isakson Request Attorney General Baker to Review Constitutionality of Medicaid Deal
Review the constitutionality of the Medicaid deal Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nevada, cut for the state of Nebraska
http://www.bignews.biz/?id=831373&keys=Senator-Saxby-Chambliss-HealthCare
U.S. Sens. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., and Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., sent a letter urging Georgia Attorney General Thurbert Baker to review the constitutionality of the Medicaid deal Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nevada, cut for the state of Nebraska in an effort to gain his 60th vote in favor of the Senate health care bill.
The senators also asked Baker to review the entire bill to see if there are other provisions that might be unconstitutional.
(And let’s not forget the sweetheart Medicare Advantage deal Bill Nelson got for 3 counties in Florida and other special provisions for other states.)
December 30, 2009 at 7:01 pm |
Attorney General Troy King has joined Republican attorneys general throughout the nation to discuss potential legal challenges to the Nebraska Compromise
http://www.zwire.com/news/newsstory.cfm?newsid=20399217&title=King%20looks%20into%20health%20care%20compromise&BRD=1145&PAG=461&CATNAME=Top%20Stories&CATEGORYID=410
Senators Richard Shelby and Jeff Sessions said the health care bill could have dire implications for Alabamians beyond the Nebraska Compromise, though.
“It dramatically increases the federal government’s role in our personal medical decision making.
It contains weak and unacceptable protections for taxpayers who do not want their hard-earned money used to fund abortions,” said Shelby.
“It raises taxes during a recession when one of every 10 Americans is out of work.
It drastically cuts Medicare for our seniors and, instead of applying these funds to make Medicare more solvent or reduce the federal deficit, it uses them to fund yet another new government entitlement.”
The bill, he said, also requires individuals to purchase insurance and “significantly penalizes those who do not.”
Sessions, in a press release Dec. 23, contended that democrats have made “false claims” the bill is budget neutral.
December 30, 2009 at 7:06 pm |
Senate crosses threshold with health bill vote-buys
http://newsok.com/senate-crosses-threshold-with-health-bill-vote-buys/article/3428073
No. 60, Nebraska Democrat Ben Nelson, supposedly wanted tougher anti-abortion language. But what he got was called “deficient” by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. National Right to Life said the abortion funding restrictions Nelson settled for are “light years removed” from ironclad language in the House’s version.
Clearly, Nelson had more on his mind than the unborn. To assuage him, Reid included a provision for U.S. taxpayers to pick up 100 percent of Nebraska’s share of the cost of future Medicaid expansion, worth an estimated $100 million over 10 years — the “cornhusker kickback.”
But there were others. Florida Democrat Bill Nelson got a grandfather provision to keep his state’s seniors from losing Medicare Advantage benefits. Let’s call the favor to this Nelson “Old Granddad,” costing between $3 billion and $5 billion.
There’s the “Louisiana Purchase,” $300 million in Medicaid subsidies to states recovering from a medical disaster — written to apply only to the Pelican State, whose Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu is a key vote.
“Pilgrim’s Progress” might now be used to refer to the $500 million for higher Medicaid reimbursements for Massachusetts, and here’s one for the $100 million earmarked for the University of Connecticut medical center, boosting Sen. Chris Dodd: “You’re nuts, Meg!”
OK, that’s corny. No laughing matter is the cost of these plums to people in other states — specifically, folks in the 49 others who will pay Ben Nelson’s asking price. South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster is investigating the constitutionality of such deals and reportedly would like other states’ AGs to help. Oklahoma’s Drew Edmondson should take McMaster’s call.
December 30, 2009 at 7:18 pm |
Programa de salud Romney es mucho mejor que nada.
December 30, 2009 at 7:25 pm |
corruption, graft, and bribery
Conservative talking heads and Republicans should be shouting about these stinky provisions.
Please, you sound like a broken record with your talking points, and no one is listening.
And please stop with the cutsie names you’ve come up with like the Florida Flim Flam.
Is there still time to force some changes before final passage?
These stinky provisions are an outright theft from most American taxpayers.
http://gateway.andohs.net/player/?sid=826&nid=2920
December 30, 2009 at 7:33 pm |
mucho mejor!
Volveré.
December 30, 2009 at 8:00 pm |
http://www.economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15174473
Iran
December 30, 2009 at 8:53 pm |
Mi amiga, this song belonged on your last post, but better late than never
si?
December 30, 2009 at 9:04 pm |
enfermeras de la comunidad, asistencia médica proactiva en todos los Estados la asistencia con medicamentos, la gestión, las clínicas de la información, para aquellos con y sin seguro
December 30, 2009 at 9:57 pm |
How nice, cancion!
I haven’t looked at the Spanish yet, but I will.
I think I own every Belafonte recording ever made, including this one.
What an incredible talent!
December 30, 2009 at 9:58 pm |
December 30, 2009 at 10:13 pm |
nueva música vieja música
http://www.4shared.com/file/184959438/542c69ea/01_St_Teresa.html
http://www.4shared.com/file/184959599/d806dbc1/02_Man_in_the_Long_Black_Coat.html
http://www.4shared.com/file/184960387/18808e6f/03_Right_Hand_Man.html
http://www.4shared.com/file/184960619/2831daca/04_Pensacola.html
http://www.4shared.com/file/184961705/81e2aaf2/05_Dracula_Moon.html
http://www.4shared.com/file/184961856/6ec04830/07_Ladder.html
http://www.4shared.com/file/184962102/9beec0d/08_Spider_Web.html
http://www.4shared.com/file/184962367/2c0a6b6a/12_-_Joan_Osborne_-_Lumina.html
http://www.4shared.com/file/184962659/e654d745/Crazy_Baby.html
http://www.4shared.com/file/184963389/ed8d0c86/Joan_Osborne_-_Lets_Just_Get_N.html
http://www.4shared.com/file/184963528/64e8a828/Joan_Osborne_-_One_of_Us.html
http://www.4shared.com/file/184963699/f25dff2c/Joan_Osbourne_-_Help_Me.html
December 30, 2009 at 10:50 pm |
This was the song that introduced me to Joan Osborne:
December 31, 2009 at 1:20 am |
Joan Osborne! She is wonderful Rosa! I have never heard of her before. I have downloaded some of her songs…Thank you.
I remember on your old blog…
once you wrote about Lori Leiberman, Killing Me Softly, the real story. I had her first album eons ago..–I remember a song,
the sunlight wakes me
I go along with the sun
rise and shine bright as foam
I (tadadadad)
and when my job begins to down me
I think of you, I think of you..
I still sing it from time to time, the parts I can remember…
Oh, and then I must share Eva Cassidy. I know you love her too..
A well known song, but it haunts me…the way she sings it..
December 31, 2009 at 4:47 pm |
Thanks, song. I seem to remember stumbling across Eva Cassidy a while back. But it didn’t sink in, if you know what I mean.
I’ll be listening a lot more closely now.
December 31, 2009 at 4:48 pm |
December 31, 2009 at 4:49 pm |
December 31, 2009 at 4:53 pm |
Y gracias, canción. Usted me ayuda. Con mi español. Mi español no es bueno. Necesito practicar.
December 31, 2009 at 5:02 pm |
¿Cómo se dice?
“cobertura universal”
“mandato individual”
Pero las provisiones especiales son muy malas.
December 31, 2009 at 5:18 pm |
(It’s good that these attorneys general are going after Reid and Ben Nelson, but the stinky Medicare Advantage provision for Bill Nelson and 3 counties in Florida is even worse. And there are others. They all should be stripped out. Let’s see if these Dems will still vote aye with all of these stinky provisions stripped out.)
Michigan Attorney General Cox challenges ‘Cornhusker kickback’
Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox and other state attorneys general are determined to undo the “Cornhusker Kickback,” a provision in the massive health care bill approved this month by the U.S. Senate that exempts Nebraska from paying its share of an expansion of Medicaid that would leave Michigan and other states with a bigger chunk of the costs to swallow.
“Michigan families should not also be forced to subsidize a sweetheart deal for Nebraska,” Cox said in a press release.
The deal was brokered by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to get the vote of Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson needed to push the bill through.
Cox has joined with South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster , Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna and others in a workgroup to find legal recourse to overturn the exemption.
December 31, 2009 at 5:25 pm |
State AGs request Reid, Pelosi drop Nebraska Medicaid funds from health bill
http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/73975-state-ags-request-reid-pelosi-drop-nebraska-medicaid-funds-from-health-bill
Critics, who have dubbed the funds as the “Cornhusker Kickback,” say that the $100 million deal is emblematic of Washington wheeling and dealing and that it is not fair to other states who have to use their own funds to pay for the Medicaid expansion included in the healthcare overhaul.
The letter comes just weeks before the Senate and House will meet to merge their two healthcare reform bills.
Nelson defended the deal on the Senate floor several weeks ago, saying that other states could have access to such federal funds. Critics disagree, claiming that Nelson received it exclusively in exchange for his vote.
The 13 GOP attorneys general argue that the provision runs up against Supreme Court decisions banning the “display of arbitrary power” and violates other Constitutional protections.
“The fundamental unfairness of H.R. 3590 may also give rise to claims under the due process, equal protection, privileges and immunities clauses and other provisions of the Constitution,” they wrote.
The state officials say they are “contemplating” legal action but would not go through with it if it is removed from the bill.
Some Republicans have argued that the bill’s individual mandate to buy health insurance also violates the Constitution.
December 31, 2009 at 5:32 pm |
“the $100 million deal”
This is chump change compared to the $5 to $8 billion dollar deal Bill Nelson got.
If we cannot afford equal treatment for all of the poor in all of the states, or all of the retirees in all of the states, then the Senate bill should never have passed in its current form.
Equal protection means equal protection.
Strip out these stinky provisions!
December 31, 2009 at 5:43 pm |
From the Washington Examiner
The Hill — State AGs request Reid, Pelosi drop Nebraska Medicaid funds from health bill
What a crafty bunch these attorneys general are. Rather than threatening a suit over the whole health bill or even the part that, for the first time in American history, requires every American to purchase a private product as a condition of citizenship, a group of 13 AGs says that Ben Nelson’s $100 million “Cornhusker Kickback” is illegal because it treats the states differently.
Nelson, who has lost 30 points in the polls at home, felt the need to pay for a pricey ad during the Cornhusker’s 33-0 beatdown of the Arizona Wildcats in the Holiday Bowl last night to explain to his constituents why paying to play is the Senate way.
By singling out Nelson, the AGs apply pressure on him at home, but also make the focus on the corrupt bargain angle in the Senate. That leaves other, bigger, legal gambits for later, when the legislation is passed.
“The fundamental unfairness of H.R. 3590 may also give rise to claims under the due process, equal protection, privileges and immunities clauses and other provisions of the Constitution. As a practical matter, the deal struck by the United States Senate on the “Nebraska Compromise” is a disadvantage to the citizens of 49 states. Every state’s tax dollars, except Nebraska’s, will be devoted to cost-sharing required by the bill, and will be therefore unavailable for other essential state programs.”
December 31, 2009 at 5:53 pm |
This looked like it might be worthwhile:
Greg Koukl and Michael Shermer at the End of the Decade of the New Atheists
http://hughhewitt.com/transcripts.aspx?id=53dc1daa-c9b6-429f-9732-923b01ba19b3
EXCERPT
HH: I want to thank Michael Shermer of Skeptic Society, http://www.skeptic.com, and Greg Koukl of Stand To Reason, http://www.str.org for their time and their patience.
Greg Koukl, a minute, fifteen for you.
GK: Yeah, I started out talking about worldviews.
And as a man trying to make sense of my world and finding a worldview that seems to fit reality as I experience it.
I think atheism is way too austere for me, Hugh.
It commits me to too many counterintuitive things – everything comes from nothing, like comes from nonlife, consciousness comes from matter, morality comes from a reorganization of molecules.
None of this seems to make sense to me.
There is another alternative that seems to make a lot more sense, that a big bang needs a big banger, that a moral law comes from a moral lawgiver, that design comes from a designer.
These notions are captured well, I think, in the Biblical account of life.
And the person of Jesus, especially, exemplifying these notions, and then giving us a way to live that makes sense.
And this is why I’m a Christian and not an atheist.
I think it makes the best sense of the world as we know it.
HH: Michael Shermer?
MS: I’m an atheist, because I don’t believe in God, and there’s nothing to follow from that.
I think we have an absolute moral standard, we have objective moral truths, we all know what they are, we listen to our small inner voice within that comes from our evolutionary heritage as a social primate species, in which we care deeply about our fellow group members.
We have empathy and sympathy, and that’s where the moral emotions come from.
In terms of religion, I think religion is good when it does good, it’s bad when it does bad.
In general, I’m in favor of anything that leads to greater freedom, greater liberty, greater autonomy for more people in more places.
And that has been the trend for the last five hundred years, that I attribute to the general secular idea, from the Enlightenment, that people have value in and of themselves, and I think religion has fostered, after the fact, sort of just slightly behind the wave, reinforcing those good, human values, and attenuating the bad ones.
And that’s why they’ve discarded so many of the Old Testament values that we no longer adhere to.
So I think that’s the long term trend, and I think we should continue to count people, more and more people as part of our fellow in-groups, and I think free trade and travel and the internet is the best way to encourage that.
HH: Thank you, Michael Shermer of Skeptic Magazine, http://www.skeptic.org, Greg Koukl of Stand To Reason, http://www.str.org.
Once again, all their books I’ve been talking about are linked at Hughhewitt.com.
I want to thank Adam and Generalissimo for all their work in producing today.
End of interview.
December 31, 2009 at 6:00 pm |
From James Pethokoukis
What Ben Nelson didn’t tell Nebraskans
http://blogs.reuters.com/james-pethokoukis/2009/12/30/what-ben-nelson-didnt-tell-nebraskans/
The act would reduce Medicare spending on hospital stays by $245 billion from 2010-2019, while increasing tax revenue by $113 billion.
So on paper, Medicare’s hospital insurance trust fund would be some $358 billion to the better, boosting its long-term solvency.
But the government then takes that $358 billion and uses it to pay for increased, non-Medicare healthcare spending — leaving $358 billion worth of IOUs in the Medicare trust fund.
If not for that $358 billion shift, the act would worsen the deficit by $226 billion over the next ten years.
…
And that’s not the only bit of chicanery:
1) There’s a similar $50 billion double-counting trick with the Social Security trust fund.
2) CBO healthcare scoring assumes a huge reduction in government payments to doctors even though a separate bill moving through Congress would restore the $250 billion cut.
3) The payroll tax hike isn’t indexed for inflation, generating unrealistically high revenue forecasts.
4) And as Andrew Biggs of the American Enteprise Institute notes, the cost-cutting Medicare advisory commission would merely limit spending growth to pretty much the current baseline forecast (GDP plus 1 percent) which translates into $62 trillion of additional deficits over the next 75 years.
Nope, Ben Nelson didn’t tell deficit-fearing Nebraska voters any of that.
December 31, 2009 at 6:05 pm |
Other sweetheart deals
http://www.lakelandtimes.com/main.asp?SectionID=9&SubSectionID=9&ArticleID=10729
The deal with Nelson, dubbed the “Nebraska Compromise” by GOP attorneys general contesting the provision, isn’t the only so-called sweetheart deal in the health care bill.
For example, Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) walked away with up to $300 million in additional federal aid, while Vermont and Massachusetts also got added Medicaid money. Vermont officials secured $10 billion for community health centers.
Then there’s the Western states of Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming, which will be entitled to higher federal reimbursement rates for doctors and hospitals serving Medicare patients. That amendment is called the “frontier” provision because it defines “frontier” states as those where at least 50 percent of the counties have a population density of fewer than six people per square mile.
And, while most states, including Wisconsin, will sustain severe cuts to the Medicare Advantage program for seniors, that’s not the case in Florida, or in parts of New York and Pennsylvania; those states brokered a deal to keep those benefits intact.
(This sucks bigtime!)
Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) won expanded Medicare coverage for victims of asbestos exposure in a Montana mine, while Connecticut would receive partial funding – up to 40 percent -to build a new hospital to replace its outdated John Dempsey Hospital.
December 31, 2009 at 6:18 pm |
http://www.john-goodman-blog.com/wrong-headline-wrong-lesson/
Gator Aid: In return for his vote for the Senate health reform bill, Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) got 800,000 Florida seniors exempted from the nationwide cuts in Medicare Advantage plans that the bill uses to fund health insurance subsidies for young people. “He’s proud he’s able to protect Florida’s seniors,” said a press secretary. “Senior Health Benefits Preserved,” headlined The Miami Herald’s coverage.
WRONG. All Nelson had to do to protect Sunshine State seniors — along with seniors in every other state — was note “no” on the Christmas Eve cloture motion. That would have stopped the bill in its tracks. In voting “yes” he didn’t protect Florida seniors. He voted to take away benefits from up to 8 million seniors in every other state.
Larry C. Says:
December 30th, 2009 at 3:29 pm
I notice that Ben Nelson is getting hammered in Nebraska. Let’s hope that Bill Nelson gets the same treatment in Florida.
December 31, 2009 at 6:35 pm |
December 31, 2009 at 6:35 pm |
December 31, 2009 at 6:36 pm |
December 31, 2009 at 6:57 pm |
Good Morning Rosa mi amiga
I dropped my laptop last night. But it is OK. Except for the letter “m” which I have to press several times to get it to work?
You have pointed out the Problem with this Healthcare. Too many backroom deals, too many. Some thing is wrong with a bill if so many deals have to be made for it to pass? Too much haste, and too many special interests for there to be a clean, and useful bill? Very politicized, of course, but the “free Market”
can’t fix it given the way it is right now for sure.
On another note my ex sister in law–a surgical nurse lost her job here in Phx, because they aren’t doing “enough surgeries”. The hospitals had been understaffing for a long time now.
?
I get the feeling Rosa, that our current system is collapsing? And this
quick bill is being hurriedly put together for that reason, to get money to the big insurers?
What do you think of this?
December 31, 2009 at 7:16 pm |
song,
I have such mixed feelings about this process.
I wish Obama had taken the lead, instead of leaving that to Reid and Pelosi.
Ugh!
We’ve been trying to fix a broken system instead of doing something really radical.
Obviously, I’m opposed to public “option” – single payer.
And yet I’m in favor of universal coverage and a strong individual mandate.
Honestly, I’d like to privatize all government-run healthcare.
Admittedly, I wasn’t paying attention to these stinky provisions and also the expansion of Medicaid.
That’s the last thing we need.
I don’t see how we can stop something from passing at this point.
And my hope and my prayer is that over time we are able to improve an inherently unsatisfactory bill.
I’d like to see Michael Steele out there with Arizona seniors, for example, bitching and moaning about the special dispensation for seniors in 3 counties in Florida.
Americans are fundamentally a generous people, but they want to be treated in a fair and equitable fashion.
Oh, and let me be the first to say it.
Harry Reid of Nevada is a dumb fuck for believing he had the power to get away with this chicanery.
December 31, 2009 at 7:47 pm |
I have never seen healthcare as being well served by being a “for profit” model, myself. But I am considered a radical here?
It would be useful to set up a pilot program in a city. A community nurse
prevention model. A Health Model where people can ultimately lower their premiums by participating. The Health model could also be a center for seniors/non seniors, who have pre-existing conditions, and nurses/pharmacists could cross check their medications, acting as Health advocates
It would need pharmacists
dieticians
Nurses
Medical Social Workers
staff
Health Wellness Counselor
dietician
Exercise Specialist–
Doctors could as well prescribe the service to their patients.
And those who are well, could go, to a Health Counselor, dietician for achieving optimal Health.
December 31, 2009 at 7:48 pm |
transeamus “robert cooper”
Sometimes I look to see what searches bring people here to this blog.
Which led me here:
http://www.gramophone.net/BrowseByIssue/
Very cool!
December 31, 2009 at 7:55 pm |
I have never seen healthcare as being well served by being a “for profit” model, myself.
***
Private insurers in Switzerland, for example, are forbidden from “striving” for profits with the “basic” coverage they provide, which everyone must have.
But they do profit from the “supplemental” plans they sell, which many Swiss purchase.
It’s a good system. It works, everyone is covered, there’s no rationing and they spend six-tenths per capita compared with the United States.
December 31, 2009 at 7:59 pm |
You are the expert here.
That sounds perfect. Supplemental profit. Choice.
December 31, 2009 at 7:59 pm |
Sharing
December 31, 2009
http://www.4shared.com/play/10329682/efdae9dd/sharing.html
December 31, 2009 at 8:02 pm |
You are the expert here.
***
LOL!
Hardly, but thank you!
Well, I did study Health Care Admin before switching to Intl Relations.
And I coordinated volunteers in Schenectady County, New York for Ted Kennedy in 1980.
That’s gotta count for something!
December 31, 2009 at 8:05 pm |
BTW, I just found out I’ll be otherwise occupied as of January 12th.
That won’t shut me down, maybe just a bit more scarce.
December 31, 2009 at 8:07 pm |
WOW.
That pretty much says it. Healthcare Admin
**************
I won’t bother you then.
December 31, 2009 at 8:15 pm |
You never bother me, song.
In fact, you keep me on my toes!
December 31, 2009 at 8:33 pm |
Our son sent this:
I’m in the news
http://www.village-southwest-news.com/register.aspx Pgs. 4 and 10
Koostapo Productions
http://www.myspace.com/koostapo
December 31, 2009 at 8:38 pm |
Pat looks handsome and this is from the UK?
hmmm.
December 31, 2009 at 9:48 pm |
http://tinyurl.com/ygwewrg
Iran updates
I hope
December 31, 2009 at 9:55 pm |
http://search.twitter.com/search?q=%23iranelection
More iran updates
December 31, 2009 at 10:12 pm |
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2009/12/31/opinion/31iht-edcohen.xml
Good iran article
December 31, 2009 at 10:26 pm |
New sanctions against Tehran would only throw a lifeline to Khamenei and further enrich the Revolutionary Guards. President Obama’s outreach is still the smartest approach to Iran, a nation whose political clock has now trumped its erratic, wavering nuclear clock.
The smartest approach to iran???
That is debatable
Maybe even laughable
Except there’s nothing funny about what iranian people are going through
And people I respect are calling for tough sanctions
December 31, 2009 at 10:33 pm |
JERUSALEM — Israeli officials say they will support President Obama’s move to impose sanctions on Iran as a next step in the standoff over the country’s nuclear program, though the narrower measures being considered by the White House may fall short of the “crippling” restrictions advocated here. With the United States’ year-end deadline expiring for Iran to resolve the issue, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is “focused on working with the international community to upgrade the pressure on Iran in a way that makes the Iranian regime know that its nuclear program is unacceptable, that they are going to pay a price that will make them rethink,” said Netanyahu spokesman Mark Regev. Obama “has been successful in galvanizing an international coalition that many people were cynical about. We are on the same page.”
December 31, 2009 at 11:41 pm |
Happy New Year Dear Rosa!
January 1, 2010 at 1:23 am |
Happy New Year Foxy Rosie!!!!I pray that your New Year will be all that you dream it to be. May God bless you and your family.
January 1, 2010 at 1:25 am |
Here’s to you!!!
January 1, 2010 at 4:12 pm |
January 1, 2010 at 4:26 pm |
song and cyn
cyn and song
thank you kindly!
The mantra seems to be “I survived 2009!”
We cannot predict the future, but I’d like to think that our efforts in 2009 helped a little.
In 2008 a lot of people fooled themselves into thinking that a lifelong lefty named Obama wouldn’t attempt to move our country too far to the left.
I believe many of those same people have awoken.
And the eternal optimist in me would like to believe that just maybe our collective prayer has had an effect.
Just maybe President Obama has awoken, too.
One can hope.
January 1, 2010 at 4:34 pm |
Idaho Gov. Otter vows to fight health care reform bills — in court if necessary
http://www.idahostatesman.com/newsupdates/story/1025188.html
Otter said both the House-passed bill and the newly passed Senate bill reflect “a fundamental disconnect with the real challenges and priorities of ordinary Americans.”
Otter said the Constitution does not give Congress the power to mandate compulsory health care coverage or to create a nationalized health care system. And he called the special deals added to the bill to win support from Democratic senators in Nebraska and Louisiana “undemocratic and inequitable compromises.”
Otter said he would follow the progress of the joint House-Senate conference committee on the bill and continue working with members of Idaho’s congressional delegation — all of whom opposed the two bills.
January 1, 2010 at 4:53 pm |
Six’s office said he is currently conducting a legal analysis of the health care reform measures. “If it is determined that issues exist, we will take appropriate action,” Six’s spokeswoman Ashley Anstaett said. But the four Kansas Republican leaders said Six should act now and join 13 Republican state attorneys general who have raised constitutional objections to the provisions.
January 1, 2010 at 5:25 pm |
December 31, 2009
‘Unfair, Unjust’
South Carolina attorney general threatens to sue Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid over deal for health care vote
http://video.foxnews.com/v/3958558/unfair-unjust/?playlist_id=87249
January 1, 2010 at 5:33 pm |
Last week, McMaster said he was leading several other attorneys general in an inquiry into the constitutionality of the estimated $100 million deal he has dubbed the “Cornhusker Kickback.”
Republican U.S. Sens. Lindsey Graham and Jim DeMint of South Carolina raised questions about the legislation, which they said was amended to win Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson’s support.
“Because this provision has serious implications for the country and the future of our nation’s legislative process, we urge you to take appropriate steps to protect the Constitution and the rights of the citizens of our nation,” the attorneys general wrote.
A conference committee begins meeting next year to work out a compromise between House and Senate versions of the bill. Experts expect those talks will likely last into February.
McMaster said if the bill goes through to final approval with the benefit to Nebraska, taxpayers in the other 49 states will have to pay for it.
January 1, 2010 at 5:38 pm |
South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com
Kingsley Guy column
January 1, 2010
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/commentary/fl-kgcol-duel-senate-m0101010-20091231,0,330762.column
The current antics in Washington pose a troubling question: Is there a natural shelf life for democracies, after which they collapse under the weight of their own excesses? As a follow-up to that question, has the United States’ democracy fallen into a political black hole that will tear it apart?
The political machinations over health-care legislation reflect the disaster that has befallen Washington under the venal leadership of Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi and, sad to say, President Obama. Their approach to reform isn’t “change you can believe in.” Instead, it’s change that reflects the absolute worst inclinations of the political class.
Need the vote of Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana? Then buy it with $300 million in extra Medicaid payments for her state, in what has become known as the “Second Louisiana Purchase.” And how about the vote of Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska? Pay him a bribe for his health care vote by fully-funding Nebraska’s Medicaid program, a benefit no other state will receive.
In exchange for the vote of Florida Sen. Bill Nelson, Sunshine State seniors will be protected from cuts to Medicare Advantage, a benefit not availble to seniors in other states. Has anyone ever heard of “equal protectionof the law?”
Still to come is “card check,” in which the so-called “Democratic” Party will attempt to do away with democratic union organizing elections so union goon squads can intimidate workers to sign on the dotted line.
The malfeasance of the Democratic Party makes the misfeasance of the Republican Party during the George W. Bush years look like good government by comparison. Floridians see this, which is why next November they are going to elect a Republican to the United States Senate.
Sure, the GOP in Florida is in disarray. Gov. Charlie Crist a few months ago was considered a shoo-in for the senatorial seat, but his lead in the polls among Republicans likely to vote in the August primary has disappeared under the onslaught of Marco Rubio, who is riding a resurgent conservative wave.
But have no doubt, the next senator from Florida will be either Crist or Rubio. Enough Florida citizens understand the dangers posed by the Democratic Party wrecking ball that they will do their part to prevent it from causing further damage to American democracy.
January 1, 2010 at 5:42 pm |
Reposting from above:
http://tinyurl.com/ygwewrg
Iran updates
January 1, 2010 at 5:47 pm |
Tehrani says:
1 januari 2010 om 17:51 January 1, 2010 at 17:51
Vandaag hebben alle vrijdaggebed show leiders de doodstraf geëist voor alle arrestanten van Ashura.
1.Today, all show Friday prayer leaders demanded the death penalty for all detainees of Ashura.
i.e., demanded the death penalty for all of the protestors detained December 27th, I think.
January 1, 2010 at 5:51 pm |
In 3 vomin filme man hast ke dar morde jonbeshe sabz dorost kardam.
Omidvaram ke khosheton biyad. Tashakor az azizani ke dar rahe jonbeshe sabz faliat mikonan, mir hussain mousavi, mehdi karoubi, Ostad Shajarian, mohsen sazegara, mohsen makhmalbaf, majid tavakoli, Camp man majid hastam, Shirin Ebadi va digar azadeh andishan.
Va tamameh shohada e in rah, Neda agha Sultan, Sohrab Arabi, Taraneh Mousavi .
Basiji and Riot Police beaten / beating up. Heavy Clashes.
January 1, 2010 at 5:59 pm |
School kids are try to run away from a pro-regime rally which they has been forced to, 30 Dec 2009
January 1, 2010 at 6:02 pm |
RT @AsdollahMirza: Major problem of Twitter re #iranelection: Most users not inside #Iran: Aims of Movement modified by diaspora. B aware!
“kiraber” is saying better to listen to ppl inside of Iran, not diaspora
Good advice.
January 1, 2010 at 6:07 pm |
People Resisting Regime in a Big Way
http://persian2english.wordpress.com/2010/01/01/people-resisting-regime-in-a-big-way/
After the December 27th demonstrations on Sadat-Abad street there is continuous clashes and people have been fighting the injustices.
I have been talking to a few people and they all say that they are willing to put their lives on the line.
(These freedom fighters are so courageous. I doubt I’ll ever have that much courage. When the ppl cease being afraid, isn’t it just a matter of when the regime will fall?)
January 1, 2010 at 6:14 pm |
Know Your Enemy
The Long War Journal: US kills 3 Taliban in second strike in North Waziristan
http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2010/01/us_kills_3_taliban_i.php
Today’s attack is the second since the Haqqani Network conducted a suicide attack inside a CIA compound at Combat Outpost Chapman in Khost province, Afghanistan, on Dec. 30.
Seven CIA employees, including the base commander, and a US civilian were killed in the attack.
The suicide bomber is said to have been invited to the base.
The CIA is said to recruit local Afghans and possibly Pakistanis to provide intelligence on al Qaeda and the Taliban on both sides of the border.
The CIA base at Combat Outpost Chapman is said to be “at the heart” of the US covert air campaign against the Taliban and al Qaeda.
“US personnel at the site of the attack, Forward Operating Base Chapman, are heavily involved in the selection of al-Qaeda and Taliban targets for drone aircraft strikes, according to two former intelligence officials who have visited the facility,” The Washington Post reported.
“The drones themselves are flown from separate bases in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Because of its location near a hotbed of insurgent activity, the base is also a center for recruiting and debriefing informants, the officials said, and it would not be unusual for local Afghans to be admitted to the facility for questioning.”
January 1, 2010 at 6:17 pm |
Truck Bomb Explodes at Sports Event in Pakistan
Mian Iftikhar Hussain, the information minister for the province, called for limited military operation to flush out militants from their remaining strongholds in the tribal areas. “The terrorists are losing the battle, and that’s why they have turned to terrorize the civilians,” Mr. Iftikhar said.
“The military has done well in South Waziristan, but ”ts time to go after the militants who have taken shelter in other places,” he added, referring to North Waziristan, a tribal area outside the military’s operations.
The United States has urged Pakistan to take action against militants in North Waziristan, chiefly the Taliban network run by Sirajuddin Haqqani, who uses the area to stage his insurgency against American and NATO forces in Afghanistan.
January 1, 2010 at 6:45 pm |
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/2010/01/01/2010-01-01_suicide_bombing_at_cia_camp_in_afghanistan_likely_revenge_attack_by_taliban_warl.html
Haqqani’s son Siraj, the Afghan Taliban’s top field commander, introduced suicide bombs as weapons in this war.
Chapman hosted a provincial reconstruction team and was home to “OGAs” – Other Government Agencies, a euphemism for spies.
The dangerous mission of these CIA paramilitaries, case officers and analysts was to hunt high-value targets from Al Qaeda and the local Haqqani Network.
It’s that work that set the camp’s fate for what has become a blood feud between the spy agency and the Haqqani family.
In the past year, CIA drones have killed Haqqani relatives in safehouses used by Al Qaeda leaders plotting strikes on U.S. interests globally.
“There is no doubt” Haqqani sees a motive for revenge, said Shir Khosti, an ex-Afghan official now living in Queens who often worked at Chapman with the CIA.
So does the CIA.
“If it wasn’t personal before, it sure as hell is now,” a furious counterterror official said Thursday.
January 1, 2010 at 6:59 pm |
Bolton native killed in Afghanistan bombing
http://www.telegram.com/article/20091231/COULTER0101/912319993/-1/NEWS07
The Forward Operating Base Chapman in Khost province is near the Afghan border with Pakistan. No military personnel were killed, according to reports. All eight were civilian workers, including U.S. intelligence workers.
A 1990 graduate of Nashoba Regional High School, Brown graduated from George Washington University before serving in the U.S. Army as an intelligence officer. When he left the Army with the rank of major, he continued his service, entering civilian government service. Various reports indicate he was serving as a U.S. State Department intelligence officer in Afghanistan.
Brown lived in Fairfax, Va., and had a wife, Janet, and three children, ages 12, 11 and 3.
Brown’s parents are Bolton DPW Director Harold Brown and Barbara Brown. He also leaves two older siblings.
January 1, 2010 at 7:02 pm |
Sharing
January 1, 2010
http://www.4shared.com/play/10329682/efdae9dd/sharing.html
January 2, 2010 at 3:49 am |
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