It started just moments after ...

[SlingBlade]

The Election. And almost nobody noticed

The president has packed his economic team with Wall Street insiders intent on turning the bailout into an all-out giveaway

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/warning/

Barack Obama ran for president as a man of the people, standing up to Wall Street as the global economy melted down in that fateful fall of 2008. He pushed a tax plan to soak the rich, ripped NAFTA for hurting the middle class and tore into John McCain for supporting a bankruptcy bill that sided with wealthy bankers “at the expense of hardworking Americans.” Obama may not have run to the left of Samuel Gompers or Cesar Chavez, but it’s not like you saw him on the campaign trail flanked by bankers from Citigroup and Goldman Sachs. What inspired supporters who pushed him to his historic win was the sense that a genuine outsider was finally breaking into an exclusive club, that walls were being torn down, that things were, for lack of a better or more specific term, changing.

Then he got elected. . . .
"It started just moments after the election — and almost nobody noticed"

“Just look at the timeline of the Citigroup deal,” says one leading Democratic consultant. “Just look at it. It’s fucking amazing. Amazing! And nobody said a thing about it.”

Barack Obama was still just the president-elect when it happened, but the revolting and inexcusable $306 billion bailout that Citigroup received was the first major act of his presidency. In order to grasp the full horror of what took place, however, one needs to go back a few weeks before the actual bailout — to November 5th, 2008, the day after Obama’s election. . . .

http://flyingcuttlefish.wordpress.com/2009/12/19/obamas-big-sellout/

Truth Hurts. That's why many on the Left and Right refer to it .... Shit.

He’s (Obama) for more ....

More War and Assassinations
More Handouts to Wall Street and Big Insurance
More Tax Cuts
More Warrantless Wiretapping
More Detention without Charges or Trials
More Whitewashing Torture and Corporate Malfeasance
More Expanded Faith-Based Initiatives
More Nuclear Power
More etc. etc. .... The LIST grows each and every hour day and month until the pile becomes
so high and broad that you either have to forget that your a Liberal or Progressive and join the shit callers or throw down a gantlet and say, Enough is Enough, I want my Party Back.

Fuck bipartisanship, Fuck Republicans and fuck Corporate whoredom, THAT is NOT Change.
Howard Dean is right, Democrats ARE acting like whimps, And the Republicans would be without a voice
and without power if only we would stop giving it to them.

If actions speak louder then words then My question to the "Shit Callers", is this....
Where does the above post differ from the reality of the message ?

[Odin2005]

1. New Boss, Same as the Old Boss.

We have been betrayed.

[SlingBlade]

2. PUNKED !

Is what the kids call it now.

[Odin2005]

13. Yup.

[WilliamPitt]

102. "We have been betrayed."

I wasn't. Knew exactly who and what I was voting for, and voting against.

Didn't get my hopes up.

Wasn't betrayed.

Anyone who thought Obama was going to be Kucinich should go back to bed.

[mmonk]

119. Everybody brings up Kucinich.

I was hoping for better. I was hoping he would support the law and separations of power. I was hoping he would support a healthcare plan with a public option and negotiate pharma rates on behalf of the people. I was hoping he would be generally a little more progressive on economic issues than Bill Clinton though not expecting always. I was wrong. I am disappointed and am not embarassed to say so. And I wasn't expecting a Dennis Kucinich either. I was just looking for "change" and someone who would fight for it.

[MineralMan]

3. Oh, for pete's sake. It's 2010. There's an election in November.

Go campaign for a progressive candidate and quit whining! Seriously. Do something productive. This is not that.

[SlingBlade]

4. Pete who ? Pete King ?

[MineralMan]

5. I'm not going to play, so give it up.

I said my piece. Now, go campaign for a progressive or leave it. If you're not part of the solution, you're just whining. I'm sick of it.

I don't like the way you talk.

[SlingBlade]

6. It's YOUR dime pal, I did'nt ask you for it

[MineralMan]

7. I'm not your pal. If you aren't actively working for real change,

I'm definitely not your pal. Note: Whining on DU does not constitute working.

[Name removed]

8. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[readmoreoften]

112. And working for politicians who are selling us out to insurance companies doesn't constitute working

for change either. Actually, it does. It counts as actively working against the people of the United States. Me personally, I'd rather work for positive change than violent anti-union, bipartisan con artists.

Also: you have no idea what people do when they're off this website, so, uh, keep your ignorant accusations to yourself.

[Kalyke]

133. Well, since there are no real progressives running in my neck of the woods,

I guess I'll sit here and complain.

:P

[Name removed]

28. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Subdivisions]

53. OH, you want to pop off like a big man and then

shrivel up and chickenshit out when challenged. How about instead of addressing the poster, you address the issue?

I submit that you can't.

[inna]

24. Stop telling people to shut up. It's disgusting.

:thumbsdown:

[leftstreet]

35. +1

[readmoreoften]

113. +2

[jeanpalmer]

39. Isn't that what we did in 2008?

or we thought we did. What do you do when you campaign for a progressive and he does a 180 on you?

[SammyWinstonJack]

49. More like a 360. Obama said what he needed to say and that's painfully clear now.

[tcaudilllg]

117. Don't blame Obama

just because he's probably without the slightest clue of what's going on.

[blindpig]

90. Yeah...

voting is soo productive...:eyes:

[rubberducky]

9. Oh, the hysteria here is sometimes amazing, especially considering we are a dem board.

[Skittles]

41. pointing out the truth is not hysteria

[Subdivisions]

52. Please demonstrate how the OP can be considered "hysteria". n/t

[Greyhound]

54. "Hello? Is this thing on?" n/t

[SlingBlade]

10. Hypocrisy ! It's a helluva lot easier than Principles ...

And you can always call a Liberal or Progressive, F'ing Retards

[dixiegrrrrl]

11. Judging from the un-recs this got, I would say the old adage is true.

Never try to teach a pig to sing.
It don't work and it annoys the pig".

[readmoreoften]

114. Vote: I'm going to eat shit with a spoon. OR. I'm going to eat shit with a spitfilled straw.

My vote is: I'm going to claw your eyes out, escape, build a posse and return to kick your ass. Or die tryin'.

[abq e streeter]

12. I noticed...and started worrying right there and then

actually, before that. His whole "bi-partisanship" fetish had me suspicious from the start, but when he became the nominee, I dropped all that, hoped for the best and worked for his election, and jumped up and down and cheered on election night along with probably almost all of us on DU. Like you, I reserve the right to criticize his policies, performance and appointments without being lectured about not doing anything but complaining. I respect those here that defend him and his administration; I believe they genuinely want what we want, but see a different strategy as being the most effective. I only would hope that they give his critics the same consideration.

[SlingBlade]

14. We all HOPED. But after the hope dies you either lay down ..

And die with it or scream bloody murder to let them know your still listening that your still watching.

There is no room to negotiate with the Pigs on the Right

[abq e streeter]

17. I absolutely agree--that's why I was so wary of the "bi-partisanship" obsession

but gave him some time to prove that maybe somehow he had some magical way of getting through to people I believed ( obviously correctly) were unreachable, vile racist assholes. But I try to remain open to those here on DU who insist he's doing a great job if and when they give concrete examples; even though my own eyes and intellect tell me that sentiments like those expressed in your OP are much closer to the reality of the situation.

[SlingBlade]

20. Time is running out quickly. November is just around the

corner and only a slack jaw can't see the slow train wreck that is developing.
This isn't just another chance for change, I believe it is this generations ONLY chance.

And I'm not about to sit by on my ass while the shills piss on my head and tell me its raining.

The above list is FAR from complete as we all know,
So the message to Rham and company should be ANYTHING BUT, wait. The time is now, The time has come.

[abq e streeter]

21. Maybe even worse than last chance for a generation;

I worry that it may be the last chance...period

[SlingBlade]

25. Yep. And ANOTHER link will explain some of THAT !

For those who haven't been paying attention.

'Torture Memo' Lawyers Cleared of Misconduct
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=7753687&mesg_id=7759829

You let War Criminals Walk and they WILL be back cause they won't walk far.

[Kalun D]

118. Plus it's a message for the future

you can break the law and get away with it

because the corporate dems WON'T DO JACK CRAP ABOUT IT.

[Occulus]

125. But you have to break the law in spectacular fashion

Smoke a joint and you could lose your home, your job, your credit rating, and years of your life in jail, plus, if you can afford to fight it, several thousand dollars.

Nearly crash the economy? Bailout and bonus checks.

[SlingBlade]

15. PS: Thanks for the " Unrecommend ". I know I'm close

to the truth when the shit birds come out :)

[Last Stand]

91. Here's to independent thinking...

I share your concerns and things aren't getting any better.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7189208

[dixiegrrrrl]

16. So it was RubinCitibank who started the mess

and then the Goldman Sachs boys were given a revolving door to the WH to finish the looting.
With Timmy right in the middle.
Sure looks like a deliberate scheme.

[SlingBlade]

18. Yep, Same People, Same Scheme, Same Result

[gristy]

19. after what?

[Coyote_Bandit]

22. Ummmm......

I noticed but wasn't the least bit surprised. I never had high expectations for this President and remain certain that there were better viable Dem candidates that could have secured a victory in the general election.

Next time Obama's name appears on my ballot I'm either going to (1) vote for his hopefully more progressive Dem opponent or (2) vote for a progressive thrid party candidate or (3) not vote for that partoicular office. I refuse to vote for the best of two bad choices. And I refuse to vote for someone who has demonstrated that they will not serve to protect or advance my needs and interests. Fuck 'em. The same is true of several other incumbents of course.

[SlingBlade]

26. "I refuse to vote for the best of two bad choices"

I'm with ya on that, Look where it has taken us, Not ONLY with the last TWO elections
2006 and 2008 but even further back.

I "Get It" Now.
No more Good Cop Bad Cop, No More !

[inna]

23. Here's a link to the full article (a must read, IMO):

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/31234647/obamas_big_sellout/print

[SlingBlade]

27. I'm think'in MATT TAIBBI isn't on Rhams Christmas List anymore.

[LWolf]

29. I noticed it.

But then, I expected it. I never drank that euphoric "hope/change" propaganda.

[bvar22]

30. Many of us at DU noticed.

When a rookie Senator from Chicago showed up in Iowa with a $Hundred Million Dollars AND an Up & Running Political Machine, some of us began to suspect a Ringer.

His lobbying FOR, and vote FOR TARP (no strings attached), and his support for immunity for the Telecoms who participated in Bush's illegal spying on Americans (before the inauguration) were a good indicator of WHO Obama was really working for.

But appointing Rahm was a blatant and beligerant "Fuck You" to the Democratic Wing of the Democratic Party.
There was a lot of laughter in Chicago THAT night.

The DLC New Team
Progressives Need NOT Apply

(Screen Capped from the DLC Website)

”I am a New Democrat!”---Barack Obama
http://www.dlc.org/ndol_ci.cfm?contentid=254931&kaid=85&subid=900184

Election 2008 was a HUGE defeat for the Democratic Wing of the Democratic Party.

The DLC Leadership will continue picking the remaining slivers of meat and gristle from the Middle Class Corpse left by Bush/Clinton/Reagan, and leave when there is NOTHING left (maybe by 2012).
They WILL take it ALL.

K&R....back UP to an even zero.

[SlingBlade]

37. Thats It. Thats the ticket, The New Democrats.

New and improved :(

[Skittles]

42. those of us who knew he was not what he seemed were roundly hooted down

we're STILL being told to shut up - well I say to them FUCK YOU AND WAKE THE FUCK UP

[Individualist]

55. +1

[bikingaz]

At least the Repugs are upfront about their intentions

Who was his biggest campaign contributors? Goldman Sachs

Who has been charting his campaign? Soros' MoveOn

Gee, I wonder if they are doing all of this to help the American people or to further line their pockets?

Looks like the hope & change are just campaign slogans

[bikingaz]

87. At least the Repugs are upfront about their intentions

Who was his biggest campaign contributors? Goldman Sachs

Who has been charting his campaign? Soros' MoveOn

Gee, I wonder if they are doing all of this to help the American people or to further line their pockets?

Looks like the hope & change are just campaign slogans

[earth mom]

31. Sorry, but....told ya'll so.

:argh:

[Skittles]

43. a lot of us did

[earth mom]

56. But not enough of us did. nt

[bvar22]

32. I'll give this another kick.

LOL !
There is a furious war going on behind the scenes.
I'm repeatedly hitting "refresh" and watching the "recommends" fluctuate rapidly between +1 and +4.

.
.
.
fascinating.
My prediction,
Slingblade's thread WILL make the Greatest Page, anbd then collect a whole bunch of recommends despite the furious activity of the un-recommenders who wish to hide the truth.

[SlingBlade]

38. Funny. It's the "Changeaholics", furiously drinking huge amounts of

the KoolAid in the hopes that all of this will simply go away.

Funny, But sad, Cause I was one of 'em.It hurts.
Not easy to accept the fact that you've been sold and accepted a phony bill of goods.

But what hurts even more is passing this crap unto my children
I refuse to sit by while this happens.

[inna]

57. LOL, that was a pretty good prediction!

This thread actually got up to +27 recs. I was one of the first reccers and thought it was hopeless but rec'd it out of principle. :D

[girl gone mad]

33. k & r

[leftstreet]

34. K&R

[wildbilln864]

36. and another k & r!

cause it's spot on! :hi:

[Raine]

40. On point nt

[jeanpalmer]

44. The only way to possibly get a course change

is to let him know he has to change. He's not getting enough negative feedback. The polls indicate that. His support among independents has dropped off, but his support among Democrats is still high. The feedback he's getting from Democrats is "you're doing a great job." Until that changes, he won't change. The best thing we can do for him and the party is to voice our disapproval. If the negative feedback gets big enough, like on deficit commissions that can consider reducing SS or on escalating war, then maybe he'll change. But if large numbers of Democrats keep giving him a free pass of excuses, he'll never change. And we'll be screwed.

[BigBearJohn]

45. How many times will we watch the same movie over & over again hoping it'll end differently?

[eShirl]

46. I distinctly remember being displeased reading, here on DU, how he was voting in the Senate

many times

[MilesColtrane]

47. Electing Obama was merely a band aid that has barely left our country alive.

It's up to us to actually heal the patient.

[aaronbav]

121. I think the patient is beyond healing - we are afflicted with a

metastasizing cancer - a government merged completely and totally with CORPORATE interest (and money), to the detriment and destruction of the rest of the body.

My Mom died of cancer, as did both my Grandfathers - I know what terminal cancer is and the U.S. is terminal.

We have long since crossed the line of being able to treat and/or remove the cancer. It is spread to far and wide.

Some times there is NOTING to do but let the patient die.

[Mari333]

48. this pretty much sums up where Im at

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVdKQ0I35qo

[SlingBlade]

50. Thanks for the link But I can't just say, F@@K IT ! ,I have children

Gotta say, I've never heard it put quite like that though :)

" That it is the perfect western expression of the eastern ideas of letting go, giving up and finding real freedom by realizing that things don't matter so much (if at all). "

[SlingBlade]

51. He's also lost thr youth vote. THAT is where it ends.

[EmeraldCityGrl]

58. "Gee, I wish I'd voted for McCain/Palin..

what was I thinking!"

Are you serious? The "youts" are not as inclined to vote in the mid-terms as they are in a presidential election.

Obama is still popular with younger voters. There isn't anyone on the right they would support at this time.

We're going to do much better in the Fall than a lot of people are predicting.

[saracat]

60. Same old , same old. You got nothing to back that up. Yawn. You just don't get it.

No one has ever said anything about voting for McCain /Palin.Thats so 2009. You just drag out that old canard because "you got nothing." No one wanted them but that doesn't mean we are pleased with what we have. many of us are disgusted and disappointed.!

[SlingBlade]

61. " I wish I'd voted for McCain/Palin", You mean you didn't ?

Then you should have. Better to vote your conscience than someone else's idea of perfection.

As for Obama being popular with younger voters, Don't count on it
He's let them down on nearly every issue they fought for as well.

You get what it is you deserve, If your willing to settle for the same old good cop bad cop shit
then settle for it, But don't try and tell me I have to settle for it cause I don't and won't.

And I'm through with this "Republicans" are gonna get'cha bullshit. MmKay.

So stop trying to blame this betrayal on dissenters, People like you are starting to creep me out
with visions of yesterday.

[SlingBlade]

63. Young Voters Cooling towards Democrats

Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/02/24/politics/main...

[bertman]

59. Too late to rec, but this is right on the money. Bad pun. Sorry.

The illusion of democratic government must be preserved at all costs until the Treasury is drained and the Wall Street Cabal has made its getaway.

[SlingBlade]

62. Straight Up Dude. The illusion must be challenged

Red Pill Blue Pill our choice.

[SlingBlade]

96. Obama's Health Reform Greatest Hits Threads Below .....

[SlingBlade]

108. Why is this shit like watching old re-runs on TeeVee ?

"There is nothing wrong with your television set. Do not attempt to adjust the picture. We are in control of the transmission. If we wish to make it louder, we will turn up the volume. If we want it softer, we will turn it down. We control the horizontal and the vertical. We can alter the internal linkfocus, to sharpen or distort the picture. For the next hour, we will control all that you see and hear. Believe me, there is nothing wrong with your television set. You are about to take an adventure. You are about to experience the awe which is associated with a journey to - The Outer Limits."

[SlingBlade]

127. The Democratic Party Suicide Prevention Thread

The Democratic Party Suicide Prevention Thread

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...

Right now there is a democrat holding a gun to his head threatening to pull the trigger
to the chants and jeer's of Re-Thugs and TeaBag's everywhere,
Shouting, "Do it", "Do it", Dooooo It !!!

The "It" is the Corporate Welfare sham Health Care Reform Bill now being considered in the Congress.
With a walloping seventy plus percent of Americans FOR a Public Option that includes Single Payer
and a Majority of Democrats in the House, The Senate and controlling the White House we are being told
that THIS is the best they can do. Those mean old Republicans,They tell us.
The Republican Card being played to the hilt.

Stop them now, Before they pull the trigger and kill whats left of our Party

Don't ask but TELL them not to do it, Tell them we will hold them accountable.

Call, Write, Fax and E-mail OUR Representatives
Now, Today and tomorrow and everyday that remains
Tell them that we demand a Public Option with Single Payer NOW, Not ten years from now.

Contact the White House
http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact

Call the White House
[phone]

Call, Write, Fax and E-mail your Representatives, House and Senate
http://www.contactingthecongress.org /

There my very well never be another chance. Do it before they pull the trigger.
Do it for your children and your loved ones, Just do it.


There's a man with a gun over there, Telling me I got to beware
I think it's time we stop, children, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down ....
Buffalo Springfield
Health Care for All

[SlingBlade]

64. "Where's the Single-Payer Advocate?"

Reps. Weiner and Welch as Obama: "Where's the Single-Payer Advocate?"

http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dc/2010/02/wheres-the-...

“Dear Mr. President,” they write. “During the State of the Union address, you stated, ‘But if anyone from either party has a better approach that will bring down premiums, bring down the deficit, cover the uninsured, strengthen Medicare for seniors, and stop insurance company abuses, let me know.’

“We’d like to take you up on the offer.”

Their idea is pretty easy to understand: Medicare for all.


If Obama prefers to keep ignoring them, his longtime doctor, and Drs. Marget Flowers and Carol Paris, he could always listen to this guy.

Please K&R if you support single-payer Medicare for All.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7777933

[SlingBlade]

65. Senators Propose Big Corporate Tax Cut

enators Propose Big Corporate Tax Cut

Source: NYT

Calls to cut taxes on large corporations may seem odd given that the nation faces a $1.55 trillion budget shortfall for the coming fiscal year. But that is exactly what a couple of senators, one Republican and one Democrat, would like to see happen. They jointly introduced a bill in Congress on Tuesday that would cut the corporate income tax rate to a flat 24 percent from 35 percent by eliminating some tax breaks.

“The United States has the second highest corporate tax rate in the industrialized world,” Senator Judd Gregg, Republican of New Hampshire, said at a news conference to discuss the bill he wrote with Senator Ron Wyden, Democrat of Oregon. “After this law goes into effect, which I certainly hope it will, we will be pretty much competitive with everybody who’s a major player in the corporate world but, certainly, the countries which are our primary competition in Europe and Asia.”

Mr. Gregg said cutting the corporate tax rate to 24 percent would help spur the economy and encourage more investment at home, translating to more jobs.

Read more: http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/23/2-senators... /

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4281652

[SlingBlade]

66. Senate Dems look to one-year extension of key provisions in the Patriot Act

Senate Dems look to one-year extension of key provisions in the Patriot Act

ource: The Hill

Senate Democrats are pushing for a short-term extension of key provisions in the Patriot Act as part of a package of must-pass measures.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is planning to ask for unanimous consent to pass an extension for a host of measures set to expire February 28, according to Senate sources. The request could be made as early as Tuesday night.

The large package of bills includes a year-long extension of three provisions of the anti-terrorism law known a the Patriot Act, as well as extensions for expiring tax provisions, including unemployment insurance, COBRA, flood insurance, the law governing the highway trust fund, the federal flood insurance program and a measure governing satellite television signals.

Democrats in Congress have faced a tough time renewing the Patriot Act provisions, which grant broad counter-terrorism powers to the executive branch. Senate Democrats included a one-year extension of the Patriot Act provisions in its jobs bill, but Reid jettisoned that larger measure in favor a smaller jobs bill.

The Senate Judiciary Committee approved a bill last October that would extend key provisions of the Patriot Act but add new restrictions on FBI demands for records from U.S. businesses and impose new reporting requirements. Republicans have objected to placing any new restrictions on the executive counter-terrorism powers and have blocked the Judiciary Committee’s version of the bill.

Read more: http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/83279-senate-dems-lo...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4281305

[SlingBlade]

67. 'Volcker Rule' Stalls in Senate

'Volcker Rule' Stalls in Senate

Source: Wall Street Journal

Key senators are expected to scrap President Barack Obama's proposal to prohibit commercial banks from certain risky trading activities, people familiar with the matter said, a setback for the administration's bid to limit the size and scope of the largest U.S. banks.

The proposal, dubbed the "Volcker rule" after former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, would have essentially prevented any commercial bank with federally insured deposits from owning a division that makes speculative bets with its own capital.

But after resistance from lawmakers from both parties, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd (D., Conn.) and other legislators are expected to introduce a plan next week that would give regulators more discretion to limit and potentially ban risky trading at banks, especially if it poses a risk to the broader economy. The measure would stop short of banning such trading outright.

---

The provision in its original form, if enacted, could force companies such as Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Morgan Stanley and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. to shed certain divisions or reorganize their business practices. It has won support from several former Treasury secretaries but triggered a violent reaction on Wall Street, helping send the Dow Jones Industrial Average into a three-day slide after its announcement.

Read more: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703503804...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4281134

[SlingBlade]

68. 'I Expect I Will' Sign Public Option Letter;

Carper: 'I Expect I Will' Sign Public Option Letter; Levin Wants To Check Wording First (all for it) Updated at 11:48 AM

Source: Talking Points Memo

Carper: 'I Expect I Will' Sign Public Option Letter; Levin Wants To Check Wording First
Rachel Slajda | February 23, 2010, 2:36PM


Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE) tells TPMDC that he plans to sign a letter urging Senate leadership to pass a public option via reconciliation.

"I expect that I will" sign, Carper said. The letter, written by Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO), has been signed by 23 senators so far.

That's a bit of a departure from his position just yesterday. Asked by TPMDC if he thought passing a public option via reconciliation was appropriate or desirable, Carper said he thought it wouldn't fly procedurally.

..................

Separately, Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) said he fully supports passing the public option with reconciliation, but wants to read the wording of the letter before he signs on.

"I'm all for it," he said.

Read more: http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/02/carper-i-exp...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4280630

[SlingBlade]

69. U.S. Will Slow Iraq Pullout if Violence Surges After Vote

Will Slow Iraq Pullout if Violence Surges After Vote

Source: Wall Street Journal

WASHINGTON—The top U.S. commander in Baghdad said some American combat forces could remain in Iraq after this summer's planned withdrawal date if the country's feuding leaders are unable to quickly form a new government.

The comment from Army Gen. Ray Odierno is one of the clearest indications yet of how closely senior U.S. officials will be watching Iraq's national elections next month for signs of whether the country will be capable of governing itself—and maintaining its current level of security—once American forces head for the exits. U.S. troop levels in Iraq are supposed to fall to 50,000 by the end of August as the overall American mission shifts from direct combat to supporting Iraqi security forces. The remaining U.S. forces are supposed to leave Iraq by the end of 2011.

Speaking at the Pentagon, Gen. Odierno said he expected all U.S. combat forces to leave Iraq by Sept. 1, reducing American troop levels—already at their lowest point since the start of the war in March 2003—to 50,000. He said the continuing withdrawal was ahead of schedule, as initial plans had estimated there would be 115,000 U.S. troops left in Iraq now instead of the current 96,000.

Still, Gen. Odierno he said, Iraq's uncertain political future meant the next phase of the drawdown could proceed more slowly than initially planned. The commander said he had prepared contingency plans that would leave some combat troops in Iraq past Sept. 1 if the country faced serious political unrest or widespread violence after the vote. "I have contingency plans that I've briefed to the chain of command this week that we could execute if we run into problems," Gen. Odierno said. "We're prepared to execute those."

Read more: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704454304...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4280150

[SlingBlade]

70. Congress Knew

Rights Groups Present New Docs-Show Congress Knew More About CIA Rendition-Secret Detention&Torture Updated at 11:48 AM

Source: Center For Constitutional Rights

Rights Groups Present New Documents that Show Congress Knew More About CIA Rendition, Secret Detention and Torture

Evidence Points to Cheney Counsel’s Role in Authorizing Torture

Contact: [e-mail]

New York and Washington, February 22, 2010—New FOIA documents illustrate that key congressional members from both houses were briefed numerous times about the Central Intelligence Agency’s (CIA) interrogation and detention programs, said several prominent human rights groups today. The groups—Amnesty International USA (AIUSA), the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), and the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice (CHRGJ) at NYU School of Law—were responding to several documents just received in response to the groups' Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) litigation.

Among other new information, the documents show that:

• While Vice President Cheney’s role in authorizing waterboarding and other so-called enhanced interrogation techniques has been public, a newly obtained February 4, 2003, CIA memo documents the role of Counsel for the Office of the Vice President (OVP) in analyzing and approving the CIA techniques.

• According to CIA meeting records and the same February 4, 2003 memo, it seems that in one of his first acts as chair of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Senator Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) discontinued efforts by previous chair Senator Bob Graham (D-Fla.) to implement greater oversight of these programs, thus abdicating the role of Congress in overseeing the CIA rendition, secret detention, and torture programs.

• There are significant questions about how clear the CIA was with Congress (including in Hayden’s previously classified briefing on April 12, 2007 to the Senate Intelligence Committee) about the timing, nature, and results of the interrogation of Abu Zubaydah, including particularly interrogation prior to the OLC August 1, 2002 memo.

In light of these new facts, AIUSA, CCR, and CHRGJ released the following statements:

Read more: http://ccrjustice.org/newsroom/press-releases/rights-gr...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4279487

[robdogbucky]

71. Record bonuses on Wall St., record violations by Anthem in Cal...

just the tip of the iceberg.

The Real Reason Obama's Plan Doesn't Include a Public Option

The reason Robert Gibbs gives for President Obama's health care plan not including a public option -- that despite majority voter support, it can't get 51 Democratic votes in the Senate -- doesn't hold up. The real reason is that Obama made a backroom deal last summer with the for-profit hospital industry that there would be no meaningful public option.

This is one of the great under-reported stories of the health reform saga. Much has been written about the Obama administration's deal with big Pharma to continue to block Medicare from negotiating for lower drug prices or to allow consumers to buy cheaper drugs from Canada, in exchange for Pharma running pro-Democratic ads and giving campaign contributions to Democratic candidates. That's the reason, under pressure from the White House, that Senate Democrats voted down an amendment that would have allowed consumers to buy cheaper drugs from overseas.

But Obama's deal with the for-profit hospital lobby to insure there would be no public option has, as best I can tell, only been reported in two articles in The New York Times. On August 13, The Times reported that while President Obama had presented himself as "aloof from the legislative fray," particularly in connection with the public option, "Behind the scenes, however, Mr. Obama and advisors have been...negotiating deals with a degree of cold-eyed political realism potentially at odds with the president's rhetoric." One of the deals reported in The Times article was the Pharma deal. The other was a deal with the for-profit hospital lobby to limit its cost reductions to $155 billion over 10 years in exchange for a White House promise that there would be no meaningful public option.

According to The Times:

"Several hospital lobbyists involved in the White House deals said it was understood as a condition of their support that the final legislation would not include a government-run health plan paying-Medicare rates...or controlled by the secretary of health and human services. 'We have an agreement with the White House that I'm very confident will be seen all the way through conference', one of the industry lobbyists, Chip Kahn, director of the Federation of American Hospitals, told a Capitol Hill newsletter...Industry lobbyists say they are not worried 'We trust the White House,' Mr. Kahn said...."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/miles-mogulescu/the-real-reason-obamas-pl_b_473924.html




Just my dos centavos


robdogbucky

[SlingBlade]

72. Goldman Is Unpopular Because ‘It Brings Envy,’ Corzine Says

Goldman Is Unpopular Because ‘It Brings Envy,’ Corzine Says


By Michael J. Moore and Deirdre Bolton

Feb. 24 (Bloomberg) -- Goldman Sachs Group Inc., the most profitable securities firm in Wall Street history, is unpopular because some people envy its performance, said Jon Corzine, the company’s former chairman and chief executive officer.

“When you’re successful it brings envy,” Corzine, 63, said today in a Bloomberg Television interview. “People are broadly frustrated with the financial institutions, and since it is the leader of the industry and has shown great success over a long period of time, I think it’s more vulnerable.”

Goldman Sachs posted a record $13.4 billion profit in 2009, a year after receiving $10 billion in taxpayer aid during the financial crisis. It repaid the funds in June. The company, led by CEO Lloyd Blankfein, has been criticized by lawmakers and pundits for issues from its pay practices to its role in helping Greece raise off-balance-sheet funding and report smaller debt.

Responding in part to that public pressure, Goldman Sachs subtracted $519 million in the fourth quarter from the compensation fund set aside during the year and instead made donations to a company philanthropy.

Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aS....

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4281695

[SlingBlade]

73. Eight Democratic Senators sent a letter to EPA requesting greenhouse gases not be regulated

Eight Democratic Senators sent a letter to EPA requesting greenhouse gases not be regulated

by anyone other than Congress. These Senators are not who you might suspect. Byrd, Rockefeller, Begich, Sherod Brown, just to name a few. None were what we would call Blue Dog Democrats. They do not want EPA to regulate greenhouse gases.. They say it will cost jobs and only Congress should do it..
http://theminorityreportblog.com/story/steve_foley/2010...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7779550

[SlingBlade]

74. Pelosi: House Dems Can Support Obama Healthcare Proposal

Pelosi: House Dems Can Support Obama Healthcare Proposal

Speaker Nancy Pelosi said House Democrats can support the major parts of the healthcare proposal released by the White House.

“We’re very pleased with what the president put up on the Internet,” Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Tuesday at a news conference.

Pelosi also didn’t object to the lack of a public insurance plan in Obama’s bill. Liberals in the House have pled for Obama to support the public option, and had included it in their bill as a way to ensure competition with private insurance and to drive down healthcare costs.

“There are other ways to do that,” Pelosi said. “We intend to do that in the bill. seems to me the best way to us, but that will depend on what the Senate can pass on the Senate side.”

http://thehill.com/homenews/house/83241-pelosi-house-de...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=433x194319

[SlingBlade]

75. We would never have Medicare today if we had the Democrats we have now back then /nt

We would never have Medicare today if we had the Democrats we have now back then /nt

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7780011

[SlingBlade]

76. "The Democratic Party's Deceitful Game" By Glenn Greenwald

"The Democratic Party's Deceitful Game" By Glenn Greenwald

The Democratic Party's deceitful game
BY GLENN GREENWALD
(updated below)

link: http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2010/...

Democrats perpetrate the same scam over and over on their own supporters, and this illustrates perfectly how it's played:

Politics Daily, October 4, 2009:

Jay Rockefeller on the Public Option: "I Will Not Relent"

Jay Rockefeller has waited a long time for this moment. . . . He's [] a longtime advocate of health care for children and the poor -- and, as Congress moves toward its moment of truth on health care, perhaps the most earnest, dogged Senate champion of a nationwide public health insurance plan to compete with private insurance companies.

"I will not relent on that. That's the only way to go," Rockefeller told me in an interview. "There's got to be a safe harbor."

President Obama often says a public option is needed to drive down costs and keep insurance companies honest. To Rockefeller, it's both more basic and more vital: The federal government is the only institution people can count on in times of need.

The Huffington Post, yesterday:

Rockefeller Not Inclined To Support Reconciliation For The Public Plan

Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.V.) threw a wrench into Democratic efforts to get a public option passed through reconciliation, saying that he thought the maneuver was overly partisan and that he was inclined to oppose it. . .

"I don't think the timing of it is very good," the West Virginia Democrat said on Monday. "I'm probably not going to vote for that" . . .



Well OP here and I think this says it all. Too many, not all, Democrats have someone else's best interest at heart than our own.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7781130

[SlingBlade]

77. The Democratic Party and the Democratic base

The Democratic Party and the Democratic base

Poll question: The Democratic Party and the Democratic base

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=7781910

[SlingBlade]

78. Why is the White House killing the public option?

Why is the White House killing the public option?

Ignoring support from its constituency? Polling indicates public support is overwhelming. What the fuck is going on here? I'm tired.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7783269

[SlingBlade]

79. A slap on the wrist and Yoo is back in our faces claiming HE did Pres. Obama a favor

A slap on the wrist and Yoo is back in our faces claiming HE did Pres. Obama a favor

My Gift to the Obama Presidency

By JOHN YOO

Barack Obama may not realize it, but I may have just helped save his presidency. How? By winning a drawn-out fight to protect his powers as commander in chief to wage war and keep Americans safe . . .

infuriatingly more: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704188104...

Fuck Yoo.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7783243

[nadinbrzezinski]

80. I hate to point this out, but thsoe of us who

actually read the voting record, KNEW we were electing a centrist. So I never bought into the change meme...

So actually this is NOT shocking to me. Oh and by the way, I actually did get it, given FDR also hired WS insiders in 1932 as well... but history NEVER EVAH repeats itself.

[SlingBlade]

81. Robert Scheer: No Banker Left Behind

Robert Scheer: No Banker Left Behind

rom Truthdig:




No Banker Left Behind

Posted on Feb 23, 2010
By Robert Scheer


They do have a license to steal. There is no other way to read Tuesday’s report from the New York state comptroller that bonuses for Wall Street financiers rose 17 percent to $20.3 billion in 2009. Of course that is less than the $32.9 billion for bonus rewards back in 2007, when those hotshots could still pretend that they were running sound businesses.

The economy is anything but sound, but you would hardly know that from looking at the balance sheets of the big investment banks. The broker-dealer firms on Wall Street made a record profit, estimated at greater than $55 billion by the comptroller, and the only thing holding back even more grotesque bonuses was concern over criticism from a public that was hardly doing as well.

The enormous rewards last year come not from their having righted the ship of finance by lowering the rate of mortgage foreclosures for ordinary folks, one of four who are now “underwater” on their loans. Consumer confidence this month is the lowest in 27 years, and unemployment is expected to hover near 10 percent for the next two years. No, they get bonuses because the Federal Reserve, backed by the Treasury, bought the toxic mortgage securitization packages that Wall Street banks were left holding. They, and they alone, were made whole.

The way the scam worked is that the Treasury deposited taxpayer dollars with the Federal Reserve, which in turn purchased a whopping $1.25 trillion in toxic mortgages. That’s the figure after the Treasury on Tuesday committed to depositing $200 billion more with the Fed to increase spending on this program—one that was ostensibly designed to increase credit availability to small businesses and others but has hardly accomplished that goal. Credit is still very tight because the big financiers have used the low-cost cash they received from those charitable government programs to solidify their own positions through acquisitions and the like. ............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/no_banker_left_behi... /

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=103x520268

[SlingBlade]

82. If Obama really wanted a public option, there would be one

If Obama really wanted a public option, there would be one

It just isn't that important to him. You gotta believe that something means more to you than anything to go to war on something. Obama decided that Afghanistan was worth all the political and emotional strife that it would cause him, so he has taken it on.

In the same vein, Obama has decided that getting a mild form of public option, for example, allowing 60 year olds to enroll in medicare, or perhaps 58 year olds, and gradually enlarging the number is not worth the effort. Not worth the effort, or not as important as Afghanistan

I am saying that to win, one must give it everything he has. To fight and never give up.

On the public option, I don't believe that Obama gave it every single bit of effort that he could give. Did he pressure all that could be pressured in every way?

He certainly did give that effort to get elected, but I don't think he has given that effort on this issue. And this issue is a life or death issue. I welcome comments.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7783518

[SlingBlade]

83. The real cost of the loss of hope that things will get better.

The real cost of the loss of hope that things will get better.

I wonder how many other Americans are feeling as I do. I have a sense of impending darkness that has intruded into my world. Many things that I have held as beliefs all of my life, have melted away as the reality of just how little value my Nation places on me, my family, our needs and wants, and those of millions of other families in the same sort of situation we now find ourselves in.

It's become increasingly clear that neither political party will ever do more than feather it's own nest and pay lip service to real world crisis that we are facing. Platitudes tossed out as if they still have meaning, to those of us that have no more options, become bitter, enraging thorns, that only serve to deepen the wounds that are bleeding us dry. In those platitudes, we see only the death of hope that things will get better. We've been lied to so many times, by those that claimed that "they will work for the people," only to turn around and do the exact opposite once they got into power, that it's almost impossible to trust any of them.

On a more personal level, the real cost of the loss of hope that things will get better, is much more devastating. It's destroys one's self-image, sapping the very essence how you have dealt with issues in the past. There have been lean years in my 56 on this planet, times that we made do with much less than was "comfortable." Times when I worked for less than a "fair wage," because it's all that was available. I took my first job at Pizza Hut as a sophomore in high school and had only drawn 2 weeks unemployment in my entire life. That is, until this Second Great Depression hit.

If there is any segment of the workforce that has taken a harder hit than the construction industry, I'm not aware of it. In March of '08, my job disappeared. As of last week, so did my unemployment benefits, and with it, any hope of "hanging on" until "the recovery" which shows no sign of happening anywhere soon enough to help me save any part of what I've worked my entire life to build, if at all. At age 56, you find something out, people, especially those that do the hiring, aren't very interested in people like me, regardless of whether or not we are fully capable of doing the jobs they have. And it makes no difference what job it is or what it pays. How humiliating is it to not even get a response to literally hundreds of applications and resumes sent out? You don't want to know, believe me.

On the larger scale, as Thom Hartmann has said, revolutions happen when people lose hope that things CAN get better. The only real question is now, what sort of revolution will it be? One, like FDR led, that pulled this Nation back from the brink and brought some fairness for We the People back into the mix, or the other option, which is likely to rip the very fabric of this Nation to shreds?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7783543

[SlingBlade]

84. The lack of justice is the first sign...

The lack of justice is the first sign...

f a society that is falling apart.

When there was no investigation of George W Bush and Dick Cheney, after their lawless Administration ended, people questioned why some folks are above the law? With the charges of torture and breaking the rules of the Geneva Convention, there was plenty to investigate.

Then, this week, we are told that Mr Yoo and his criminal friends in the White House would not be investigated or prosecuted. Even though he had said that the President had the right to kill American citizens and could order the massacre of entire villages of people. Does anyone truly believe such a statement?

We have lost the concept of justice. Without justice, there are no rules. There are no penalties if you are in the "accepted" class. Citizens will not accept such a government as legitimate. We are skating on this ice.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7783646

[SlingBlade]

85. The White House thinks there isn't public support for the public option

The White House thinks there isn't public support for the public option

Apparently we need to bomb them with "get a clue...we want a public option" messages

Anyone know the best way to do this?

On Edit: here is the White House contact link:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=433x195169

[SlingBlade]

86. Despite Criticism Holder Has 'Utmost Confidence' In DOJ Ethics

Despite Harsh Criticism Of Torture Memos Report, Holder Has 'Utmost Confidence' In DOJ Ethics

Source: http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/02/holde... .

Despite Harsh Criticism Of Torture Memos Report, Holder Has 'Utmost Confidence' In DOJ Ethics OfficeJustin Elliott | February 24, 2010, 6:55PM
Attorney General Eric Holder has "the utmost confidence" in the Justice Department's ethics office, despite the fact that it was recently overruled by a top Holder aide in its most high-profile case in years, a DOJ spokeswoman tells TPMmuckraker.

The 290-page torture memo report produced by the Office of Professional Responsibility, which is tasked with investigating misconduct by DOJ attorneys, found that Bush-era attorneys John Yoo and Jay Bybee had committed professional misconduct in writing the legal opinions that authorized torture.

But released with the OPR report Friday was a scathing memo from Associate Deputy AG David Margolis, the top career attorney at the department, that explicitly overruled OPR's finding of misconduct. Margolis barred OPR from referring the matter to state bar disciplinary authorities where Yoo and Bybee are licensed.

Margolis took a dim view of OPR's handling of the case, including the office's initial plan, blocked by then-attorney general Michael Mukasey, to release its report without giving Yoo and Bybee a chance to respond. Margolis accused OPR of shifting its reasoning over the course of two drafts and one final report. His memo thinly veils his scorn toward OPR's approach to the legal issues at hand.

More at.....
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/02/holde...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4282601

[amborin]

88. K&R sadly, too late to rec! thanks for posting!

[SlingBlade]

89. Sanders: Senate has the votes to pass public option via reconciliation

Source: The Hill


Sanders: Senate has the votes to pass public option via reconciliation
By Jordan Fabian - 02/25/10 11:16 AM ET

The Senate has the 50 votes necessary to pass a public health insurance option using the budget reconciliation process, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said Thursday.

Sanders, a self-described "democratic socialist" who supports the government-run plan, urged President Barack Obama to push for the public option even though the possibility of passing it appeared to die this week.

"I think we do have 50 votes in the Senate for a public option and frankly I don't know why the president has not put it in and I hope that we can inject it," Sanders said on MSNBC. "I think it's a very important part of healthcare reform."

It's not clear if Sanders's remarks will encourage leaders to take up the public option, but they will surely give hope to his liberal supporters who have put pressure on Congress to pass a public plan.

Read more: http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/83641-...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4283389

[SlingBlade]

92. Rachel Maddow To Obama - Ignore Medicare For All and the Public option 'at your very grave peril'

Rachel Maddow To Obama - Ignore Medicare For All and the Public option 'at your very grave peril'
The entire segment can be seen here:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/#35573472

[SlingBlade]

93. HRW slams Obama's rights records

urce: Press TV

Human Rights Watch has blasted US President Barack Obama's change in "rhetoric" rather than "policies" as US transfers more Guantanamo Bay prisoners to Europe.

Executive Director of Human Rights Watch, Kenneth Roth, says that vows of change in the US administration have been limited to presidential rhetoric, US media said on Wednesday.

When it came to promoting human rights, there has undoubtedly been a marked improvement in presidential rhetoric, Roth said.

However, he added, the translation of those words into deeds remains incomplete.

Roth referred to Obama's failure to deliver on his promise for the closure of the notorious Guantanamo prison one-year after assuming power and urged the president to "aggressively" pursue the rights agenda.

Read more: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=119455§ionid=3...


http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4284219

[redqueen]

94. Funny... I don't remember PBS calling any of Bush's actions "revolting and inexcusable".

I guess I just missed that.

Cause why would they be so hostile to Obama yet treat Bush with kid gloves for 8 years?

[SlingBlade]

95. We dropped the Medicare Buy-In because we "only" had 59 votes w/o Liebermann

So WHY in hell are we even talking about ramming through a no-public-option MANDATE, which voters overwhelmingly oppose, with 50 votes?


If we are belatedly willing to use reconciliation, why in hell are we NOT going to use it to pass the real reform voters need and demand, rather than a lobbyist written, suicidal mandate?


"If Barack Obama’s bill gets changed to exclude the public entities, it is not health insurance reform…it rises and falls on whether the public is allowed to choose Medicare if they’re under 65 or not. If they are allowed to choose Medicare as an option, this bill will be real health care reform...."

- Howard Dean

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7801959

[SlingBlade]

97. Obama: Compromise on health if GOP is serious

Obama: Compromise on health if GOP is serious

By ERICA WERNER
Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama said Saturday that he's ready to compromise with Republicans if they're serious about it but that his health care overhaul must go forward.

Obama's comments in his weekly Internet and radio address, two days after an all-day bipartisan summit across from the White House, were the latest sign that Democrats are girding to try to plow sweeping health care legislation through Congress with no Republicans on board.

Success will require colossal efforts on the part of Obama and Democratic leaders in Congress to round up votes after a year of corrosive debate and a Senate special-election upset that threw the overhaul effort into limbo last month. But Obama and the Democrats reject the piecemeal approach sought by Republicans and have no intention of scrapping their 10-year, $1 trillion bill and starting over as the GOP demands.

"I am eager and willing to move forward with members of both parties on health care if the other side is serious about coming together to resolve our differences and get this done. But I also believe that we cannot lose the opportunity to meet this challenge," Obama said.



Read more: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_OBAMA_HEALTH_...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4285826

[SlingBlade]

98. House Democrats: Obama's support could lead to final passage of health-care bill

House Democrats: Obama's support could lead to final passage of health-care bill

Source: Washington Post

As Democratic leaders begin to negotiate what they hope will be a health-care endgame, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Friday that President Obama's support for key House Democratic priorities had increased the likelihood that a version of the massive bill now stuck in the Senate could become law.

Pelosi told reporters that Obama's 11-page blueprint for health-care reform, released in advance of Thursday's White House summit, had provided the outlines of a final bill that could take shape over the coming weeks.

White House officials said Obama will announce next week how he wants Congress to proceed. Lawmakers would like to wrap up debate before Congress departs March 26 for the Easter recess, but some Democratic aides acknowledged that it might not be possible to do so.

Two questions will determine whether a health-care bill reaches the president's desk: whether Pelosi can persuade her caucus to support the more conservative proposal passed by the Senate, and whether Senate Democrats can execute the parliamentary maneuvering required to modify that legislation to accommodate the demands of the House.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/20...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4285761

[SlingBlade]

99. Obama signs one-year extension of Patriot Act

Source: MYWAY

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama has signed a one-year extension of several provisions in the nation's main counterterrorism law, the Patriot Act.

Provisions in the measure would have expired on Sunday without Obama's signature Saturday.

The act, which was adopted in the weeks after the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks, expands the government's ability to monitor Americans in the name of national security.

Three sections of the Patriot Act that stay in force will:

_Authorize court-approved roving wiretaps that permit surveillance on multiple phones.

_Allow court-approved seizure of records and property in anti-terrorism operations.

_Permit surveillance against a so-called lone wolf, a non-U.S. citizen engaged in terrorism who may not be part of a recognized terrorist group.



Read more: http://apnews.myway.com/article/20100228/D9E4T02G0.html

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4287047

[SlingBlade]

100. Pelosi to Dems: back health bill even if it hurts

Source: AP

WASHINGTON – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi urged her colleagues to back a major overhaul of U.S. health care even if it threatens their political careers, a call to arms that underscores the issue's massive role in this election year.

Lawmakers sometimes must enact policies that, even if unpopular at the moment, will help the public, Pelosi said in an interview being broadcast Sunday the ABC News program "This Week."

"We're not here just to self-perpetuate our service in Congress," she said. "We're here to do the job for the American people."

It took courage for Congress to pass Social Security and Medicare, which eventually became highly popular, she said, "and many of the same forces that were at work decades ago are at work again against this bill."

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100228/ap_on_go_co/us_heal...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4286968

[scentopine]

101. Good post - the centrists and other right wingers have been

well served by Obama. He's the best republican we can hope for.

[Autumn]

103. I'm sorry I can't recommend this thread

because it is too old but damn did you call it right. Thank you.:kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: bookmarking.

[SlingBlade]

104. Pelosi says GOP has hijacked 'tea party' movement

Source: AP

WASHINGTON – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is questioning whether the conservative "tea party" coalition truly represents a grass-roots movement.

In a broadcast interview, Pelosi calls tea party voters the "astroturf" movement. She says many of those voters have good intentions but that the Republican Party has hijacked the movement for its gain.

The San Francisco Democrat says the tea party coalition shares some common ground with Democrats, such as their dislike of special interests in Washington. She cited public disdain for the recent Supreme Court ruling on campaign finance that allows companies and unions to spend freely on ads that promote or target particular candidates by name.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100228/ap_on_go_co/us_pelo...


http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4286967

[SlingBlade]

105. Durbin Launches Online Petition To Reform The Filibuster please sign

The American people are sick of process blocking progress. They're fed up with an
arbitrary tradition that allows a minority of Senators to prevent popular, much-
needed legislation from even coming to a vote.

Frankly, so am I.

Please sign this petition to my colleagues in the Senate, supporting the Harkin-Shaheen proposal or other similar proposals to eliminate the crippling 60-vote requirement to overcome a filibuster.

Thank you,

Dick Durbin
U.S. Senator


Durbin Launches Online Petition To Reform The Filibuster

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7812875

[SlingBlade]

106. If the Medicare cuts of 21% go through with a Democratic majority

we are the ones who will be blamed. NOT Jim Bunning, not the Republicans....but us. The Democrats have been pussy-footing around this issue and playing political games with it.

If those cuts remain, we will lose our majority this year.

Those are payments to doctors, who get very little from Medicare as it is.

The fact this was allowed to happen shows a mindset in both parties of a lack of concern for the elderly.

We already knew that Obama was calling for huge cuts to Medicare.

Reporting from Washington -- Under pressure to pay for his ambitious reshaping of the nation's healthcare system, President Obama today will outline $313 billion in Medicare and Medicaid spending cuts over the next decade to help cover the cost of expanding coverage to tens of millions of America's uninsured.

Among the proposed policy changes outlined by the president are:

* Reductions in payments to providers to reflect increased efficiencies in the system, which the White House estimates could save $110 billion over the next decade.

* Cuts in federal subsidies to hospitals that treat large populations of uninsured patients, estimated to save $106 billion over the next decade.

* Cuts in how much the federal government pays pharmaceutical companies to provide prescription drugs to seniors and others, estimated to save $75 billion over the next decade.


We already knew that one of Obama's main advisors on health care, Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, brother of Rahm, wants to phase out Medicare and put everyone gradually on vouchers for health care.

Zeke Emanuel is a health care advisor to Obama. Wants to phase out Medicare and Medicaid.

The Guaranteed Healthcare Access Plan will be administered by a National Health Board and regional boards modeled on the Federal Reserve System with fiscal, administrative, and political independence to make tough decisions based on the merits, not special interest lobbying. There will also be an Institute for Technology and Outcomes Assessment to assess the effectiveness of new drugs, devices, procedures, and other interventions. It will also assess and make publicly available data on the clinical outcomes of patients in different insurance companies. This will permit comparative shopping based on real quality results.

No one (I think he means to say "anyone") receiving Medicare, Medicaid, or any other government program will not be forced out, but there will be no new enrollees. People who turn 65 will simply stay in the Guaranteed Healthcare Access Plan. The special tax benefits related to employer based coverage will be eliminated and most employers will stop offering health insurance.

No new enrollees under his plan.


Did the planned cuts for cardiovascular treatments go through as planned? Anyone have a cardiac problem, or parents with a cardiac problem? Any thoughts on the payments being cut 50%?

Payments for cardiovascular Medicare patients may go down by 50% under HHS new rules on January 1.

On Jan. 1, Medicare patients across the state of Florida will confront a new reality in cardiovascular care. The Obama administration released the final 2010 Physician Fee Schedule on Nov. 1, severely cutting cardiovascular payments for Medicare patients - some by as much as 50 percent. These cuts have nothing to do with the battle over health care reform currently taking place in Congress.

This new rule has taken place without public debate or approval. The cuts have been mandated by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services under the direction of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. These are the primary tools for early diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular disease. Many of the tests will now be done in a hospital where the costs (and co-pays) are higher.

Such drastic cuts will inevitably force some cardiology offices to close because the cost of equipment, supplies, and salaries for office staff cannot be sustained.


And now a Democratic majority is blaming one man for a severe cut of 21% in payments to doctors??

Spare me the excuses. Fix the Senate, do what must be done.

People are not going to blame Jim Bunning or the Republicans. I don't blame them myself. There has been too much game playing by politicians over a program that allows seniors to have decent medical care.

Take the approximately 1000 dollars that goes to Medicare Advantage private plans for each patient they snag...last I saw at the AMA site it was a 922 dollar subsidy to private companies for each patient they snag. Take that and give it to the doctors.

Stop the 21% cut in payments to doctors or we WILL lose in November.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7813082

[SlingBlade]

107. Limbaugh mocks uninsured, calls tale of woman who wore dead sister's dentures sob story of the day

Audio clip @ link below.

Limbaugh calls Slaughter's tale of woman who wore dead sister's dentures the "sob story of the day"
February 25, 2010 1:49 pm ET

From the February 25 edition of Premiere Radio Networks' The Rush Limbaugh Show: http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/201002250037


Limbaugh: "What's wrong with using a dead person's teeth? Aren't the Democrats big into recycling?" Responding to Slaughter's account, which he called the "sob story of the day, Limbaugh stated:

LIMBAUGH: You know I'm getting so many people -- this Louise Slaughter comment on the dentures? I'm getting so many people -- this is big. I mean, that gets a one-time mention for a laugh, but there are people out there that think this is huge because it's so stupid. I mean, for example, well, what's wrong with using a dead person's teeth? Aren't the Democrats big into recycling? Save the planet? And so what? So if you don't have any teeth, so what? What's applesauce for? Isn't that why they make applesauce?

Limbaugh previously told a caller who could not afford the $6,000 it would cost to treat a broken wrist that he "shouldn't have broken his wrist."
http://crooksandliars.com/john-amato/rush-limbaugh-mock...


http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7813146

[SlingBlade]

109. The Democratic Party Suicide Prevention Thread

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7814462


The Democratic Party Suicide Prevention Thread

Right now there is a democrat holding a gun to his head threatening to pull the trigger
to the chants and jeer's of Re-Thugs and TeaBag's everywhere,
Shouting, "Do it", "Do it", Dooooo It !!!

The "It" is the Corporate Welfare sham Health Care Reform Bill now being considered in the Congress.
With a walloping seventy plus percent of Americans FOR a Public Option that includes Single Payer
and a Majority of Democrats in the House, The Senate and controlling the White House we are being told
that THIS is the best they can do. Those mean old Republicans,They tell us.
The Republican Card being played to the hilt.

Stop them now, Before they pull the trigger and kill whats left of our Party

Don't ask but TELL them not to do it, Tell them we will hold them accountable.

Call, Write, Fax and E-mail OUR Representatives
Now, Today and tomorrow and everyday that remains
Tell them that we demand a Public Option with Single Payer NOW, Not ten years from now.

Contact the White House
http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact

Call the White House
[phone]

Call, Write, Fax and E-mail your Representatives, House and Senate
http://www.contactingthecongress.org /

There my very well never be another chance. Do it before they pull the trigger.
Do it for your children and your loved ones, Just do it.


There's a man with a gun over there, Telling me I got to beware
I think it's time we stop, children, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down ....
Buffalo Springfield
Health Care for All

[tcaudilllg]

116. Funny thing

If you look overseas, particularly in the UK not all is well with the NHS. The single-payer system was not the end of the road... although it there was apparently a lag in the UK's technological development because of it, and as such efforts have been made to integrate free enterprise in the services system. What this means is, the UK is trying to get at about where we will be after this bill passes.

[SlingBlade]

110. TYT: White House Deal w/ Hospitals Killed Public Option

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxnZfDJdv6I&feature=player_embedded

[inna]

111. k

[tcaudilllg]

115. Geithner needs to go

For once, we need a REAL economist in the Treasury Dept., not a Wall Street hack. Timothy tied his star to the morals of his former associates, and those morals have not panned out. The only way at this point to restore confidence in Democratic administration of the economy is to see Tim out the door. I mean it's looking like he's going out at the end of Nov. anyway... why procrastinate?

[SlingBlade]

120. Obama Admin Defends Corporate AR Senator - Why?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaE9Mvh9G30&feature=player_embedded

TYT: Obama Admin Defends Corporate AR Senator - Why?
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x439103

[brand404]

122. k&R

[SlingBlade]

123. Labor Unions Regroup After Being Stunned by Losses Under Obama, Democrats

Labor Unions Regroup After Being Stunned by Losses Under Obama, Democrats
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7825876

[SlingBlade]

124. "President Obama is going to alienate every school teacher in the United States."

"President Obama is going to alienate every school teacher in the United States."

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7828440

[democracy1st]

126. kick

[SlingBlade]

128. President Obama’s Reprehensible Rhetoric Against Single-Payer

President Obama’s Reprehensible Rhetoric Against Single-Payer

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7841952

[SlingBlade]

129. Nuke power plants are just another way to loot our treasury

upi402 (1000+ posts)
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7858415

Nuke power plants are just another way to loot our treasury

"Further underscoring the risk to taxpayers is the fact that the Congressional Budget Office estimated that nuclear utility companies will default on loans for new reactors 50 percent of the time.
This, combined with the fact that nuclear utilities have no way to safely store or dispose of the hundreds of tons of highly radioactive waste generated by reactors, makes nuclear power simply too risky to pursue."

http://www.citizen.org/pressroom/release.cfm?ID=3049

Because of all the spam of nuclear supporters here lately, I fell this needs to be talked about. We scrapped this energy source when there was an opposition to corporatism in America. When our tax dollars went to build America and help Americans. Now that the treasury has become a trough for the hogs of socialized capitalism, it's necessary to push back against this fascism.

I'd love that work. But that would be selfish and short sighted. Better to push our fearless looters into renewable energy jobs like wind, solar, and battery storage.
WHO THE CAP FIT, LET THEM WEAR IT

[SlingBlade]

130. Warren: "I am afraid of what I see in the real economy."

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7859349

Warren's observations on Greece and Goldman's involvement in creating Europe's Enron:

CHARLIE ROSE: We are now looking at the situation in Greece where there is risk of default on debt. And what’s come into play are private equity firms looking how they get engaged and also betting on Euro, and credit default swaps have risen their presence again.

And the whole notion of bookkeeping, in effect.

CHARLIE ROSE: Whether certain firms -- the charge is certain firms help them cover up the amount of debt they had.

ELIZABETH WARREN: Enron taught us a few years back, you remember, in fact that the books are dirty, that there is one set of books put out in front for everyone to see, but there are effectively off the book transactions that nobody can see that reflect the real risks that your enterprise has taken.

And we’ve gone straight from Enron to Greece, with lots of stops in between for large financial institutions.

But what it really goes back to is how much honesty, how much transparency are we going to insist on in the financial system? Everyone wants to make this stuff really hard. It’s about credit default swaps and derivative squares, and so on. No, it really is about things like transparency and honesty.



On Too Big To Fail:

CHARLIE ROSE: What else do you want to see in regulatory, in a bill that’s supposedly looks at how we got where we are in the economic crises and the recession that we experienced and to make new rules and regulations that will prevent it from happening again?

ELIZABETH WARREN: It’s about the other end of the spectrum. We started at families. The other end is "too big to fail."

Until we build a chapter 11 system, a resolution authority system, whatever we want to call this, until we build the part of the legal structure that permits us as a people to say with real credibility behind it, "credibility" is the underlying word here -- I don’t care what your business is. I don’t care how big you are, I don’t care how intertwined you are. If you make bad enough decisions, you can be liquidated. It’s over.



On wiping out shareholders in the bankrupt institutions (and yes, that includes Goldman Sachs):

ELIZABETH WARREN: There’s a key part to this on bailing out the banks. Here’s what’s always driven me crazy about this from the beginning. I understand financing that comes in once a business is in distress. We call it post-petition financing in the bankruptcy world.

The price for that is that equity gets wiped out, top management loses their jobs, and the old debt takes a hair cut of some proportion. To come in and rescue under those circumstances, I get it, that happens. That’s what bankruptcy’s about. That says the participants in the old one don’t get it.

What we did when we rescued these banks is that we left the shareholders intact, we left their top management intact, we paid their debt in full. We came in --

CHARLIE ROSE: So we, the U.S. government -- in your judgment -- for good motivation mostly to save the economy from collapsing, made a bad deal.

ELIZABETH WARREN: We were far too generous.

CHARLIE ROSE: That’s a bad deal, isn’t it?

ELIZABETH WARREN: With those who made --

CHARLIE ROSE: So you could have saved the economy without going to the extent in making the deal you did?...



And on Commercial Real Estate (yes, CNBC, it has not gone away just because nobody is talking about it):

CHARLIE ROSE: Commercial real estate, what are we looking at.

ELIZABETH WARREN: Oh golly -- 2,988 banks that by the terms of their own regulators are too concentrated in commercial real estate. These are the medium size banks. By the end of this year, half of all commercial real estate loans will be underwater, and they are coming in ‘11, ‘12 and ‘13.

The reason this is such a bad problem anyway -- think about that, nearly 3,000 banks out of a total of 8,000 -- it’s the very banks that do small business lending who are about to get socked in the nose on real estate, commercial real estate losses.

CHARLIE ROSE: So we’ll see banks going under because they’ve got too many loans out there are not being repaid?

ELIZABETH WARREN: We’re seeing banks that don’t want to lend because they see every dollar that comes in the door and say "I’ve got to hold on to it to try to fill my commercial real estate hole or else I will be gone."



http://www.zerohedge.com/article/elizabeth-warren-discu...

VIDEO:
http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/10895#frame_t...

[upi402]

131. What will it take for some folks to see that we have no opposition party?

The Democrats are just Republican-light but without spine. All hail the Uniparty!

[SlingBlade]

132. If they were smart, Which their not, They'd begin a renovation

program in the capital hill basement. Cause once the Re-Thugs come back
that's right where their headed,

That way we won't have to listen to their damnable whining about how
dark, cold and inconvenient it is down there.

Spineless rat bastards, They deserve every deprivation the Re-Pukes put them through.

[SlingBlade]

134. Officials Step Up Enforcement of Rights Laws in Education

Officials Step Up Enforcement of Rights Laws in Education

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4297608

[SlingBlade]

135. ACLU places full-page ad in NYT morphing Obama into Bush over 9/11 trials

ACLU places full-page ad in NYT morphing Obama into Bush over 9/11 trials

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7863757