Health Insurance Reform - One More Hurdle!

House Passes Health-Care Bill in Historic Vote

By JANET ADAMY and NAFTALI  BENDAVID (Edited by Kitty)
WASHINGTON --
The House narrowly passed its sweeping health bill late Saturday, marking the biggest victory yet for Democrats in their drive to create near-universal health insurance.The bill passed by a 220-215 margin after fractious debate and garnered the unexpected backing of only one Republican, Rep. Joseph  Cao of Louisiana. Thirty-nine Democrats voted against the measure. The narrow passage in the House, where the Democrats have a large majority, underscores the divisiveness of the legislation.

The vote was a victory for President Barack Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.), and moved them toward a goal that has eluded presidents for decades. Mr. Obama came to the Capitol on Saturday morning and assured Democrats they would remember the vote as their finest moment in politics should he sign it into law. "Opportunities like this come around maybe once in a generation," he said. Its passage pushes Congress closer to the largest social safety net expansion since 1965, when the government created the Medicare insurance program for the elderly. The measure spends slightly more than $1 trillion over a decade to provide health insurance to an additional 36 million Americans and creates a new public insurance plan to compete with private insurers by 2013. It requires most Americans to carry insurance, creates a new exchange where they can shop for it and gives the lowest earners tax credits to help them pay for it.


As the vote count hit the 218 needed to secure passage, Democrats erupted in cheers. They turned to hug and kiss each other and then shouted out a countdown of the last 10 seconds before the vote closed. Republicans were silent. On the rest of the bill, Republicans offered nothing but sharp opposition. Democrats easily voted down Republicans' attempt to pass their own bill, which would have more narrowly expanded health insurance and cost $61 billion over a decade.

Democrats portrayed their legislation as a moral imperative that would achieve a goal sought by presidents since Theodore Roosevelt. They argued it would fix the worst aspects of the medical system by preventing insurers from denying coverage to the sick and protecting consumers from financial ruin caused by medical bills. "It is testimony to how we care for our fellow citizens," said John Larson (D., Conn.). "It is at the very core of all that America stands for, and why we came here to serve."

The vote was perhaps the most far-reaching consequence of the Democrats' sweeping election victories in 2006 and 2008. Democrats have felt pressure to produce results to show for those victories.The health vote also put newly elected Democrats from conservative areas in a tough political position, caught between party leaders and their election prospects in 2010.


One of the day's most dramatic scenes  of the day came when lawmakers sparred over an amendment that would exclude coverage of abortion for those gaining new health insurance under the overhaul. The 240-194 vote to pass the amendment flipped the usual voting lineup, with 176 Republicans joining 64 Democrats in favor.  The block of ANTI-ABORTION  Democrats led by Rep. Bart Stupak (D., Mich.) refused to sign onto the legislation unless House leaders agreed to take up an amendment preventing anyone who gets a government tax credit to buy insurance from enrolling in a plan that covers abortion. 

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops threatened to withhold its support from the entire legislation unless House leaders took up the amendment. Anti-abortion advocates lauded the change and described it as the most significant House vote on the issue in more than a decade. They said it preserves existing abortion laws that restrict the government from funding the procedure.

 Mr. Stupak  argued that the bill "in no way prohibits any individual from purchasing a supplemental abortion coverage. ABORTION -RIGHTS SUPPORTERS  were stunned by the change and argued it erodes existing laws that protect women's access to abortion. Those who receive an insurance subsidy and want coverage for abortion would need to buy a rider policy since private plans wouldn't include it in their coverage. "What woman would buy a plan for an unplanned pregnancy?" asked Laurie Rubiner, vice president for public policy for the Planned Parenthood Federation of America.

The Congressional Budget Office estimates that by 2019, the bill would leave about 96% of legal residents with health insurance, up from 83% now. To pay for expanding insurance coverage, the bill calls for hundreds of billions of dollars in cuts to Medicare aimed at eliminating its wasteful spending. It levies a 5.4% tax on the wealthy that targets individuals earning more than $500,000 a year and couples earning more than $1 million a year. All employers would be required to provide insurance and pay for most of the premium, or they would face a fine of up to 8% of their payroll. The small businesses would not be required.



The focus now turns to the Senate. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) said Saturday that he expects to get cost estimates for the Senate bill from the Congressional Budget Office in the next couple of days, and that he hopes to bring a bill to the Senate floor "as soon as possible.

Democratic leaders had aimed to deliver a bill to the president this year but have effectively acknowledged that deadline could slip into 2010. The challenges are facing Senate Democrats, who will be working with no Republican nor Democrats support to hold together a fragile coalition.

The challenge in the Senate is greater, since Mr. Reid must cobble together 60 votes out of 100 to proceed to a final vote, rather than a simple majority. (100 Senators; 58 Democrats, 40 Republicans and 2 Independence) Independent Sen. Joe Lieberman(Conn.) has already planned to oppose any legislation that includes a government-run health-insurance plan like the one in the House bill.


The health overhaul still has before it can become law, and its final passage is far from assured. The Senate must pass its own bill and meld it with the House bill before sending it to President Obama's desk. It's more difficult to pass legislation through the Senate, and despite Democrats' wide majority there, leaders are straining to bring together their fractious coalition. 

Any final bill is likely to be more moderate, and possibly less ambitious, than what passed through the more liberal House. It faces a tougher fight in the Senate where Republicans and some Democrats argue that the bill is too costly and won't achieve its goals.

The abortion issue is likely to arise in the Senate as well. And because rules in the Senate give more power to individual lawmakers, the debate is likely to take weeks, rather than hours.


Information on the bill - 

http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-h3200/show

Free the Scott Sisters. Please put the petition on your page and encourage all your friends to sign. We can make a difference when we work together. http://www.change.org/actions/view/free_the_scott_sisters_2 http://www.tagged.com/freethescottsisters Learn more here - JUSTICE FOR ALL http://www.ronsworldlife.com/

African Americans for Barack Obama Digest, October 29th

Dear friends,

The Senate is closing in on a health care bill with a public health insurance option, a key ingredient of meaningful health care reform.

But conservatives and insurance companies are fighting hard against the public option, so Senate leadership has compromised by including an "opt-out" clause, which would allow individual states to choose not to participate in the program.[1]

There's a real danger here. In the stimulus fight, we saw Republican governors and legislators refuse federal dollars for political gain. The same thing could happen with health care reform, with everday people in states like Lousiana, Alabama, and South Carolina -- states with large Black, poor, and working-class populations -- left out.[2]

That's why I've joined ColorOfChange.org's campaign calling on Congress and the White House to make the public option available everywhere. Please join me:

http://www.colorofchange.org/healthcare/?id=2376-660064

I understand the need for compromise and negotiation, but I also want to make sure that no community gets negotiated away in the process.

Including "opt-out" may be the best way to get a bill through the Senate with a public option--but that won't be the end of the process, and it doesn't mean "opt-out" will be in the final bill. The House still needs to decide exactly what will be in its health care bill. And once both the House and the Senate have passed legislation, they'll have to negotiate with each other, and the White House, to reconcile the differences between the two bills.

That's why we need to make it clear that we're watching and that we will demand a public option that's available in every state. Please join me in sending this message to Congress and the White House, and ask your friends and family to do the same:

http://www.colorofchange.org/healthcare/?id=2376-660064

Thank you.

References:

1. "So what is the 'opt-out' compromise?" Talking Points Memo, 10-26-2009

http://tinyurl.com/yjffquq

2. "Public option opt out denies help to those who need it most," Fire Dog Lake, 10-8-2009

http://tinyurl.com/yks5sxz

President Barack Obama today won the Nobel Peace Prize

President Barack Obama today won the Nobel Peace Prize, becoming the first sitting American president to win the award since Woodrow Wilson. As day broke across the United States, the International Nobel Committee announced the decision in Oslo, Norway ,taking both foreign policy watchers and ordinary citizens by surprise.
The Nobel citation emphasized Obama’s efforts to achieve nuclear disarmament and reach out to the Muslim world:

The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided that the Nobel Peace Prize for 2009 is to be awarded to President Barack Obama for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples. The Committee has attached special importance to Obama's vision of and work for a world without nuclear weapons.
...Obama has as President created a new climate in international politics. Multilateral diplomacy has regained a central position, with emphasis on the role that the United Nations and other international institutions can play. Dialogue and negotiations are preferred as instruments for resolving even the most difficult international conflicts.
...The vision of a world free from nuclear arms has powerfully stimulated disarmament and arms control negotiations. Thanks to Obama's initiative, the USA is now playing a more constructive role in meeting the great climatic challenges the world is confronting. Democracy and human rights are to be strengthened.

The 108th annual award, which comes with a cash prize of $1.3 million, puts Obama in the company of diverse historical figures including Wilson, Anwar Sadat, Hugo Chavez, Henry Kissinger, Martin Luther King Jr., Yasser Arafat, Itzhak Rabin, former President Jimmy Carter and Vice President Al Gore.
The committee said Obama, a former state senator from Illinois, has made a remarkable leap to global prominence as the first African-American president of the United States--and has moved swiftly to establish his own brand of government and diplomacy in his first year in office.
Part of the surprise at the news stems from the domestic focus of Obama's political agenda for 2009; notably his ambitious stimulus package and plan to overhaul health care delivery in the US--and slowness to act on matters of international cooperation such as climate change. Still, hıs achıevements on nuclear securıty ıssues and engagement wıth Muslıms abroad in his dual speeches from Ankara, Turkey and Cairo, Egypt, have been well-receıved by the ınternatıonal community.

Nevertheless, just eight months into the Obama presidency, the honor may seem premature to some, including the White House, reportedly stunned when the news was delivered today.
Nobel Committee chair Thorbjoern Jagland said today: "We have not given the prize for what may happen in the future. We are awarding Obama for what he has done in the past year. And we are hoping this may contribute a little bit for what he is trying to do." Congratulations Mr. President you continue to make us proud and aim higher.

Peace & Blessings

Dangerously Alarming

Is What's Happening in U.S. Political Society Today Dangerously Alarming?

• Posted by Blacque Culture Keeper on September 4, 2009 at 3:00pm
• View Blacque Culture Keeper's blog

Has anyone ever before heard such ranting and rages in polite society these days as that found at constituent meetings held by Congressmen during the recent summer break all across the country? Is it as earnestly appalling to you as it is to me to see and hear the jeers, sneers, shouts, crudeness and rudeness of U.S. citizens toward their elected officials these days? They barely give them time to present or respond to inquiries. Is there anyone else out there who thinks this is a most disgusting misrepresentation of democracy in action for the entire world to see? What is more frightening is that in several venues around the U.S., there have been found people with open arms right in public, and it is considered legal for them to do so if they are registered. Doesn't it seem as if this should be illegal in a public forum? How is it that so many of the majority population are allowed to get away with this, when it most likely be another story if the gun bearers were minorities? Only time will tell. It was discussed on the radio that there were citizens bearing weapons at events where our newly-elected President was speaking. I find this dangerous and outrageous and can hardly believe this is permissible by the Secret Service and any other law enforcement agency standards, especialliay where a president of the United States is concerned.

News casters and others are suggesting that many of these so-called detractors have been paid off and/or urged to react erroneously by the affected business (pharmaceutical, hospital or insurance) companies, lobbyists, and other political agents. Many are spouting off irrational statements that show they have no inkling about what is actually taking place. Sure informed dissent is useful in a democratic society, but pushing and shoving your point of view across without regard for others' rights to speak or be heard is the first step toward anarchy. It is one thing to shout and chant raccously at a rally (I've been involved in many of them), but it is quite another very different thing to act irresponsibly in a formal social setting where a polite give and take is appropriate. Where or what does this flagrant disregard for social standards stand to gain for the dissenters? What a hideous lesson for their children to learn to see their parents acting so disrespectfully of one another. We hear people saying they have no concern for their fellowman who is sick and in trouble and cannot pay for health care. Does our religion speak to that? Why we have just heard of a white Baptist minister who openly proclaims he wants Obama dead and his two daughters to be fatherless. (He should be incarcertated for communicating threats -- just after he is thrown out of the church for fraud) We hear people discredit universal health care as Socialism. What's wrong with Socialism if it helps us help one another when they need it? What is even more appalling is that these same people will go to church on Sunday as if they have acted piously to the height of their religious beliefs all during the week.

Is there anyone else out there who sees this as a sad day for America? Is there anyone out there who believes what is needed is massive Intercessory Prayer. Are there those who believe that the Obama election machine and its supporters need to come together to help promote the cause? After all, the over 50% who voted for Obama knew he was going to deal with this universal health care issue. He was candid about it. What now must be done or must we do to help ensure his success?

Tags: congressional-constituent-h..., gun-bearing, lobbyists, national-health-care-plan, obama, pharmaceutical-insurance-co...

Dawn Smith & CIGNA 2

Dear MoveOn member,

I'm at the end of my rope. What CIGNA is doing to me is—well, it's outrageous.

I have a brain tumor. Doctors are ready to help me. But CIGNA has been blocking me from getting testing and treatment for two years, while almost doubling my premiums.

Then, this week was the kicker. CIGNA's pharmacy called to say that the co-pay on the medicine that helps control my debilitating head pain is skyrocketing from $10 to $1,115. That's not a typo. They're making me pay one hundred times what I'm paying now, in addition to my $753/month premium.

I can't afford that. So when the pain comes, I won't have any defense. I'll spend hours in the fetal position, out of my mind with pain.

When my story went public a couple of weeks ago—with the help of over 100,000 MoveOn members—CIGNA said they would pay for a test I'd been asking for at Cleveland Clinic. It was a step in the right direction. But after two years of denials, and with a long course of treatment ahead of me, I knew better than to just take them at their word.

So I asked questions. But they wouldn't offer any explanation for why they denied my coverage for so long, or any assurance that they had changed their procedures so I wouldn't face the same unjust denials again. And I began to wonder if they were more interested in just sweeping my story under the rug than actually helping me.

When I got this latest news from CIGNA's pharmacy on Tuesday, I kept asking myself, is this a mistake? Or is this happening because I went public with my case? Are other CIGNA customers receiving the same phone calls?

I used to give CIGNA the benefit of the doubt, but after years of unexplained denials, I've had enough. So I'm asking for your help again. For myself, and for everyone else who is suffering, I am asking CIGNA for answers.

And I think it would help if thousands of people like you were to join me in demanding them. I'm writing them a short letter with a simple question: Why? Can you add your name to my letter?

http://pol.moveon.org/dawn/?id=17404-9592207-NryGR3x&t=1

Here's what I've written to Dr. Jeffrey Kang, CIGNA's Chief Medical Officer:

As you probably know, your company has denied me needed care for two years while I suffer from a debilitating but treatable brain tumor. I pay my $753.47 premiums. I follow the proper procedures. But CIGNA refuses to give me the care I need.

Instead, you keep increasing my prices. First my premiums rose by hundreds of dollars, and now my prescription costs are going up by more than 10,000%.

What makes you think you can treat sick people this way? When will you stop doing this to me and the thousands of people like me who are suffering? And if you solve this latest problem, how do I know you won't do this to me again next week—that you're actually changing your ways and not just trying to make your PR problem disappear?

Please answer these questions. I need to know, for the sake of my health and my life. Many others have signed this letter too, to support me and make sure I get answers.

Respectfully,
Dawn Smith

Thanks for all you're doing. I don't know where I'd be without MoveOn members' help.

Most sincerely,
Dawn

Dawn Smith & CIGNA

Last week, over 100,000 MoveOn members stood with Dawn Smith to demand that CIGNA cover the treatment for her brain tumor.

CIGNA had been denying Dawn's requests for two years, but when she went public, with the help of MoveOn members across the country, CIGNA reversed course. They took the first step toward resolving Dawn's case—agreeing to pay for the test she needs to determine her treatment plan. By reversing their denials, CIGNA made it clear that they didn't think their decision would stand up to public scrutiny.

But they didn't offer any explanation for all the previous denials. And they didn't guarantee that they'll approve the next step in Dawn's treatment. And for all we know, they're still doing this same thing to thousands of other people whose stories haven't caught national attention.

That's why Dawn is insisting that CIGNA explain the policies that led them to deny her care for so long. And—for herself and all the others who are suffering—she's demanding proof that they're changing those policies so this never happens again.

Dawn recorded a short message for MoveOn members. Can you watch the video and then add your voice to a statement of support?

http://pol.moveon.org/dawnsmith/?id=17338-9592207-hSpkOMx&t=5

Since Dawn went public, we've heard from hundreds of others who have been hurt by CIGNA. The stories range from simply frustrating to absolutely heartbreaking. If you or someone you know has been denied needed coverage by CIGNA, or by another insurance company, please share your story with us at:

http://pol.moveon.org/healthcare/survey/?id=17338-9592207-hSpkOMx&t=6

All of these stories paint a picture of an insurance company that, as one former CIGNA executive pointed out, has every incentive to deny coverage.

• In the case of Nataline Sarkisyan, CIGNA denied a liver transplant—reversing themselves only when public pressure became too intense. Unfortunately, their decision came too late for Nataline, who died.
• Christopher Hanna told us the story of his wife's battle—she had to spend "hours every week browbeating [CIGNA] over the phone," fighting to get treated for the ovarian cancer that would eventually take her life.
• And of the stories we heard, there were a stunning number where CIGNA authorized a procedure but then came up with an excuse—any excuse at all—to not pay.

It's clear that Dawn's experience with CIGNA isn't unique—in fact, it isn't even out of the ordinary. And even though CIGNA would love for Dawn to just go away, she isn't backing down. She's demanding answers and proof that CIGNA is changing their policies so that their mistreatment of her and their other customers comes to an end.

Will you watch Dawn's video and sign the statement of support?

http://pol.moveon.org/dawnsmith/?id=17338-9592207-hSpkOMx&t=7

Outside England 's Bristol Zoo

Outside England 's Bristol Zoo there is a parking lot for 150 cars and 8 buses. For 25 years, its parking fees were managed by a very pleasant attendant. The fees were £1 for cars ($1.40),£5 for buses (about $7)

Then, one day, after25 solid years of never missing a day of work, he just didn't show up; so the Zoo

Management called the City Council and asked it to send them another parking agent.

The Council did some research and replied that the parking lot was the Zoo's own responsibility.

The Zoo advised the Council that the attendant was a City employee.

The City Council responded that the lot attendant had never been on the City payroll.

Meanwhile, sitting in his villa somewhere on the coast of Spain (or some such scenario), is a man who'd apparently had a ticket machine installed completely on his own; and then had simply begun to show up every day, commencing to collect and keep the parking fees, estimated at about $560 per day -- for 25 years. Assuming 7 days a week, this amounts to just over $7 million dollars!

And no one even knows his name.

The Scourge Persists

The Scourge Persists
By Bob Herbert
Published : September 18, 2009

Did we really need Jimmy Carter to tell us that racism is one of the driving forces behind the relentless and often scurrilous attacks on President Obama?
We didn’t know that?

As John McEnroe might say, “You can’t be serious.” “There is an inherent feeling among many in this country that an African-American should not be president,” said Mr. Carter.

I guess he was aiming his remarks at those who contended when Mr. Obama was elected that we had achieved some Pollyannaish post racial society. But it’s hard to imagine, after all the madness and vitriol of the past few months, that anyone still believes that.

For many white Americans, Barack Obama is nothing more than that black guy in the White House, and they want him out of there. (Mr. Carter knows a little something about kowtowing to that crowd. During his presidential campaign in 1976, he blithely let it be known that he had no problem with residents “trying to maintain the ethnic purity of their neighborhoods,” and he tossed around ugly terms like “black intrusion” and “alien groups.” He later apologized.)

More than three decades later we have Sherri Goforth, an aide to a Republican state senator in Tennessee sending out a mass e-mail of a cartoon showing dignified portraits of the first 43 presidents, and then representing the 44th — President Obama — as a spook, a cartoonist pair of white eyes against a black background.

When a gorilla escaped from a zoo in Columbia, S.C., a longtime Republican activist, Rusty DePass, described it on his Face book page as one of Michelle Obama’s ancestors. Among the posters at last weekend’s gathering of conservative protesters in Washington was one that said, “The zoo has an African lion and the White House has a lyin’ African.”

These are bits and pieces of an increasingly unrestrained manifestation of racism directed toward Mr. Obama that is being fed by hate-mongers on talk radio and is widely tolerated, if not encouraged, by Republican Party leaders. It’s disgusting, and it’s dangerous. But it’s the same old filthy racism that has been there all along and that has been exploited by the G.O.P. since the 1960s.

I have no patience with those who want to pretend that racism is not an out-and-out big deal in the United States, as it always has been. We may have made progress, and we may have a black president, but the scourge is still with us. And if you needed Jimmy Carter to remind you of that, then you’ve been wandering around with your eyes closed.

Glenn Beck, one of the moronic maestros of right-wing radio and TV, assures us that President Obama “has a deep-seated hatred for white people.” Some years ago, as the watchdog group Media Matters for America points out on its Web site, Beck said he’d like to beat Representative Charles Rangel “to death with a shovel.” There is nothing new about this racist rhetoric.

Back in the 1970s Rush Limbaugh told a black caller: “Take that bone out of your nose and call me back.” But the fact that a black man is now in the White House has so unsettled much of white America that the lid is coming off the racism that had been simmering at dangerously high temperatures all along.

Eric Boehlert, a senior fellow with Media Matters, said, “If someone had told me in February that there would be mainstream allegations that Obama was a racist and a fascist and a communist and a Nazi, I wouldn’t have believed it.”

Republicans have been openly feeding off of race hatred since the days of Dick Nixon. Today’s conservative activists are carrying that banner proudly. What does anybody think is going on when, as Anderson Cooper pointed out on CNN, one of the leaders of the so-called tea party movement, Mark Williams, refers to the president of the United States as an Indonesian Muslim turned welfare thug, and a racist in chief.

After all these years of race-baiting and stirring the pot of hatred for political gain, it’s too much to ask the leaders of the Republican Party to step forward and denounce this spreading stain of reprehensible conduct. Republicans are trying to ride that dependable steed of bigotry back to power.

But it’s time for other Americans, of whatever persuasion, to take a stand, to say we’re better than this. They should do it because it’s right. But also because we’ve seen so many times what can happen when this garbage gets out of control. Think about the Oklahoma City bombing, and the assassinations of King and the Kennedys. On Nov. 22, 1963, as they were preparing to fly to Dallas, a hotbed of political insanity, President Kennedy said to Mrs. Kennedy: “We’re heading into nut country today.”

President Obama's Speech on Healthcare

This is President Obama's speech to the joint session of congress concerning Healthcare. This is Part-1 of 3 of that speech. September 9, 2009





President's Healthcare speech Part-2 of 3




Part-3 of 3
President Obama's makes his speech to the joint session of congress in the Chamber of House. During his speech. Rep. Congressman Joe Wilson yells out to President Obama " LIE " And is booed by all...

Much Ado About Nothing....

The President's speech was exactly the sort of thing you'd expect from someone, anyone, who was trying to motivate 6- and 7-year-olds. That so many took issue with the address even before it was given speaks to the need for a better educated America. But it also highlights the difficulty we face in trying to enlighten some segments of the population. Check it out for yourself.....

Peace & Blessings

THE LIBERAL LION'S MIGHTY ROAR MAY NOW FALL SILENT, BUT HIS DREAM SHALL NEVER DIE

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, longtime Democratic senator and the patriarch of the Kennedy political family, has died after a lengthy battle with brain cancer.

The Kennedy family released a statement early Wednesday morning saying, "Edward M. Kennedy – the husband, father, grandfather, brother and uncle we loved so deeply – died late Tuesday night at home in Hyannis Port. We've lost the irreplaceable center of our family and joyous light in our lives, but the inspiration of his faith, optimism, and perseverance will live on in our hearts forever. We thank everyone who gave him care and support over this last year, and everyone who stood with him for so many years in his tireless march for progress toward justice, fairness and opportunity for all. He loved this country and devoted his life to serving it. He always believed that our best days were still ahead, but it's hard to imagine any of them without him."
Related: Edward Kennedy Tributes: The President, Former Presidents, Biggies of Both Political Parties in Their Own Words
In recent weeks, Kennedy had received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Obama, and his sister, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, died. News came last week that the senator had sent a letter to the governor of Massachusetts, asking that he work to change the state's laws of succession to fill his Senate seat quickly through a direct appointment, rather than through a lengthier special election process. Kennedy's letter, as well as his absence from the White House Medal of Free

Democrats and Republicans alike had voiced their regret this year that Sen. Kennedy had not been in Washington to shepherd health care reform through the Senate. Before he died, Kennedy called health care reform the cause of his life. Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) called Kennedy "the consummate legislator," while Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) described him as a reliable partner on important issues. "He always kept his word, and that is far less common around here than a lot of people think," McCain told Politics Daily earlier this summer, speaking of Kennedy's legislative style. "We just sat down together and worked out a proposal. He didn't start it; I didn't start it. We just sat down and said OK, here's what we want to achieve -- what do we have to do?" McCain said.

Public figures from across the political spectrum reacted with sadness to the senator's passing. Sen. Orin Hatch (R-Utah), one of Kennedy's closest friends, said, "Today America lost a great elder statesman, a committed public servant and a leader in the Senate, and I lost a treasured friend." Former First Lady Nancy Reagan released a statement calling Kennedy "a dear friend," while Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said, "It was the thrill of my lifetime to work with Ted Kennedy." Reid called Kennedy "a friend, the model of public service and an American icon," and added, "The liberal lion's mighty roar may now fall silent, but his dream shall never die."

President Obama released a statement at 4:30 a.m. Wednesday morning, saying in part, "Michelle and I were heartbroken to learn this morning of the death of our dear friend, Senator Ted Kennedy," he said. "I valued his wise counsel in the Senate, where, regardless of the swirl of events, he always had time for a new colleague. I cherished his confidence and momentous support in my race for the Presidency. And even as he waged a valiant struggle with a mortal illness, I've profited as President from his encouragement and wisdom."

Kennedy served in the United States Senate for 47 years after filling the seat of his older brother, John F. Kennedy, after JFK was elected president. Edward Kennedy became the patriarch of his large family after the untimely deaths of his three brothers Joe, Jack and Robert Kennedy.

Delivering the eulogy for Robert Kennedy in 1968, Kennedy said, "My brother need not be idealized or enlarged in death beyond what he was in life, to be remembered as a good and decent man, who saw wrong and tried to right it, saw suffering and tried to heal it, saw war and tried to stop it. Those of us who loved him and who take him to his rest today, pray that what he was to us and what he wished for others will someday come to pass for all the world."

Sen. Edward Kennedy was 77.


President Barack Obama: "For five decades, virtually every major piece of legislation to advance the civil rights, health and economic well-being of the American people bore his name( SEN. EDWARD KENNEDY) and resulted from his efforts."

Edward Kennedy's Cause - Health Care Reform

ENGLAND'S FIRST BLACK MISS ENGLAND

Jamaica does it again! Jamaican parentage, born in England .

History was made last night in London .

Great Britain crowned 20-year-old Rachel Christie as Miss England during the country's annual pageant at London's Metropole Hilton Hotel

Competing as Miss London City, Christie edged out her rivals to claim the title and will now compete for the Miss World crown in Johannesburg in December.

But competition is nothing new for this London-born beauty.

Christie specializes in the heptathlon and the 400 meters and is hoping to join the ranks of the 2012 London Olympic Games.

Her uncle is British Olympic gold medalist Linford Christie, who stands as the most decorated British athlete. He is also regarded as the second fastest European in history and even has a stadium in West London named in his honor.

"My ambition in life is to compete and win gold in the 2012 Olympics," Christie told reporters. "I would also love to do well in Miss England . I want to be successful in whatever I choose to do in life."

THE NINE LIVES OF MARION BARRY JR.

Marion Barry is the subject of a documentary on HBO
DAVID CARR Published: August 9, 2009

View Video - THE NINE LIVES OF MARION BARRY JR.
http://florfilms.com/TRAILER.html



















Marion S. Barry Jr.
The Washington Post

Marion Barry in front of the White House during a parade in an undated photo. He now serves on the Washington City Council.

A career that has spanned five decades and included four terms as mayor of Washington, a trip to federal prison for possession of cocaine, and his current position as a City Council member in the capital. Throughout it all he has displayed an almost feral gift for retail politics: a quiet sidebar conversation here, a big-clap hug there and always, always, even now at 73, lavishing attention on the women in the room.

After a youth of extreme poverty (which included picking cotton) in Itta Bena, Miss. — “dirt, dirt, dirt poor” he says in the documentary — Mr. Barry became an Eagle Scout and earned a master’s degree in chemistry at Fisk University in Nashville. But his head was turned by the civil rights movement after he got involved in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and he quit a doctoral program in chemistry at the University of Tennessee. In 1965 he moved to Washington and commenced an enduring affair with a city that was then a ward of the federal government.

Mr. Barry has the reputation of being a less than scintillating interview, and a conversation on Thursday evening did little to change that view. He tends to lean on platitudes and civil rights movement aphorisms to describe his “50 years of public service that served as a blueprint for those who came later” while continuing to blame most of his legal problems on his opponents.

The news media have generally not been friends to Mr. Barry, nor has the federal government, a persistent antagonist throughout his career. He maintains that the United States Attorney’s Office, in enticing him to a hotel room where drugs were present back in 1990, was trying to kill him.

In the documentary directed and produced by Dana Flor and Toby Oppenheimer, it is clear that age has caught up to Mr. Barry. Afflicted with high blood pressure and diabetes, and having had his prostate removed, he often moves slowly and cat-naps between appearances. Watching him in the documentary is a little like witnessing Willie Mays no longer able to run down a fly ball, but he was completely on his game for the premiere.

Mr. Barry has never been especially enlightening on the subject of himself or his contretemps, and the documentary reflects his absence of self-awareness. But Mr. Barry’s ex-wife, Effi Barry, an elegant and eloquent woman who divorced him in 1993, is a steady and telling presence throughout the documentary. (Effi Barry, who died in 2007, was his third wife. He has been married four times.)Mr. Barry initially had little interest in the project. “He wasn’t friendly, he wasn’t receptive, but eventually, I wore him down.” (Mr. Barry said, “I figured it would be the one time when the whole story could be told.”)
Mr. Oppenheimer, whose credits include co-producing “Devil’s Playground” (about Amish teenagers), said there were protests and counter-protests at the film’s premiere in June at the Silverdocs festival in Washington, with people shouting and arguing about whether Mr. Barry was worthy of a film.“We both watched and said to each other, ‘This is what our film is about,’ ” he said. “The passions that this man’s career has generated continue to this day.”

Mr. Barry’s credentials as an early and effective warrior in the civil rights movement receive significant attention in the 78-minute documentary. A leader of the Free D.C. Movement, Mr. Barry founded a jobs program called Pride Inc. for unemployed black men. He was elected to the school board in 1972 and when the city achieved home rule in 1974 was elected as an at-large council member. He was shot when Hanafi Muslims took over the District Building in 1977 but survived, cementing a reputation for both fearlessness and durability.

With the sought-after endorsement of The Washington Post in 1978, he became the city’s second mayor and was re-elected twice. During the third term rumors began to circulate that he was using cocaine even as the city he ran was tipping over under the weight of a crack epidemic. On Jan. 18, 1990, Mr. Barry went to the Vista Hotel to visit a former girlfriend, Rasheeda Moore, who was working as a government informant. He was caught on tape by the F.B.I. and city police using crack cocaine.

Most political careers would have ended there, but Mr. Barry is not any politician, and Washington’s voters and juries have a complicated relationship with authority. The jury deadlocked on the multiple felony counts stemming from the Vista arrest; Mr. Barry was convicted on a single count of possession for an earlier incident. After serving a six-month sentence he ran for City Council using the slogan “He may not be perfect, but he’s perfect for D.C.” In 1994 he ran for a fourth term as mayor and won.

His successful campaign to return to the City Council in 2004 on behalf of Ward 8 — one of the city’s chronically impoverished areas — serves as a centerpiece of the documentary. Mr. Barry’s public life continued to suffer from steady brushes with the law, including failed drug tests, a conviction for failure to pay taxes, probation violation, traffic offenses and, last month, a charge that he was stalking an ex-girlfriend. (That charge has since been dropped.)“Those are all just distractions, efforts by the government and the media to distract me, to discombobulate me and separate me from the community,” he said. “I was re-elected with more than 90 percent of the vote in 2008, so that stuff isn’t going to keep me down. They know who I am.”

George Galloway takes on the U.S. Senate

George Galloway takes on the U.S. Senate

Thank you MLEEZA

Big Demand. Dwindling Supply

Big Demand. Dwindling Supply

Del Walters on the Tyranny of Big Oil

By Del Walters - EbonyJet.Com

As Chrysler emerges from bankruptcy and GM enters we need to take a look back at what really caused the collapse of the American automotive industry. Look no further than the gas pump, which again is reminding us that when it comes to our own personal economies, we are held hostage by the global oil cartel. Once again there is talk that gas prices are creeping up and speculators are to blame. Those speculators are betting that as the economy improves we will be willing to pay more at the pump. And we will, because we have no choice.

When the very first cars were rolling off the assembly line in Detroit, oil was cheap because until the mass production of the automobile there was no demand. The old oil companies were uniquely American - Texaco, Esso, Pennzoil. Standard Oil Company began in 1870 in Ohio. When Standard, which had become too big, was forced to break up we got names like Exxon, which was once Standard Oil of New Jersey, and Mobil, which was the former Standard Oil Company of New York.

We started changing the names of Big Oil when we started crossing borders to find it. Loosely translated, we created the demand which led to the oil empires of Saudi Arabia, the UAE and the list goes on. How many cars do you think they were selling in Dubai in the 1950’s? The country was known for its export of pearls until 1930. Look at any documentary from the time and you will notice that we not only helped them look for their oil but gave them the technology to get it out of the ground.

Walter Cronkite, in a documentary about oil in Libya proclaims, “The only problem for this once small back woods desert country is how to spend all that money.” The next line sets the stage for countless coups and wars fought in the name of black gold. “The people who shepherded the camels seem determined to shepherd the oil.” They had the oil, and in the long run, we got the shaft we sent to drill it.

It would be easier to find Waldo than figuring out who actually owns big oil but there is one tentacle in this entire battle we can trace. The fortunes of companies like Exxon Mobil, Shell and the others rose, as the American auto industry collapsed. They earned, and continue to post, record profits while the American car companies fight for their very survival.

Now let’s look at the politics. Republicans hate organized labor. Detroit is symbolic of everything big labor can produce. Set aside the racial politics and the battle lines were drawn. Senators angry over the GM and Chrysler bailouts pointed out cheaper southern labor forces. Patriotism, it seemed, stopped at the Mason Dixon line. It is after all, better to buy a Kia or Hyundai and punish those unions than to save American icons. After all, it was the high cost of union labor and healthcare that crippled the auto industry. Or was it?

Does the demise of the GM and Chrysler have anything to do with the fact that for the last eight years the White House was ruled by George Bush, a man whose family made its fortune off big oil? Shouldn’t there at least be someone out there asking the question? How is it that all of the man’s friends got rich and we got the shaft? Didn’t we see it coming? How many of us would still be driving our gas guzzlers if gas were still selling for $1.50 a gallon? How many of us stopped driving those gas guzzlers when prices hit $4.00?

That is not to let either GM or Chrysler off the hook. Everyone has known for years that the word’s supply of oil was dwindling and alternative forms of energy would have to be found if the American way of life is to survive. That is why the current crisis may have a silver lining in the long run. We have been forced to change by the man who promised it.

There is a line from a 1981 movie, Rollover, with Jane Fonda and Kris Kristofferson about Big Oil. The synopsis was described on IMDB, “An Arab oil organization devises a plan to wreck the world economy in order to cause anarchy and chaos.” The young naïve Fonda says in the closing lines of the film that unless we act quickly the Arabs will own us. Kristofferson faces the camera and says to the youth matter-of- factly, “You’re missing the point. We are the Arabs.” Life often follows art but in this case no one can argue we weren’t warned. The problem is I’m still not sure we have found the proper person or persons to blame.

Minister Prays for Obama's Death

Southern Baptist Minister Prays for Obama's Death

By James Wright

AFRO Staff Writer

(June 21, 2009) - A well-known minister of a denomination that once supported slavery and is firmly against a woman’s right to an abortion said recently that he is praying for President Obama to die.

The Rev. Wiley Drake, a former second vice president of the Southern Baptist Convention, told Fox News Radio earlier this month that he was practicing “imprecatory prayer” or seeking a divine curse that would cause the president to die.

“If he does not turn to God and does not turn his life around, I am asking God to enforce imprecatory prayers that are throughout the Scripture that would cause him death,” Drake said in an interview with Fox’s Alan Colmes, according to the Associated Press.

The Southern Baptist Convention was formed in 1845 so slaveholders could continue to serve as missionaries. The church supported the South during the Civil War, supported segregation of the races before and during the Civil Rights Movement and has been known for its hostility toward affirmative action and busing to achieve racial balance in schools. The church has been a favorite of conservative Republican Party candidates.

In 1995, Southern Baptists formally sought forgiveness from African-Americans. By 2007, the convention's minority membership, including African-Americans, Asians and Latinos, had grown to about 18 percent, said the Rev. Richard Land, head of the denomination's public policy arm. But like many other U.S. denominations, the 16.2 million-member Southern Baptist Convention remains overwhelmingly White.

Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton were raised Southern Baptists. Carter left the church in 2000 over its increasingly right-wing agenda and while Clinton acknowledges his roots in the denomination, he attends services with his wife, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who is a United Methodist.

Roger Oldham, vice president for convention relations with the Southern Baptist's executive committee, said that Drake's comments were out of line with church teachings. Oldham told the Associated Baptist Press that Drake's comments do not reflect the actions, resolutions or positions of the denomination.

”I think it is a fair statement to say that the vast majority of Southern Baptists are committed to praying for the well-being of the president in accordance with the specific instruction given in 1 Timothy 2:1-3,” Oldham said, quoting, “’First of all, then I urge petitions, prayers, intercessions and thanksgivings be made for everyone, for kings and all those who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. This is good, and it pleases God our Savior.’”

Drake recently said that he prayed for the death of famed abortion doctor George Tiller. Tiller was shot to death in his church on May 31 in Wichita, Kan. by an anti-abortion activist.

In regards to Obama, Drake, who pastors a church in Buena Park, Calif., had not retracted his statement as of AFRO press time.

Published on Tuesday, June 23, 2009 by CommonDreams.org
Congress Needs to Hear From Us Today on Afghanistan

by Tom Andrews

This week Congress is set to authorize $550 billion in defense spending and, with it, an additional $130 billion to fight the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Despite a Democratic President and a Democratic majority in Congress, the military industrial complex is once again running up the score: the House Armed Services Committee wants to shower the Pentagon with even more federal dollars than George W. Bush ever requested. And the flood gates of federal dollars are once again wide open for a war without end in Afghanistan.

But there is some good news. Representative Jim McGovern (D-MA) is trying to squeeze a bit of common sense into the bill with an amendment that calls on the Administration to develop what President Obama told a national television audience we need: an exit strategy from Afghanistan. Unable to get this proposal included in the Supplemental Defense Appropriation bill a few weeks ago, Rep. McGovern has since introduced it as a bill that has already attracted 89 Congressional co-sponsors. Now he intends to propose it as an amendment to the House Armed Services Committee bill when it makes its way to the floor of the House tomorrow.

But Rep. McGovern needs our help.
Call your Representative today at (202) 224-3121 and:
1. urge her/him to co-sponsor Rep. McGovern's Afghanistan Exit Strategy bill H.R. 2404, and
2. vote for Rep. McGovern's amendment to the Defense Authorization bill (H.R. 2647).

I realize how hard it may seem for Congressional Democrats to require the Obama administration to develop an exit strategy as a condition for continued funding. After all, this is our guy, right? The last thing our guy needs is a Democratic Congress second guessing, making demands, and putting conditions on the war.

But this is exactly what we and the administration need precisely because he is our guy.

Unlike Mr. Limbaugh, we want and need President Obama to succeed. The very real prospect of the United States embedded in an endless war in Afghanistan would undermine everything this administration is trying to do while imperiling the very Congressional Democrats President Obama needs to move his agenda.

Continuing our military presence in Afghanistan without an exit strategy is a bad idea for many reasons. As I've noted before, the presence of foreign troops in Afghanistan unites our opponents within the country and region and makes cooperation by key regional players like Iran, Russia and China far less likely with the prospect of tens of thousands of US troops on their border. As for those with the most at stake - Afghan people - over 80% oppose an escalation of American troops in their country.

Despite the heated rhetoric you're hearing from the right-wing echo chamber, exit strategies are an important and useful part of military planning. President Obama knows this, and that's why he has gone on the record to say that we need one for the US military in Afghanistan.

The Win Without War coalition has been working closely with Congressman McGovern and other Congressional allies on this important amendment. Coalition member organizations have stepped up: MoveOn.org, USAction/TrueMajority.org and Peace Action all sent alerts last week to their membership asking them to call Members of Congress in support of this bill. With your help today, we can easily push the number of co-sponsors from 89 to over 100. Call your Member of Congress, ask if she/he is a co-sponsor and if she/he intends to vote for the McGovern amendment to the Defense Authorization bill on Wednesday. If not, why not? And, if so, can she/he take an active role to encourage their colleagues to support it as well.

There is not a lot of good news in the Defense Authorization bill. Let's do something about that today before the votes are cast in Congress tomorrow.

Tom Andrews, a former Member of Congress from the first Congressional District of Maine, is the National Director of Win Without War, a coalition of forty-two national membership organizations including the National Council of Churches, the NAACP, the National Organization of Women, the Sierra Club, and MoveOn.

Obama Praise in the Middle East

 Obama Impresses, Wins Praise in the Middle East

Date: Thursday, April 09, 2009, 3:25 pm

By: Lee Keath, Associated Press

CAIRO - The Middle East is finding, to its amazement, that it may actually like America's new leader. Barack Obama has impressed many Arabs and Muslims with promises to open a new page after years of distrust during his first presidential venture to the Islamic world this week.

It's a startling change for a region where they chucked shoes at his predecessor George W. Bush and still want to burn Bush in effigy even after he's out of office.

But Obama's charm has hiked expectations he will change American policies that have angered many Arabs and Muslims, and some remain skeptical. Top on nearly everyone's list: They want Washington to press for the creation of a Palestinian state to resolve the Israeli-Arab conflict - something Obama has promised to do.

"Everyone is optimistic about this man," Nasser Abu Kwaik, a barber in the West Bank town of al-Beireh, said Wednesday. "He is different, and he could be a friend to the Muslim world."

Many in Muslim countries echoed the words of one Indonesian woman, "I believe him."

"For the Islamic world," Obama's comments "are like a fresh breeze," said Ikana Mardiastuti, who works at a Jakarta research institute.

Obama's visit to Turkey this week was full of gestures calculated at showing he is a friend to Muslims, all aired live on Arab satellite TV networks like Al-Jazeera. The top headliner was his sound bite that the U.S will never be "at war with Islam." In a speech to Turkey's parliament, he mentioned the Muslims in his own family, a topic he avoided back home in his presidential campaign.

A town-hall meeting in Istanbul on Tuesday was also a strong symbol, with Obama answering questions from university students. To some it sent a message that this president talks to Muslims, dramatically different from the perception many had of Bush as domineering, warlike and imposing U.S. policy.

Even an offhand comment that he had to wrap up the town-hall before the afternoon call to Islamic prayers showed an easy familiarity with the rhythms of Muslims' lives.

"He's a modest person with a humanitarian view on world issues, particularly those relating to the Arab and Islamic worlds," said Jamal Dahan, a 50-year-old resident of the Lebanese capital Beirut. "Bush, on the other hand, was an arrogant man who only knew military power."

Even hard-liners took notice.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said his country welcomes talks with the United States if Obama proves "honest" in extending the U.S. hand to Iran, one of his strongest signals yet of openness to Obama's calls for dialogue.

A cleric at the prominent Shiite seminary in the Iraqi holy city of Najaf - where disdain for Bush's policies is high - was enthusiastic. "The Islamic world should avail itself of this positive opportunity," said Sheik Nimaa Al-Abadi. "The opening chapter of Obama in the Islamic world might be a real turning point."

In Saudi Arabia, a cleric on a government committee for rehabilitating militants away from extremism said Obama's outreach diminishes the appeal of terror groups.

Obama "will make it more difficult to recruit young Muslim men to carry out terrorist acts. They (militants) no longer have the argument to do so," said the sheik, Mohammed al-Nujaimi.

But many say they want real action.

Their skepticism was a reminder that while the "clash of civilizations" may exacerbate tensions, the heart of Arab and Muslim anger at the West is over policies, particularly the 2003 invasion of Iraq and what is seen as U.S. favoritism toward Israel.

In his parliament speech, Obama promised the U.S. would work for the creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel. But Arabs are watching whether Obama will press the hard-line ..... 

.... government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who so far has not expressed his support for a two-state solution.

"I will believe him only when I see his troops leave Iraq and when I see him telling the Israelis that it's time for you to leave the Palestinian territories," said Tariq Hussein, 25, a shoe salesman in the West Bank town of Ramallah. "Other than that it's all a political maneuver."

In Pakistan, doubts appeared even deeper. Civilian deaths in airstrikes by U.S. pilotless planes targeting militants have angered some in the country, along with Obama's plans to send more American troops to neighboring Afghanistan.

"Who would trust what the Americans say? Their only target is the Muslim countries," said Mohammad Ayub, owner of a cotton-processing factory in the city of Karachi. "Obama's claim that (the Americans) are the friends of the Muslims seems to be a part of their conspiracy."

Still, the Turkey trip suggested that style and tone at least open doors.

"He understands the issues better, he has more familiarity with Islamic culture and society." said Sheema Abdul-Aziz, a 31-year-old environmental conservationist in Malaysia. She said Obama seems "sincere."

In part, Obama's warm welcome reflected the almost rabid bitterness toward Bush, who on his final visit to Baghdad was pelted with shoes by an angry journalist. The journalist became a hero across the Mideast. Iraqi Shiite radicals plan to burn an effigy of Bush at an anti-American rally Thursday in Baghdad.

While Bush often emphasized outreach to Muslims and Arabs and he was the first U.S. president to openly endorse the idea of a Palestinian state, nothing could dent the image of an arrogant, bellicose United States created by Guantanamo Bay, prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib and the bloodshed that reigned in Iraq after the U.S.-led invasion.

Still, even those calling Obama sincere are skeptical he can resolve the Mideast's many problems.

"It's nice to see and hear," said Riad Kahwaji, director of the Dubai-based Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Analysis. "But this region is a mess, and there are a lot of hardline adversaries still out there."

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Associated Press writers across the Middle East and Asia contributed to this report.