AP - Two guns used in high-profile shootings this year at the Pentagon and a Las Vegas courthouse both came from the same unlikely place: the police and court system of Memphis, Tenn.
AP - A memo drafted for a congressional panel says that investigators with Toyota Motor Corp. and the federal government were unable to make a Prius speed out of control as its owner said it did on a California freeway, casting doubt on the driver's story.
AP - Utility crews pushed through fallen trees and windblown debris to reach downed power lines Sunday, working to restore electricity to more than a half-million homes and businesses after strong winds and heavy rain wreaked havoc in parts of the Northeast.
AP - An avalanche struck a rally of up to 200 snowmobilers in Canada's Rocky Mountains on Saturday, killing at least three people and leaving an unknown number missing, police said.
BEIJING (Reuters) - The United States is to blame for strains between Beijing and Washington and should take steps to repair ties, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said on Sunday, indicating the two powers have not overcome a recent rough patch.
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu voiced regret Sunday for the announcement of a Jewish settlement plan that has strained ties with Washington and threatens the revival of Middle East peace talks.
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (Reuters) - A roadside bomb killed a Pakistani construction worker and wounded six of his compatriots on Sunday in Afghanistan's southern city of Kandahar, police said.
MUMBAI (Reuters) - Police in Mumbai said on Sunday they have arrested two men they say were preparing to attack several targets in the Indian financial hub, including the offices of energy firm Oil and Natural Gas Corp.
Using a military commission to try Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his co-defendants for their alleged role in the Sept. 11 attacks could open the case to significant legal uncertainty and expose fresh details of detainee abuse in a proceeding that might not get underway for two years or longer, national security experts and plan critics say.
Republicans on the Senate banking committee said they remain open to finding a bipartisan agreement on legislation to overhaul financial regulation, but they warned the chairman, Sen. Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.), against trying to push a bill through too quickly.
CHICAGO -- In North Dakota, where insurers can cover abortions if customers pay a separate premium, the state's largest provider says it sells no abortion policies because no one has asked to buy one.
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton rebuked Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Friday about the state of the U.S.-Israeli relationship, demanding that Israel take immediate steps to show it is interested in renewing efforts to achieve a Middle East peace agreement.
EADS, the European maker of Airbus aircraft, and Northrop Grumman decided not to proceed with their joint bid for a $35 billion contract to build new flying tankers for America’s air force.
The Basics
The “Public Option” Debate:
I agree 100% with Bob Herbert’s August 17, 2009 New York Times article, that without the option of buying your insurance from a government plan, the insurance companies stand to make a windfall with the mandatory requirement for everyone to buy insurance. With a massive increase in customers and no incentive to lower prices, what could be better for them? As Obama has pointed out, the Republican’s argument that the “public option” will drive the insurance companies out of business is inherently contradictory. If a government plan is fundamentally too inefficient then the insurance companies have nothing to worry about. And if it is more efficient than the private sector, then that’s a plus for the American public and people should have that option.
The Republican argument is fundamentally flawed:
If the Republicans are worried that health care reform is bringing socialism to the U.S., then they should also be against Medicare. But in fact they are arguing the opposite. They are trying to scare seniors that they will lose benefits if the reform is passed. They are tacitly acknowledging the public wants socialized medicine (e.g. Medicare), but hoping nobody notes the inconsistency of their argument. Although I’m not sure I agree with his interviewing techniques, Lawrence O’Donnell in his interview with Rep. John Culberson (R-Texas), makes it really obvious that the Republicans are very afraid of exposing this contradiction. Below is a clip from the interview:
Obama Is Outsmarting Everyone?
It is interesting that at the same time that the White House has indicated that they may have to try to pass the bill without Republican support, they are also saying that the “public option” is not a necessary component of the bill. On the surface he looks conciliatory, ready to cave in to the Republicans. But in actuality, he is purposefully enraging the “left”, leaving them to do the dirty work of fighting to push through a bill supported by Democrats only.
The administration is now floating the idea of sending 2 bills to the senate, the less controversial part by normal means, and the “public option” and other controversial measures by “budget reconciliation”. Obama may very well get the bill he wants and make the Republicans look bad at the same time. We will soon see.
This is a meeting with Rep. Mike Castle, a Delaware moderate Republican. The whole thing leaves me a bit speechless. I’m tempted to draw conclusions about the basic psychological functions of humans. We all believe something because everyone else believes it. I have to admit that I was drawn into it myself, thinking that there must be something to this. But in fact there is no basis at all to the whole “Birther” movement, just read here. Also, here is a link that Ben Smith provides, which is where I originally found this video.
A thank you to the TPM website that found this article buried in the New York Times. Here is a reprint of the relevant paragraph.
The national telephone survey, which was conducted from June 12 to 16, found that 72 percent of those questioned supported a government-administered insurance plan — something like Medicare for those under [...]
The Obama administration’s recent push into the Helmand district of Afghanistan is a commendable improvement over the Bush administration’s emphasis on fighting only and ignoring the development of the country. Obama’s shift away from eradication as the principal way to control the drug trade is also moving in the right direction.
However, I think Obama, who [...]
Thought I’d pass on this article about a potential improvement in cancer treatment. The technique uses bacteria to deliver drugs directly to the targeted cancer cells.
Like Jason Voorhees in Friday the 13th, the public option rose from the grave this week (instead of slashing teenage victims, it would slash health care costs). With zero input from the White House, 41 Senators have agreed to support a public option via reconciliation. Ryan Grim lays out how that can easily become 50 -- and Dick Durbin has promised to "aggressively whip" a health care bill that includes a public option. But Nancy Pelosi won't include it in the reconciliation package. Why? She claims it's because the Senate doesn't "have the votes" -- which could also be said about the House passing the Senate bill (Stupak, anyone?). So the Senate blames the House, the House blames the Senate, the White House acts as if it doesn't have a say in the matter, and the insurance companies -- lacking real competition -- keep laughing all the way to the bank.
In recent weeks, the number of Democratic lawmakers willing to join Rep. Bart Stupak’s (D-MI) crusade to bring down health care reform unless Congress amends the Senate bill’s abortion language keeps shrinking. Stupak began the debate with that 15 to 20 supporters; that number is down to fewer than a dozen now. As Igor Volsky [...]
Lisa Russ Spaar is a reluctant sleeper: Like many insomniacs, I always feel a bit of bully pride in getting by on a few fractured hours each night while others complain if they don’t get a full, conked-out eight. For...
For five years, Joyce and John Good silently tolerated angry partisan e-mails forwarded by family and friends.
They even ignored the steady vitriol flowing from the husband and wife they'd known for 40 years.
"We'd raised our children together," Joyce said of the couple. "We never talked politics. We'd just say, 'We're bipartisan.' But they started sending us these awful e-mails, and it was clear they assumed we agreed with them."
RSS Feed of Videos-Political Posts
RSS Feed of Editorial Posts
