Drill Baby Drill: Obama announces intentions to end ban on offshore drilling

"Drill Baby Drill!" Is no longer the rallying cry of the Republican party but rather the Democrats, after President Barack Obama announced a new plan earlier today that would eliminate a decades-old ban on oil and gas drilling along much of America's coastal lines. The decision to drill along the American coast is part of a new bi-partisan effort by the president to win support for a energy and climate bill.

The policy change will allow drilling as close as 50 miles to the Virginia shore, and end a longstanding moratorium on drilling from Delaware to central Florida. Exploration would also be expanded in the Gulf of Mexico, including opening up regions in north Alaska.

"There will be those who strongly disagree with this decision," Obama said during a speech at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland. "But what I want to emphasize is that this announcement is part of a broader strategy that will move us from an economy that runs on fossil fuels and foreign oil to one that relies more on homegrown fuels and clean energy."

The U.S. Atlantic coast is estimated to hold as much as 37 trillion cubic feet of gas and four billion barrels of oil, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

While this is a major blow to liberals who have fought against such offshore drilling for decades, including yours truly, on the bright side the legislation is not intended to take effect for decades and will also forbid drilling in Alaska's Bristol Bay region (National Wildlife Refuge) and will uphold a moratorium on drilling off the West Coast.

This maneuver is obviously aimed at bringing on Republicans to help pass the president's highly coveted energy and climate bill. The president had hinted at such a move during his State of the Union address, but now that it could become a reality it holds a little more cache for the base of the party that has stood against such actions for decades. While it's extremely disappointing to hear of this decision, I do think the president is just trying to compromise while passing a bill he believes will help make us more energy independent and safeguard the environment for the future. While the president defends the decision as a sensible step towards energy independence, there is no way that we can drill our way out of the mess we currently find ourselves in - especially considering the coastal reserves only amount to two percent of the world's oil, while Americans consume 20 percent of world's oil each year.



Obama's speech did, however, include provisions meant to satisfy environmental groups, as The Environmental Protection Agency and the Transportation Department is finalizing increased fuel efficiency standards on new cars. The president also announced the addition of hybrid vehicles for government use that the U.S. military is currently developing. And most importantly the bill includes caps on carbon emissions, which many environmental groups believe is the key to slowing global warming. 

"Already, we've made the largest investment in clean energy in our nation’s history," Obama said. "It's an investment that’s expected to create or save more than 700,000 jobs across America: jobs manufacturing advanced batteries for more efficient vehicles, upgrading the power grid so that it’s smarter and stronger, and doubling our nation’s capacity to generate renewable electricity from sources like the wind and the sun."

Republican Senator Mitch McConnell has said in the past that if the president would consider offshore drilling then the party could be open to working with him on his energy bill. Still one has to worry that once the coasts have been open to drilling, what will stop future Republican leaders from attempting to open up all of our coastal lines to the rich oil companies. While I support the health care bill because it does make health care a right and not a privilege for Americans, it was in the end a gift to the health insurance companies. And while I am in strong support of an energy bill, as I view it as not only protecting our environment for future generations but a way to make America a global super power for decades to come, I am very concerned about the power this puts in the hands of oil companies and future Republican administrations. It is just sad that liberals continue to have to make concessions on their core beliefs in order to motivate Republicans and moderate Democrats to move this country forward.

President Obama signs student loan reform, making college more affordable for students and families

While most Americans continue to deliberate the positive and negative affects that the historic health reform bill will have on our health care system, current and future college students and their families should be excited about the new legislation as the bill also invests in higher education that will make college more affordable.

The new legislation will not only invest in higher education, but it will also bring meaningful reform to the current student loan system. The bill will put an end to a system that used taxpayer money to subsidize private bank loans to students and reinvests those $68 billion in savings toward making college more affordable as well as reducing the deficit.

"For almost two decades, we’ve been trying to fix a sweetheart deal in federal law that essentially gave billions of dollars to banks to act as unnecessary middlemen in administering student loans. So those are billions of dollars that could have been spent helping more of our students attend and complete college; that could have been spent advancing the dreams of our children; that could have been spent easing the burden of tuition on middle-class families.  Instead, that money was spent padding student lenders’ profits," President Obama explained to students during a speech at Northern Virginia Community College. "Now, it probably won’t surprise you to learn that the big banks and financial institutions hired a army of lobbyists to protect the status quo.  In fact, Sallie Mae, America’s biggest student lender, spent more than $3 million on lobbying last year alone...By cutting out the middleman, we’ll save American taxpayers $68 billion in the coming years -- $68 billion.  That’s real money -- real savings that we’ll reinvest to help improve the quality of higher education and make it more affordable.”

Below are some of the highlights of how the bill will help students and families pay for college:

• Double funding for Pell Grants since President Obama took office, to ensure that all eligible students receive an award, and that grants keep pace with the rising cost of college
• Invest in community colleges to help an additional 5 million Americans earn degrees and certificates over the next decade
• Increase support for historically black colleges and universities and minority serving-institutions, which have been particularly hard hit by some of the challenges facing all universities, and account for nearly sixty percent of the 4.7 million minority undergraduates in our country.
• Ease loan repayment by capping student loan payments at 10 percent of a graduate's discretionary income, with any remaining balance forgiven after 20 years. And those who go into public service after graduation can have their loans forgiven after 10 years.
• End government subsidies given to financial institutions that make student loans, switching to direct loans. This saves nearly $68 billion for college affordability.

President Obama makes surprise visit to Afghanistan

President Obama made a surprise visit to Afghanistan, where he met with President Hamid Karzai and American troops earlier today.

The trip was Obama's first visit to Afghanistan, where he has heightened American military efforts in recent months by adding a surge of 30,000 American troops much along the same lines of the effort exhibited in Iraq during the Bush Administration. 

And the heightened effort by the America troops was one of the main reasons Obama made the trip,

"One of the main reasons I'm here is to just say thank you for the incredible efforts of our US troops and our coalition partners. They make tremendous sacrifices far away from home, and I want to make sure they know how proud their commander-in-chief is of them," Obama said.

Obama later spoke to approximately 2,000 soldiers in Bagram, thanking them for their service.

Obama also found time to speak with President Karzai for about 25-30 minutes. The administration has criticized Karzai's rule as corrupt and ineffective in the past. Karzai won reelection last August, in an election that was marred in fraud and corruption, making the administration wonder if he was capable of uniting the people of Afghanistan. 

It does appear that the president is keeping his eye on Karzai, especially since his decision to deploy additional troops to the war torn country. I do hope he is keeping Karzai on a short leash because if he can't control his own administration, how in the world is Obama gonig to entrust turning the country over to him? For it is he we are entrusting in rebuilding the military, uniting the people and running the country once we leave in July 2011, and right now it is not a promising prospect.

While the issue of Karzai's leadership is a major concern for every party involved in the war, it was good to see the commander-in-chief show up and support the troops for which he put in harms way.

Obama and Medvedev agree to nuclear arms reduction treaty

When President Barack Obama was honored with the Nobel Peace Prize last year, it was not because of his dealing with America's two wars or his inspiring rhetoric, but rather his vision of a world without nuclear weapons. And after the announcement of a historic nuclear arms reduction treaty between Russia and the United States yesterday, it appears President Obama has moved one step closer to a world free of nuclear weapons.

After the 1991 Start Treaty expired last December, officials from both countries had been trying to reach a deal. And now it appears the two superpowers have reached a breakthrough in relations that will significantly reduce each nations nuclear arsenals and delivery systems as the treaty is reported to call for a reduction to between 1,500 and 1,675 warheads and 500 to 1,100 delivery systems including missiles and bombers. The previous treaty permitted each side a maximum of 2,200 warheads and 1,600 launch vehicles.

White House officials are being cautious about touting President Obama's much needed foreign policy accomplishment before the two sides have actually met to sign the treaty. However, it is expected that President Obama and Russian president, Dmitry Medvedev, will meet in the Czech capital of Prague in the next two weeks to sign the treaty into law. 

This is a major foreign policy success for President Obama, who during the election had been sharply criticized by the right for his lack of experience in the field. However, since then, the president has helped to amend the U.S. relationship with the rest of the world, had major successes in defeating the Taliban and al Qaeda in the War on Terror and has brought leaders from around the world together to help fight global warming. Following the signing of the historic health care bill and the annoucement of the nuclear arms reduction treaty this week, President Obama appears to have passed the first-year learning curve that all presidents encounter and is beginning to carve his own path as a great American president.

Breaking News: Senate Democrats pass health care reform fix-it bill

Less than a week after House Democrats passed new health care legislation, Senate Democrats voted, 56-43, in favor of passing a fix-it bill that Republicans had previously hoped to hold up through a number of parliamentary obstructions. 

Before voting Senators honored the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, who made health care reform his life goal before passing away last year from brain cancer, during a moment of silence before voting. Sticking to their platform as the party of "no", all 41 Republican Senators voted against the bill, including three Democrats: Arkansas Sens. Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor, and Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson.

Democrats had hoped to send the bill to President Obama's desk after voting, but Republicans were able to find two small provisions - dealing with student loans - that violated congressional budget rules and had to be eliminated from legislation. As a result, the bill will have to be sent back to the House because both branches have to pass identical legislation. House Democrats don't expect any problems passing the bill and intend to do so by this evening.

While the Republicans tried a bunch of parliamentary tricks to stall the bill, it did not take Democrats long to push the bill through and make health care reform the law of the land. President Obama is now one vote, and one signing away from having passed his first piece of major legislation and one of the most important pieces of legislation since Medicare was passed in 1965.

Psycho Talk: Tea Baggers threaten to commit domestic terrorism, yet compare President Obama to terrorists

"If Brown can't stop it, a Browning can!"

This is the message some members of the radical, right-wing Tea Party movement are sending to Democrats across the country who dared vote for health care reform Sunday. If you are not familiar with the slogan, it is making reference to Sen. Scott Brown, whose 41st vote for Republicans in the Senate could have killed health care reform, and a Browning is a type of firearm, which obviously can not kill a bill but certainly can kill people.

Threats of assassination are not the only bullying these sick bastards have used in recent days. Following the president's speech to House Democrats last Saturday, thousands of Tea Baggers gathered on the streets of Washington to protest the passage of health care reform. As House Democrats made their way down Pennsylvania Avenue the gathering turned into angry, abusive heckling.

Rep. John Lewis (D-GA), a hero of the civil rights movement, who was once almost beaten to death in his defense of civil rights, was called a 'ni--er.' Rep. Barney Franck (D-MA) was called a "fa--ot", as protestors mocked him in homosexual cliched voices. If this wasn't enough, Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO) was even spat on by a protestor.

Of course it didn't stop there, as Tea Baggers have also thrown bricks, with death threats attached to them, through the office windows of four Democratic members of congress - two of those incidents took place in New York State, with a Rochester man taking credit for starting the movement - you should be so proud of spreading fear and violence.

Make no mistake about it, while these nuts look at those who take up a liberal agenda as socialists, communists, fascists, terrorists or whatever other term their pea-brained minds can conjure up, these sick bastards are the real evil that inhabit this country. They are the real treasonists in this process. They stand for the same type of evil that liberals have been fighting since social security. The same evil that consumed America during the violent civil rights movement, when these sick fucks lynched African Americans in the south. These people don't believe in equal rights, they don't believe in helping their fellow man. They are as sick as the sickest terrorists living on earth because most of these trust-fund, white bread pig fuckers don't even know what it is like to be treated unequally. They have never had to live without health care or watch some one they love die because of a lack of health insurance. They have never seen a family that worked hard, everyday of their lives, lose their home because they couldn't afford the medical bills that their dying family member had accumulated because an insurance company dropped them due to a preexisting condition. All these people know is what right-wing nuts like Rush Limbaugh, Glen Beck and John Boehner tell them. All they react to is fear. And while they will most likely die alone and angry, at least they won't die poor. And for that, I am proud to support this health care bill because while it's not perfect, it's certainly going to help the American people - not hold them back. I don't wish death upon even the most crazed Tea Bagger, I only wish that they would see the evil in their actions and use the passion they have inside to fight, in a civil manner, for what they believe in.

But in the end, it is the Republican leaderships fault for not putting a stop to this hateful rhetoric being conveyed by their followers and instead encouraging them to "channel their anger" over health care into something productive. Like what? Threatening and possibly killing Democrats and their families for voting for a piece of legislation that will only help Americans. It is sickening because these right-wing politicians are the ones that put these thoughts into the minds of the morons who will believe anything they say. Who was the first person to conjure up the idea of death panels? Answer: Sarah Palin. And this is a woman that will soon be a reality TV star, if we thought Jersey Shore was bad for society, wait until we see this freak show.

I would say most Americans are intelligent, reasonable people, but there is a percentage that are easily manipulated by fear and they have taken advantage of that through false truths. That is why I strongly believe these bastards should be set on fire and hung from the tallest trees in towns across the country to ensure that the Tea Baggers and other nuts out there understand that we will not tolerate such fear and hate mongering in our nation....I'm just fucking with you! But if you listened to these freaks you would think Democrats are the ones trying to kill you and they are the ones protecting America against the evil practices of the right - but nothing could be further from the truth.

It took some time, but at least one Republican has come to his senses, much like John McCain did last year when the woman at one of his rallies called then candidate Obama a muslin terrorist, as Rep. Eric Cantor, and surprisngly semi-retarded Rep. John Boehner, condemned the violent rhetoric from some on the right earlier today. But it should have come sooner, considering they are the ones who have urged this type of behavior over the past year. When George W. Bush was president, many liberal politicians denounced the comparison of Bush to Hitler, but seems as though many of the Republicans encourage such comparissons and even potentially deadly actions.While there will always be these kinds of nuts in our society, we must be careful on both sides as to what type of rhetoric we allow to be used by our supporters because in the age of the internet, information and view points are spread much faster. What we need to do is expose these nuts for who they are and have our elected officials sit down and have a positive discussion over how we can move this country forward. The Republicans had eight years of legislation that rarely any Democrat agreed with, but even they found ways to work with the administration to pass legislation. That just isn't the case with the Republican leaders. And while the party of "no" appeared strong a couple weaks ago, they now look like their political future is on life support.Watch out conservatives, you know how us liberals wan't to pull the plug on granny, well maybe in the end you will pull the plug on yourselves if you don't tone down the rhetoric and start working for the American people.

House passes historic health care bill; Tea Baggers threaten to blow up hosptials

So the long awaited day has finally arrived America, health care is now considered a right in our great country and not a privilege, after members of the House voted in favor of moving forward with President Barack Obama's historic health care legislation late Sunday night.

Just before the vote, Speaker Nancy Pelosi secured the remaining votes to ensure passage as Democrats voted 219-212 to send the legislation to the president's desk. Not a single Republican supported the measure.

"We will be joining those who established Social Security, Medicare and now, tonight, health care for all Americans," Pelosi told House members as she brought the debate to a close.

The bill, which was a life-long goal of the late Senator Edward M. Kennedy, will finally get rid of insurance companies right to deny coverage for pre-existing conditions, reduce the budget deficit by $1.3 trillion dollars over the next two decades and ensure health care for more than 30 million Americans through mandates and entitlement subsidies, among a number of other measures to ensure Americans of all ages can obtain quality, affordable health care. While Americans can expect to see many of the reforms enacted within the next three to six months, a number of other reforms will take three years to implement.

"This isn't radical reform, but it is major reform," Obama said after the House vote.

After all of the fear perpetrated by the Republican party has faded, I think we will remember this health care bill as one of the most important pieces of legislation in our country's history - for what could be more important than protecting our own people from the money-grubbing swine's who run the insurance companies. In terms of the angry opposition, which included  Tea Party activists shouting racial slurs and anti-gay remarks and spitting on Democratic Congressman over the weekend, we must remember that all of the great pieces of legislation in this country have been passed under harsh opposition from the right (i.e. Medicare, Social Security and Civil Rights) - all of which most Americans today could not imagine living with out.

While a many weak minded Americans will continue to oppose the health care bill, due to lies that have been perpetrated by Republicans and members of the nutty right-wing media, the rest of us finally will be able to know that our government will no longer allow big insurance companies to decide our fate through health care. No longer will 40,000 Americans have to die each year because they were denied health care or could not afford coverage. No longer will women and children be dropped because of preexisting conditions. These are not evil reforms, these are reforms that will help curb costs and make the system more efficient for all of us, even those that oppose it. And at the end of the day its about protecting every American from a broken health care system.

I think it is time for all Americans, even the Tea Party nuts, to take a step back and look through all the smoke screens and think about all of the lives, including their own, that will be saved because of this piece of legislation. Is the bill perfect, not by any means, but will it go along ways to curb costs and ensure health care is a right and not a privilege for all Americans, "you betcha."

The president is expected to sign the bill Tuesday and it could take a week for Senate Democrats to pass amendments to the bill by the House through reconciliation. After that, millions of Americans will be able to sleep easier at night, knowing that their families are safe from bankruptcy and death, because our government decided to finally stand up for the people and not the insurance companies.

"We proved that we are still a people capable of doing big things," Obama said. "We proved that this government - a government of the people and by the people - still works for the people."

What the bill will do for you:

    * Small businesses will get tax credits to help them cover employees. Seniors will get rebates on prescription pills, closing the so-called donught holes in Medicare.

    * Within six months insurance companies will not be able to drop people who get sick. Children will be able to stay on parents insurance until they are 26, and can not be denied because of a preexisting condition.

    * Most people, who already have health insurance through their employers, will not be affected. Almost everyone who is uninsured will be required to buy coverage, or face penalties.

    * Low income people will get subsidies or be eligible for expanded Medicaid coverage.

    * Starting in 2014, people who don't have insurance through their jobs will be able to buy insurance in new state run insurance exchanges.

    * Premiums will be capped at a percentage of income ranging from 3 percent to 9.5 percent.

Rep. Murphy to vote "yes" on health care reform

Rep. Scott Murphy, D-Glens Falls, who has been wavering on whether to vote in favor of the President Barack Obama's proposed health care reform bill, announced today that he would in fact vote "yes."

Murphy who voted against the prior bill introduced in the House, says he can support the president's version because it will help small businesses and families and reforms Medicare to protect against waste and fraud.

"I did read it all. That's the way I approach solving problems. This is an important issue. People deserve that from their representative. I was amazed as how many other people went out and could tell you how they were going to vote before it was even written," Murphy said.

Murphy's decision comes after local Democrats had amped up their support of the bill by protesting outside his office and making thousands of calls to the first-term congressman's office to pressure him into voting in favor of the bill.

The announcement comes as Speaker Nancy Pelosi fights to obtain the needed 216 votes to pass health care reform. President Obama is expected to meet with the House Democratic caucus Saturday, prior to an anticipated Sunday vote.

Obama: jobs bill a good start, but by no means enough

President Barack Obama signed a $38 billion jobs bill today that is intended to give the nation a jobs boost through $18 billion in tax breaks for small businesses and $20 billion in highway and transit programs.

The bill, which is the first of several jobs measures promised by Democrats this year, was hailed by Obama as essential, "but by no means enough."

Democrats are hopeful that the legislation could create around 250,000 jobs though the end of the year. There have been  $8.4 million jobs lost since the start of the recession.

"Many of them [small business owners] are on the fence right now about whether to bring on that extra worker or two, or whether to hire anyone at all," Obama said. "This jobs bill should help make their decision that much easier."

The bill was supported on a bipartisan basis with 11 Republicans among the 68 senators who voted in favor of the bill, which has to make many of one wonder who the 32 senators are that voted against putting Americans back to work.

Kucinich to support health care bill

Liberal Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, says he will now support President Obama's health care reform bill after previously denouncing it for not doing enough to curb costs.

Kucinich opposed the bill when the House voted on it last year, but the president has lobbied hard for his support in recent days. Democrats need 216 votes to pass the bill, in a vote that could come as early as Saturday.

While Speaker Nancy Pelosi continues to scrounge up the necessary votes, it is beginning to become more apparent that the question of whether or not health care will pass is more when, than if. The victory would be a huge win for Democrats, even with public support waning on the bill, as it would prove to the American people that our government can still work. It would also further paint the Republicans as the party of "no" and give Democrats something to campaign on during the mid-term elections.

Obama postpones trip to make final health care push

After Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, announced earlier this week that the president's March 18 deadline for the House to pass the Senate's version of the health care bill would not be possible, President Barack Obama announced today that he would push back an overseas trip as he prepares for a final push to pass health care reform.

Obama will leave on his previously planned trip to Indonesia and Australia on March 21 instead of March 18. The news comes after Obama launched a new offensive to sell health care reform to the American people and House Democrats, who have expressed resistance to the bill, over the past two weeks. His efforts to get a bill passed have also lead him to call for an up-or-down vote in Congress, which will not be possible by his original March 18 deadline.

While Democrats are not quite ready to hold a vote, it is good to see the president is finally taking the the health care debate seriously. Had he taken this kind of intuitive and framed the debate in terms of villainizing the health insurance companies from the get-go, he might have avoided this whole mess and checked health care off his agenda last year. But it is good to know the president is back on track and his intensity has matched what a majority of Americans fell in love with during the 2008 election. Every president has a learning curve, and it looks like Obama is no exception.

House Democrats are scheduled to meet this morning to review the status of the nearly $1 trillion reform package. Pelosi announced Thursday she is still waiting on a report from the Congressional Budget Office on the cost of changes to the Senate bill. She also indicated that the House would wait at least a week after the report was released before voting.

Meanwhile, Obama will continue his assault against those opposing health care reform, when he visits Ohio on Monday to address the controversial issue.

NY 20th District Dems looking for candidate to challenge Rep. Scott Murphy

I happened to come across a post today on Craigslist, seeking progressive Democrats in New York's 20th Congressional District to run against Blue Dog Democrat, Scott Murphy, in a fall primary.

Now I supported Murphy during last year's special election. For he lives in Glens Falls, he is the uncle of some old friends of mine and he was also not Republican Jim Tedisco, who I cringed when thinking about being the representative of the 20th District. However, since being elected Murphy has stood against House Democrats on the proposed health care bill, citing that the bill would not make health insurance more affordable to small businesses.

The problem is while I respect Murphy's concerns, I am yet to hear one idea out of him as to how the bill could better achieve his goals. Sen. Gillibrand on the other hand, who Murphy replaced after she was appointed to Sen. Clinton's Senate seat, has been a strong supporter of health care and the public option, making her a strong voice for New Yorker's in the health care debate. While Murphy says he is committed to providing affordable health care, he has offered nothing more than a "no" vote on the issue - and done all he could to avoid pro-health care protesters. And although he says he approves of a number of reforms in the bill including the elimination of the lifetime caps on insurance benefits and the pre-existing condition exclusion, invests in prevention and primary care, creates a health insurance exchange to force insurance companies to compete and offers a public option for people who want to get away from for-profit insurance companies, he still will not support the bill that needs 216 votes to pass the House. Which means Murphy is willing to give up a whole bunch of great reforms because the bill doesn't meet one of his requirements. On top of this, Murphy won last year's election by riding President Obama's coat tales and now he has turned his back on the man that got him elected on his flagship bill.

I guess since he is new to congress he wasn't informed that bills are usually amended over time to make them stronger. Murphy's deceit of the Democrats in the district who elected him to office, means he has to go! So if there are any competent, potential congressman out there in the 20th District, please stand up and fight back against selfish, politicians like Murphy. Hell, if the primary was held today I would vote for the angry squirrel in my backyard over Murphy.

It should be noted that the Associated Press reported recently that Murphy is among nine House Democrats who have not ruled out switching their "no" vote to "yes." For Murphy's sake lets hope he makes the right decision and votes in favor of the bill.

To learn more about running for the 20th Congressional District, visit Courageous Congressperson Ad

Secretary Gates: U.S. forces in Afghanistan will come home 'no later than July 2011'

Defense Secretary Robert Gates hinted that U.S. troops could leave Afghanistan prior to the previously announced July 2011 troop withdrawal date during a recent trip to Afghanistan.

The decision, however, according to Gates, "would have to be conditions-based."

"We will begin that transition no later than July 2011, but the pace will depend also on conditions on the ground," Gates said after watching training exercises of Afghan soldiers.

This news comes just a few months after President Obama ordered a controversial troop surge of 30,000 additional U.S. forces to Afghanistan.

The U.S. hope is to grow the Afghan National Security Forces to their authorized size of 170,000 soldiers and 134,000 police by the pullout date.

Afghan Defense Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak, who accompanied Gates on his trip to Afghan, says he is confident Afghan forces will meet the task.

Gates' visit to Afghanistan came as NATO-led coalition forces are pressing an offensive against Taliban forces around the town of Marjah in southern Helmand province. The offensive was launched in February by an international coalition of 15,000 troops, including Afghans, Americans, Britons, Canadians, Danes and Estonians.

This is exciting news for most Americans who denounced the troop surge when President Obama first announced his decision to send an additional 30,000 U.S. forces to Afghanistan. It appears that President Obama is winning the war in Afghanistan - something his predecessor, President Bush, was never able to accomplish. While our president did not ask for this war, he certainly has shown strong leadership, amidst critical public opinion, in an effort to do what he thought was right to secure the region. So far it looks like he was right. Now lets just hope Secretary Gates is right about his assumption that troops might be able to come home before the July 2011 deadline.

Health care advocates "fired up" for reform

After hearing calls for health care reform "now," from a fired up President Barack Obama on Monday, pro-health care advocates fought back against insurance company executives at Dupont Circle in Washington, DC on Tuesday - leading a heated protest against the current deadlock that is holding up the proposed health care bill in Congress.

More than 1,000 protesters, including a representatives of organized labor, made up the mob as they made their way through the streets of our nation's Capitol. Joining them was former Governor of Vermont, Howard Dead, who told the crowd, "We deserve a vote! Are you for the insurance companies or are you for the American people?"

One protester called for a "citizens arrest" of lobbyists for their crimes against health care - more than 40,000 Americans die each year because of a lack of affordable health insurance.

While White House officials expect the House to pass the Senate's version of health care by March 18. No Republicans are expected to vote for the historic reform.

"The Republicans are ... proving themselves the party of 'no,' " Dean told protesters.

It's about time the American people, and liberals, started standing up for what is right in this health care debate. While only 25 percent of Americans currently support the bill, when Americans are asked if they support specific aspects of the bill they are overwhelmingly support it. The problem in terms of public opinion does not lie in whether people believe the bill is bad, but rather the process it has taken to get something passed. The same thing happened during the Clinton administration, where a majority of Americans supported health care reform at the beginning of the debate, public support started to wain as the debate went on and the bill was eventually abandoned. This same tedious process, along with heinous lies from the right, are what have led the American people into being manipulated into believing that health care reform is wrong for them, their family and America.

However, a little protesting as we all know can go a long way into gaining public support for an issue, even if people have no clue what it is about - just look at the Tea Baggers.

"Fired up, Ready to go!"

Looking to post some video of the protest later.

Obama describes 16 ways health care reform will help Americans

In his weekly address, President Barack Obama described 16 ways the proposed health care bill will help reform the broken system currently in place, if and when it passes.

Hold Insurance Companies Accountable:

1. Eliminate lifetime limits and restrictive annual limits on benefits in all new plans. (!!)
2. Prohibit rescissions of health insurance policies in all individual plans.
3. Prohibit pre-existing condition exclusions for children in all new plans. (!!)
4. Require premium rebates to enrollees from insurers with high administrative expenditures and require public disclosure of the percent of premiums applied to overhead costs.
5. Establish a process for the annual review of unreasonable increases in premiums, requiring State insurance commissioners to work with the HHS Secretary and States. (!!)

Protect Consumers:

6. Provide grants to States to support health insurance consumer assistance and ombudsman programs to help consumers.
7. Ensure consumers have access to an effective internal and external appeals process to appeal new insurance plan decisions. (!!)
8. Require all insurance plans to use uniform coverage documents so consumers can make easy comparisons when shopping for health insurance. (!!)
9. Establish an internet portal to assist Americans in identifying coverage options. (!!)
10. Prohibit insurers from discriminating in favor of highly compensated employees by charging them lower premiums.

Ensure Affordable Choices and Quality Care:

11. Provide immediate access to insurance for uninsured Americans who are uninsured because of a pre-existing condition through a temporary high-risk pool. (!!)
12. Create a temporary re-insurance program for early retirees. (!!)
13. Require new plans to cover an enrollee’s dependent children until age 26. (!!)
14. Require new plans to cover preventive services and immunizations without cost-sharing
15. Offer tax credits to small businesses to purchase coverage. (!!)
16. Facilitate administrative simplification to lower health system costs.

Source: The White House Blog

Obama shows no spine in considering military tribunal for 9/11 masterminds

President Barack Obama could be bending over to the same kind of fear mongering that has imprisoned the minds of Americans for close to a decade, after a senior White House adviser revealed earlier today that the administration is considering trying alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, and four of his co-conspirators, in a  military court, instead of a civilian one in New York City.

If the president does decide to try the 9/11 terrorists in a military tribunal instead of civilian court, it would be a major blow to finding any kind of justice in the war on terror, not to mention American values.

"If the president flip-flops and retreats to the Bush military commissions, he will betray his campaign promise to restore the rule of law, demonstrate that his principles are up for grabs and lose all credibility with Americans who care about justice and the rule of law," Anthony Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union, told CNN.

The fact is if we as a country decide to back down on Attorney General Eric Holder's decision to try these scumbags in civil court, we are basically saying that we don't believe in our justice system, and in many ways proves to the terrorists that good can not triumph over evil.

And if you don't think this is true, ask a native of a Middle Eastern country who has been victimized by terrorists themselves. I have had many eye-opening conversations with a friend from Pakistan who I met while writing an article about a family of Pakistani natives who had been forced to flee their country due to threats from terrorist organizations in their homeland. He told me that the only way we are going to show the terrorist "bastards" right from wrong, good from evil, is to show terrorists how a virtuous justice system can prosecute them and make them pay for their crimes. And he is right. For how are we supposed to make ourselves out to be the good guys if we are killing alleged terrorists without a proper trial. In many ways it lowers us to their level and gives terrorist organizations like al-Qaeda another recruiting tool to bolster their efforts.

“I would be deeply saddened if this thing would be reversed,” said retired Army Major General William L. Nash. “It would give aid to our enemies. It would lessen our relationship with allies who have been extremely happy with the reversal of course we have taken. This is not the time to be scared.”

Not only does trying these sick fucks in a civil court make us stronger and more just in our cause to defeat terrorism, but it is also proven that civilian courts have a higher conviction rate than military tribunals in terrorist trials. Civilian courts boast an 88 percent conviction rate on 828 trials, compared to a 15 percent conviction rate on 20 terrorist trials conducted in military tribunals - with two of the five convicted terrorists later being released.

The other major argument against trying the 9/11 attackers in a civilian court is the estimated $200 million price tag and the assumption that such a trial will make us more vulnerable to a terrorist attack. NEWS FLASH! Terrorists want to attack and kill Americans, not to mention if they are going to attack our nation again it is most likely going to occur in our largest and greatest city. And in terms of cost, it is going to cost us a fortune to hold these trials whether they are held in downtown Manhattan or rural Illinois.

In the end, if the president decides to try Mohammed and his co-conspirators in a military tribunal it will most likely have more to do with public opinion and other political leaders who object to such a trial than a fear that our justice system can not effectively try and convict the five terrorists. A recent public opinion poll shows that six in 10 Americans support using military tribunals to try non citizens charged with terrorism. However, six in 10 Americans also believe Mohammad and his co-conspirators should be tried on U.S. soil and not foreign soil.

However, while a small majority of Americans believe terrorists should be tried in military tribunals, September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, a group of more than 200 relatives of victims of the attacks, issued a statement saying they were “deeply troubled” by reports that the accused terrorists in the 9/11 plot might not receive a civilian trial after all.

“Civilian trials in federal courts have resulted in hundreds of successful terrorism prosecutions whereas military commissions are an illegitimate system that undermines the rule of law,” Donna O’Connor, a spokeswoman for the group, said.

But all I want to know is, 'what happened to the America where "there was nothing to fear but fear itself."' This country has faced far greater threats than terrorist attacks in our history, why now have we decided to act like spineless little bitches when it comes to showing the world that we are just and right in our cause in the world.

Grow some balls Mr. President, the right decisions are never the easy ones, for if they were we would all be terrorists. And as for my fellow Americans, stop being fearful of terrorists and start standing up to these bastards, because continuing to fear them means in the end they win.

Harold Ford Jr. won't run for Senate in N.Y.

Democrats in New York will not have to worry about deciding between Junior Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and former Tennessee Congressman Harold Ford Jr. in a primary this fall, after Ford announced Monday he will not seek the Senate seat.

In a New York Times op-ed due out Tuesday, Ford says he does not want to risk a negative primary or weaken the party.

Gillibrand was appointed to the seat by controversial Gov. David Paterson last year after Hillary Clinton was chosen by President Obama to become U.S. Secretary of State. Ford moved to New York in 2006 after he took a job with Bank of America Merrill Lynch following the loss of his congressional seat in Tennessee.

Ford was discouraged from running for the seat by both the White House and Sen. Charles Schumer, but moved forward with gauging his chances of winning the seat in recent months. Gillibrand, who ignored Ford when he first showed interest in running for the seat, began characterizing him as a carpetbagger after he attacked her on numerous occasions, including calling her a "parakeet" who takes positions based on party leaders instead of her own beliefs.

In the end, while Ford will cry about being "bullied" out of the election, it is good for not only Democrats but all New Yorker's that some Tennessee carpetbagging, political hack will have the right to vote on our behalf. Gillibrand, who I covered as a reporter, voted for, but thought was too conservative to represent New York in the Senate, has actually turned out to be a strong liberal voice on health care and the public option.

Ford's op-ed reads as follows:

I’ve examined this race in every possible way, and I keep returning to the same fundamental conclusion: If I run, the likely result would be a brutal and highly negative Democratic primary — a primary where the winner emerges weakened and the Republican strengthened.


I refuse to do anything that would help Republicans win a Senate seat in New York, and give the Senate majority to the Republicans.


I realize this announcement will surprise many people who assumed I was running. I reached this decision only in the last few days — as I considered what a primary campaign, even with the victory I saw as fully achievable, would have done to the Democratic party.

Republicans halt unemployment extension in pursuit of destroying America once and for all

The Republican party is holding the American people hostage once again after Sen. Jim Bunning (R-KY), who is set to retire at the end of the year, single-handedly halted the passing of a $10 billion bill that would extend unemployment and cobra benefits for those whose benefits were scheduled to expire yesterday (Sunday, Feb. 28).

Bunning objected to the bill because there is currently no money to to pay for the spending.

“The only difference I have, and some of my good friends from the other side of the aisle, is that I believe we should pay for it,” Bunning said.  He has proposed using unspent TARP funds to pay for the extension.

First it was health care, then it was the $16 billion jobs bill and now it looks like the conservatives won't rest until they stop not only President Obama from succeeding, but also the American people. However, it should be noted that not all Republicans agree with Bunning, as Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ), the Republican whip, has said that the Senate will pass an extension of the benefits. The House passed its version last week.

Aside from this being another gross injustice to the American people as well as another idiotic assertion that the deficit must be stopped at all costs, it continues to show the hypocrisy and failing path that the Republican party has lead this country and weak minded Americans down for decades. These are the same people that drove the deficit to record numbers, criticized the bail-outs that their party first started and then took credit for all of the projects that the stimulus bill created in their city's and state's.

Plus, I don't know when Republicans became so concerned with budget deficits anyway, considering the party is responsible for most the debt the country has incurred over the past 25 years. And wasn't it Dick Cheney who mocked Democrats during the Bush administration by saying, “deficits don’t matter”. But of course that was while Republicans were raising the deficits to fund two wars, and now that Democrats are forced into a position to spend in order to save the American economy from utter destruction, there is somehow something wrong with spending. I will say this, I do agree with Cheney, "deficits don't matter".

But for those of you who are concerned with deficits, Democrat Bill Clinton was the only president in the past 25 years to actually leave office with a budget surplus. And Obama has incurred debt based on cleaning up the Republican mess, not to mention he has promised to pay off all of the debt his administration incurs by the end of his first term.

While members of the Senate have promised to pass the bill that will leave approximately 400,000 people without unemployment benefits next week, it is just sad to see how truly broken our government is. When one branch of government, and even one person for that matter, can continue to halt measures that intend to move this country forward, time and time again, we as Americans have to consider taking a serious look at how this country does business and how we can change it to work better for the American people. While elected officials can be partially to blame for the failure of our government, it is more the system itself that allows a few of these pig fuckers to control our lives and how we live them. And that goes for both parties, because remember while the Republicans continue to stick to their talking points of smaller government, they are still the same party that has continued to run-up our debt and enforce unconstitutional laws to trample on our privacy through acts like the "Patriot Act". But yet the Democrats and their "socialistic" ways are the ones that are ruining our country, because we all know the Democrats were the ones in power when the federal government was expanded to its greatest point in our country's history.

While it is hard not to be frustrated with our government and both parties right now, I just ask all of us to remember who the morons are that put our country in this position in the first place and who continue to try to disrupt the progress of the American people, while offering no real solutions to the challenges of our time. The Tea Baggers are right on one thing, it's time to rise-up, only not against liberal principals, but rather the evil right that contiues to manipulate this country and ruin the American dream for all of us.