I’ll continue to look for a better copy of this song. ConFunkShun was the jam back in the day. They had two or three albums that sold very well, a tight horn section and a great bass groove. In the late 70s and early 80s, that was the prescription for success in R&B.
Artist: ConFunkShun
Tune: Got to be Enough
Only Stephen Colbert could take on the terrible policy of don’t ask, don’t tell while in Iraq performing for the troops. He remains one of the most cutting-edge comedians in the US today.
| The Colbert Report | Mon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c | |||
| Formidable Opponent – Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell | ||||
|
||||
I will be on the Local Edge Radio Friday at 4:05 on WPEK 880 AM here in Asheville (streaming here) and we’ll be talking about Healthcare Reform. Please tune in!!
Union members have stepped up big once again. Interesting how over the last several months how unions have showed very, very prominently in the national news. The US Airways crew which piloted a plane and its passengers onto the Hudson, the ship off the coast of Africa that fought off the Pirates and yesterday we saw security guards, union members, performed bravely in the face of a dangerous and quickly changing situation. Congratulations to them. Again, I would like to express my personal sadness at the loss of Stephen Johns.
The ACLU is launching a major campaign, trying to hold those who committed acts of torture accountable to the American people. Glenn has more.
Think Progress has compiled a list of myths that the Republicans have been pushing on the American people about the public option in healthcare. The following is their compilation:
Today, Karl Rove penned an editorial in the Wall Street Journal attacking the public health care option. Rove’s ‘myths’ echo the poll-tested talking points of Frank Luntz and other conservatives determined to protect the private insurer’s monopoly over coverage and deny Americans choice. Below is a fact-check of Rove’s assertions. [Download a PDF version.]
Myth 1: A public option is unnecessary.
Myth 2: Private competition in Medicare Part D has reduced costs.
Myth 3: A public plan would shift costs to Americans with private insurance.
Myth 4: A public plan will lead to a welfare state.
Myth 5: The public option is too expensive.
Myth 6: Americans will be forced into a public option.
Myth 7: The public option would put a bureaucrat between you and your doctor.
MYTH 1: A public option is unnecessary: “It’s unnecessary. Advocates say a government-run insurance program is needed to provide competition for private health insurance. But 1,300 companies sell health insurance plans. That’s competition enough.” [WSJ, 6/11/2009]
TRUTH: Insurer and hospital markets are dominated by large insurers and provider systems. Private insurers rarely negotiate with dominant hospital systems and typically pass on the higher costs to beneficiaries in the form of higher premiums. Already, “1 in 6 metropolitan areas in a 2008 study of more than 300 U.S. markets is dominated by a single health insurer that controls at least 70% of consumers enrolled in health maintenance organizations or preferred provider organizations.” Such consolidation negates any real competition. Without it, insurers don’t negotiate prices and boost their profits. In fact, “there have been over 400 health care mergers in the last 10 years,” and premiums have risen “nearly eight times faster than average U.S. incomes.” A public plan could, in an environment of head-to-head competition, push private insurance companies to negotiate more aggressively with providers and dramatically lower health care spending.” [Urban Institute, 10/03/2008; LA Times, 4/09/2009] [Read more →]
From Political Animal:
* The guard shot at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum has died.
* The suspected killer is a “birther” with a long list of groups of people he hates.
* A car bomb at a crowded food market in southern Iraq killed about 30 people today and wounded dozens more.
* The Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal on the Chrysler sale to Fiat, and the deal was reportedly wrapped up today.
* NYT: “The Obama administration on Wednesday appointed a compensation overseer with broad discretion to set the pay for 175 top executives at seven of the nation’s largest companies, which have received hundreds of billions of dollars in federal assistance to survive.”
* Seventeen Uighurs find a new home in Palau.
* A “grass-roots rebellion” was launched against the Taliban in a remote area of northern Pakistan yesterday.
* The U.N. Security Council is moving closer towards toughening export and financial sanctions on North Korea, including possible inspections of North Korean ships.
* Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) took an unusually antagonist attitude towards HCAN, the major health care reform coalition, this afternoon. “I am unaware that HCAN has any votes on the floor of the United States Senate,” Conrad said, after saying he doesn’t much care what the progressive coalition thinks.
* Organizing for America takes the next step in organizing in support of health care reform.
* Hopes that Ted Kennedy would rejoin the Senate appear to have been overly optimistic — he is poised to undergo a new round of chemotherapy and is not expected back in June.
* Operation Rescue may purchase Dr. George Tiller’s clinic.
* Maine considers creating a unicameral legislature.
* Hey, look, Liz Cheney is on national television again. And wouldn’t you know it, she’s still lying about her father’s record.
* It looks like David Letterman’s anti-Palin “Top 10 List” went too far.
* I have no idea why conservative media personalities continue to pick fights with Jon Stewart, but Joe Scarborough can’t seem to help himself.
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| Morning Joe’s Sarcastic Starbucks Sponsorship | ||||
|
||||
* Jeremiah Wright has become a ridiculous parody of himself.
* And some Senate Dems had a little fun yesterday, putting together a guide for lawmakers who feel they can’t scrutinize Sotomayor and tackle their usual Senate duties. It’s called, “A Handy How-To Guide for Republican Judiciary Members: Special mastication and ambulation edition.” It offers step-by step instructions on how to walk and chew gum at the same time.
I have no idea what this gunman’s (James W. von Brunn) problem was, but he was on the radar of the Southern Poverty Law Center for a long time. It appears that he has ties with white supremacist groups and also neo-Nazi groups. (Is there a difference?) He reportedly has a website (now not available) with lots of ramblings about Jews and Negroes.
It seems as if the election of President Barack Obama has allowed Pandora’s box to open and all the crazies have fallen out of the box. There was the cop shooting in Pittsburgh. The shooter had some bizarre conspiracy theory. We had the shooting of Dr. Tiller in Kansas by an anti-abortion terrorist. We had some guy in Utah threaten the President in front of a bank teller. There may be a pattern here.
I am extremely saddened that somebody had to die before we could stop this hatemonger. Many news outlets are reporting that the security guard, 39-year-old Stephen Tyronne Johns, was killed. Johns had worked at the Holocaust Memorial Museum for over six years. DK has a nice post saluting Mr. Johns.
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
From the Southern Poverty Law Center:
Von Brunn is the author of the 1999 book, “Kill the Best Gentiles,” a racist and anti-Semitic tome that argues that whites are seeing “today on the world stage a tragedy of enormous proportions: the calculated destruction of the White Race and the incomparable culture it represents. Europe, former fortress of the West, is now over-run by hordes of non-Whites and mongrels.” A raging anti-Semite, von Brunn blames “The Jews” for the destruction of the West. The book is dedicated to prominent neo-Nazis and racists including Revilo Oliver and Wilmot Robertson.
In 2003, AP reported that von Brunn had painted a portrait of Rear Adm. John Crommelin, a raging anti-Semite who was a close associate of neo-Nazi William Pierce, whose book The Turner Diaries inspired Timothy McVeigh’s bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building.
On his website, von Brunn also claims that in 1981, while wearing a “London Fog raincoat to conceal his weapons,” he attempted to put the whole Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve under “legal, non-violent citizens-arrest.” He wanted “to bind their hands and persuade them to appear on television.” The website says he was sentenced to 11 years for his actions. (more…)
Update from Political Animal:
Fox News spent much of April hyperventilating about a report from the Department of Homeland Security, warning of possible threats posed by violent radicals, specifically from anti-abortion and anti-Semitic extremists.
The DHS report, which Republicans spent weeks trying to exploit for partisan gain, looks considerably different now. On Fox News this afternoon, while the story at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum was still unfolding, Shep Smith referenced the memo, saying he remembered the report “warning, ‘look out for crazy extremists out there, about to do weirdness,’ and here we are.”
Catherine Herridge, a domestic security correspondent for the Fox News, said this is “an excellent point to bring up.” She added, “[W]e have to now see those two intelligence assessments that were released by Homeland Security earlier this year — one dealt with left-wing extremists, the other dealt with right-wing extremists — you have to see them in a somewhat different light.”
Greg Sargent added, “If this gunman proves to be an anti-government zealot and white supremacist, there will be tons of cable chatter and mea culpa-ing to the effect that the DHS was doing exactly what it was supposed to be doing in issuing that report. Right?”
We’ll see.
Shep Smith added that the DHS report “was a warning to us all, and it appears now they were right.”
It’s time that everybody realizes that there is a reason that we don’t have universal health care already. There are powerful forces that like healthcare just the way it is. Everybody has been talking about insurance and how they’ve been taking a large bite out of our healthcare dollar but it’s more than just insurance companies.
Americans spend $2.2 trillion on health care. That is a huge chunk of money. Pharmaceutical companies and product makers have to carve out their part. On the good side, there are many drugs which did not exist for decades ago which make our lives better. Clot busting drugs can reverse the effects of a heart attack if given early enough. Patients with early signs and symptoms of a stroke can be given these drugs and 24 hours later they can walk out of the hospital like nothing happened. On the bad side, these drugs are ridiculously expensive. In 2007 Americans spent over $227 billion in prescription drugs. Drug companies saw their profits increase by $8 billion in the first half of last year!
If we look back to the 1960s when President Lyndon Johnson was proposing Medicare who opposed this revolutionary program, at that time? Physicians. Physicians were afraid that their reimbursement would be cut in order to save money. The American Medical Association (AMA) led the charge against Pres. Lyndon Johnson’s revolutionary idea. It was only after an agreement between the White House and the AMA was made to the bill moves through Congress. Lawmakers would not make any effort to curtail physician charges. For approximately 10 years, Congress and the White House kept their promise. Starting at approximately 1980, a huge effort was made to control the healthcare costs by cutting physician reimbursement. Many physicians and the American Medical Association currently oppose healthcare reform. They fear, and rightly so, that budget shortfalls will be corrected by cutting physician’s reimbursement once again. Over the last 20 years, many physician salaries have been cut in half secondary to these reimbursement cuts. Cardiothoracic surgeons, radiologists and anesthesiologists have been hit particularly hard.
I’m not saying that most physicians, if not the vast majority of physicians are not excellent advocates for their patients. It is my opinion that physicians make the best advocates for patients. We are, as a group, very empathetic. We love to take care of patients. At 3 in the morning, who is sitting at the bedside? The nurse and the doctor are at the bedside! Yet, we are forced in this debate to choose between our patients and our paycheck. I think that the AMA is making the wrong choice. Currently, there seems to be an alliance forming between the AMA and the pharmaceutical companies. They may be working to block universal health care.
It is my opinion that we cannot go forward with universal health care reform until we can figure out a way to get the majority of physicians on board. Again, the White House will probably need to make a deal with physicians in order to get some sort of public option through Congress.
There are other players in the healthcare game they’re making serious money but aren’t as high profile as physicians. There are nursing homes and hospitals along with product manufacturers (scooters, walkers, titanium orthopedic rods and many others). Combined, Americans spent close to $850 billion paying for these healthcare services in 2007.
We can’t pretend that this is going to be easy. We can’t pretend that some people, if not most people, aren’t going to loose some skin in this game. We, Americans, cannot continue to spend 16% of our gross domestic product on health care. We need to spend money on education, infrastructure and other important needs. I’m not saying that Healthcare isn’t important. I’m saying that we have a finite amount of money. We need to spend it wisely to get the most bang for our buck.
Although I will have the whole show up on my blog soon, I wanted to post my interview with Rep. Susan Fisher. She has done a great job representing North Asheville. We talk about the budget woes. We talk about alternatives to cutting services. We also discuss some the bills that she has introduced in the House. We talk about a bill called “Healthy Youth” which is an excellent bill on accurate sex education. This is an excellent interview. Enjoy.
You can contact Susan Fisher through her web site at www.electsusanfisher.com or through her legislative office in Raleigh.
Republicans have had a variety of answers as to why universal healthcare will not work. One of their biggest and loudest points has to do with big government (cue scary music). To them, the government is not the solution to any problem. The government is treated with the same rhetoric as is Communism, as if our government were not made up of Americans. In my opinion, we get the government that we deserve and have asked for. If we continue to browbeat government employees, cut wages and cut benefits, we are not going get the best and the brightest.
President Obama’s hybrid healthcare plan, which is a mix of public and private healthcare, is getting bogged down in Congress. It is quickly turning into an option that is not viable. The Daily Kos has more –
The “progressives” at Third Way, that moderate public policy think thank tank that apparently exists to make the DLC look like regular liberal firebrands, turned their hyper-incrementalist bullshit domestic policy sites on something that matters: the public option in the health care reform package.
This leaked draft [pdf] of their upcoming policy paper shows that they’re not even going for a hyper-incrementalist watering down of the public option–they’re trying to kill it. Here’s their premise:
Whether health care reform should include a “public plan” is an issue that now threatens to fracture the emerging consensus on health reform. If left unresolved, the debate over a public plan could derail the broader reform agenda while other pressing issues central to reform are put on hold.
The proponents of a public plan seek the right goals—to broaden access and lower costs. But there is a very real danger that an overly intrusive public plan can ultimately undermine these very goals and destabilize the private-sector coverage that middle-class Americans—i.e., Harry and Louise—depend on and are largely satisfied with.
They actually invoke Harry and Louise again, which is fitting, since Harry and Louise were a creation of the insurance industry, much like this plan seems to be. In the event that Third Way forgot, “proponents” of the public option include President Obama, one of the key Senate leaders on the issue, and the largest voting bloc in the House of Representatives. It’s not a fringe group of DFHers who want a solid public option. It’s the consensus of the majority of Democrats. And the President. [Read more →]
It should be no surprise that those who stand to have their profits curtailed are fighting tooth and nail to make sure that heathcare reform doesn’t happen. It is up to progressives to continue to push our representatives and senators toward a solution that will work for all of us. That is their job!!!
From Robert Reich:
I’ved poked around Washington today, talking with friends on the Hill who confirm the worst: Big Pharma and Big Insurance are gaining ground in their campaign to kill the public option in the emerging health care bill.
You know why, of course. They don’t want a public option that would compete with private insurers and use its bargaining power to negotiate better rates with drug companies. They argue that would be unfair. Unfair? Unfair to give more people better health care at lower cost? To Pharma and Insurance, “unfair” is anything that undermines their profits.
So they’re pulling out all the stops — pushing Democrats and a handful of so-called “moderate” Republicans who say they’re in favor of a public option to support legislation that would include it in name only. One of their proposals is to break up the public option into small pieces under multiple regional third-party administrators that would have little or no bargaining leverage. A second is to give the public option to the states where Big Pharma and Big Insurance can easily buy off legislators and officials, as they’ve been doing for years. A third is bind the public plan to the same rules private insurers have already wangled, thereby making it impossible for the public plan to put competitive pressure on the insurers.
Max Baucus, Chair of Senate Finance (now exactly why does the Senate Finance Committee have so much say over health care?) hasn’t shown his cards but staffers tell me he’s more than happy to sign on to any one of these. But Baucus is waiting for more support from his colleagues, and none of the three proposals has emerged as the leading candidate for those who want to kill the public option without showing they’re killing it. Meanwhile, Ted Kennedy and his staff are still pushing for a full public option, but with Kennedy ailing, he might not be able to round up the votes. (Kennedy’s health committee released a draft of a bill today, which contains the full public option.)
Enter Olympia Snowe. Her move is important, not because she’s Republican (the Senate needs only 51 votes to pass this) but because she’s well-respected and considered non-partisan, and therefore offers some cover to Democrats who may need it. Last night Snowe hosted a private meeting between members and staffers about a new proposal Pharma and Insurance are floating, and apparently she’s already gained the tentative support of several Democrats (including Ron Wyden and Thomas Carper). Under Snowe’s proposal, the public option would kick in years from now, but it would be triggered only if insurance companies fail to bring down healthcare costs and expand coverage in he meantime.
What’s the catch? First, these conditions are likely to be achieved by other pieces of the emerging legislation; for example, computerized records will bring down costs a tad, and a mandate requiring everyone to have coverage will automatically expand coverage. If it ever comes to it, Pharma and Insurance can argue that their mere participation fulfills their part of the bargain, so no public option will need to be triggered. Second, as Pharma and Insurance well know, “years from now” in legislative terms means never. There will never be a better time than now to enact a public option. If it’s not included, in a few years the public’s attention will be elsewhere.
Much the same dynamic is occurring in the House. Two members who had originally supported single payer told me that Pharma and Insurance have launched the same strategy there, and many House members are looking to see what happens in the Senate. Snowe’s “trigger” is already buzzing among members.
All this will be decided within days or weeks. And once those who want to kill the public option without their fingerprints on the murder weapon begin to agree on a proposal — Snowe’s “trigger” or any other — the public option will be very hard to revive. The White House must now insist on a genuine public option. And you, dear reader, must insist as well.
This is it, folks. The concrete is being mixed and about to be poured. And after it’s poured and hardens, universal health care will be with us for years to come in whatever form it now takes. Let your representative and senators know you want a public option without conditions or triggers — one that gives the public insurer bargaining leverage over drug companies, and pushes insurers to do what they’ve promised to do. Don’t wait until the concrete hardens and we’ve lost this battle.
I figured that it was just me. I look at who is on the TV and whom journalists are interviewing and ask why? Rick Santorum has been on the tube recently. Why? He is a partisan politician who isn’t all that bright and was voted out of office. What could he have to say that would be of any importance? Why does Liz Cheney keep popping up on my screen? Don’t we know what she is going to say before she says it? Tom Tancredo! Please. This guy has the IQ of an empty soap dish. He has never, as far as I know, said anything that was really worthwhile or insightful. Why does anything that he thinks about any nominee to the Supreme Court have any relevance? Steve has more:
Looking over the list of guests for tomorrow’s Sunday morning shows, we see that CBS’s “Face the Nation” will feature two guests: David Axelrod from the White House and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.
It comes just two weeks after Gingrich was a featured guest on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” He was the featured guest on “Fox News Sunday” just two weeks before that.
This isn’t quite as annoying as having Liz Cheney live on the cable networks, but it’s getting there.
Atrios asked a couple of weeks ago, “[Y]ou know, disgraced former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has precisely zero power but his every pronouncement is treated as Incredibly Important News. Any journalists want to explain why?”
That need not be a rhetorical question.
I suspect “Face the Nation” wants to hear from Gingrich about the Sotomayor nomination, since Gingrich led the way in smearing the judge, and then kinda-sorta-but-not-really backpedaled this week on the use of the word “racist.”
But here’s a little secret: whether Gingrich respects or loathes Sotomayor is of no consequence. He doesn’t have a vote in the Senate, and more importantly, he doesn’t have any real influence in the Senate, either.
In our reality, Gingrich was forced from office in disgrace more than a decade ago. His limited power comes by way of the media, which keeps putting him on national television.
Eric Boehlert’s recent take on this — before Newt had an op-ed published in the Washington Post and before his “Meet the Press” appearance had even been announced — still rings true:
[A]s often happens when I read breaking, this-is-what-Newt-said dispatches, I couldn’t help thinking, “Who cares what Newt Gingrich thinks?” And I don’t mean that in the partisan sense. I mean it in the journalistic sense: How do Gingrich’s daily pronouncements about the fundamental dishonesty of Democrats (Newt’s favorite phrase) translate into news? Why does the press, 10 years after Gingrich was forced out of office, still treat his every partisan utterance as a newsworthy occurrence? In other words, why does the press still treat him like he’s speaker of the House? It’s unprecedented.”
I’m still waiting to see the media frenzy surrounding the latest pronouncements from Jim Wright and Tom Foley. Remind me, when was the last time either of them was invited onto a Sunday morning show?
I’m getting way too old. This tune sounds like a lot of stuff that has been put out in the last year or so (like Disturbia), but what do I know? I do know that you can shake your booty to this tune. 
Artist: Lady Gaga
Tune: Poker Face
Here are President Barack Obama’s remarks:
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
Transcript of President Obama’s remarks:
Why is this? Of all the battles in all the wars across the span of human history, why does this day hold such a revered place in our memory? What is it about the struggle that took place on the sands a few short steps from here that brings us back to remember year after year after year?
Part of it, I think, is the size of the odds that weighed against success. For three centuries, no invader had ever been able to cross the English Channel into Normandy. And it had never been more difficult than in 1944.
That was the year that Hitler ordered his top field marshal to fortify the Atlantic Wall against a seaborne invasion. From the tip of Norway to southern France, the Nazis lined steep cliffs with machine guns and artillery. Low-lying areas were flooded to block passage. Sharpened poles awaited paratroopers. Mines were laid on the beaches and beneath the water. And by the time of the invasion, half a million Germans waited for the Allies along the coast between Holland and northern France.
At dawn on June 6th, the Allies came. The best chance for victory had been for the British Royal Air Corps to take out the guns on the cliffs while airborne divisions parachuted behind enemy lines. But all did not go according to plan. Paratroopers landed miles from their mark, while the fog and clouds prevented Allied planes from destroying the guns on the cliffs. So when the ships landed here at Omaha, an unimaginable hell rained down on the men inside. Many never made it out of the boats.
And yet, despite all of this, one by one, the Allied forces made their way to shore — here, and at Utah and Juno; Gold and Sword. They were American, British, and Canadian. Soon, the paratroopers found each other and fought their way back. The Rangers scaled the cliffs. And by the end of the day, against all odds, the ground on which we stand was free once more.
The sheer improbability of this victory is part of what makes D-Day so memorable. It also arises from the clarity of purpose with which this war was waged. (more… )
Dr. Tillman’s funeral is today. I hope that this extremely brave physician and great man is held up by the community which he served for decades.
The FBI released a statement that they are looking into this murder. It may not have been committed by one man. I applaud the FBI and the Justice department for stepping up to the plate. Melissa Harris-Lacewell has been on my radio show several times before. She has written a excellent piece on this homegrown terrorist movement. After the video is her great post that was printed in The Nation this week.
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
I believe the murder of George Tiller was an act of domestic terrorism whose aim was not only to assassinate a single man, but also to frighten a generation of doctors and to shame and terrify women and families who are making difficult choices. While the murderous rage of Tiller’s assassin is not representative of the broader anti-choice movement, I believe that the anti-choice community operates with a totalitarian impulse that generates a culture of terror rather than a culture of life.
Hannah Arendt suggested that totalitarians generate terror in part by cultivating profound loneliness among their targets. Loneliness locks human beings in isolation and hampers discourse, connection, and shared experience. When we believe we are alone and misunderstood we cannot form the bonds necessary to organize and resist. There are few experiences more lonely and isolating than facing an unintended pregnancy or facing the need to terminate a desired pregnancy in order to protect maternal health. The anti-choice discourse labels the women and families who chose abortion “baby killers.” It is a strategy that dehumanizes these women and the doctors who care for them.
The strategy is effective because abortion still carries tremendous social shame in addition to its personal psychological burden. Activists for reproductive rights have a hard time convincing women and families who have terminated to be part of a movement that protects the right to terminate. Many understandably prefer not to be publicly associated with the stigma and potential violence that comes with standing up for choice.
It also works because abortion, like all American healthcare, is profoundly shaped by structures of privilege and access. Wealthy women in urban areas with private insurance who have long term relationships with physicians have more access to privacy and to termination services than do other women. Poor women, teenagers, rural women, women suffering with domestic violence, and uninsured women are much more likely to have to risk some level of public scrutiny of their decision to seek an abortion. They cannot request a D&C from their private provider, they must seek out a clinic. Even during the dark years of back alley abortions when all women seeking abortion were at risk, it was the most vulnerable women who carried the heaviest burden of infection, illness, and death. (more… )
I love this tune.
Artist: Robert Cray
Tune: Smokin’ Gun
I knew that this would happen. We have had folks dialing up the rhetoric for the last 12 months. These hatemongers have been telling America that Obama isn’t an American, that he isn’t one of us.
From C&L:
Now here is a disturbing story from ABC News:
Federal authorities in Utah are searching for a man who allegedly made threats against President Obama.
Daniel James Murray has been charged with making threats against Obama, after telling a bank teller he was part of a “mission” to kill the president. The Secret Service says Murray has at least eight registered firearms. His whereabouts are unknown.
Murray entered Zion’s First National Bank in St. George, Utah, May 19, to open a savings account with an $85,000 check, according to a criminal complaint filed in federal court in Salt Lake City today.
Murray allegedly asked if the bank was solvent and then stated, according to the complaint, “With all this mess going on under President Obama with banks and the economy, I’m sure if citizens happen to lose their money, they will rise up and we could see killing and deaths.”
Sounds like someone who’s been watching Glenn Beck, doesn’t it?
On May 27, the complaint states, Murray came back to withdraw $12,698 from his savings account. He did not have proper identification and was told he needed it to complete the transaction. He allegedly said, “Not to be disrespectful, but if I don’t get this money, someone is going to die.”
The bank manager allowed the transaction, and Murray allegedly demanded bills smaller than $50 in non-sequential order.
Murray then said, “We are on a mission to kill the president of the United States,” according to the complaint.
Murray told the teller during that visit, the complaint added, “We are 94 million miles from the sun, and are in-between the sun and moon, and the eagle that flies between them, and it’s a giant step for mankind. … I have traveled thousands of miles to be here and know things that are going to happen. … The banking system will fail and people will die. … There will be chaos in the world.”The next day, according to the complaint, Murray withdrew the remaining $72,000 and closed his account.
But perhaps the most disturbing part of the whole story is this:
A Secret Service spokesman said there will be no further comment on the case because it involves protective intelligence.
“This is one of a gazillion cases,” the spokesman told ABC News. “It’s not that out of the ordinary. We see this day in and day out.”
The Salt Lake Tribune has more.
Larry King, who about 1000 years old, has the beautiful Queen Noor of Jordan as a guest. Israel and Palestine had a guarded but upbeat response to Obama’s message.
From CNN:
The main themes of the address resonated well with Palestinian and Israeli officials, while a Jewish settlers’ group — upset that Obama spoke against settlement activity — found problems with the speech, and others, like a Hamas official, expressed mixed or negative views.
The government of Israel expressed “hope that this important speech in Cairo will indeed lead to a new period of reconciliation between the Arab and Muslim world and Israel.”
“We share President Obama’s hope that the American effort heralds the beginning of a new era that will bring about an end to the conflict and lead to Arab recognition of Israel as the homeland of the Jewish people, living in peace and security in the Middle East,” it said.
From NYT:
While Mr. Obama emphasized that America’s bond with Israel was “unbreakable,” he spoke in equally powerful terms of the Palestinian people, describing their plight as “intolerable” after 60 years of statelessness, and twice referring to “Palestine” in a way that put Palestinians on parallel footing with Israelis.
Mr. Obama’s speech in Cairo, which he called a “timeless city,” was perhaps the riskiest of his presidency, as he used unusually direct language to call for a fresh look at deep divisions, both those between Israel and its neighbors and between the Islamic world and the West. Among his messages was a call for Americans and Muslims to abandon their mutual suspicions and do more to confront violent extremism.
But it was Mr. Obama’s empathetic tone toward the Palestinians that attracted the most attention in the region and around the world. His words left many Palestinians and their Arab supporters jubilant but infuriated some Israelis and American backers of Israel because they saw the speech as elevating the Palestinians to equal status. (more…)
Today’s Roundup comes from the Political Animal. Foolishly, I’m trying to get some of my work done. I’m happy to say that I have Representative Susan Fisher on my show this week. We will be talking about the North Carolina state budget and several of her other initiatives. I will also have Angela Kelly from the Center for American Progress. We will discuss comprehensive immigration reform.
* Busted: “The government is charging Angelo R. Mozilo, the former chief executive of the mortgage lender Countrywide Financial, and two other company executives with civil fraud. The Securities and Exchange Commission said Thursday afternoon that its case also accused Mr. Mozilo of illegal insider trading.”
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
* Sonia Sotomayor finished the Senate Judiciary Committee’s questionnaire in record time. Bonus points for turning it in early?
* A court has ordered South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford (R) to take $700 million in stimulus money, whether he wants it or not.
* Immigration reform this year?
* President Obama’s policy towards Israel is being undermined by lawmakers in his own party.
* How dishonest is Liz Cheney’s political analysis? She’s willing to say things Dick Cheney has already rejected.
* Ezra explains, “The toxic loans portion of Tim Geithner’s Public Private Investment Program looks to be officially dead.” [Read more →]
I think that President Barack Obama did a great job in Cairo. He reached out without bending over.
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
From Political Animal: In his speech in Cairo this morning, President Obama early on established some credibility and goodwill with his audience. He talked about the sources of tension between the United States and Muslims around the world, heralded the culture and contributions made by Muslims throughout history, quoted the Koran, cited the burgeoning Muslim communities in the U.S., and explained his belief that he has a “responsibility” to “fight against negative stereotypes of Islam wherever they appear.”
But what arguably mattered most about the speech was the president using that credibility and goodwill to challenge Muslims and the Middle East to do more.
A rejection of anti-American attitudes:
“Just as Muslims do not fit a crude stereotype, America is not the crude stereotype of a self-interested empire. The United States has been one of the greatest sources of progress that the world has ever known.”
A rejection of 9/11 conspiracy theories:
“I am aware that some question or justify the events of 9/11. But let us be clear: al Qaeda killed nearly 3,000 people on that day. The victims were innocent men, women and children from America and many other nations who had done nothing to harm anybody. And yet Al Qaeda chose to ruthlessly murder these people, claimed credit for the attack, and even now states their determination to kill on a massive scale. They have affiliates in many countries and are trying to expand their reach. These are not opinions to be debated; these are facts to be dealt with.”
Support for Israel:
“Around the world, the Jewish people were persecuted for centuries, and anti-Semitism in Europe culminated in an unprecedented Holocaust. Tomorrow, I will visit Buchenwald, which was part of a network of camps where Jews were enslaved, tortured, shot and gassed to death by the Third Reich. Six million Jews were killed — more than the entire Jewish population of Israel today. Denying that fact is baseless, ignorant, and hateful. Threatening Israel with destruction — or repeating vile stereotypes about Jews — is deeply wrong, and only serves to evoke in the minds of Israelis this most painful of memories while preventing the peace that the people of this region deserve…. The Arab-Israeli conflict should no longer be used to distract the people of Arab nations from other problems. Instead, it must be a cause for action to help the Palestinian people develop the institutions that will sustain their state; to recognize Israel’s legitimacy; and to choose progress over a self-defeating focus on the past.”
Rejection of violence:
“Resistance through violence and killing is wrong and does not succeed. For centuries, black people in America suffered the lash of the whip as slaves and the humiliation of segregation. But it was not violence that won full and equal rights. It was a peaceful and determined insistence upon the ideals at the center of America’s founding. This same story can be told by people from South Africa to South Asia; from Eastern Europe to Indonesia. It’s a story with a simple truth: that violence is a dead end. It is a sign of neither courage nor power to shoot rockets at sleeping children, or to blow up old women on a bus. That is not how moral authority is claimed; that is how it is surrendered.”
Promoting democracy:
“[T]here are some who advocate for democracy only when they are out of power; once in power, they are ruthless in suppressing the rights of others. No matter where it takes hold, government of the people and by the people sets a single standard for all who hold power: you must maintain your power through consent, not coercion; you must respect the rights of minorities, and participate with a spirit of tolerance and compromise; you must place the interests of your people and the legitimate workings of the political process above your party. Without these ingredients, elections alone do not make true democracy.”
Religious liberty:
“Among some Muslims, there is a disturbing tendency to measure one’s own faith by the rejection of another’s. The richness of religious diversity must be upheld” whether it is for Maronites in Lebanon or the Copts in Egypt. And fault lines must be closed among Muslims as well, as the divisions between Sunni and Shia have led to tragic violence, particularly in Iraq. Freedom of religion is central to the ability of peoples to live together. We must always examine the ways in which we protect it.”
The rights of women:
“Our daughters can contribute just as much to society as our sons, and our common prosperity will be advanced by allowing all humanity “men and women” to reach their full potential. I do not believe that women must make the same choices as men in order to be equal, and I respect those women who choose to live their lives in traditional roles. But it should be their choice.”
These weren’t rebukes or condemnations, they were a president issuing a challenge, and forging a new basis for an international relationship. It was also a reminder that Obama, no matter where he is, doesn’t talk down to his audiences, or shy away from nuance or complex ideas.
Wednesday Morning News Roundup
I find Guantánamo Bay extremely disturbing. Yesterday, we found out another prisoner has killed himself. This gentleman, Muhammad Ahmad Abdallah Salih, also known as Al Hanashi, had been detained since 2002 without charges, of course.
The fact that Osama bin Laden is still alive to issue press statements or edicts is a crime against the American people. Yet, he is alive enough to spew more of his vile rhetoric: “…new seeds of hatred and revenge against America.” What atrocity have we committed now? We’ve asked Pakistan to stand firm against the Taliban and we have provided assistance. When do we quit playing around with Osama bin Laden? Why are we going to send 100 elite troops with whatever backup and support they need into the Pakistani mountains to hunt down and kill or capture Osama bin Laden?
President Barack Obama has traveled to the Middle East. His first stop is in Saudi Arabia. Tomorrow he will address an audience in Cairo, Egypt, where he is widely expected to ask for an improved dialogue between Muslims and Americans. It will be interesting to see Obama’s relationship with the Saudi royal family.
It is my personal opinion that torture did not produce any valuable information. It appears that VP Cheney may be parsing his words a little bit. Cheney said in a recent interview with Fox News, “Yes, but the way I would describe them is that they have to do with the detainee program, the interrogation program. It’s not just waterboarding. It’s the interrogation program that we used for high-value detainees. There were two reports done that summarize what we learned from that program, and I think they provide a balanced view.” Notice that VP Cheney is trying to wrap the issue of torture inside the larger program of detaining high-value targets. I think this is typical for Cheney and several of the others. They will argue and argue a point until they’re blue in the face. Once they’re called on that argument, they’ll segue into what they really meant.
Watch the video:
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
US has signed a contract with MedImmune to produce the H1N1 swine flu vaccine. We’ll see how far $90 million goes. I’m figuring that it ain’t going to go that far.
Buzzflash is having a contest to name Dick Cheney memoirs. There are some great entries. Check it out.
When the world was young, life was simple. Marcus Welby was our prototype physician. He seemed to be wise, practical, compassionate and infinitely knowledgeable. He could handle everything from a splinter in your foot to ovarian cancer and he could fix an internal abdominal hemorrhage from a motor vehicle crash. Well, things have changed since then. We have CT scanners, which can give us a three-dimensional picture of a heart. Using a scope, we can remove a gallbladder with three small incisions that together add up to less than two inches.
Over the last 20 to 30 years, health care has become extremely expensive. Americans now spend over $2.1 trillion in health care, more than $7,000 per individual. We must remember that we are spending all this money and 46 million Americans are still not covered. It boggles the mind that we can spend such a huge amount of money and millions of Americans are not covered. It’s crazy.
Many polls have suggested that Americans want to change our healthcare system, but everyone seems to have trouble with the specifics. Let’s step back and start from scratch. What do we want from our healthcare system? It seems to me that a system that is cost-effective is crucial. An article in this month’s New Yorker reveals that in McAllen, Texas they are spending over $15,000 per resident and their healthcare is no better. The residents in McAllen are no healthier than the residents in Los Angeles or Detroit… or Asheville, for that matter. I think most Americans would agree that they want their insurance to travel with them, so portability is important. As we live longer and develop more and more medical diagnoses, Americans see more and more physicians. These physicians need to find a better way to communicate with each other in order to improve health care. We therefore need a system that is integrated. Patients should be able to choose their own physicians and their own hospitals, so independence is required. This basic right should be preserved. We want the best. The medical profession needs to figure out what the best practices are and give incentives to physicians to deliver the “best” of medical care. Currently, most physicians’ offices are open from approximately nine in the morning until five in the evening. The majority of people work during that time frame. Americans should not have to take off from work in order to see their physicians. Physicians must be more accessible. There should be incentives to open early and stay open later. Group practices should be encouraged to be open Saturday and Sunday. When problems arise between a physician and a patient or the patient’s family, there should be a way to resolve these conflicts without going to court every single time. We definitely need improved conflict resolution. There should be a way to find problems long before they become lawsuits, a better way for the medical profession to police itself or to be policed. Finally, every American needs to be covered.
The plans that are bouncing around Washington right now are hybrids of private and public health care. They seem to be more complex, rather than less. Why does delivering health care have to be so complex? Why don’t we make it simpler instead of harder? The primary reason that we are all discussing health care is because the costs have become astronomical. Does insurance add value and decrease cost? I think the answer is no to both questions. A single-payer plan that negotiates drug costs and pays physicians and hospitals for keeping patients well would be the most cost-effective plan.
Finally, most plans being talked about today have some sort of “value added tax” in order to cover the 46 million Americans who are without insurance today. If we eliminate insurance from the basic plan (insurance adds approximately 30% to our healthcare costs) then we don’t need a “value added tax.” We already have enough money to cover everybody. There’s no extra expense. There’s no need for employers to be involved. Businesses would save money. This seems like a system in which business wins, the American people win and the health industry wins. Outstanding! Now that I’ve fixed health care, I can turn my attention back to Guantánamo Bay and what to do with the detainees.
Errington C. Thompson, MD, is a surgeon, scholar, full-time sports fan and part-time political activist. He is active in a number of community projects and initiatives. Through medicine, he strives to improve the physical health of all he treats...
