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From the blogs

Video: New Ad Takes Obama to Task for Ditching Public Option

by AlterNet Staff, AlterNet

The Progressive Change Campaign Committee is hitting the president hard -- with his own words -- for backing a health-care bill with a mandate and no public option.

How Obama Pushed Hard For a Public Option, Then Bailed When It Mattered Most

by Zaid Jilani, Think Progress

Despite his history of supporting the government-run insurance plan, Obama did little to pressure lawmakers when it mattered most.

We Have a Winner! Sarah Palin's "Death Panel" Fallacy Named "Lie of the Year"

by Steve Benen, Washington Monthly

The award was bequeathed by Politifact, an independent fact-checker.

House Blue Dog Switches Party, Stiffing Democrats for $1 Million in Campaign Funds

by Adele Stan, AlterNet

Rep. Parker Griffith enjoyed campaign support of $1 million from the Democratic Party. But that was a year ago, and this is now.

GOPers Have Concocted Yet Another Stupid Reason to Axe the Senate Health Care Bill

by Steve M., No More Mister Nice Blog

Ever the obstructionists, Republicans have teased out a reason to bray a little bit more.

Outrageous: RNC Chairman Michael Steele Makes $20,000 per Private Speaking Engagement

by Lee Fang, Think Progress

That's on top of his $223,500 yearly salary. And according to some GOPers, Steele's escapades are at the cost of his real duties.

Al Franken's Anti-Rape Amendment Passes, Infuriating Several (Male) Republicans

by Steve Benen, Washington Monthly

Franken's measure passed, 68 to 30.

What's Wrong With the Healthcare Bill? Ask a Nurse.

by John Nichols, TheNation.com

"If this bill passes, the industry will become more powerful and could be beyond the reach of reform for generations."

Giuliani Won't Run For Office in 2010, New Yorkers Breathe Sighs of Relief

by Adam Bink, Open Left

Rudy is expected to announce Tuesday that he's not running for governor, U.S. senator or any other office next year.

What Houston's Election of a Gay Mayor Tells Us About "Red State" Texas

by Amanda Marcotte, Comment Is Free

The election inadvertently revealed the dirty little secret that native (and liberal) Texans like myself have known for a long time: Texas is not a conservative monolith.

Afghanistan War: The Soviet Lesson Not Learned

Rep. Eric Massa. December 23, 2009.
Make a difference, become a Peacemaker: http://rethinkafghanistan.com/peace.php

Is Obama's Problem That He Just Doesn't Want to Deal with Conflict?

Drew Westen, AlterNet. December 23, 2009.
Somehow Obama has managed to turn a base of new and progressive voters he himself energized in 2008 into the likely stay-at-home voters of 2010.

The Ten Worst Nightmares Bush Inflicted on America

Juan Cole, Informed Comment. December 22, 2009.
Here are my picks for the top ten worst things about the wretched period, which will continue to follow us until citizens stand up to fix them.

Obama and Congress: At the Crossroads of Immigration Reform

Maribel Hastings, New America Media. December 22, 2009.
A prickly issue for both liberals and conservatives, immigration reform will play a key role in shaping 2010's political landscape.

Abortion in the Senate Health-Care Bill: What the Nelson Compromise Will Cost Women

Jodi Jacobson, RH Reality Check. December 22, 2009.
To win his vote -- needed to bring the health-care bill to the Senate floor -- Sen. Ben Nelson got an anti-choice measure put into the bill. Here's the break-down.

How Wall Street Bought Barney Frank

Kevin Connor, AlterNet. December 22, 2009.
Barney Frank takes pride in being the Left's darling, but he's almost entirely funded by Wall Street and his votes show it.

Glenn Beck's Year of Wild Conspiracies, Paranoid Delusions and Cynical Lies

* Staff, Media Matters for America. December 22, 2009.
Beck's unbridled ignorance and confidence in his own manipulative half-truths and lies make him the most dangerously effective misinformer of 2009.

Hey, Dr. Dean, President Obama: It's Time to Get Real with Progressives

Harold Pollack, AlterNet. December 22, 2009.
We can all agree that the Senate health care bill is far from perfect. What now?

A Special Gift From Brave New Films

Robert Greenwald. December 21, 2009.
From bravenewfilms.org a very unique gifts to our Alternet followers.

For Obama, No Opportunity Is Too Big to Blow

Naomi Klein, TheNation.com. December 21, 2009.
No President since FDR has been handed as many opportunities to transform the U.S. into something that doesn't threaten the stability of life on this planet. Is he blowing it?

Democratic Senator: GOP on Desperate Mission of Propaganda, Obstruction and Fear

Sheldon Whitehouse, AlterNet. December 21, 2009.
In his Senate floor speech on the health-care bill, the Rhode Island senator accused the GOP of fomenting the kind of paranoia that led to Kristallnacht and lynchings.

Health Care Reform Is Not Reform If It Denies Women Coverage

John Nichols, TheNation.com. December 19, 2009.
Sen. Harry Reid and the Senate Dems aren't winning any friends among the broad base of voters who support reproductive rights.

Howard Dean Is a Genuine Hero: Taking on Corporate 'Centrists' Like Lieberman

David Sirota, AlterNet. December 19, 2009.
Dean's attacks on the Lieberman-gutted health insurance "reform" bill are creating the political space for the final version to be better and more progressive.

And They'll Call This Health-Care Reform: How Three Senators Are Extorting You For Their Big-Time Buddies

Robert Reich, Robert Reich's Blog. December 18, 2009.
Harry Reid will do anything to get sixty votes -- which means Lieberman, Nelson, and Snowe can use extortion on behalf of Big Insurance, Big Pharma, the AMA, and abortion foes.

Joe Lieberman's Former College Roommate on the Senator's Journey 'to the Dark Side'

Meg White, BuzzFlash. December 17, 2009.
"He has become shameless," former Yale roommate David Wyles says of Lieberman.

Howard Dean: I Won’t "Vigorously" Support Obama's Re-election

Sahil Kapur, Raw Story. December 17, 2009.
Escalating his opposition to what remains of the health care legislation, former Gov. Howard Dean has taken more swipes at President Obama.

Why Shouldn't Paris Hilton Pay Her Fair Share?

Brian Miller, AlterNet. December 17, 2009.
If Congress doesn't act, the richest among us will get a huge windfall next year.

Howard Dean Locks Horns with White House and Dem Senators After Call to 'Kill' Health Compromise

David Edwards, Daniel Tencer, Raw Story. December 17, 2009.
Dean's call to start from scratch and craft a new health care bill is a cause for frustration for Obama's press secretary and Sen. Rockefeller.

135,000 Will Die Due to Lack of Insurance Before Health Reform Takes Effect, Study Finds

Brad Jacobson, Raw Story. December 16, 2009.
Death toll estimate exceeds the total number of Americans who died in the Korean War, the Vietnam War and the attacks of 9/11 combined.

Game On for Immigration Reform

Seth Hoy, Immigration Impact. December 16, 2009.
A new comprehensive immigration reform bill hit the House this week.

Right-Wingers' Big Day on Capitol Hill Proves to Be a Bust

Adele M. Stan, AlterNet. December 16, 2009.
A promised protest on Capitol Hill by right-wingers opposed to health-care reform doesn't happen; Dick Armey's speech at National Press Club canceled.

The Brutal Dark Side of Obama's "Softer" Immigration Enforcement

David Bacon, The Progressive. December 16, 2009.
'Sanctions pretend to punish employers but in reality, they punish workers.'

Health-Care Bill After Compromise with Lieberman: Worse Than Nothing

Darcy Burner, AlterNet. December 16, 2009.
Thanks to Joe Lieberman, the Senate health-care bill -- now with no public option or Medicare buy-in -- leaves progressives no choice but to kill it.

Congress's Attempt at Financial Reform Is Very Weak Broth

Zach Carter, Media Consortium. December 16, 2009.
The latest efforts to reform Wall Street don't away with too-big-to-fail banks, and that's a big problem -- here's what progressives are saying about it.

Why Serious Immigration Reform Is Inevitable

Mary Giovagnoli, Immigration Impact. December 15, 2009.
Hot-button issues like health reform and economic recovery will come and go. That U.S. immigration policy is fundamentally broken guarantees its eventual place in the conversation.

How a Few Private Health Insurers Are on the Way to Controlling Health Care

Robert Reich, Robert Reich's Blog. December 12, 2009.
If you think an expanded Medicare makes up for the lack of a public option in the Senate bill, you're smoking medical marijuana.

Afghanistan: How the War Hawks Caged Obama

Robert Parry, Consortium News. December 12, 2009.
How a desire for bipartisanship and peace within his own party led Obama to appoint a hawkish cabal that pushed him to a renewed war in Afghanistan.

The Religious Right's Potty Paranoia

Stephanie Mencimer, Mother Jones Online. December 12, 2009.
Public restrooms: The final frontier of the right's war on queer folk?

Are Americans a Broken People? Why We've Stopped Fighting Back Against the Forces of Oppression

Bruce E. Levine, AlterNet. December 11, 2009.
A psychologist asks: Have consumerism, suburbanization and a malevolent corporate-government partnership so beaten us down that we no longer have the will to save ourselves?

Bill Moyers: We Have a Nobel Peace President Who Won't Ban Land Mines

Bill Moyers, Michael Winship, Bill Moyers Journal. December 11, 2009.
The Nobel Committee said Obama won the prize for his respect of international law and his efforts at disarmament, yet he won't even sign on to end a barbaric weapon.

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