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From the blogs

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

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.

Georgia Republican Saxby Chambliss Has No Idea What Roe v. Wade Actually Says

by Jill Filipovic, Feministe

But that's not keeping him from making absurd claims about it.

Health-Care Debate Gets Really Weird: Coburn Prays to Smite Enemies, Whitehouse Says GOP Hearts Aryans, Dean Dials It Back, and Everybody Hates Ben Nelson

by Adele Stan, AlterNet

Keep 100 senators on a round-the-clock schedule and you get a deal that nobody likes, plus a lot of strange behavior. But it's a deal.

Too Late: Obama Organizers Finally Rail Against Obama on Health Care

by Daniela Perdomo, AlterNet

From dissatisfied Obama campaign staffers to fed-up SEIU members, many are unhappy with Obama on health care reform. At last.

It Ain't Perfect, but I'd Support the Senate Health Bill

by Booman, AlterNet

Here's why.

GOP's New Prayer Guru Says Gays Possessed By Demons

by Bruce Wilson, AlterNet

Lou Engle has led GOP Senators in nationally broadcast prayer and anointed Huckabee and Gingrich

The Violent Repression of Peaceful Palestinian Protests Continues

by Jonathan Pollak, AlterNet

8,000 Palestinians currently inhabit Israeli jails on purely political grounds.

Senate Reaches 60 Votes for Health Bill

by Igor Volsky, Think Progress

Nelson's on board, for now ...

Why Won't the GOP Accept the Gift They Say Health-Care Reform Will Be for Them in 2010?

by Steve M., No More Mister Nice Blog

They should let the Dems hang this albatross around their necks, no?

Bill Kristol: Snow's Coming and Health-Care Reform Is Really Inconvenient for Lawmakers

by Steve Benen, Washington Monthly

Let's kill the effort -- and tens of thousands of uninsured humans -- so staffers don't have to drive in the messy weather.

A Special Gift From Brave New Films

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

Naomi Klein: 3 Biggest Blown Opportunities of Obama's Presidency

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.

High Unemployment Rates Frame the Immigration Debate

Marcelo Balive, New America Media. December 11, 2009.
Will a treacherous economic landscape ruin the Obama administration's chances of delivering on immigration reform?

Supreme Court's Ruling Would Allow Bin Laden to Donate to Sarah Palin's Presidential Campaign

Greg Palast, AlterNet. December 11, 2009.
I'm biting my nails waiting for the Supreme Court's ruling in 'Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission' -- here's why you should be too.

New Arizona Law Might Sweep Up Undocumented Immigrants Applying for a Legal Child's Benefits

Valeria Fernández, New America Media. December 10, 2009.
Religious and community leaders are trying to quell panic in Arizona’s immigrant community, fighting fear with information.

Does Obama's Road to Re-Election Run Through Kabul?

Christian Parenti, The Nation. December 10, 2009.
The real purpose of sending 30,000 soldiers to Afghanistan is to make Obama look tough as he heads toward his next election.

Dear Barack, Spare Me Your E-Mails

Robert Scheer, Truthdig. December 10, 2009.
Obama’s faux populism is beginning to grate, and I finally came unglued when one of his "we the people" e-mails from him landed on my screen.

Far-Right Anti-Immigrant Groups Are Polluting the Health Care Debate

Jill Garvey, Imagine 2050. December 9, 2009.
Many nativist advocacy groups are twisting the facts about immigrants' access to health care.

To the Hope and Change Crowd -- How's It Working Out for You?

Joe Bageant, JoeBageant.com. December 9, 2009.
Obama promised change -- and sure enough, things are changing for the worse.

Meet the Billionaire Brothers Funding the Right-Wing War on Obama

Think Progress. December 9, 2009.
They're the 9th richest people in America and they're pushing hard to upend President Obama's progressive agenda.

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