Recently in Progressives Category

During the markup process of a bill before the Committee on Science and Technology, Rep. Paul Broun (R-GA) proposed the following amendment:"Adds a new section at the end of the billstating that "[n]one of the funds madeavailable under this Act or theamendments made by the Act" (1) may beused for lobbying the legislative orexecutive branches of the Federal, State,or local governments; or (2) may beawarded to any entity if that entity or anyemployee has been...

"I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around [the banks] will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered. The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored...

Pardon my disillusionment this morning on the prospects for meaningful health care reform. That would be health care reform that includes a public option, a real one, not a POINO (public option in name only) and other elements upon which President Obama campaigned. White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel on CNN's State of the Union yesterday:"As you saw the president say in the joint session to Congress, he believes a public plan, a public...

Ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you the 45th president of the United States. I'm not sure when the election took place (silly me, I thought the ballot read Obama/Biden, my bad) but this is now the most powerful person in Washington, D.C.:Don't believe it? Who was the person former President Obama singled out for praise the day the Senate Finance Committee passed its version of health care reform? Olympia Snowe: "I want to...

All you need to know about why the deck is stacked against us in the battle for health care reform. From Bill Moyers via Crooks and Liars:"Take a close look at that woman sitting behind Montana Senator Max Baucus. He's the Democrat who's the Chairman of the Finance Committee. Liz Fowler is her name. And now get this. She used to work for WellPoint, the largest health insurer in the country. She was Vice President...

Fasten your seat belts, my fellow Hurricaners. Expect to see the mother of all hissy fits unleashed today on talk radio and Fox News, President Obama has won the Nobel Peace Prize: OSLO -- In a stunning surprise, the Nobel Committee announced Friday that it had awarded its annual peace prize to President Obama "for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.""He has created a new international climate," the committee said...

File this under, 'if they'll do this to their own employees, what will they do to you':"WellPoint Inc., the largest U.S. insurer, dismissed a "small number" of workers last week and announced cuts to employee health benefits Friday, in its latest attempt to deal with the recession's toll on enrollment.WellPoint eliminated the positions last week and expects to let more go before year's end, though the number will be "relatively small," Kristin Binns, a spokeswoman,...

Warning: there is some random stuff in here, but it's based upon the research I've done and where it randomly took me at the time. I encourage you to think about things and let your critical thinking take you to places you've never been. Because we live in a world of naysayers, I have included links to the sites from which I have derived my information at the end of this piece. I challenge...

Some numbers to consider in light of General Stanley McChrystal's request for as many as 40,000 additional troops in Afghanistan, and  numbers to remember when you hear the voices in Washington who support the troop increase but argue that we can't afford health care reform:  Annual funding for U.S. combat operations in Afghanistan, 2002: $20.8 billion.Annual funding for U.S. combat operations in Afghanistan, 2009: $60.2 billion. Total funds for U.S. combat operations in Afghanistan, 2002-2009:...

A trip down Hypocrisy Lane. Remember Speaker Nancy Pelosi's trip to Damascus in April of 2007 to meet with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad?  President Bush called it "counterproductive" and Sen. Joe Lieberman said it was "bad for America." The right-wing blogosphere was throwing a tantrum. Hot Air called it "undermining our foreign policy." Sister Toldjah asked, "Can we question their patriotism now?" The headline at WorldNetDaily was "Terrorists Go Ga-Ga Over Pelosi's Trip." Jammie Wearing...