China is the last country we should listen to or care about when we are decideing on how to handle this mess.China does not and will not intervien with troops when the world needs them so why are they getting a front row seat at how to do this.They like the republicans just say no.,they just signed some of the biggest oil deals in the history of the world with iran,what makes them an honest broker? Start putting THIER money where their mouth is.If they dont want to support the sanctions -its o.k. tax their products to pay their share.
No is not an answer.The chinese government is a paper dragon,unless you attack it or its border nieghbors they will never send troops .Dont give them a second thought.Their control of world politics is unjustifed,They wont step up unless they are going to directly benifit -they do nothing for the good of the world.Their world ends at the wall they built.thats the extent of their concern.

Hi

Please view these two very important short films. They were created by Jews for the Preservation of Firearm Ownership ( JPFO) http://www.jpfo.org/

Did you know that anti guns laws were based on Nazi doctrine ?

Did you know that anti gun laws were designed to dis arm blacks so that they could remain enslaved.

No Guns for Negroes Pt 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nckgyfGbdnU

No Guns for Negroes Pt 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2g7TbxkJuqA&feature=related
If these links do not work, please go to www.jpfo.com or simply google " No guns for Negroes"

I am not affiliated with JPFO.

even today after all the talk of being shut out the rep.are still saying no to ANY negotiations on healthcare.Unless it starts from scratch.I realy doubt they will even show up to the planned meeting.And that will be another month or two wasted by our leadership ,Now they (republicans)wont want to do it till after the elections,Stop wasting our time with a dream of bi-particanship,Its not gonna happen Republicans believe they can control the democratic agenda just with delays,not allternatives.get one specific thing out of them on any matter and I would say mabe there is a chance.But thats not recent history.They have no ideas -none - call their hand show us where it is they want to start? Stop wasting our time and majority on people that wont deal.We keep looking for the elevator that will take us up but all we can find is the shaft.Move on without them - make them filibuster - let them know they either show and deal or they can go home and it WILL get done without them.DO IT NOW.

Just passed away.

I believe that soon, Pr Obama will sign, health care reform as a Law .
After that MOST Americans will accept and SUPPORT this reform as fantastic and HISTORICAL change ...
I already did my best to help with health care reform, because this reform is so important : for
us , our children , next generations... for USA ( we already reach our limits to pay for our health care ). I am sure that Pr Obama will NOT sign a health care bill that is not right or it’s not deficit neutral...( health care cost will be around $ 100 billion / yr , what is much less than what we are paying now: $2.5 trillion in 2009, or $8,047 per person). Would you like to wait until 2017, to pay estimated over $4 trillion / yr ? We went on a Moon, but we can NOT solve problems with health care ?

Fact: we are by far the most expensive health care system in the world, but USA were ranked
for 2009, below 30th in the world in: child mortality, overall performance and life expectancy ...

Fact: “ if we slow the growth of health care by just one-tenth of 1% each year, it will reduce deficit by $ 4 trillion over the long term”- Pr Obama.

Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane .
- Martin Luther King, Jr

Health care reform put a patient first, and offer that around 95 % American people can receive quality, affordable health care with electronic medical records / telemedicine, and it will CUT a health care costs and our national deficit on long run ... and nobody has to be BROKEN to pay health care bills, today...
Everybody agree that status quo is unacceptable in health care, but I am so disappointed that some people put politics and partisanship points first ... ( to me: “ as long as it takes” does NOT work) We know:

- if we do NOT change anything , Medicare faces bankruptcy by 2017...;
- small businesses : nearly 11 million uninsured employees were in firms with less than 25 workers...; If we don’t change anything, health care costs for large firms will increase more than 160 % by 2019.
- Hospitals and Drugs Companies are ready to help financially, reducing there costs...
- Everybody has to perches health ins( like with car ins); if NOT, they will pay penalty ...

This reform “ is NOT about politics. This is about people’s lives. This is about peoples businesses. This is about our future” - Pr Obama.

Suggestions how to improve health care in USA:

1. - PREVENTION ( obesity, diabetes, heart disease/ hypertension, smoking , substance abuse prevention, cancer , HIV/AIDS...);
2. - electronic medical records and TELEMEDICINE. are important part of Medicine for 21 Century;
3. - NO health ins fraud ( cause around $ 70 billion in annual costs ).
4. - Reduce UNNECESSARY Health Bureaucracy ( educate administrator to become Nurse- by 2020 we will have nationwide shortage of million Nurses).
5. - primary care physician first, for non- emergency case ( not in Emergency Room)
6. - Five Wishes ( Living wills + Power of Attorney );
7. - Lower costs for Doctors Malpractice Insurance ( to cap the highest possible award for non-economic claims in a verdict to $250,000);
8. - Med- PAC program / IMAC...

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama said Sunday he has not ruled out a New York federal court trial for Sept. 11 planner Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, but he was taking into account the objections of the city's mayor and police commissioner.

The Obama administration has come under withering attack, mainly from Republicans, for a decision by his Justice Department to try the terrorist mastermind in a U.S. court near Ground Zero, site of the attack that destroyed New York's World Trade Center.

Obama said using the traditional judicial method was a "virtue of our system" in which Americans should take pride.

He also defended his decision, noting again that the administration of former President George W. Bush had handled terror suspects arrested in the United States in the same way.

"They prosecuted 190 folks in these Article III courts, got convictions and those folks are in maximum security prisons right now. And there have been no escapes," Obama said. "And it is a virtue of our system we should be proud of."



President Obama should stand his ground when it comes to bringing these terrorist bastards to New York to face justice.These bastards are not MILITARY commanders or generals !. They do not deserve a military tribunal ,yet they would love nothing more than to be tried in a military trial and be executed.It would make them MARTYRS in their homeland ,these bastards are civilians from middle eastern backgrounds who decided to perpetrate a terrorist act on U.S. Soil.They deserve to be brought to justice in the very same place where their terrorist act took place.People seem to forget there was a previous attack on the world trade center back in 1993.And those terrorists were tried here in new york and are now locked up in a maximum federal security prison in Colorado.

And has anyone of them ESCAPED ?... NO !...

Why should it be any different now ?...

Because republicans in congress are following the Bush Doctrine of using FEAR mongering , to scare the American People into believing our JUSTICE SYSTEM here in the United States cannot try and convict anymore terrorists again ?.After having convicted over 190 terrorists under the Bush Administration in civilian courts ?...

The HYPOCRISY from the Republican Party stinks to high heavens !.
They should stop using the threat of terrorism as a political tactic to score political points against the Barack Obama administration !.

These terrorists do not discriminate against republicans , independents or democrats when it comes to launching an attack on the U.S. Homeland.They can careless what party affiliation we subscribe to.They would like nothing better than to kill us ALL.

So we as a nation have to be united in our resolve to search and destroy the terrorists where ever they maybe hiding and planning on doing us HARM.Instead of republicans using fear mongering and criticizing every move president obama makes to help keep this country save.

And president Obama needs to demonstrate POLITICAL LEADERSHIP and stick to his plan of trying these terrorists here in New York.Not because it's the POPULAR thing to do , but because its the CONSTITUTIONALLY right thing to do.

And last I heard , we Americans still have a CONSTITUTION of the United States of America...

The answer...


Eliot Spitzer is a politician , who happens to have slept with a prostitute...

Harold Ford Jr. is a Prostitute , who happens to be a Politician !...



If Eliot Spitzer decides to challenge Kisten Hillenbrand in the democratic primary he will get my vote...

I am sure he has learned his lesson , and he is a better pick than Harold (I took a leave of absence from my million dollar job at Merryl linch)Ford Jr...I am also (Pro choice) and (Pro Gay)...

Sure Harold Ford Jr.!...
And New Yorkers also believe in Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy...

One thing I will say for Mr. Eliot Spitzer , if he does decide to run against Mrs.Hillenbrand (who I heard speak at the Q and A session with the president).And let me tell you guys , she did not convince me that she is ready to hold onto Hillary Clintons old senate seat.

He(Eliot Spitzer), definetly does have a pair of Brass ones...

Hey HAROLD ... Why dont you go back to your friends at MORNING JOE on MSNBC , and show them and the rest of the world how PRETTY your toe nails look after your weekly pedicure ?...

I am sure Joe Scarborough and the gang would love to see how you keep yourself so "METROSEXUAL"...

It must be a really TIRING job , right ?...

Sen. Shelby has placed holds on several pending nominees due to unaddressed national security concerns," Shelby spokesperson Jonathan Graffeo said in a statement. "Among his concerns" are the progress on multi-billion dollar defense contract that would see planes built in Mobile, AL and Obama's decision to scrap a $45 million FBI improvised explosive device lab Shelby secured an earmark for in 2008.


This is the kind of POLITICAL EXTORTIONIST bullshit that really pisses me OFF !...

Senator Richard Shelby from the state of ALABAMA , has decided to place a HOLD on all of president Barack Obama's nominees , because he is UPSET at the president for cancelling a 45 million dollar F.B.I. lab that was to be built in his state ?....

Can someone correct me if I am wrong (but I am not) , was it not the republican leadership in CONGRESS just a few days ago that CRITICISED the interrogation techniques of the Federal Bureau of Investigations ?...

Did they not say that C.N.N'S , LARRY KING is a better interrogator than the people currently working at the F.B.I ?...

Now Senator Shelby is bitching and moaning because president Obama CANCELLED an explosives Lab which was meant to serve the very same F.B.I agency they claim are simply IDIOTS when it comes to interrogation of suspected terrorists ?...

Is this a case of standing up for the agents who work hard everyday at the F.B.I. headquarters ?...

Or is it simply a case of POLITICAL EXTORTION ?...

You do what I say , or your nominees wil not get confirmed ?...

What I want to know is at what point does president Barack Obama say enough is enough ?, and just flex some POLITICAL MUSCLE against his enemies in CONGRESS ?...

We are getting tired of waiting for you to stand up for your AGENDA and your Political base Mr. President !...

Is China undermining the goals of the United Nations in preventing Iran from gaining Enriched Uranium? China is the only country on the Security Council that is against adding sanction against Iran. US intervention in this will only sour relations even more with China and Iran. As long as China and Iran have close relations then no UN actions will have any effect. This relation would have similar effects to the close relations between US and Israel .
But what I ask is whether or not Iran has rights to nuclear power? I believe that if Iran does not have the ability to use the spent nuclear fuel to make into a bomb, then I see no reason why they should not be allowed the access to this alternate form of energy in Iran.

I agree that this is true. Good job, NYT. Remember to stand up for yourself!

The Truth About the Deficit

After reading and hearing both sides of gay marriage I have decided that I will support Gay Marriage (Thanks to Tim McMullen). Tim you were so right. It does not matter what god created it is the way the People feel. There is no special person created by God to make them gay

Thats the statement that the r.n.c. chairman made yesterday.Did you hear any of our leaders calling him out for it? I think not.Thats the whole problem with the polititions we have.They dont even see the people that make less than 50 thousand a yr.They cant comprehend it so they ignore those people.Where is the leadership? call them out everytime .its not that hard .They give us targets daily and we get no response from those at the top.No support .You can tell by the statement that the R.N.C. is looking out for those over a million a yr in income,yet we say nothing -wonder whats happening at the polls -I'm not.No leadership- no advocating our positions,No disputeing the rep. party line of the day = no chance.We have chopped away at the party platform so long that the tent poles are falling and people are running for the exits.A big tent is a great idea but if you dont have the strong poles to hold it up, it will collapse.We have principles lets try standing up for them instead of chopping another foot of the tent poles.If the people think you will fold on every agenda item then they think you are not fighting for them.They will find someone that will.Time is short.

“I am totally against Gay marriage in this country. My feeling is if God wanted Gay Marriage than majority of married couples would be gay and not staright. Instead God made us to be anything but Gay. I can't not see why someone would want to support Gay Marriage. As it is only 5 States legalizes Gay Marriage. California, Florida, NY, NJ, AZ Governors have vetoed Gay marriage at least twice.”

James—I am assuming that you are not being ironic with this post, that you really are against gay marriage and that you are baffled by people who support it; therefore, I am going to attempt to answer you seriously.

First of all, the "if God meant us to" premise is an intellectual dead end. It has been used to justify every kind of injustice perpetrated by man and to condemn every form of progress, but it just doesn't work logically, even on its own terms. If you actually believe in Divine Providence, then ask yourself some simple questions. Does God want us to drive cars, fly in airplanes, cure diseases? If so, then why did it take mankind hundreds of thousands of years to develop these things? Why didn't He/She just give them to "Adam and Eve"?

If, on the other hand, He (I will use the politically-inspired grammatical convention of adopting the male pronoun when the gender is unknown) meant for these things to develop naturally through man's righteousness, ingenuity and quest for knowledge, then why do you assume that he condemns the variety of ways that man has contrived to live in social settings? Did he mean for us to live in gigantic metropolises? There certainly aren’t any of these in the Bible. So, do we do wrong by building these cities? Is the telephone evil? Or the computer? Or modern medicine? None of these things were even imagined, let alone discussed, by the men who wrote the holy books of any of the great religions, so they give no guidance on these subjects. This fallacy of “the unmentioned” can also be seen in the hypocrisy and intellectual absurdity of Justice Scalia’s “original intent” doctrine to which he adheres when it is convenient to his ideology.

If you believe that God created love, then why don't you accept that he created various kinds of love, including self love, erotic love, platonic love, filial love, parental love, divine love, and yes, even homosexual love? Homosexual love is not a recent invention!

If you base your prohibition on the Bible, then you are stuck with only a few passages, most of which come from the Old Testament, many of the tenets of which I guarantee you do not actually follow. Read “Leviticus” and tell me that you accept all those admonitions and rules.

If you look to the New Testament, then you have only Paul's letters; and although Paul’s letters are, in some cases, given equal status to the Gospels, his lectures and doctrinal edicts must be seen as personal opinions that do not necessarily reflect views found elsewhere. Many scholars argue that they directly contradict the message and teachings of Jesus. They certainly do not reflect the views of Jesus as articulated anywhere in the New Testament. Of course, they could not, because Paul was not witness to any of Jesus’s utterances, except in his self-proclaimed discussion with a light from heaven. Jefferson, as documented in The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, called Paul the "first corrupter of the doctrines of Jesus."

Nevertheless, in most cases, when reading the Old or the New Testaments in English, we often face grotesque mistranslations and sometimes flagrant misrepresentations of the original Greek. Nowhere in the Bible did Jesus speak of homosexuality. If Jerry Falwell could identify and condemn a Teletubby as gay, then what would our modern day Pauls, such as Falwell, Robertson, or Dobson, honestly say of a group of men in today’s society who were as close and insular as Jesus and the Apostles, men who generally shunned the companionship of women and kept only to themselves? (I certainly acknowledge that a line of research goes well beyond Mary Magdalene to refute this male exclusivity, and I applaud that scholarship; I only point out that today’s homophobes would certainly have found Jesus’s “men’s club” suspicious and probably worthy of condemnation).

Catholic doctrine is adamantly anti-homosexual in its public declarations, yet most Catholic school boys and school girls and all adult parishioners know that many of their priests are homosexual. I am not talking about the alarming number that are sexual predators; I just refer to the hypocrisy of decrying homosexuality while being fully aware that many of their priests, their monks, and their leaders are gay. Just look at the various priests, during the recent sex scandals all across the US, who were shuttled from diocese to diocese because of their flagrant behavior and because of the incredible number of complaints. Homosexuality in the priesthood is tacitly accepted while being “publicly” condemned.

The same is true for a never-ending string of Evangelical preachers and “Christian” politicians caught with their pants down in both straight and gay liaisons.

Let me come back to your original reasoning. By your analysis, no one should be left handed because if God had wanted us to be left handed, a majority of us would be left handed. Surely you can see that this view is not reasonable. This handed-ness, including ambidexterity, is a natural proclivity. Yes, the individual can be forced to subdue and hide this proclivity, but it takes a great deal of denial (often accompanied by physical abuse) to counteract this natural inclination, and usually the individual is damaged by the effort.

Left or right handed-ness and sexual orientation are natural inclinations, but marriage laws and prejudice are not. They are man-made. Two hundred years ago, a majority of Americans were blatantly racist towards blacks. Are you willing to suggest that they were racists because God wanted them to be? Or would you rather assume that due to the battle that was begun by a few stalwarts who were willing to decry and condemn the hypocritical and ignorant injustice of the majority, the majority opinion was finally changed. If you think that God makes things happen, then don’t you attribute this shift in the majority opinion and this extension of justice to God’s will?

Pick out any other majority behavior you want. The “Divine right of Kings” was used to justify the wickedness, debauchery, cruelty, and injustice of tyrants. In other words kings ruled because God wanted it that way. We have devised more humane, more just, more rational systems of governing ourselves over the past centuries although we still have a number of issues to work out. “The Divine right of Kings” was superseded by the assumption “that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” The Declaration of Independence doesn’t say “heterosexual men.” Can anyone doubt that marriage, whether it actually procures it or not, is certainly one of the means of “pursuing happiness”?

True love is a fairly rare commodity. Certainly, participating in sex (whether heterosexual or homosexual) neither proves nor guarantees love. Neither does marriage. However, the ability of individuals to have a committed, loving relationship with a same sex partner has existed since the beginning of time. Check out David and Jonathan in the book of Samuel, especially in a faithful translation. In that book, God certainly did not condemn them.

As for marriage, in our society marriage confers specific legal rights—rights of custody, visitation, inheritance, etc.—that are not granted to the unwed. To deny these rights to individuals who love and cherish their "homosexual" partners just as much as "heterosexuals" do theirs is a gross miscarriage of justice. These rights are not predicated on whether one has sex or not, nor with whom. In fact, the rights conferred by the marriage rites are not accompanied by any guarantee of fidelity or love or longevity. Marriage simply acknowledges that the two people have consented to be wed. That’s it. The fact that homosexual males or females can find partners in whom they hope to find love, commitment, and longevity of a relationship should be rewarded for the same reasons that anyone else is allowed to marry.

Let’s face it, the “one man-one woman, till death do us part” premise has been a hypocrisy since its medieval conception. Witness the sanctioned, extramarital proclivities of males since time immemorial. Read Pearl Buck’s “The Good Earth” for an alternative version of marriage—one that is devastating to the woman—but one that had (and in some circles still has) wide acceptance. In “Ist Chronicles 3” and beyond, David’s many wives (at least 8) are enumerated. Marriage for Solomon and his hundreds of wives was purportedly for political convenience; in other words, the women were given (sold) to him to consummate political alliances.

Clearly, in most societies, certainly in this society, we have “evolved” beyond these archaic conceptions of marriage. Now we embrace a pledge of mutual love and devotion as criteria for marriage, not political plunder or male prerogative. Certainly these criteria of love and devotion can be met through both opposite-sex and same-sex marriage.

How individual churches choose to do address the issue of same-sex marriage is a matter of religion. Those religions that are openly hostile to gays will clearly begin to lose members as gay marriage proves to be identical to non-gay marriage. Those churches who embrace gays will not only earn gay devotees, but they will also gain converts who turn from those bigoted and backward, exclusionary, patriarchal denominations.

Superstition, groundless and spurious fears, and meaningless prejudice should not be allowed to forbid gays the basic legal rights and protections given to other consentingl adults. Neither should illogical or irrational arguments be allowed to hold sway in the arena of public opinion.

Jonathan, I encourage you to read the Bible and the other holy books of the great religions with a careful and thoughtful eye and ear and heart. I encourage you to keep questioning the things that confuse you about the position of those with whom you disagree, and I encourage you to truly try to seek out the answers to your questions. If your question was, in fact, sincere, perhaps, as you examine the issue further, you may eventually arrive at a conclusion different from the one that you now hold. Rest assured, a majority of this country and the world will soon look back on the systematic persecution of gays and the denial of their civil rights as a gross and unconscionable miscarriage of justice.

The Greatest Threat to Democracy is Hypocrisy! Seek Truth! Speak Truth!

Tim McMullen

I am totally against Gay marriage in this country. My feeling is if God wanted Gay Marriage than majority of married couples would be gay and not staright. Instead God made us to be anything but Gay. I can't not see why someone would want to support Gay Marriage. As it is only 5 States legalizes Gay Marriage. California, Florida, NY, NJ, AZ Governors have vetoed Gay marriage at least twice.

As the DNC begins it winter meetings tomorrow morning it would be worthwhile for the members of this distinguished group to take time to do a reassessment of the political climate surrounding the Democratic Party and Obama administration .In my opinion, there seems to be a real disconnect between what the administration says it wants to present as policy and what is actually being communicated to the American people. At the very least, there is a genuine miscommunication taking place that is resulting in even internal party misinterpretation, alienation, and revolt. It is my position that until these basic communication problems are resolved, that it will be next to impossible for this administration's programs to move sufficiently forward. For example, I had the opportunity to discuss some issues with a cross-section of young Democratic and Independent voters. To my surprise, they were describing the Obama administration as being schizophrenic and not consistent in its messages. Likewise, they voiced concern that often the messages are confusing and seemingly contradictory. This conflict of policy and rhetoric, if left untreated, will continue to hemmorage the administration's standing and effectiveness. The DNC must take a stronger role in demanding greater and broader input into policy and engagement strategies and more accesibility to this administration by the party base. If these actions do not materialize the future of this party and White House occupancy will be powerfully jeopardized. Ron Burke,Alice,TX

For those of you who are wondering why President Obama has held so many Town Hall meetings I have an answer for you.
The purpose of Obama holding so many Town Hall Meetings is so that he can get the Public to stand with him during his fight to pass Healthcare, Job creation Bill, and other issues that will help put americans back to work.

On friday (2/5/10) House Minority Leader Boehner announce that he does not support President Obama's Bipartisn Commission and believes that the Administartion should tear it up and start fresh.

I believe all parties Republican and Democrats should get the Obama Bipartisan Commisssion a chance before delivering their feeling on it. The republicans always like to open their big mouths without give a plan created by the Democrats a chance. That is all we Democrats are asking for, just give our plan a small chance. Its not like we are asking them to give it 2 or more years.

Today The chair of the Council of Economic Advisers Christina Romers release a report that showed that the unemployment rate declined from 10.0 percent to 9.7 percent. She also stated "that the unemployment rate remains unacceptably high, especialy worst fro centrian demographic groups such as teenagers and black or african American worker".

Preident Obama announce today (2/5/10) that starting next week members of Congress will begin debating a bill that will help unemployed Americans especially small business owners. While the House will be debating that bill the senate will begin debating and offering diffrent amendments for the Jobs bill. This week many key republicans: Minority Leader McConnell, Shelby, Grassley have already announce their decison to vote aginst the bill.
I was pleased to hear that while the unemployment rate still stand unacceptably high in certain states at least in is not standing at the usual 10.0%.

Posted by Stephanie Grasmick
Feb 05, 2010

Today's Department of Labor jobs report showed that our economy shed 20,000 jobs last month -- down 97 percent from the 779,000 January job losses a year ago. There is still much work ahead, but today's numbers make clear that President Obama's economic policies have brought us back from the brink of disaster and are putting America on the road to economic recovery.

http://dccc.org/blog/archives/the_road_to_economic_recovery/#comments#comments

WoW!

Great News...yet I didn't see this good news plastered and blasted on the MSM Networks Today?

hmmmmp...wonder why?