Snapler

March 14, 2010

Sunday Roundup

Like Jason Voorhees in Friday the 13th, the public option rose from the grave this week (instead of slashing teenage victims, it would slash health care costs). With zero input from the White House, 41 Senators have agreed to support a public option via reconciliation. Ryan Grim lays out how that can easily become 50 -- and Dick Durbin has promised to "aggressively whip" a health care bill that includes a public option. But Nancy Pelosi won't include it in the reconciliation package. Why? She claims it's because the Senate doesn't "have the votes" -- which could also be said about the House passing the Senate bill (Stupak, anyone?). So the Senate blames the House, the House blames the Senate, the White House acts as if it doesn't have a say in the matter, and the insurance companies -- lacking real competition -- keep laughing all the way to the bank.

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March 13, 2010

Health Care Reform: Without Trust, Americans Remain Screwed

It is a wonder of incredulous proportions that Speaker Pelosi declared the other day that the House reconciliation bill will not contain a public option, because the Senate did not include it in their bill and it does not have the votes for one. This was after Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said he will "whip" anything the House sends over to the Senate, after 41 Senators have now committed to a public option, and Adam Green, head of a progressive group, did its own whip count this past week and came up with over 50 senators who would support a public option. Add to this that the House has already included the public option in its version of health care reform and a voter would surely ask, what the hell is going on?

The answer to this query is an easy one: Pelosi speaking for her caucus simply does not trust the Senate. She has pointed to the over 290 bills the House has passed yet they are gathering dust on someone's desk over in the Senate. From some corners, it seems that even though 41 senators are publicly supporting the public option, when the "rubber hits the road" in terms of these senators having to cast a vote, maybe they are bluffing and really don't mean what they say or do not really back a document (Senator Bennett's letter) to which they affixed their signatures. But then again this would call into question whether the word of any elected official can be trusted. We surely know that answer. The icing on this cake is, of course, that Obama and his minions are remaining silent, preferring to let two chambers who don't trust one another duke it out, and whatever mess is decided upon they call health care reform will be what Americans will have to live with. All the while, the American voter does not trust Washington regardless of whether it is health care reform or not. Obama even delayed his upcoming trip to Indonesia and Australia for a few days to build trust among the rank and file, according to the White House Press Secretary.

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Scott Lively advocated ‘criminalizing homosexuality’ as far back as 2007

Filed under: News, Original Content — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , — Alvin McEwen @ 4:09 pm
This particular bit of news has been covered in the past by a few pro-lgbt blogs. But as the furor over the Ugandan anti-gay bill grows (and it should), it's worth remembering.

Anti-gay activist Scott Lively is busy trying to extricate himself from the situation which he helped create in Uganda regarding that anti-gay bill.

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March 12, 2010

Obama, Durbin and Pelosi All Point Fingers at Someone Else for Killing Public Option

Barack Obama says he supports a public option but claims there aren't 51 votes in the Senate to pass it in reconciliation. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin says he would aggressively whip the 51 votes for the public option if Nancy Pelosi would send him a House reconciliation bill that includes a public option. Nancy Pelosi says she won't include a public option in House reconciliation bill because there aren't enough votes in the Senate to pass it.

Meanwhile, over 40 Democratic Senators have signed a letter or otherwise indicated that they would vote for a public option if given the opportunity and it is almost certain to garner at least 51 votes if it actually came to the Senate floor. But every leading Democrat is doing everything possible to avoid an up or down vote on the public option and pointing the finger at someone else for killing it.

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Pelosi: Stupak Wants Health Care Reform (VIDEO)

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi appeared on "The Rachel Maddow Show" Thursday and weighed in on everything from Bart Stupak's threats to derail health care reform, to Eric Massa's resignation, and Republican obstructionism in the Senate.

While agreeing with Maddow that Rep. Bart Stupak is wrong -- there is no language in either health care reform bill that would allow federally funded abortions -- Pelosi told Maddow that she believes the Michigan Democrat wants health care reform and that he wold vote for the final legislation. "Bart Stupak wants health care reform. This is something he understands. He's on the committee of jurisdiction for it. I don't think that he's part... that he himself would be one to say that 'I'm taking down health care reform because of it.' But I think others who are part of that, who have stronger connections to the Republican party do want to bring down the bill."

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March 11, 2010

Roy Sekoff: Massa Is The Navy’s Problem Now (VIDEO)

Roy Sekoff appeared on "The Ed Show" Wednesday to weigh in on yesterday's bizarre media blitz by former Democratic congressman Eric Massa.

When asked by Ed Schultz if Democrats should respond to Massa's claims that the health care reform bill will "destroy this country," Sekoff argued that the party should let it go. Massa isn't their problem anymore. "Yesterday, it was a problem for the Democrats. Last night it was a problem for Glenn Beck. Today it's a bigger problem for the Navy."

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March 10, 2010

Salt Ban For Restaurants? Lawmaker Introduces Bill To Kill Salt

Filed under: News, Original Content — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , — David Weiner @ 6:48 pm
One Brooklyn lawmaker wants to take some flavor out of your food.

Assemblyman Felix Ortiz (D-Brooklyn) has proposed a bill that "prohibits the use of salt by restaurants in the preparation of food by restaurants."

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March 9, 2010

Colorado Library Has Teen Arrested For Failing To Return A DVD

A 19-year-old from Littleton, Colorado has been arrested for failing to promptly return a DVD to the local public library.

Henson says the $30 DVD was accidentally packed and taken when the family moved. After an overdue notice and bill were not returned, the city sent Henson two court summons, which he did not receive because they were mailed to the family's former address. After Henson failed to respond to the second summons, authorities issued an arrest warrant.

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Sam Stein On Health Care: Obstacles And Obama’s Big Push

President Obama was on the road Monday to stump for health care. HuffPost's Sam Stein was on Countdown to break it all down.

Speaking with guest host Lawrence O'Donnell, Stein talked about a number of obstacles Democrats face in order to pass health care -- including dissension within their own party. Dennis Kucinich may not vote for the bill without a robust public plan, and Bart Stupak has been upset about abortion language in the bill.

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March 8, 2010

Cinefantastique Horror, Fantasy & Science Fiction Podcast – v1n4: Alice in Wonderland

Dan Persons, Steve Biodrowski, and Lawrence French follow Tim Burton down the rabbit hole, analyzing his live-action redo of the Disney animated classic, Alice in Wonderland. Is it Burton at his best - or another blunder? Does it surpass the original, or does it fall flat as a knave of hearts? Also on the bill, a look at the weekend's award winners for horror, fantasy, and science fiction films; plus the usual round-up of exciting news items, upcoming home video releases, and random recommendations.

Click on player below to hear the show.

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