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Obama plays down importance of public option
The so-called public option is at the heart of the debate on Capitol Hill. ... of Americans -- 5 percent -- who are unemployed or in small businesses. ...
Reuters
http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE5890OQ20090910
TO ALL MINNESOTA PROGRESSIVES:
You may be interested in the following email I received this a.m.:
CD3 DFL EVENTS
Please Forward
PRESIDENT OBAMA TO SPEAK AT HEALTH CARE RALLY SATURDAY
President Obama will speak at the Target Center in Minneapolis on Saturday. He's scheduled to speak at 12:30. The rally is free and open to the public. First come, first served. Here are the details from the White House:
President Obama to Hold Health Insurance Reform Rally in Minneapolis, MN Saturday
WASHINGTON, DC - On Saturday, September 12, 2009, President Barack Obama will travel to Minneapolis, Minnesota to hold a rally on health insurance reform.
In Minneapolis on Saturday, President Obama will discuss what's at stake for the American people in this debate - why we need health insurance reform and why we need to act now.
President Obama's health insurance reform plan has two goals-to bring stability and security to Americans who have insurance today, and affordable coverage to those who don't. And his plan will bring reforms that will reduce the unsustainable growth in the cost of health care, which has doubled in the last decade and will again, unless we act.
The rally will be free and open to the public. Space is available on a first come, first serve basis. No ticket is required.
Rally on Health Insurance Reform with President Barack Obama
Target Center 600 First Avenue North Minneapolis, MN 55403
Doors Open: 9:30 am CT
Program start time: 12:30 pm CT.
This event is free and open to the public. Space is available on a first come, first serve basis. No ticket is required. All attendees will go through airport-like security and should bring as few personal items as possible. No bags, no sharp objects, no umbrellas, no liquids, no strollers, and no signs will be allowed into the venue. Cameras are permitted.
CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS
Hello: President Obama will be in Minneapolis on Saturday, September 12 at the Target Center in Minneapolis. If you can volunteer, please email your name, phone number and email address to rzimbro@dfl.org.
Phone Bank for the Rally
We need help with a phone bank for the Health Care Rally with President Obama for Saturday, September 12, 2009. Volunteers for the phone bank are needed Thursday, September 10 starting at 5 p.m. at the DFL office, 255 E. Plato Blvd, St. Paul. Please let others know about help needed for the phone bank.
Help at the Rally
If you can volunteer at the rally Saturday morning, you have to be at training on Friday, September 11, 2009 at 7 p.m. at Target Center. Use the 1st Ave entrance. At the training you will get your credentials to the event. On Saturday, September 12, you have to be at the Target Center at 8 a.m.
Email me now, if you can volunteer for the phone bank and/or the rally.
Thanks,
RoseAnn Zimbro
Outreach Director
Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party
255 East Plato Blvd.
St. Paul, MN 55107
651.251.6321 (D.L.)
Obama's speech was great, but can he keep Congress on track?
Thom,
I think Keith Olbermann is listening to you. Just before Obama’s speech, he said (paraphrasing), “Now we will see whose side Obama is on: the corporations or the people!”
Loretta,
I was able to hear the speech after all. I agree with many observers that it was a truly great and moving speech. I was crying at the end when Obama read the letter from the late Sen. Teddy Kennedy. I felt that Obama was not only thinking about the senator but also about his own mother when he commented that we shouldn't have to say to a loved one that "the treatment for your illness is available, we just can't afford it..." (paraphrase)
BTW, I think Keith Olbermann is listening to b Just before Obama's speech, he said (again, paraphrasing), "Now we will see who Obama is for: the corporations or the people!"
Obama seizes the moment but did he change the game
Congressional speech: a political victory for Obama, but is it a victory for the health care reform?
http://therealnews.com/t/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&It...
Loretta
Re: He is such a wonderful orator
I agree; Obama is indeed very good at tickling our ears.
Call it Medicare Part "S".
"S" for sick-people-will-be-the-only-ones-who-will-opt-in.
Or maybe that would be Medicare Part "SPWBTOOWWOI", but that would be harder to remember and less catchy.
Because there would be no reason for well people to pay for health insurance if they know they can get it later when they get sick.
That system would be great except for the fact that it will surely come crashing down in a huge failure. Why? Because the rates you would have to charge if only sick people are paying will be wildly prohibitive.
You are missing an essential element of any insurance system: a way to get people to pay for the protection during the time that they don't know yet whether or when they will end up needing it.
Sorry to be so lengthy but I just saw over at Buzz Flash that the headlines are devoted to the loony Republican who called Obama a lliar.
Mandatory insurance for all (like mandatory auto insurance) is a real boon for the insurance industry.
I am in a different time zone so I read Obama's speech then listened to it. I was very disappointed possibly because I had let myself hope yet again. It looks as though, like everything else, it all comes down to money. Money from the insurance companies to lock in for the election seasons and money for the insurance companies.by mandated private insurance.
Obama will be no FDR. There are those who say it is the work of Rahm Emanuel and I have railed against him too, but now this is Obama's stance and he is responsible. He chose his advisors and if he adopts their views they become his choices.
What makes this doubly enraging is the squandered opportunity, opportunities like this come so rarely; they are historic moments. Had he dared to sollicitate even more enthousiam that that which existed when he was elected I think he could have accomplished much. Now he may lose his majority in Congress and the next presidential election.
Obama seems to be reserving his evergy for a disasterous occupation in Afghanistan and the Supreme Court is on the brink of bringing a national calamity on what is already a dismal future for poor bewildered people.
To be brief I think he blew it.
I am very curious to hear what everyone has to say about President Obama's speech. He is such a wonderful orator that I bounced back and forth so very many times between feeling like he is selling out and feeling that he is cracking the code in the way he is putting reform together in little packages that the right cannot argue with.
It isn't the public option that we had hoped for, but it's a pretty good start for the millions of uninsured Americans. From what he said, it seems that uninsured Americans will be given the same choice as congress. And by the time the plan is put into effect, there will more than likely be millions more in the uninsured category.
Am I accurate in my understanding of what he presented?
As I post this before the big speech, my prediction is our president will please no one in the end which is a tragedy given the circumstances.
I will listen now............7:14 CST Minneapolis, MN.
I hope I'm wrong............
I want everyone to know who reads Thom's website that Rabbi Michael Lerner is one of my favorite writers.
http://www.tikkun.org/tikkundaily/2009/09/08/spiritual-wisdom-of-the-wee...
Jim McGinnis, a peacemaker, has recently passed away. He gave to us the "Pledge of Nonviolence."
Making peace must start within ourselves and in our family. Each of us commits ourselves as best we can to become nonviolence and peaceable people:
To Respect Self and Others:
To respect myself, to affirm others, and to avoid uncaring criticism, hateful words, physical attacks and self-destructive behavior.
To Communicate Better:
To share my feelings honestly, to look for safe ways to express my anger, and to work at solving problems peacefully.
To Listen:
To listen carefully to one another, especially those who disagree with me, and to consider others' feelings and needs rather than insist on having my own war.
To Forgive:
To apologize and make amends when I have hurt another, to forgive others, and to keep from holding grudges.
To Respect Nature:
To treat the environment and all living things, including our pets, with respect and care.
To Play Creatively:
To select entertainment and toys that support our family's values and to avoid entertainment that makes violence look exciting, funny or acceptable.
To Be Courageous:
To challenge violence in all its forms whenever I encounter it, whether at home, at school, at work, or in the community, and to stand with others who are treated unfairly.
This is our pledge. These are our goals. "We will check ourselves on what we have pledged once a month so that we can help each other become peaceable people."
great discussion on this topic of where the personhood arguement got started .
enjoy your show, you are a voice of reason in northern illinois where it is all conservatives and rightwingers and really terrible lack of compassion
(You are a fluke of the universe.
You have no right to be here.
Deteriorata, Deteriorata)
Go placidly amidst the noise and waste, and remember what comfort there may be in owning a piece thereof. Avoid quiet and passive persons, unless you are in need of sleep. Rotate your tires. Speak glowingly of those greater than yourself; and heed well their advice, even though they be turkeys. Know what to kiss - and when. Consider that two wrongs never make a right, but that three do. Wherever possible, put people on hold. Be comforted, that in the face of all irridity and disillusionment, and despite the changing fortunes of time, there is always a big future in computer maintenance.
(You are a fluke of the universe.
You have no right to be here.
Whether you can hear it or not,
The universe is laughing behind your back.)
Remember the Pueblo. Strive at all times to bend, fold, spindle, and mutilate. Know yourself. If you need help, call the FBI. Exercise caution in your daily affairs, especially with those persons closest to you... That lemon on your left, for instance. Be assured that a walk through the seas of most souls would scarcely get your feet wet. Fall not in love, therefore, it will stick to your face. Gracefully surrender the things of youth: the birds, clean air, tuna, Taiwan - and let not the sands of time get in your lunch. Hire people with hooks. For a good time, call 606-4311, ask for Ken. Take heart in the deepening gloom that your dog is finally getting enough cheese. And reflect that whatever misfortune may be your lot, it could only be worse in Milwaukee.
(You are a fluke of the universe.
You have no right to be here.
Whether you can hear it or not,
The universe is laughing behind your back.)
Therefore, make peace with your god, whatever you perceive him to be: hairy thunderer or cosmic muffin. With all its hopes, dreams, promises, and urban renewal, the world continues to deteriorate. GIVE UP!
(You are a fluke of the universe.
You have no right to be here.
Whether you can hear it or not,
The universe is laughing behind your back.)
The other day, the History Channel spent the afternoon on gangs, bikers and white supremacist groups. I couldn’t help but to observe that while inner-city gangs and rogue bikers rarely venture beyond their own turf (and generally prey on each other), white supremacists—who claim to seek to exist in a whites-only environment—seem quite prepared, and in fact is their very reason for being, to venture beyond their forest hideouts and encampments to kill people who are not white. But let’s not give them too much “credit.” Although the film “American X” had their neo-Nazis target a couple of black gang-bangers, this isn’t their usual MO; they are too cowardly to venture into gang territory. What they will do is pick-out a black couple, such as the one caught walking outside of Fort Bragg, NC in 1995, or an inebriated man stumbling along a deserted road, like James Byrd in Jasper, Texas.
While the police are busy refereeing the process of minority gangs killing themselves off in their turf wars (gang-bangers call it the quest for “respect”), white supremacists are biding their time, stockpiling heavy weaponry (these are people that 2nd Amendment rights advocates are protecting) to take care of the law-abiding minorities who want their piece of the American Pie—that is, what is “rightfully” white people’s pie. We could, of course, simply dismiss them as a crackpot fringe, but the fact that they are allowed to exist largely unmolested by the law suggests that many white people view them useful as secret repositories for their fears, paranoia, prejudices and stereotypes (perhaps not so “secret,” given the Limbaughs, Dobbs, Becks, and the rest of that kind). Perhaps they see white supremacist militias as a “frontline” defense against the dark-skinned “hordes,” to be tolerated just in case they are “needed.”
It is frequently stated that the current rise in white supremacist hate groups is due to immigration and affirmative action (the actual effect of the latter on white “privilege” is well over-stated, to see the least). But the real reason is because of the “mainstreaming” of hate propaganda by politicians and the media, who find it useful for their own reasons. It of course goes beyond even that; it should be a source of pride that many white Americans were willing to put aside their prejudices in order to elect Barack Obama president, but it is clear that there is a hard core of white America that only sees a black man who must be stopped at all costs, even if it means destroying the country. The white supremacist godfather, Hitler, also sought to leave his country a burnt-out wasteland after his “vision” of a world ruled by the “master race” was left an ashen heap.
I am writing this before Obama's speech, but a local paper is reporting that a measure is circulating in Congress that will require that people without health insurance be levied with fines. This presumes that Congress will pass a health care reform bill that provides affordable coverage to those who otherwise could not afford it, but I'm not so sure of it. I already have had experience with "affordable" coverage that covers virtually nothing in the way of primary and preventative care.
DDay,
Yes, I fear, too.
DDay,
One might feel it was necessary to be a little more ingratiating...
DDay,
I've been thinking about how FDR had the courage to face down the corporate elite. But he came from an elite class, too, which probably gave him an entirely different world view with different assumptions. One probably takes power for granted. Not so, someone like Obama or Clinton, who "came up" by (from?) his bootstraps. I think the world might look a little more intimidating from that point of view.
Maybe I'm all wet, but I was just trying to imagine what it would be like to be in that position...
Yes, Quark,
I thought about mentioning the DLC. They have been mentioned a lot in the past, ("90's") BUT,their power is supposed to be diminished and I have no first hand experience with them. They have a rarefied atmosphere. I have seen the" D-trip" in action many times. I think they are the real institutional 800lbs. gorilla in the party. Rahm not only controlled it but also picked his successors.
I'm saying that I fear unless Barack makes some course corrections and turns over a new stone in regards to who he listens to for various things... our hopes will not be fulfilled. Barack should listen less than I fear he has been on policy from Rahm and Larry S., and their ilk. Strategies maybe, but, not policy from them. No one in the position to oppose the Machine, a.k.a. Corporations, seems willing to do so. Self preservation over courage seems to be the theme here.
It is sad if my cynical view is correct. ....... Where's my medication?..................... never mind.
DDay,
Thom has often talked about the DLC (corporate wing) - the relatively new usurpers of the Democratic Party started by Clinton, Lieberman, etc. and the traditional Democratic Party from which the Liberals come.
Obama has been so deliberately (in my opinion) ambiguous about so many of his positions because he really is reliant on the corporations and the DLC and doesn't want to show his hand. (Of course, that is the "glass half empty" interpretation. Time will tell.)
Is this what you're saying?
Thom,
Thanks for the opportunity to add my two cents worth.
Respectfully, for the first time in a while I would like to take issue with your usually perceptive analysis. During yesterday's show, (I believe in your nearly last segment), you compared and discussed the factors which greatly influence the direction of the Republican & Democratic Party(s), respectively. Unless I am mistaken, you failed to mention the various unions and their relative power in influencing the Democratic Party. It is a complicated alliance which is especially true when you also acknowledge the two other major camps you failed to cite, that divide the Democratic Party. There is a Clinton/Emmanuel/D.C.C.C./Blue-Dog friendly faction, in fierce competition with a Dean/Kucinich?/Grass Roots (Progressive) faction. Obama, seems firmly within the dominant group which has "traditional" and safe ways as practiced by R. Emmanuel. The Dean/Progressives represent a threat to business as usual and the highly centralized control of money.
This struggle is crucial to understanding the present situation when confronting the politics of health care reform. The yes-we-still-can people along with the progressive Deaniacs are pitted against the entrenched forces addicted to power and willing to deal anything for it including their principals. The unions will probably always be there for both, whoever is on top; even if they don't feel fully comfortable with either one. I said it was complicated didn't I? Obama, it seems to me, still hasn't figured out where he really wants to stand. He only seems to know where he wants to end up.... and that is to remain on top. I hope I'm wrong about Obama, if not, I hope he grows up soon and discovers that reaching higher is the more audacious and satisfying move, for everyone concerned. (I am confident that I'm not substantially wrong about the split in the Democratic Party. I have had the chance to observe it, up close, for some time now.) We will get a clue tonight about the prospects for our own audacities of hope.