Craig Weisner offers some interesting information.

http://www.tikkun.org/tikkundaily/author/craigwiesner/

Gerald, The article you posted is such a strongly worded defense of Catholic doctrine supporting progressive legislation and following Jesus' teaching which is to take care of those in need. Most Catholic Church communities are full of social activists. Many people attend Catholic church not for the sermons but for the community of like-minded people who work for social justice. Priests have often been radicals like the liberation theologians in Nicaragua during the seventies.

Here is an interesting article. Please believe me! The faces of true Catholicism are not O'Reilly, Hannity, Charles Krauthammer, Ann Coulter, and Newt Gingrich.

http://ncronline.org/news/politics/republican-catholic-church-captivity

Despair is starting to creep in as I read the news reports regarding Obama's plan to nix the public option next Wednesday. I loved Oberman's "Special Comment" listing all of the "Dogs" and letting them know that we will not vote for them if they don't vote for a strong public plan. I wasn't able to retrieve it again, though, so I fear they took it off the internet because it was way too powerful.

A Question for Senator Bernie Sanders tomorrow:

Thom, could you ask Bernie to explain a section of The Washington Post's article on Obama's negotiations with Olympia Snowe. (I'll post my question after the paragraph.)

Here's the link
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/03/AR200909...

And here's the section on Snowe:

"In the Senate Finance Committee, where negotiations on a bipartisan compromise are underway and a conference call is scheduled for Friday, lawmakers are trying to reach a deal by Sept. 15 with perhaps as many as three Republicans on board. The White House is focused on one of the three, Sen. Olympia J. Snowe of Maine, who they view as the Republican most willing to reach an agreement with the White House.

"On Thursday, aides to Snowe confirmed that the senator is talking with administration officials, particulaly with regard to her "safety-net fallback option." Under that proposal, the government would sponsor a nonprofit insurance plan but it would become available only in states or regions where private insurance firms had failed to offer a reasonably priced product that would be affordable to 95 percent of the population.

Snowe's spokeswoman, Julia Wanzco, said the senator "has had an open line of communication with the White House over the course of the past few months." "

Here is my question for Senator Bernie Sanders:

If President Obama agrees to push for Snowe's plan to provide a non-profit insurance option only for states with insurance that is not "affordable" for 95% of its residents, would that null and void Kuccinich's amendment allowing states to decide to create for their own residents a public option or universal coverage?

I think this fact is very important if it is indeed true that President Obama is giving up on a public option. We need to make sure that whatever negotiations President Obama agrees to still leave intact the individual state's ability to try to gain a public or universal plan. Kitzhaber is running for Governor in Oregon again, and I want to be sure he and other progressive Governors will have the ability to get a public or universal plan if Obama has to let it go.

I'll take my answer off the air:-)

There are few things that disturb me more than self-serving hypocrisy, and I heard it again Thursday morning as I observed a CNN report regarding a National Women’s Law Center study on the “alarming numbers” of Latinas who fail to graduate from high school after four years, for the usual cultural reasons. Typical of these narrowly-focused and politicized studies, numbers are cited without context or concern about the other side of the equation. The "other side" is, of course, is that all over the country, states are reporting that black and Latino males have by far the highest drop-out rates of any measurable demographic. Why the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund chose to be a party to this partisan political report focusing solely on girls and ignoring the problems of Latino boys flies in the face of the fact that this very year, New York and Massachusetts are reporting that not only do black and Latino males have the highest non-high graduation rates in their respective states, but they are most likely to be dumped—and forgotten—in special education classes.

A recent report from something called the Cooperative Institutional Research Program Freshman Survey also took note of this bias against minority males, observing that “For Latino males, it has not yet received the type of national attention you would think,” said Victor Sáenz, an assistant professor of higher education administration at the University of Texas at Austin and a co-author of the report. “Sometimes it’s difficult for folks to want to have this discussion about gender inequity because it has traditionally been framed in a very different way, in terms of women not being granted full access to educational opportunity.” According to the report, Latino males represent less than 40 percent of Latinos enrolled in college; one reason for this is suggested by the fact that Latino males 16-24 (that is, beyond four years) are nearly twice as likely not to graduate from high school than Latinas.

This is not to say that we should not be concerned about Latina educational issues, but it does demonstrate the self-serving nature of gender activists for whom the "solution" is to further "enhance" the difficulties faced by minority males. White feminists who manage to tag-team with a few minority women in disparaging the issues confronting minority men are guilty of racism, because they contribute to the cultural and societal roadblocks that black and Latino males encounter in an environment that often prefers to view them as “threatening” or “criminal.” At least Latinas don’t have to deal with that problem, and neither can I not help but to observe that you are more likely to see a Latina in an otherwise white office or business environment (at least in Seattle); whether that has something to do or not with relative merit is a matter to ponder.

A pillow to prevent snoring, a combination of herbs to help you sleep or reduce the size of your prostate, or a wrinkle cream with retinol A and all that other stuff is not, IMHO, part of the health industrial complex. (I love the term, though)

Thom is an herbalist for goodness sakes.

Sorry I wrote too quickly. I meant we are fighting for healthcare reform and campaign financing reform.

I am sorry to inform my haters of a few facts:

1) I am not a novice to how the radio business works. I have worked in the media and advertising industry for 15+ years. I know exactly how it works.

I am not criticizing Thom for making money, I'm criticizing him for taking the MAX. I'm calling Thom out off of his high horse on this one. It's pure and simple greed. It's okay if Thom is greedy. Lots of people are. I'm just calling St. Thom on it.

2) I am not some right-winger just here to mess with Thom. I am in fact a very dedicated progressive, which is why I am busting Thom's balls from the LEFT on this issue.

Thom had a great first hour of comments on Thursday, September 3, 2009.

Brenhin,
Thanks. maybe... I wasn't feeding the troll so much has toying with the mouse. I'm not so sure that JeffS wasn't just a little verklempt or perhaps over-wrought.
In case I'm full of it or naive ,(both distinct possibilities!), what are those "well formed questions"? to flush them out? I am always interested in new and effective strategies or techniques. By the way... Did you have to use the word flush?
I gotta go now... Bye...I'll check back later.

DDay,
I think your running into a new tactic I'm trying to spread awareness about. I call them "Decepticons."

The object here is;
1. Create the appearance of a divided party, with pointless infighting.
2. Plant Arguments that appear a 'Liberal' is supporting the Right, and discrediting the Left.
3. Obfuscate the Argument & Premise of the Left.

Their everywhere, and you can flush em out with a few well formed questions.

=^>
Brenhin