Click here to view this media Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) seems confident she has found a way to get the Zadroga bill passed after it died last week. Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL) is already on board, and Snowe & Collins of Maine, as well as Murkowski of Alaska are believed to be votes as well. There is a fair amount of Fox News “fair and balanced” in this ABC report but at least the mainstream media is bothering to mention the root causes of this failure, perhaps shamed into it by Jon Stewart. Via ABC News : Senate Republicans last week derailed a bill that would provide $7.4 billion in health care and compensation to 9/11 responders and survivors, but Gillibrand today voiced confidence that the Senate will pass the bill in the next week, now that lawmakers have agreed on how to pay for the measure. “We have the votes we need,” Gillibrand said today at a press conference on Capitol Hill. “We’ve had indications from several Republicans that they very much want to vote for this bill. “They would like to vote for a stand-alone bill,” she said. “There is general agreement on a new pay-for that we’re going to offer, so the hope is to get to the bill as soon as the START bill is completed.” And what is this face-saving move that will allow Republicans to vote for it? Susan Collins of Maine (again) details the Republican objections: Collins is the GOP’s point person on the matter, and has been working with Gillibrand to find new means to off-set the costs of the $7.4 billion bill. “I support the 9/11 health bill on the merits, and I have talked with Senator Gillibrand about the need for legitimate ways of offsetting its cost,” Collins said in a statement on Thursday. “If the Majority Leader were to bring the bill to the floor with appropriate offsets, I would support the legislation.” Gillibrand’s new offer. The off-set in the House-passed measure would close tax loopholes for foreign companies, a move that Collins has objected to on the grounds that it would violate international tax treaties. Today Gillibrand said that the new off-set would be a 2 percent fee on procurement contracts for certain countries, combined with a visa fee. As Think Progress noted, Collins and the Republicans reasons are completely bogus. enlarge ‘U.S.’ Chamber Of Commerce Lobbied To Help GOP Kill Bill To Provide Health Care To 9/11 First Responders Last night, the Daily Show’s Jon Stewart skewered Republicans for killing deficit neutral legislation to provide health care to the 9/11 first responders and emergency workers who suffered illnesses from working at Ground Zero. He also mocked the celebrity-obsessed media that has completely ignored the story. Republicans, like Sen. John Thune (R-SD), filibustered the bill because they said tax cuts for the richest 2 percent were a higher priority for Congress. While Republicans quietly snuffed out efforts to compensate 9/11 heroes, they were aided by a quiet lobbying campaign by the powerful lobbying front — the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber fought to help kill the 9/11 compensation bill because it was funded by ending a special tax loophole exploited by foreign corporations doing business in the United States. Apparently, according to Republicans even modest tax increases to foreign corporations is not legitimate anymore. “Whose side are you on?” indeed.
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Even while it builds settlements on Palestinian territory, Israel is actively preventing Palestinian development in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem by denying basic infrastructure such as electricity and running water to Palestinian communities, according to a report from the group Human Rights Watch. —JCL Reuters: Israel is preventing Palestinian development in parts of the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem while pouring funding into Jewish settlements, the Human Rights Watch group said on Sunday. Its 166-page report focused on Israeli policies in areas of the West Bank where the Palestinian Authority does not hold any sway under interim peace deals and in East Jerusalem, annexed to Israel after its capture in a 1967 war. “Israeli policies in the West Bank harshly discriminate against Palestinian residents, depriving them of basic necessities while providing lavish amenities for Jewish settlements,” the New York-based organization said. Read more Related Entries December 8, 2010 Leaks Disclose Complicated U.S. Strategy December 7, 2010 Leaks Suggest Iran Is Now Winning in the Middle East
Continue reading …Vice President Joe Biden appeared on Meet the Press and was subjected to more pointed questioning about Afghanistan than anyone in the Bush administration ever was. Not that I don’t want to hear the answers. I’ve been questioning why we’re in Afghanistan since almost the beginning. But I do find Gregory’s “come to Jesus” moment oddly and conveniently timed to after the Bush administration’s exit. Biden gamely explains the official goals of the administration: Let me– separate this out. Remind everybody what our goal is. Our overarching goal and our rational for being there is to defeat and ultimately — or to—dismantle, ultimately defeat Al Qaeda. Residing central Al Qaeda– residing in the—Fattah. The– the Western Regions of the mountains of– of– Pakistan. Secondly, to make sure that—terrorists do not, in fact, bring down the Pakistani Government, which is a nuclear power. Toward that end, we think it’s important that there be stability in Afghanistan so that Al Qaeda cannot re-establish it as a base from which to attack the United States of America. With regard to our effort to degrade Al Qaeda, we’re making great progress. So called C.T. That is counterterrorism. The use of Special Forces and the like to go after individuals who make up the leadership of Al Qaeda and of the Taliban. On the issue of counterinsurgency, that is where we clear, hold, and build and transfer. We’re making progress not as rapidly as we are on the other front. The President’s been frank to say that– in his release. Pointing out that we need two things that we’re working on very hard and we’re making some progress. One, Pakistan and safe havens. And two, governance in Afghanistan. I think that reasonable people can quibble with the Vice President if the focus on preventing Al Qaeda safe haven in Pakistan is worth destroying another country and losing thousands of lives for, especially when we know that there are less than 100 Al Qaeda members in Afghanistan and only about 300 in Pakistan . However, I do take solace with the idea that the Obama administration does at least have an exit strategy to leave Afghanistan: BIDEN: We are going to, come July, begin to draw down American forces and transfer reasonability to the Afghans. DAVID GREGORY: Will that be a token amount of soldiers? Will it be a couple thousand troops and no more? VICE PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: Well– well, it– it will not be a token amount. But the degree to which we draw down– if I can make an analogy to– Iran. I mean, excuse me, to– to Iraq, which I’ve been put in charge of. What happened there? We signed, three years ago, an agreement with the Iraqis saying that what we’re gonna do is– at two summers ago, we’re gonna draw all combat troops out of the cities. Populated areas. Then we said that– our Administration, we’re gonna draw 100,000 troops out the next summer. And we’re gonna be totally out. In the meantime, we’re gonna help build a government. We’re gonna transfer responsibility. And we’re gonna be gone. That’s exactly what we did at the recent Lisbon Conference, the NATO conference, where we said we’re starting this process. Just like we did in Iraq. We’re starting it in July of 2011. And we’re gonna be totally out of there, come hell or high water, by 2014 . Cue the GOP concern trolling that we can’t give arbitrary timelines to al Qaeda in 5…4…3…2…1…
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New fighting between the Sudanese army and Darfur rebels has erupted in the impoverished southern part of Sudan, displacing already-overcrowded refugee camps and leading to an exodus of about 12,000 people. —JCL Al-Jazeera English: As many as 12,000 people have fled following fresh fighting between army and Darfur rebels in Sudan, according to the United Nations. Peacekeepers in the region said on Sunday that the displaced are heading towards already overcrowded camps and settlements in the war-torn region. “The Mission has noticed that approximately 12,000 people fled the area and are moving towards the Shangil Tobaya and Zam Zam internally displaced persons camp, near El Fasher in North Darfur,” said Darfur’s UNAMID peacekeepers in a statement. Read more Related Entries December 8, 2010 Leaks Disclose Complicated U.S. Strategy December 7, 2010 Leaks Suggest Iran Is Now Winning in the Middle East
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Click here to view this media The Senate has passed a law repealing the military’s gay ban but one Republican leader is not letting the issue drop. Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-AZ) said Sunday that the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell” could actually “cost lives” by disrupting combat units. “From a constitutional stand point, this is not a constitutional right or a constitutional issue as was the issue of racial segregation,” Kyl told Fox News’ Chris Wallace. “I frankly have to follow the lead of people like the commandant of the Marine Corps, like my colleague John McCain, who say when it comes especially to the small units who do the fighting on the ground, that the US Marine Corps, the Army combat troops, who according to the survey taken by the pentagon were 60 percent opposed to this,” Kyl continued. “It could disrupt the unit cohesion. As the commandant said, cost lives. That means a lot to me,” he said. The Senate minority whip brushed off the similarities between “don’t ask, don’t tell” repeal and racial integration in the military. “With regard to the US military, itself, it’s got one function. That is to fight and fight well. And maybe to die. And the people who are responsible for that need to make a judgment about whether this will inhibit their ability to carry out that ultimate job that we ask them to do,” he insisted. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) noted that 70 percent of service members and their families were prepared to accept repeal. “The number, incidentally, when those in the military were asked about integration so 60 years ago was 20 percent,” Durbin added. The Senate passed legislation Saturday that will repeal the policy of discrimination by a vote of 65-31. President Barack Obama is expected to sign the measure this week.
Continue reading …‘Chris Matthews Show’ Attacks Sarah Palin: ‘So How’s That Tweety Outdoorsy Thing Doing for You?’
December 19, 2010 No Comment
Chris Matthews on the syndicated program bearing his name devoted an entire segment this weekend to attacking Sarah Palin. To assist him in the attacks, the host of “The Chris Matthews Show” brought on Howard Fineman of the Huffington Post, the BBC's Katty Kay, Joe Klein of Time magazine, and NBC's Norah O'Donnell (video follows with transcript and commentary): read more
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An attack on an Afghan military base has killed 13 security forces after five men allegedly from the Taliban stormed into an army recruitment center in the city of Kunduz. —JCL The BBC: Suicide attackers have targeted Afghan military bases in two cities, leaving 13 members of the security forces dead, along with at least five assailants. In the northern city of Kunduz, suicide bombers stormed an army recruitment centre, sparking a long gun battle. On the outskirts of Kabul, attackers ambushed an army bus outside the country’s main recruitment centre. Read more Related Entries December 17, 2010 ‘Left, Right & Center’: Afghanistan, Health Care, Financial Commission December 17, 2010 ‘Hope Is Action’: Hedges and Ellsberg Arrested at White House Protest
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Like a white-haired “Terminator” or a funny-accented villain from the last “Die Hard” movie, Vice President Joe Biden has come out with the strongest language yet to condemn WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, calling the Australian a “high-tech terrorist.” —JCL The Guardian: The US vice-president, Joe Biden, today likened the WikiLeaks founderJulian Assange to a “high-tech terrorist”, the strongest criticism yet from the Obama administration. Biden claimed that Assange has put lives at risk and made it more difficult for the US to conduct its business around the world. His description of Assange shows a level of irritation that contrasts with more sanguine comments from other senior figures in the White House, who said the leak of diplomatic cables has not done serious damage. Read more Related Entries December 17, 2010 ‘Left, Right & Center’: Afghanistan, Health Care, Financial Commission December 17, 2010 ‘Hope Is Action’: Hedges and Ellsberg Arrested at White House Protest
Continue reading …SNL: Julian Assange Takes a Shot at Facebook’s Zuckerberg Winning Time’s Person of the Year
December 19, 2010 No Comment
Click here to view this media SNL’s Bill Hader was back again this week as Julian Assange, this time around taking a shot at Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg winning Time Magazine’s “Person of the Year.” Tonight, I take a moment to congratulate Time Magazine on the excellent selection of Mark Zuckerberg as Person of the Year. Time Magazine, always on the cutting edge… discovering Facebook only weeks after your grandmother. What are the differences between Mark Zuckerberg and me? Let’s take a look. I give you private information on corporations for free and I’m a villain. Mark Zuckerberg gives your private information to corporations for money, and he’s man of the year. Thanks to WikiLeaks, you can see how corrupt governments operate in the shadows and then lie to those who elect them. Thanks to Facebook, you can figure out which Sex and the City character you are. I’m a Samantha, but if the Swedish police ask, I’m a Charlotte. If you want to make a movie about Mark Zuckerberg interesting, you’ll have to make stuff up. In order to make a movie about me, just to rate it R, you’ll have to leave stuff out.
Continue reading …PolitiFact Names The Lie Of The Year: "Government Takeover Of Health Care"
December 19, 2010 No Comment
PolitiFact, the Pulitzer Prize-winning fact check website of the St Petersburg Times has announced its choice for “Lie of the Year.” This year’s winner: ” the government takeover of healthcare ” In the spring of 2009, a Republican strategist settled on a brilliant and powerful attack line for President Barack Obama’s ambitious plan to overhaul America’s health insurance system. Frank Luntz, a consultant famous for his phraseology, urged GOP leaders to call it a “government takeover.” “Takeovers are like coups,” Luntz wrote in a 28-page memo. “They both lead to dictators and a loss of freedom.” The line stuck. By the time the health care bill was headed toward passage in early 2010, Obama and congressional Democrats had sanded down their program, dropping the “public option” concept that was derided as too much government intrusion. The law passed in March, with new regulations, but no government-run plan. But as Republicans smelled serious opportunity in the midterm elections, they didn’t let facts get in the way of a great punchline. And few in the press challenged their frequent assertion that under Obama, the government was going to take over the health care industry. PolitiFact editors and reporters have chosen “government takeover of health care” as the 2010 Lie of the Year. Uttered by dozens of politicians and pundits, it played an important role in shaping public opinion about the health care plan and was a significant factor in the Democrats’ shellacking in the November elections. But we don’t think this honor should be bestowed on only the lie. For the lie is just words. No, the dubious honor of the coining of the phrase “government takeover of health care” should indeed go to the man who conceived it in the blackness of his heart and avarice of his brain: Frankie “The Hair” Luntz. So Frank, with all the fanfare and attention we can possible muster for someone so Orwellian , so nakedly partisan and deceptive and so willing to sell his future children’s (should he ever find someone either mercenary or frankly, drunk enough) future away by creating these country-destroying lies, we dub thee enlarge Credit: Courtesy of Blue Gal King of the Liars May your reign be cursed and short.
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