Obama to join climate summit on its final day -- latimes.com

Obama to join climate summit on its final day

The president pushes back his trip to the Copenhagen climate-change conference to take a more active role in brokering an agreement.

Reporting from Washington - Increasingly optimistic that decisions by China and India will yield a breakthrough in international climate negotiations, President Obama announced Friday that he would take a more active and dramatically timed role at this month's climate summit in Copenhagen.

The president pushes back his trip to the Copenhagen climate-change conference to take a more active role in brokering an agreement.

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Obama to join climate summit on its final day -- latimes.com

Senate Votes To Debate Health Care Reform Bill

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Senate Votes To Debate Health Care Reform Bill

A Nobel goal, but Obama unlikely to broker Holy Land peace - Salt Lake Tribune

A Nobel goal, but Obama unlikely to broker Holy Land peace

A Nobel goal, but Obama unlikely to broker Holy Land peace - Salt Lake Tribune

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By Matthew D. LaPlante

The Salt Lake Tribune

Updated: 10/18/2009 10:36:32 PM MDT

As he spoke of his surprise award in the White House Rose Garden, President Barack Obama called the Nobel Peace Prize "a call for all nations to confront the common challenges of the 21st century."

But of the scores of ongoing conflicts in the world, Obama zeroed in on one as essential to the cause of peace. He pledged "an unwavering commitment that finally realizes the rights of all Israelis and Palestinians to live in peace and security in nations of their own."

If Obama wishes his presidency to vindicate the Nobel committee's controversial decision, he must press for a solution in the Middle East, several experts on the region agree. But, they add, if the award is to be "earned" in the eyes of history, Obama will have to find successes elsewhere as well -- because the present circumstances in Israel and its occupied territories are simply not conducive to historic accords.

--

Worthy successes, future challenges » From the perspective of international relations professor Michael Stathis, Obama doesn't have to do anything further to prove his worthiness of the Nobel Prize.

By the end of President George Bush's eight years in office, the United States had little standing in the world to take a leadership role in peacemaking, said Stathis, who lectures at Southern Utah University. Obama's election changed everything, he said.

A Nobel goal, but Obama unlikely to broker Holy Land peace - Salt Lake Tribune

Allison Kilkenny: House Representatives Vote No on Women's Rights, Yes on War

Allison Kilkenny: House Representatives Vote No on Women's Rights, Yes on War 

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House Representatives Vote No on Women's Rights, Yes on War

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The House voted yesterday and the anti-women's health Stupak amendment passed 240 to 194, with one member voting present.

Sixty four Democrats voted yes on the Stupak amendment, which effectively bans insurance companies from selling insurance plans that cover elective abortion on the individual and small group market.

Firedoglake calls this "one of the most far reaching national [restrictions] placed on abortion in decades. It could also [potentially] be used by insurance companies to allow them to legally discriminate against low income Americans."

Many of the Democrats who voted in favor of the Stupak amendment will surely boast they did so because they are the sentinels of human life. Of course, these Democrats are only concerned with protecting certain types of life.

In preparation for such pharisaic claims, I compared the list of 64 Democrats with the roll call for HJ Res 114, the bill that authorized the United States Armed Forces to invade Iraq.

Nineteen of the Democrats who voted for the Stupak amendment also authorized the United States to invade Iraq (one representative, Ortiz, chose not to vote, which in a time of war, is just as bad as voting "aye.")

The so-called Democratic representatives that voted in favor of the Iraq invasion and for the Stupak amendment are: Robert Berry (AR), Mike Ross (AR), Sanford Bishop (GA), Baron Hill (IN), Stephen Lynch (MA), Collin Peterson (MN), Gene Taylor (MS), Ike Skelton (MO), Bob Etheridge (NC), Mike McIntyre (NC), Earl Pomeroy (ND), Paul Kanjorski (PA), John Murtha (PA), Tim Holden (PA), John Spratt (SC), John Tanner (TN), Jim Matheson (UT), Bart Gordon (TN) (voted "aye" on Stupak and "nay" on final bill) and Solomon Ortiz (TX) (didn't vote in Iraq authorization roll call).

All of these representatives are male, and with the exception of Sanford Bishop and Solomon Ortiz, they're white, and ten are from Southern states. None of them are poor. This is the kind of unrepresentative, elite club that gets to vote on sending our soldiers to possibly die after killing many innocent people in distance lands, and this Rich Boys' Club also occasionally votes to steal rights from poor women.

Allison Kilkenny: House Representatives Vote No on Women's Rights, Yes on War

House Health Care Vote: Breaking Updates

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House Health Care Vote: Breaking Updates 

House Health Care Vote: Breaking Updates

 

The Huffington Post   |  Ryan Grim, Sam Stein, Lila Shapiro, & Nico Pitney
First Posted: 11- 7-09 09:44 AM   |   Updated: 11- 8-09 02:52 AM

After months of debate, the House of Representatives passed historic health care reform legislation late on Saturday evening. Read the overview AP coverage HERE, and follow Twitter reaction HERE.

In a victory for President Barack Obama, the Democratic-controlled House narrowly passed landmark health care legislation Saturday night to expand coverage to tens of millions who lack it and place tough new restrictions on the insurance industry. Republican opposition was nearly unanimous.

The 220-215 vote (click here to see how each member voted) cleared the way for the Senate to begin a long-delayed debate on the issue that has come to overshadow all others in Congress.

A triumphant Speaker Nancy Pelosi likened the legislation to the passage of Social Security in 1935 and Medicare 30 years later. "Oh, what a night!" she proclaimed at the beginning of a press conference held after the vote. Obama issued a statement saying, "I look forward to signing it into law by the end of the year."

"It provides coverage for 96 percent of Americans. It offers everyone, regardless of health or income, the peace of mind that comes from knowing they will have access to affordable health care when they need it," said Rep. John Dingell, the 83-year-old Michigan lawmaker who has introduced national health insurance in every Congress since succeeding his father in 1955.

In the run-up to a final vote, conservatives from the two political parties joined forces to impose tough new restrictions on abortion coverage in insurance policies to be sold to many individuals and small groups. They prevailed on a roll call of 240-194.

Ironically, that only solidified support for the legislation, clearing the way for conservative Democrats to vote for it.

The legislation would require most Americans to carry insurance and provide federal subsidies to those who otherwise could not afford it. Large companies would have to offer coverage to their employees. Both consumers and companies would be slapped with penalties if they defied the government's mandates

Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/07/house-health-care-vote-br_n_349468.html?igoogle=1&cp

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The Huffington Post   |  Ryan Grim, Sam Stein, Lila Shapiro, & Nico Pitney
First Posted: 11- 7-09 09:44 AM   |   Updated: 11- 8-09 02:52 AM

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House Health Care Vote: Breaking Updates

Health Care Saturday: Obama To Rally Dems Before Historic Vote | TPMDC

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Health Care Saturday: Obama To Rally Dems Before Historic Vote

Christina Bellantoni | November 7, 2009, 10:22AM

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Democratic leadership is saying this morning they are confident they have the 218 votes needed to pass the sweeping House health care, public option included.
Just in case, President Obama will make his way to Capitol Hill to speak with the Democratic House caucus at 11:25 this morning. Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her leadership team will meet the press around noon.
Then things will get exciting as they start debating in a rare weekend session billed as health care Saturday.
If you want to see the sausage being made, tune into C-Span today, and for an explainer, keep reading.
Lawmakers worked into the night setting the rule that lays out the framework for today's debate.
A sticking point was abortion and whether lawmakers will be allowed to vote on an amendment offered by pro-life Democrats.
The Rules Committee will allow a vote on that amendment, supported by the religious and pro-life groups, and with Republican support it's likely to pass. (For more on that, read this.)
Here's about how the day will work. This morning Democrats and Republicans will start by debating the rule they wrote late last night. (To really get technical, read the rule here.)
Many of the arguments for and against the rule will be the same as those for and against the health care plan, but the rule debate is only step one.
In nearly all cases, it will be a party-line vote to approve the rule.
Once that's done, general debate on the 1,900-page bill will last about four hours. Next up will be the abortion amendment, and then Republicans will have an hour to present and debate their substitute bill. (For more on that, read this.)
After that, they will vote on the Republican option, some procedural details and, finally, the House Democrats' health care bill. If it passes, it will indeed be historic - the farthest health care reform has ever made it through Congress (though there will still be a long way to go before it's law).
There are Democrats who are will vote against the bill, several have already announced their opposition.
There's always a chance something will go wrong, votes will slip away or Republicans will succeed in efforts to kill the bill with parliamentary tactics. But sources tell TPMDC that sort of delay is unlikely.
In another sign they will make it happen today, Obama plans to make a statement in the White House Rose Garden at 2:30 before heading to Camp David for the night.

Health Care Saturday: Obama To Rally Dems Before Historic Vote

Christina Bellantoni | November 7, 2009, 10:22AM

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Health Care Saturday: Obama To Rally Dems Before Historic Vote | TPMDC

Yes, I disliked George W. Bush with a passion but …

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Is there a difference between wanting Congress to impeach a man who lied us into a war that resulted in the death of 4346 American men and women and people wanting a president to die because of right wing rumors? Well of course there is.

Pastor Steve Anderson
I disliked George W. Bush. I thought his cowboy attitude was bad for America and our status on the world stage. But I never wished him harm. Things have changed – dramatically! A so-called pastor in Arizona, Steve Anderson recently said, “I don’t want him [Obama]
to be a martyr, we don’t need another holiday. I’d like to see him die, like Ted Kennedy, of brain cancer.”
Now before I go any further, it might help to know that I consider myself a Christian, and as a Christian, I was taught that God hates no one and doesn’t want us to hate anyone either. I do hold people in disdain, I do dislike people, but hatred is such a vitriolic emotion that it will eat you up on the inside if you embrace it long enough. Which makes me wonder how a so-called man of the cloth could say that God hates someone. Once again, Steve Anderson is behind the rhetoric. In a sermon he actually titled, “Why I Hate Barack Obama“, Anderson said, “God Hates Barack Obama, I hate Barack Obama. I hate Him. God wants me to Hate Barack Obama.”
I have to hold people like Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh responsible for the
up tick in the public malevolence against President Obama. With Beck saying Obama hates white people and Limbaugh stoking the fires, we are heading toward trouble with extremist that could erupt in several versions of Tim McVeigh and Terry Nichols. Many of these people are already on the fringe of society and just need a little shove to go on a killing spree.

William Kostric
For all the turgidity from the right wing over protecting our country from terrorism, they don’t seem to mind agitating terrorist of the homegrown variety. We have people like William Kostric showing up outside town halls attended by President Obama carrying weapons and claiming 2nd amendment rights to do so. While I don’t have any problem with gun ownership, I do think gun owners need to show responsibility and prudence. The first amendment gives us freedom of speech, but it doesn’t give us the right to yell “fire” in a crowded theater – unless there really is a fire.
When the Department of Homeland Security was created in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, Conservatives lauded the new department. My how times have changed. When DHS released a report back in April entitled, “Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment” these same Conservatives were aghast that the department would issue such a warning.
They shouldn’t have been surprised. The last time the Republicans were swept out of office the radical right showered us with events like Ruby Ridge, the Branch Davidians, and the Oklahoma City bombing. What’s wrong with being prepared? Perhaps Condi Rice shouldn’t have dismissed the warning about bin Laden determined to attack the US using high-jacked airliners.

Limbaugh and Beck
The color of Obama’s skin, while not behind all of the rhetoric, does raise the stakes even more. In addition to people being frightened by things like Sarah Palin talking about Death Panels – she even took her grandiloquence to Hong Kong – we also have racists disturbed about a black man being president. Perhaps Obama is right and most of the tea-baggers are simply opposed to his policies, but Jimmy Carter has valid points too. There are racists. To deny this fact is ludicrous. The election of Barack Obama was historic and a huge step toward ending racism in this country, but because of people like Limbaugh and Beck, we may actually be taking two huge steps backward.
I don’t hate anyone, but if anyone wants my respect, they have to show compassion and a willingness to accept change that might actually be good for the country instead of the antipole.

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