Universal Health Care Action

Go to Congressman John Conyers' site and sign on as a citizen co-sponsor for single-payer universal health care--the only true form of universal health care. You can also share any horror stories from your personal experience with the private system of health care in the United States. Please help demand government support for non-private based health care.

http://www.johnconyers.com/healthcare

Scahill On Obama: Change looks the Same

"U.S. policy is not about one individual, and no matter how much faith people place in President-elect Barack Obama, the policies he enacts will be fruit of a tree with many roots.... But the best immediate indicator of what an Obama administration might look like can be found in the people he surrounds himself with and who he appoints to his Cabinet. And, frankly, when it comes to foreign policy, it is not looking good." (Jeremy Scahill, "This Is Change? 20 Hawks, Clintonites and Neocons to Watch for in Obama's White House")

If I wait long enough, Jeremy Scahill will write down my thoughts better than I can. Scahill provided readers today with a vast guide to foreign policy advisers of the Obama transition team and administration. He makes a damning case that Obama is currently leading us down the same foreign policy path we've been on for the past 2 administrations.

I especially like his critique of the mainstream press coverage of Hillary Clinton:

"For all the buzz and speculation about the possibility that Sen. Clinton may be named Secretary of State, most media coverage has focused on her rivalry with Obama during the primary, along with the prospect of her husband having to face the intense personal, financial and political vetting process required to secure a job in the new administration. But the question of how Clinton would lead the operations at Foggy Bottom calls for scrutiny of her positions vis-a-vis Obama's stated foreign-policy goals."

And I never thought I would be imressed with Maureen Dowd until today. She used the New York Times to criticize Obama for considering Hillary Clinton for Secretary of State.

"The man who vowed to deliver us from 28 years of Bushes and Clintons has been stocking up on Clintonites," New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd recently wrote. "How, one may ask, can he put Hillary -- who voted to authorize the Iraq war without even reading the intelligence assessment -- in charge of patching up a foreign policy and a world riven by that war?"

Progressives wake up. The honeymoon is over. Obama needs to be pushed in the right direction.

photo from yumpickles

Truthout

I discovered truthout.org today, a news site superior to almost any I've found on the internet to date. Their articles are thorough, well researched, and insightful. They cut out all the partisan bullshit and deliver the facts void of think-tank talking points. They also feature hard hitting news stories from various sources from around the media world. I'm an avid user of NewsTrust, a social networking site dedicated to filtering out the good journalism from the bad, and truthout articles have often been featured with good to excellent ratings. I highly recommend subscribing to their RSS feed.

Thomas Friedman Resigns!

Thomas Friedman Resigns From the New York Times!

"But to have been so completely and fundamentally wrong about so huge a disaster as what we have done to Iraq — and ourselves — is outrageous enough to prove that people like me have no business posing as wise men, and, more importantly, that The New York Times has no business continuing to provide me with a national platform."

This didn't really happen. The Yes Men, my favorite political practical joke squad, handed out free New York Times parodies in New York City yesterday, and created this faux NY Times website to match. The Friedman article was my favorite. If only it were true.....

Reason 500 to fear and loath Obama's appointment of Rahm Emanuel

Today Democracy Now reported that in an interview with the Israeli daily Ma’ariv, Benjamin Emanuel, father of Rahm, said, "Obviously, he’ll influence the president to be pro-Israel. Why wouldn’t he? What is he, an Arab? He’s not going to be mopping floors at the White House."

He sounds like the anti-Arab version of Mel Gibson's anti-Semitic father. Maybe sometime soon Rahm will get real drunk and go on a belligerent rampage through the Whitehouse maintenance staff quarters, cursing and verbally abusing the staff with accusations of plans to take over the country through a vast conspiracy of a united Arab janitorial staff. That may be the only hope for getting rid of the jerk.

For more info as to why I fear and loath Obama's appointment of Rahm, see the links below:

Is Obama Screwing His Base with Rahm Emanuel Selection?

Emanuel's War Plan for Democrats

The Enforcer: Rep. Rahm Emanuel is leading the Democratic charge to retake the House next year. Will his old-school combativeness rub off on his more timid colleagues?

The Brothers Emanuel

Image above from Wonkette.com