Senators Jim Webb and Mark Warner are the two centrist Democratic senators of Virginia and their silence on the public option reflects it even though the majority of Virginia voters disapprove of such silence.  The disapproval ratings for Sens. Webb and Warner’s handling of health care is 52 and50 percent respectively according to a new poll conducted by Research 2000.

Virginia voters were asked the following:  

QUESTION: Would you favor or oppose the national government offering everyone the choice of buying into a government administered health insurance plan — something like the Medicare coverage that people 65 and older get — that would compete with private health insurance plans?

A whopping 61 percent of all Virginia voters want a public option in the health care reform bill.  Yet Sen. Mark Warner and Sen. Jim Webb have not given their support for the measure even though the approval rating for the public option is higher than the job approval rating of both Webb and Warner.  So one would think that it would be a no brainer for these two Virginia senators to push for the public option.  Not so much.  My question is WHY???  Please call or email Senators Warner and Webb  and ask them why they are not pushing for the public option when the majority of the Virginia voters want it.  Please be sure to press them to support including the public option in health reform through reconciliation.  If you see our post here you will notice that the two Virginia Senators have not voiced their position.

Senator Jim Webb:                       Phone: 202-224-4024      Toll Free Number:    1-866-507-1570   Email

Senator Mark Warner:                Phone: 202-224-2023       Toll Free Number:    1-877-676-2759   Email

This is to whom presidential candidate  and now senate candidate John McCain was willing to entrust our country:

Palin had “substantial deficiencies,” the authors report, and her “grasp of rudimentary facts and concepts was minimal.” Those deficiencies became apparent on Sept. 10, when she was getting ready to fly back to Alaska to see her son, Track, depart for Iraq, the authors report. She was also preparing for her interview with ABC’s Charlie Gibson.

“Asked who attacked America on 9/11, she suggested several times that it was Saddam Hussein. Asked to identify the enemy that her son would be fighting in Iraq, she drew a blank. (Palin’s horrified advisers provided her with scripted replies, which she memorized.) Later, on the plane, Palin said to her team, ‘I wish I’d paid more attention to this stuff.” 

From the book  Game Change

When McCain was asked about Sarah Palin’s deficiencies and about his vetting process he answered that he doesn’t know anything about his vice presidential vetting process nor does he care. 

Hmmmm…America definitely dodged a bullet in November 2008.  Arizona has another opportunity to do so in 2010.

So whenever you hear a Republican politician or tea partier say that the stimulus failed point them to this article where conservative think tank AEI admitted that the stimulus boosted the economy by 4%.

The real economy also responded to the massive stimulus but remained heavily dependent on it. In the United States, growth during the second half of 2009 probably averaged about 3 percent. Absent temporary fiscal stimulus and inventory rebuilding, which taken together added about 4 percentage points to U.S. growth, the economy would have contracted at about a 1 percent annual rate during the second half of 2009.

President Obama released a six page report  laying out the missteps and blunders that resulted in the Christmas bomber being allowed to board a plane to the United States with explosive material taped to his underwear.  We would like to applaud the administration for releasing this information so quickly and providing the type of information that the previous administration would have required a subpoena to release.  Kudos Mr. President. 

As for the mistakes that were made, we think its important to take a closer look at those who are making them.  As demonstrated by the Dick Cheney, the tea party, Pete Hoekstra , Rush Limbaugh, Limbaugh’s  ilk, etc., there are people who want you to fail Mr. President.  Just make sure those people are not in the intelligence agencies.

Remarks by the President on Strengthening Intelligence and Aviation Security

State Dining Room

4:34 P.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT:  Good afternoon, everybody.  The immediate reviews that I ordered after the failed Christmas terrorist attack are now complete.  I was just briefed on the findings and recommendations for reform, and I believe it’s important that the American people understand the new steps that we’re taking to prevent attacks and keep our country safe. 

This afternoon, my Counterterrorism and Homeland Security Advisor, John Brennan, will discuss his review into our terrorist watchlist system — how our government failed to connect the dots in a way that would have prevented a known terrorist from boarding a plane for America, and the steps we’re going to take to prevent that from happening again.

Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano will discuss her review of aviation screening, technology and procedures —- how that terrorist boarded a plane with explosives that could have killed nearly 300 innocent people, and how we’ll strengthen aviation security going forward.

So today I want to just briefly summarize their conclusions and the steps that I’ve ordered to address them.

In our ever-changing world, America’s first line of defense is timely, accurate intelligence that is shared, integrated, analyzed, and acted upon quickly and effectively.  That’s what the intelligence reforms after the 9/11 attacks largely achieved. That’s what our intelligence community does every day.  But, unfortunately, that’s not what happened in the lead-up to Christmas Day.  It’s now clear that shortcomings occurred in three broad and compounding ways. 

First, although our intelligence community had learned a great deal about the al Qaeda affiliate in Yemen — called al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula — that we knew that they sought to strike the United States and that they were recruiting operatives to do so — the intelligence community did not aggressively follow up on and prioritize particular streams of intelligence related Read the rest of this entry »

In his final words to Teddy Kennedy, Sen. John Kerry said it best in his memoriam: “sail on my friend, sail on.”

Today is the funeral of Ted Kennedy and as I listen to the television where various politicians and dignitaries give their accounts of how he touched their lives, I realize the extent of the battles that Kennedy fought and the kindness he gave not because it was his job or because he expected something in return but because of his humanity and great sense of obligation.  He was motivated by those less fortunate than himself.  Ted Kennedy displayed an insatiable desire to help those in need and make their life a little bit better than it was before he came around.

Primarily due to the overwhelming success of its patriarch Joseph Kennedy Sr., the Kennedy family lives a life of privilege. The children never want for anything. However, the Kennedys have never been accused of feeling entitled.  A Kennedy is more often credited with exhibiting the depth of empathy and compassion that a person might have who grew up with nothing and who survived only because of the kindness and generosity of others.  Ted Kennedy was no exception to this rule.

Having lived in Washington, DC for almost ten years now, I have an idea of how too many politicians and those connected to them work. What can you do for me mentality.  Ted Kennedy was a different kind of politician. Senator Kennedy was a public servant.  Many of his colleagues have recalled that Ted Kennedy’s first question to someone he perceived in need was how can I help? If someone needed help he was willing to give it even though the person was of no use to him politically. Perhaps current and former politicians should take a lesson from the life of the liberal lion of the Senate and ask themselves this: do you want to be remembered as a person consumed with self interest never motivated to help anyone less fortunate than yourself unless you can conceive of that person repaying the favor? Or do you want to be remembered and missed because of your compassion and humanity and the contributions you made not only to your family and friends but to mankind? What is that cause bigger than yourself? I bet you have never heard of a single person saying on his or her death bed, boy I wish I had gotten that corporation one more tax break or increased its profits by one more billion. 

One final thought for our former, current, and future political leaders. You are not entitled to your position or current economic situation any more than a homeless person on the street is entitled. Remember that your current success stems in great measure from the grace of those much less fortunate than yourself (voters) and in some cases the grace of someone more fortunate. Therefore, if there is a way that you as politicians, former politicians, and children therefrom can make a difference in the lives of those less fortunate, whether they are those close to you or those not, remember Ted Kennedy and seize the opportunity.

In his own words about his brother Robert F. Kennedy after RFK’s 1968 assassination we believe that Ted Kennedy best describes himself:  Ted Kennedy was “a good and decent man, who saw wrong and tried to right it, who saw suffering and tried to heal it, who saw war and tried to stop it.”  

May he rest in everlasting peace.

Sarah Palin interview on ABC this morning:

But as for whether another pursuit of national office, as she did less than a year ago when she joined Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., in the race for the White House, would result in the same political blood sport, Palin said there is a difference between the White House and what she has experienced in Alaska. If she were in the White House, she said, the “department of law” would protect her from baseless ethical allegations.

“I think on a national level, your department of law there in the White House would look at some of the things that we’ve been charged with and automatically throw them out,” she said.

There is no “Department of Law” at the White House.

Correct, there is no “Department of Law” at the White House.  Perhaps she was planning to use the Department of Justice as her own private law firm similar to the previous occupant of the White House George W. Bush.  Further, regardless of which lawyers Palin is referring to in her statement, wouldn’t baseless litigation in the White House cost tax payers even more money needlessly.  How exactly would the situation in the White House be any different than her current situation in the Alaska governor’s mansion?  Well there is one difference, the Alaska “Department of Law” equivalent in the White House would be referred to as the Office of Legal Counsel or possibly the Department of Justice depending to which she was referring.

Gov. Palin please study up on the three branches of government and how they work before trying to explain to others the names and operations of departments within such branches.  “Department of Law” seriously?!

Spewing the constant hate and incendiary rhetoric may have finally resulted in consequences for right wing conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh.  It is being reported by a listener of  WOSO radio that Limbaugh was recently dropped from the only English speaking AM radio station in Puerto Rico.  Such action was allegedly taken after Limbaugh called President Barack Obama’s Supreme Court nominee Judge Sonia Sotomayor, who is Puerto Rican,  a “racist” and comparing her to David Duke the former head of the Klu Klux Klan.  ProgressPolitics tried to confirm the story with WOSO but could not get a straight answer.  When we asked WOSO if Rush Limbaugh had been dropped we were told “it’s not that simple.”  Lets hope its true. 

Limbaugh along with Ann Coulter and other right wing conservatives have attacked Judge Sotomayor based on comments, taken out of context, that she made during a speech a few years ago.  Of course Limbaugh spews such invective vile only to boost his own ratings and profile.  Lets hope this time it backfired and Limbaugh’s outrageous demogoguery has hit him where it hurts…..in his pocket.  This may be the one instance where he unwittingly did the exact opposite of what he intended which is to rile up his fellow conservatives, shock the main stream media into giving him more publicity thereby increasing his listeners equaling mo money for Mr. Limbaugh.  This time, however, supposedly after receiving many viewer complaints concerning Limbaugh’s comments about the Second Circuit Appelate judge, WOSO radio station was forced to drop Limbaugh from their AM line-up and by AM line-up we mean drop Limbaugh altogether.   Because WOSO refused to confirm or deny the action it may be backtracking.   We also checked the station’s lineup and Limbaugh’s show is still listed.  We can dream.  WOSO is known for its conservative politics and always backs the Republican party here in United States.  Apparently Limbaugh’s ability to control the GOP reaches all the way to a local radio station in San Juan, Puerto Rico. 

For context, Limbaugh’s exact statement about Judge Sotomayor:

“Here you have a racist – you might want to soften that, and you might want to say a reverse racist,” Limbaugh said of that comment.

“And the [liberals] of course say that minorities cannot be racists because they don’t have the power to implement their racism,” he continued. “Well, those days are gone because reverse racists certainly do have the power to implement their power. Obama is the greatest living example of a reverse racist, and now he’s appointed one.”

Really, Rush Limbaugh accusing Judge Sotomayor of racism…..that is rich!  It amazes me that a man who couldn’t manage to graduate college has the temerity to offer a gender/race-based “analysis” of Judge Sotomayor’s qualifications and ability to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States.  As I said….RICH!

Judge Sonia Sotomayor is expected to be confirmed and rightly appointed to the Supreme Court of the United States but it is heartening to see that Limbaugh may be suffering as a result of his ignorant, hateful, and imbecilic words and actions.   We can only hope that in light of the current climate hate radio is nearing the end of its shelf life.

Weekly Address
Saturday, January 24th, 2009

We begin this year and this Administration in the midst of an unprecedented crisis that calls for unprecedented action. Just this week, we saw more people file for unemployment than at any time in the last twenty-six years, and experts agree that if nothing is done, the unemployment rate could reach double digits. Our economy could fall $1 trillion short of its full capacity, which translates into more than $12,000 in lost income for a family of four. And we could lose a generation of potential, as more young Americans are forced to forgo college dreams or the chance to train for the jobs of the future.

In short, if we do not act boldly and swiftly, a bad situation could become dramatically worse.

That is why I have proposed an American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan to immediately jumpstart job creation as well as long-term economic growth. I am pleased to say that both parties in Congress are already hard at work on this plan, and I hope to sign it into law in less than a month.

It’s a plan that will save or create three to four million jobs over the next few years, and one that recognizes both the paradox and the promise of this moment – the fact that there are millions of Americans trying to find work even as, all around the country, there’s so much work to be done. That’s why this is not just a short-term program to boost employment. It’s one that will invest in our most important priorities like energy and education; health care and a new infrastructure that are necessary to keep us strong and competitive in the 21st century.

Today I’d like to talk specifically about the progress we expect to make in each of these areas.

To accelerate the creation of a clean energy economy, we will double our capacity to generate alternative sources of energy like wind, solar, and biofuels over the next three years. We’ll begin to build a new electricity grid that lay down more than 3,000 miles of transmission lines to convey this new energy from coast to coast. We’ll save taxpayers $2 billion a year by making 75% of federal buildings more energy efficient, and save the average working family $350 on their energy bills by weatherizing 2.5 million homes.

To lower health care costs, cut medical errors, and improve care, we’ll computerize the nation’s health records in five years, saving billions of dollars in health care costs and countless lives. And we’ll protect health insurance for more than 8 million Americans who are in danger of losing their coverage during this economic downturn.

To ensure our children can compete and succeed in this new economy, we’ll renovate and modernize 10,000 schools, building state-of-the-art classrooms, libraries, and labs to improve learning for over five million students. We’ll invest more in Pell Grants to make college affordable for seven million more students, provide a $2,500 college tax credit to four million students, and triple the number of fellowships in science to help spur the next generation of innovation.

Finally, we will rebuild and retrofit America to meet the demands of the 21st century. That means repairing and modernizing thousands of miles of America’s roadways and providing new mass transit options for millions of Americans. It means protecting America by securing 90 major ports and creating a better communications network for local law enforcement and public safety officials in the event of an emergency. And it means expanding broadband access to millions of Americans, so businesses can compete on a level-playing field, wherever they’re located.

I know that some are skeptical about the size and scale of this recovery plan. I understand that skepticism, which is why this recovery plan must and will include unprecedented measures that will allow the American people to hold my Administration accountable for these results. We won’t just throw money at our problems – we’ll invest in what works. Instead of politicians doling out money behind a veil of secrecy, decisions about where we invest will be made public, and informed by independent experts whenever possible. We will launch an unprecedented effort to root out waste, inefficiency, and unnecessary spending in our government, and every American will be able to see how and where we spend taxpayer dollars by going to a new website called recovery.gov.

No one policy or program will solve the challenges we face right now, nor will this crisis recede in a short period of time. But if we act now and act boldly; if we start rewarding hard work and responsibility once more; if we act as citizens and not partisans and begin again the work of remaking America, then I have faith that we will emerge from this trying time even stronger and more prosperous than we were before. Thanks for listening.   LISTEN TO AUDIO HERE

THE WHITE HOUSE, January 23, 2009.

I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.

Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.

But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. So we have come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.

In a sense we have come to our nation’s capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked “insufficient funds.” But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check — a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quick sands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God’s children.

It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro’s legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. Those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.

But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.

We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. They have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone.

As we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, “When will you be satisfied?” We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied, as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro’s basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their selfhood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating “For Whites Only”. We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.

Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair.

I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.”

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; one day right there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.

This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

This will be the day when all of God’s children will be able to sing with a new meaning, “My country, ’tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim’s pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring.”

And if America is to be a great nation this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania!

Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado!

Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California!

But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia!

Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee!

Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

And when this happens, when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, “Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!”

Economic Town Hall with Senator Joe Biden 

DATE: Today, Tuesday September 23

TIME: Doors Open at 10:45 a.m.
Event starts at 12:00 p.m. 

LOCATION:

Veterans Park

14300 Featherstone Road
Woodbridge, VA 22191
Multipurpose Room 1
Seating is limited and you must RSVP to
703-725-3755 or email SSternberg@vaobamaforchange.com

Joe Biden in Washington DC

Washington DC
Hilton Washington
5:00 pm (EDT)

Sen. Ted Kennedy has been diagnosed with brain cancer.  The the 76-year-old Massachusetts Senator has been diagnosed with a malignant glioma in his left parietal lobe, “a brain region that governs sensation but also plays some role in movement and language.”  This cancer strikes 9,000 Americans each year.  Survival rates range from one to five years.  Physicians are running additional test to determine the best course of treatment.  Though this appears to be an uphill battle to most, Sen. Kennedy has fought many uphill battles and if anyone can beat the odds he can.  There are many who have beat those odds.  We believe that the Sen. Kennedy will be one of those people.  Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family Sen. Kennedy as you face this challenge and we know that you will come through it using the same fight that you have used throughout your 45 years in office.  That cancer does not know who it is dealing with.  Godspeed Sir. 

Barack Obama wins Illinois and Georgia.  Clinton wins in Oklahoma and Tennessee.  The results are still rolling in.  The states where the democratic race are to close to call are Connecticut, New Jersey, and Alabama. 

Moveon.org just endorsed Barack Obama for president.  MoveOn is a very powerful nonprofit organization whose sole focus is to bring voters back to the political process.  They are very involved in the get out the vote efforts for most campaigns.    MoveOn also continues to engage in its campaign to reform the media and other work aimed at bringing real people back into the democratic process by making sure legislators hear their voices. The organization has about 3.2 million members across America.  This is a HUGE get for Obama!!!  Especially going into Super Tuesday.  Obama also received the endorsement of the Service International Union in California.  It looks like the momentum continues for the Senator of Illinois. 

George Clooney is speaking to the U.N. today regarding the continued crisis in Darfur.   Mr. Clooney appears as a UN designated messenger of peace from Darfur.  The actor has just returned from a technical assessment mission of the current situation in the Darfur region.  Mr. Clooney, along with fellow actor Don Cheadle, has been very involved in educating people about the devastation occurring in the region.

Expect your refund checks in the mail.  Many believe that this may be too little too late.  However, I wonder if the government expects many of us to spend the refund check long before we receive it in the mail. Therefore, the effect of the Stimulus Package will be felt immediately or at least much sooner than the media is predicting.  The bill is now expected to go the Senate for it’s approval tomorrow.  The Senate has hinted that it may have issues with the current version of the bill.