Sen. Edward Kennedy, 77, Has Died of Brain Cancer
From ABC News:
The man known as the “liberal lion of the Senate” had fought a more than year-long battle with brain cancer, and according to his son had lived longer with the disease than his doctors expected him to.
“We’ve lost the irreplaceable center of our family and joyous light in our lives, but the inspiration of his faith, optimism, and perseverance will live on in our hearts forever,” the Kennedy family said in a statement. “He loved this country and devoted his life to serving it.”
Sen. Edward Moore Kennedy, the youngest Kennedy brother who was left to head the family’s political dynasty after his brothers President John F. Kennedy and Sen. Robert F. Kennedy were assassinated.
Kennedy championed health care reform, working wages and equal rights in his storied career. In August, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom — the nation’s highest civilian honor — by President Obama. His daughter, Kara Kennedy, accepted the award on his behalf.
Small, Mobile Interrogation Teams To Interrogate High-Value Suspects
Spencer Ackerman is cautiously optimistic about the details emerging on the interrogation teams that a task force within the Obama administration has been putting together. Ackerman was the first journalist to report the administration’s plans for these teams, which are being publicly revealed in a report due out today. Anne Kornblut of the Washington Post has the announcement, which Spence summarizes for us:
With Democrats Like These, Redux
Upon reading his latest public statement on health reform legislation, it seems all-too-apparent that co-op-luvvin’ DINO Sen. Kent Conrad, one of 6 senators inexplicably tasked with determining the fate of US health insurance, has officially lost the plot, as publius notes:
When law students learn about murder, they learn that you generally need to kill knowingly — that is, the prosecution must show that the defendant actually intended to kill the victim.
In some cases, however, a defendant can be so utterly reckless that he is assumed to have knowledge. For instance, if I drive drunk really fast down a crowded street, I might not have knowingly tried to kill someone. But because I was so knowingly reckless — so oblivious to the obvious risks — I could still be charged.
That’s basically what Conrad is doing. If he’s not knowingly trying to kill reform, he’s acting with such an extreme recklessness that we might as well assume that he is.
Really hope someone opens up a can of primary whoop-ass on Conrad. The tiresome Lieberman 2.0 “centrist” posturing has gone too far this time. There must be consequences for blatantly pulling a hit on the public option at the apparent behest of his loyal patrons in the health insurance lobby (and, perhaps, the White House).
Some things are more important than Pollyannishly striving to achieve a hollow bipartisan consensus for its own sake (that leaden thud you heard was David Broder’s wrinkled carcass hitting a real American’s kitchen floor. Don’t worry, he’ll be fine. He has great health insurance.)
Paul Krugman on Progressive Anger
We get a bonus Paul Krugman column today, because he is subbing for David Brooks, and it’s a must-read. Krugman is “shocked and surprised” that Pres. Obama is “shocked and surprised” by the growing reports of progressive anger with Obama on health care reform.
Free Speech Tears Are Only for CEOs, Not Employees
Another point I’ve been thinking about regarding the Whole Foods boycott is the double standard of defending CEO John Mackey on the grounds that a boycott chills free speech while saying nothing of the numerous employees who have been fired over the years for speaking on line.
CNN posts an interesting story today regarding bloggers who have been fired after their identities have been revealed.
I haven’t seen anything from the righties defending Mackey applying the same standards to corporate speech firings of employees, corporate advertising boycotts against liberal media shows or even the rightwing boycott of the Dixie Chicks, for that matter.
Healthcare by the Numbers
For those who haven’t seen it yet, this report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation & Development (OECD) provides some insightful facts and figures regarding our healthcare system when compared to other OECD countries.
For example, we spend 16% of our GDP on healthcare – number that greatly exceeds any other OECD country. The UK, for example, spends only 8.4%.
Willya Wontcha, Do You Dontcha, Really, Really Want tp Work With Us?
It sounded a lot better when Bonnie Raitt sang it, but it’s still the catchiest tune in D.C. these days.
The general public appears to be saying, Screw health care reform without a public option.
Steven Pearlstein says, Screw the general public. (Actually, he didn’t really say that — he said the Democrats should give up on the public option.)
Finally, check out this video at Crooks and Liars of Chris Matthews interviewing Anthony Weiner. Then scroll down to Susie Madrak’s commentary (emphasis is in original):
Now, you notice anything there? Tweety thinks the Republicans aren’t at war with the Democrats! How much worse does he think it’s going to get? Arlen Specter told us at Netroots Nation that the Republican caucus decided – before the inauguration – that they wouldn’t support any stimulus bill at all in order to break Obama.
Iran: The Plight of the Protesters
TPM has up a Reuters story on allegations being made by Mousavi and Karoubi (second and fourth, respectively, in the recent, tainted Presidential election) that protesters have been raped, tortured and murdered.
So not only should the international community condemn the mass arrests and kagaroo courts, but we also need to demand a legitimate investigation into these allegations.
Holding Firm on the Public Option
On Memeorandum right now, there is an avalanche of commentary about the White House’s signaling that it’s ready to cave on the public option. Because there is so much progblog analysis, and because there are so many distinct issues involved with this legislation, I’ve decided to organize the progblog analysis by the talking points.
Legalize It!
In The Washington Post, Two former Baltimore police officers set forth their argument for the legalization of drugs. You should read the whole thing, but here are a couple of ‘graphs to give you a taste of an argument I find persuasive:
Cities and states license beer and tobacco sellers to control where, when and to whom drugs are sold. Ending Prohibition saved lives because it took gangsters out of the game. Regulated alcohol doesn’t work perfectly, but it works well enough. Prescription drugs are regulated, and while there is a huge problem with abuse, at least a system of distribution involving doctors and pharmacists works without violence and high-volume incarceration. Regulating drugs would work similarly: not a cure-all, but a vast improvement on the status quo.
* * * * *
Drug manufacturing and distribution is too dangerous to remain in the hands of unregulated criminals. Drug distribution needs to be the combined responsibility of doctors, the government, and a legal and regulated free market. This simple step would quickly eliminate the greatest threat of violence: street-corner drug dealing.
The Matthew Shepards of Iraq
Apparently, the New Saddams in Iraq – including the government we helped install and still protect – are massacring gays.
So gays are worse off, women are worse off, and the people are governed by many brutal thugs instead of mainly just one.
It’s just one, big sick joke.
Also, how much coverage do you think this will get from the Righty bloggers? Their interest in human rights in Iraq ended with the overthrow of Saddam.
Note to Rasmussen: There IS No Health Care Reform Bill
So Rasmussen asks “1,000 likely voters” this question: “Which would be better… passage of the bill working its way through Congress or no health care reform passed by Congress this year?” and gets the following response:
35% Passage of the bill working its way through Congress
54% No healthcare reform passed by Congress this year
11% Not sure
One problem: There IS no health care reform bill currently working its way through Congress.
What Outer Wingnuttia Calls “Moderation” (or What Us Godless Liberals Call “Dumbassery”)
by matttbastard
Shorter Jason Arvak: Supporters of health reform have no moral authority to dismiss wild-eyed ‘death panel’ smears because the New York Times (THE NEW YORK TIMES, MAN!) has, in the past, published op-eds by utilitarian philosopher Peter Singer.
BUH?!
Ok, ever hear of prison hooch? Get a garbage bag, fill it with fruit and sugar, add water, seal and let fester in darkness for a few days and presto! A blindingly foul brew that will take the paint off a tractor.
Anyway, quickly down about a fifth of that and maybe, just maybe, Arvak’s logic-free contentions might then begin to make sense.
No promises, though.
‘Shorter’ concept created by Daniel Davies and perfected by Elton Beard.
The Birth of the “Death Panels”
Those noxious lies about “death panels” being part of Democrats’ health care reform legislation proposals — where do they come from?
Boycott Whole Foods?
John Mackey, the CEO of Whole Foods, right an op-ed trashing healthcare reform to the ire of progressives. As ABC Reports, many progressives are now considering whether they should continue spending their money at a business being run by someone openly hostile to a key progressive political cause. [UPDATE: Daily Kos has more on a progressive boycott of Whole Foods].
In principle, I don’t believe there should be economic boycots based on political speech that doesn’t rise to the level of hate speech or the like.
How’s a White Man with a Sign Treated at the McCaskill Town Hall?
Here’s the video:
Clearly, a double standard.
Shame on the police. Shame on those who cheered the criminal act of the man who grabbed and crumpled up the Rosa Parks poster. And … Shame on Senator McCaskill who I saw on TV solely blaming the black woman involved.
The Man for Whom Democracy Is “Moral Weakness”
Former Vice-President Dick Cheney is making the rounds to promote his upcoming memoirs, in which, apparently, he plans to break his rule about not airing policy disagreements in public and tell us how deeply disappointed he is in his erstwhile boss, for — although I have never thought of George W. Bush along these lines — not being sufficiently dismissive of public opinion:
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