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Opponents of health care reform on the Right and in the insurance industry have been employing scare tactics every time they step in front of a microphone and open their mouths. One of the parts of the proposed health care reform legislation they’ve been grossly exaggerating and downright lying about is aimed at both seniors and aging baby-boomers, and that is that the health care reform will force seniors into counseling every 5 years in order to try and convince them that it would be better for society to choose death over life. In other words, the government would be promoting euthanasia.

Part of this inaccurate portrayal of one of the proposed health care bills, was started by anti-health care reform sensationalist Betsy McCaughey, on former presidential candidate Fred Thompson’s radio show when McCaughey claimed that on page 425 “the Congress would make it mandatory … that every five years, people in Medicare have a required counseling session that will tell them how to end their life sooner, how to decline nutrition, how to decline being hydrated, how to go into hospice care … all to do what’s in society’s best interest … and cut your life short.”

Nothing could be farther from the truth, but by quoting page numbers she lends credibility to her claim, this of course is eaten up by Right-Wingers. Then you have actual members of Congress fanning the flames of falsehood and the spread of lies becomes even more viral. House Minority Leader John Boehner warned Americans about the same provision claiming that it "may start us down a treacherous path toward government-encouraged euthanasia if enacted into law."

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Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle are proving they are willing to gamble the well-being of American families for pure politics, and they are drawing the line in the sand over health care.

The Republicans are being blatant about their wish to not change a thing, by their failure to offer any alternative whatsoever to President Obama’s health care plan. Not only do they not have their own plan, they have shown their true political colors by coming right out and saying that this fight would be all about politics and what’s best for Republican incumbent politicians, with absolutely nothing to say about what’s best for the citizens of the United States.

Senator Jim DeMint, R-SC proved that this past week when he made the Republican goals public. "If we're able to stop Obama on this, it will be his Waterloo. It will break him."

If Senator DeMint had said something like, “We don’t agree with President Obama on this point or that point, and feel it would be better if we did this or that.” American’s could feel better about the Republican agenda, and public opinion about the Republican party might not be so severe. Recent polls show the GOP declining so rapidly it's like rats jumping off a sinking ship.

Maybe if the Chairman of the Republican National Committee, Michael Steele, could get beyond pointing out President Obama’s negative points from a conservative’s point of view, and actually tried to find someone in his party that does “do policy” people wouldn’t be able to accuse them of pure obstructionism, and might be less likely to label the GOP as “the Party of No.”

But since John McCain’s defeat in November, the Republican Party as a whole, its leaders in Congress, and in the RNC have been unable to do much more than shake their heads, stomp their feet, and get caught in sex scandals, and none of it has accomplished anything positive for the nation, or been any good for any Americans, except maybe for its comedians.

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Amidst the usual Obama bashing by the Republican Party, on Monday RNC Chairman Michael Steele answered a question, and in doing so summed up why the members of Republican Party are threatening themselves into extinction faster that the global warming they deny is threatening polar bears.

Speaking at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., Steele was asked several times about the Republican Party’s health care policy proposals to stand up against President Obama’s health care plan. He was asked why the GOP hadn’t laid out a plan yet and he stumbled and stuttered his way around a non-answer. When asked if he could name any specific GOP policies, he gave the answer that most people would expect from the top man of the party of “No!”, "Look I don't do policy," he said. "I'm not a legislator. My point in coming here was to establish a tone."

The only “tone” Michael Steele and the Republican Party are establishing, is the fact that they “tone deaf” to the needs of this country, and totally deaf to the wishes of the voters. The only “tones” they seem to be hearing are the same old song and dance from big insurance and the other special interests, who are afraid of any change in the status quo. But that’s only natural because conservatism dictates that they be afraid of and suspicious of even the slightest change.

Big insurance is afraid, not because they will be put out of business by Obama’s plan, because he is not by any means proposing a government run health care system that would put private insurance companies out of business. Health insurance lobbyists are willing to sacrifice the health and well-being of millions of Americans who either have no health insurance, or would lose it if they got really sick, and why? The answer is market share.

In order to avoid a possible drop in market share, they have been spending millions of dollars in lobbying money to prop up the candidacies of any politician who will show even the slightest favor towards stopping health care reform in its tracks just like they did in the 1990’s during the Clinton Administration. Opponents will call it “socialism”, or a “dangerous experiment”, and will try to convince you that we have the greatest health care system in the world, but don’t let them fool you. Sure it’s a great system if you can afford it, but tens of millions of us can’t. Health care costs are destroying families at an alarming rate, and will continue to do so until the system can be changed.

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On Thursday, President Barack Obama gave another landmark speech when he addressed the NAACP, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, at their Centennial Celebration.

It was the first time that I had ever seen our president sound more like a preacher than a politician. Surely it was the fact that he was addressing an audience made up entirely of African-Americans, and it brought out a fiery quality that is reminiscent of the fire and brimstone one finds on a Sunday morning at any church with a predominantly black congregation.

But as always with Barack Obama, the passion and tone of his delivery is just the icing on the cake. His choice of words, his subject matter and his ability to tell a story, teach a lesson, promote his political policies, challenge his listeners’ character and conscience, and then build to a final climax, is the hallmark of his ability to deliver one historical speech after another.

Thursday’s speech was no different. Though in the room he was addressing an African-American audience, and used the history of their struggle from their beginnings in this country as slaves to the prominence in education, business and politics that many African-Americans enjoy today, he spoke to all Americans, of all colors, of all ethnic backgrounds, of all genders, of all sexual orientations, and of all political opinions. He challenged all of us to become involved in the politics of everyday life to become better Americans which in turn would create a more perfect union.

It is up to each of us to accept or deny his challenge as truth or lies, and then act or not in our own ways.

As always, no amount of commentary can do justice to the words of Barack Obama in their entirety. Please click the "Read more" link to view the full transcript of President Obama's latest landmark speech.

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Freedom of expression and liberty is a funny thing, once you get the taste in your mouth it’s a bitter-sweet taste, and you just can’t get rid of it. That’s what’s happened to the Iranian people. They went into this presidential election thinking their vote meant something, and when their millions of votes were disregarded and swatted at like a swarm of pesky mosquitoes they took to the streets after they heard the results of the #iranelection.

When we saw the numbers of protesters and their persistence, many of us knew it would eventually turn to bloodshed, and that’s what has come to pass. Now it is a contest, of the human will and fortitude of the protesters against the government’s willingness to slaughter their own citizens to stay in power.

Dozens have already been killed, and since the foreign press has been expelled and the few that remain have been restrained from reporting anything other than the state controlled news feed, nobody can be sure how many dozens. The images we’re receiving are posted to the internet by courageous and savvy young Iranians who know how to manipulate the internet better than the clerics and the government controlled militias in power. The pictures that have pierced through the net are not pretty.

We saw the same kind of situation unfold in the Tiananmen Square protests in China, twenty years ago, in which the government triumphed after seven weeks of protests. The Chinese Government had absolutely no mercy and it is estimated that they killed over 2,000 protesters and wounded close to 10,000 others.

However there are major differences between the two situations. The Iranian military is by no means as strong and numbered as the Chinese military and it is doubtful that they are as singularly programmed. But perhaps the most significant difference is the religion factor, the influence of Islam. The Chinese had been a society that by the time the eighties had been reached they were a society which had been created with the absence of religion for generations. The Iranians are just the opposite. They are a people who for the last thirty years have been living in a strict Islamic theocracy. The political structure in power is the result of a theocratic revolution that has shaped generations of Iranians to hold true to the tenets of Islam.

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The Republicans, especially presidential loser Senator John McCain have been criticizing presidential winner President Barack Obama’s low-key stance on the massive protests taking place in Iran over the obviously rigged presidential election last week. In doing so no one should be surprised as it is only the Republicans living up to their moniker as “Conservatives”.

Dictionary.com's Number One definition for “conservative” reads as follows:

-adjective

1. disposed to preserve existing conditions, institutions, etc., or to restore traditional ones, and to limit change.

Their leaderless, rudderless stance as the new party of “No” and insignificance, as well as their efforts to outwardly oppose everything President Obama has endorsed or said, have found themselves on the short end of the stick on every issue because of the President’s continuing popularity.

But it’s really no surprise because they are only doing what conservatism tells them they must, they oppose all change, no matter how incremental, or how much they profess to want change.

With Iran, they are staying true to form. John McCain wants President Obama to speak out in support of the opposition movement, even though most experts on the subject of Iran agree that that would only empower the current regime by proving that America still wishes to interfere with Iran’s domestic policies and governance. It was that history of meddling in Iranian politics that sparked the Islamic Revolution in 1979, and the storming of the American Embassy in Tehran.

Conservatives wish to continue the politics of political posturing with little force to back it. That is surely preservation of the existing conditions and the American institution of a three-decade-old hostility towards Iran. When will the Republicans learn that being the earth’s chief bully is not always the best political or diplomatic path to follow?

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This post was published on Suntimes.com on June 16, 2009. To view the post there, click here.

As expected Rhode Island Governor Don Carcieri vetoed legislation that would have allowed dispensaries to sell medical marijuana to the state's approximately 600 registered medical patients permitted by the state to possess up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana and up to 12 cannabis plants.

The bill was passed by the state’s lawmakers a few weeks ago and had been sent to the Governor’s office for signing into law. In a written statement, Republican Governor Carcieri said that permitting the manufacture and sale of drugs illegal under federal law would send the wrong message to children about use.

The bill’s sponsor State Representative Thomas Slater said that though the exact date has not yet been set, the House and Senate leaders have promised to hold a veto override vote.

The absurdity of Governor Carcieri’s statement sends another wrong message to the children of the more than 6oo registered medical marijuana patients and any other man women or child who has ever suffered a severe illness. In essence he is stating that although the State of Rhode Island recognizes that marijuana can help them stave off the suffering, the state refuses to provide them safe access to their medicine. Governor Carcieri is telling the citizens of all ages in the State of Rhode Island that it is okay to purchase medicine on the black-market, and that it is okay to support the drug cartels and organized crime.

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Some days the words of one man or woman are so powerful, and so far above any actions or any other words that are uttered on that day, the words alone define that day for the rest of history. Many would disagree for a myriad of reasons, but today, President Barack Hussein Obama defined June 4th as the day he challenged the entire world to peace.

His speech in Cairo, Egypt to a predominantly Muslim audience challenged those present, challenged the followers of Islam throughout the world, challenged the West, challenged Israel, challenged Palestine, Hamas, Iran and Americans alike to leave the stereotypical hate of the past behind, and to form a new coalition of peace, tolerance and prosperity based on mutual respect and goals.

On their own, these are not new challenges, but the manner in which they were delivered, in the setting they were delivered, and the courage with which the words were spoken were historical. President Obama didn't just declare his challenges to those with whom we are normally at odds, but to the American people as well.

As in other speeches, President Obama renewed a recurrent theme that in order to find peace and progress, we needed to focus on our similarities more than our differences, while at the same time respecting each others' rights to those differences.

It is with all the deepest respect to a man with whom I don't always agree, that I present his words in their entirety. Sometimes one man's or woman's words define the day, and today is such a day.

William S. James, Privileged

Speech by President Barack Obama in the Grand Hall of Cairo University on June 4th, 2009

I am honored to be in the timeless city of Cairo, and to be hosted by two remarkable institutions. For over a thousand years, Al-Azhar has stood as a beacon of Islamic learning, and for over a century, Cairo University has been a source of Egypt's advancement. Together, you represent the harmony between tradition and progress. I am grateful for your hospitality, and the hospitality of the people of Egypt. I am also proud to carry with me the goodwill of the American people, and a greeting of peace from Muslim communities in my country: assalaamu alaykum.

We meet at a time of tension between the United States and Muslims around the world — tension rooted in historical forces that go beyond any current policy debate. The relationship between Islam and the West includes centuries of co-existence and cooperation, but also conflict and religious wars. More recently, tension has been fed by colonialism that denied rights and opportunities to many Muslims, and a Cold War in which Muslim-majority countries were too often treated as proxies without regard to their own aspirations. Moreover, the sweeping change brought by modernity and globalization led many Muslims to view the West as hostile to the traditions of Islam.

Violent extremists have exploited these tensions in a small but potent minority of Muslims. The attacks of September 11th, 2001 and the continued efforts of these extremists to engage in violence against civilians has led some in my country to view Islam as inevitably hostile not only to America and Western countries, but also to human rights. This has bred more fear and mistrust.

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Today, proponents of equality, liberty and individual freedom have a small reason to celebrate, as New Hampshire becomes the sixth state out of fifty to legalize same-sex marriage.

It is a small step because it is a struggle for equality that is not embraced by the federal government, or a majority of Americans, and represents ground that must be taken state by state. Representing one of the smallest states in the nation based on its total population of 1.3 million people, New Hampshire ranks 41st, but that’s not what makes this such a small step. We recently witnessed the rise and fall of same-sex marriage in California, the largest state in the nation, go from the joy of triumph, to defeat in the polls, to defeat in court, and then to new found sorrow and back to inequality, within a matter of months.

What should be such an easy decision, granting equal rights in a union recognized as marriage between two loving consenting adults, comes very difficult for those who profess to be inspired by the man who they claim had divine levels of forgiveness.

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On Sunday, the number of doctors who perform late-term-abortions in the United States dropped from three to two, when Dr. George Tiller was shot to death while attending church in Wichita, Kansas.

The irony that the doctor who performed legal, albeit controversial abortions was killed in a church by a man murdering in the name of God is another sign of the danger posed by the Right-Wing media, and the vocal Ultra-Far-Right. The shooter, 51-year-old Scott Roeder is not the first person to attempt to kill the man the conservative movement had labeled “Tiller-the-baby-killer”. Dr. Tiller had previously been shot in both arms, and had seen his clinic bombed and vandalized.

Law enforcement believe that Roeder had some connections to the Montana Freemen, who rejected federal authority, were opposed to the banking system, and believed that killing abortion doctors was justified because of the babies lives that they saved. On the website of the Wichita based anti-abortion activist group Operation Rescue, a person identifying himself as Scott Roeder posted “Tiller is the concentration camp ‘Mengele’ of our day and needs to be stopped before he and those who protect him bring judgment upon our nation.”

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The United States Constitution is arguably one of the greatest instruments of governance ever written, yet more and more our government seems to be intimating that in today’s world, it just doesn’t work.

Our government, through its actions leads us to believe that the Constitution is ineffective against issues such as abortion, the freedom of religion, marriage, street violence, drug use and abuse, vehicles of communication such as the phone, television, radio and the internet, the economy, the banking system, and since the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001, it seems that the Constitution falls way short of fighting terrorism according to the rule of law.

First Bush and Cheney, (or was it really Cheney and Bush?), touted the Patriot Act on the heels of 9/11 and soon thereafter the Bush Administration developed the legal loophole that by keeping terrorists suspects and criminal captives outside of U.S. territory, we could hold them indefinitely without formal charges ever being brought. Then the Reign of Terror went even a step further, and they did all sorts of legal gymnastics to justify the use of terror in their own minds. Based on the documents which have recently been released and the post-administration speech campaign by former Vice President Dick Cheney, their legal gymnastics performance was nowhere near a 10. There were so many holes in the logic applied that the Constitutional judges of that performance would be hard-pressed score the Bush presidency higher than a 3.5 or a 4.

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Mention Ronald Reagan, and Republicans bow their heads in homage to St. Ronald as if he he’d been the Messiah of the conservative movement. Anyone who wants to become a mover and a shaker in the Republican party better make sacred reference to Ronald Reagan, and after they finish painting glowing imagery of the conservative knight in shining armor, they’d better drop to their knees and ask Rush Limbaugh for forgiveness for their sins.

That is the rite of first communion into the GOP. So why is the party shrinking faster than the polar icecaps, which according to Republicans are not shrinking, the same people who believe the whole lie of global warming is just a socialist plot to restrict big business? The answer is Ronald Reagan.

Before you burn me at the stake for patriotic blasphemy I’ll give you a liberal’s point of view on how Ronald Reagan single-handedly sent the GOP onto their path towards extinction, and how Reagan politics played a major role into getting this country into the mess we’re in today. History may one day show, that Ronald Reagan was one of the worst presidents in our nation’s history, not because he was ineffective, not because he was incompetent, but because he popularized hate, and bigotry, and made it politically correct to hold the middle and lower class people in total disdain in order to elevate the wealthy to super-wealthy no matter what the cost to our nation.

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The news wire is all abuzz that California’s Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger is open to the debate on legalizing marijuana and taxing the sale of it to raise funds.

When asked about the issue the Governor responded tepidly, "No, I don't think it's time for that, but I think it's time for a debate, and I think we ought to study very carefully what other countries are doing that have legalized marijuana and other drugs, what affect it had on those countries, and are they happy with that decision.”

While this may signal the first time the governor gave anything but a flat-out “No” on the issue, it is far from a ringing endorsement. This is on the heels of television ads he is running to muster support for measures of his budget reform that come to vote in a special election on May 19th. If the measures fail, the Governor is threatening to eliminate 1700 fire-fighting positions and the scare tactics used in the ads say failure to pass could jeopardize public schools.

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For the last 3 months every time you turned on the news you heard about “President Obama’s First 100 Days”. He reached his hundredth day on Wednesday, April 29th, and we were hit with a media barrage of “100 days” evaluations.

So in the spirit of any good media clone here is my report card for President Obama’s first hundred days, on his 103rd day in office.

Reading: A-

Teacher’s comments: President Barack Obama is one of the most well spoken presidents we have had in modern history. His eloquence on the podium played a big roll in his getting elected and continues to help keep his public opinion numbers up. Despite the constant attacks by the political and media Right, Barack Obama conveys a sense of calm and confidence that translates into the public perception of a President who knows what he’s doing. This in turn translates into an element of trust by the people. His politically incorrect comments about bowling like someone in the Special Olympics during an appearance on the Jay Leno show, and his mocking attitude towards pot-smoking internet users during a web-based town hall meeting cost him a perfect score.

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Every once in a while, the American people are treated to a politician who seems to lead more on principle and ideals than merely on the revolving door policy of getting re-elected. Though in these times of two-party politics, a politician who hopes to really make a difference must generally choose one party or the other, such a politician as previously described seems to be almost above partisan politics, because the issues they foster become more important than the party they represent.

Before him there was Washington, and Jefferson, Monroe, and Madison, Lincoln and Roosevelt. And now there is Senator Jim Webb? That is lofty company for a man who is still a Junior Senator, in his first term, but his service to this nation preceded his election to the Senate and since he entered the Senate, he has distinguished himself.

It doesn’t matter that he’s a Democrat, and it matters not what state he represents. What matters most, is That Senator Webb of Virginia identifies problems that gnaw at the very heart of America, for which he then throws himself into not only finding and proposing viable solutions, but also into recruiting allies to his cause, so that eventually he can accomplish a legislative solution. That is what makes Senator Jim Webb a great legislator, an asset to the Democratic Party, and an asset to the American people.

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