Please don't believe everything you read!

A liberal friend of mine got an email from a conservative relative. We all have them, those relatives I mean. I even did a post on my conservative relative, remember? Yes, we still speak :-)
   So anyway, this email was surprising but not shocking. The internet is ripe with lies and distortions but even more so with the election of Barack Obama. The fear was immediate, the name Barack Obama conjured up visions of Muslims walking the halls of the White House. The right wing of America are in a fear frenzy of astronomical proportions. What will happen to our Christian nation, we have a Muslim president, he wasn't born in America!!! 

The email....not in it's entirety and no names will be used to protect the innocence of my liberal friend! :-)))

chilling  facts below...

In 1952 President  Truman established  one day a year as a

"National Day  of  Prayer." 

In 1988 President  Reagan  designated  the First Thursday in May of each year as  the  National Day  of  Prayer.  

In  June 2007(then) Presidential Candidate Barack Obama  declared  that the USA Was no longer a Christian nation.  

This  year President Obama, canceled  the 21st annual National Day 

of  Prayer ceremony  at the  White House under the rouse Of "not wanting to offend  anyone" 

On  September 25, 2009  from 4  am until 7  pm,  a  National Day of Prayer  for  the Muslim religion was Held on Capitol Hill, Beside the White  House.   There  were over 50,000 Muslims that Day in DC. 

I  guess it Doesn't matter  if  "Christians"  Are offended by this event -

We obviously Don't  count as  "anyone"  Anymore.

The  direction This country is headed Should strike fear in the  heart of every Christian. Especially knowing that the  Muslim religion believes that if Christians cannot  be Converted they should be Annihilated.

This  is not a Rumor – 

Go to  the website

To confirm this info:

(  _http://www.islamoncapitolhill.com/_

(http://www.islamoncapitolhill.com/)   )

Pay  particular attention to the very bottom of the page:

"OUR TIME  HAS COME"

I hope  that this Information will stir your spirit. 

The words of  2  Chronicles 7:14   

"If my people, Who are called by my Name,

Will humble  themselves And pray, 

And seek my face, and Turn from  their Wicked ways,

Then will I hear from Heaven

And  will forgive their Sin and will heal Their land."

We  must pray for Our nation, our communities,

Our families, and  especially our children. 

They are the ones that are going to  suffer the most

If we don't PRAY!

May God have  Mercy... 

IN GOD  WE TRUST.

Are ya shocked? I believe this was a younger person, usually this hysteria comes from the seniors who watch Glenn Beck regularly!

My friend, being the intelligent person that she is, and a loving relative to this young person, responded with this....

The contents of the email are false.

• Barack and Michelle Obama and their two daughters are Christian. He is not nor has he ever been a Muslim.

• Barack Obama has not canceled the National Day of Prayer.

• There is not and has never been in America an Islamic National Day of Prayer.

• Barack Obama chose to issue a proclamation of the National Day of Prayer as has every president and state governor in recent years.

• The National Day of Prayer service last year was headed by such right-wing fundamentalists as James Dobson and Franklin Graham (who is not and will never be the man his father Billy Graham is). Participants included people who have called Obama “Muslim,” “anti-American,” “the Antichrist,” “communist,” “fascist” and “Hitler.”

• The United States of America is not “a Christian nation,” in the sense that this country has never had an established religion. First, that would be unconstitutional as the First Amendment forbids the establishment of a national religion. Second, if the United States did establish an official religion that would make us like Iran – a theocracy. This is a democracy, not a theocracy, thank God.

• Some people will never understand “separation of church and state,” which I wholeheartedly support. Who wants our national government to have the authority to tell us how to worship?

• The citizens of this country are not just white Christians. They are of every faith, creed and color – and that includes Christians, Jews, Muslims and atheists. It is the right of all Americans to worship or not worship as they please, and our government cannot order Americans to be Christians.

• Finally, this statement is false: “On  September 25, 2009  from 4  am until 7  pm,  a  National Day of Prayer  for  the Muslim religion was Held on Capitol Hill, Beside the White  House.   There  were over 50,000 Muslims that Day in DC.” This was a private ceremony conducted by Muslims. The government was in no way involved, and this was NOT a “National Day of Prayer for Muslims.”

The “facts” you sent are propaganda, designed to scare folks into believing President Obama wants to do away with Christianity. That is patently absurd! And, you can bet behind this forwarded email lies an author with evil intentions.

Luckily, the young person responded back with a "thank you for clearing that up!" 

Like I said in my previous post, we must continue to educate the nutters! The right is always telling us we are the sheep, we believe every thing Obama says to be gospel! Funny huh??

  

A Christian Hipster reflects on G-pack's Liturgy at New Life

I went to a church service in Jesusland* and I liked it.

I am on my final spring break of the combined times of College and Supra-college. I am spending a good chunk of it in Colorado Springs (Jesusland), CO. Since yesterday was Palm Sunday, I knew I was going to be in church. On Sunday morning, I went to an Episcopalian service with an Episcopalian friend. Later, I was spending time with some quality folk that Sunday. This included a few friends from Azusa Pacific.

I wound up going to New Life, for their evening service. It was run by Glenn Packiam -G-pack, if you will- who is incorporating the Book of Common Prayer, the Nicene Creed, and Readings of scripture into the standard, de facto mega-church liturgy. This is a bold move for G-pack, since many people in that tradition consider the "t-word" and the "l-word" the rote incantations of those who don't rely on the Holy Spirit or whatever. G-Pack has written a nice explanation and defense of what he is doing. I applaud him for his efforts and bravery.

The net result of the service was an interesting concoction. For the New-Life regulars, this was an unfamiliar, and strange addition to what they are used to. For me and other high churchgoers it seemed an odd dilution of the order of worship that we are used to. Reciting the Lord's Prayer and the Nicene Creed is not new to me. Those are what I hear every Sunday. It is not the new addition to the service time. It is the heart of the service time.

G-pack read prayers of confession from the Book of Common prayer. Everyone prayed the Lord's Prayer in a Lectio Divina style. This is clearly not normal of a mega-church, and I think it is a good move. Evangelicalism suffers from doctrinal apathy, historical amnesia, and sometimes presumptuous view of the Holy Spirit. What G-pack does will no doubt help with all these maladies. After all, Evangelicals should not have to go to a Christian college to learn where Christology came from.

Alas though, my high church sensibilities still prevented me from taking communion, though it was offered. The Sacrament of communion was still handled according to the standard liturgy of evangelicalism. The bread and the wine where placed on several different tables out at the periphery of the worship center. Everyone wandered out to them and took them on their own. After that, everybody took the sacrament and then listened to G-pack, who stood center stage. This is a very sharp contrast: the Minister in the center under the spotlight, and the bread and wine lurking by the door way in the shadows.

I do not know what G-pack things on this last issue, but this manner of handling communion will always be odd to those of us deeply ingrained and sympathetic to high church liturgy. When we see take the bread and the wine, we do not feel that we are merely doing a remembrance. We feel that we are touching the the literal, physical, presence of Christ. Because of this, it is odd that the literal physical presence of Christ would be literally and physically on the periphery of the Church. If we are going to the Church for the communion, it is odd that a minister's "talk" (what is formally known as a "sermon") would be central with Christ casually placed beyond the back pews. Even if I suspend my commitment to the real presence, it still seems odd that a sacrament could ever play second fiddle to a sermon on the same Sunday.

Please understand, this last bit is not a criticism of G-pack or New Life. If I am not in a church that is committed to the real presence in the bread and wine, I can't very well fault them for not acting like it. Yet still, I feel that Christians that really understand the traditions that G-pack wants to bring to New Life are generally also committed to a very serious and very privileged view of communion. It will be hard, even after many years, to imagine New Life changing in such a way that it can accommodate this aspect of high church liturgy. What G-pack will do is anyone's guess.

For now though. God bless new life and God bless Glenn Packiam.

Just doing my part to educate the rightwing nutfucks

Really, I know I shouldn't, none of the sane people on the left should visit the retards on the right and try to have a civil conversation about the HC bill and the good it will do for Americans. BUT, I did not take my own advice and this rightwing moron wanted me to write a summary of the bill and what's in it for her and her retard blog friends. When I gave her this CBS news link she went into a ranting tirade and said she HATED the bill, she doesn't care what's in it, she doesn't even care that it's the same as Romneycare and Romney is her GOD!! So my friends that tells me one thing and one thing only... she HATES liberals, she HATES Obama with a passion, she HATES smart people who show her up, she HATES the HC bill because a Democrat president is responsible for HC reform, A BLACK Democrat President Obama. Why oh why do I bother, they are still talking death panels and birth certificates, fear mongering and hate mongering, the anti-Christ and Jesus Christ, Bush versus Obama, they want Bush to come back and Reagan to rise from the grave and join him.
       MORONS!!!!!!!!! 

Health Care Reform Bill Summary: A Look At What's in the Bill

Posted by CBSNews.com 

Updated March 23, 5 p.m. ET

By CBS News Capitol Hill Producers Jill Jackson and John Nolen

Cost:

• $940 billion over ten years.

Deficit:

• Would reduce the deficit by $143 billion over the first ten years. That is an updated CBO estimate. Their first preliminary estimate said it would reduce the deficit by $130 billion over ten years. Would reduce the deficit by $1.2 trillion dollars in the second ten years.

Read more on the CBO Report
Coverage:

• Would expand coverage to 32 million Americans who are currently uninsured.

Health Insurance Exchanges:

• The uninsured and self-employed would be able to purchase insurance through state-based exchanges with subsidies available to individuals and families with income between the 133 percent and 400 percent of poverty level.
• Separate exchanges would be created for small businesses to purchase coverage -- effective 2014.
• Funding available to states to establish exchanges within one year of enactment and until January 1, 2015.

Subsidies:

• Individuals and families who make between 100 percent - 400 percent of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) and want to purchase their own health insurance on an exchange are eligible for subsidies. They cannot be eligible for Medicare, Medicaid and cannot be covered by an employer. Eligible buyers receive premium credits and there is a cap for how much they have to contribute to their premiums on a sliding scale.

Federal Poverty Level for family of four is $22,050

 Paying for the Plan:

• Medicare Payroll tax on investment income -- Starting in 2012, the Medicare Payroll Tax will be expanded to include unearned income. That will be a 3.8 percent tax on investment income for families making more than $250,000 per year ($200,000 for individuals).
• Excise Tax -- Beginning in 2018, insurance companies will pay a 40 percent excise tax on so-called "Cadillac" high-end insurance plans worth over $27,500 for families ($10,200 for individuals). Dental and vision plans are exempt and will not be counted in the total cost of a family's plan.
• Tanning Tax -- 10 percent excise tax on indoor tanning services.

Medicare:

• Closes the Medicare prescription drug "donut hole" by 2020. Seniors who hit the donut hole by 2010 will receive a $250 rebate.
• Beginning in 2011, seniors in the gap will receive a 50 percent discount on brand name drugs. The bill also includes $500 billion in Medicare cuts over the next decade.

Medicaid:

• Expands Medicaid to include 133 percent of federal poverty level which is $29,327 for a family of four.
• Requires states to expand Medicaid to include childless adults starting in 2014.
• Federal Government pays 100 percent of costs for covering newly eligible individuals through 2016.
• Illegal immigrants are not eligible for Medicaid.

Insurance Reforms:

• Six months after enactment, insurance companies could no longer denying children coverage based on a preexisting condition.
• Starting in 2014, insurance companies cannot deny coverage to anyone with preexisting conditions.
• Insurance companies must allow children to stay on their parent's insurance plans until age 26th.

Abortion:

• The bill segregates private insurance premium funds from taxpayer funds. Individuals would have to pay for abortion coverage by making two separate payments, private funds would have to be kept in a separate account from federal and taxpayer funds.
• No health care plan would be required to offer abortion coverage. States could pass legislation choosing to opt out of offering abortion coverage through the exchange.

**Separately, anti-abortion Democrats worked out language with the White House on an executive order that would state that no federal funds can be used to pay for abortions except in the case of rape, incest or health of the mother. (Read more here)

Individual Mandate:

• In 2014, everyone must purchase health insurance or face a $695 annual fine. There are some exceptions for low-income people.

Employer Mandate:

• Technically, there is no employer mandate. Employers with more than 50 employees must provide health insurance or pay a fine of $2000 per worker each year if any worker receives federal subsidies to purchase health insurance. Fines applied to entire number of employees minus some allowances.

Immigration:

• Illegal immigrants will not be allowed to buy health insurance in the exchanges -- even if they pay completely with their own money.

There ya go, simple huh? I guess if you are like that rightwing moron and already have insurance then you probably feel the same way she does, you really don't give two fucks about the citizens who will benefit from this reform bill. But that's OK, whatever floats your boat.
Nikki you're missing Hannity, better go before you miss the part where Palin comes on to spew her stupidity.  

Bush calls out Grayson

You can tell a lot about a person by his friends. Howard Dean, Michael Moore, Dennis Kucinich and Debbie Wasserman-Schultz are Alan Graysons friends, they've all joined the moneybomb at CongressmanWithGuts.com.
And you can tell a lot about a person by his enemies. Sarah Palin came to his district two weeks ago, and told her zombie minions to "take him out." The National Republican Party says that he's their #1 target in 2010. And now, it's George W. Bush's turn. See for yourself:

But when it comes to George W. Bush, with enemies like that, who needs friends? What's he going to do, attackify Alan?
Still, if there's one thing that's clear, it's that the right-wing doesn't want Alan in Congress. They don't want to hear the truth. They don't want to see courage.
Good lordy, we gotta keep guys like The Shrub and his ilk outta Washington!! Support your local Democrats who are running for office in 2010!! VOTE!!!

The REAL Patriots!!

So much is in the news about the health reform protestors, the teabaggers, the hate government groups, that we never hear that much about the great progressive groups who fought long and hard for reform. Here is a list from MoveOn.org and what they and others like them have accomplished. Makes me proud to support this type of patriotic group!!

• 2,000 rallies and vigils attended by 150,000 people (see great highlights video  here)
  

• Hundreds of face to face meetings with members of Congress
  

• 7,813,682 petition signatures, 595,522 phonecalls, and 948,705 faxes 
•  
• 150 MoveOn Councils running powerful local campaigns in 44 states
• 
  
• 50,000small-business leaders, doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals supporting reform
  

• 1,124,457(!!!) messages in one day during the Virtual March for Real Health Care Reform
  

• $9.4 million raised for our campaign, and $5.6 million more pledged to support progressive primary challengers
  

• Dozens of ads featuring Heather Graham, REM, and MoveOn members like Janet Jacobson and Dawn Smith

• More than 3,000 news stories about your work!
  
  MoveOn wants you to know....This is YOUR VICTORY!!

And it gives all of us together the momentum to keep pushing for other changes America so desperately needs. This isn't just a victory for health care reform- it's a victory for progressives, for people-powered politics, and for the hope of future work to be done.

Feel proud, feel energized, feel your power, Thank You, Thank You, Thank You, for all you do!.


 

 

These are the patriots, the lovers of America!

Reconciliation Bill has passed!

It is onto President Barack Obama's desk as early as tomorrow!

220-207, final vote on final bill. YES WE DID! Care to join me in the victory lap?

GOD BLESS THE USA!

I LOVE THIS!!!!!

I fuckin' love this so much it actually made me cry. God Bless and Protect our President Obama from the hate in our country, hate like I have NEVER seen in my lifetime. I Love Barack Obama and am NOT afraid or ashamed to say it!!!

When I watch this video I can't help but think of Martin Luther King. I'm scared of the idiots in this country, I'm really starting to get scared....And I hate it.

Barack Obama and his supporters are the Good, those who oppose him and hate him and his supporters are the EVIL. That's the fuckin' truth.

Thanks Annette

In my abscence...

... you could always read my current blogging whilst I am on Sabbatical at the Rectory Wanderings blog...

:-)

10 most outrageous things said about the HC bill

AlterNet calls this a list of insanity from certifiably insane rightwingers! lol

1.. Last week, Rush Limbaugh swore he would move to Costa Rica if health reform passed. Instead, he heroically decided to stay behind and fight for freedom, by telling his listeners they're in a death match with Hitler. “America is hanging by a thread. So we have to see what we can do with a thread. At the end of the day, our freedom has been assaulted. This is the kind of change that people did not think they were going to get when they voted for Barack Obama. Freedom must win the day."

2. Glenn Beck, who warns that we're on the cusp of a socialist/fascist takeover on a daily basis, had to reach to do justice to the drama of the occasion. He didn't disappoint, wielding his vast historical knowledge to (unfavorably) compare the vote to the Gettysburg Address, Iwo Jima and the moon landing, Civil Rights and the heroism of the 9/11 first responders, before landing on a more appropriate set of analogies: the attack on Pearl Harbor; the St. Valentines massacre ("when the mob stepped in and cleaned things up!"); Chamberlain's meeting with Hitler; AND THE HINDENBURG!!!! "You see, being historic isn’t always a good thing," he somberly concluded.

  3. Shock Jock Neal Boortz took to Twitter to make an even more wildly offensive comparison. “Nancy Pelosi will be grinning and laughing this afternoon. Today will do more damage than 9/11.”

4. Anti-abortion terrorist Randall Terry is using his pull with the Pope to get Nancy Pelosi excommunicated, because helping pass a bill that will extend health care to more than 30 million uninsured Americans does not obviate her role in unleashing a vast fetus Armageddon. Terry and some other crazy people held a one-minute protest on the outskirts of St. Peter's Square outside the Vatican, bearing signs asking for Pelosi to be denied communion and excommunicated.

I skipped to #10,   you can go here if you'd like to read the others. Yup, certifiably INSANE!!

10. John McCain, though, sketched out the scariest scenario of all: a lack of GOP cooperation going forward. "There will be no cooperation for the rest of the year," he threatened. "They have poisoned the well in what they've done and how they've done it." Oh shit, what if the GOP starts a campaign of mindless obstructionism, stalling Congress and making it next to impossible to pass legislation?

How Do We Expell the Immoral Brother?

It has been a few weeks since I’ve blogged. I guess, I can do the standard blogger apology now: sorry for being so absent. That’s just the way it works. School has kept me busy and I have been at a loss for inspiration of what to write, until last night.

I have been thinking lately about the following: when is a church justified in excluding someone from fellowship? This means no longer associating with them. It is spiritual and social ostracization of an individual from Christian fellowship. Most of you reading this are Christians who attend a church. What would you have to do that is bad enough to get kicked out? What could someone do in your church that could get them expelled?

The difficulty of this matter is reconciling two passages of scripture. I hate quoting verses in isolation from context, but here goes.

9I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people;
10I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters, for then you would have to go out of the world.
11But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler--not even to eat with such a one.
12For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within the church?
13But those who are outside, God judges. REMOVE THE WICKED MAN FROM AMONG YOURSELVES. -1 Cor 5:9-12 NASB

If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.
9If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
10If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us. -1 John 1:8-10

The first verse, I never expect to hear when I go into a church service. The second verse, I am used to hearing. It is usually quoted in Lutheran liturgy just before the communal prayer of confession. If I heard that first verse, I would be a little cautious of the church I was in. Here are my concerns:

Most importantly, every person in a Church (including every Christian) is now and will always be a sinner; forgiven sinners, but sinners nonetheless. Every person in a church is already guilty of covetousness and idolatry. Many other –especially those in brother’s recovery ministries- are drunkards and revilers. Everyone is already guilty of being a “so-called brother” as Paul describes in 1 Corinthians.

This creates a serious problem: who is qualified to judge when someone else should be excluded from fellowship? At what point has someone sinned in such a way that he cannot receive the grace of the Christian community? Consider this: I think most Christians will recognize that there is such a thing as “diminished capacity” when it comes to sin. Someone may sin, but this sin may not be out of malice or a purely volitional desire to defy God. Someone may sin due to emotional hardship. The drunkard may be angry over the loss of his job. The swindler may be acting out of his need to get food. Just watch a season of Lost, and you’ll see that people aren’t always fully culpable of their bad behavior.

It is precisely because of this diminished capacity that a priest, when hearing a confession, does not accuse the penitent of sin. The penitent accuses xomself* of sin. Only the sinner can know xois own inner state well enough to know that he is fully culpable of sin. If we are thinking of expelling the immoral brother, than we have a serious problem. We assume that other Christians know the sinner’s state-of-mind well enough that they can exclude xom from fellowship. Wouldn’t there be some hypocrisy in doing so?

I also see a serious and insurmountable interpretative problem with 1 Cor 5:8-12. Anytime we read an epistle, it is important to remember that it was written at a specific time, to a specific audience for specific issues. Paul’s epistles are not some kind of law book that was written yesterday. This doesn’t mean that the epistles have nothing to say to us, but it does mean that if we don’t first get a hold on what they meant to original audience, we will likely distort the message by reading our own world into the letters.

In 1 Cor 5:9-12, Paul refers to the letter he wrote to the Corinthians prior to 1 Corinthians. He refers to a letter he wrote to Corinth, but that we do not have today. Whatever was in that letter, might’ve shed some more light on what was going on in Corinth and who this individual was that was being so immoral. Who was this the immoral brother? What did say and do? How did Paul understand what was transpiring? Did Paul have any personal interactions with him? Did Paul himself recognize the difficultly of one sinner judging the other? That letter is no longer with us, sadly.

It is like reading someone else e-mail conversation, in which two small businesses owners discuss negotiate an important purchase, but we have only the forth and fifth emails. We are completely ignorant of what the deal is and why it is important and possibly who is even selling.

It seems that anytime we even consider that we feel we need to expel the immoral brother, we face at least two problems. How do we know when one person’s sin is enough to make the worthy of expulsion when all Christians do things that are sinful? Also, we have to admit that when reading 1 Cor 5:9-12 there is a significant and likely relevant amount of information that we do not have access to. This makes fully understanding what Paul was insisting on difficult to get a full grasp on. We cannot fully understand the background of the passage.

When and how do we know when we should expel the immoral brother?

=============
*I bemoan the fact that the English language does not have a gender neutral, third person, singular pronoun. I use xo, xom, xois as anyone might use she, her, hers or he, him, his when a gender neutral pronoun is needed.

I woulda said the same thing Joe!

My guy Joe! This is how it started, Joe Biden VP saying to President Obama quite discretely(or so he thought!) "This is a big fucking deal"

Thank you Mr. President and the Democratic Party!


Conservatives won't understand, but we do......

Obama received a thunderous applause when he evoked the ghost of Ted Kennedy near the climax of his speech.

 "I remember seeing Ted walk through that door in a summit in this room a year ago, one of his last public appearances, and it was hard for him to make it, but he was confident that we would do the right thing," Obama said.

When Obama sat to sign the bill, Patrick and Vicki Kennedy stood behind him. Finally, Ted Kennedy's dream became the law of the land.

Patrick left a note on his Dads gravesite Monday, "Dad, the unfinished business is done" it read. Vicki spent many hours at her late husbands gravesite on Sunday.

It's times like these Teddy we miss you dearly!

Bring it on GOP!!!

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Frank Schaeffer recommended this video so here it is! Frank is a smart guy BTW.

The rethugs want to repeal the HC bill, they want to TAKE AWAY benefits from this bill that ALL Americans will end up enjoying and actually thanking Democrats for.  But yes, the rethugs want that to be their platform for the mid-term election campaigns. They just keep getting stupider and stupider don't they!? Well that's perfectly fine with us lefties, we say BRING IT ON!!!

GOP's first challenge is denied.....

Keith Olbermann just announced that the Senate Parliamentarian had officially declared the GOP plan to sabotage health care reform "a dud". (Keith's words)

Plus, further bills to repeal the legislation will fail, he said.

A Point of Order involving Social Security was brought to the Parliamentarian today by staffers, both Republican and Democrat, said Lawrence O'Donnell. The Dem staffers cited a precedent that favored them, and the Parliamentarian was "taken with it". The Republicans were caught with like deer in the headlights. The Parliamentarian ruled FOR the Dems.

O'Donnell: "If this is what they have, they don't have much."

First challenge: Denied.

Reconciliation will go forward.

 Poor kids, just give up and enjoy....

Yes he did..

 President Obama said "Thank you Sue", 

My "personal" thank you, :-))))

Sue --
For the first time in our nation's history, Congress has passed comprehensive health care reform. America waited a hundred years and fought for decades to reach this moment. Tonight, thanks to you, we are finally here.

Consider the staggering scope of what you have just accomplished:

Because of you, every American will finally be guaranteed high quality, affordable health care coverage.

Every American will be covered under the toughest patient protections in history. Arbitrary premium hikes, insurance cancellations, and discrimination against pre-existing conditions will now be gone forever.

And we'll finally start reducing the cost of care -- creating millions of jobs, preventing families and businesses from plunging into bankruptcy, and removing over a trillion dollars of debt from the backs of our children.

But the victory that matters most tonight goes beyond the laws and far past the numbers.

It is the peace of mind enjoyed by every American, no longer one injury or illness away from catastrophe.

It is the workers and entrepreneurs who are now freed to pursue their slice of the American dream without fear of losing coverage or facing a crippling bill.

And it is the immeasurable joy of families in every part of this great nation, living happier, healthier lives together because they can finally receive the vital care they need.

This is what change looks like.

My gratitude tonight is profound. I am thankful for those in past generations whose heroic efforts brought this great goal within reach for our times. I am thankful for the members of Congress whose months of effort and brave votes made it possible to take this final step. But most of all, I am thankful for you.

This day is not the end of this journey. Much hard work remains, and we have a solemn responsibility to do it right. But we can face that work together with the confidence of those who have moved mountains.

Our journey began three years ago, driven by a shared belief that fundamental change is indeed still possible. We have worked hard together every day since to deliver on that belief.

We have shared moments of tremendous hope, and we've faced setbacks and doubt. We have all been forced to ask if our politics had simply become too polarized and too short-sighted to meet the pressing challenges of our time. This struggle became a test of whether the American people could still rally together when the cause was right -- and actually create the change we believe in.

Tonight, thanks to your mighty efforts, the answer is indisputable: Yes we can.

Thank you,
President Barack Obama

 I'm PROUD of them all!!

Are we FIRED UP????

Are ya watching C-Span and the cable talk shows?? Looks like Bart Stupak got his wish and there will be an executive order signed by the president assuring Bart and Co. the abortion language is of their satisfaction, enough so to VOTE YES on the bill! It is being reported by our dear Luke Russert the number of yes votes is 220!  I need a valium....

racist M F'ers

I can only hope, and yes pray, that what went on today during the teabaggers "party" will come back and slap kick them in their fuckin racist, homophobic, bigoted ugly faces. I won't use a gun analogy like they did, but so help me God if there is gun violence tomorrow because of the bill passage.....
This kind of rally has got to backfire on the right. Sensible thinking Americans need to speak out against this fuckin shit. I pray the rethugs suffer greatly from this because the people are so sick of this kind of idiocy!

Come on my pretties, defend this!!!

Today’s Code Red rally appears to be one of the most raucous Tea Party gatherings on Capitol Hill yet. In addition to protesters shouting with rage at federal lawmakers, Sam Stein reports on some more disturbing incidents:

A staffer for Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.) told reporters that Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-M.D.) had been spit on by a protester. Rep. John Lewis (D-G.A.), a hero of the civil rights movement, was called a nigger. And Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) was called a “faggot,” as protesters shouted at him with deliberately lisp-y screams. Frank, approached in the halls after the president’s speech, shrugged off the incident.
But Clyburn was downright incredulous, saying he had not witnessed such treatment since he was leading civil rights protests in South Carolina in the 1960s.
“I heard people saying things that I have not heard since March 15, 1960 when I was marching to try and get off the back of the bus,” [said Clyburn.]

Oh, but you say "we aren't racist", "we aren't bigots",  "These people don't represent the Teabaggers"!

The hell they don't!! Free speech in this country has gone berserk, this is violence and it is being condoned! I will not give those fuckers the satisfaction of posting their ugly faces or their racist signs. I hope no other liberal blogs will either. Go to hell you hideous teabaggers!

Americans pay for Iraqs healthcare?

On tonight's ED Show, guest Ohio Rep. John Boccieri says he read in Stars and Stripes magazine that HHS Sec. Tommy Thompson delivered a taxpayer funded check to Iraq so they could have universal health care! So I googled and came up with this,  

Sarah Palin Fights for Iwrack War-not US Children's Health

Shouldn’t Republicans want the same for American children? Such a noble act on behalf of the Rush Limbaugh’s, the Sarah Palin and the religious right groups who are demonstrating with violence -against covering US children. What a farce to protect their special interest insurance companies and lobbyists who donate to Republican campaigns.
Universal health care for American children needs to happen and now. The excuse that “we can’t afford” it is as old as the hills. Republicans use that one every time-and our fellow human beings especially children die very young in this country. With the money that lobbyists have given to Republican causes this one is the most disgusting -cutting funding to help kids get healthy.  Another example of Republican hypocrisy.
Never mind Ben Laden’s chant “Death to America” the Republicans are using that as their mantle for the next election. Death to Children of America is more appropriate description of the Rush Limbaugh’s tirades on health care reform. These ancient dinosaurs -the right wing nut jobs -have had their day- we cannot turn back to the results they accomplished in Iraq. Their accomplishments include the destruction of health care in the US and the denial of basic “right to Life” clauses that they cherry pick for their causes- which does not include children unless they are in a womb.
TAGS: Republicans cut funding for 8 million children, Republicans against health care reform.
Source: Government Accounting Office
Americans for American Health Care Coverage 

 What Countries Have Universal Health Care Coverage:
Afghanistan*, Argentina, Austria, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Cuba, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iraq*, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Oman, Portugal, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Ukraine and the United Kingdom.
*Universal health coverage provided by United States war funding\
Courtesy of:
http://www.Gadling.com

Courtesy of Republicans who would rather pay for war than health care accompanied by other Republicans who would rather pay for Iraqi health care than for American children.
Republicans who believe  “I Don’t Really Like Americans“.
TAGS: Republicans deny 8 Million US Children Health care coverage, Republicans for IRAQ health care, Republicans hate Americans, Gadling, Universal health care paid for by Americans, Foreign Health care Coverage by republicans, Iraq Covered-USA not.
Source: Healthandsurvival.com
thanks to our Wonderful Republican Party of America


Interestingly, this news today...

Arizona Cancels SCHIP Program for Lack of Funds(The Children!;)
MedPage Today ^ | March 19, 2010 | Joyce Frieden
Posted on Friday, March 19, 2010 7:20:12 PM by mdittmar
Arizona has become the first state to cancel its State Children's Health Insurance Program, which, like other SCHIP programs, is funded jointly by the state and the federal government.
The budget passed by the legislature and signed into law by Republican governor Janice K. Brewer eliminates the $22.9-million program, known as KidsCare, as of June 15th. The program served 38,000 children living in families with incomes between 100% and 200% of the federal poverty level ($22,000 to $44,000 for a family of four).
A statement on the Web site of the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System, the state's Medicaid agency, said simply, "The State does not have enough funds to keep paying its portion of this program."
Brewer proposed cutting the program in her "State of the State" address in January. "As an Arizonan, as a mother, and as a person who feels great compassion for the vulnerable and less fortunate," she said, "it is only with great reluctance that I advocate a number of deep reductions in funding. . . . As governor, I have a duty to preserve State government's fiscal integrity and to ensure Arizona's long-term health."
The state faced a projected shortfall of $2.6 billion in fiscal 2011.

Arizona pediatricians were furious about the program's cancellation. "Our elected officials have said the budget deficit left them with no choice but to eliminate this coverage, but they did have a choice and they chose to put our children's health at risk, deny them access to a medical home and critical preventive health services," Mary Rimsza, MD, chair of legislative affairs for the Arizona chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said in a statement. "This decision will increase healthcare costs by cost-shifting, overuse of emergency rooms, and lack of early intervention."


Jenny Sullivan, senior health policy analyst at Families USA, said that there are several good reasons why states might not be inclined to completely eliminate their SCHIP programs. "Number one, it's not popular to cut coverage for kids, so there's a political price."
But more importantly, she said, "from a financial perspective, it doesn't save the state very much money," because states only provide 35% of the funds for the program, and the rest comes from the federal government. "States without a doubt are in historic budget crises, but cutting SCHIP is not necessarily the best way to save state funds."

First Arizona, next your state? Here's your proof, Rethugs hate Americans,  especially the children. No, not the unborn ones, the ones born and living.

Last speech before the big vote!

 I missed this speech on TV so I'll be watching it with you!

 

It's on our doorsteps, at last, at last...

A letter from The White House....

Good afternoon,
32,000,000 -- that's the number of Americans who will get health insurance under the President's plan.¹
That's also a little more than the entire populations of Ohio, Virginia, Kentucky and Arizona -- COMBINED.²
For the past couple weeks, we've been using key numbers to help raise awareness about how we just can't wait any longer for health insurance reform.  We used $1,115 to tell the story of how skyrocketing premiums are crippling America's workers.  We used 8 to convey how widespread and severe discrimination for pre-existing conditions is across the health insurance industry.   And we used numbers like 625 and 50/50 to clearly show that any one of us is at risk of losing insurance in our broken health care system.
Today -- in our last number of the series -- we're using 32,000,000 to represent not only all those who will get health care, but also all the numerous benefits America's families and small businesses will see from health insurance reform.  From eliminating discrimination based on pre-existing conditions to controlling costs and lowering the national deficit to providing tax credits for middle class families and small businesses, health insurance reform will finally put America's families and small businesses in control over their own health care.
Watch our new 'Health Reform by the Numbers' wrap-up video and learn more about what you have to gain from reform:

32,000,000 is the last number in ‘Health Reform by the Numbers,' our online campaign to raise awareness about why the time is now for health insurance reform.  Help spread the word by sharing this message with your family, friends and online networks. Let's get it done!
Sincerely,
Nancy-Ann DeParle
Director, White House Office of Health Reform
^{1 Source: Congressional Budget Office, Letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
2 Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates}

It really doesn't matter what they say, the numbers don't lie

 Now that's enthusiasm if I ever saw it! LOL!  We're about to cross the finish line, eat your hearts out righties!!

 Comprehensive health care reform will cost the federal government $940 billion over a ten-year period, but will increase revenue and cut other costs by a greater amount, leading to a reduction of $138 billion in the federal deficit over the same period, according to an analysis by the Congressional Budget Office, a Democratic source tells HuffPost. It will cut the deficit by $1.2 trillion over the second ten year period.
The source said it also extends Medicare's solvency by at least nine years and reduces the rate of its growth by 1.4 percent, while closing the doughnut hole for seniors, meaning there will no longer be a gap in coverage of medication. The CBO also estimated it would extend coverage to 32 million additional people.

Here is the breakdown, it's real, it's true and it means the beginning of the end of a long year. A year filled with the most ridiculous talking points coming from rethugs, the most sickening lies and obstruction. But even with this CBO score we have Michael Steele calling it a lie, we have Bonehead Boehner saying "they are gonna RAM, RAM, RAM this bill down the throats of Americans". Give me a break! 50 years of trying to get something done on healthcare reform and suddenly dems are ramming it, making backroom deals, twisting arms, threatening, it's all so laughable. It does nothing but show Americans the desperation of the rethugs to bring down President Obama at the cost of Americas future. How is it none of these conservative protesters got the same insurance rate hike letters as we all did? Or did they get their rate hike but it doesn't matter to them, all they care about is Obamas failure on one of the biggest legislative milestones in our generation.

  We are heading into the weekend of the vote and the rethugs are crying and whining more than ever. They have no clue, they have no plan. The ONLY thing they say is let the people buy insurance across state lines. THAT'S IT! We are so sick of listening to the idiotic drivel. I can't fuckin' wait for them to implode after this bill passes.

Fucking hateful Americans should hang their heads in shame, but they won't

Health care reform protesters mock man carrying sign saying he has Parkinson’s disease.

Activists staged “competing rallies” outside of Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy’s (D-OH) district office yesterday, in a noisy, often confrontational attempt to influence the undecided congresswoman’s vote. At one point, a man with a sign saying he has Parkinson’s disease and needs help sat down in front of the reform opponents. Several protesters mocked the man, calling him a “communist,” with one derisively “throwing money at him.” “If you’re looking for a handout you’re in the wrong end of town,” another man said. Watch it (at approximately 0:51):

After the protests, Kilroy released a statement thanking “both sides for making their views known” and promising to rely on “the voices of my constituents” when making her final decision. (HT: Raw Story and DailyKos)
http://share.ovi.com/media/ThinkProgress1.Publi/ThinkProgress1.10003


I and every single blogger should post this most disgusting video. 

You conservatives who oppose this healthcare bill to the point where you have such hate in your hearts for suffering Americans, is beyond comprehension. The video of screaming idiots hatefully bashing a man with Parkinson's, telling him to get a job, throwing money at him because he is at a rally asking for this bill to be passed so people like him can have insurance, it's just sickening. I am careful not to lump all conservatives into one group but my God people this is embarrassing and I would be mortified to be a part of a group who has such hate. Can anybody give me an example of liberals who despise their American brothers and sisters so bad to treat them the way these conservatives are treating this man?? I don't fuckin think so! 

Batshit Crazy

"They" are still counting the HC votes so I'm not talking about it tonight. Instead enjoy the absolutely hideous unAmerican speech by the hideous unAmerican Batshit crazy Michelle Bachmann. This is the Kill the Bill Rally.

Bachmann railed against a “government takeover” of all aspects of the economy and compared Barack Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez.

“Some have called President Obama the first post-American president,” Bachmann said. “Certainly this health care bill would be our first postmodern legislation where words mean absolutely nothing.”

While other speakers took the podium, Bachmann was easily the crowd favorite, and her supporters waved signs reading “Obama Lies, Babies Die,” “Damn this federal government to hell,” “Obama bin Lyin’” and “The citizens must declare war on their immoral, corrupt, Marxist government.”

“Obama’s idea is for Pelosi to pass a bill and have her members vote on something they never voted for. Sounds more like a Chavez tactic in Venezuela,” said Bachmann. “We have a duty to resist tyranny. This isn’t a joke. They can’t do this. The government is working against us. They are not working for us, and they got it all backwards. They work for us. We don’t work for them.”

“All I am doing in Washington is my job. And I’m in trouble every day of the week in the media in Minnesota, but it’s because I’m doing my job!” Bachmann said.
"They don’t scare us. They aren’t going to take our country. This is dictatorial is what they are doing.”

WaaahWaaaah!! Ed Shultz says she sounded like Rosanne Rosannadanna! lol.
Dictatorship my ass, Bachmann should be ashamed of herself for enraging the group of idiots in Minnesota! Must not say much for her state, they friggin' love her and her treasonous rhetoric. Now we know where lisa gets her talking points!

Is TRUST the whole problem?

These 2 videos show why I'm so fuckin' pissed off! The first one is the Ed Shultz show and it comes on at 6pm. Progressive Change Adam Green says Nancy Pelosi will put the Public Option in the House bill and go first IF she is convinced the Senate has the votes for the PO. Well, Green says there ARE THE VOTES and has the proof in hand. Sooooooo....The problem is the House does not trust the Senate....
At 8pm is the Keith Olbermann show and this second video of Nancy Pelosi says she will not put the PO in the bill because she wants it to pass and the Senate won't have the votes for the PO. But Anthony Weiner says do not blame Pelosi, the blame lies with the Senate and their inability to show some backbone and commit to a PO. Also in the second video is Adam Green. Can anyone tell me why this man from Progressive Change campaign has to tell Rep. Weiner the Senate will vote for the PO and the House should trust them? Why don't the House and Senate leaders TALK TO EACH OTHER AND FIX THIS FUCKIN' MESS??? Why does Adam Green have to do the work our elected leaders should be doing? If it wasn't for the progesssives in the House and Senate, and those like Adam Green, we would have NOTHING!! What the hell are these morons afraid of?

For those who say the bill needs to pass now and be fixed later, I understand that. But if our Senators are so fearful now what makes you think that fear will go away? What makes you think they will add the PO later and make this bill REALLY work for the American people? Some say a bill worthy of passage doesn't need a PO to be cost effective. I don't believe that's the point. The point is our leaders are ineffective and I for one am sick of them all.

Patience please, that is what I tell my friends like Oso, we must be patient. Okay I'm trying. All I want is a little respect from our Senators. They need to be reminded who they are working for.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Beck, Coulter, and Limbaugh

Beck, Coulter and Limbaugh: Avatars of Julius Streicher

"Avatars of Julius Streicher" doesn't sound quite sober - hardly anyone recognizes his name today, but Streicher's spirit is alive and well in Beck, Coulter and Limbaugh. Streicher was one of the 11 Nazis sentenced to hang by the Nuremberg Trials on October 16, 1946.
  During the trial the prosecution said that while Streicher was not directly involved in the physical commission of these deadly crimes against humanity, "his crime is no less worse for that reason.... It was to the task of educating and poisoning the people with hate, and of producing murderers, that Streicher set himself. For 25 years, he continued unrelentingly the perversion of the people and youth of Germany. He went on and on as he saw the results of his work bearing fruit. In the early days, he was preaching persecution. As persecution took place, he preached extermination and annihilation and, as millions of Jews were exterminated and annihilated in the Ghettos of the East, he cried out for more and more.

Go here to read this Op-Ed by Davidson Loehr, truthout

First up, some soundbites from Ann Coulter:

"We should invade their countries, kill their leaders and convert them to Christianity." [Her suggestion for dealing with the Middle East.]

"Liberals are always against America. They are either traitors or idiots, and on the matter of America's self-preservation, the difference is irrelevant."

"I don't really like to think of [the murder of Dr. Tiller] as a murder. It was terminating Tiller in the 203rd trimester.... I am personally opposed to shooting abortionists, but I don't want to impose my moral values on others." [On the murder of Kansas abortion doctor George Tiller, FOX News interview, June 22, 2009.]

"We just want Jews to be perfected, as they say." [Arguing that it would be better if we were all Christian.]

"If I'm going to say anything about John Edwards in the future, I'll just wish he had been killed in a terrorist assassination plot."

"There are a lot of bad republicans; there are no good democrats."

"My only regret with Timothy McVeigh is he did not go to the New York Times Building."

Fun huh?

Next some soundbites from Glenn Beck: 

 "I'm thinking about killing Michael Moore, and I'm wondering if I could kill him myself, or if I would need to hire somebody to do it.... No, I think I could. I think he could be looking me in the eye, you know, and I could just be choking the life out of him." [Responding to the question, "What would people do for $50 million?," "The Glenn Beck Program," May 17, 2005.]

"When I see a 9/11 victim family on television, or whatever, I'm just like, 'Oh shut up' I'm so sick of them because they're always complaining." ["The Glenn Beck Program," September 9, 2005.]

"The only [Katrina victims] we're seeing on television are the scumbags." ["The Glenn Beck Program," September 9, 2005.]

"This president I think has exposed himself over and over again as a guy who has a deep-seated hatred for white people or the white culture.... I'm not saying he doesn't like white people, I'm saying he has a problem. This guy is, I believe, a racist." [On President Obama, sparking an advertiser exodus from his FOX News show.]

 "Progressivism is the cancer in America and it is eating our Constitution, and it was designed to eat the Constitution, to progress past the Constitution."

Now for the Limbaugh soundbites:

"The difference between Los Angeles and yogurt is that yogurt comes with less fruit."

"The feminist movement was created to allow ugly women access to the mainstream of society"

 "Women were doing quite well in this country before feminism came along"

"When a gay person turns his back on you, it is anything but an insult; it's an invitation."

 "Take that bone out of your nose and call me back"

"They vote with their vagina's"

 "If we are going to start rewarding no skills and stupid people - I'm serious, let the unskilled jobs, let the kinds of jobs that take absolutely no knowledge whatsoever to do - let stupid and unskilled Mexicans do that work."

Mr. Loehr ends with this, 
The spirit of these three Americans is the same spirit that filled Streicher. It is a spirit of hateful bigotry, preparing the way for these vulgar sentiments to become deadly atrocities. The overwhelming majority of Americans, like the overwhelming majority of Germans, are far better than this. We need to respond, not by stooping to the same level, but by reminding ourselves that the better angels of our nature call us to a higher standard. A great nation is at stake.

And so I have an anonymous commenter who today said this...
Did you know that Jesus prayed for the liberals of His day? He said, “Father,
forgive them for they know not what they do.” They then proceeded with His
execution and persecuted His followers. Nothing much has changed. More than
two thousand years later, liberals continue to consent to the Savior’s death, and
to persecute His followers. Oh, yes, and they still don’t have a clue.

Just being reported on Countdown... Beck is calling on Americans to leave their churches that preach "social justice".  The guy is delusional, everything he says about God and the Bible are the opposite of the truth.  Maybe now with this new revelation the conservatives who listen to and believe Beck will see the truth. The guy absolutely is possessed!