What do you think about what Michael Savage asked his audience to do? (Gotcha! You gotta listen to the whole thing to hear it!)

Now watch what Ed Schultz said about it.

Is this representative of our Freedom of Speech or is this an invitation towards something more violent? Do we need to protect Savage's right to say what he did or should there be some limitations on it?

What do you think?

Thus, today as I was listening, Ed had a couple of conservative callers take to the mic. The first one, Michael, demanded to know from Ed who had no health care in this country. He insisted that it was a 'few' and not a big deal. Since 'most' had insurance, there was no need for an overhaul of the system. He felt that the few without insurance could be tucked into existing programs. And he was confident since we were 'already forced to pay for illegal alien's health care' that there were no others who might possibly be uninsured.

I can honestly say that I was so enraged inspired to call and rebut his talking points. He wanted a list of 'non-aliens' who were uninsured, then I'd give it to him!!!

So I dialed away until eventually I got through.

"Would you like to talk to Ed?" his call screener said.

"Yes, I'd love to speak to Ed in response to Michael's call."

So.....

Smart fighters learn from the past, and let me tell you, the past in this case involves many of the same players who are still around to create havoc with health care reform now! So, let's look at what happened in the 1990s and see what happened to derail universal health care back then and then we can strategize how to preemptively block those attacks this time.

A long time ago, a newly elected President and his wife created a task force to bring to the USA its first national universal public health care system--a system that would cover everyone. The year was 1992, and the First Lady, in an unprecedented move, was asked to lead the commission which would bring health care for all.

Conservatives, libertarians, and the health insurance industry fought voraciously against Hillary Clinton's plan which they condescending dubbed as Hillary-care. In a highly orchestrated move, William Kristol and his policy group Project for the Republican Future, created a series of "policy memos" which were faxed to Republican leaders. Then Republicans and their pundits sent their missives to the print media and the networks. They made numerous appearances across the media outlets.

According to the Wikipedia, the Heritage Foundation argued:

"the Clinton Administration is imposing a top-down, command-and-control system of global budgets and premium caps, a superintending National Health Board and a vast system of government sponsored regional alliances, along with a panoply of advisory boards, panels, and councils, interlaced with the expanded operations of the agencies of Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Labor, issuing innumerable rules, regulations, guidelines, and standards."

As the Clintons continued to press forward with their task force, more organizations took aim.

The Health Insurance Association of America paid 12 million for the highly effective Harry and Loise ad. This ad was integral in convincing the public that the plan was too bureaucratic, too complex, and too disorganized to succeed. They convinced people to be frightened of it.

Other news media like Time, CBS News, CNN, the Wall Street Journal and the Christian Science Monitor ran stories that questioned if there were indeed a health-care crisis or if Hillary and Bill Clinton were just wasting tax payer dollars.

Op-eds against it were published in major newspapers.

And even the Democratic party and the 'left' didn't pledge their support to the task force's plans because they wanted single-payer government sponsored, universal health care.

According to William G. Weisser in his book Governing Health, over 70 million dollars was spent in 90s to make sure the for-profit health care insurance would remain safe and secure and to see that Hillary-Care would fail.

There is a saying, 'Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose.' The more things change, the more they stay the same. The same could be said in this case as well. Today, we have a health care crisis in our country. We have a popular president and a Democratic Congress. We have the potential for reform on the table. But we also have the same powerful Republican-controlled media. We have the same big corporations and their lobbyists trying to stymie strong (and real) legislation. We have the same DC-players (our duly elected and taxpayer paid) Senators and Congressmen trying to save their own hides instead of trying to save our hides.

So as activists, and as humanitarians, what are you willing to do to make sure that a new version of a Harry and Loise ad doesn't bring us more of the same?

Let's talk and then let's get rolling!

Yesterday I read an article that alarmed me because it seems to go against the pledge made to Americans by President Obama. Truth. In these few early days with Obama, we are getting more Truth than we've had from any president in my lifetime. Truth. Without it, what do we have? Suspicion? Excuses? Forgiveness?

Just over a week ago, on a train going to Barcelona, I met a young man whose family had emigrated to New Zealand from Iraq after the first gulf war when he was just 8 years old. He remembered the first war. He was there. He was unashamed in his anger towards the Americans and told many stories of his relatives' lives having been turned upside down and looted by Americans in uniform right now. Still today. He told me of things last week, last month, last year. We've all read the horror stories. This young man witnessed some of them many years ago. Truth. His country/men/women want the world to know the Truth.

So, I cringed when I read this article.

Over the next few days, change is a gonna come. The change is overt: a new President, a new administration, and it is as-yet-undefined. Some startling clues exist, however: pictures of dead children in Gaza horrify us, creating the clear loud message that brutality and carnage, no matter under what guise, are not to be tolerated. A pilot saves 155 people with calm and skill that reassures us that not all disasters end in total loss and that paying attention and thinking clearly actually works sometimes. A gay bishop and a rightwing preacher both celebrate a new government that is not catering to any one constituency but appears to want to cut a swath across all, and maybe even elevate the country to a higher moral ground, without privileging one belief system or lifestyle over another.

The train rolled into town yesterday, bringing a newly-forceful but always thoughtful guy to lead the changes. He did not bring the change with him on the trip, nor will he deliver it to us with his inaugural address. But over the next few days, through music , art, dancing, sharing food and warmth, change will come to us.

We will create it.

DanceObama: The Pulse for Peace is one of many events planned for Washington DC. It has also inspired people in Boston, Chicago and California to join in, at their own times, in their own celebrations of manifesting hope and change through music and dance. The event in DC is open to all, for a donation of $15.00, and it will happen at the Peace Mural Gallery at 3336 M. St in Georgetown from 4-6 pm Monday, in the midst of stunning paintings by the artist Huong. Hot drinks and small food will be served, and we will have drummers, dancers, and music to move to.

Over 100 years ago, a man named Rudolf Laban began to devise ways of bringing people together through specifically created participatory dance events called movement choirs, in which each person contributed to a communal celebration of harmony. By finding the universal pulse for change, individual voices and collective joy can be heard across the world, calling each of us to thoughtful, aware, and considered action.

Some of the music that we will be using for this event:

Sweet Honey in the Rock: “We Are the Ones We’ve Been Waiting For”

Kanye West: “Love Train”

Sly and the Family Stone: “Everyday People”

Cat Stevens: “Peace Train”

John Lennon: “Imagine”

Johnny Clegg: “Life is a Magic Thing”

Seal: “A Change is Gonna Come” (or any version)

The Pointer Sisters: “Yes We Can, Can”

U2: “Beautiful Day”

If you can, come down to Georgetown on Monday afternoon and be a part of starting the pulse with us. If you can’t, put on the music, be inspired, and begin to move with us. Together we cross the threshold into a new way of being in the world: as agents of our own lives and stewards for peace and hope everywhere.

Daniel B. Wood of the A.P. wrote:

The city of Los Angeles, plagued by 23,000 violent gang crimes since 2004, including 784 murders and 12,000 felony assaults, announced Tuesday that it had won its first civil judgment, for $5 million, against a criminal gang that had dominated the heroin trade downtown for decades.

The verdict could bode well for another first-of-its-kind lawsuit the city filed last month that goes after all assets of gang leaders, not just those associated with their criminal activity. Both suits seek to plow the money back into improving the neighborhoods affected by the gangs through a fund.

"By giving prosecutors more tools to fight gang activity at the local level, we are protecting our communities at the same time [that] we're able to strengthen our statewide anti-gang efforts," said Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in a statement released with the announcement of the $5 million verdict against the 5th and Hill gang in L.A.

There have been other positive outcomes according to the same article:

The tactic of trying to cripple organizations by taking away their assets has been commonly used against the mafia. More recently, it has been used against white supremacist organizations. In 2000, the Southern Poverty Law Center won a $6.3 million verdict against the Aryan Nations that forced the organization to give up its 20-acre compound in Idaho.

The center won its most recent case last November, getting $2.5 million from the Imperial Klans of America on behalf of a teenager assaulted by Klan members in rural Kentucky.

Looks like a win-win situation, doesn't it?

However, a reminder that we all don't think alike comes from the opponents of these laws who claim that these actions will create racial profiling and will go against our civil liberties.

Austen Parrish, vice dean for academic affairs and professor of law at Southwestern University School of Law, Los Angeles gives some arguments against these laws. (from the same article)

The new law, too, "may raise significant civil rights issues depending on how it's used," Mr Parrish adds.

Unlike with organized groups, street gang members may be hard to identify.

"Gangs are not like a corporation with a company house and car. There are potentially lots of arguments over who is in the gang and what that means," says Peter Bibring, staff attorney for the Southern California chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union

Which argument convinces you more? And is this an instance of the common good pre-empting possible racial profiling? Or is one argument stronger than the other in your opinion? Your opinion might differ depending on your proximity or experience with gangs or hate groups.

What do you think?

Main headlines:

• The Israel and the Palestinian conflict continues. U.S. joins calls for a cease fire.



• Al Franken will be certified as the new Senator in Minnesota. The MN Supreme Court has unanimously rejected Norm Coleman's lawsuit to restart the counting of improperly-rejected absentee ballots
• U.S. asks other nations to take in Guantanamo inmates.
• Obama, GOP, and Congress haggle over an economic stimulus package.

Today leaves us fifteen more days until we have an active and intelligent President and Congress. Fifteen more days of a lame duck President and a Congressional session that saw the biggest filibuster record ever.

So...what's on your mind as we await a new tomorrow?

Moving along to Barney Frank, for suggesting a 25% cut in military spending might really be OK, and might prevent further mayhem.

And then, Jerrold Nadler for realizing that criminal behavior ought to be punished, not pardoned:

Lest you think we just sit around here in DC, eating bon-bons.

Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, and love to all!

In the next few years, the choices that we make will help determine the kind of country - and world - that we will leave to our children and grandchildren. All of us know the problems rooted in our addiction to foreign oil - it constrains our economy, shifts wealth to hostile regimes, and leaves us dependent on unstable regions. These urgent dangers are eclipsed only by the long-term threat of climate change, which - unless we act - will lead to drought and famine abroad, devastating weather patterns and terrible storms on our shores, and the disappearance of our coastline at home.

For over three decades, we've listened to a growing chorus of warnings about our energy dependence. We've heard President after President promise to chart a new course. We've heard Congress talk about energy independence, only to pull up short in the face of opposition from special interests. We've seen Washington launch policy after policy. Yet our dependence on foreign oil has only grown, even as the world's resources are disappearing.

This time must be different. This time we cannot fail, nor be lulled into complacency simply because the price at the pump has - for now - gone down from $4 a gallon. To control our own destiny, America must develop new forms of energy and new ways of using it. This is not a challenge for government alone - it is a challenge for all of us. The pursuit of a new energy economy requires a sustained, all-hands-on-deck effort because the foundation of our energy independence is right here, in America - in the power of wind and solar; in new crops and new technologies; in the innovation of our scientists and entrepreneurs, and the dedication and skill of our workforce. Those are the resources we must harness to move beyond our oil addiction and create a new, hybrid economy.

As we face this challenge, we can seize boundless opportunities for our people. We can create millions of jobs, starting with a 21st Century Economic Recovery Plan that puts Americans to work building wind farms, solar panels, and fuel-efficient cars. We can spark the dynamism of our economy through long term investments in renewable energy that will give life to new businesses and industries, with good jobs that pay well and can't be outsourced. We will make public buildings more efficient, modernize our electric grid, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and protect and preserve our natural resources.

We must also recognize that the solution to global climate change must be global. I spoke a few days ago with Senator John Kerry, who updated me on the recent climate negotiations in Poland. Just as we work to reduce our own emissions, we must forge international solutions to ensure that every nation is doing its part. As we do so, America will lead not just at the negotiating table - we will lead, as we always have, through innovation and discovery; through hard work and the pursuit of a common purpose.

The team that I have assembled here today is uniquely suited to meet the great challenges of this defining moment. They are leading experts and accomplished managers, and they are ready to reform government and help transform our economy so that our people are more prosperous, our nation is more secure, and our planet is protected.

Earlier this morning, I was sent a YouTube video which was part of the Young Turks broadcast. Cenk reported that the CEO of Home Depot had flippantly spouted off that those retailers who did not support politicians such as Norm Coleman "ought to be shot." Cenk did a good job of putting the comments in perspective as to which party tends to support which constituency - business vs consumer or laborer.

This is great news for our country because too many "Main Street Americans" are watching their retirement savings disappear and watching their jobs fold just as quickly.

This news comes to us via Josh Marshall and TPM:

Congress will have a stimulus bill in the half trillion dollar range ready for President Obama to sign on the first day of his presidency -- January 20th, 2009

Even with big Democratic majorities and the incentive of crisis, you still don't get this sort of legislation through Congress in a day. So if the new Congress gets sworn in January 6th, I think it's realistic to say that you need bill basically written -- at least the major line items -- when both chambers convene.

Today is November 24th, one month before Christmas and the New Year's Holidays. The severity of the crisis and the realities of the transition will keep things moving much more than usual over the holidays. But still, the holidays block out some time.

All of which suggests to me that to keep on a realistic schedule, the basic outlines of how to spend that half trillion-plus dollars needs to be worked out over the next four weeks. And there's a lot to figure out.

'Stimulus plans' are generally numbered in the tens of billions of dollars. $500 billion is the number we're talking about now. And I think you have to assume that number grows. Extensions to unemployment insurance and other counter-cyclical spending is critical. But it doesn't put a dent in that overall price tag. So clearly to spend that kind of money you need to fund programs that do more than inject money directly into the economy. You need to fund major new programs that will likely shape the economic direction of the country for years, perhaps decades into the future -- major spending on infrastructure, laying the cornerstones of a green energy economy and more.

Looks like Congress may not be taking their usual winter break. Obama is working behind the scenes to create the stimulus package and it's regulations and oversight here and now. Once again, hattip to TPM:

Dem Congressional leaders are working with Obama officials to create and pass a massive stimulus package before Obama takes power on January 20th, a senior Dem leadership aide confirms to me.

The timing is significant because it means Obama could sign it the first day he takes office.

"We come in January 6th and Obama is sworn in on January 20th," the leadership aide emails to me, adding that the timing "gives both of us a month and a half to work on a plan that could be taken up in House shortly after we come in and sent to the Senate before January 20th."

The crisis has forced Obama to walk a tricky balancing act: He's under tremendous pressure to show that he's acting on the economy, in order to calm the markets, while not appearing to step on the current president's toes.

Hence the leaks from Obama's team last week about his choices for economic advisers -- leaks which rallied the markets on Friday -- and, now, his team's behind-the-scenes work to get a stimulus package prepped and ready for him in advance.

So...we have some movement on this crisis even if it's the under the surface. And even though the stealing continues, most of the world watches with anticipation for the change of Presidents and the changes in policy. With that expectation of change comes hope.

And so for now, I will spend the next two months hoping for the best and probably fighting for universal health-care as part and parcel to the economic stimulus package.

What will you be doing?

Friends,

~Christopher

I replied:

This kind of enraged violence is happening and will continue to happen, although perhaps you and Jack will be vigilant and alert to it. "Power concedes nothing without a fight; it never has and it never will" Frederick Douglass knew.

Karen

Actually though, I got the Douglass quote a little wrong. It goes like this:

“Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will. Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have found out the exact measure of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them, and these will continue till they are resisted with either words or blows, or both. The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress.”

I am not really willing to endure assholes anymore. I'm past my limit; how about you? And I am not recommending the blows part of the above quote, although blowBACK is fine with me. But words? Yeah, got 'em. Tell this story, everywhere you can. Jack and Christopher live in Park Slope, Brooklyn, and if this is what is happening THERE, you KNOW it is worse in smaller towns and more isolated environments. Check out DiAnne's piece on the front page if you don't believe me. Or if you do.

And after the stories are shared, it's time for action. Legal, social, educational, and creative ACTION.

Baucus was the first to speak out:. According to Paul Krugman there are hopeful signs on this issue.

One of the key questions about the new Democratic majority was whether Congress would try to play it safe, backing down on big ideas about reform, especially on health care. You can view the whole chorus about how we’re still a “center-right nation” as an attempt by the usual suspects to scare Democrats into scaling back their ambitions.

But now Max Baucus — Max Baucus! — is leading the charge on a health care plan that, at least at first read, is more like Hillary Clinton’s than Barack Obama’s; that is, it looks like an attempt at full universality. (The word I hear, by the way, is that Obama’s opposition to mandates was tactical politics, not conviction — so he may well be prepared to do the right thing now that the election is won.)

Additionally, Baucus also addressed Kennedy directly in his opening statements. This is great news because Kennedy has been working on Universal Health Care from his hospital bed while receiving cancer treatments! (via Ezra Klein)

The fact is I did not write an actual bill that is legislation because I want to work with Senator Kennedy, the HELP committee, and senators on both sides of the aisle. I've spoken with Senator Kennedy three times over the last few weeks about this, and we're very much on the same page

And President-elect Barack Obama issued a press statement already. And he seems intent to keep that campaign promise:

"President-elect Obama applauds Chairman Baucus’s work to draw attention to the challenges of the health system and looks forward to working closely with the Chairman and other Congressional leaders, as well as the American public, to make quality, affordable health care a reality for all Americans."

I see this as a promising sign. As we continue to witness more and more layoffs and people unable to get jobs, the healthcare issue becomes more important to rescuing workers and their families but it's also important because many of those unemployed might become entrepreneurs and small business owners.

As the big corporations falter, the little guys and the little business owners will become the backbone of our country's infrastructure. As I've watched Obama's speeches since the major collapse of the banking industry, and as I've listened to his recent post-election press conference on the economy, I can see very clearly that Obama understands that jobs and health care are two bottom-up issues that need immediate action.

Universal health care will be a vital part of that new paradigm. There's lots of options out there PNHP, UHCAN, HR676, and more.

We can do our part by keeping up the calls and the letters and talking to our fellow Americans every chance we get.

We can get Universal Health Care.

Yes, We Can!!!

The author of the e-mail, Focus on the Family Action senior vice president Tom Minnery, told his readers not to despair, saying that the right wing would overcome this situation just as Britons overcame Hitler’s bombing in World War II:


The spirit of Winston Churchill was alive and well on Tuesday night at Focus on the Family Action headquarters.


You may recall that in the most desperate days of World War II – when Great Britain was being pounded daily by Hitler’s Luftwaffe – that Winston Churchill called on his countrymen not to despair from danger but to rise to the challenge. […]


As our incredible team of staff members watched the election results pour in on Election Night, an amazing thing happened that Churchill might have recognized. Despite some sobering disappointments, there was no mood of despair and no “bunker mentality.”

Update: Ben Smith points out that, on the Corner, John Derbyshire compares Obama's Americorps program to Nazi concentration camps and medieval forced labor.

Focus on the Family’s show airs on more than 1,000 stations in the U.S. reaching millions of listeners.

This is deplorable hate speech coming from a Christian show that is supposed to focus on the family.

Let's focus on my family.