Political Wire: Obama's best speech ever. It was one of those speeches that makes you especially proud to be an American.

Marc Ambinder: "I guarantee: they'll be teaching this one in rhetoric classes. It was that good. My gloss won't do it justice. Yes, I'm having a Chris Matthews-chill-running-up-my-leg moment, but sometimes, the man, the moment and the words come together and meet the challenge. Obama had to lead a nation's grieving; he had to try and address the thorny issues of Islam and terrorism; to be firm; to express the spirit of America, using familiar, comforting tropes in a way that didn't sound trite."

Chuck Todd: "That's going to be a speech that's remembered and quoted from for quite some time; struck a balance of commander and consoler; not easy."

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Text of President Obama's Remarks at Ft. Hood November 10, 2009

We come together filled with sorrow for the thirteen Americans that we have lost; with gratitude for the lives that they led; and with a determination to honor them through the work we carry on.

This is a time of war. And yet these Americans did not die on a foreign field of battle. They were killed here, on American soil, in the heart of this great American community. It is this fact that makes the tragedy even more painful and even more incomprehensible.

For those families who have lost a loved one, no words can fill the void that has been left. We knew these men and women as soldiers and caregivers. You knew them as mothers and fathers; sons and daughters; sisters and brothers.

But here is what you must also know: your loved ones endure through the life of our nation. Their memory will be honored in the places they lived and by the people they touched. Their life's work is our security, and the freedom that we too often take for granted. Every evening that the sun sets on a tranquil town; every dawn that a flag is unfurled; every moment that an American enjoys life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness - that is their legacy.

Neither this country - nor the values that we were founded upon - could exist without men and women like these thirteen Americans. And that is why we must pay tribute to their stories.

Chief Warrant Officer Michael Cahill had served in the National Guard and worked as a physician's assistant for decades. A husband and father of three, he was so committed to his patients that on the day he died, he was back at work just weeks after having a heart attack.

Major Libardo Eduardo Caraveo spoke little English when he came to America as a teenager. But he put himself through college, earned a PhD, and was helping combat units cope with the stress of deployment. He is survived by his wife, sons and step-daughters.

Staff Sergeant Justin DeCrow joined the Army right after high school, married his high school sweetheart, and had served as a light wheeled mechanic and Satellite Communications Operator. He was known as an optimist, a mentor, and a loving husband and father.

After retiring from the Army as a Major, John Gaffaney cared for society's most vulnerable during two decades as a psychiatric nurse. He spent three years trying to return to active duty in this time of war, and he was preparing to deploy to Iraq as a Captain. He leaves behind a wife and son.

Specialist Frederick Greene was a Tennessean who wanted to join the Army for a long time, and did so in 2008 with the support of his family. As a combat engineer he was a natural leader, and he is survived by his wife and two daughters.

Specialist Jason Hunt was also recently married, with three children to care for. He joined the Army after high school. He did a tour in Iraq, and it was there that he re-enlisted for six more years on his 21st birthday so that he could continue to serve.

Staff Sergeant Amy Krueger was an athlete in high school, joined the Army shortly after 9/11, and had since returned home to speak to students about her experience. When her mother told her she couldn't take on Osama bin Laden by herself, Amy replied: "Watch me."

Private First Class Aaron Nemelka was an Eagle Scout who just recently signed up to do one of the most dangerous jobs in the service - diffuse bombs - so that he could help save lives. He was proudly carrying on a tradition of military service that runs deep within his family.

Private First Class Michael Pearson loved his family and loved his music, and his goal was to be a music teacher. He excelled at playing the guitar, and could create songs on the spot and show others how to play. He joined the military a year ago, and was preparing for his first deployment.

Captain Russell Seager worked as a nurse for the VA, helping veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress. He had great respect for the military, and signed up to serve so that he could help soldiers cope with the stress of combat and return to civilian life. He leaves behind a wife and son.

Private Francheska Velez, the daughter of a father from Colombia and a Puerto Rican mother, had recently served in Korea and in Iraq, and was pursuing a career in the Army. When she was killed, she was pregnant with her first child, and was excited about becoming a mother.

Lieutenant Colonel Juanita Warman was the daughter and granddaughter of Army veterans. She was a single mother who put herself through college and graduate school, and served as a nurse practitioner while raising her two daughters. She also left behind a loving husband.

Private First Class Kham Xiong came to America from Thailand as a small child. He was a husband and father who followed his brother into the military because his family had a strong history of service. He was preparing for his first deployment to Afghanistan.

These men and women came from all parts of the country. Some had long careers in the military. Some had signed up to serve in the shadow of 9/11. Some had known intense combat in Iraq and Afghanistan, and some cared for those did. Their lives speak to the strength, the dignity and the decency of those who serve, and that is how they will be remembered.

That same spirit is embodied in the community here at Fort Hood, and in the many wounded who are still recovering. In those terrible minutes during the attack, soldiers made makeshift tourniquets out of their clothes. They braved gunfire to reach the wounded, and ferried them to safety in the backs of cars and a pick-up truck.

One young soldier, Amber Bahr, was so intent on helping others that she did not realize for some time that she, herself, had been shot in the back. Two police officers - Mark Todd and Kim Munley - saved countless lives by risking their own. One medic - Francisco de la Serna - treated both Officer Munley and the gunman who shot her.

It may be hard to comprehend the twisted logic that led to this tragedy. But this much we do know - no faith justifies these murderous and craven acts; no just and loving God looks upon them with favor. And for what he has done, we know that the killer will be met with justice - in this world, and the next.

These are trying times for our country. In Afghanistan and Pakistan, the same extremists who killed nearly 3,000 Americans continue to endanger America, our allies, and innocent Afghans and Pakistanis. In Iraq, we are working to bring a war to a successful end, as there are still those who would deny the Iraqi people the future that Americans and Iraqis have sacrificed so much for.

As we face these challenges, the stories of those at Fort Hood reaffirm the core values that we are fighting for, and the strength that we must draw upon. Theirs are tales of American men and women answering an extraordinary call - the call to serve their comrades, their communities, and their country. In an age of selfishness, they embody responsibility. In an era of division, they call upon us to come together. In a time of cynicism, they remind us of who we are as Americans.

We are a nation that endures because of the courage of those who defend it. We saw that valor in those who braved bullets here at Fort Hood, just as surely as we see it in those who signed up knowing that they would serve in harm's way.

We are a nation of laws whose commitment to justice is so enduring that we would treat a gunman and give him due process, just as surely as we will see that he pays for his crimes.

We are a nation that guarantees the freedom to worship as one chooses. And instead of claiming God for our side, we remember Lincoln's words, and always pray to be on the side of God.

We are a nation that is dedicated to the proposition that all men and women are created equal. We live that truth within our military, and see it in the varied backgrounds of those we lay to rest today. We defend that truth at home and abroad, and we know that Americans will always be found on the side of liberty and equality. That is who we are as a people.

Tomorrow is Veterans Day. It is a chance to pause, and to pay tribute - for students to learn of the struggles that preceded them; for families to honor the service of parents and grandparents; for citizens to reflect upon the sacrifices that have been made in pursuit of a more perfect union.

For history is filled with heroes. You may remember the stories of a grandfather who marched across Europe; an uncle who fought in Vietnam; a sister who served in the Gulf. But as we honor the many generations who have served, I think all of us - every single American - must acknowledge that this generation has more than proved itself the equal of those who have come before.

We need not look to the past for greatness, because it is before our very eyes.

This generation of soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen have volunteered in a time of certain danger. They are part of the finest fighting force that the world has ever known. They have served tour after tour of duty in distant, different and difficult places. They have stood watch in blinding deserts and on snowy mountains. They have extended the opportunity of self-government to peoples that have suffered tyranny and war. They are man and woman; white, black, and brown; of all faiths and stations - all Americans, serving together to protect our people, while giving others half a world away the chance to lead a better life.

In today's wars, there is not always a simple ceremony that signals our troops' success - no surrender papers to be signed, or capital to be claimed. But the measure of their impact is no less great - in a world of threats that no know borders, it will be marked in the safety of our cities and towns, and the security and opportunity that is extended abroad. And it will serve as testimony to the character of those who serve, and the example that you set for America and for the world.

Here, at Fort Hood, we pay tribute to thirteen men and women who were not able to escape the horror of war, even in the comfort of home. Later today, at Fort Lewis, one community will gather to remember so many in one Stryker Brigade who have fallen in Afghanistan.

Long after they are laid to rest - when the fighting has finished, and our nation has endured; when today's servicemen and women are veterans, and their children have grown - it will be said of this generation that they believed under the most trying of tests; that they persevered not just when it was easy, but when it was hard; and that they paid the price and bore the burden to secure this nation, and stood up for the values that live in the hearts of all free peoples.

So we say goodbye to those who now belong to eternity. We press ahead in pursuit of the peace that guided their service. May God bless the memory of those we lost. And may God bless the United States of America.

I don't know of any way to help more Americans in a meaningful way all at once, then passing Health Reform this year. It will be one of the best things, smartest things, good things we the people could ever accomplish.





With all of these undecideds, (23% GOP, 33% Independents, 37% Dems!!), whom many are persuadable it's in the Administration's interests to have The President, the First Lady, Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Howard Dean, (yes because the base cares about him for good reason, as chairman of the party he helped engineer our current legislative majorities), all and and every "celebrity" in the party whom the people trust speaking at targeted groups that respect their opinions, it's time to put up or shut up. The party will sink or swim based on their capacity to deliver on their promises, and we literal must reform the health insurance system or this country will go even more broke then it already is. Obama and all the Democrats, are all in this together, like it or not, so they better bring it home. That means communicating how these reforms will improve people's lives by providing health security and alleviation from the worry of not being able to get insurance and/or pay your bills.

With 27% of the country under employed or unemployed, most unable to pay COBRA, they are one accident or other health emergency away from the poor house. If the Democrats can't deliver on this fifty-four year promise then they might as well pack up and go home, because I and millions of others will find a new party. This isn't about being a fan of Democrats or Republicans like a fucking sporting event, winning elections, it's about delivering for the people who invested their trust and vote to us before they went back to work, 30 million of whom back to work with no health insurance if a drunk driver runs a red light and puts them in the hospital. Cancer doesn't care if you work hard and play by the rules. Nobody should needlessly suffer in 2009 in the United States. It's archaic, pathetic, immoral, corrupt, selfish, destabilizing, unnecessary, bad for the national security, sociopathic, and it needs to end this month. If we hold our equality as an obvious, inalienable truth, how can your pursue life, liberty, and happiness without health insurance? How can you pursue your dreams if there is no safety net to catch you win some drunk asshole runs a red light or you get a lump on breast? When we can prevent treatable conditions from compounding into a situations where a diabetic who has to have their limbs removed because they haven't seen a doctor in thirty years.

This bill incentivizes people to go into nursing or all the other careers in health care with grants and loan forgiveness, because with the baby boomers retiring we require more of all forms of health care workers. A national health system that's digital, with the best minds sharing information in the abstract to better treat people at the clinical level. We need to free up the Emergency rooms for emergencies and treat chronic illness at the doctor's office. Nobody should lose all their savings, their property, their pride, and go bankrupt because they became ill for no fault of their own. People who aren't sick need the security in the knowledge that if the worst does happen, that their insurance won't be pulled out from under them, or have to fight on the phone with Private Insurance Bureaucrats while they are dying. Our national health care system is as vital as our national highway system, or the military. The amount of lost time due to illness and injury costs US Businesses billions of dollars each year, a point the Chamber of Commerce should admit. When this bill becomes law, 95% of Small Business will be exempt, but if they can afford to offer health care, they now will be able to.

This post-conference bill won't please everyone, it could never possible accomplish that feat with all of the tuning to meet the demands of the members of Congress to make a majority. This is the classic impediment to progress, the fear of the unintended consequence and of change, but we are prescient of this and know that if this bill passes and fails to alleviate the problems of the American people we will have no one to blame but ourselves, and that's the way it should be. This fact should make the Conference Committee very aware of the need to make this bill quickly help as many people as possible as soon as possible.

Don't let Joe Lieberman or any other Senator on the for profit healthcare payroll take this away from you. Don't make the perfect the enemy of the good. This is as important as the Civl Rights Laws, Medicare, The Interstate Highway Commission, standing up to Big Tobacco or any other law/policy that the people have passed that has advanced this society and made this a better place. This is the most important bill that will ever come before Congress in your lifetime. This is about security for you and your family, the liberty to pursue your dreams more freely, this is about the justice of allowing 30 million Americans who work all day every day with no health insurance the reassurance that America is just, doesn't just care about rich people, and working people not only count, they make this society possible and should be honored. When society prevents 30 million working people from having health insurance they're telling them that they are worth less. It's time to redress the balance and besides this bill will improve the lives of the wealthiest American and the poorest American by turning down the stress level in society in ways we can't even see yet. These reforms must be the beginning and as we learn what works and what doesn't work we will continue to improve the law.

The Health Insurance Problem is a man made problem, and any man made problem has a man made solution. The impediments to progress always claim that unintended consequences outweigh the need to change, but when the problem worsens, and the tension builds, you can no longer contain the natural progression of society. You cannot control the river of progression as it's tied to demographic changes in America that for one allow a Constitutional Law Professor named Barack Hussein Obama to win North Carolina, Indiana, Oho, Virginia, and become President. You couldn't contain slavery forever. You couldn't contain Women's Suffrage forever, You couldn't contain segregation forever. You cannot contain injustice forever, we grown naturally out of malignant policy. The only variable is the rate of change. How fast do we go. That's up to the people, if the people want it, they always get it. But you have to demand it. Otherwise we are going to be in for a bad surprise, if you though W was bad imagine Huckabee or Palin taking charge of the agenda. Failing to deliver on these reforms will lead the American people to believe that we are to vain to work together, that the needs of the politicians to retain their positions is greater then their interests, and they won't vote at the rate we need them to vote to win even an election for Dog Catcher. You will such the hope right out of half the Democratic Electorate.

So Ben Nelson, Joe Lieberman, Mary Landrieu, Blanche Lincoln, Kent Conrad, Max Baucus, understand that if this bill fails, the Democrats fail, and you will fail. We're all in this together. If you do the right thing. You will be heroes forever.

The time for bullshitting and pussyfooting is over. Do the right thing for someone other then the wealthiest 5% for once in fifty years.

Real Unemployment is also considering those who ran out of unemployment insurance and workers who are underemployed below 40 hours/fulltime status, that number is around 27%. If the private sector is unable to employ the fruits of 100% America's GDP output aka near full employment, then the public needs to borrow from FDRs CCC, Tennessee Valley Authority, and other projects that defray the unintended consequences of idle hands and lack of income on society. Crime, not meeting education goals, and direct harm to Children. Because Mom and/or Dad is out of work. Lack of stability destroys families, and stability is dependable income which allows for planning and allows for the function of the family to continue undisturbed.

After the failure of Prohibition nobody is allowed to discuss the role of alcohol in obliterating people and families in America, especially when they are made vulnerable by medical, educational, or economic emergencies, but then I just did.

The Obama Administration and Congress needs to introduce another round of economic stimulation, because the first round stabilized the economy but the patient needs more inducement to remain stable and hopefully get up and walk around on it's own. The prevalence of middle men which didn't occur at the same rate in FDRs day makes it harder to be stimulative when the people bequeath money with no strings attached to giant corporations and then those entities either steal it or subcontract, and subcontract, and subcontract, and subcontract, and subcontract, until the money that was supposed to improve people's lives has been picked apart to the point where it loses it's power to change lives. If you don't believe me google "Katrina Contract Crimes", or "Military Industrial Complex." The root of the problem is campaign finance reform that de-leverages lobbyist's capacity to steal from the people via theft, kickbacks and "the old boy network(s)."

Time is of the essence.

As we progress here through the Congressional Calender we have a dearth of procedural motions that are left for the end of each year, then you're into campaign season. The Senate needs to complete Health Insurance Reform this Month. So as the first stimulation begins to flow next quarter and into subsequent quarters it can be followed with a continued flow of economic stimulation that produces jobs, jobs, and jobs.

Write Joe Lieberman, type written, print it out, buy a stamp, and Tell Joe that you want your Senator's to have the opportunity to vote up or down on Health Insurance Reform and you oppose his threat to filibuster a bill that includes a public option.


Joe Lieberman: (202) 224-4041
One Constitution Plaza
7th Floor
Hartford, CT 06103
(860) 549-8463,Voice (800) 225-5605 In CT

DC: 706 Hart Office Building Washington, DC 20510
(202) 224-4041,Voice (202) 224-9750,Fax

It's now up to public sentiment and willpower to get these historic reform passed. An end to pre-existing conditions, an end to recession, an end to sneaky insurance company tricks, higher quality, and lower prices.

Historic Health Insurance Reform Bill Passes House, off to the Senate.

Pelosi has the votes to pass The Health Insurance Reform Bill. The vote will be tonight after the votes on the GOP version and the Stupak Amendment.

AlterNet:

House Democratic leaders will allow an up-or-down vote on the Stupak-Pitts amendment, which seeks to block even private insurance plans from funding abortion care.

In other words, this amendment, if passed and included in a final health reform bill, would block you from getting insurance to cover legal procedures in the United States of America, with premiums paid with your personal funds. Planned Parenthood, NARAL Pro-Choice America, the National Women's Law Center and other groups are calling for immediate action against the amendment, and you can click here to find your representative and tell them to vote no on Stupak.

The amendment, named for Representatives Bart Stupak, D-Mich, and Joe Pitts, R-Penn. Stupak is a so-called "Democrat for Life;" Pitts has been a dogged supporter of failed abstinence-only policies, domestically and internationally, and was among those who succeeded in adding language forbidding the provision of contraceptive supplies for HIV-positive women in US global AIDS funding.

Top Targets
Baird (WA-03): (202) 225-3536
Barrow (GA-12) (202) 225-2823
Berry (AR-01) (202) 225-4076
Cardoza (CA-18): (202) 225-6131
Castle: (DE-AL): 202.225.4165
Cuellar (TX-28) (202)-225-1640
Matheson (UT-02) (202) 225-3011
Michaud (ME-02): 202-225-6306
Perriello (VA-05): (202) 225-4711
Pomeroy (ND-AL) (202) 225-2611
Snyder (AR-02) (202) 225-2506
Tanner (TN-08) (202) 225-4714
Visclosky (IN-01) (202) 225-2461
Wilson (OH-06) (202) 225-5705


That vote happens tonight. Call Your Member and tell them to vote "No" on Stupak-Pitts. It's outrageous and likely Unconstitutional.

From PBS, The American Experience, a great documentary on the multidemenisonal benefits of the Civilian Conservation Corps. The CCC restored the soil and reclaimed America's agriculture, put people to work in honorable and quality conditions, and led to environmental consciousness. Watch here. The CCC started the Ski and outdoor leisure industry, created fire roads, and put out forest fires. The release of pressure on the working class provided by the CCC at a time when jobs were not available prevented political revolution in the United States. We need more ideas like the CCC to address our current unemployment problem along with creating a sustainable green technology industry that creates local jobs based on local energy, that can't be exported, also ending our dependence on foreign and/or dirty sources of energy with unintended environmental consequences like tar pits that leak into drinking water supplies. We have people who need jobs, we have a demand for clean, renewable domestic sources of energy, now we need the political will provided by the people last November, expressed by our policy makers in legislation that strengthens the engine of our economy, the working class family who is the producer and consumer that makes this economy go. If these Americans don't have the money from their labor result in enough to live, save, invest, buy homes, receive education, and plan for the future, with each subsequent generation benefiting from the payments of the previous, then the quality of life that Americans have become accustomed to will disappear.

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HOUSE WHIP COUNT - HEALTH INSURANCE REFORM

As of this hour the House is around ten votes short of the 218 they need to pass the House Version of Medical Inusrance Reform that will expand coverage, lower prices, ends pre-existing conditions, and redactions. Up to 40 Democrats can pass on voting on this and we still could pass the bill. In the meantime, contact these Democratic Members of the House and let them know that you support this bill continuing in its development,

Rep. Travis Childers (Miss.); Rep. John Adler (N.J.); Rep. Walt Minnick (Idaho); Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (S.Dak.); Rep. Suzanne Kosmas (Fla.); Rep. Frank Kratovil (Md.); Rep. Larry Kissell (N.C.); Rep. Bart Gordon (Tenn.); Rep. Dan Boren (Okla.); Rep. Jim Matheson (Utah); Rep. Michael McMahon (N.Y.); Rep. John Tanner (Tenn.); Rep. Brian Baird (Wash.); Rep. Harry Teague (N.M.); and Rep. Collin Peterson (Minn.)

Use this handy gadget to contact these and other members of Congress, or it might be another seventeen years before we have a window to reform access, quality, and cost of Health Care.

Calls: (202) 224-3121 | TTY: (202) 225-1904

UPDATE: via The Hill:

Below is a list of selected Democrats and their positions on the House healthcare reform bill based on media accounts, press releases and spokesmen for the lawmakers.

UPDATED 11/6/09 2:29 p.m.

YES OR LEANING YES
Howard Berman (Calif.)
Leonard Boswell (Iowa)
G.K. Butterfield (N.C.)
Steve Cohen (Tenn.) Called the measure "America's bill"
Gerry Connolly (Va.) Had expressed concern about tax provisions in initial bill
Henry Cuellar (Texas) Got tort provisions added, though still wary of costs
Kathy Dahlkemper (Pa.)
Sam Farr (Calif.)
Gabrielle Giffords (Ariz.) Leaning yes, would like to see more on tort reform
Debbie Halvorson (Ill.)
Alcee Hastings (Fla.)

Rep. Paul Hodes (D-N.H.) Yes
Steve Kagen (Wis.)
Marcy Kaptur (Ohio) Leaning yes
Dale Kildee (Mich.)
Ron Kind (Wis.) Voted no in Ways and Means Committee
Brad Miller (N.C.)
Dennis Moore (Kan.) Was target of death threat last summer over healthcare reform
Jim Langevin (R.I.) Opponent of abortion rights
Jared Polis (Colo.) Voted no in Education and Labor Committee
Earl Pomeroy (N.D.) Voted no in Ways and Means Committee
Nick Rahall (W. Va.)
John Salazar (Colo.)
Linda Sanchez (Calif.)

Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa.) Yes
Mark Schauer (Mich.) NRCC quickly pounced on Schauer's support of bill
Dina Titus (Nev.) Voted no in Education and Labor Committee
Paul Tonko (N.Y.) Leaning yes
Tim Walz (Minn.) "I think we're getting there."
Diane Watson (Calif.) Praised bill in speech on the floor
Peter Welch (Vt.)

NO OR LEANING NO
John Adler (N.J.) A firm no, saying bill doesn't do enough to control health costs.
John Boccieri (Ohio) Leaning no, citing cost-containment concerns
Dan Boren (Okla.) A firm no
Travis Childers (Miss.) "We need to get this legislation right, not just get it fast"
Jim Costa (Calif.)
Artur Davis (Ala.) Gubernatorial candidate says, "We risk a disaster if we get this wrong."
Lincoln Davis (Tenn.) Wants changes to abortion-related provisions
Parker Griffith (Ala.) “I cannot support this bill.”
Bart Gordon (Tenn.) Science panel chairman is a no, citing public option and bill's "financial impact on the state of Tennessee."
Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (S.D.) "It does not include sufficient cost-containment and deficit reduction measures."
Larry Kissell (N.C.) "From the day I announced my candidacy for this office, I promised to protect Medicare."
Suzanne Kosmas (Fla.)"As the bill stands right now, I am not going to be able to support it," Kosmas told the Orlando Sentinel.
Frank Kratovil (D-Md.) No
Jim Marshall (Ga.) A firm no
Mike McMahon (NY) New York Daily News reported Friday evening he is planning to vote "no."
Charlie Melancon (D-La.) No
Walt Minnick (Idaho) Has bucked leadership on big-ticket bills
Collin Peterson (Minn.) Ag chairman has sharply criticized bill
Ike Skelton (Mo.) Ag chairman cites public option, concerns about rural providers
Bart Stupak (Mich.) Wants changes to abortion-related provisions
John Tanner (Tenn.) "I am unable to support this legislation in its present form."
Gene Taylor (Miss.) Made it clear to constituents this summer he is a “no.”
Harry Teague (N.M.) Skeptic of public option

UNDECIDED/REVIEWING BILL
Jason Altmire (Pa.) Acknowledged White House pressure Friday to CongressDaily
Brian Baird (Wash.) Changed from "leaning no."
Melissa Bean (Ill.)
Marion Berry (Ark.) Wants more aggressive action against HMOs, drug makers
Rick Boucher (Va.) Wary of public option; voted no in Energy and Commerce Committee
Dennis Cardoza (Calif.)
Yvette Clarke (N.Y.)
Chet Edwards (Texas) A perennial GOP target; rejected climate bill
Keith Ellison (Minn.)
Bob Etheridge (N.C.) May run for Senate
Bill Foster (Ill.) “Encouraged” House is moving forward; voted no on climate bill
Bart Gordon (Tenn.) Republicans targeting Science panel chairman
Raúl Grijalva (Ariz.) Wants vote on “robust” public option
Baron Hill (Ind.)
Dennis Kucinich (Ohio) He said he "will have trouble voting for anything other than robust public option."
Daniel Lipinski (Ill.) Opposes abortion rights
Betsy Markey (Colo.) Has concerns with cost of the bill
Eric Massa (N.Y.) Fan of single-payer approach
Jim Matheson (Utah) Prefers Senate Finance measure; voted no in committee
Harry Mitchell (Ariz.)
Jim Oberstar (Minn.)
Solomon Ortiz (Texas) Voted no on climate change bill
Ciro Rodriguez (Texas) Voted no on climate measure
Loretta Sanchez (Calif.) Has gone from "yes" to undecided
Heath Shuler (N.C.)
Zack Space (Ohio) Voted yes on Energy and Commerce Committee
Betty Sutton (Ohio)


Mike Soraghan, Bob Cusack, Mary Ann Dreas and Dan Randlett contributed to this list.

Feedback, tips can be sent to bcusack@thehill.com

Click to Update here.

UPDATE 2: Whip Count From Firedoglake:

I’m counting 189 firm yes votes and 44 undecideds. Democrats would need to get 29 on those 44 undecideds to pass the bill. Here’s the names of those undecideds:

Jason Altmire (D-PA) – office says he’s “reviewing the bill closely”; told Bloomberg that the leadership “doesn’t appear to have the votes”
John Barrow (D-GA) – undecided
Melissa Bean (D-IL) – office says she’s “reviewing the entire bill”
Marion Berry (D-AR) – told Fox News he’s undecided
John Boccieri (D-OH) – undecided
Rick Boucher (D-VA) – office says “still in the process of deciding”
Allen Boyd (D-FL) – office says undecided
Dennis Cardoza (D-CA) – The Hill describes him as “lean no”
Chris Carney (D-PA) – undecided
Ben Chandler (D-KY) – leaning no
Jim Cooper (D-TN) – office says undecided
Jim Costa (D-CA) – undecided
Jerry Costello (D-IL) – undecided
Steve Driehaus (D-OH) – hinging on abortion language
Chet Edwards (D-TX) – undecided
Brad Ellsworth (D-IN) – hinging on his abortion language
Bill Foster (D-IL) – office says undecided
Baron Hill (D-IN) – weighing the bill
Jim Himes (D-CT) – lean yes UPDATE: Himes just announced that he’s voting for the bill.
Tim Holden (D-PA) – office says undecided
Paul Kanjorski (D-PA) – office says undecided
Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) – reviewing the bill
Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) – might vote no because of lack of his single-payer amendment: UPDATE based on what he just emailed through the Progressive Democrats of America list, may be a yes vote after all
Dan Lipinski (D-IL) – office says undecided
Dan Maffei (D-NY) – undecided
Betsey Markey (D-CO) – office says undecided
Mike McIntyre (D-NC) – office says undecided
Harry Mitchell (D-AZ) – studying the bill UPDATE: From the comments, he’s committed to voting for the bill.
Allan Mollohan (D-WV) – supports if abortion language clarified
Glenn Nye (D-VA) – still needs to be convinced
James Oberstar (D-MN) – office says undecided UPDATE: Locals expect him to be a yes vote in the end.
Solomon Ortiz (D-TX) – undecided
Tom Perriello (D-VA) – told Morning Joe today he was “closer to yes”
Gary Peters (D-MI) – reviewing the bill
Nick Rahall (D-WV) – supports if abortion language clarified
Ciro Rodriguez (D-TX) – undecided
Mike Ross (D-AR) – office says undecided
Loretta Sanchez (D-CA) – this blog post seems to suggest she supports the bill
Adam Schiff (D-CA) – no information
Kurt Schrader (D-OR) – office says undecided
Heath Shuler (D-NC) – GOP Congressman says he’s a no, but could be trash-talking
Adam Smith (D-WA) – undecided
Zack Space (D-OH) – undecided
Betty Sutton (D-OH) – no information

That’s the landscape right now. And I understand why we’re starting to hear about possible slippage on the vote. Because it’s going to be a very heavy lift.

UPDATE: Mike Arcuri (D-NY), Scott Murphy (D-NY) and Joe Donnelly (D-IN) are now in the lean yes/undecided camp. But also, Brian Baird, who announced his opposition today, may be in play.

Given all the updates, I think the count is:
23 definite nos
2 lean nos (McMahon and Baird)
45 undecided/lean yes
188 definite yes

188+45= 235, we need 218, so 15 to play with, still contact the member on this list especially the "no's" and "undecided's", take no vote for granted.

UPDATE

AlterNet:

House Democratic leaders will allow an up-or-down vote on the Stupak-Pitts amendment, which seeks to block even private insurance plans from funding abortion care.

In other words, this amendment, if passed and included in a final health reform bill, would block you from getting insurance to cover legal procedures in the United States of America, with premiums paid with your personal funds. Planned Parenthood, NARAL Pro-Choice America, the National Women's Law Center and other groups are calling for immediate action against the amendment, and you can click here to find your representative and tell them to vote no on Stupak.

The amendment, named for Representatives Bart Stupak, D-Mich, and Joe Pitts, R-Penn. Stupak is a so-called "Democrat for Life;" Pitts has been a dogged supporter of failed abstinence-only policies, domestically and internationally, and was among those who succeeded in adding language forbidding the provision of contraceptive supplies for HIV-positive women in US global AIDS funding.

Call Your Member and tell them to vote "No" on Stupak-Pitts. It's outrageous and likely Unconstitutional.

LBJ Ordering Pants, LBJ style.

Via Political Wire.

Justice Stephen Breyer and Justice Scalia Conversation On The Constitution: Principles of Constitutional and Statutory Interpretation recorded on Monday, Oct. 26th, 2009 at the Leo Rich Theatre, Tucson Convention Center.

Scalia and the other Originalists know the democratic process as designed in our institutions is slow and difficult, so they serve as sort of goalkeepers against progress just in case the people happen to get a shot off, this may not be their intention, but that's always been the effect, and it's no coincidence that these judges find a way to align their policy option selections congruent with their rulings. The Scalia side has little rationale when confronted with the Breyer view and I think Scalia knows it. Highly entertaining.

From Political Wire, Frank Luntz's GOP guide to undermining Health Care Reform.

If Frank want's to publish his propaganda playbook, by all means. It's important to point out that public policy polling supports a robust public option and if Democratic so called "centerists" listen to this made to order sciency briefing they are following the same pied piper that got us into the Iraq War, Budget Defecits, and all the W and GOP policy failures emanated from the pen of either Frank Luntz, Karl Rove, Dick Morris, or Bill Kristol or all of them simultaneously. These are the guys that sunk the GOP in to a 25% approval rating.

The people want a pro-consumer Health Bill, stay the course in the Legislative Process and next week Obama needs to blow-up these bullshit talking points and asset his commitment to the pro-consumer, cost-cutting, health improving biggest public option implemented along with all of those other reforms as close to 2010 as possible. Remember Blue Dogs this is the same guy that told Bush to pursue the privatization of Medicare, he's ineffective and has been leading people off of cliffs for over ten years now. The Democratic Party and Obama's fortunes are tied together and we rise and fall as one. Don't let the GOP and Joe Lieberman exploit any of the rifts in our strongly melded caucuses. Teeing up a Health Reform Bill that is badly needed and desired not only to cover the uninsured and improve medical outcomes but to reign in the deficit and not swinging or not swinging hard enough and/or not getting the most bang for the consumers buck is the biggest political mistake you could ever make in your career.

There is a tiny window for success or failure and history will remember those who stepped up to the challenge and delivered for working families instead of MegaCorporations for once, and the voters will know that, remember those who fought for them and reward that commitment to the people. Those on the wrong side of history will stay in their 25% popularity hole. This is what's known as a "no-brainer". It cuts the deficit, it stops redactions and pre-existing conditions, the people will love it so long as they are not funneled into more corporate controlled bins without the choice of a public plan. If the Democrats fail the people, they will lose the Congress, if they are strong and don't mind the lawyers for the staus quo they will rightly retain their position.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
For Fox Sake!
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Health Care Crisis

Please Hammer, don't hurt them. Afterall, FOX's ineffective Circus makes everything un-FOX more appealing. Then, again, go ahead and describe them and quantify them name them and shame them.

Breaking News Alert
The New York Times
Tue, October 27, 2009 -- 9:10 PM ET
-----

Brother of Afghan President Is on C.I.A. Payroll, Officials Say

Ahmed Wali Karzai, the brother of the Afghan president and a
suspected player in the country's booming illegal opium
trade, gets regular payments from the Central Intelligence
Agency, and has for much of the past eight years, according
to current and former American officials.

The agency pays Mr. Karzai for a variety of services, and
those financial ties and the agency's close working
relationship with him raise significant questions about
America's war strategy, which is currently under review at
the White House.

OK, I'm officially double-plus unhappy with the Afghan expedition. Mostly because a small, minority of Americans are fighting this war on behalf of a majority who couldn't be bothered to lift a finger when it comes to national service or even community service. We cannot kill our way out of this problem and I don't know if we have the troops to secure the Mountainous and Tribal regions of Afghanistan, especially since they just flee to the Pakistan side of the border. At the same time, we can't allow Afghanistan to continue to be a narco/terror state, it is one of many, but the answer is economic development and Secular democracy that creates an environment that is secure to do business in. We don't have the money in the treasury to do this the old fashioned way, so I better hear some new ideas that not longer include breeches in International Law, because when we sign a treaty, it's the law of this land, not just, over there, otherwise no treaty process would ever be pursued. Afghanistan needs a sustainable agricultural transition from Poppy's to a crop that will provide enough for their self-interests more then growing Opium. That means we need cops on the beat to protect these rural regions from the Taliban when Coalition forces aren't there. The only way to do that is with a physical police presence to execute the law on behalf of the people. The military isn't designed to enforce the law, they're designed to destroy enemies, so we need cops on the beat. That means going to the UN, and bolstering International Law such that UN police forces have teeth to enforce the legal process and we need to use not only carrots, but sticks when it comes to encouraging our allies with common interests to send "police", as you train as many of the locals to enforce their democratic sourced laws as possible.

I have a problem with drone assassination and I have problem with Al-Qaeda running around unencumbered. We need a better legal framework for dealing with irrational actors and their groups, and that framework starts with understanding that when a tiny minority group believes that violence is part of their political solution that we enforce the law such that it doesn't compromise the legitimate political process. Like The Manson Family, this is a police issue, and not a military issue. We need to prevent the conditions that allow people to turn to terror from forming. Poverty, Hunger, Corruption, these are the enemies of the will of the people, which is contrary to the democratic mission, but we can't proceed like Dick Cheney and George W. Bush, because history has shown over and over again that we need a new way other then war to progress our international political ecosystem. Bin Ladin wants us to over react, kill the people we're supposedly protecting, and create anti-West sentiment. I say spite the Devil, and find a way that allows the interests of the people to be met without killing them.

Congratulations to Harry Reid for going strong for competition that holds the insurance corporations accountable by supporting a comprehensive public option. He's not only meeting, he's beating expectations, and the White House should be thrilled.

Let GOP leaders explain to their State's why their people's Health Care bills go up when they opt-out of a public while their neighbors health bills go down. Good luck with that.

"Public Policy Polling notes President Obama's approval rating with people who didn't vote for him is 14% and his disapproval rating with people who voted for him is 6%.

"So he's won over twice as many people as he's lost since he got elected. Who in the national media is going to write that story? Not bad for someone whose support is supposedly falling apart."

Obama is motoring. The President's greatest potential opponent right now is himself, so it would be wise to stand strongly for the most robust public option so we can get the most robust competition to lower prices and increase quality. There is no sane political reason to sell out your party and the people who voted for you for Olympia Snowe's one vote. The Senate needs to display that it will work for consumers over the interests of the powerful and pass a bill via reconciliation, and own as a badge of courage. The people's support would become even more emphatic if Obama and the Senate not only meet expectations but surprise them by going above and beyond their expectations. If the 2008 election said anything, it said that it's time to break ties in favor of the people and not the corporations and the staus quo, and that's still not only the right thing to do policy wise, but also politically, because that's what 55-60% of the nation wants, real reform, not Snowe's one vote, or 60 votes in the Senate.

This Just in,



Duck Sauce and I are declaring victory in the war against Patients, we are pleased to announce that we're getting the best public option we can given the chemistry of the Senate. It's not everything that we want, but given the circumstances we have to be, "happy with what we have to be happy with", until we can get real campaign finance/lobbyist reform. It's the best we can do given real politic and making pre-existing conditions a thing of the past and obliterating the concept of insurance redaction after you get sick is no small feat. We wish that the Public Option would be open to all Americans and not just those without employer based insurance, but we have to start the foundation somewhere. It doesn't matter if we call it Medicare part E or The Public Option, Mitch, or Duck Sauce.

Michael Moore take us home,

Friends,

It's the #1 question I'm constantly asked after people see my movie: "OK -- so NOW what can I DO?!"

You want something to do? Well, you've come to the right place! 'Cause I got 15 things you and I can do right now to fight back and try to fix this very broken system.

Here they are:

FIVE THINGS WE DEMAND THE PRESIDENT AND CONGRESS DO IMMEDIATELY:

1. Declare a moratorium on all home evictions. Not one more family should be thrown out of their home. The banks must adjust their monthly mortgage payments to be in line with what people's homes are now truly worth -- and what they can afford. Also, it must be stated by law: If you lose your job, you cannot be tossed out of your home.

2. Congress must join the civilized world and expand Medicare For All Americans. A single, nonprofit source must run a universal health care system that covers everyone. Medical bills are now the #1 cause of bankruptcies and evictions in this country. Medicare For All will end this misery. The bill to make this happen is called H.R. 3200. You must call AND write your members of Congress and demand its passage, no compromises allowed.

3. Demand publicly-funded elections and a prohibition on elected officials leaving office and becoming lobbyists. Yes, those very members of Congress who solicit and receive millions of dollars from wealthy interests must vote to remove ALL money from our electoral and legislative process. Tell your members of Congress they must support campaign finance bill H.R.1826.

4. Each of the 50 states must create a state-owned public bank like

they have in North Dakota. Then congress MUST reinstate all the strict pre-Reagan regulations on all commercial banks, investment firms, insurance companies -- and all the other industries that have been savaged by deregulation: Airlines, the food industry, pharmaceutical companies -- you name it. If a company's primary motive to exist is to make a profit, then it needs a set of stringent rules to live by -- and the first rule is "Do no harm." The second rule: The question must always be asked -- "Is this for the common good?" (Click here for some info about the state-owned Bank of North Dakota.)

5. Save this fragile planet and declare that all the energy resources above and beneath the ground are owned collectively by all of us. Just like they do it in Sarah Palin's socialist Alaska. We only have a few decades of oil left. The public must be the owners and landlords of the natural resources and energy that exists within our borders or we will descend further into corporate anarchy. And when it comes to burning fossil fuels to transport ourselves, we must cease using the internal combustion engine and instruct our auto/transportation companies to rehire our skilled workforce and build mass transit (clean buses, light rail, subways, bullet trains, etc.) and new cars that don't contribute toclimate change. (For more on this, here's a proposal I wrote in December.) Demand that General Motors' de facto chairman, Barack Obama, issue a JFK man-on-the-moon-style challenge to turn our country into a nation of trains and buses and subways. For Pete's sake, people, we were the ones who invented (or perfected) these damn things in the first place!!

FIVE THINGS WE CAN DO TO MAKE CONGRESS AND THE PRESIDENT LISTEN TO US:

1. Each of us must get into the daily habit of taking 5 minutes to make four brief calls: One to the President (202-456-1414), one to your Congressperson (202-224-3121) and one to each of your two Senators (202-224-3121). To find out who represents you, click here. Take just one minute on each of these calls to let them know how you expect them to vote on a particular issue. Let them know you will have no hesitation voting for a primary opponent -- or even a candidate from another party -- if they don't do our bidding. Trust me, they will listen. If you have another five minutes, click here to send them each an email. And if you really want to drop an anvil on them, send them a snail mail letter!

2. Take over your local Democratic Party. Remember how much fun you had with all those friends and neighbors working together to get Barack Obama elected? YOU DID THE IMPOSSIBLE. It's time to re-up! Get everyone back together and go to the monthly meeting of your town or county Democratic Party -- and become the majority that runs it! There will not be many in attendance and they will either be happy or in shock that you and the ObamaRevolution have entered the room looking like you mean business. President Obama's agenda will never happen without mass grass roots action -- and he won't feel encouraged to do the right thing if no one has his back, whether it's to stand with him, or push him in the right direction. When you all become the local Democratic Party, send me a photo of the group and I'll post it on my website.

3. Recruit someone to run for office who can win in your local elections next year -- or, better yet, consider running for office yourself! You don't have to settle for the incumbent who always expects to win. You can be our next representative! Don't believe it can happen? Check out these examples of regular citizens who got elected: State Senator Deb Simpson, California State Assemblyman Isadore Hall, Tempe, Arizona City Councilman Corey Woods,Wisconsin State Assemblyman Chris Danou, and Washington State Representative Larry Seaquist. The list goes on and on -- and you should be on it!

4. Show up. Picket the local branch of a big bank that took the bailout money. Hold vigils and marches. Consider civil disobedience. Those town hall meetings are open to you, too (and there's more of us than there are of them!).Make some noise, have some fun, get on the local news. Place "Capitalism Did This" signs on empty foreclosed homes, closed down businesses, crumbling schools and infrastructure. (You can download them from my website.)

5. Start your own media. You. Just you (or you and a couple friends). The mainstream media is owned by corporate America and, with few exceptions, it will never tell the whole truth -- so you have to do it! Start a blog! Start a website of real local news (here's an example: The Michigan Messenger). Tweet your friends and use Facebook to let them know what they need to do politically. The daily papers are dying. If you don't fill that void, who will?

FIVE THINGS WE SHOULD DO TO PROTECT OURSELVES AND OUR LOVED ONES UNTIL WE GET THROUGH THIS MESS:

1. Take your money out of your bank if it took bailout money and place it in a locally-owned bank or, preferably, a credit union.

2. Get rid of all your credit cards but one -- the kind where you have to pay up at the end of the month or you lose your card.

3. Do not invest in the stock market. If you have any extra cash, put it away in a savings account or, if you can, pay down on your mortgage so you can own your home as soon as possible. You can also buy very safe government savings bonds or T-bills. Or just buy your mother some flowers.

4. Unionize your workplace so that you and your coworkers have a say in how your business is run. Here's how to do it (more info here). Nothing is more American than democracy, and democracy shouldn't be checked at the door when you enter your workplace. Another way to Americanize your workplace is to turn your business into a worker-owned cooperative. You are not a wage slave. You are a free person, and you giving up eight hours of your life every day to someone else is to be properly compensated and respected.

5. Take care of yourself and your family. Sorry to go all Oprah on you, but she's right: Find a place of peace in your life and make the choice to be around people who are not full of negativity and cynicism. Look for those who nurture and love. Turn off the TV and the Blackberry and go for a 30-minute walk every day. Eat fruits and vegetables and cut down on anything that has sugar, high fructose corn syrup, white flour or too much sodium (salt) in it (and, asMichael Pollan says, "Eat (real) food, not too much, mostly plants"). Get seven hours of sleep each night and take the time to read a book a month. I know this sounds like I've turned into your grandma, but, dammit, take a good hard look at Granny -- she's fit, she's rested and she knows the names of both of her U.S. Senators without having to Google them. We might do well to listen to her. If we don't put our own "oxygen mask" on first (as they say on the airplane), we will be of no use to the rest of the nation in enacting any of this action plan!

I'm sure there are many other ideas you can come up with on how we can build this movement. Get creative. Think outside the politics-as-usual box. BE SUBVERSIVE! Think of that local action no one else has tried. Behave as if your life depended on it. Be bold! Try doing something with reckless abandon. It may just liberate you and your community and your nation.

Tell your Momma.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

The awesome IV: The Quickening.

From Nate Silver, Why The (Impure) Public Option is (Probably) Gaining Momentum

Whatever we can get is a win that we can build on, but we need a public option as a foundation.

Progressive's work is paying off, from the election of Obama in states like North Carolina and Indiana to the national election and the legislative agenda, progressive strategy is working to frame the debate, set the agenda, and (cross our fingers) get the best policy we can out of the Congress considering it's designed to subdue and delete progress. The GOP still tells themselves that they are supported and popular no matter of the evidence to the contrary. There is a mass exodus from the GOP to non-party affiliation which inevitable weakens both the individual's leverage capacity. There is power in numbers. Organic coalitions form of the commonly interested because that's an honest expression of where the people's interests meet with the urgency of the issues. The poor, minorities and middle class and even majority minorities like women are finally getting much more representation then before. By listening to what the people want and understanding what they need along with better execution and use of technology we are getting back on track as a democracy that can function for, by and of the majority of people and not just a small well connected wealthy minority. For the first time in along time around 55% of the people and the President are on the same page. Now we must retain that faith through execution, competency, and proving that the people can effectively self-govern in our democratic republic and this form of government is not evil but necessary for the common good and perpetuation of this nations 200 year hot streak.

breakdown,

1. The tireless, and occasionally tiresome, advocacy on behalf of liberal bloggers and interest groups for the public option. Whatever you think of their tactics -- I haven't always agreed with them -- the sheer amount of focus and energy expended on their behalf has been very important, keeping the issue alive in the public debate.

2. The fact that the CBO thinks it will save money.

3. The seeming inevitability of health care reform, which neuters the voices of those who aren't opposed to the public option per se so much as the entire project of health care reform.

4. The fact that the locus of power has shifted from the Gang of Six -- Bingaman/Conrad/Baucus/Snowe/Grassley/Enzi to the Group of Six -- Pelosi/Dodd/Obama/Reid/Baucus/Snowe.

5. The "innovation" of the opt-in/opt-out family of compromises, which have more liberal "street cred" than co-ops or triggers and are potentially also much more politically advantageous.

6. The fading from memory of the tea party protests and the "government takeover" meme.

7. Polls in myriad swing states and swing districts showing the public option is reasonably popular in these regions.

8. Constituent letters and e-mails.

9. The insurance industry's "senior moment": forgetting that this isn't 1993 and that the shelf life of a misleading study would be measured in hours (rather than days or weeks) and would damage its credibility in the process.

10. The Washington Post's somewhat bizarre decision to make its poll showing support for the public option its lede in yesterday's paper, even though public opinion has been fairly steady on the issue for months.

The White House stepped up its attacks on Fox News today with senior adviser David Axelrod declaring that the cable news network is "not really a news station" and that much of the programming is "not really news," reports Politico.

Said Axelrod: "It's really not news -- it's pushing a point of view. And the bigger thing is that other news organizations like yours ought not to treat them that way, and we're not going to treat them that way. We're going to appear on their shows. We're going to participate but understanding that they represent a point of view."

Jacob Weisberg: "Whether the White House engages with Fox is a tactical political question. Whether we journalists continue to do so is an ethical one. By appearing on Fox, reporters validate its propaganda values and help to undermine the role of legitimate news organizations. Respectable journalists -- I'm talking to you, Mara Liasson -- should stop appearing on its programs. A boycott would make Roger Ailes too happy, so let's try just ignoring Fox for a while. And no, I don't want to come on The O'Reilly Factor to discuss it."

The WWF used to claim they were legit too until it became too utterly obvious that they were a Circus Side Show with Characters playing parts. That's FOX-News, and you should treat it as such, and of course they'll complain. You don't want to make them bigger then they are. They have about ten million committed viewers, (and that's generous when O'Reilly gets about 3-4 million viewers and Beck get's about 1.75 million in a nation of 300 million,

Nielsen Cable Network Coverage Estimates

CNN/HLN: 99.10 million HHs
CNBC: 96.78 million HHs
FNC:96.26 million HHs
MSNBC: 92.64 million HHs

Remember Households divide potential viewership by 2-6. I think that FOX represents maybe 17-35% of the voting electorate, maybe. Do they beat other cable shows? Sure. Do they beat The Ultimate Warrior or Hannah Montana? Not even close. Does the fact that they are competing for different markets jive? Of course not, but nice try. You can try to make FOX bigger then they are because in relation to MSNBC, yeah they look bigger, but next to Sponge Bob Square Pants, they look pretty small to me.

I think The President needs an opponent, by virtue of the political power dynamic, and Obama is bigger then Boehner, McConnell, PalinHuckRomney, combined, so he might just squash a network now. Such is the nature of popular power, and Obama is still rocking a 55-40ish job approval rating, FOX, (49-45%, wtf?!), and Rasmussen have totally different results that make the President looks worse, likely incorrectly weighted polling that auto calls white males 50-80 to gain the majority of their sample, we'll never know because Rasmuessen won't tell me how they make their concoctions. Maybe they just tack on the worst MoE scenario possible. The point is, FOX want's the Obama Administration replaced with Queen Sarah and a Military Junta, and they don't care if they have to pull a Honduras Job to do it, so name them shame them, but it's important to point out how they mislead by manipulating the agenda, priorities, and evidence. Point out there real size and there motivations, (more like a tabloid then a newspaper; Sales trump the public good at News, corps.),anywhere were this: "Is Obama Palling around with Terrorists?" is supposed to be news and not a political commercial people need to call, "BS".

Freedom of Speech is also about correcting and quality assurance for those who don't know what they don't know.