The state of the debate over health care reform is unclear following Saturday night's close Senate vote.

The future of the public option in any health care reform bill remains as a central question for progressives and for hometown public debate, even with the advent of the Thanksgiving holidays.  Senate floor debate resumes after the recess this week. 

Where senators stand -- Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark) supports the public option, according to Matt Yglesias.  Several conservative Democrats voted to bring the bill to the floor but would not vote for the bill in its present form, Reuters reports.  We learned from The Hill today that, "Independent Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont says that there are many Democratic senators who would vote against a Senate bill lacking a strong public option."  Senate Whip, Dick Durbin (D-Ill) says he is open to changing the public option in order to pass the bill.  Colorado's Freshman Democratic Senator Michael Bennet has said that he is willing to lose his seat for his support of passage of the bill.

The White House and Democratic leaders will also be focusing on winning support for the bill from certain key Republicans, reports Carl Hulse in the Sunday New York Times.  As you might guess, the targets are the two senators from Maine, Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe.

The immediate benefits of the law are not widely known; 14 provisions actually would kick in immediately upon passage.  Hat tip to "blackwaterdog" at Daily Kos for this good summary.  Despite that fact, according to the most recent Rasmussen poll, support for the Democrats' Health Care plan has fallen to a new low, 38% in favor.

Is it now time for Congress to be self correcting?

The legislative branch of the U.S. government has often looked dysfunctional in recent years.  A number of Senators and Representatives violated ethics, broke the law or engaged in other corrupt behaviors, and probably will again.  Bipartisanship has all but disappeared and moderates find welcome mainly with Democrats.  Current needs for new laws are leftover from years of ineptitude and neglect.  Congress has some catching up to do.

Self correction is needed.  Should we expect any useful corrections to happen?  Looking to history, there was a similar situation after President Clinton's second election.  Republicans took power and proposed a revolutionary strategy, which eventually included impeachment proceedings against the President.  But over time Congress developed a self corrected mechanism, according to an article written later in the 1990s decade by former Representative Lee Hamilton.  To quote:

Something similar is happening today. It began with the Republicans’ decision to elect Dennis Hastert Speaker of the House, which signaled their desire to find a less confrontational tack than they had assumed under Newt Gingrich. It continued with the get-together in Hershey, Pennsylvania, a gathering that drew some 200 Members of Congress and their families hoping to get to know one another away from the political pressure cooker. And it’s apparent in the measured, even conciliatory language heard these days from Speaker Hastert and the Democratic leader, Richard Gephardt of Missouri. Constituents are tired of division and blatant partisan calculation, and every time Members of Congress go home, they hear about it. The surprise would be if Members did not pay attention. It is Congress’ own self-correcting mechanism at work.

. . . I’d like to think that, as Congress gingerly moves beyond impeachment, its Members are beginning once again to discover how much more they can accomplish by working together.

Can we hope for a recurrence anytime soon?  How close to the brink of disaster do we have to come in the 2000s decade?  One would think that the events of the past year would have been enough to set up a congressional self correction.  What is different?  One thing this time is that we do not have divided government.  Democrats are in control of both Capitol Hill and the White House and the Republicans do not know how to tolerate that reality.

One would wish that Congress would embark on the business of self correction today.  It is the Saturday set for a vote to begin formal health care reform debate on the floor of the Senate.  Republicans will try to delay and obstruct and Democrats will arm-twist each other to get the 60 votes necessary to bring up the blended bill.

It will be interesting to watch because the outcome this evening and beyond is still so uncertain.  Knowing Lee Hamilton, I'll bet there is a small part of him ironically wishing for the good old days when the Democrats were the cooperative minority. Perish the thought!

Today is today and the Democrats must practice self correction within their own ranks, and stop wishfully thinking about the good old days of bipartisanship.

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Beautiful Republican women are grabbing lots of air time these days.

Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin was angered by a 'sexist' Newsweek cover#," according to Yahoo! News (11/17/09). And I agree that it was a sexist statement for News Week to make.  Any similar story about a male politician would not have received the same treatment.  Though, I daresay a feature about a male celebrity might have presented a similar treatment.  Do you suppose the Mag was saying  that all Palin has going for her is celebrity?  Could be. 

When asked  questions about her political ambitions during her current book tour, Palin was coy about a 2012 run, but said door is open#," according toYahoo! News (11/17/09). This was during a Barbara Walters interview.  During her recent Oprah Winfrey show television appearance, Palin said the presidency is "not on my radar screen"#."  Are we to take her at her word?  Perhaps, perhaps not.  If pressed, I think it is merely about selling books. . . . to Right Wing Republicans and members of the media studying the phenomenon,  Sarah Palin of the Crazy Base.  It may not be more complicated than that.

Liz Cheney -- "How Far Right Must GOPers Lean to Please a Crazy Base?#," is a question asked by Steve Benen, a fine writer from The Washington Monthly, posting at AlterNet (11/17/09). In summary, "Far enough to completely contradict themselves, apparently," is the conclusion.  Speaking of the Crazy Base, The Raw Story (11/15/09) reported that Liz Cheney suggests a Cheney/Palin ticket in 2012#."  That makes me crazy; I get all kinds of hallucinations just at the thought.  Such a thought is ludicrous, of course.  And it does not make me fearful.

To give Palin credit, her biggest stock in trade is not fear mongering, though she is not above that.  The ex-governor seems to prefer insults and dismissiveness to threats of danger.

Michele Bachmann -- There is a third beautiful Republican woman who comes across as actually appears to be fearful herself, as this story from Think Progress (9/25/09) illustrates:  "Flashback: Bachman spreads fears of scary stalking census workers."  To quote:

Earlier this summer, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) waged a high-profile, wildly-dishonest campaign against the Census. The Minnesota congresswoman said she was so worried about the threat of the government asking “very intricate questions” and collecting information that she would illegally refuse to fill out the form. “They will be in charge of going door to door and collecting data from the American public,” she said. “This is very concerning.” She repeatedly used inflammatory and fear-mongering rhetoric against the Census.  

. . . Bachmann’s irrational diatribes about scary stalking Census workers quickly spawned a right-wing movement. During an interview with Bachmann, Fox News’ Glenn Beck said, “Ok, so let me talk about the Census because there’s a lot of people that are concerned with it because they don’t want to fill it out, they’re not comfortable with ACORN members coming to find out all this information, they don’t want to give the government all this kind of information.”

Conservative radio host Neal Boortz told a caller, “Most of the rest of the [Census] information is designed to help the government steal from you in order to pass off your property to the moochers. They’re looters.” Boortz urged his listeners to resist the Census workers. “If somebody comes to my — if a burglar came to your house, are you going to show him where the silverware is?” he asked. “Maybe you will if he pulls out a gun.”

In conclusion the 24-hour news cycle has a voracious appetite for news, or what passes for news.  Producers and talking heads regularly conflate the categories comprised of leaders, elected officials, candidates, celebrities, news makers, publicity hounds, shills, and perennial pundits.  Television is a visual medium and it certainly does not hurt to be good looking along with other attractive qualities such as intellect, good sense, and a capacity for fresh ideas.  But there needs to be both to hold my interest.  And, by the way, I am not a guy and I am not a jealous woman.  So I look at things a bit differently, perhaps.

Hat Tip Key: Regular contributor of Email links today is  Jon#.

Blogs: My general purpose/southwest focus blog is at Southwest Progressive. And Carol Gee - Online Universe is the all-in-one home page for my websites.

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Living green

This is a choice that produces a smaller "carbon footprint."  It is the responsible path for responsible citizens.  It is the example children deserve from parents leaving their life legacies.

Being green is an impossible state for the animal kingdom, just as being animal is impossible for life in the plant kingdom.  It is a partnership that needs tending because plants and animals depend on humans to see to the future.

Living green is marked by dozens of small choices we make every day, every year, every lifetime. 

I hope you have a lovely day.  

Reaction to the upcoming 9/11 trials, announced by AG Eric Holder

There was strong reaction to the announcement of the 9/11 trial to be held in a New York court.  Liberals and civil libertarians were approving and Republican Right-Wingers were deeply disapproving.  

What are we to call the widespread upset among Republicans?  Today's post is a digest of opinion from writers whom I regularly follow as well as my own conclusions.

Fear Mongering -- Tom Andrews, writing late Friday night for The Huffington Post, said that, ". . . we all know that Right Wing critics will be out, en masse, using their favorite tactic of fear-mongering while relying on ignorance to manipulate the public."  Read the whole thing: Khalid Shaikh Mohammad, others to finally face justice in NYC.

Surrender -- Other nations have trials of high level terrorists within their systems of normal justice.  But since 9/11/01 we in the U.S. have not.  I think Glenn Greenwald put his finger on the problem in his Saturday post.  He minced no words, calling it "The Right's textbook 'surrender to the terrorists'."  His intro line said, " 'We're too scared to have real trials in our country' is a level of cowardice unmatched in the world."  And Greenwald closed with this straight up opinion:

. . . it's hardly surprising that they exude a level of fear of Terrorists that is unmatched virtually anywhere in the world.  It is, however, noteworthy that the position they advocate -- it's too scary to have normal trials in our country of Terrorists -- is as pure a surrender to the Terrorists as it gets.

Cowardice -- At emptywheel Marcy Wheeler wrote a pungent little piece that asked, "Why is it that Republicans are such scardey-cats?"  I love what Gregg Levine said in "Elephants on Parade" on Friday at Firedoglake, about the difference between Democratic and Republican reaction to the announcement of upcoming 9/11 trials.  To quote Levine:

Cowards. Cowards. And again, cowards.

I can’t say that word enough because no one else seems to say it at all.

Contrast what a sampling of Republicans (and Republican wannabe) have to say about today’s decision . . .

Guilt -- Guilt and anxiety/fear are first cousins in the world of emotional motivation.  Daily Kos' "thereisnospoon," thinks he has figured out why Republicans are having such a fear mongering fit.  The author concluded:

There's a reason Republicans are pissing in their pants. . . they're afraid that their own policies of torture and indefinite detention will get the terrorists acquitted.  So, like a stupid criminal, they're upping the ante by doubling down on their original criminal idiocy.

Un-American Demagoguery -- Leaders who make use of popular prejudices or false claims in order to gain power does not deserve followers. Representative Jim Moran used even stronger words than fearfulness in a post by Evan McMorris-Santoro at TPMDC.  To quote from the story Friday:

Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA) has strong words for the Republicans opposing Attorney General Eric Holder's plan to bring five 9/11 suspects to New York City to face trial.

"They see this as an opportunity to demagogue," he said. "They will seize on any opportunity to do that, and that means they'll even take a stand that's un-American."

"It's un-American to hold anyone indefinitely without trial," Moran added. "It's against our principles as a nation."

Medieval Romanticism -- These are probably the kindest words I found in my little news survey.  Professor Juan Cole at Informed Comment defined the Republican reaction to AG Eric Holder's decision to prosecute as "medieval romanticism."  To quote:

Predictably, Republican critics vowed to fight the decision, since they much prefer to hold people forever without trial while torturing them, sort of the way some English kings did in North America before there was that pesky American constitution. . . . its fascination with arbitrary arrest and imprisonment and with torture more recalls the star chambers of yore than the deliberations at Philadelphia over 200 years ago.

Fear is a natural and normal reaction to accurately perceived danger.  But the key is using one's whole brain to ascertain just what constitutes a real danger.  The terrorists acts in 2001 were very dangerous.  Over three thousand people lost their lives as a result.  This is 2009, however, and it is important to make distinctions that today's realities warrant.  Wiser people than knee-jerk reactionaries are now in charge, thank goodness.  The United States government must continue to act out of calculation toward confidence-building, out of justice and healing, out of intelligence and courage, and out of genuine patriotism.  It is time.

Even though it is Friday the 13th things are looking up.

Saying no to superstition as the day wears on -- Those of us leaning Left feel a sense of relief that a return to justice may be on the way again, after eight years of George W. Bush ignoring the rule of law.  Attorney General Holder announced that several detainees will be brought to New York City to stand trial in federal court.  And President Obama confirmed his belief that justice surely will be served there.  Unfortunately, but predictably, Republican leaders quickly took up their old, tired-out tactics of fear mongering.  I am beginning to believe that some of them are truly fearful, though I believed for a long time that it was a political tactic.  What an awful way to live.  What a pitiful way to lead.

Superstition and fear are first cousins.  So it is wonderfully ironic that the worst fears of Republicans (almost the worst) came true on this Friday the 13th. Over the next few months they will be found out, branded as wrong-headed and seen for their lack of imagination and capacity to move on.  What this administration is doing is returning to the way it was over most of our history, normal.  And for all the Right Wing's accusations of radicalism from the President, it turns out he is just methodically normal.

For example -- Congress is to be treated as a more co-equal branch of government, though the President objected to their knee-jerk military spending on an unneeded airplane.  In the end Congress gets to write the legislation and the President signs it, or not.  Courts are where guilt and innocence are decided and where the rule of law is defined.  The Executive branch executes the law of the land, adheres to treaty obligations.  President Obama is on a trip to foreign lands, talking and listening, thank goodness.  He does not seem to be bound by fears, or by anger, or by angst, or by jealousy, or by ignorance.  He's just sort of a normal president running a normal administration.  Eight years of the Bush administration made us forget what that is like.

Illustration is from Wordle.net.

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Violent overtones disturb the peace.

Yesterday a memorial service honored 13 dead at the hands of a shooter at Fort Hood, Texas.  There were shootings at a shopping center the same day and the Washington D.C. sniper was executed.  And today Rush Limbaugh is allowed to say the most horrific and hateful things imaginable about our young president. 

Many of us have our peace deeply disturbed; we do not understand what has happened to the stability of our nation.  This kind of news repeats itself too often these days, and I worry that we will get used to it and just turn the television off permanently or numb out to the news.  Free speech is exacting a very heavy price these days.  Just where is the line of insighting to violence?  Where is the line with hate speech?

I am taken back to the sixties and I do not like these feelings of anxiety raised by the past few days and weeks.  People must come to their senses and step back from this abyss.

Something happened on the way to the post I had planned for yesterday.