"Always aim high, work hard, and care deeply about what you believe in. When you stumble, keep faith. When you're knocked down, get right back up. And NEVER listen to anyone who says you can't or shouldn't go on." - Hillary Clinton -
As the election contest trial dragged on, Franken told Minnesota Public Radio News he had been consulting with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's former Senate chief of staff about Senate business.
Franken said he saw similarities between his entrance to the Senate and Clinton's.
"There's something in Hillary as a model for me, because Hillary, well she came in with a different kind of celebrity obviously," Franken said. "But there was a kind of skepticism where she had to prove herself a certain way and also prove not to be a kind of a show horse, but to be a work horse. And so I want to you know put my head down and get to work when I get there."
Al's right about that - Hillary came into the Senate facing some misconceptions of almost delusional proportions, and she got right to work, learned procedures and rules, socialized, went to prayer breakfasts, and did whatever she had to do to convince more senior senators, particularly Republicans, that she had what it took to do the job. After her first session, even the people who originally thought she was a show horse had to admit she was the most effective freshman senator.
Al's a smart guy. I read his books back in 2001 and 2002 when he and Paul Krugman were the only people making noise, I listened to him on Air America, and I have followed all two plus years of his campaign for this position. Like Hillary, he's got what it takes to do the job, and he's going about it exactly the right way.
Karen Tumulty was on a press call with the HELP committee to hear about Kennedy's bill, and she just posted a tweet with the following...
Senate HELP bill: If u hate ur employer's coverage, u have to keep it, unless it costs 12.5% of ur salary. No public plan 4 u.
Looks like you were right ML - anyone above a certain income level is f*cked with this new reform bill. It's Mass-Care all over again :(
UPDATE: Meanwhile, Amy Goodman interviewed Australian investigative journalist John Pilger, who says the British national health system is a "treasuer" and asks how our own leaders can be so "in bed with powerful intersts" that they could ignore the basic human rights of Americans to health care services. Here's an excerpt of Goodman's interview with Pilger.
Soapblox won't let me embed the video but you can view the short clip / teaser at: THIS LINK.
Check it out - Pilger really blasts the do-nothings in Congress for their failure to enact a single payer system.
They had an interesting discussion on Joe Scarborough's show yesterday with Carl Bernstein and Chuck Todd, about how reporters gather the news etc. Bernstein takes today's reporters to task for not hitting the bricks to collect the news, and says they're happy to sit in on pressers and shout questions at the press secretary and call that reporting. As Peter Daou notes, Todd got a bit defensive and refers to the pressers as "a show" but then backed off.
Take a look...
Meanwhile, you've got the Washington Post out there selling access to the movers and shakers of Washington. I know the newspaper industry is fighting to survive, but this is about as low as you can go on the ethics scale...
WashPost sells access, $25,000+ For $25,000 to $250,000, The Washington Post is offering lobbyists and association executives off-the-record, nonconfrontational access to "those powerful few" - Obama administration officials, members of Congress, and the paper's own reporters and editors.
The astonishing offer is detailed in a flier circulated Wednesday to a health care lobbyist, who provided it to a reporter because the lobbyist said he feels it's a conflict for the paper to charge for access to, as the flier says, its "health care reporting and editorial staff." ...
"Underwriting Opportunity: An evening with the right people can alter the debate," says the one-page flier. "Underwrite and participate in this intimate and exclusive Washington Post Salon, an off-the-record dinner and discussion at the home of CEO and Publisher Katharine Weymouth. ... Bring your organization's CEO or executive director literally to the table. Interact with key Obama administration and congressional leaders ...
Wow - imagine that... a lobbyist looking down their nose at the Post over questions of ethics.
BTW - the topic for the first "Salon"...? Health care reform and whether it's a good thing. UGH! Guess none of us will have the $$$$ to attend one of these to lobby for single payer, eh?
Robert Gibbs had a rough time of it during a press briefing this morning when Chip Reid (CBS) took him to task for pre-selecting the questions that would be asked at today's town hall meeting re health care reform. Reporters were also looking for answers as to why the audiance was being pre-selected, and asked him how this reflected change or transparency.
Helen Thomas lit into the White House over their attempt to control the press...
I'm not sure that this is an "unprecedented" attempt to control the press (as Thomas claimed). Bush was a master at that - but her points were valid.
Either way, I'm so glad she and Chip Reid pressed the issue. Eight years of pre-screened audiances and pre-selected questions are more than enough. Maybe if they let people - real people ask questions about their worries and needs, we might actually hear about single payer health care from time to time.
Hat tip to Peter Daou for finding this video clip.
MoveOn, Democracy for America and Change Congress will air spots targeting Sen. Landrieu for her opposition to a public option in any health care reform package. One of their ads features uninsured breast cancer survivor, Karen Gadbois...
MoveOn airs tough spot against Sen. Landrieu "For me, this issue's personal," says Gadbois, speaking in a Katrina-ravaged section of NOLA's Central City. "So when I see Mary Landrieu take 1.6 million dollars from health and insurance companies, I have to ask: Whose side are you on?"
(Emphasis added)
Next week is the 4th of July and our CongressCritters will be home on recess. These ads will run while they're home - no info yet as to how big the ad buy will be.
Faith-based groups will also be running ads on Christian radio stations until July 4th, targeting folks in key swing states in the Bible Belt on the issue of health care reform. The states are Arkansas, Colorado, Louisiana, Nebraska, and North Carolina.
I have just about had it with progressive bloggers pushing the public option as the pathway to single payer or Medicare For All. The health care reform currently being debated in the US Congress, and by the White House, WILL NOT LEAD TO MEDICARE FOR ALL. It just won't. The writing is on the wall. That ship sailed before it even left the dock. You want to know what last policy proposal was supposed to lead to Medicare for All? Medicare. How did that work out? More...
Jane Hamsher got the video of Al Franken's press conference up onto YouTube a little while ago. Here's what SENATOR Franken had to say this afternoon, shortly after Coleman called him to concede the contest...
We celebrated when Lilly's bill was signed into law in January. It rights a serious wrong that's been done to working women time and time again in our society. But that was just the first step in making sure wage discrimination didn't continue to happen. Right now - in the 21st century and in one of the most Democratic and enlightened nations on earth (/snark), women make only 77 or 78 cents to every dollar a man makes. We need a law with teeth in it and the Paycheck Fairness Act will get the job done. Sadly, Congress has decided not to take action on it - at least not yet.
Like millions of other women, Lilly Ledbetter's not about to settle for half a loaf. We want it all and it's time Congress and the WH gave it to us. She said as much in her LTE in the NY Times today in response to their recent endorsement of the Paycheck Fairness Act...
Promoting Equal Pay: Lilly Ledbetter States Her Case The Paycheck Fairness Act is the next logical step to combat pay discrimination. This bill is a comprehensive update to the 46-year-old Equal Pay Act, bringing it on par with other antidiscrimination laws. If the Senate sends this bill to the president's desk - and I hope President Obama will urge it to do so - this Congress will be remembered for making a historic commitment to pay equity.
We owe it to our daughters, our granddaughters and ourselves to get this act signed into law.
Just out... as semi-promised, the Minnesota Supreme Court handed down its ruling on the AL Franken - Norm "Crybaby" Coleman Senate race - in June. BARELY in June.
Minnesota Supreme Court Rules On Coleman's Appeal: He Lost, Franken Won The Election
By Eric Kleefeld - June 30, 2009, 2:08PM
The Minnesota Supreme Court has handed down its much-expected ruling in the heavily-litigated Minnesota Senate race from 2008 -- and it's a unanimous one -- deciding against Republican former Sen. Norm Coleman's appeal of his defeat in the election trial and affirming the lower court's verdict that Democratic comedian Al Franken is the legitimate winner of the race.
The courts finds that "Al Franken received the highest number of votes legally cast and is entitled under Minn. Stat. ยง 204C.40 (2008) to receive the certificate of election as United States Senator from the State of Minnesota." This means that when Franken is ultimately seated, the Democrats will have 60 seats and be able to beat any Republican filibuster if they stay completely united (though good luck with that, obviously.)
With the court ruling specifically stating that Al's entitled to the certificate, it doesn't leave Gov. Pawlenty much wiggle room. He's already said he'll sign it if ordered to.
According to Thomas Mann, a political expert at the Brookings Institution in Washington, Franken can be sworn in with no vote required by the Senate. He said Republicans could attempt to block, but would likely be defeated by a simple majority vote.
Coleman hasn't ruled out seeking federal court intervention, but constitutional experts WCCO contacted said Coleman's changes in a federal appeal would be slim because, unlike the Bush vs. Gore decision, legal precedent puts senate elections in the hands of states, not the federal government.
Still, on Sunday, June 28, Gov. Tim Pawlenty appeared on CNN and said he would sign Franken's election certificate if the Minnesota Supreme Court gave him the green light to do so.
"I'm not going to defy an order of the Minnesota Supreme Court. That would be a dereliction of my duty," he said.
Some of you may remember my earlier posts regarding Mu Sochua - nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize and recipient of the Vital Voices Global Leadership award. She's still facing a possible prison term, but she's in New York and Washington this week to lobby for a redirecting of humanitarian aid to the people of her country.
Gail Sheehy interviewed Sochua for the Daily Beast, and has an update for us. In this report, Sochua talks of her work, the path she's taken to get to where she is today, and of her worries and what it took for her to shake loose that fear and become more proactive...
Cambodia's Fearless Heroine Suddenly, she smacked her hands together. She leaned toward my face, recalling her awakening. "I sat up and said, 'I'm not going to take this anymore! I am not going to be defenseless. I am going to jail.'"
She takes as her inspiration Hillary Clinton. "In Beijing [at the U.N. Conference on Women], we all looked to Hillary Clinton and she gave us the rallying cry: 'Women's rights are human rights.'" In March, Sochua saw a different Hillary at the annual Washington gala of Vital Voices, the decade-old nongovernmental organization that finds, trains, and empowers emerging women leaders around the globe. "Now, I felt she was looking at us, the women she has helped to raise up, to support her and assure her of her agenda for women's rights."
This week Mo Sochua is in Washington and New York meeting with women in Congress and asking the U.S. to take the lead with the international community to say "emough" of aid to a government and military that has utter disregard for human rights and the rule of law. Instead of repeating the policy of the Bush administration, she urges that U.S. development aid go to the NGOs. She galvanized a power group of women at a luncheon held by Tina Brown to create a New York chapter of Vital Voices. Diane Von Furstenberg, a board member of Vital Voices, had emailed Sochua to say she didn't have to go to prison to help other women.
I love the spirit of this wonderful woman. Even in the face of prison, she's here lobbying the world's leaders to stop sending money to her corrupt government, and instead get that money to the NGOs where it can be put to good use.
We're planning a meet-up for our local True Blue Hillary Crew in October and a friend of mine knows Terry O'Neill - incoming president of NOW. So a few of us got together for dinner with Terry to discuss where she hopes to take NOW, brainstorm ideas for expanding NOW's membership and fundraising, and plan out that October meeting, where Terry will be our featured speaker. We figure we can pull in about 300 people if we do this right and draw from a lot of different networks.
I won't go into a lot of detail regarding our conversation but I just wanted to express my optimism and excitement for NOW, knowing that the organization's under new management. Terry's looking to grow the grass-roots and make the website more responsive and inclusive of NOW's members. She said she's going to put a sign on her desk that says TRUST WOMEN. That means loosening control and involving women more in what goes up onto the website and in sharing ideas etc., and in getting them involved and active at the local level again.
I love it!
She also said that even among friends, you have to let them know when they've messed up. It doesn't mean you stop being friends - but if they blow it on something you need to tell them.
This includes the current administration. I have no doubt that Terry considers Obama a friend - but she won't hesitate to hold him accountable if she thinks he could do better in standing up for women's rights.
The days of being the good girl in order to make everyone like us are over (my words - not Terry's). NOW's about grassroots, involving women at the local level, putting out calls to action and providing people with the tools to get things done, and holding people - foe and friend alike - accountable.
One more thing... Terry said she was recently interviewed by NPR and they asked her about conscience clauses - pharmacists and other health care professionals who object to birth control or plan B etc. Terry's response was brilliant. She reminded the reporter that women have a constitutional right to access to birth control and to other reproductive health care services. But there's nothing in our Constitution that guarantees someone the right to be a pharmacist or a nurse. If they can't fill a prescription or provide certain health care services, then they need to find a new line of work.
No apologies. No BS. Terry's style is refreshing to say the least. It's about time we stood tall and demanded our rights - now it's time for others to join us.
Update:CLICK HERE to hear an interview with Terry.
I just realized that Reporter has been released and is in theaters now. This is a documentary about Nicholas Kristof and his relentless efforts to make the world stand up and take notice of what's going on in Darfur and the Dem. Republice of Congo (DRC), and is one I'll try to see in the theaters. I hope you will to.
For now, here's a short trailer of the film...
Comforting the afflicted and afflicting the comfortable with the horrific realities of this crisis. Kristof is one of my heroes.
The energy bill that just passed the House includes a provision that would apply sanctions on goods from nations that don't meet certain standards in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This was done to gain the votes of lawmakers from Rust Belt states like Michigan and Ohio - states where unemployment is through the roof. If other nations continue to pollute and produce products more cheaply (steel, aluminum and glass etc), that will put us at a disadvantage. As a Michigan native, I can certainly understand how folks like Rep. Sander Levin would want to include this in any energy bill.
Not so fast says the President - he warned Congress on Sunday against imposing trade penalties on nations that don't accept these limits.
Obama Opposes Trade Sanctions in Climate Bill He acknowledged that the initial targets for reducing emissions of heat-trapping gases set by the House bill were quite modest and would probably not satisfy the governments of other countries or many environmental groups. But he said he hoped to build on those early targets in fashioning a more robust program in the future as part of his administration's efforts to move the nation from an economy based on fossil fuels toward one built on renewable energy sources.
Mr. Obama predicted that similar energy legislation would face a difficult slog through the Senate and require months of tough negotiations and additional compromises. The horse-trading and vote-buying that helped House leaders secure a 219-to-212 victory will be magnified in the Senate, where several powerful committee leaders are already asserting authority and Democratic moderates hold more power than their counterparts in the House. ...
In the floor debate on the bill Friday, one of its authors, Representative Sander M. Levin, Democrat of Michigan, said, "As we act, we can and must ensure that the U.S. energy-intensive industries are not placed at a competitive disadvantage by nations that have not made a similar commitment to reduce greenhouse gases."
I realized something at that Sky-1 leadership training over the weekend - that the most forceful argument we can make for this energy bill when lobbying our CongressCritters is that this bill will create good jobs that can't be off-shored. That's a huge deal to states with massive unemployment. The sanctions and tariffs will help level the playing field for the Rust Belt, but it doesn't look like the President understands how important this is to states that are struggling right now.
These provisions aren't as much about the climate as they are about protecting US jobs and the industries that help create and preserve them. If they help get this bill passed into law then at the end of the day, it'll be a good thing for the environment.
Now granted, I'm no trade expert, but I hope Obama changes his mind about these provisions - if he insists that they be removed in the Senate he's going to hurt the bill's chances of final passage with those Rust Belt lawmakers. They need something they can take back to their constituents to show them they're fighting for them at every turn.
I don't normally write about the entertainment world, but for some reason I clicked through to this post by Presley...
I've known a few folks who've tried to "save" someone they love from addiction, alcoholism or whatever. My own father battled the disease all of his adult life. The tremendous guilt family and friends feel when they fail to reach out to that person and pull them back from their destructive behavior is real and painful and you can see all of that in this post by Lisa Marie Presley about her time with Jackson. She probably even went through a lot of this with her father.
I became very ill and emotionally/ spiritually exhausted in my quest to save him from certain self-destructive behavior and from the awful vampires and leeches he would always manage to magnetize around him.
I was in over my head while trying.
I had my children to care for, I had to make a decision.
The hardest decision I have ever had to make, which was to walk away and let his fate have him, even though I desperately loved him and tried to stop or reverse it somehow.
After the Divorce, I spent a few years obsessing about him and what I could have done different, in regret.
Those coulda, woulda, shoulda's will eat away at you if you let them. It's tough to rise above them and focus on what's working in your life. We can't change the past any more than we can control the future and it takes a long time for some folks to figure that out - especially in the midst of the pain.
I won't presume to pass judgment on her relationship with her ex - just as I wouldn't want others to pass judgment on my own marriage. My heart goes out to her as she tries to find peace during these difficult times.
