http://thinkprogress.org Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:00:37 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en After President Obama inserted himself into the July spat between Prof. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and Officer Jim Crowley, Glenn Beck infamously declared on Fox & Friends that Obama "exposed himself" with the incident "as a guy, over and over and over again, who has a deep-seated hatred for white ... http://thinkprogress.org/2009/11/09/murdoch-beck-right/ In this morning's Washington Post, editorial page editor Fred Hiatt argues that the House health care bill "could take America a step closer to bankruptcy" and harm "the poor and vulnerable." But since the CBO's analysis of the House health care bill doesn't support Hiatt's contention that it would ... http://thinkprogress.org/2009/11/09/frank-hiatt-house/ The House passed historic comprehensive health insurance reform on Saturday with the help of endorsements from hundreds of community organizations, including the American Medical Association. However, the Wall Street Journal is reporting that former AMA president Donald Palmisano is leading an effort to force the AMA to rescind its endorsement ... http://thinkprogress.org/2009/11/09/ama-dci-group/ Ensuring that insurers don't reject any American for health coverage because of a pre-existing condition is a top priority of the public. Republicans have repeatedly said that they also want to make this change, but in the alternative legislation they released, Americans with pre-existing conditions would still be left out ... http://thinkprogress.org/2009/11/09/armey-pig-eat/ This morning, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) participated on a conference call with the Center for American Progress Action Fund's Judy Feder to discuss Republican efforts to shut out women's issues in the health reform debate. Feder noted that in 2006, nine Senate Republicans voted to explicitly kill a proposal ... http://thinkprogress.org/2009/11/09/pregnant-women-smokers-comparison/ Last quarter, Wall Street investment bank Goldman Sachs made a $3.19 billion profit, and according to some estimates, the firm will set aside $21.9 billion for compensation this year. In an interview with London's Sunday Times, Goldman CEO Lloyd Blankfein said that the firm is serving an important "social purpose" ... http://thinkprogress.org/2009/11/09/goldman-reject/ Earlier this month, it was revealed that Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) has placed a hold on a major veterans benefits bill because he wants to use unspent stimulus dollars to fund it. Today, Democratic senators who are advocates of the bill will hold a press conference to highlight Coburn's obstructionism ... http://thinkprogress.org/2009/11/09/coburn-hold-vets/ After hard-line conservatives and tea party activists forced moderate Republican Dede Scozzafava to drop out of the race in New York's 23rd congressional district, they announced that Florida Gov. Charlie Crist would likely be their next target in the GOP civil war. Politico's Ben Smith reports that some Florida Republicans ... http://thinkprogress.org/2009/11/09/florida-tea-party/ Rep. Joseph Cao (R-LA) was solely responsible for dashing the Republican leadership's hopes of having all 177 of its members vote against historic health care legislation on Saturday. Cao broke with his party and voted with Democrats after speaking personally to President Obama and pressing for more federal ... http://thinkprogress.org/2009/11/09/boehner-cao-health/ Fred Phelps' Westboro Baptist Church is a hate group that goes around the country staging anti-gay rallies at some of the most inappropriate places (e.g. the funerals of former White House press secretary Tony Snow, victims of the Minneapolis bridge collapse, and U.S. troops) with messages like "Thank God For ... http://thinkprogress.org/2009/11/09/westboro-sidwell/ Oklahoma recently passed a law (HR 1595) that will collect personal details about every single abortion performed in the state and post them on a public website. Critics of the legislation worry that the information could be used to identify individuals. Portions of the law were supposed to take effect ... http://thinkprogress.org/2009/11/09/oklahoma-protest-abortion/ The historic health care legislation passed by the House over the weekend included an amendment that sharply restricts "the availability of coverage for abortions." Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO) said she has collected "more than 40 signatures from House Democrats vowing to oppose any final bill that includes the amendment -- ... http://thinkprogress.org/2009/11/09/thinkfast-november-9-2009/ During the summer's debate over health care reform, right-wing activists and lawmakers latched onto former Alaska governor Sarah Palin's false claim that President Obama and congressional Democrats were proposing government "death panels" that would "pull the plug on grandma." While Republican leaders largely abandoned this myth, Palin revived it ... http://thinkprogress.org/2009/11/08/palin-death-panels/ On Bloomberg's Political Capital, host Al Hunt asked House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA) whether he agrees with hate radio host Rush Limbaugh's assertion that “Adolf Hitler, like Barack Obama, also ruled by dictate.” Limbaugh also compared the administration's health care logo to a swastika. Cantor hemmed and hawed in response. ... http://thinkprogress.org/2009/11/08/cantor-limbaugh-hitler/ This morning on separate Sunday show appearances, the Army chief of staff -- Gen. George Casey -- expressed his "concern" that speculation about the motivations of Ft. Hood shooter Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan may "cause a backlash against some of our Muslim soldiers." Casey said he has instructed his Army ... http://thinkprogress.org/2009/11/08/casey-muslim-backlash/ This morning on Fox News Sunday, host Chris Wallace asked Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) about the House's historic passage of health care legislation last night. Lieberman said that as a "matter of conscience," he will join a Republican filibuster if a public option -- which has supposedly been put forward ... http://thinkprogress.org/2009/11/08/lieberman-filibuster-public/ Moments ago, the House of Representatives passed the Affordable Health Care for America Act by a vote of 220-215, with one Republican -- Rep. Joseph Cao (R-LA) -- voting for the measure. Once the bill reached the needed threshold of 218 votes, the chamber erupted in applause. Members excitedly counted ... http://thinkprogress.org/2009/11/07/house-passes-bill/ Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich spoke before a conservative audience in Naples, FL yesterday. Gingrich gave a talk about his new book, To Try Men's Souls, which tells the story of men who played a critical role in the Revolutionary War. When a reporter with the Naples News asked Gingrich ... http://thinkprogress.org/2009/11/07/gingrich-founding-fathers/ This morning, the House began consideration of the rule for debate of the House health care bill. As the Democratic Women's Caucus took to the microphone on the House floor to offer their arguments for how the bill would benefit women, House Republicans -- led by Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) ... http://thinkprogress.org/2009/11/07/gop-gone-wild/ During an episode of Sesame Street that was originally broadcast two years ago, a character tells Oscar the Grouch, who happens to be reporting for "GNN" (Grouchy News Network), that she is switching her news viewing loyalties to "Pox News," adding, "Now there is a trashy news show." Right winger ... http://thinkprogress.org/2009/11/07/oreilly-ambush-oscar/