During a press conference following a meeting between House leaders and health care principals, Nancy Pelosi as well as other members publicly took note of the differences that must be resolved before we will see a final reform package signed in to law. When asked by a reporter whether C-SPAN cameras would be permitted to film the negotiations of the final bill between the House and Senate, Speaker Nancy Pelosi took a little jab at President Obama saying, “There are a number of things he was for on the campaign trail,” without addressing the reporter’s question.
And I am pretty much inclined to agree! We did hear a lot of great talk from Obama when he was lobbying us all to vote for him–and we more or less pulled through, hence his presidency status, but we are seeing a lot from home that we have been disappointed in. I remember distinctly the great amount of respect and pride I had for the country as a whole when it was announced late election night that he was the next president of the United States, but now that pride has dwindled a great deal, especially when we start hearing him make statements such as he “didn’t campaign on the public option,” which we know that he did. In fact, when visiting my partner’s parents one night before the election and while discussing why I would be voting for Barack Obama (and being berated the entire time I was there for it) I did bring up the point that I had faith in him to pull through with a public option. I mean, a Republican president brought us into two wars, how hard would it be for a Democratic president to ensure that every American has the right to health care?
During a town hall meeting, a college student asked President Obama if he has looked over the statistics of legalizing prostitution, gambling, drugs and non-violent crime as a way to stimulate the economy. Of course he said no, but I do have a word of advice for those looking for marijuana and other non-violent crimes to be legalized: If it ever was legalized, you’d have to pay taxes on your dealing money.
Sarah Palin appeared on Oprah on Monday. She talked about her marriage and life in Wasilla, Alaska, about being “tapped” by John McCain to run as vice-presidential candidate, her trials and tribulations on the campaign trail and her interviews with Katie Couric, who she dubs as the “perky one.” They also spoke about Bristol and her pregnancy, how she feels about Levi Johnston today and much more. We also got to see a side of Sarah Palin that we were not already familiar with, being a mom as she shares some moments with youngest son Trig, working out and taking her daughter Piper trick-or-treating.
But there are some outtakes from the interview that we didn’t get to see, such as why she wrote her new book Going Rogue, especially regarding the fact that many have said that she needs to stop talking publicly about her life and keep her private life private, since during her vice-presidential run she was constantly speaking about how much she hates the media and how they portrayed her during that time. The clips not shown include her speaking about what was being reported by bloggers around the world about her time as Governor of Alaska, such as how she supposedly banned books from appearing in Alaskan libraries, which she reports was not true. They also spoke about how she has journaled throughout her entire life, how during the 2008 campaign her emails were hacked and broadcast across the media and a lot more.
Here are those moments we didn’t get to see on Oprah:
Former Alaska Governor and Republican vice-presidential nominee, Sarah Palin has sat down for a one-on-one interview with Oprah. Many people wanted to see Palin on Oprah, many didn’t and thought it would be inappropriate since Oprah is rather notoriously known for being such a Barack Obama supporter, and many of Palin’s own fans did not want to see her go on Oprah for this interview, which I can only assume is because of Oprah’s Barack Obama fandom. But regardless of whether or not you wanted to see Palin appear on Oprah, she did sit down with her for an in-depth, no holds barred interview.
After Sarah Palin left the premises, Oprah recorded a short, 55 second video about what they talked about, saying that they talked about everything including the campaign trail with John McCain, Bristol Palin and her pregnancy, her marriage with Todd Palin, and yes, even about Levi Johnston. Check out Oprah’s video below:
This interview is very nicely timed since Levi is gearing up for his Playgirl photoshoot and on the topic of Levi, Oprah asked Sarah if Levi will be invited to Thanksgiving dinner. Thanks to CBS, we have some sneak peeks of the Palin/Oprah interview.
Barack Obama appeared on a series of different networks this past weekend spreading his message of the importance of health care reform. Last night, he appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman and honestly, it was the best interview he did on what some are calling a media blitz.
I believe that health care reform and the creation of a public option is pertinent to the American people, especially considering too many Americans are currently without health insurance and unable to obtain important health care services that they not just need, but I passionately emphasize, they deserve. But as important health care reform is to so many Americans today, a great deal of political pundits have questioned whether people would stop listening to President Obama’s message because they have been hearing about it for so long and there certainly has not been any lack of the debate in the media, regardless of what medium of media you’re listening to.
The reason that President Obama’s appearance on Letterman was a success is because we didn’t receive yet another set of standard responses to interview questions, as is what appeared on the other interviews he did throughout the weekend. The Late Show is firstly a show created and meant for entertaining purposes and is standing on the legs of comedic value; without it, Letterman would not have the reputation that he does today. President Obama was free to show his comedic side and we received a full helping of laughs and entertainment while also, again, being informed of the president’s health care reform proposal.
If you missed President Obama on The Late Show with David Letterman last night, check out a clip below:
Senator Ted Kennedy, the Liberal Lion who dedicated his career to equality and health care, passed away the morning of August 26.
Senator Ted Kennedy served his country, but unlike a great deal of politicians in office today, he served each and every single person of his country without bias. His list of accomplishments is long and varied. He fought to reverse the injustices that his fellow human beings encountered daily. He was a strong supporter of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and later authored amendments strengthening enforcement of key provisions of the Act. He played a central role in fighting discrimination in both the Age Discrimination Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act. He was also the original Senate lead on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act in 1994, in 1996 he voted against the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), and in 1997 he was the original sponsor of hate crimes legislation. He also fought to end the funding of the very much failed abstinence-only education programs, voted for the increase of funding for HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment, and he was also an outspoken supporter for the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, that prohibits gay and lesbian Americans from serving openly in the military.
But what Senator Ted Kennedy is most known for and what he devoted his career to is ensuring that each and every American citizen has the right to universal, affordable health care. He had first introduced a bill to ensure universal health care for all in 1970 and he worked tirelessly to make this a reality for the past four decades. This past summer he had also wrote an essay on the need for universal, affordable health care services, appropriately titled ‘The Cause of My Life.’ He wrote in that essay:
It is a key reason that I defied my illness last summer to speak at the Democratic convention in Denver — to support Barack Obama, but also to make sure, as I said, “that we will break the old gridlock and guarantee that every American…will have decent, quality health care as a fundamental right and not just a privilege.” For four decades I have carried this cause — from the floor of the United States Senate to every part of this country. It has never been merely a question of policy; it goes to the heart of my belief in a just society. Now the issue has more meaning for me — and more urgency — than ever before. But it’s always been deeply personal, because the importance of health care has been a recurrent lesson throughout most of my 77 years.
Senator Kennedy indeed accomplished quite a lot in his life and while his person, tenacity, and ambitiousness will be missed, I hope that his life’s work will inspire others in our Senate and in our government as a whole to ensure that each and every single American has the right to receive health care that they not just need, but deserve.
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon closed August with the beloved, hilarious, super genius, MSNBC political pundit Rachel Maddow. They discussed some current event hot topics such as her recent bout with Swine Flu. She revealed some of her very eccentric tastes in entertainment while bedridden such as reading comic books about war zones and watching a series of DVDs on the fall of the Roman Empire. They also discussed the recent health care reform debate and the fact that conservatives nation-wide have turned a debate on health care and giving low-income people and families the opportunity to receive health care and insurance who may have never had the comfort and security of health insurance before in their lives into a plot to kill old people. Their conversation eventually led to gun control, how she and her girlfriend’s first date was at a shooting range and how available guns should be to the public.
As with anything involving Rachel Maddow, I loved the segment and it was actually the first time I watched an entire segment of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, besides the public outcry for a Saved By The Bell reunion, of course.
Sonia Sotomayor was originally nominated to federal court by George Herbert Bush; a fact that Obama mentioned in his speech to nominate Sotomayor for the US Supreme Court and a fact that the entire GOP and its supporters have conveniently ignored for the sake of having something else to bitch and complain about.
The Guardian’s Scott Lemieux has put together an article on Sotomayor’s qualifications for the job she has been nominated for and has discovered that Sotomayor’s qualifications mirror those of current Justice Samuel Alito; a man who the GOP has fawned over and that John McCain wholeheartedly supports and name-dropped all over the place during the last presidential election. But given the fact that Sotomayor is obviously qualified and possesses the same qualifications of a man supported at large by the GOP, they aren’t going to let her confirmation go without a fight… And the only reason why several smear campaigns have already started against her is because she is not a white, privileged male.
Did you know that all Latina women are named Maria? Well according to Mike Huckabee, the nomination of Maria Sotomayor “will likely leave us with something akin to the “Extreme Court” that could mark a major shift” because she is so “far left.”
The appointment of Maria Sotomayor for the Supreme Court is the clearest indication yet that President Obama’s campaign promises to be a centrist and think in a bipartisan way were mere rhetoric. Sotomayor comes from the far left and will likely leave us with something akin to the “Extreme Court” that could mark a major shift. The notion that appellate court decisions are to be interpreted by the “feelings” of the judge is a direct affront of the basic premise of our judicial system that is supposed to apply the law without personal emotion. If she is confirmed, then we need to take the blindfold off Lady Justice.—
I’m sure Maria Sotomayor will be displeased to learn that Mike Huckabee is not a fan of her, but I wonder how he feels about Sonia Sotomayor… And um, Lady Justice!? I don’t think so. Does the GOP refer to Justice Alito as Mr. Justice Alito? No, I don’t think they do.
So apparently Gingrich believes that an out of context remark made during a speech on race and sex discrimination cases that appeared in print in the Berkeley La Raza Law Journal in 2002 is proof that Sotomayor is a racist… Because no one knows what it’s like to be a woman of color more than a white male, right?
Karl Rove jumped on board calling Sotomayor an “intellectual lightweight,” obviously encouraged by Jeffrey Rosen’s New Republic article which allowed unnamed sources to attack Sotomayor as “not that smart” and lacking “penetrating” questions on the bench.
Because nothing shows someone’s lack of intellect than graduating summa cum laude from Princeton University as well as attending Yale Law School and holding the job of editor of the Yale Law Journal.
The attacks against Sonia Sotomayor are in bad taste and fueled by nothing less than racism and sexism… Pot calling the kettle black, anyone?
Sotomayor would become the second woman on the court, only the third female justice in the history of the Supreme Court, and the first Hispanic justice to serve on the Supreme Court.
She is obviously qualified for the job, having graduated from Princeton University summa cum laude, she attended Yale Law School, where she was an editor of the Yale Law Journal. She spent five years as a prosecutor with the Manhattan district attorney’s office before entering a private practice. She currently serves as an appeals judge for the US Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit, covering New York, Vermont, and Connecticut.
Even with all of her extensive experience and qualifications for the job, conservatives have already started showing us how rocky the road to her confirmation will be, calling her a “judicial activist”
Conservatives argue Sotomayor has a “hard-left record” and believes that judges should consider experiences of women and minorities in their decision-making.
Here is President Obama’s introduction of Sonia Sotomayor:
And here is her speech:
This is great news for both gender and race equality; let’s just hope that the road to her confirmation doesn’t get too ugly.
Since before Barack Obama won the presidency and was campaigning for the chance to be America’s 44th President, America has been obsessed with Michelle Obama’s “right to bare arms.” We saw political analysts, news anchors, professional and respected journalists and of course, fashion magazines and celebrity media outlets talk about Michelle Obama’s fashion choices and most of all, why a lot of her fashion choices are missing sleeves.
Since the Obamas have been in the White House, this frenzy over Michelle Obama’s arms has only grew. But why? Does it really matter whether Michelle Obama wears dresses with sleeves or without? Are we really that bored that we have nothing else to do but obsess over why a stylists won’t tell this woman to get some cardigan sweaters with really, really long sleeves? Will her arms just not fit into sleeves because they are that toned and defined? Actually, a recent poll showed that we really don’t care. The Michelle Obama bare arms controversy just doesn’t rank that high up on our stories of interest meters. But that isn’t stopping the media from bringing the story up again and again.
Sarah Haskins who does the Target Women segments for Current recently put out a hilarious video on ‘Obama Arms.’ Check it out below:
Yesterday morning Obama announced his 
