Official Today: Obama lifts HIV/AIDS Immigration Ban

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Monday January 04, 2010 · 5:16 AM PST

2010/01/04 · 05:16

It was announced by President Obama in October, but given that this very good news goes into full effect today, it is worth mentioning and perhaps even celebrating.

After 22 years of enforcing the immoral policy of excluding those with HIV or AIDS from even entering the U.S., the Obama administration has finally lifted the rules off the books:

President Obama said the ban was not compatible with US plans to be a leader in the fight against the disease.

This keeps the U.S. away from some pretty bad company:

dansac

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday December 16, 2009 · 4:53 AM PST

2009/12/16 · 04:53

Today a diary on the rec list featured a video featuring Arianna Huffington (who has suddenly is a trusted "health care expert" as opposed to a ratings/traffic grabber). Ms. Huffington said, from the perch of her pundit chair, that Barack Obama has to change Senate votes to his liking using this magical technique:

"He needs to make them do it."

That's a statement that we've seen a lot of around these parts. "He needs to twist arms and make them do it!" And yet this is rarely followed-up by a realistic analysis of the complex realities of how this works - what are the levels that can be pulled and what really matters in terms of putting pressure on an elected official.

dansac

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Tuesday December 08, 2009 · 9:01 AM PST

2009/12/08 · 09:01

There's a diary on the rec list now that quotes Rep. Conyers about a phone conversation he had with President Obama (why he's discussing a private phone call is another matter). The diary quotes from an article which hears the conversation only from Conyers' side.

The diary is very cleverly written to make it sound as is Obama just can't take hearing criticism and had to call a critic to tell him that criticism is the equal of being demeaning. The diary suggests our President is so sensitive that he ran off crying and told a Congressperson "don't be mean to me by giving me criticism!"

And yet the diarist failed (after repeated requests) to ACTUALLY include examples of the Conyers' criticism. Which I have included some choice quotes below:

dansac

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Tuesday November 17, 2009 · 7:14 AM PST

2009/11/17 · 07:14

A pretty substantial changethat should ease the abortion issue as a potential roadblock on the health care reform bill:

Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., who last week insisted that the Senate health care bill include tight restrictions passed by the House on the use of federal money for abortion coverage, now says he would be satisfied with the less restrictive language approved by the Senate Finance Committee.

One of the clear reasons why this change came about is the stark statement of opposition from the White House to any Stupak-like language in the final bill, and likely some behind-the-scenes arm twisting.

dansac

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Tuesday November 10, 2009 · 12:03 PM PST

2009/11/10 · 12:03

Today the President spoke at Ft. Hood's memorial service, paying tribute to the soldiers for the sacrifice they make:

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.

dansac

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Saturday October 17, 2009 · 5:04 PM PDT

2009/10/17 · 17:04

Quick good news diary here:

More than 3,000 U.S. troops scheduled to deploy to Iraq won't go after all, as the military tries to draw down troop levels in the war-torn country, a Pentagon spokesman said Saturday

In other words, we're starting to see the fruits of the promise to begin withdrawing from Iraq, a mammoth and complicated task. Neverthless, every little bit counts and the lives of 3,500 soldiers and their entire families just got a whole lot better.

dansac

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Monday October 12, 2009 · 12:47 PM PDT

2009/10/12 · 12:47

AHIP's new report - which alleges the Baucus health reform bill will raise premiums substantially - has come under proper scorn for its shabbiness and questionable timing. Questionable from a strategic standpoint as well, since it sets up the private insurance industry (everyone's favorite), as the perfect foil for this legislation. And in case you were wondering how the White House would react, you don't have to wait too long:

"This is a self-serving analysis from the insurance industry, one of the major opponents of health insurance reform," White House spokesman Reid Cherlin said.

Now, can we please put to rest the childish and petulant notion that mcjoan loves to propogate that the White House is "naive" or didn't see this coming?

dansac

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Friday September 04, 2009 · 8:35 AM PDT

2009/09/04 · 08:35

It's been awhile since I said goodbye and wrote my GBCW. Back then I wrote that I didn't think DKos was a productive place anymore, and that the blogosphere didn't know how to have a Democratic president in power, since they're only defined by raging against a machine. Nothing since then has changed my mind, but the degree to which I think the "left" has gone off-course in this health debate brought me back to start expressing a minority view in comments.

Today, a front-page post from Hunter pushed me over the edge and I've decided to write my first diary in a long, long time. Here's what I think: the progressive left is now crossing the line from being a productive, "make him do it" force to a counter-productive force that is departing the reality-based community.

The post from Hunter made it all too clear: you have assigned the public options magical powers that it does not have, never will have, and never had to begin with. You have lost even basic knowledge of how the health reform is going to work, and gotten so whipped into a frenzy over the public option that you're in danger of preventing millions of people from improving their lives.

dansac

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Monday December 29, 2008 · 7:14 AM PST

2008/12/29 · 07:14

This is a fairly emotional diary for me to write, so I'm going to (try) to keep it pretty short and try not to piss off too many people in the process. But after participating in this site since its earliest days, I've decided that the time has come for me to end my involvement on DailyKos. I've seen many GBCW diaries over the years, and so many of them have very clear reasons - often having to do with the personal lives of the diarists - for the departure. While I have some too, the truth is it just feels like "it's time."

Without getting into too many specifics, I just don't feel the connection with this community that I once did. A great deal has to do with the election ending and a lack of a cohesive, common purpose that holds this place together. That's an understandable thing, as I've written before, it's pretty clear that there is an identity struggle going on, with so very few of us who knew what it is like to blog and have a Democrat in power. And in time, once Obama is inaugurated, I would not be surprised to see some tighter organization occur once again - this time around policy. I hope it does, and will be rooting for this place and for that to happen.

dansac

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Saturday December 13, 2008 · 8:19 AM PST

2008/12/13 · 08:19

The economic times are scary, but it's good to know we have a President who is aware of the scale of the problem. According to a report in this morning's Wall Street Journal, Obama is now considering a stimulus plan substantially larger than first indictated:

With the unemployment rate now expected to hit 9% without aggressive intervention, Obama aides and advisers have set $600 billion over two years as "a very low-end estimate," one person familiar with the matter said. The final number is expected to be significantly higher, possibly between $700 billion and $1 trillion over two years.

As a reminder, the original plan was going to be in the ballpark of about $500 billion, a number that even some conservative economists said was too low.

dansac

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Friday December 12, 2008 · 10:47 AM PST

2008/12/12 · 10:47

Sad news in the world of journalism. Robin Toner, the first female national political correspondent for the NYTimes, died today at the young age of 54:

In a career of nearly 25 years at The Times, and in an age of increasing specialization, Ms. Toner reported authoritatively on almost every domestic issue, whether it was taxes, welfare, Social Security, immigration or health-care policy.

You may best be familiar with Ms. Toner's work from the 1992 campaign for the Presidency, although she has worked on 5 presidential campaigns. One thing is for certain: you know her work. Her name appeared in the byline of over 1,900 articles. Additionally, she led the political coverage for the NYTimes behind-the-scenes, leading, mentoring, and guiding countless reporters from the around the country.

dansac

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday December 10, 2008 · 9:35 AM PST

2008/12/10 · 09:35

Breaking news. Blago, meet the undercarriage of the bus:

President-elect Barack Obama believes that Gov. Rod Blagojevich should resign, his advisers said on Wednesday. "The President-elect agrees with Lt. Gov. Quinn and many others that under the current circumstances it is difficult for the governor to effectively do his job and serve the people of Illinois," Robert Gibbs, the incoming White House press secretary, said.

Not a surprising, but a necessary move. President-elect Obama must slice this thing off immediately, and it looks like that's exactly what he's doing. The longer this lingers (and the court case will ensure it will linger for awhile), the more it hurts Dems and Illinois Dems in particular.

Very happy to see Obama swiftly cut this off at the source and I will have updates as they come.

Newer
Older

RSS

Official Today: Obama lifts HIV/AIDS Immigration Ban

Injecting Political Reality Into The Healthcare Debate

Why Obama REALLY Asked Conyers To Stop "Demeaning" Him

Ben Nelson Sees Light: Does NOT Insist on Stupak Language

Obama at Ft. Hood: "Greatness is...before our very eyes"

3,500 new troops NOT going to Iraq

Time to end the meme of WH as "naive" about health insurers

I'm Back, and You're Not Going to Like It

GBCW

Report: Obama Considering Far LARGER Stimulus

R.I.P. Robin Toner

It's Official: Obama Wants Blago OUT! (UPDATE x1)