Ladies and Gentlemen, We Have Ourselves a Health Care Reform Bill

H.R. 3962 passed with 220 Yeas.

T'ain't perfect, but it'll do for a start.  The bits that people are moaning over can be remedied later.  Folks, we have momentum for reform such as we have never seen before.  Let's not minimize that.  Remember Aristotle's rule of great drama: start small and build.  Well, sometimes that works for legislation, too.  And we're not exactly starting small, now, are we?

36 million more people will be insured or become eligible for Medicaid
There will be a trillion dollars raised to help subsidize this.
There will be multiple measures to help control the costs of Medicare
We will stop subsidizing private insurers in Medicare Advantage
Closes the donut hole
Allows Medicare negotiation for drugs
Includes the seeds of a public option
Prohibits denials based on prior conditions; ends rescissions except for fraud
funds more education for doctors/nurses
Begins dozens of health prevention programs, pilots, surveys
Creates entities to evaluate and recommend better treatment, cost saving
And on and on.

This will put enormous pressure on the Senate to deliver.  This puts us within reach of reform.  And it's even bipartisan - Rep. Joseph Cao shocked the shit out of me by voting Yea.  That's made a liar of Eric Cantor and will have the Teabaggers in a screaming fury.  I loves it.

Once reform passes and is signed into law, we will have a scaffolding in place upon which we can build.  That means electing not merely more Democrats, but better Democrats.  We shall have a useful list of targets in all those Nay votes.

My darlings, it's open bar. 

And now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to return to my regularly scheduled writing...


(Thanks to rekenner for drawing my attention to the great good news)

Your Daily Dose of Health Care Reform Stupidity

Actually, some of it's not terribly stupid today.  The House, of course, unveiled its health care reform bill.  It ain't got a robust public option, but it's got a strong one, and sometimes in politics, it's necessary to settle for good enough.  Not that Rep. Grijalva's given up the good fight just yet.

So, how's the plan?  Well, Sen. Conrad's happy - so happy, in fact, he's even agreed to side with his caucus on a procedural vote on the Senate bill.  Amazing.  The CBO's happy.  President Obama's happy.  AHIP's totally not happy.  And it outlaws using domestic violence as a pre-existing condition, along with some other goodies.  I haven't seen a lot of analysis on it yet, but the fact that AHIP's screaming makes me feel rather good about the results.

Yes, I'm that not nice.

There's still some hangups regarding abortion.  Here's something those anti-choice fucktards who are ready to derail health care reform because they don't understand how this stuff works should consider carefully:

Time's Amy Sullivan had an item yesterday, unrelated to Stupak's specific argument, which addressed the larger issue nicely.

A few weeks ago, I wrote about the fungibility argument that many pro-life groups and politicians have employed to oppose health reform. The problem, they say, is that if any insurance plan that covers abortion is allowed to participate in a public exchange, then premiums paid to that plan in the form of taxpayer-funded subsidies help support that abortion coverage even if individual abortion procedures are paid for out of a separate pool of privately-paid premium dollars. You can debate about whether it makes sense to use this strict standard, but that's the argument.

But are those pro-life organizations holding themselves to the same strict standard? As it happens, Focus on the Family provides its employees health insurance through Principal, an insurance company that covers "abortion services." A Focus spokeswoman confirmed the fact that the organization pays premiums to Principal, but declined to comment on whether that amounts to an indirect funding of abortion.

Even if the specific plan Focus uses for its employees doesn't include abortion coverage -- and I'm assuming it doesn't -- the organization and its employees still pay premiums to a company that funds abortions. If health reform proposals have a fungibility problem, then Focus does as well. And if they don't think they do have a fungibility problem, then it would be interesting to hear why they think the set-up proposed in health reform legislation is so untenable.

Might I just suggest to the anti-choicers that they shut the fuck up before they make themselves look even dumber?  I know they won't take that advice, but then at least I can say "I told you so, you ginormous fucktards."

The Party of No is busy whining about how horrible, awful, no good and terrible the Dems' bill is, but when pressed, still can't tell us what their own ideas are, and what's more, probably won't have them up on the intertoobz for public consideration when they finally do come up with some, as they've so often demanded of the Dems.  Typical, innit?

Finally, the GOP Stunt o' the Day: Mitch McConnell jumps a veritable school of sharks:

In an interview on Dennis Miller’s radio show yesterday, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said that the public option “may cost you your life”:

MCCONNELL: Well, it doesn’t make any difference frankly whether you opt-in or you opt-out, it’s still a government plan. You know, Medicaid, the program for the poor now, states can opt-out of that, but none of them have. I think if you have any kind of government insurance program, you’re going to be stuck with it and it will lead us in the direction of the European style, you know, sort of British-style, single payer, government run system. And those systems are known for delays, denial of care and, you know, if your particular malady doesn’t fit the government regulation, you don’t get the medication.

MILLER: Right.

MCCONNELL: And it may cost you your life. I mean, we don’t want to go down that path.

[snip]

Unsurprisingly, McConnell has gotten his facts wrong when he’s described other health care systems.

Color me shocked.

We'll see how many sharks the Cons jump as reform draws closer to passage.  I hear they've been practicing for a record-breaker...

Your Daily Dose of Health Care Reform Stupidity

My, how things change.  And it's just vaguely possible we'll have to stop making "wet Reid' jokes for a while.  Check out who didn't pull the trigger:

As expected, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) hosted a brief press conference this afternoon and announced that there will, in fact, be a public option in the Senate health care bill, though it will give states the opportunity to opt-out of the plan.

Hot damn.  I can tell you that's about the last thing I expected today.

The White House is perfectly happy with Reid's decision.  Queen Snowe not so much, but note she didn't absolutely say she'd join a filibuster.  Interesting.

Sen. Ben Nelson wanted an opt-in, just cuz we couldn't possibly make it easy for folks to get reform, so we'll see how loud he screams.

This is a pretty big moment, my darlings, and it's time to pat yourselves on the back.  The public option wouldn't be here if it weren't for progressives pushing it.  Champagne all round.

Then go have a talk with Blanche Lincoln, who still won't commit to standing against a Con filibuster.  Spank Ben Nelson for good measure.  And cheer on the Dems who are trying to ensure we see some of the benefits of reform before 2013.

It's a banner day, and C&L has an excellent round-up for us.

Elsewhere, the burning stupid still flames:

Eric Cantor wants everybody to do reform over, this time without a public option.  I'm not sure which planet he's currently inhabiting.

Health insurance companies are in full-on panic mode, using dumbass talking points in an attempt to get voters to lobby against their own interests.  I don't know what they're upset about - aside from the public option, which is fairly weak tea, they got everything they could possibly want.  Maybe they're terrified reform means they won't be able to charge women 50% higher premiums just because they're women.

The Cons have at last rolled out some reform proposals of their own!

About a month ago, the Washington Post reported, "After years of trying to cut Medicare spending, Republican lawmakers have emerged as champions of the program, accusing Democrats of trying to steal from the elderly to cover the cost of health reform."

Of course, the idea that congressional Republicans could be Medicare's "champions" has always been a little silly, but the notion gets a little more ridiculous all the time.

On Wednesday, Rep. Paul Broun (R-GA) introduced his own health care reform plan. Broun, one of the most vocal and persistent critics of comprehensive health care reform, calls his legislation the "only true free-market reform alternative." And free-market it is. While most of his legislation mirrors other Republican proposals, Broun's plan for Medicare seems rather revolutionary. He wants to completely get rid of Medicare and replace it with vouchers....
Presumably, seniors would then use their vouchers in the private insurance market.

Unfortunately, since nothing in Broun's OPTION Act deals with the issue of preexisting conditions, insurance companies would deny seniors, who are more likely to have a chronic health problem, left and right.

[snip]

It's worth noting that while the RNC and congressional Republican leaders have feigned outrage about Democratic efforts to find cost savings in Medicare, no GOP officials in Washington have denounced or distanced themselves from Paul Broun's privatization plan.

So much for the champions of Medicare, then, eh?

Oh, and remember how they keep telling us that all we need in order to reform health care is to let the private companies have their way with us across state lines?  Um, yeah, the private companies say that won't exactly work...

Imagine my surprise when Mike Tuffin, Executive Vice President for America’s Health Insurance Plans (an insurance lobby), made the following comment during this exchange on “Fox News Sunday”:

WALLACE: Mr. Tuffin, your group, the AHIP, the American Health Insurance Plans, issued a study and ran some ads opposing one version of health care reform. The White House said some of the data in your study was misleading. Here’s how President Obama reacted generally to the efforts of AHIP.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: The insurance industry is rolling out the big guns and breaking out their massive war chest. They’re earning these profits and bonuses while enjoying a privileged exception from our antitrust laws, a matter that Congress is rightfully reviewing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALLACE: Question: Do you review — do you view that reference to possibly taking away your antitrust exemption as a threat, as punishment, for the fact that you’re opposing the president and Democrats?

TUFFIN: No, we don’t, Chris. That is a very limited federal exemption. It has nothing to do — every analyst who has looked at this has said it has nothing to do with competition or costs.

REALLY? Can we quote you on that? After more than a year of Republicans insisting that all we need to do is repeal their anti-trust exemption and the “free-market” would magically lower prices, the VP of AHIP is telling us that it “has nothing to do with competition or costs.” G.T.K., buddy.

If we can revoke their anti-trust status and hit 'em with a public option, the howls should be sweet music to all our ears.

Hold on tight, my darlings.  The next few days should be interesting indeed...

Your Daily Dose of Health Care Reform Stupidity

You know, I rather think the romance is over:

Well, I guess it's safe to say private health insurers have no intention of rebuilding burnt bridges. Suzy Khimm noted the other day, "Activists on the left have long insisted that insurance companies aren't to be trusted. But up until now, it's been hard to make the charge stick, since the insurance lobby -- a.k.a., America's Health Insurance Plans -- has been cooperating with the White House and its allies."

That cooperation is officially over.

It started last week with a deceptive report on health care premiums. Soon after, insurers launched a new round of attack ads. Now, Sam Stein reports on the industry's message to Republicans.

A top lobbyist for the major private insurance industry trade group, America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), urged Congressional Republicans to not even consider helping Democrats pass health care reform lest they aid an "enemy who is down."
Steve Champlin, a lobbyist for the Duberstein Group who represents AHIP, declared that the road to a bipartisan health care reform bill was, essentially, dead. And he urged GOP members to keep it that way.
"There is absolutely no interest, no reason Republicans should ever vote for this thing. They have gone from a party that got killed 11 months ago to a party that is rising today. And they are rising up on the turmoil of health care," said Champlin. "So when they vote for a health care reform bill, whatever it is, they are giving comfort to the enemy who is down."

Chaplain made the remarks at an annual AHIP conference. He added that he expected reform with some kind of public option to pass, though he emphasized the importance of Republicans standing firm in opposition.

This comes right about the time AHIP shyster-in-chief Karen Ignagni is pinky-swearing they weally weally still do totally want reform.  Riiiiggghhhttt.  What's an ark?

Steve Benen explains conversation enders on his way out to the woodshed to discuss same with Rep. Todd "I Totally Believe Debunked Talking Points About Canadian Hip Replacments" Akin.  Might I just say: One of us!  One of us!

Queen Olympia Snowe is trying to put the public option on ice, even going so far as to threaten to stand with Cons on a filibuster (was there ever any doubt?) if the Dems put in even a public option with opt-outs.  Unfortunately for her, she did so when the Maine AFL-CIO was having a confab.  They suspended their convention so that everybody could make a few pointed phone calls.  I wish I'd been there when the calls started flooding in...

Speaking of opt-outs, that idea's gaining so much steam poor Ben Nelson's afraid we're going to end up with that icky old public option.  Steve Benen's take was, as always, interesting and enlightening.

It's rather pathetic that Arlen Specter needed to have the connection between health care reform and people willing to take risks for the American entrepreneurial dream.


Mary Landrieu's drawn a line in the sand on the public option - and is standing squarely on the wrong side of it:

As for Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.), who opposes the public option for bizarre reasons, and doesn't seem to understand precisely what the public option even is, she told NPR this afternoon that the polls showing strong national support for the idea don't matter, because Americans are wrong.

"I think if you asked, 'Do you want a public option but it would force the government to go bankrupt,' people would say 'No,'" Landrieu said.

Now, I'll gladly concede that popularity does not always denote merit. In other words, sometimes polls will show public attitudes pointing in one direction, but that doesn't make the direction necessarily correct.

But Landrieu's arguments are getting increasingly incoherent. Yes, if you asked people if they want the government to go bankrupt, chances are pretty good the poll results would be one-sided. But why on earth does Landrieu think a public option would bankrupt the government? Does she realize that the public option is a way to save money?

I don't think anyone who's as demonstrably stupid as Landrieu can realize simple facts like that.

You know what Americans like as much as the public option?  Subjecting the insurance industry to anti-trust laws.  Damn skippy!

Elsewhere on the public option front, Nancy Pelosi says the President has been quite clear enough on his desire for the public option, thankyousoverymuch, and moreover is hunting down the votes she'll need to make sure we get a public option.  I'm liking her more and more every day.

Rep. Weiner reminds his colleagues that there is no chance for a do-over.  Hopefully, he'll manage to hammer that through a few thick skulls.

And, finally, Nate Silver believes the momentum's shifting in favor of the public option.  Of all the things that have given me confidence that this could, indeed, happen, his assessment gives me the most optimism.

Strange feeling, that.

Further Thoughts on the President's Peace Prize

I've been seeing a lot of invective against the President and the Nobel Committee from both the left and right, perhaps one of the only times this year they'll find themselves in agreement on anything.  There is a substantive difference in the invective: Cons are screaming incoherently, while the lefties are a little more analytical about their criticism.  Obama doesn't deserve it, they say.  He hasn't done anything, they say.

Bullshit.

Even the fine folks at Firedoglake, who never miss an opportunity to bash Obama, have to admit it's bullshit:

FDL’s writers have been among the sharpest of the reality-based critics of the Obama administration, as posts like this one will show.  But, contrary to what’s been claimed, we’re not so steeped in reactive Obama hatred that we won’t give the man credit when it’s due.   Case in point:  His being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Yes, he’s only been in office a little over eight months.   Yet he’s already made more progress with both Russia and Iran than George W. Bush and the neocon cabal made in eight years, which makes experts on the Middle East like Juan Cole quite happy:

President Obama is slowly putting Iran in a box. His cancellation of the useless and expensive so-called missile shield program in Eastern Europe, which had needlessly antagonized Russia, has been rewarded with greater Russian cooperativeness on Iran. The U.S. right wing accused Obama of a failure of nerve. But in fact his move was shrewd and gutsy, since he predisposed Russia to increased cooperation with the U.S. in regard to Iran’s nuclear research program.

Obama’s full-court press for a United Nations Security Council resolution on nuclear disarmament also pulled the rug out from under Iran’s previous grandstanding tactics, whereby it accused the U.S. and its allies of only wanting nuclear dominance, not the abolition of nukes.

Cole goes on to note that President Obama chaired the U.N. Security Council at the summit level on Thursday, and pushed through an important resolution on nuclear disarmament.

Spencer Ackerman, no gentle soul he, makes much the same point in a hard-hitting post, and concludes:

Progressives have a unique responsibility to hold Obama to his own stated vision, and the vision that the Nobel committee honored today. But there is a difference between an incomplete agenda and a counterproductive one. And in truth, the agenda is never complete. The work goes on. But we are on a path. Fired up, ready to go.

And PalMD quotes the Nobel Committee, then makes the point:

What the committee may or may not have meant is that Obama seems to be more interested in at least understanding the beliefs and desires of our friends and enemies, and using this understanding as a basis for diplomacy.

So while the award may seem quixotic, it's not unprecedented. The Nobel committee is in essence saying, "we know the US is enormously powerful and influential, and we're happy to see that you may be using your powers responsibly." To paraphrase Sally Field, they really like us!

How should we, as Americans, respond to this honor? It is and honor. We are a true representative democracy, and our elected head of state was just given the world's most prestigious award. It is an endorsement by others of many of our basic values. This is an opportunity for us to say to the world, "yes, we are uniquely important" Many of our values are universal. The world still looks to us as a model democracy. After years in the wilderness of world opinion, we are being recognized for our accomplishments and ideals. I like that.

So do I.

And the Obama administration is taking this very, very seriously:

The State Department reflects on the significance of President Obama's Nobel Peace Prize.

"Certainly from our standpoint, this gives us a sense of momentum -- when the United States has accolades tossed its way, rather than shoes."
That's the take of Hillary Clinton's State Department on President Obama being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, according to her spokesman, Assistant Secretary PJ Crowley.

Crowley added, "There is an opportunity here. The tone has changed -- but obviously we recognize that, while the tone in the world has changed, the challenges remain. They are very significant."

So forgive me if I see you pissing and moaning that Obama didn't deserve this and the Nobel Committee's a bunch of idiots, and call bullshit.  It is bullshit.

Besides, it's not Obama's fault he won this thing.  The right, as in so much else, is to blame.  And, furthermore:

Larisa Alexandrovna has hit it right on the mark when she says, ‘When that recipient happens to be the leader of a nation - representing his country all over the world - then that honor is also bestowed on the citizens of that nation.’ 

Yup, Obama didn’t win this Nobel Peace Prize. America did.

Before you start shrieking we don't deserve it, keep in mind that we finally voted the Cons out.  And the Nobel Committee recognizes that peace is a work in progress.  This is a call to action, not a reward for a job well done.  If you can't take it in that sense, I'm very sorry for you.

The rest of us are going to go do some celebrating.  And one of the things we'll be celebrating is how very far we've come.

Your Daily Dose of Health Care Reform Stupidity

My darlings, this is delicious: Sen. Ben Nelson just got his arse totally pwnd:

The Nebraska Democratic Party put the state's senior senator, Ben Nelson, in an awkward spot on Saturday by passing a resolution making support for a government-run insurance option a central aspect of its platform.

In a nearly unanimous vote at a committee meeting in Fort Omaha Metro Community College, about 70 attendees approved language that urges members of Congress "to vote for such health care reform proposals that contain a robust public option at all stages of the legislative process including conference and reconciliation, and encourage legislators to pass such reform."

That's quite the cannon shot over the bow, there.  Nice.

There's actually quite a bit of good news today, but before we get to that, let's sample some stupid.  And who can be more stupid than Bobby Jindal, who's apparently illiterate?  He sure as shit can't read polls, because there he is claiming there's no public support for health care reform, and there the polls are showing precisely the opposite.  Dumbshit extraordinaire, our Bobby.

The White House has been happily touting the AMA's support for reform, and had a nice little get-together with doctors to show off lab-coated support.  In what I'm sure is a huge coinkydink, the RNC suddenly decided it doesn't love the AMA anymore.  Are you shocked?  I'm shocked.  Like, totally.

Those of you breathlessly awaiting the day the Senate Finance Committee will at long last pass their fucking bill shall have to hold their breath a bit longer, alas.  And I wouldn't bet on Wyden voting aye, were I you.  The man's a little pissed at his amendment getting dicked around, with good reason.

Dems, alas, aren't always the champions of health care they should be.  Take the 6 Dem governors who've decided against signing a milquetoast letter in support of health care.  If they have a good excuse, I haven't heard it yet.

But I promised thee good news, and good news thee shall have.  There's some pretty fucking awesome good news, because it looks like conservative Dems are finally understanding that it's a great idea to get on board with reform, including the public option.  Harry Reid's working on herding cats, and remarkably might have some success on that front.  It helps that the public option polls so well.  And I'm sure it doesn't hurt that former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist's new book makes the case for health care reform:

In the book, the heart surgeon writes, "We have a moral responsibility, I believe, to see that every single American has affordable access to health care."

"The need to improve the productivity, fairness and consistent quality of American health care is deeply intertwined with our economic problems. Fixing health care will help the economy," Frist wrote. "Thus, I strongly support the administration's determination to act on both fronts simultaneously, great as the challenges will be."

In case you're wondering, he is indeed referring to the Obama administration.  Mind, he's trying to temper his support a bit, but what he wrote's a wee bit difficult to walk back.

Reason for optimism?  Steve Benen thinks so:

At this point, I was more or less expecting Democratic leaders to start lowering expectations, and preparing the party base for a letdown on the public option. Instead, most of the rhetoric seems to be pointing in the other direction, and the reported efforts of the leadership and the White House is no doubt contributing to the Democratic centrists who now seem less willing to break ranks.

But it's still wise to temper one's enthusiasm. For one thing, the distance between here and the finish line is still pretty long. For another, as we recently learned, "some form of a public option" can mean different things. Reid conceded last week that "public option" is a "relative term.

Taken together, put me down for "cautious optimism."

Add me to the list.

DOMA Repeal in the Works

It's about bloody time:

Next week, Democratic Reps. Jerrold Nadler (NY), Tammy Baldwin (WI), and Jared Polis (CO) will be introducinglegislation to repeal the Clinton-era Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which “defines marriage as a legal union between one man and one woman for purposes of all federal laws.”

Prepare for the frothing fundies' and the right-wing hysterics' impending rabid fits. Just because they're currently busy Teabagging on health care reform doesn't mean they'll ignore the awful news that teh gays are destroying traditional marriage. Just like they did in Massachusetts:

As my friend Bruce Wilson notes at the Huffington Post, after six years of gay marriage in Massachusetts the divorce rate has actually gone down - and it was already the best in the nation.

Provisional data from 2008 indicates that the Massachusetts divorce rate has dropped from 2.3 per thousand in 2007 down to about 2.0 per thousand for 2008. What does that mean ? To get a sense of perspective consider that the last time the US national divorce rate was 2.0 per thousand (people) was 1940. You read that correctly. The Massachusetts divorce rate is now at about where the US divorce rate was the year before the United States entered World War Two.

Something tells me they'll ignore the above and spout bullshit anyway. Have fun rubbing their noses in the above data anyway.

Obama's Reform Speech: The Good, the Bad, and the Absolutely Fucking Ridiculous

President Obama gave his big health care reform speech, which I missed because I was thinking in Pacific rather than Eastern time. But I don't feel like I've missed a thing. After all, the transcript's online, a bunch of folks live-blogged it, and there was plenty of follow-up.

We'll begin our review of the highlights with the lowlights, as it were.

Saxby Chambliss had the utter gall to demand humility from Obama before the Big Speech. Hey, Sax - how about humility from the losers just this once, K? Thank you, Steve Benen, for breaking the Smack-o-Matic over his arse.

And if you thought the rest of the GOP would act like grownups, well, you don't know Cons. They treated the solemn occasion as if they'd been bused in on the Glenn Beck Express:

Tonight during his joint address to Congress, President Obama attempted to set the record straight on some of the “key controversies” surrounding the health care debate. While it’s normal for members of the opposition party to occasionally not clap at statements with which they disagree, congressional Republicans went further tonight, being outright rude at times.

At one point, President Obama addressed the myth that his health care proposals would insure undocumented immigrants: “This, too, is false – the reforms I’m proposing would not apply to those who are here illegally.”

In response, Republicans not only began booing him, but Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) shouted out, “LIE!” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) shot an angry look in his direction, and Vice President Biden shook his head. The rudeness shocked even veteran political observers such as NBC’s Chuck Todd, who wrote on Twitter, “Wow. What’s next a duel?” MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough also wrote, “Whoever shouted out that the president was lying is a dumbass who should show the President respect.” On MSNBC after the speech, Newsweek reporter Howard Fineman said, “The Republicans were mostly stage props in this speech tonight and they behaved like it.”

Indeed they did. If you didn't catch the speech on teevee, Greg Sargent and Steve Benen liveblogged it, and caught the Cons in all their unglorious action.

Note how quickly Wilson apologized after his Democratic opponent made thousands off his idiocy? Ah, pissed-off small donors, how I love thee.

Olympia Snowe, who apparently has delusions of grandeur now that she's confirmed as the only Con sane enough to work across the aisle with, "personally asked President Obama to remove any mentions of the public option from his speech to Congress." I'm afraid she vastly overestimated her importance, but it was a nice try.

In fact, all those folks who were fearing Obama wouldn't so much as mention the public option were in for a bit of a shock. He made his case for it. Granted, he didn't say "Public option or bust!", and that's a shame, but let's consider the reaction of listening Dems for a moment, shall we?

There's Rep. John Dingell:

"I think a). he was clear enough and b). he was strong enough because he made it plain that the public option was the way to create an absolutely necessary thing for the bill to succeed--and that is competition."

Does that mean the public option is more viable now than it was this morning?

"The answer to the question is yes," Dingell told me.

And Sen. Sherrod Brown:

"He wants to always be open to ideas...but he sets his standard. And the standard is it's gotta offer better choice... it's got to discipline insurance companies... and it's got to bring prices down," Brown said in response to a question from TPMDC. "The other options don't even come close to doing it."

Brown's statement amounts to a belief that Obama has implied a demand for a public option. Obama has insisted that the plan he signs must increase competition and bring prices down. But though he's said he's open to triggers and co-ops, Brown says those options fall short enough that they likely won't meet the President mark. "I think he laid it out in a way that only a public option will get us where we want to go."

And even House Progressive leader Raul Grijalva wasn't too disappointed:

"It was very encouraging," Grijalva said. "Obviously our policy point is the public plan and I thought the President dealt with it. He didn't get into a lot of specificity of what he does support and doesn't support."

In an official statement, which I've pasted below, Grijalva said "the President needs to be more direct on what the public option means and what it will do for the American people."

So it sounds like Dems will take that implicit endorsement of the public option and run with it. All to the good, sez I.

There were a lot of interesting people with gripping stories present to witness said speech. Digby's got their bios. Here's hoping the media pays attention to them instead of screaming Teabaggers for once.

And the tearjerker moment: Ted Kennedy's letter from the dead:

At the end of President Obama's speech tonight, he read from a letter Ted Kennedy wrote to him in May, but which was only delivered upon his death.

"For me, this cause stretched across decades," Kennedy wrote. "[I]t has been disappointed, but never finally defeated. It was the cause of my life. And in the past year, the prospect of victory sustained me-and the work of achieving it summoned my energy and determination."

There will be struggles - there always have been - and they are already underway again. But as we moved forward in these months, I learned that you will not yield to calls to retreat - that you will stay with the cause until it is won. I saw your conviction that the time is now and witnessed your unwavering commitment and understanding that health care is a decisive issue for our future prosperity. But you have also reminded all of us that it concerns more than material things; that what we face is above all a moral issue; that at stake are not just the details of policy, but fundamental principles of social justice and the character of our country.

And so because of your vision and resolve, I came to believe that soon, very soon, affordable health coverage will be available to all, in an America where the state of a family's health will never again depend on the amount of a family's wealth. And while I will not see the victory, I was able to look forward and know that we will - yes, we will - fulfill the promise of health care in America as a right and not a privilege.

We will, Teddy. Somehow, we will.

Katrina: Revelation and Rebirth

No Sunday Sensational Science today, my darlings. We'll soon have the latest installment of COTEB to occupy us, and while we wait, there are some important pieces on Katrina and its aftermath I hope you'll peruse.

Katrina made landfall four years (and one day) ago. You all know what happened next: a city drowned, thousands were killed or displaced, and the Bush regime made a total hash of everything start to finish. Four years on, Obama's the one promising to rebuild a city that should have already been shining and new.

But there are deeper stories to the horrific incompetence that nearly killed New Orleans:

I don't get to use the word "heroic" very often. Van Heerden is heroic. The Deputy Director of the Louisiana State University Hurricane Center, it was van Heerden who told me, on camera, something so horrible, so frightening, that, if it weren't for his international stature, it would have been hard to believe:

"By midnight on Monday the White House knew. Monday night I was at the state Emergency Operations Center and nobody was aware that the levees had breached. Nobody."

On the night of August 29, 2005, van Heerden was shut in at the state emergency center in Baton Rouge, providing technical advice to the rescue effort. As Hurricane Katrina came ashore, van Heerden and the State Police there were high-fiving it: Katrina missed the city of New Orleans, turning east.

What they did not know was that the levees had cracked. For crucial hours, the White House knew, but withheld the information that the levees of New Orleans had broken and that the city was about to drown. Bush's boys did not notify the State of the flood to come, which would have allowed police to launch an emergency hunt for the thousands who remained stranded.

Van Heerden, of course, lost his job for telling the truth. And that involves a tale of oil corporations furiously greenwashing and astroturfing, and a university more interested in cash than competence.

As for why it's taken so long to rebuild the city, an explanation might be found in right-wing blatherer Neal Boortz's opinion that rebuilding New Orleans will only bring back "the debris that Katrina chased out." No one in the Bush regime would phrase it so crassly, of course but I don't doubt that a heaping helping of scorn topped their general incompetence like rancid whipped cream on a shit sundae.

Apparently, in their world, people who didn't own cars weren't fit to live:

I did not seek out professor van Heerden about Bush's deadly silence. Rather, I'd come to LSU to ask him about a strange little company, "Innovative Emergency Management," a politically well-connected firm that, a year before the hurricane, had finagled a contract to plan the evacuation of New Orleans.

Innovative Emergency Management knew a lot about political contributions, but seemed to have zero experience in hurricane response planning. In fact, their "plan" for New Orleans called for evacuating the city by automobile. When Katrina hit, 127,000 wheel-less New Orleans folk were left to float out.

You know the tragic result.

Four years and a new administration later, New Orleans is finally seeing some progress:

Victor Ukpolo, chancellor of Southern University at New Orleans, said the administration has been able to "move mountains" for his school, virtually wiped out by Katrina and the breached levees. [snip] In half a year, Obama's team says it has cleared at least 75 projects that were in dispute, including libraries, schools and university buildings. The administration has relied on a new, independent arbitration panel, and assigned senior advisers to focus on the rebuilding.

The administration recently reversed a FEMA rule that barred communities from building fire stations and other critical projects in vulnerable areas. Local officials said the rule could have effectively killed off some places.

[snip]

Jindal and Rainwater said the previous administration often wouldn't recognize new information or acknowledge there were real disputes. Sometimes, Rainwater said, Bush officials seemed blind to the devastation around them and said they had to be good stewards of public money.

"They never recognized the enormity of what we're working through," Rainwater said. "We're not just trying to rebuild buildings here but entire communities."

"That's the difference" under Obama, Rainwater said. "It's the recognition. ... We're all able to sit down around the table."

Hopefully those discussions will include urgent talks and then even more urgent action on flood control. Christie Hardin Smith visited New Orleans recently and brought back pictures showing how much has been accomplished. All of that progress could be wiped out in a virtual instant if the proper precautions aren't taken.

Maybe someone in the Obama administration should have a little chat about New Orleans's safety with Dr. van Heerden. The man has a good eye for a bad levee.

Let's raise a round to him, and to the citizens of New Orleans past, present and future: by your efforts, may the Big Easy make a Big Comeback.

Salud, amigos.

Subtle Signs of Sanity

Right-wing insanity may have finally crossed a bridge too far. It might finally have arrived at its Waterloo. The signs are indeed subtle, and who knows if this is merely a temporary reprieve or if people have actually come to their senses? There's plenty of crazy still going round, as Happy Hour should prove. But let's enjoy watching some folks on the right dip their toes in.

Sen. Jim DeMint, one of the original kings of krazy, actually thinks the Teabagging antics are unacceptable.

David Brooks wakes up from a long slumber and realizes Rush Limbaugh is completely insane.

Cons everywhere (Newt Gingrinch excepted) wake up from a long slumber and realize Sarah Palin is completely fucking insane.

The number of town halls where there's some actual conversation rather than Teabag Tantrums has now reached four.

And David Frum sobers up and discovers what a Con victory against health care reform would actually mean:

It's certainly possible that conservatives will successfully rally enough opposition to defeat health care reform. David Frum, himself a conservative, ponders the consequences of the right "winning" the fight.

The problem is that if we do that ... we'll still have the present healthcare system. Meaning that we'll have (1) flat-lining wages, (2) exploding Medicaid and Medicare costs and thus immense pressure for future tax increases, (3) small businesses and self-employed individuals priced out of the insurance market, and (4) a lot of uninsured or underinsured people imposing costs on hospitals and local governments.

We'll have entrenched and perpetuated some of the most irrational features of a hugely costly and under-performing system, at the expense of entrepreneurs and risk-takers, exactly the people the Republican party exists to champion. [...]

Even worse will be the way this fight is won: basically by convincing older Americans already covered by a government health program, Medicare, that Obama's reform plans will reduce their coverage. In other words, we'll have sent a powerful message to the entire political system to avoid at all hazards any tinkering with Medicare except to make it more generous for the already covered.

If we win, we'll trumpet the success as a great triumph for liberty and individualism. Really though it will be a triumph for inertia. To the extent that anybody in the conservative world still aspires to any kind of future reform and improvement of America's ossified government, that should be a very ashy victory indeed.

I hope this isn't just a false dawn, but that Cons really are seeing the light.

I am not, however, holding my breath.

Spines Developing Among Dems

I don't know about you, but this comes as an absolute fucking shock to me: Harry Reid's apparently located his spine somewhere deep in the detritus of his garage, and he's gingerly trying it on:

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has “ordered Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) to drop a proposal to tax health benefits and stop chasing Republican votes on a massive health care reform bill.” Roll Call reports:

According to Democratic sources, Reid told Baucus that taxing health benefits and failing to include a strong government-run insurance option of some sort in his bill would cost 10 to 15 Democratic votes; Reid told Baucus it wasn’t worth securing the support of Grassley and at best a few additional Republicans. …

Good on yer, Harry. Keep that spine on - it becomes you.

Meanwhile, Arizona's got at least one pol it can be proud of:

Update: And the progressives in the House weigh in:

The Honorable Barack Obama
President of the United States
1600 Pennsylvania Aye, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20500

Dear Mr. President,

I read with alarm and dismay the article in the July 7th edition of the Wall Street Journal, “WhiteHouse Open to Deal on Public Health Plan”. In particular, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel stated in the article that one of several ways to meet your health care reform goals is a mechanism under which a public plan is introduced only if the marketplace fails to provide sufficient competition on its own.

I want to be crystal clear that any such trigger for a strong public plan option is a non-starter with a majority of the Members of the Progressive Caucus (CPC). As the CPC has repeatedly stated, its Members cannot support final passage of any health care reform bill that does not include a robust public plan option, akin to Medicare, operating alongside the private plans.

Public opinion polls show that 76° o of Americans want a robust public plan option and I will stand in solidarity with them. Moreover, I consider it unacceptable for any of the cost savings that you are negotiating with hospitals and other sectors of the health care industry to be madecontingent upon a robust public plan option not being included in the final legislation.

Thank you for your thoughtful consideration.

Sincerely,

Raul Grijalva

And Raul has Rahmbo running for the hills:

After initially indicating his support for a public plan “trigger,” White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel reassured House Democrats tonight that he strongly backs a public plan. Progressive Caucus Co-Chairwoman Lynn Woolsey (D-CA) said she told Emanuel that support for a “trigger” would cause health reform to lose Democratic votes:

“We have compromised enough, and we are not going to compromise on any kind of trigger game,” Woolsey said she told Emanuel. “People clapped all over the place. We mean it, and not just progressives.”

Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) said Emanuel reassured him that he “doesn’t stand by that trigger.”

Nice shooting, Rep. Grijalva and fellow progressives. Nice work, AZ's 7th. Keep that fellow around, would you?

Encouraging Developments

I might as well just tip the shot glass to Steve Benen right here - he finds the bestest stuff. Both of these links came from him. Thanks for some good news floating happily in a sea of stupidity, Steve!

First up, science gets some champions in the Obama administration:

The Senate on Thursday confirmed an expert on global climate change as President Obama's top adviser on science and technology policy.

John Holdren became the president’s science adviser as director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. He has advocated sharp government action on climate change policy and is a former president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the nation’s largest science organization.

[snip]

The Senate also confirmed former Oregon State University marine biologist Jane Lubchenco to head the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which oversees ocean and atmospheric research and the National Weather Service.

Lubchenco, who specialized in overfishing and climate change at Oregon State University, is the first woman to head NOAA. A member of the Pew Oceans Commission, Lubchenco has recommended steps to overcome crippling damage to the world’s oceans from overfishing and pollution and had expressed optimism for change after George W. Bush’s presidency.

Don't know about you, but I'm feeling pretty optimistic just now meself. These two folks were spectacular choices, and I'm glad to see they're now able to get to work.

And Attorney General Eric Holder's taking a step very much in the right direction:

The Obama administration advised federal agencies yesterday to release their records and information to the public unless foreseeable harm would result.

Attorney General Eric Holder issued new guidelines fleshing out President Obama's Jan. 21 order to reveal more government records to the public under the Freedom of Information Act, whenever another law doesn't prohibit release.

The new standard essentially returned to one Attorney General Janet Reno issued during the Clinton administration. It replaced a more restrictive policy imposed by the Bush administration under which the Justice Department defended any sound legal argument for withholding records.

"We are making a critical change that will restore the public's ability to access information in a timely manner," Holder said in a written statement.

And Holder did it in a timely manner himself - Obama said he had until May to get this done. Here's hoping this is a sign of even better things to come. I wouldn't mind a bit if the woodshed fell into disuse.

Not that it's likely to with so many Cons clamoring to get in, alas. But you know what I mean.

Science Hero

I know all of you have probably seen this in one form or another, but I just want to point out that our new President is a champion for science:

As expected, President Obama today reversed Bush-era restrictions on stem-cell research, but that's not all he did today. While hosting a White House ceremony to announce the change, the president also explained a new memorandum addressing scientific integrity itself.

"Promoting science isn't just about providing resources, it is also about protecting free and open inquiry," Obama said. "It is about letting scientists like those here today do their jobs, free from manipulation or coercion, and listening to what they tell us, even when it's inconvenient especially when it's inconvenient. It is about ensuring that scientific data is never distorted or concealed to serve a political agenda and that we make scientific decisions based on facts, not ideology."

He said his memorandum is meant to restore "scientific integrity to government decision-making." He called it the beginning of a process of ensuring his administration bases its decision on sound science; appoints scientific advisers based on their credentials, not their politics; and is honest about the science behind its decisions.

Alex Koppelman noted that this carried with it an "unsubtle ... repudiation of the Bush administration and its attitude towards science."

Good. The previous administration's efforts to subvert science were unprecedented, ridiculous, and kind of dangerous. Melody Barnes, director of Obama's Domestic Policy Council, told reporters yesterday, "The president believes that it's particularly important to sign this memorandum so that we can put science and technology back at the heart of pursuing a broad range of national goals."

It feels so good to have a President who wholeheartedly supports science again. Now if we can just usher the fundies, Cons and other assorted lunatics out of the way, America might once again become a country on the cutting edge.

Thank you, President Obama.

Thankees and Spankees

I dream of blogging. Seriously. I took a nap this evening, and dreamt I was reading a very interesting post by Steve Benen (aren't they all?), and writing several posts of my own. I wish I could remember most of them.

One I do remember, though, was a thank-you letter to President Obama. And even in the dream, I was thinking, "Yeesh, isn't that a little much sap?" After all, I have concerns. Some of his DOJ's arguments recently have been concerning. I'm not at all sure over his Treasury Department. But, of course, every time I go to haul him to the woodshed, he does something that mitigates the concern, and then a little more. So I save my smackin' for them as deserves it more richly.

But a thank you letter? Oh, for crying out loud. I refuse to be that mushy-gushy.

However, I may have to rethink that position:

The establishment media, never one to turn down an easy story controversy slap fight might be focused on Limbaugh—they are the ones that have asked questions of Gibbs, Emanuel, etc., after all—but "Team" Obama seems focused on fixing the fucking the disaster left to them by "Team" Bush-Cheney. The Recovery Act, the budget fixes—hell, the whole damn budget—today’s healthcare summit, Clinton’s Mideast initiative, the initiative to cut military waste, the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, this week’s release of the OLC memos. . . that's what the White House is focusing on.

Where is the Republican "loyal" opposition focusing? They are busy fearmongering about "socialism," saying "no" without proposing any implementable alternatives, and seeing who can kiss Rush's butt closest to his anus.

And how’s that workin’ for ya’? As the latest NBC/WSJ poll will tell you, not very well:

President Obama's favorability rating is at an all-time high. Two-thirds feel hopeful about his leadership and six in 10 approve of the job he's doing in the White House.

. . . .

By comparison, the Republican Party — which resisted Obama's recently passed stimulus plan and has criticized the spending in his budget — finds its favorability at an all-time low. It also receives most of the blame for the current partisanship in Washington and trails the Democrats by nearly 30 percentage points on the question of which party could best lead the nation out of recession. [emphasis enthusiastically added]

Really, the kid's not doing a bad job. When you kind of put it all together like that with the little NBC/WSJ Poll cherry on top, it's kinda eye-popping. So, y'know, Mr. President - thanks. And keep up the good work.

That work, o' course, would be easier if it wasn't for the abundance of assclowns he's having to deal with:

Via TPM, Bloomberg:

"President Barack Obama's economic advisers are increasingly concerned about the U.S. Senate's delay in confirming the nominations of Austan Goolsbee and Cecilia Rouse to the White House Council of Economic Advisers.

Without Senate confirmation, the two economists are barred from advising the president as the administration tackles the worst financial crisis in 70 years and tries to advance the spending plan Obama submitted to Congress last week.

[snip]

You know what's coming, don't you? Oh, yes, you do:

"There are some objections on the Republican side that we are trying to deal with," said Jim Manley, a spokesman for Reid."

As Josh said: Please Grow Up.

Meanwhile, Sen. Robert Menendez and other anonymous Senators have blocked two of Obama's science advisors. This isn't just bad for science, it's bad for the economic stimulus package, which contains a lot of science funding:

"The holdup could slow timely science and environmental policy work between Congress and the administration, particularly the spending of roughly $21.5 billion dedicated to science in the economic recovery package."

Now mind you, Obama has managed to accomplish all of the amazing things highlighted above and more in a political zoo where Cons obstruct everything in sight and a good chunk of the Dems can't figure out whether they're supposed to be Democrats or not. (New Dems, Blue Dogs, a word if I may: fiscal conservatives are typically Republicons, you dumbfucks. How's about we hold off on the concern trolling until after the economy has recovered, eh? Or you can join the ranks of the outrageous idiots over on the other side of the aisle. Good luck getting reelected with that.)

So, once again: Thank you, President Obama, for managing to do so much in so little time while navigating so many obstacles. And for not mangling innocent English sentences every time you open your mouth.

That, together with all the other stuff, means a lot to this writer.

And, Senate? I'm carrying Josh and Hilzoy's motion, here: Grow the fuck up.

(Update: you know what they say about great minds thinking alike... or at least on related grooves. What was I saying about the Treasury?)

Another Noxious Bush Reg Bites the Dust

A few months ago, I alerted you to Bush's little scheme to allow healthcare providers to redefine birth control as abortion and then refuse to provide the service. At the time, I gave you what I considered wise advice:

We can't rely on Obama's ability to roll these rules back. Better for the country if they're never implemented at all.

It's nice to be half-wrong sometimes. Looks like we can rely on Obama after all:

Today, the Obama administration plans to rescind the controversial “conscience rule,” which “allows healthcare workers to deny abortion counseling or other family planning services if doing so would violate their moral beliefs.”

That's my President, that is. He's not got a perfect record in rolling back Bush abuses - in fact, if a few things don't change over the next week, a trip to the woodshed will be in order - but he's doing a tremendous amount of good very, very quickly.

This is why I find it rather difficult to apply the Smack-o-Matic in his case. Every time I pick the damned thing up, he does something that makes me put it right back down. Y'know, little things like, oh, I dunno,

Ending the war in Iraq.

Restoring Superfund, making polluters pay, and ending tax breaks for the fossil fuel industry.

Planning a budget even Paul Krugman can love.

Going for healthcare reform.

Delivering a kick-ass speech that helps prepare the country for progressivism.

And that's just a few items from the last few days.

It's a good thing the Cons have been such raging idiots, or the poor Smack-o-Matic would be gathering dust. We can't have that.

The following illustration describes the situation precisely:


Our President is practically MacGuyver. I'm loving this.

Westboro Baptist Church PWND by High School Students and Other Tales

This photo diary at Daily Kos is sure to warm the hearts of all those who love to see Fred Phelps' Band of Frothing Fuckwits get their due:

Fred Phelps, known for his protests at the funerals of AIDS victims, and now extremely popular for his bizarre protests at the funerals of fallen soldiers, decided to grace Prairie Village, Kansas with the presence of his minions. The target for the picketers was Shawnee Mission East High School, a large suburban school in the Kansas City Metro area.

Westboro Church is located in Topeka, Kansas, which is why Kansas City often gets blessed with their ministries. Shawnee Mission East's crime is an active gay/straight alliance group, and the nominating of an openly gay classmate for Homecoming King in 2007. I don't know why they waited until now to tell the students that God hates them and they are burning in hell, but they did. An impressive 12 of them. Wow. And at least two children, which is sweet.

But they were met with at least 300 counter-protesters, a large number of them Shawnee Mission East students. The kids organized and with the support of the school administration were able to shout down the Westboro orcs with signs calling out love, compassion and tolerance.

This is what gives me hope that I'll grow old in a slightly less dysfunctional country. The generation coming after us seems to have a fairly large proportion of people with their heads screwed on straight.

Perhaps we should take them on a field trip to explain law, civics, and basic reading comprehension to certain dunces:

Let's briefly recap a story we've been following. Earlier this week, the American Center for Law and Justice, a right-wing legal group formed by TV preacher Pat Robertson, said the stimulus bill includes a provision that would prohibit "religious groups and organizations from using" buildings on college campuses. Soon after, religious right groups and right-wing blogs were up in arms, demanding that lawmakers fix the "anti-Christian" language of the bill. Fox News and the Christian Broadcasting Network helped get the word out to the far-right base about the nefarious measure.

But there was one small problem: there was no such measure. The ACLJ doesn't know how to read legislation, and didn't realize that the standard language in the bill simply blocks spending for on-campus buildings that are used primarily for religion (like a chapel, for example). This same language has been part of education spending bills for 46 years. It's just the law, and it's never been controversial.

And if it were just some random yahoos screaming about a non-existent threat, this would merely be annoying. But right-wing whining about the imaginary attack came to the attention of Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), who actually tried to remove the legal language from the bill. Consider just how truly ridiculous his remarks were on the Senate floor yesterday:

This is a provision "that would make sure students could never talk openly and honestly about their faith ... what this means is that students can't meet together in their dorms if that dorm has been repaired with federal money and have a prayer group or a Bible study. They can't get together in their student centers. They can't have a commencement service where a speaker talks about their personal faith." ... Student groups would be banned and "classes on world religions and religious history, academic studies of religious texts could be banned ... Someone is so hostile to religion that they are willing to stand in the schoolhouse door, like the infamous George Wallace, to deny people of faith from entering into any campus building renovated by this bill. This cannot stand!"

Please remember, every sentence -- literally, every single sentence -- in that paragraph is wrong. Indeed, everything DeMint said was the polar opposite of reality, driven entirely by a reading-comprehension mistake made by someone at Pat Robertson's legal group.

Believe it or not, the situation only deteriorates from there. Click if you dare. Then click back to Reepicheep's photo diary to help ease the pain.

End of Week One: Sea Change

I'll be honest with you: the night before Obama became the 44th President of the United States, I was preparing myself for pain. He'd tacked a bit too far center for my taste. There were disturbing signs he'd pander to Cons in the name of bipartisanship. And I fully expected most of those glorious campaign promises to go unfulfilled.

Day One, I thought, would see a sharp pulling back. I figured he'd use the economy as an excuse to sweep the thorny problems of Guantanamo and torture under the rug. Transparency would give way to opacity. And the expanded powers of the presidency bequeathed by Cheney and his minion Bush would prove too tempting to discard. We'd see a few empty gestures, and some decent work on economic issues, but not much else.

Well, this is one of those times when I've been thrilled to be wrong. Utterly, completely, gloriously wrong.

I can't even keep up with him. If he keeps up this pace, all of the abuses of the Bush years will be rolled back by next week, all of the major issues resolved by next year, and who the fuck knows what he'll find to do with the remaining three in his first term?

Yes, that's hyperbole. But after this week, perhaps I can be forgiven a little exaggeration. Let's just take a quick gander at some of the many highlights.

Ending the Ill-Conceived War on Terror

On his first day, Obama had a draft executive order circulating to close Guantanamo and called a halt to kangaroo trials. By Thursday, he'd taken a wrecking ball to Bush's blunders:

With a few strokes of a pen Thursday, President Obama undid years of policy that was the cornerstone of George W. Bush's "war on terror." He ordered the prison at Guantánamo to be shut down within a year, the detainees moved to other countries or to regular U.S. courts; forced the CIA to stop torturing people, to close secret "black sites" around the world and to follow the Army Field Manual rules on interrogations; and told the entire government to stop relying on legal opinions issued by the Bush administration to justify policies that were never justifiable except in the eyes of the people who hatched them up.

He'd also ordered the Red Cross have access to any and all detainees held by the U.S. government. And he'd signed an order ending extraordinary rendition. He's not stopping at rolling back Bush's abuses, but fixing Clinton's mistakes as well.

If anyone was looking for a clean break with the past, this is it.

Reproductive Rights and Global Health

Most politicians pussyfoot around Roe vs. Wade. Not Obama:

"On the 36th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, we are reminded that this decision not only protects women’s health and reproductive freedom, but stands for a broader principle: that government should not intrude on our most private family matters. I remain committed to protecting a woman’s right to choose.

While this is a sensitive and often divisive issue, no matter what our views, we are united in our determination to prevent unintended pregnancies, reduce the need for abortion, and support women and families in the choices they make. To accomplish these goals, we must work to find common ground to expand access to affordable contraception, accurate health information, and preventative services.

On this anniversary, we must also recommit ourselves more broadly to ensuring that our daughters have the same rights and opportunities as our sons: the chance to attain a world-class education; to have fulfilling careers in any industry; to be treated fairly and paid equally for their work; and to have no limits on their dreams. That is what I want for women everywhere."

It's the first time in my life I've heard a president come out this strongly for my rights. And at WhiteHouse.gov, it becomes even more clear he knows and understands the issues women face.

The day after Roe's anniversary, he lifted the global gag rule. The world will be a far healthier place for it.

White House Ethics and Transparency

On his first full day in office, Obama tightened ethics rules and froze pay* for those White House staffers making more than $100,000 a year.

But that stuff wasn't as breathtaking as the sweeping changes in transparency. You know it's serious when the White House press are the ones wanting to withhold information while the government wants to release it. Can we say sea change?

The most important thing Obama did was overturn Bush's records secrecy order. Talk about night and day:

Under Bush's order, former presidents had broad ability to claim executive privilege and could designate others including family members who survive them to exercise executive privilege on their behalf.

Obama's new order gives ex-presidents less leeway to withhold records, Aftergood said, and takes away the ability of presidents' survivors to designate that privilege.

Separately, an Obama memorandum issued Wednesday also appears to effectively rescind a 2001 memo by President Bush's then-Attorney Gen. John Ashcroft giving agencies broad legal cover to reject public disclosure requests.

"For a long time now, there's been too much secrecy in this city. This administration stands on the side not of those who seek to withhold information but with those who seek it to be known," Obama said before a gathering that included his senior staff. "The mere fact that you have the legal power to keep something secret does not mean you should always use it. Transparency and the rule of law will be the touchstones of this presidency."

Under Obama, the Freedom of Information Act will mean that information is free:

According to Obama's memo: "All agencies should adopt a presumption in favor of disclosure, in order to renew their commitment to the principles embodied in FOIA, and to usher in a new era of open Government. The presumption of disclosure should be applied to all decisions involving FOIA."

[snip]

"The presumption of disclosure also means that agencies should take affirmative steps to make information public. They should not wait for specific requests from the public. All agencies should use modern technology to inform citizens about what is known and down by their Government. Disclosure should be timely."

And as if this isn't awesome enough, WhiteHouse.gov is now actually a site worth visiting. There's even a blog.

Science and Environment

The long war on science is finally over, and America is filled with happy scientists:

After some very frustrating years, it seems the scientific community finally has reason to celebrate. The New York Times reported today that many scientists are "exuberant" about Barack Obama becoming president, and staff members throughout the government's scientific agencies "reported being teary-eyed with joy."

"If you look at the science world, you see a lot of happy faces," said Frank Press, a former president of the National Academy of Sciences and former science adviser to President Jimmy Carter. "It's not just getting money. It's his recognition of what science can do to bring this country back in an innovative way."

When a politician can make scientists cry for joy, you know science is going to do all right.

And, glory be, despite all the nattering about clean coal, Obama's EPA has already put the kibbosh on new coal plants, demanding they meet stringent standards before they're approved.

There's even scientific claims that Obama makes you smarter. The study's methods seem a little questionable, but that does not prevent me from enjoying its conclusions thoroughly.

Peace In Our Time

In his first moments in office, Obama rang up "the leaders of Israel, Egypt, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority to talk about next steps for peace." In his next few moments, he appointed George Mitchell to take care of bidness. I'll have more on this man later. For now, the key facts are that he's so even-handed that the extreme right-wing allies of Israel are in a blind panic, and he helped bring peace to Northern Ireland. I do believe Obama's serious about getting this peace thing right.

"No More Fake Optimism"

Naomi Wolf, reflecting on Obama's inauguration speech, captured the essence:

The great leaders in the US weren't the cheerleaders who promised ­morning in America. They were the ones that forced us to look in the mirror. Since Reagan there has been this tradition, which has become a cliche, of promising morning in America, this fake optimism, we're the best, the city on the hill.

In fact the great American task is self-scrutiny. Abraham Lincoln gave speeches about the civil war in which he said, in essence, "We've brought this on ourselves by enslaving Americans." Obama's speech was a diagnosis: "We have to take steps to rebuild our nation." I'm not saying, "Hooray, he offered a tough, dark recognition of our reality." I'm saying "Hooray" because he has recognised that the only way to save America is to confront it.

I think we can safely say he's doing just that. No more fake optimism. This is the real deal.

Now if you'll excuse me, I think I'm going to go lie down. The pace of change has been absolutely dizzying.



*I know, I know. But one waiver does not destroy the implications. I'll feel differently if this becomes a habit.