Tea Party organization outlines strategy for healthcare repeal

By Jason Millman - 12/16/10 09:53 AM ET

An influential Tea Party group is urging Congress to hold votes in January to repeal healthcare reform in its entirety, according to a confidential memo to congressional Republicans.

The FreedomWorks memo, obtained by The Hill, outlines a strategy that starts with holding a vote in January to repeal the entire law. The group, headed by former House Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-Texas), said Congress should then hold repeal votes on certain provisions of the law, such as the individual mandate. 

“Repeal is achievable, possibly sooner than many expect, because the American people clearly want and expect repeal, and because the law is vulnerable to effective repeal,” the memo said. 

FreedomWorks claimed the reform law is vulnerable because public support for repeal has increased since the midterm elections; the law’s structure makes it immune to repair but vulnerable to repeal; fiscal realities make the law an “irresistible” source of offsets for deficit reduction; 60 percent of the states are challenging it; and the Supreme Court may rule it unconstitutional. 

The group identifies four reform provisions it believes have bipartisan support: the individual mandate, 1099 reporting requirements, a bill allowing Americans to keep the private health insurance the way it is and a bill that lets states opt of out Medicaid eligibility expansion. FreedomWorks also thinks it has time on its side, writing that 70 percent of the law’s spending doesn’t begin until 2014. 

FreedomWorks said it would have more in the coming months on a strategy to replace the reform law with “a set of patient-centered” bills.

House Progressives Stall Obama Tax Cut Plan

Brian Beutler | December 16, 2010, 12:48PM

Sen. Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH), House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and President Barack Obama

Lacking the votes to overcome a key procedural hurdle facing the tax cut bill, Dems have pulled the Rule laying the groundwork for debate off the House floor.

The move was a result of the defection of a number of House progressives who were upset with the terms of the debate, and with the tax cut bill itself.

Because it's a procedural vote that reflects virtually no input from the minority, Republicans opposed the rule, meaning Democrats had to put together a majority among their own members, a majority of whom appose the underlying legislation, and want more opportunities to amend it.

A Dem leadership aide tells me this is likely a temporary setback.

"We are still whipping the rule to ensure that it passes," the aide says. "Liberals are not happy with the tax bill in general. The rule is typically where a lot of members will lodge their protest."

"We always knew that the rule vote would be tough ... we just need more time," the aide added.

If Dems can't be corralled, leaders will have to come to terms with rank and file members on a new rule that wins majority support.

Late Update: Speaker Pelosi is now conferring with her caucus on language for a new rule that could pass. Rules Committee Chairwoman Louise Slaughter (D-NY) tells us that she expects this dispute to be resolved and the vote on the tax cut plan to still be held today, although it may be tonight rather than this afternoon, as originally scheduled. The situation, however, remains fluid.

Lieberman: DADT Repeal Should Come Before START (VIDEO)

Evan McMorris-Santoro | December 16, 2010, 1:26PM

Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) says that repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell should get an earlier slot on the Senate calendar than ratifying President Obama's new nuclear arms reduction START treaty. In the past couple days, momentum has formed behind the Lieberman-led effort to end the military's ban on openly gay servicembers, and Lieberman is calling on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to keep the ball rolling.

"It's really up to Sen. Reid now," Lieberman told MSNBC today.

Lieberman recently secured the 60 votes (and then some) he's going to need to bring the freestanding DADT repeal passed by the House to the Senate floor for a vote. Lieberman said that if the Senate brings up DADT this weekend, it can be done in time for other bills to be considered before the lame duck session is over and done with.

Regardless of what happens afterward, Lieberman said, repeal should come before anything else once the Senate debate on the budget bill -- a prerequisite for some of the Republican pro-repeal votes -- is over. 

"Instead of going back to the START treaty, we should go to the independent standalone repeal of DADT Saturday night, we can get it done by Monday, Tuesday morning at the latest, and then we can go back to the START treaty if they want," Lieberman said. "But repealing DADT has to be done this year, because I'm worried we are not going to have the votes to do it next year."

"The START treaty can be ratified next year," Lieberman said.

A source close to Lieberman tells TPM the Senator may raise the proposed schedule during the Democratic caucus meeting scheduled for today.

Reid promised to bring a repeal bill to the floor at some point after the House passed its version yesterday, but his office has been tight-lipped about where on the priority list DADT falls. The clock is ticking on the lame duck, and with Reid interested in holding votes on START, the DREAM Act immigration bill, and DADT -- all following the budget bill -- it's possible one could get the shaft before the Senate adjourns.

Yesterday, the Senate agreed to open debate on START. That debate will pause to give Senators a chance to vote on the budget bill this weekend. Instead of going back to START afterwards, Lieberman says the Senate should take up DADT repeal instead.

Lieberman reconfirmed to MSNBC that he's got the votes to pass DADT repeal in the Senate, which would immediately put repeal legislation on the president's desk for a likely signature. All he needs, Lieberman said, is time.

"I know we got 61, I believe we're gonna suprise and at least 62, maybe 63 votes," he said. "It's time for this to end and for us to get the best possible people we can to serve in our military. We can't let the clock be used as an excuse."

Watch Lieberman make his case for putting DADT repeal first:

Twas a Night in December

 To Our Brave Soldiers where ever they may be serving, God Bless you, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. WE LOVE YOU MUCH..........

Service members stationed from Antarctica to Afghanistan lent their talents and time to craft, "Twas a Night in December," based on the popular holiday story, but rewritten with a military twist. More than 40 commands around the world, representing every branch of the military service, participated. Along with the military people who contributed to this creative effort, country music star, Toby Keith introduced the video, reinforcing his long-term support for military and their families stationed around the world.
See more DoD videos at http://www.dodvclips.mil

‘Twas a Night in December:(Story by Jian Deleon, Ian Graham and Lt. Jennifer Cragg)

‘Twas a night in December and all over the world,
At bases and stations where our flag flies unfurled,
The Holiday season had long since commenced,
And spread its spirit of cheer through the Department of Defense.

Combat boots sat at ease by the fence line with care,
In hopes that a return date soon would be there.

At home, loved ones slept sound in their beds,
With visions of troops coming home in their heads.

As Moms perform night patrols, and Dads conduct checks,
A long winter’s nap is the last thing they expect.

When out on the tarmac arose such a clatter,
Soldiers and sailors sprang up to see what was the matter.

Away to the deck, they hustled, they dashed,
Some ran through a passageway, one opened a hatch.

In Antarctica, moonlight shimmered on the snow,
A sliver of light shown on the objects below.

And what to our wondering eyes should appear,
But letters and packages bundled with care.

Yet it wasn’t just there that we saw these things land,
We received them as well, here in Afghanistan!

They were packaged so well that they could withstand,
The harsh desert winds full of Iraqi sand.

Onto Nicaragua with volcanoes and lakes,
Padded so carefully that nothing would break

Addressed from our family and friends we hold dear,
With Holiday greetings and a “Wish You Were Here!”

We lined up and claimed them, with smiles ear-to-ear,
Every person overcome with Holiday cheer.

Your support and your thoughts are the best possible gift,
We send you our thanks for giving our spirits such a lift.

Thanks from the National Guard
Thanks from the Army,
Thanks from the Navy,
Thanks from the Marines,
Thanks from the Air Force,
Thanks from the Coast Guard,

We want you to know how much this gift means.
In our eyes you’re super, and we mean A-OK

We will do our duty and keep defending our freedom,
And wish you and yours the very best this Holiday season!

Command participants in this holiday video include: 
1st MLG (Forward) Marines and Sailors
10th Space Warning Squadron
173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team
2/1 Advise and Assist Brigade in Iraq
97 Air Mobility Wing
319th Air Refueling Wing
Air Education and Training Command 59th Medical Wing
Air Force Global Strike Command
Air Force Reserve Command 920th Rescue Wing
Air Force Materiel Command
Air Force Space Command 45th Space Wing
Air Force Space Command 50th Space Wing
Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa
Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater
Coast Guard Station Washington
Coast Guard Sector San Diego
Coast Guard Air Station Houston
Columbus Air Force Base
Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute
Defense Video & Imagery Distribution System
Global Strike Command
Lackland Air Force Base
Malmstrom Air Force Base
National Guard
NATO Training Mission-Afghanistan
Patrick Air Force Base
Peterson Air Force Base
U.S. Air Force Public Affairs
U.S. Air Force 1st Special Operations Wing
U.S. Army Africa
U.S. Coast Guard HQ Multimedia
Office of the Defense Representative, U.S. Embassy Islamabad, Pakistan
U.S. European Command
U.S. Military Group Nicaragua
U.S. Naval Academy
U.S. Navy Office of Information
U.S. Southern Command
United States Air Force Air Demonstration Squadron “Thunderbirds”
U.S. Transportation Command
USS Enterprise
The Pentagon Channel
Scott Air Force Base
Sheppard Air Force Base

Liberal Dems and Obama:

 It's Complicated

Are the Democratic lawmakers who went to war with the White House over tax cuts ready to kiss and make up?

By Suzy Khimm | Thu Dec. 16, 2010 3:04 AM PST

---

Just days ago, President Obama and liberal Democrats were practically at each other's throats, trading epithets and insults. But as the president's tax cut deal passed the Senate [1] on Wednesday with overwhelming bipartisan support, House Democrats appear ready to kiss and make up—or at least shrug their shoulders. With opposition fading [2], liberals who have vowed to vote against the bill insist that the rift with the White House is no biggie—and emphasize they will have to reunite to fight off the newly empowered Republicans in the next Congress.

Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Wash.) has called [3] Obama's bill "just awful" and still refuses to support it. But with the passage of the tax package now all but a forgone conclusion, he says he doesn't resent the White House and is prepared to move on. "I'm a professional, that's yesterday," McDermott told reporters Wednesday. "Now today, what's on the table for today? You can't walk around sort of nursing grudges. A lot of things get said, and people sometimes go a little over the top. The next day you get over it and go onto the next one."
He suggested that Democrats would have no problem making up with Obama, recalling the days where former Democratic Speaker Sam Rayburn held court beneath the House floor, in a room where future generations of lawmakers would retreat after bloody legislative flights. "We used to drink branch water and whiskey with a whole raft of people who upstairs were fighting each other tooth and nail here, then they'd go down and have a drink."

"Herding Democrats is like herding cats...we air our laundry sometimes," says Rep. Mike Honda (D-Calif.).

After Obama announced the deal, liberal Democrats complained [4] that the White House had shunted them aside during the negotiations. But now, even Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.)—who led the Democratic charge [5] against the bargain—calls the omission of House Democrats from the bargaining table with the Senate "incidental." "My concern is the content not the process," says Welch, who still opposes the bill. "The most important thing is the outcome for the American people, not the feelings of the respective houses."
But what if the White House adopts the same model for compromises with the next Congress, where the Republicans will have an even stronger hand? Welch insists that he'd support such an approach: "I think we've got to find common ground and compromise." Rep. Mike Honda (D-Calif.)—a member of the House Progressive Caucus who's undecided about the bill—emphasizes that the president had the right to intervene. "The executive branch needs to go ahead to cut the deals they have to cut, and we [in the House] have to do what we can do," he says. The California Democrat added there was nothing unusual about the rifts within the party: "Herding Democrats is like herding cats...we air our laundry sometimes."
With the GOP poised [6] to claim a majority in the House and a stronger hand in the Senate, Democrats will be forced to mend their internal rift to fend off Republicans. "Necessity will heal it," says Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), who says he'll vote against [7] the tax bill. "We'll be facing a very strong enemy and given that sure, we'll have to work together. What holds us together isn't love...Republican extremism is going to make us allies of each other."
To be sure, there are still some Democrats who are smarting from the White House's disregard for its liberal detractors. "It's not good for him to proceed without enlisting our support," notes Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.). "We are equal partners." But Johnson adds that he is hopeful that the president will "redouble" his efforts to reach out to House Democrats—and will himself vote for the tax bargain.
The moment that the tax bill does pass, House liberals will have a clearer target in their sites. "The Republican Party has been demanding this deal," says Welch. "The moment the ink is dried, [they'll] accuse the president of adding a trillion dollars to the national debt." McDermott concludes: "This is the last act of this play—there will be a new play shortly."

Phorid Flies Can Turn Fire Ants Into Zombie Ants!

Interesting and Weird........

BY MIKL-EM ON MAY 15, 2009

guest post by mikl-em

Texas has a fire ant problem. A fire ant is not an ant that is on fire. It’s a kind of ant. And they are bad news

The University of Texas and Texas A&M University scientists have studied the South American predators of the fire ant, and have found one called the phorid fly, which they are pinning their hopes on.

Their plan is to release phorid flies, which will lay eggs on the ants. The eggs become maggots which BURROW INTO THE BRAINS OF THE ANTS. yikes.

Oh, and then they EAT THEIR BRAINS!!!! They really do.

The ants, with maggots for brains, then become zombie ants. Zombie ants are ants that are zombies. Duh. They walk around without brains for like a month. Then their heads fall off.

Isn’t nature wonderful”?

photo by TexasBagLady

That’s not the only cause of zombie ants. This National Geographic segment explains the weirdness of the aptly namedLiver Flukes (a type of tape worm) that embed themselves in ants’ brains and then control their actions, steering them into suicidal situations, so that both ant and worm will be consumed by a larger mammal and thus the fluke upgrades to its next victim.

Austin’s KXAN reports that this is not unique in the annals of natural history.

Fire ants are not the only things in nature that are affected by mind-controlling parasites. Snails and rats also get parasites that give them suicidal tendencies. The snails, specifically, grow large tentacles which attract birds. The bird rips off the snail’s tentacles which cannot be withdrawn because of the sporocystes tubes inside. Inside the bird’s digestive tract the cercaries change into the parasite’s adult stage, which then reproduces sexually and lays eggs. Those are distributed by the bird to infect further snails, which closes the generation cycle.

Here’s a brief video about the Zombie Snails which are truly freaky

I learned about this zombie ant thing via The Rachel Maddow Show (after a story about the nation of Uruguay, which recently made it legal for gays to serve in the military).

Dems still hoping to bring up tax bill Thursday

By Michael O'Brien - 12/16/10 02:59 PM ET

Democrats are still hoping to bring President Obama's tax-cut deal to the floor for a vote on Thursday. 

A spokesman for the House Rules Committee said the tax bill, which was suddenly pulled from consideration early Thursday afternoon, was withdrawn so Democrats "could address some concerns in our caucus." 

Democrats are looking at options to make changes to the rule under which the tax bill was brought to the floor, a modification that could take place on the House floor or in the Rules Committee. 

"We ought to have a plan in place before too long, and the goal is still to do it today," said Vincent Morris, the communications director for the House Rules Committee, in an e-mail to reporters. 

Democratic leaders pulled the measure after it seemed they didn't have sufficient votes to advance the tax package, due to liberal and conservative lawmakers' balking at the deal. 

We're Still at War:

 Photo of the Day for December 16, 2010

Thu Dec. 16, 2010 2:30 AM PST

Paratroopers with 3rd Battalion, 319th Field Artillery Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, remove an M119A2 105mm howitzer from its air-drop packing Dec. 3, 2010, during a training exercise at Fort Bragg, N.C. The Paratroopers’ goal is to be able to fire the cannon within 20 minutes of the first jumper exiting the aircraft. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Michael J. MacLeod

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange granted bail:

 

 

 

 as it happened

• Judge upholds bail after challenge by UK prosecutors
• UK, not Sweden, decided to oppose bail for Assange
• US prosecutors build a conspiracy case against Assange
• Read a summary of the days' events 
• Full coverage of the WikiLeaks cables

Julian Assange celebrates as he emerges to speak to the media on the steps of the high court Link to this video

6.37pm: Here's a final summary of the day's events:

• Wikileaks founder Julian Assange was freed on bail and vowed to continue to fight against the rape allegations he faces in Sweden. He said he hoped to reveal evidence to proved his innocence as and when he obtained it.

• High court judge Mr Justice Ouseley, upheld the decision by City of Westminster magistrates court on Tuesday to free Assange on strict conditions. But there was a wait of more than four hours before it was confirmed that the bail conditions would be met today and he would not have to face another night in jail. The bail conditions were as follows: a £200,000 cash deposit, with a further £40,000 guaranteed in two sureties of £20,000 and strict conditions on his movement.

• Lawyers acting for the Crown Prosecution Service argued that Assange was likely to abscond. But the judge noted that Assange had made arrangements at an early stage of his stay in Britain for his lawyers to be in contact with the Metropolitan police over the ongoing case in Sweden. "That is not the conduct of a person who is seeking to evade justice," the judge said.

And here's the text of Assange's full statement delivered outside the court on his release:

It's great to smell the fresh air of London again.

First, some thank yous. To all the people around the world who have had faith in me, who have supported my team while I have been away. To my lawyers, who have put up a brave and ultimately successful fight, to our sureties and people who have provided money in the face of great difficulty and aversion. And to members of the press who are not all taken in and considered to look deeper in their work. And I guess finally, to the British justice system itself, where if justice is not always the outcome at least it is not dead yet.

During my time in solitary confinement in the bottom of a Victorian prison I had time to reflect on the conditions of those people around the world also in solitary confinement, also on remand, in conditions that are more difficult than those faced by me. Those people also need your attention and support.

And with that I hope to continue my work and continue to protest my innocence in this matter and to reveal, as we get it, which we have not yet, the evidence from these allegations. Thank you.

That seems like a good moment to end the live blog for today, so thanks for all your comments. Goodnight.

6.17pm: Here's the full quote in which Assange stated his intention to fight the allegations against him:

I hope to continue my work and continue to protest my innocence in this matter and to reveal as we get it, which we have not yet, the evidence from these allegations.

6.07pm: You can listen to what Assange said in this Audioboo recording.

6.03pm: He reflects on the conditions inside prison, in solitary confinement, and calls on people to support those who face tougher conditions than he did inside.

He ends the brief statement by saying he will continue the fight and hopes "to reveal...the evidence from these allegations".

Assange ignores the flurry of questions aimed at him and turns away from the cameras.

6.01pm: Julian Assange walks out of the High Court with a hand raised. "It's great to smell the fresh air of London again," he says.

He thanks all the people around the world who have had faith in him and his lawyers, sureties "in the face of great difficulty and aversion", also members of the press "who were not all taken in" and finally the British justice system. "If justice is not always the outcome, at least it is not dead yet."

5.54pm: Sky is saying Assange will be coming out of the high court in five minutes time. He will then make a statement.

5.48pm: Julian Assange has just been released.

5.45pm: An update from Vikram Dodd, which suggests there might be a new obstacle to Assange being released tonight:

VIDEO: Veterans for Peace Take Demand to White House Fence

 

 December 16, 2010 |

Veterans for Peace on 12/16/2010 at the White House in Washington DC 
http://stopthesewars.org

CODEPINK in DC today at the mass mobilization of Vets against the Afghan war! Real Men Make Peace!

 

Daniel Ellsberg joins CODEPINK's call for an end to the Afghan war & support for WikiLeaks today in DC!

CODEPINK activists join #Vets4Peace @WhiteHouse fence, call for bringing our troops & our war $$ home!

 

100s of #Vets4Peace just arrested in uniform @WhiteHouse for civil disobedience protesting war, pics:

Mounted police running away from CODEPINK activists in DC! at civil disobedience action with #Vets4Peace @WhiteHouse