[Knotbored]

Noboidy dies from lack of insurance! They die from lack of health care!
In some cases they cannot afford insurance, sometimes they cannot afford payng medical bills, but society has so many options to handle the financial problems that blaming lack of insurance is rediculous.
Were there drugies included? Were severely obese included? What was the financial status? Could they afford but just didn't apply until deathly ill? How many opted for a cell phone and cable TV but not insurance?
Just reading names is a political move, not a legitimate statistic.

[LANMaster]

Originally Posted by Knotbored

Noboidy dies from lack of insurance! They die from lack of health care!
In some cases they cannot afford insurance, sometimes they cannot afford payng medical bills, but society has so many options to handle the financial problems that blaming lack of insurance is rediculous.
Were there drugies included? Were severely obese included? What was the financial status? Could they afford but just didn't apply until deathly ill? How many opted for a cell phone and cable TV but not insurance?
Just reading names is a political move, not a legitimate statistic.

Breath of fresh air in that post. Thanks.

[ekim68]

Obama Ditches Another Bush Rule

The Obama administration has overturned several midnight regulations ushered in by the Bush administration during its waning months. The latest rule to get the boot was finalized in December 2008 and upped the number of hours truckers could stay behind the wheel, despite safety concerns about driver fatigue.

Whatever you want to say about the Bush administration, you can't say they weren't tenacious. They issued the same rule three times, even though the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., struck it down in both 2004 and 2008.

Here

[poochee]

November 6, 2009
Obama orders flags lowered to honor Fort Hood victims
Posted: November 6th, 2009 12:18 PM ET

Washington (CNN) - President Barack Obama said Friday that flags at the White House and other federal buildings will be flown at half staff until Veterans Day in recognition of the shooting at Fort Hood, Texas.

Obama said he met Friday morning with FBI Director Robert Mueller and other federal agency heads to discuss the ongoing investigation into the massacre.

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com...-hood-victims/

[poochee]

Obama signs jobless benefit extension
Bill extends unemployment benefits by up to 20 weeks. Legislation also extends homebuyer tax credit into next year.
Tami Luhby, CNNMoney.com senior writer
Last Updated: November 6, 2009: 12:13 PM ET

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- President Obama said he signed into law Friday a bill to provide up to 20 additional weeks of jobless benefits to unemployed Americans and extend the $8,000 tax credit for new homebuyers into the middle of next year.

The signing came after the Labor Department reported that the unemployment rate spiked to a 26-year high of 10.2% in October, with 190,000 jobs lost in the month.

After calling the jobless rate "sobering," Obama said the bill he signed will "will help grow our economy, help create and save jobs, and help provide necessary relief to small businesses," in a statement following the signing.

The House approved the measures by a 403-12 vote Thursday afternoon, a day after the Senate passed the legislation.

The closely watched legislation will extend jobless benefits in all states by 14 weeks. Those that live in states with unemployment greater than 8.5% will receive an additional six weeks. The proposal will be funded by extending a longstanding federal unemployment tax on employers through June 30, 2011.

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com...port-sobering/

[LANMaster]

Originally Posted by poochee

November 6, 2009
Obama orders flags lowered to honor Fort Hood victims
Posted: November 6th, 2009 12:18 PM ET

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com...-hood-victims/

Gee ..... he's only a day late.

[poochee]

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release November 07, 2009 Weekly Address: President Obama Extends Condolences to the Fort Hood Community

WASHINGTON – In this week’s address, President Barack Obama expressed his sadness for the tragedy at Fort Hood and praised the selfless valor of those who came to the aid of the wounded. While we mourn the heartbreaking violence, we should honor the heroism of the soldiers and civilians who rushed to help their comrades. That is the heroism which makes the U.S. military the finest in the world.

The audio and video will be available at 6:00am Saturday, November 7, 2009 at www.whitehouse.gov.

Remarks of President Barack Obama
As Prepared for Delivery
Weekly Address
Saturday, November 7, 2009

I’d like to speak with you for a few minutes today about the tragedy that took place at Ft. Hood. This past Thursday, on a clear Texas afternoon, an Army psychiatrist walked into the Soldier Readiness Processing Center, and began shooting his fellow soldiers.

It is an act of violence that would have been heartbreaking had it occurred anyplace in America. It is a crime that would have horrified us had its victims been Americans of any background. But it’s all the more heartbreaking and all the more despicable because of the place where it occurred and the patriots who were its victims.

The SRP is where our men and women in uniform go before getting deployed. It’s where they get their teeth checked and their medical records updated and make sure everything is in order before getting shipped out. It was in this place, on a base where our soldiers ought to feel most safe, where those brave Americans who are preparing to risk their lives in defense of our nation, lost their lives in a crime against our nation.

Soldiers stationed in Iraq, Afghanistan, and around the world called and emailed loved ones at Ft. Hood, all expressing the same stunned reaction: I’m supposed to be the one in harm’s way, not you.

Thursday’s shooting was one of the most devastating ever committed on an American military base. And yet, even as we saw the worst of human nature on full display, we also saw the best of America. We saw soldiers and civilians alike rushing to aid fallen comrades; tearing off bullet-riddled clothes to treat the injured; using blouses as tourniquets; taking down the shooter even as they bore wounds themselves.

We saw soldiers bringing to bear on our own soil the skills they had been trained to use abroad; skills that been honed through years of determined effort for one purpose and one purpose only: to protect and defend the United States of America.

We saw the valor, selflessness, and unity of purpose that make our servicemen and women the finest fighting force on Earth; that make the United States military the best the world has ever known; and that make all of us proud to be Americans.

On Friday, I met with FBI Director Mueller, Defense Secretary Gates, and representatives of the relevant agencies to discuss their ongoing investigation into what led to this terrible crime. And I’ll continue to be in close contact with them as new information comes in.

We cannot fully know what leads a man to do such a thing. But what we do know is that our thoughts are with every single one of the men and women who were injured at Ft. Hood. Our thoughts are with all the families who’ve lost a loved one in this national tragedy. And our thoughts are with all the Americans who wear – or who’ve worn – the proud uniform of the United States of America; our soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, and coast guardsmen, and the military families who love and support them.

In tribute to those who fell at Ft. Hood, I’ve ordered flags flying over the White House, and other federal buildings to be lowered to half-staff from now until Veterans Day next Wednesday. Veterans Day is our chance to honor those Americans who’ve served on battlefields from Lexington to Antietam, Normandy to Manila, Inchon to Khe Sanh, Ramadi to Kandahar.

They are Americans of every race, faith, and station. They are Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus and nonbelievers. They are descendents of immigrants and immigrants themselves. They reflect the diversity that makes this America. But what they share is a patriotism like no other. What they share is a commitment to country that has been tested and proved worthy. What they share is the same unflinching courage, unblinking compassion, and uncommon camaraderie that the soldiers and civilians of Ft. Hood showed America and showed the world.

These are the men and women we honor today. These are the men and women we’ll honor on Veterans Day. And these are the men and women we shall honor every day, in times of war and times of peace, so long as our nation endures.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-...hood-community

[poochee]

Obama visits Capitol Hill as abortion issue looms
By Dana Bash, CNN
November 7, 2009 10:56 a.m. EST

Washington (CNN) -- President Obama will meet with members of the House Democratic caucus Saturday in a rare visit to Capitol Hill as he works to push forward proposed health care legislation.

In a late night development, anti-abortion Democrats scored a major victory by persuading Democratic leaders to allow them to offer an amendment during the House health care debate Saturday that would ban most abortion coverage from the public option and other insurance providers in the new so-called "exchange" the legislation would create, three Democratic sources told CNN.

The prohibition would exclude cases of rape, incest or if the mother's life is in danger.

House Democratic leadership sources said that win or lose, they hope giving abortion foes the opportunity to vote will clear the way for passage of their health care bill.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/11/...are/index.html

[poochee]

Obama pitches health overhaul as House nears vote
Get it done!!!
PHILIP ELLIOTT | November 7, 2009 12:42 PM EST | AP

WASHINGTON — A White House official says President Barack Obama told House Democrats that Congress has a historic opportunity for making big changes to the country's health care system.

Obama met privately with Democrats for about an hour on Capitol Hill on Saturday as the House began debate on a health care overhaul.

A White House official who was in the meeting says Obama told lawmakers they have the great chance now to provide stability and security for people with insurance – and offer affordable coverage for the uninsured, too, while bringing down costs for everyone.

He told lawmakers he wants to sign a bill by year's end.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-w...haul-obama/&cp

[poochee]

House passes key hurdle on health-care legislation
By Paul Kane, Lori Montgomery and Shailagh Murray
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, November 7, 2009; 1:55 PM

After receiving a pep talk from President Obama, House Democrats cleared a key procedural hurdle Saturday in the debate over expanding the nation's health care system, setting the stage for a daylong debate and an evening vote that could push the legislation across a historic threshold.

The House voted 242 to 192 to approve the rules of the health care debate, a vote that officially permits the chamber to proceed to the substantive merits of the legislation. If all goes smoothly on the House floor, Democrats may be hours away from delivering on Obama's chief domestic policy goal, by approving a 1,990-page bill that would require individuals to buy health coverage and would create an individual insurance market to provide affordable policies for people who do not receive health benefits through their employers.

"I am absolutely confident that you guys will get this done. I am absolutely confident that when I sign this bill in the Rose Garden, each and every one of you will be able to look back and say, 'This was my finest moment in politics,' " Obama told Democrats during a 20-minute talk in the Cannon Caucus Room, according to the notes of one Democrat in attendance.

The president urged lawmakers to pass his landmark health-care initiative and warned that voting against the trillion-dollar measure would not innoculate them from Republican attacks next fall. Visiting House lawmkers for the first time in many months, Obama said the vote expected Saturday evening would be a historic moment, not just for the nation's health-care system but for their legislative careers.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...l?hpid=topnews

[poochee]

November 7, 2009
WH: President, first lady to attend Fort Hood memorial service
Posted: November 7th, 2009 03:37 PM ET

The incident has sparked national outrage. In his Saturday address, President Obama said it was "an act of violence that would have been heartbreaking had it occurred anyplace in America." But the president said, "it's all the more heartbreaking and all the more despicable because of the place where it occurred and the patriots who were its victims."

The White House said President Obama and the first lady will be attending a memorial service on Tuesday and the president ordered flags flying over the White House and other federal buildings to be lowered to half-staff until Veterans Day on Wednesday.

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com...orial-service/

[poochee]

The House has passed the HealthCare Bill!

Congratulations Pelosi!!

[ekim68]

Originally Posted by LANMaster

Gee ..... he's only a day late.

As opposed to the previous administration, which couldn't be bothered with such formalities...

[poochee]

Details.

House passes health care reform bill
November 7, 2009 11:19 p.m. EST

Washington (CNN) -- The House of Representatives on Saturday night passed a sweeping health care bill by a vote of 220-215.

Earlier, the House passed an amendment to pending health care legislation that prohibits federal funds for abortion services in the public option and in the insurance "exchange" the bill would create.

The vote passed 240-194.

A second amendment considered by the House, introduced by Minority Leader John Boehner, which would have substituted several sections of the health care bill dealing with insurance, did not pass. Legislators voted against the amendment 258-176.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/11/...are/index.html

[poochee]

House passes resolution honoring Fort Hood victims
November 7, 2009 11:33 PM EST | AP

WASHINGTON — The House has passed a resolution honoring the victims of the attack at Fort Hood, Texas.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-w...g-congress/&cp