Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) will face a primary challenge later this year from former Charlevoix County Commissioner Connie Saltonstall.

On Monday, Saltonstall, a former teacher who lost a state representative race in 2008, announced her intentions to challenge Stupak, who has represented Michigan's First Congressional District since 1993.

Saltonstall has spoken out against Stupak for his anti-abortion views, which have  repeatedly obstructed progress on health care reform.

He "has a right to his personal, religious views, but to deprive his constituents of needed health care reform because of those views is reprehensible," Saltonstall said in a statement.

SUPPORT Connie Saltonstall

Connie Saltonstall Challenges Bart Stupak In Michigan House Primary

As the President has made clear, Americans deserve a final up-or-down vote on health reform. And the House is now expected to hold its final vote as soon as one week from today.
As we speak, insurance-industry lobbyists are gathering at the D.C. Ritz-Carlton to stage a last-minute blitz to block reform -- even as they jack up premiums by as much as 60% for small businesses and families across the country.

So starting today, we're launching an unprecedented week-long campaign sprint -- our "Final March for Reform." Each day until the vote, we'll feature a powerful new way for OFA supporters to speak out in our communities and weigh in directly with Congress.

Today, we'll start by spreading the facts about reform in our communities. Smears and falsehoods have clouded this debate -- Congress must understand that if they pass reform, their constituents will know the truth about what we've finally achieved. Click here to begin.

We've put together a simple summary of the President's proposal, a fact sheet to show friends and co-workers how the plan will specifically help them, posters to display, Facebook notes to post, and much more.

We're on the verge of solving a crisis that has vexed our nation for generations -- and eluded the best efforts of seven previous Presidents.

But our opponents will stop at nothing to distort the President's proposal and derail our progress. It may all come down to what we do together this week.

Today, it's time to show the insurance lobbyists that no smear campaign cooked up at a posh hotel can match the power of millions of regular citizens who are ready for change and committed to the truth.

Please join our truth squad -- and start spreading the facts today:
http://my.barackobama.com/DayOne

Thanks for making it possible,
David Plouffe

I hope the Democrats and all Progressives are listening. Ryan’s budget is a continuation of wealth transfer to the rich as well as non-performing wealth protection for the rich. With the passage of healthcare reform and Republican Representative Ryan’s GOP sanctioned budget proposal, one could build an effective and true narrative that characterizes GOP ideas for exactly what they are, the continued building blocks of an oligarchy.

The narrative in simple language; “GOP assault on the middle class evident by their support of policies that make middle class Americans poor while transferring your hard earned working dollars to rich folks making money on your money”. Supporting documents will be Ryan’s budget and analysis as well as GOP defense of insurance company friendly policies.

Wake up guys. If cards are played right for the next 7 months, history could be made, the final nail in the coffin of the Republican Party as we know it. Then, the real reputable Republicans of yesteryear can emerge. We are waiting!!!

A Same-Old GOP Budget: Rich Pay Less, Everyone Else Pays More

by David Corn

At President Obama's White House summit on health care last month, when it was the House Republicans' turn to make an opening presentation, GOP leader John Boehner turned to Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), the top Republican on the House budget committee, to put forward the Republicans' case. Ryan, a sincere-sounding policy wonk, said nothing about insurance company abuses, nothing about expanding coverage and nothing about addressing the affordability of health insurance. Instead, he zeroed in on one matter: the deficit. He conceded that the Congressional Budget Office had concluded that the health care reform legislation backed by Obama would reduce the deficit by $131 billion over the next decade, but he contended that this was because the bill was loaded with "gimmicks and smoke-and-mirror." He proceeded to argue that the health care measure would actually lead to $460 billion in deficit expansion.
Ryan's presentation -- which contained its own gimmicks -- was a signal that the Republicans see him as their go-to guy on fiscal matters. So it's quite fair to view the radical budget plan he unveiled a few weeks ago as a mainstream GOP initiative. Under his proposal -- which Ryan calls "A Roadmap for America's Future" and promotes on a rather spiffy Web page with gee-whiz graphics -- Social Security would be rejiggered to include private accounts, and Medicare and Medicaid would be replaced with vouchers-based private systems. This would indeed be bold change, and some conservatives just adore Ryan for being so audacious and so in love with the power of markets. But there is a same-old Republican aspect to his plan: The rich would pay less taxes . . . and everyone else would pay more. CONTINUED

A Same-Old GOP Budget: Rich Pay Less, Everyone Else Pays More -- Politics Daily

A potential face of terrorism, a non-Muslim looking woman that would pass through any airport working on the premise of racial profiling untouched. Fortunately those in our government who disregard the phobias coming from the Right simply did their jobs. One would doubt that they will see the folly of their assertions albeit discredited.

U.S.: Pennsylvania woman tried to recruit terrorists

Washington (CNN) -- A Pennsylvania woman has been indicted for conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists and kill a person in a foreign country, the Justice Department announced Tuesday.

Colleen LaRose, known as "Jihad Jane" and "Fatima LaRose," has also been charged with making false statements to a government official and attempted identity theft.

She was arrested in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on October 15, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office said. No arraignment date has been set, the official said.

LaRose is being held at the Federal Detention Center in Philadelphia, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

LaRose and five unindicted co-conspirators recruited men on the Internet "to wage violent jihad in South Asia and Europe, and recruited women on the Internet who had passports and the ability to travel to and around Europe in support of violent jihad," according to a Justice Department statement.

Irish police arrest 7 on murder plot charges

If convicted, LaRose faces a possible life prison sentence and a $1 million fine, the statement said.

The conspiracy began in June 2008, when LaRose posted a comment on YouTube under the username JihadJane saying she is "desperate to do something somehow to help" Muslims, according to the indictment unsealed Tuesday.

From December 2008 to October 2009, LaRose engaged in electronic communication with the five co-conspirators about their shared desires to wage jihad and become martyrs, according to the indictment. CONTINUED

U.S.: Pennsylvania woman tried to recruit terrorists - CNN.com

It was train wreck television on Tuesday evening when now-retired Rep. Eric Massa (D-NY) appeared on Fox News's Glenn Beck show and insisted that he had not crossed any ethical lines with staffers and was subjected to intense political pressure from the White House (including a naked encounter with Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel). Still, Massa stressed, he was retiring from Congress on his own accord.

In a one-hour interview with Beck that had much of the journalism world gawking and twittering in amazement, Massa offered a series of bizarre, even inexplicable explanations for his abrupt departure from office. Coming just hours after news broke that the he was under investigation for groping multiple male staffers, Massa insisted that the interactions were playful in nature, though inappropriate in retrospect.

Part 1

"Not only did I grope him, I tickled him until he couldn't breathe," he said. "I should have never allowed myself to be as familiar with my staff as I was... I own this misbehavior."

If that wasn't enough of a head-scratcher, Massa grew even more cryptic and bizarre when the topic turned to his insistence that Democratic forces had forced him out of office -- because they were so worried that he would derail health care reform. He did say that the decision "not to run again" was his and his alone -- but he still pegged his immediate resignation to White House brow-beating.

And yet, the only evidence he could summon was basic and formulaic types of political pressure.

"It literally keeps me awake at night," he said. "Glenn, I have had people come to me, union leaders -- and I'm a union guy and I know you're not -- who look at me and said, 'If you don't support this health care bill, I will not contribute to your campaign'. Glenn that's a bribe."

Even Beck wasn't buying it, pointing out that what Massa was talking about was, in fact, just lobbying.

Story continues below

Part 2

When the topic turned to the now-infamous moment in which Massa claims that Emanuel confronted him while naked in the House of Representative's shower to bark at him about a vote on the budget, things got even weirder. The ex-Congressman insisted that the confrontation did take place, even though the White House has denied it.

"I was in my first two months," he said. "I was in a battle about the budget, Rahm was angry with me. He poked his finger in my chest while we were in the shower. I went through it on the radio show. Not only did it happen, I will never forget it. Rahm Emanuel doesn't like me. I get it."

Through it all, Beck prodded (indeed, practically begged) Massa to point to specific cases where the chief of staff or anyone else did something legitimately corrupt. He couldn't.

"My arm has been twisted 17 times from Sunday," Massa declared. "It is called whipping."

The Fox News host seemed completely and utterly un-amused. And towards the end, he grew a bit hostile. "America, I've got to shoot straight with you," he said. "I think I've wasted your time. I think this is the first time I have wasted an hour of your time. And I apologize for that."

Massa tried, once more, to restate his case but to little success. He promised, however, that he would do one more interview before leaving the stage.

Eric Massa And Glenn Beck Conspire For Train Wreck TV

Chamber of Commerce Lies About Health Care Reform

4 minutes ago

On March 9, 2010, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce published a blog post falsely claiming the Democratic plan for reforming health care would increase premiums, increase the deficit, and kill jobs.  In reality, the plan would reduce the deficit, lower premiums, and create up to 4 million American jobs.

The Chamber Falsely Claims Reform Will Increase Premiums

U.S. Chamber of Commerce:

Your health care costs will increase. The bill will do very little to control costs (iv), while simultaneously taxing the health industry -- taxes consumers will pay (v) -- and forcing Americans to purchase more expensive health insurance. [U.S. Chamber of Commerce, 3/9/10]

PolitiFact: "For Most People, Premiums Would Stay About The Same, Or Slightly Decrease."  According to PolitiFact.com: "The CBO reported that, for most people, premiums would stay about the same, or slightly decrease. This was especially true for people who get their insurance through work. (Health policy wonks call these the large group and small group markets.) People who have to go out and buy insurance on their own (the individual market) would see rates increase by 10 to 13 percent. But more than half of those people -- 57 percent, in fact -- would be eligible for subsidies to help them pay for the insurance. People who get subsidies would see their premiums drop by more than half, according to the CBO. So most people would see their premiums stay the same or potentially drop." [PolitiFact.com, 1/27/10, emphasis added]

CBO: House Bill Will Result In Lower Costs For American Families.  The Congressional Budget Office estimated that in 2016, premiums will be $5,300 for an individual and $15,000 for a family of four in the Exchange.  Without reform, the average family premium is expected to grow to $24,000. [CBO, 11/2/09; House Education and Labor Committee, 11/2/09]

CONTINUED

Chamber of Commerce Lies About Health Care Reform | Media Matters Action Network

Excellent analytical story. It is amazing that the article correlates social ills with failed economic conditions caused by a failed structural  design in our economic system. It shows how otherwise stable white communities descend into what is thought to be an inner city minority problem. This is something many progressives have been preaching for years. Hopefully articles like these will shift the discourse from blaming the victims of a failed system and instead modify our economic system that more broadly reward humans for their work as opposed to for their luck or bestowed financial entitlement.

“The Great Recession may be over, but this era of high joblessness is probably just beginning. Before it ends, it will likely change the life course and character of a generation of young adults. It will leave an indelible imprint on many blue-collar men. It could cripple marriage as an institution in many communities. It may already be plunging many inner cities into a despair not seen for decades. Ultimately, it is likely to warp our politics, our culture, and the character of our society for years to come.”

“If it persists much longer, this era of high joblessness will likely change the life course and character of a generation of young adults—and quite possibly those of the children behind them as well. It will leave an indelible imprint on many blue-collar white men—and on white culture. It could change the nature of modern marriage, and also cripple marriage as an institution in many communities. It may already be plunging many inner cities into a kind of despair and dysfunction not seen for decades. Ultimately, it is likely to warp our politics, our culture, and the character of our society for years.”

 FULL ARTICLE

How a New Jobless Era Will Transform America - Magazine - The Atlantic

Don't shoot the messenger. It's an old cliche, but it's true.

Unfortunately, shooting the messenger has become the main strategy of the people trying to stop us from taking action on climate change. And it needs to stop.

Just a couple of days ago, a columnist excoriated my friend Vice President Al Gore, insinuating that his warnings about the crisis of climate change were somehow self-interested -- ignoring his lifetime of dedication to this issue.

And maybe even worse, the last months have seen a sustained attack on scientists. Rush Limbaugh called them "liars" and "skunks" and said that they should be "named and fired, drawn and quartered."

And all of this to create an atmosphere in the media that there's some broad dispute over whether climate change is real, let alone worsened by man-made emissions.

Well, we have to defeat the campaign tactics of distract, divide, and distort --  we need to stand up and say, "Enough!" Tell the media that you demand honest reporting about what's really going on.

Take a moment, go to TruthFightsBack, and write a letter to your local newspaper demanding real, probing, and fact-based coverage of the science of climate change.

I know something about people taking lies and distortions to attack someone personally. I chose a life in the public eye, and I can take it. But scientists are just doing their jobs. They don't deserve to be the targets of campaigns to distract from reality.

And that reality is - simply - that every major scientific body that has looked at the evidence has come to the same conclusion. They all conclude that the climate is changing in dangerous ways, and human activity - our pollution, our emissions - is pulling us in a dangerous direction. This is simply not in doubt anymore.

So, take a moment to raise your voice for the truth. Follow this link to send a letter to your local paper and tell them that you want reporting on real debates, not phony attacks:

http://www.truthfightsback.com/StepUpForScience

We started TruthFightsBack.com to fight for the truth, and that's what we're going to do. I hope you can join us.

Thank you,
John Kerry

Today we're taking it to the streets.

The insurance companies are having a conference in Washington, DC to plot how to kill health reform. Thousands are gathering as we speak to perform a citizens' arrest. Even though you can't be there in person, you can help us hold the insurance companies accountable for their crimes.

We've obtained the fax numbers for the offices of the insurance companies. With your help, we can shut them down!

Chris Shiflett, guitarist in the Foo Fighters, has recorded a video to deputize you into the citizens' posse so you can help us arrest the insurance companies:

Click here to watch the video. We'll automatically send a free fax of a wanted poster with an insurance CEO's face on it to the insurance company offices.

Even if you can't be with us in person you can help us arrest their fax machines and shut them down! Imagine - thousands upon thousands of wanted posters showing up at the offices of the insurance companies.

The insurance companies have committed awful crimes against the American people:

• They violate contracts by selling you insurance and then denying you care¹
• They launder money through other front groups - including tens of millions through the ultra right-wing Chamber of Commerce²
• They pervert our democracy by bribing public officials by spending millions per day on corporate lobbyists³
• And 45,000 people die every year because they don't have insurance⁴

It's time to arrest them, and you can help. Click here to deputize yourself and we'll automatically send a fax to the insurance companies to let them know we're coming after them!

Today we're arresting the insurance companies. Tomorrow we're taking our message to Congress with a citizens' lobbying day on Capitol Hill. We'll tell Congress that they need to listen to the people, not insurance company criminals, and pass health reform that works for us - now!
President Obama has called for an up-or-down vote on health reform by Easter. Congress is already gearing up to meet the deadline.⁵

It's time to stand up together and stop the insurance companies.
Click here to help us arrest the insurance companies right now! We'll automatically send them a fax!

To your health,
Levana Layendecker
Health Care for America Now

 

Liz Cheney has been under fire from both left and right after she tried to paint Department of Justice attorneys as terrorist sympathizers for working on the defense of Guantanamo detainees. One of the sternest rebukes comes from a law school dean, former judge, and well-known former special prosecutor.

Ken Starr appeared on MSNBC's Countdown on Monday night, speaking with guest host Lawrence O'Donnell. Starr isn't exactly a popular figure on the program, often criticized by and never making an appearance with regular host Keith Olbermann. But on this issue, Olbermann was happy for Starr to appear and refute Cheney. He relayed a message through O'Donnell, "that's how seriously we both take this, that even we agree on it."

Starr explained the role of lawyers in the American justice system and why it's considered appropriate for them to work in defense of an accused criminal. He drew both literary analogies, pointing out the judicial responsibilities felt by Atticus Finch, and historic comparisons, explaining how John Adams was once called upon to defend the British Redcoats in a court of law. As for the specific message being spread by Cheney and her organization, Keep America Safe, Starr did not mince words.

"This was very unwise, and really and out-of-bounds characterization and challenge to good, honorable lawyers." CONTINUED

Ken Starr: Liz Cheney Wrong For Attacking Department Of Justice Attorneys (VIDEO)