kaolelo

From the page: "Here comes Chucky Norris, here comes Chucky Norris, right down Chucky Norris Lane.

I'm willing to bet that President Barack Obama's Christmas address this week will shine with a religious significance that's about as bright as what was in his unusually short Thanksgiving proclamation, which gave a token reference to God via a quote from George Washington.

I defy the Providers and wager a thousand quatloos!"

From the page: "In a heated debate over the Senate health care bill with former DNC chairman Howard Dean on Hardball tonight, Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) said, "There are things I don't like about the bill, but this is the closest we've come in 40 years to doing something good for the American people, and we shouldn't get weak-kneed at this moment."

Dean, who's lambasted the current health care bill, argued that the bill put Americans' money in the pockets of the health insurance industry."

From the page: "Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has pulled his single-payer amendment from the floor, thus paving way for easier passage of what's now being touted as Liebercare, due to Joe Lieberman's (I-CT) co-opting of health care "deform."

The amendment seemed like single-payer's last chance for survival at this stage but there was no real support for Sanders' clause, as Democratic leadership caved to Lieberman's demands. As my AlterNet colleague Josh Holland tells me, reconciliation may be the real last chance for single-payer or a public option." very sad, but it looks like this is the reality.

a very relaxing, useful blog. worth a look.

From the page: "Senator Joe Lieberman has pushed the health care debate to a level of absurdity that can't be ignored, Arianna argued on Tuesday evening. During her appearance on The Ed Show with Ed Schultz, Arianna took issue with the power bestowed upon the Independent Democratic senator from Connecticut and she blamed the White House and others for caving and empowering Lieberman.

"The White House is kind of arguing that they didn't pressure Sen. Reid to cave into Lieberman, that everyone was in agreement. But the bottom line is that everyone caved in, and that's not the sort of change that we believe in."

Arianna also warned against empty reform and the notion that passing a bill just to pass a bill will earn the White House and Democrats higher poll numbers, "...Let's not pretend that we can just have any bill pass and declare it reform, the way we did with education... The White House is convinced that the minute they pass health care reform, the numbers are going to change. This is absolutely untrue.""

it's time to start national regulation of fast food.

From the page: "n a four-page analysis of the legislation, the Native Hawaiian Bar Association said some provisions would grant the federal government too much immunity against potential claims by Native Hawaiians, especially for land.

"The bill's provisions on claims and federal sovereign immunity appear to be overly broad and may prohibit lawsuits by individual Native Hawaiians," the bar association wrote. "They create an extraordinarily unusual circumstance in which Native Hawaiians are barred from bringing an action."

Congress has taken up the legislation seven times since it was first introduced in 2000. The bill has passed the House twice but has never cleared the Senate, where legislation sometimes requires 60 of 100 votes, and where a single senator can place a hold on a bill.

Akaka has said he expects he'll need 60 votes to eventually pass the bill."

From the page: "When companies like Exxon-Mobil and McDonalds think "green," theyâ€re thinking of cash, not the earth. And after all, what matters to unscrupulous marketers isnâ€t so much the reality of their brand or product, but how the public perceives it â€" which often results in greenwashing so absurd, itâ€s almost funny. These 15 examples of extreme greenwashing range from woefully ignorant to downright malicious."