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Obey wants 'war surtax' to fund Afghan effort - The Hill's Blog Briefing Room

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

The Hill - By Michael O'Brien - Nov. 23 (News Report) - Any troop increase for Afghanistan should come with a "war surtax" on high income Americans, a top House chairman said Monday. Rep. David Obey (D-Wisc.), the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, warned that if President Barack Obama decides to send additional troops to Afghanistan, it should be funded with the new tax."If we have to pay for the healthcare bill, we should pay for the war as well," Obey told ABC News in an interview.

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Colo. to review taxpayer-paid lobbyists practice

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Associated Press - By Steven K. Paulson - Nov. 21 (News Report) - At a time of budget cuts, Democratic Gov. Bill Ritter's administration last year paid employees and outside contractors $1.1 million to lobby Colorado lawmakers on legislation ranging from renewable energy tax credits to increasing motor vehicle license fees. The administration and legislators are reviewing the long-standing practice of one branch of government lobbying another — one that predates the Ritter administration — as Colorado tries to close a $1 billion budget gap.

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Landrieu a 'yes,' all eyes on Lincoln

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

The Politico - By Carrie Budoff Brown,Jake Sherman - Nov. 21 -

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The real reason Obama is not making much progress

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

The Independent - By Johann Hari - Nov. 20 (Opinion) - So far, Obama has tried to co-opt the corporations into his agenda by ensuring they will profit from any changes, but this inevitably waters down the proposals, often to the point of uselessness. The Cap and Trade legislation before Congress, for example, will barely limit carbon emissions at all because it has been gutted to please the polluters.

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The $100 Million Health Care Vote?

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

ABC News - By Jonathan Karl - Nov. 20 (News Report) - The health care bill includes a $100 million section for increasing medicaid subsidies to the state of Louisiana. The Note, authored by ABC News' Rick Klein, covers politics, the White House, Congress, Democrats, Republicans, and all latest political campaigning for the 2012 presidential race. Washington's first and most influential tipsheet, The

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Citizens left out in cold

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Indianapolis Star - Nov. 18 (Editorial) - State Rep. David Wolkins isn't shy about what he likes: golf, basketball and football. As ranking Republican member and former chairman of the Indiana House Environmental Affairs Committee, he's in a position to indulge his interests thanks to the very companies he's supposed to help regulate.

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Deficit hawks attacking the wrong prey

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Seattle Times - By David Sirota - Nov. 16 (Opinion) - When the House considered a health care expansion proposal that the CBO says will reduce the deficit by $11 billion a year, tea-party protesters and Congress' self-described "fiscal conservatives" opposed it on cost grounds. At the same time, almost none of them objected when Congress passed a White House-backed bill to spend $636 billion on defense in 2010. The hypocrisy is stunning

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Big costs weigh on troop debate

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Seattle Times - By Christopher Drew - Nov. 15 (News Analysis) - even if Obama chooses a lower troop commitment, Afghanistan's new costs could wash out the projected $26 billion expected to be saved in 2010 from withdrawing troops from Iraq. And the overall military budget could reach $734 billion, or 10 percent more than the peak of $667 billion under the Bush administration. Such an escalation in military spending would be a politically volatile issue for Obama at a time when the government budget deficit is soaring, the economy is weak and he is trying to pass a health-care overhaul.

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Op-Ed Columnist: World Out of Balance

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

New York Times - By Paul Krugman - Nov. 15 (Opinion) - But let’s hope that when the cameras aren’t rolling Mr. Obama and his hosts engage in some frank talk about currency policy. For the problem of international trade imbalances is about to get substantially worse. And there’s a potentially ugly confrontation looming unless China mends its ways.

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State Democrats facing revolt by labor

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Seattle Times - By Andrew Garber - Nov. 14 (News Report) - The Washington State Labor Council, the Service Employees International Union and unions representing teachers and state workers have either stopped or sharply reduced donations to Democratic caucus political-action committees that back candidates for the state House and Senate.

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William Jefferson sentenced to 13 years in prison

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

The New Orleans Times-Picayune - By Jonathan Tilove - Nov. 14 (News Report) - Former Rep. William Jefferson was sentenced Friday to serve 13 years in prison for what the lead prosecutor described as "the most extensive and pervasive pattern of corruption in the history of Congress."

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Feds move to seize 4 mosques, skyscraper

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Seattle Times - By Adam Goldman - Nov. 13 (News) - Federal prosecutors took steps Thursday to seize four U.S. mosques and a Fifth Avenue skyscraper owned by a nonprofit Muslim organization long suspected of being secretly controlled by the Iranian government.

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Washington in race for federal education funds

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Seattle Times - By Linda Shaw - Nov. 13 (News Report) - Gregoire told U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan that, while Washington does not have charter schools, the state does have many schools that are every bit as innovative and successful.

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The Real Danger of 'One Big Regulator'

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Wall Street Journal - Nov. 11 (Opinion) - Financial regulation is the next item on the political horizon, and it doesn't have to be the deathly dull wonk-battle that it sounds like. In fact, if the Democrats do their job, it can just as easily become a platform for addressing the greatest issues of them all. Our current way of regulating the financial system is dysfunctional. Oversight is dispersed among numerous confusing bodies that at times have seemed to be racing each other to the bottom. Setting up One Big Regulator would end that problem. The Obama administration's plan is to have the Federal Reserve regulate banks that might pose a "systemic risk" if they were to fail. Critics suggest the Fed is too close to the banks that it would be charged with cracking down on. What's more, the Fed's main task is monetary policy, so regulating banks would never receive the attention it deserves.

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Protesters Return To Lieberman's Office, Five Arrested

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Huffington Post - By The Huffington Post News Team - Nov. 10 (News Report) - Five demonstrators were arrested after spreading fake dollar bills throughout the building showing Lieberman's face and the words "Insurance Money Kills Democracy."

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Corporations Win Again - This Time It's Healthcare

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

seekingalpha.com - By Jason Kelly - Nov. 09 (Opinion) - Health insurance companies are surely laughing themselves silly as the bill would force people to buy insurance from them. The remnant of the public insurance option is pretty barebones, so those unable to pay for insurance won't be well covered.

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Why I Voted No

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

TruthDig - By Rep. Dennis Kucinich - Nov. 08 (News Report) - We cannot fault the insurance companies for being what they are. But we can fault legislation in which the government incentivizes the perpetuation, indeed the strengthening, of the for-profit health insurance industry, the very source of the problem.

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Too Big to Fail - Too Big to Exist -

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

senate.gov - By Senator Bernie Sanders - Nov. 06 (Statement) - Senator Bernie Sanders introduced legislation that would break up financial institutions that are too big to fail. "If an institution is too big to fail, it is too big to exist," Sanders said. "We should break them up so they are no longer in a position to bring down the entire economy. We should end the concentration of ownership that has resulted in just four huge financial institutions holding half the mortgages in America, controlling two-thirds of the credit cards, and amassing 40 percent of all deposits."

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The Worldwide Efforts Of The Global Energy Lobby To Kill Progress On Climate Change

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Huffington Post - By Katherine Goldstein Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/05/exposed-the-worldwide-eff_n_346110.html?grist&cp&cp - Nov. 05 (Special Report) - The Center For Public Integrity just released a blockbuster investigative report that details the intense corporate pressure to block an effective global treaty from being reached at the UN Climate Talks in Copenhagen in December, and to halt efforts in individual countries to limit greenhouse gas emissions.

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The G.O.P. Stalinists Invade Upstate New York

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0700

New York Times - By Frank Rich - Nov. 01 (Opinion) - This week’s election to fill that vacant seat has set off nothing less than a riotous and bloody national G.O.P. civil war. No matter what the results in that race on Tuesday, the Republicans are the sure losers. This could be a gift that keeps on giving to the Democrats through 2010, and perhaps beyond.

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Lobbying From The Great Beyond