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So, do we or don’t we have the possibility of some meaningful health care reform? The Senate supposedly has 60 votes to pass their bill, whatever the hell it contains! That it got bogged down in the abortion issue is a testament to just how screwed up things really are. It is a certainty that half the population will never, ever have an abortion because we just are unable to – as males – get pregnant. Then there are the females who are too old to get preggers, the gals who couldn’t get pregnant because of some physical problem, and the girls that are too young, and the percentage of us who have abortion as THE major issue in our lives is damned small. Yet we agonize over this decade after decade making it seem that it is the most important issue on the planet. Wake up you crazed people of either side: We have other issues that affect far more people than abortion.
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Personally, I see it as a woman’s issue as it is her body. I don’t happen to like or endorse abortion but who the hell am I to tell another of God’s children what they do with their body, when it has no effect on me personally? Still, old Ben Nelson and others would doom all of us to die while they seek to legislate one small issue, which is totally without respect for the health of the masses!
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I think it is time we began to authorize a new kind of abortion procedure: Retroactive Abortion, where we simply “abort” crazy fools like so many in Congress, who put their own personal religious and/or moral beliefs above the well being of the vast majority of us. Let’s make a list of candidates for the procedure, okay?
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Rush Scumbaugh, Miss Hell Bachmann, Man Coulter, Sen. Coburn, Gwennie Beck, Hannity (for the voice alone), Nancy Grace, Sen. Lieberman, Dickface Armey, Nalin’ Palin, most right-wing talk show hosts, and the list is already too long. Now that I think about it, if we give them enough time they will eventually abort each other and themselves because I always believe that good conquers evil and that right (not “the right”) will prevail. Imagine and picture such a world of peace and harmony – and when enough of us do that, it will happen.
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I’ve said it before: Frank Rich of the New York TIMES is a great writer and even better observer of life in these United States and being human on the planet Earth in the 21st century. His column Sunday that looked at the Tiger Woods news and the coverage of same, is well worth reading. He manages to bring in terrorism, which is pretty amazing.
Cliff – The XCon
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Tiger Woods, Person of the Year
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By FRANK RICH
Op-Ed Columnist
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AS we say farewell to a dreadful year and decade, this much we can agree upon: The person of the year is not Ben Bernanke, no matter how insistently Time magazine tries to hype him into its pantheon. The Fed chairman was just as big a schnook as every other magical thinker in Washington and on Wall Street who believed that housing prices would go up in perpetuity to support an economy leveraged past the hilt. Unlike most of the others, it was Bernanke’s job to be ahead of the curve. Yet as recently as June of last year he could be found minimizing the possibility of a substantial economic downturn. And now we’re supposed to applaud him for putting his finger in the dike after disaster struck? This is defining American leadership down.
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If there’s been a consistent narrative to this year and every other in this decade, it’s that most of us, Bernanke included, have been so easily bamboozled. The men who played us for suckers, whether at Citigroup or Fannie Mae, at the White House or Ted Haggard’s megachurch, are the real movers and shakers of this century’s history so far. That’s why the obvious person of the year is Tiger Woods. His sham beatific image, questioned by almost no one until it collapsed, is nothing if not the farcical reductio ad absurdum of the decade’s flimflams, from the cancerous (the subprime mortgage) to the inane (balloon boy).
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As of Friday, the Tiger saga had appeared on 20 consecutive New York Post covers. For The Post, his calamity has become as big a story as 9/11. And the paper may well have it right. We’ve rarely questioned our assumption that 9/11, “the day that changed everything,” was the decade’s defining event. But in retrospect it may not have been. A con like Tiger’s may be more typical of our time than a one-off domestic terrorist attack, however devastating.
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Blunder on the Mountain
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By MAUREEN DOWD
Op-Ed Columnist
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Flying over the waves of snow-covered mountains that make Afghanistan a natural fortress and a sinkhole for empires, it’s impossible not to think of Osama’s escaping from Tora Bora as one of the greatest bungled opportunities in history.
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Unlike the Bushies, who tried to play down Osama’s importance the longer he was on the lam, Gen. Stanley McChrystal acknowledged in recent Congressional hearings that “he is an iconic figure.”
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“It would not defeat Al Qaeda to have him captured or killed,” he said, “but I don’t think that we can finally defeat Al Qaeda until he is captured or killed.”
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I asked Bob Gates, as we flew over the notorious terrain, if he had any insights into why such a bellicose team as W., Cheney and Rummy flinched at the very moment they could have captured our mortal enemy. Gates, who said there hasn’t been any good intelligence on Osama’s whereabouts in years, said “it’s just hard to find somebody who has a sympathetic network and local support.”
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Read the rest from Maureen? <CLICK HERE>
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Show Us the E-Mail
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By ELIOT SPITZER, FRANK PARTNOY and WILLIAM BLACK
Op-Ed Contributors
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WE end this extraordinary financial year with news that the Treasury is in discussions with American International Group about selling the taxpayers’ 80 percent ownership stake in that company. The government recently permitted several banks to break free of its potential oversight by repaying loans made during the rescue. But with respect to A.I.G., the Treasury should not move so fast. There is one job left to do.
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A.I.G. was at the center of the web of bad business judgments, opaque financial derivatives, failed economics and questionable political relationships that set off the economic cataclysm of the past two years. When A.I.G.’s financial products division collapsed — ultimately requiring a federal bailout of $180 billion — those who had been prospering from A.I.G.’s schemes scurried for taxpayer cover. Yet, more than a year after the rescue began, crucial questions remain unanswered. Who knew what, and when? Who benefited, and by exactly how much? Would A.I.G.’s counterparties have failed without taxpayer support?
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The three of us, as experienced investigators and prosecutors of financial fraud, cannot answer these questions now. But we know where the answers are. They are in the trove of e-mail messages still backed up on A.I.G. servers, as well as in the key internal accounting documents and financial models generated by A.I.G. during the past decade. Before releasing its regulatory clutches, the government should insist that the company immediately make these materials public. By putting the evidence online, the government could establish a new form of “open source” investigation.
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Read more on AIG? <CLICK HERE>
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Why the Senate Should Vote Yes on Health Care
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By JOE BIDEN
Op-Ed Contributor
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IF I were still a United States senator, I would not only vote yes on the current health care reform bill, I would do so with the sure knowledge that I was casting one of the most historic votes of my 36 years in the Senate. I would vote yes knowing that the bill represents the culmination of a struggle begun by Theodore Roosevelt nearly a century ago to make health care reform a reality. And while it does not contain every measure President Obama and I wanted, I would vote yes for this bill certain that it includes the fundamental, essential change that opponents of reform have resisted for generations.
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We have been here before. In the past, as the moment of decision drew nearer, criticism from both the left and the right grew louder. Compromises were derided. The perfect became the enemy of the good.
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Most recently, in 1993, Democrats had a chance to forge a compromise with Senator John Chafee, Republican of Rhode Island, on a health care reform bill. Congress’s failure to pass health care reform that year led to 16 years of inaction — and 16 years of exploding health care costs and rising numbers of uninsured Americans.
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More From the Vice President? <CLICK HERE>
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December 20: 7 Best Moments from Sunday Talk
by The Daily Beast Video
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McCain critiques Palin’s visor choice, David Axelrod rethinks calling Howard Dean “insane,” and did Joe Lieberman actually save health-care? That and more in our Sunday roundup.
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Howard Dean: Nothing Personal, But Your Bill’s Still Crazy
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The big conflict over the Senate health bill between David Axelrod and Howard Dean didn’t exactly escalate into much of a throwdown Sunday. Both appeared on Meet the Press—although not at the same time—but with both sides softening a bit on the intra-party tension. Dean—whom Axelrod implied was “insane” but then denied—says his opposition to the bill is nothing “personal.” It probably doesn’t seem that way in the White House.
READ MORE ON SUNDAY TALK! <Click Here>
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Feingold: Obama Responsible For Loss Of Public Option
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Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wisc.) formally announced on Sunday that he would support the Senate's final version of health care reform. But in doing so he cast blame for the loss of a public option for insurance coverage partially on the president's shoulders and urged House and Senate negotiators to re-insert the government-run plan back into the legislation during conference committee.
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From the Wisconsin Democrat's press office came the following statement:
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I've been fighting all year for a strong public option to compete with the insurance industry and bring health care spending down. I continued that fight during recent negotiations, and I refused to sign onto a deal to drop the public option from the Senate bill. Unfortunately, the lack of support from the administration made keeping the public option in the bill an uphill struggle. Removing the public option from the Senate bill is the wrong move, and eliminates $25 billion in savings. I will be urging members of the House and Senate who draft the final bill to make sure this essential provision is included.
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Sen. Coburn:
‘People Ought To Pray’ That A Senator ‘Can’t Make The Vote Tonight’
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Evangelical church opens doors fully to gays
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DENVER – The auditorium lights turned low, the service begins with the familiar rhythms of church: children singing, hugs and handshakes of greeting, a plea for donations to fix the boiler.
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Then the 55-year-old pastor with spiked gray hair and blue jeans launches into his weekly welcome, a poem-like litany that includes the line "queer or straight here, there's no hate here."
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The Rev. Mark Tidd initially used the word "gay." But he changed it to "queer" because it's the preferred term of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people invited to participate fully at Highlands Church.
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Tidd is an outlaw pastor of sorts. His community, less than a year old, is an evangelical Christian church guided both by the Apostle's Creed and the belief that gay people can embrace their sexual orientation as God-given and seek fulfillment in committed same-sex relationships.
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Disagreements over homosexuality and the Bible have divided mainline Protestant churches for years. In evangelical churches, though, the majority view has held firm — the Bible clearly condemns homosexual acts. The common refrain at evangelical churches: "love the sinner, hate the sin."
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But with younger evangelicals and broader society showing greater acceptance of homosexuality, many evangelical churches can expect, at the least, a deeper exploration of the issue.
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Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
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'Avatar' Box Office: $73 MILLION Opening
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LOS ANGELES — James Cameron launched his science-fiction epic "Avatar" into a safe orbit as the costly film soared to No. 1 with $73 million domestically and $159.2 million overseas, for a $232.2 million worldwide total.
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With that big a start, distributor 20th Century Fox was quick to proclaim it made a good investment with the estimated $400 million spent to make and market the film, which is Cameron's first narrative feature since 1997's "Titanic," the king of modern blockbusters.
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"Absolutely. No question," said Chris Aronson, head of distribution for the studio, which reported stellar reaction in exit polls from audiences after seeing "Avatar." "The word of mouth is something that I don't know I've ever seen in this business before."
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"Avatar" was a test case for the future of digital 3-D projection, which until now has been a hit with audiences mainly on animated family films.
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The film fell short of the record for December debuts of $77.2 million set two years ago by Will Smith's "I Am Legend." But it did break the record for a film opening in 3-D, previously held by last summer's "Up" with $68.1 million.
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Gravity-defying mountains: Pandora's majestic floating ranges dwarf a massive gunship.
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Saddle up: A Na'vi warrior races into battle on a Thanator, a fearsome panther-like creature
native to Pandora. By WETA, 20th Century Fox
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Flip through this rough guide to Cameron's 'Avatar'-land
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Don't worry if you saw Avatarand couldn't take it all in. Says filmmaker James Cameron: "I don't think they'll be able to explain what they just saw. And that's great. Hopefully they'll turn right around and see it again." Even so, here's a guide to this land of his imagination:
Cameron's world
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The film centers on the moon Pandora, located 4.37 light-years from Earth, according to the 200-page "survivor's guide" Cameron is releasing with the movie. Pandora is part of the Alpha Centauri system, the closest to our planet. While Pandora is lush and Earth-like, its atmosphere is poisonous to humans.
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ALL THINGS 'AVATAR': Review, video, more
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Behind the scenes: Look for the other planets and moons in the distance of Cameron's wide-angle shots of the moon. He hopes to use those worlds for other films if he can franchise Avatar.
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Can Sex-Addiction Rehab Save Tiger?
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by Abby Ellin
A new report says the golf star may enter an Arizona rehab clinic for “sexual compulsion.” Abby Ellin on the science behind a controversial disorder—and why there’s little chance he’ll be cured.
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After weeks of predictions, it finally happened: Tiger Woods has reportedly decided to check into rehab for sex addiction. But to treat a real disorder, or just his fractured image? Sex addiction is the diagnosis du jour for male public figures caught cheating or gawking at porn: David Duchovny, Eliot Spitzer, and Christie Brinkley’s ex-husband Peter Cook, and ESPN’s Steve Phillips have all done their time on the couch.
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Sex addiction isn’t in the DSM-IV, the bible of psychological medicine, but neither are many disorders that therapists routinely treat. And the team of doctors currently revising the guide are considering adding sex addiction to the new version.
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More Tiger Rehab stuff? <Click Here>
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The Gallery is a dynamic place.
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Ever-changing, forever rude, sometimes crude.
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