Obama Materially Ups the Ante on Health Care Reform

President Barack Obama and Congressional leaders will meet for a televised "Health Care Summit" on Thursday of this week.  It is clearly a calculated risk for everyone involved.  And it will likely be the Obama administration's last try for the health care reform legislation that has so far eluded Congress.  According to the New York Times, "President Obama on Monday issued his own blueprint for a health care overhaul, challenged Republicans to come forward with their ideas and laid the groundwork for an aggressive parliamentary maneuver to pass the legislation using only Democratic votes if this week brings no progress toward a bipartisan solution." To quote further:

The bill, which the White House estimates would cost $950 billion over a decade, aims to fulfill Mr. Obama’s goals of expanding coverage to millions of people who are uninsured, while taking steps to control soaring health care costs. It sticks largely to the version passed by the Senate in December, but offers some concessions to House leaders who have demanded more help for middle-class people.
. . . Republicans say they do not share the goal of a comprehensive bill, but White House officials say they can shift the debate to their terms if it is framed as a choice between competing ideas rather than a referendum on the Democrats’ legislation.

The administration's new proposal "would extend coverage to 31 million people, raise taxes on the wealthy and ratchet up regulations on insurers."  The president is staying on the offense with his version of the health care reform bill, posted online this week.  Republicans have yet to post their proposals.  To quote the WaPo article:

. . . the president's proposal is striking for the extent to which it hews to the basic scale and framework of the bills on which Congress has toiled for months.
. . . Now, the White House is working to sell the president's plan as a reasonable compromise that bridges differences between the House and Senate versions and includes select ideas from Republicans. And they hope that, even if it fails, the new push can put Republicans on the defensive.

Well before the Thursday summit, which will be broadcast live on television, White House officials are making the case that Republicans must bring their own alternatives if they object to the Obama plan -- or risk being portrayed as obstructionists. . .
The White House's best hope -- perhaps its only hope -- is that Obama can use a masterful performance during the six-hour appearance to "stiffen the spine" of congressional Democrats, one senior official said, persuading them to pass health-care legislation using the mechanism known as reconciliation, which requires a simple majority of 51 rather than 60 votes to prevail in the Senate.

The stakes have been raised, and the players have decided where to place their bets, arranging to get them covered is they lose.  Which side is bluffing, which side has the cards and who wins the match will become apparent in the next few weeks. Our bet is on President Obama.

Bonus references: 

•  Obama's health care proposal at a glance, in the Washington Post (2/22/10).  It ". . . includes some key changes. What's the same, what's different and what it could ultimately mean for you:"

• "The Obama presidency: In-depth news, commentary and analysis on Barack Obama's White House agenda" is from The Financial Times - February 2010. 

• "While Obama Speechified, His Political Predicament Got Worse," is by The Democratic Strategist  Co-Editor William Galston: February 1, 2010.  From the same publication see also, "Lessons from the Lion's Den," by J.P. Green (2/1/10).  The author summarizes some of the most impressive gains made by President Obama when he spoke last month to the Congressional Republican caucus.

Posted via email from Southwest Postings

2010 will mark the end of the NASA shuttle program.

Photo credits: STS-130 night landing (NASA TV), Shuttle silhouette near ISS (NASA astronauts), Shuttle S-turn during landing approach - taken from ISS (by Astronaut Soichi Noguchi via Twitter).
The International Station will be able to operate until at least 2020, according to the current budget.  NASA's decades-old shuttle program will end in September.  After that supplies and personnel will be ferried to the ISS by unmanned vehicles operated by other countries.  U.S. astronauts will be transported back and forth via Russian Soyuz capsules.  The Bush administration's Constellation program has been canceled.  However, the U.S. is investing in the emerging commercial space industry.  NASA's larger vision for the U.S. space program has yet to be announced.  Until then we will be watching the end of an era in U.S. space flight.
NASA's space shuttle, Endeavour's 6-person crew landed safely Sunday night at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.  Well reported by Marcia Dunn for the Associated Press, "All that's left now are four shuttle flights to stock the space station with more experiments, spare parts and supplies."  The story went on:

. . . making a rare nighttime landing to end a mission that resulted in the virtual completion of the International Space Station. . . During their mission — which spanned two weeks and 5.7 million miles — the astronauts delivered and installed a new space station room, Tranquility, and a big bay window with sweeping views of the Earth.
. . . Tranquility already is serving as a base for life-support equipment, as well as a gym and restroom. It also holds the seven-windowed dome, quite possibly the most anticipated addition ever made to a spacecraft.
. . . The two new compartments were supplied by the European Space Agency at a cost of more than $400 million. Their addition brought the 11-year-old space station to 98 percent completion. 
. . . NASA plans on wrapping up the shuttle program this fall, after which the space station will be supplied by craft from Russia, Europe and Japan. Astronauts will be hitching rides exclusively on Russian Soyuz capsules. The Obama Administration is proposing that commercial rocket companies take a crack at the U.S. ferry side of it, once the three remaining shuttles are retired.

The STS-130 mission's main purpose was to finish constructing the International Stace Station.  After completing the installation of the ISS's new Tranquility module with its wow-factor cupola, the combined crew received a call from President Obama, the AP reported at MSNBC- Space.com,  2/18/10.  To quote:

"I just wanted to let you guys know how proud we are of all of you," Obama said. "Everybody here back home is excited about this bay on the world that you guys are opening up. And Stephen Colbert at least is excited about his treadmill."
. . . Surrounded by schoolchildren with an engineering bent, Obama noted "the amazing work" being done on the space station by multiple nations. It is "a testimony to why continued space exploration is so important and is part of the reason why my commitment to NASA is unwavering," he said.

End of space station era?
Obama did not mention his recent decision to cancel NASA's back-to-the-moon program, Constellation — a controversial verdict within the aerospace community. He also offered no hints as to where astronauts might venture next, following the space station era.

The United States' lunar pull-out leaves China shooting for the moon, according to Francois Bougon's AFP story of 2/20/10.  To quote:

China aims to land its first astronauts on the moon within a decade at the dawn of a new era of manned space exploration -- a race it now leads thanks to the US decision to drop its lunar programme.
US President Barack Obama earlier this month said he planned to drop the costly Constellation space programme, a budget move that would kill off future moon exploration if it is approved by Congress.
In contrast, China has a fast-growing human spaceflight project that has notched one success after another, including a spacewalk by astronauts in 2008, with plans for a manned lunar mission by around 2020.

Bougon concludes:

But Beijing has other significant Asian competitors to reckon with as it vies to become the second nation to put a man on the moon.
India landed a lunar probe in 2008, and a top official said last month it was targeting a manned space mission in 2016. Japan, meanwhile, launched its first lunar satellite in June last year.

So it appears that United States preeminence in space exploration will soon be at an end.  That is a bittersweet reality for so many of us, that we have yet to take it in.  The beginning of the end started with the Bush administration's poorly conceived and underfunded Constellation program.  It became a plan for an expensive set of space vehicles with nowhere to go.  The good news for Earth is that long ago the space program became a truly international project, or set of projects.  It is too expensive and dangerous for just one country to dominate.  Perhaps one day China and India will come to that same conclusion.  Meanwhile we have a very solid partnership with Canada, Russia, ESA (European Space Agency) and JAXA (Japan).  The astronauts have always been just fine with that.  We must now join them in that profound interdependence.

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Posted via email from Southwest Postings

Public option revival gains steam. Activists are cautiously enthusiastic, as they also join in the effort.

Many of us have deep regrets that this was not tried at first. Surely Dem vote counters should have seen that the cost of getting Conservadem Senators' votes would have been far too high in the eyes of an already skeptical public. The public option always enjoyed considerable support, ironically. Congress forgot to follow one of its simplest rules -- At least listen to your constituents. http://amplify.com/u/20m7

Posted via web from Southwest Postings

Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles: Inspired choices to help plan how to cut deficits on Obama's new commission.

President Obama has picked two very able co-chairs for the job of figuring out what to do about soaring federal budget deficits. And leading Republicans had better get on board to help with a bipartisan effort, or else get out of the way. Increasingly defined by hypocrisy, those who scream about out of control spending had better become part of the solution. It will take both cuts in spending and increasing revenues to get us out of the current sea of red ink. http://amplify.com/u/1y3l

Posted via web from Southwest Postings

New Breeds at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show - Photo Essays - TIME - StumbleUpon

Time's wonderful little 9-photo essay is a delight for several reasons. The photography is exquisite, the narrative is interesting, and the dogs are fascinating. Take a look as you might find your new favorite among them. http://amplify.com/u/1wze

Posted via web from Southwest Postings

STS-130 shuttle launch scrubbed due to clouds

Image via Wikipedia

The six astronauts were all prone and in their seats, the tanks were full, and the white room crew had pulled away. The shuttle's cargo bay was loaded with new digs for the International Space Station. It was to have been the last night launch. But it was "no go" for Endeavour. NASA will try again tomorrow.
http://amplify.com/u/1s08
 

Posted via web from Southwest Postings

 

Related articles by Zemanta

• NASA to close shuttle program (robbiz1978.blogspot.com)
• Shuttle fueled up for final night launch (msnbc.msn.com)
• Shuttle Endeavour 'go' for Sunday blastoff (go.theregister.com)

Posted via email from Make Good Mondays

Cloudy weather halts STS-130 shuttle launch -- from the New York Times.com

The six astronauts were all prone and in their seats, the tanks were full, and the white room crew had pulled away. The shuttle's cargo bay was loaded with new digs for the International Space Station. It was to have been the last night launch. But it was "no go" for Endeavour. NASA will try again tomorrow. http://amplify.com/u/1s08

Posted via web from Southwest Postings

FACTBOX: Endeavour to carry final space station hub, cupola: story

The latest on NASA's upcoming launch

Posted via web from Southwest Postings

Shuttle set for Sunday launch amid space plan shift, carrying node & cupola: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6151JD20100206

Posted via web from Make Good Mondays

Why we can't afford to let Obama give Bush's war criminals a free pass, by attorney/author Charlotte Dennett

This post is by Charlotte Dennett, who is the author of the newly released The People v. Bush: One Lawyer’s Campaign to Bring the President to Justice and the National Grassroots Movement She Encounters Along the Way. Formerly a journalist reporting from the Middle East, she now practices law. If, indeed, the Iraq war was all about the oil, the Bush administration's choice to ignore or manipulate the rule of law makes perfect sense. That does not justify it, however. And that is just the point of her excellent piece. http://amplify.com/u/1rko

Posted via web from Southwest Postings

Knoller on Obama's Ground hog's Day town hall

White House CBS Radio Correspondent, Mark Knoller, is great at tweeting on the ground.  He often travels with the President and posts to Twitter in wonderful little series like this one.  Today he reports on President Obama's trip to New Hampshire:
markknoller -- "Hello, Nashua!" shouts Pres. Obama as he begins Town Hall Meeting in gym of Nashua HS North. "It's great to be back in NH," he says. about 3 hours ago from web
markknoller -- Obama sharing stage with some audience members and large American Flag - like the opening scene from Patton. about 3 hours ago from web

markknoller -- Obama says worst of the economic storm has passed. but "jobs have to be our #1 focus in 2010." about 3 hours ago from web
markknoller -- Obama announces proposal to use $30-billion from repaid bank bailout funds to help small banks make loans to small businesses. about 3 hours ago from web
markknoller -- Obama says the plan, combined with other steps, will help "ensure that small businesses are once again the engine of job growth in America." about 3 hours ago from web
markknoller -- Obama slams republicans who voted against Recovery Act but show up for ribbon cuttings for Recovery Act-funded projects in their districts. about 3 hours ago from web
markknoller -- Obama says those republicans have learned how to have their cake and vote against it too. about 3 hours ago from web

markknoller --  Obama again says he won't rest until businesses are hiring again, and wages are rising again, and the middle class is thriving again, about 3 hours ago from web
markknoller -- Obama calls of GOP members of Congress to work with him to repair the economy, reform education "instead of scoring political points." about 3 hours ago from web
markknoller -- Obama says invest in innovation: "the nation that leads the clean energy economy will be the nation that leads the global economy." about 3 hours ago from web
markknoller -- Obama vows not to give up on health care reform: calls for Dems & Repubs to work together: "Let's get it done this year," he declares. about 3 hours ago from web
markknoller -- By saying he wants health care bill "this year," Obama giving Congress a lot more time in which to act on a bill he wanted last year. about 3 hours ago from web
markknoller -- Obama says the size of federal deficits keep him up at night "all that red ink." about 2 hours ago from web
markknoller -- Obama slams 7 senate republicans who at first support Debt Commission, but then voted against it on the floor. about 2 hours ago from web

markknoller -- Obama now doffs suit jacket and picks up hand mike to start taking questions from the audience. about 2 hours ago from web
markknoller -- Discussing energy legislation, Obama said he knows some like Cap & Trade and that it may be separated out from the rest of the bill. about 2 hours ago from web
markknoller -- Obama said that may be where the Senate energy bill ends up - with cap & trade separated out. about 2 hours ago from web
markknoller -- Last Q. to Obama from student w- family in Haiti. Obama says US generosity to Haiti serves as answer to bin-Laden's call to blow up America. about 2 hours ago from web

Courts, Congress Shun Addressing Legality of Warrantless Eavesdropping

For years the "Wired: Threat Level" blog has been one of the most trusted websites around, for those of us who have followed civil liberties issues . Author David Kravets recently published an excellent overview of the history of the resulting court cases since warrantless wiretapping was revealed by the New York Times several years ago. He finished the article with the latest in this sad saga of successful government efforts to continue to scoop up all of our electronic communications for the National Security Agency's eavesdropping program targeting American citizens. http://amplify.com/u/1p8j

Posted via web from Southwest Postings

Greenwald (1/31/10): Nostalgia for Bush/Cheney radicalism

Thanks to Marcy Wheeler, "emptywheel" at Firedoglake, for the link to this very fine post. In it Greenwald makes the very potent argument that the trend in the current political establishment is to demand less of the rule of law in the fight against terrorists than either President Reagan or G.W. Bush. These policy stances are cast as normal, while support for criminal trials, adherence to habeas corpus, etc. are cast as those of "the leftist fringe." It is becoming a sad day for America that we have seem to have less respect for civil liberties than was shown in the Reagan and Bush administrations. http://amplify.com/u/1omw

Posted via web from Southwest Postings

Extending Bush tax cuts (or not) at year's end, puts U.S. between a rock and a hard place.

Despite all the pros and cons explained in this excellent McClatchy analysis, my own preference would be for the President to keep his campaign promise of not raising taxes on those who make less than $250,000. At the same time, tax rates on the wealthy should be allowed to return to previous levels, as a matter of principle, if nothing else. But it will be a real dilemma. Perhaps the economic situation, as it emerges through this year, will dictate the solution. In addition, it would help the "deciders" if the wishes of the people have been made clearly known by that time.

clipped from www.mcclatchydc.com WASHINGTON — With the clock ticking toward a massive, automatic tax increase at the end of this year, President Barack Obama on Monday will launch a political battle over who will pay higher taxes and who won't. Without action, all the Bush-era tax cuts that were enacted in 2001 and 2003 will expire on Dec. 31. With his budget proposal Monday, Obama will urge Congress to extend all of the Bush-era tax cuts for those who make less than $250,000 a year and to end those cuts for everyone who makes more than that, as he promised in his campaign. Thus, the results of the coming debate will determine not just how much people pay in taxes next year, but also could have outsized impact on the federal budget and the economy for years to come. Keeping all of the Bush tax cuts without offsetting spending cuts would add $4.5 trillion to the deficit over the next 10 years, said Congressional Budget Office Director Douglas Elmendorf.