It’s Back! Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey Plans To Revive The Public Option

By Yashwanth Manjunath

To all those progressives out there frustrated by the watered down, industry-friendly health care bill that President Obama signed into law four months ago, today brings good news. Congresswoman and Co-Chair of the House Progressive Caucus Lynn Woolsey announced the introduction of a bill to give consumers a choice between private health plans and a “robust public option” designed to compete directly with private insurance in the new health insurance exchanges to be set up by the law in 2014.

The robust public option offers lower-cost competition to private insurance companies,” Woolsey told Raw Story. “This …

If You Pass This Bill, We’ll Shoot This Small Business

by Stuart Shapiro

It’s one of the oldest political tricks in the book.  Whenever there is legislation you don’t like, claim it hurts small businesses.  Everybody loves small businesses.  What could be more American than starting your own business and seeing it succeed?  What could be worse than stifling these many entrepreneurs?

The latest version of this involves the repeal of the Bush tax cuts.  Kevin Drum pokes the obvious holes in the argument that repealing the cuts will hurt small businesses.  The punchline:

So that’s the case. Letting Bush’s tax cuts for the rich expire affects only a tiny …

How To Avoid Having Airport Personnel See You Naked

Flying Pasties.

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Alvin Greene Calls Himself “American Hero.” Records Indicate Otherwise

South Carolina Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Alvin Greene often refers to his 13 years of military service and refers to himself as an “American hero.”

But records obtained by The Associated Press Thursday show that Greene was considered a lackluster service member at best and was denied two promotions. The records cite mistakes as severe as uploading sensitive information improperly, and as basic as an overall inability to clearly express his thoughts and perform basic tasks.

Greene left the Air Force after his second promotion request was denied, entered the Army, and left last year.…

House Approves Unemployment Benefits In Spite Of Republican Opposition

Speaker Nancy Pelosi said, “It shouldn’t have been so hard.” Finally, the House passed a bill to benefit 2.5 million unemployed Americans.

“It shouldn’t have been so hard,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said. “Imagine that today we’re finally taking up unemployment insurance. Republicans in the Senate have stood in the way of so many initiatives, including unemployment insurance, until now.

The Senate approved on Wednesday night a measure to resume awarding unemployment payments to millions of jobless Americans. The 59-39 vote came after months of an increasingly bitter stalemate in the Senate between Democrats and Republicans.

The House vote …

Sharron Angle Continues To Run From The Press

Harry Reid’s opponent continues to avoid answering questions from the press (h/t Think Progress). The Las Vegas Sun reports that after inviting reporters to an event at a warehouse where she wanted to get her message out, she ran away from them after a three-minute speech.

In the warehouse of a family-owned clean diesel manufacturer in Sparks, Angle delivered a three-minute speech on her desire to permanently repeal the estate tax. When invited by the final speaker to stay and answer a few questions, she turned on her heel and rushed out a back door with a small cadre …

Ken Buck, Colorado GOP Senate Candidate: Vote For Me Because I Am Not A Woman

What Ken Buck literally said was, “Vote for me because I do not wear high heels.”  (via Political Wire)

A Buck spokesman defends the comments telling the Washington Post that rival Jane Norton (R) “has made gender an issue and noted that high heels have been invoked at several points in the campaign, including at least once by Norton’s campaign manager.”

Norton has gone after Buck for third-party spending, saying he should be “man enough” to do the ads himself. Buck complains that his manhood is being attacked.

“She has questioned my manhood; I think it’s fair to respond,” …

Andrew Breitbart Making Excuses As Fast As He Can: Not Sure Farmer’s Wife Is Farmer’s Wife

Andrew Breitbart, attempting to save a shred of his credibility, is tossing blame in every direction but taking none for himself. On CNN with John King, he suggested the farmer’s wife (Eloise Spooner, who asserts that Shirley Sherrod is a good person and not a racist) is a plant. (h/t Think Progress)

You tell me as a reporter how CNN put on a person today who purported to be the farmer’s wife? What did you do to find out whether or not that was the actual farmer’s wife? I mean, if you’re going to accuse me of a falsehood, …

USDA Secretary Vilsack Offers Sherrod “Profound Apology”

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says he has offered a “personal and profound apology” to ousted official Shirley Sherrod.

“I asked for Shirley’s forgiveness, and she was gracious enough to extend it to me,” Vilsack said, accepting “full responsibility” for the decision.

“This is a good woman,” he said. “She has been put through hell. I could have done and should have done a better job.”

Vilsack said he offered Sherrod, who had been Georgia State Director of Rural Development, a new position at the USDA, though he declined to specify the nature of that position. Sherrod indicated to him …

On Wednesday’s Radio Show…

• Whoops! A lot of people screwed up in the Shirley Sherrod firing fiasco. We’ll discuss the latest developments.

• But Breitbart says it doesn’t exist! Alan examines the latest evidence of racism within the tea party movement.

• Legendary comedian Pat Cooper, whose upcoming book is How Dare You Say How Dare Me!, sits down with Alan to share a hilarious look at his life on and off the stage.…

NAACP Receives Racist, Threatening Phone Call After Passing Tea Party Resolution

The NAACP, having passed a resolution asking the tea party movement to renounce racism, received a vile, threatening phone message which proves its point:

“Of course you won’t answer the phone yourself ’cause you’re chickensh&t, racist, ni**ers.  The entire black race is nothing but a have-not bunch of bums.  You can’t work for yourselves; all you do is suck off the white man.  F*ck you, Motherf*ckers!  F*ck you!  You want a race war, you got it, Motherf*cker! You want to f*cking kill our babies and kill white people?…The streets will run red with your blood…F*ck you!”

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