Dan Choi Discusses Don't Ask, Don't Tell Policy With Hardball's Chris Matthews. Matthews' Does Not Get That Fundamental Human Rights Should Not Depend Upon Winning A Vote!

Dan Choi is right and Chris Mathews is wrong. Mathews does not know the law. He should.  All the Obama administration had to do was not appeal the ruling of the federal court in California which over turned the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"policy. There is no constitutional requirement for the Supreme Court to decide any case. In fact the only way this case could reach the Supreme Court is if the government appealed the Federal District court decision to the Federal Court of Appeals and then the losing party appealed that decision to the Supreme Court. It is sad that Chris Mathews does not understand such a basic concept of American law. The Obama administration's Attorneys General, Eric holder appealed the decision as a matter of tradition, not law.  Generally the executive branch appeals federal court rulings challenging legislative acts. There was no requirement that the Obama administration do this in this case. This was a political decision, not a legal one. I believe it was an immoral, utilitarian choice by the administration.  The administration should be ashamed of its spineless action in the face of such injustice.
John H. Armwood

Democrat fall may turn Obama inward: officials | The Japan Times Online

Image by IowaPolitics.com via FlickrDemocrat fall may turn Obama inward: officials | The Japan Times Online

Government officials voiced concern Wednesday that the election defeat of the U.S. Democratic Party may make the administration of President Barack Obama more "inward-looking" and reluctant to pay attention to East Asia as well as nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament.

"From this point on, the Obama administration will have no alternative but to spend most of its energy in tackling internal problems," an official said.

Expectations are high in the government that Washington will extend its support to Japan, which has been troubled by strained ties with China and Russia, but the midterm election results may strip the Obama administration of much of its leeway to take further measures in support of Japan.

Most Japanese officials believe, meanwhile, the poll results will not affect the relocation of the Futenma base in Okinawa.

No security coverage

WASHINGTON (Kyodo) Washington said Tuesday that while it recognizes Japan's sovereignty over the Russian-held islands off Hokkaido, they are not subject to the Japan-U.S. security treaty because they are not controlled by Japan.

The U.S. government "supports Japan and recognizes Japanese sovereignty over the (Russian-held islands)," State Department spokesman Philip Crowley told a news conference.

However, when asked whether Article 5 of the bilateral security pact covers the islands off Hokkaido, Crowley said it would not apply because they are "not currently under Japanese administration."

Health Care and the Campaign - NYTimes.com

Health Care and the Campaign - NYTimes.com

Republican candidates and deep-pocketed special interests are spreading so many distortions and outright lies about health care reform that it is little wonder if voters are anxious and confused.

Here are a few basic facts that Americans need to keep in mind before they go to the polls, and afterward. First, most aspects of the reform do not go into effect until 2014. Second, things are indeed bad out there: The costs of medical care and insurance premiums are (still) rising, and some employers are (still) dropping coverage. But for that, you should blame the long-standing health care crisis and the current bad economy. Health reform is supposed to help with these problems.

Here is a look at the claims being made on the campaign trail — and the distortions they contain:

PURE NONSENSE: John Raese, the Republican candidate for the Senate in West Virginia, is claiming that the law will require patients to go through a bureaucrat or panel to reach a doctor. That is flat out untrue. You will still choose your own doctor or insurance plan without interference. Nor, despite other claims, will the law provide subsidized insurance to illegal immigrants. They are precluded from using even their own money to buy policies on new exchanges.

The Obama administration will not be compiling a federal health record on all citizens, including each individual’s body mass index, as Ann Marie Buerkle, a Republican running for a House seat in upstate New York, has claimed on her Web site. The administration is offering incentives to doctors to record various vital statistics in electronic medical records and report the data in the aggregate, to help understand national health trends.

WE CALL THAT CAPITALISM: Republican politicians never tire of denouncing health care reform as a “government takeover” — or socialism. What is true is that the law relies heavily on private insurers and employers to provide coverage. It also strengthens regulation of those insurers and provides government subsidies to help low- and middle-income people buy private insurance on the exchanges.

Those exchanges will promote greater competition among insurers and a better deal for consumers, which last time we checked was a fundamental of capitalism.

WHAT ABOUT MCDONALD’S? Conservative commentators pounced after the fast food chain and several other large employers that provide skimpy, low-cost policies to their workers warned that they might drop their health plans entirely if forced to comply with the new law. They particularly objected to a requirement that they begin raising the low annual limits on what their plans are willing to pay for health care.

In response, the administration has granted some 30 waivers for one year (Rush Limbaugh promptly accused the administration of allowing these employers to “break the law”) and has signaled willingness to smooth out other bumps on the road toward full reform. In 2014, all plans will have to meet minimal standards and large employers will have to provide coverage or pay a stiff fine.

WHAT ABOUT MY PREMIUMS? Some Republicans are also claiming that health reform is driving up premiums. There have been sharp increases in some states, primarily in response to soaring medical costs. Some insurers may also be trying to increase their profits before the reform law holds them in check. A few very welcome provisions that take effect early, like requiring insurers to cover preventive care without cost-sharing, will play a minor role in premium increases for next year.

Reform has also energized federal officials and many state regulators to challenge and force down big increases sought by insurers. The Justice Department just filed suit against Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Michigan for allegedly using its market power to drive up costs for its competitors and its own subscribers.

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Judge Denies Delay On Gay Troops Order : NPR

Judge Denies Delay On Gay Troops Order : NPR

A federal judge has denied a government request to delay her order halting the military from enforcing its ban on openly gay troops.

U.S. District Judge Virginia Phillips issued her ruling Tuesday after saying the government had not proven that her order would harm troops or impede efforts to implement new military regulations to deal with openly gay troops.

Justice Department officials say the Obama administration will appeal to the appellate court in San Francisco.

The military has promised to abide by her order as long as it remains in place.

Phillips declared the "don't ask, don't tell" policy unconstitutional Sept. 9. Under the 1993 law, the military cannot inquire into service members' sexual orientation and punish them for it as long as they keep it to themselves.

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Op-Ed Columnist - Fire and Imagination - NYTimes.com

Op-Ed Columnist - Fire and Imagination - NYTimes.com

The Obama administration seems to be feeling sorry for itself. Robert Gibbs, the president’s press secretary, is perturbed that Mr. Obama is not getting more hosannas from liberals.

Spare me. The country is a mess. The economy is horrendous, and millions of American families are running out of ammunition in their fight against destitution. Steadily increasing numbers of middle-class families, who never thought they’d be seeking charity, have been showing up at food pantries.

The war in Afghanistan, with its dreadful human toll and debilitating drain on the nation’s financial resources, is proceeding as poorly as ever. As The Times reported on Friday, an ambitious operation that was supposed to showcase the progress of the Afghan Army turned into a tragic, humiliating debacle.

And while schools are hemorrhaging resources because of budget meltdowns, and teachers are losing jobs, and libraries are finding it more and more difficult to remain open, American youngsters are falling further behind their peers in other developed countries in their graduation rates from colleges and universities.

This would be a good time for the Obama crowd to put aside its concern about the absence of giddiness among liberals and re-examine what it might do to improve what is fast becoming a depressing state of affairs.

It’s not just liberals who are gloomy. A Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll this week found that nearly 6 in 10 Americans believe the country is on the wrong track and a majority disapproves of President Obama’s handling of the economy. Nearly two-thirds expect the economy to get worse still.

Mr. Obama’s problem — and the nation’s — is that in the midst of the terrible economic turmoil that the country was in when he took office, he did not make full employment, meaning job creation in both the short and the long term, the nation’s absolute highest priority.

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Op-Ed Columnist - Shirley Sherrod, Thrown to the Wolves - NYTimes.com

Op-Ed Columnist - Shirley Sherrod, Thrown to the Wolves - NYTimes.com

The Shirley Sherrod story tells us so much about ourselves, and none of it is pretty. The most obvious and shameful fact is that the Obama administration, which runs from race issues the way thoroughbreds bolt from the starting gate, did not offer this woman anything resembling fair or respectful treatment before firing and publicly humiliating her.

Moving with the swiftness of fanatics on a hanging jury, big shots in the administration and Bill O’Reilly of Fox News came to exactly the same conclusion: Shirley Sherrod had to go — immediately! No time for facts. No time for justice.

What we have here is power run amok. Ms. Sherrod was not even called into an office to be fired face to face. She got the shocking news in her car. “They called me twice,” she told The Associated Press. “The last time, they asked me to pull over to the side of the road and submit my resignation on my BlackBerry, and that’s what I did.”

This woman was thrown to the wolves without even the courtesy of a conversation. Her side of the story? The truth? The administration wasn’t interested.

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Please read the rest of this excellent column. We know that Fox News is populated by the worst kind of scoundrels who have no respect for American ideals or America's founding principles but to see the cowardice of the weak kneed Obama administration and of the NAACP kowtowing to right wing unpatriotic nut jobs is sickening. Where was the basic principle of innocence until proven guilty? Where was their professionalism? There was not even a rudimentary investigation of the facts in the Sherrod case. This is America, not a banana republic or China. We have principles of due process that are part of the very fabric of our culture and legal system. We do not expect these values from Fox News or other narrow minded, conservative right wingers but we expect more from both the NAACP and the Obama administration.

This incident has damaged President Obama's credibility with his base, those who supported, organized and voted for him. We expected a president with a spine. We are deeply disappointed. The reality is that most of us will vote for him again because we have no other choice, but Obama will lose many others who will simply stay home. President Obama must take up the mantle that was handed to him without fear and lead us as our president. He must not cower before those on the right, who truly do not believe in the American dream or justice for all. He has over two more years left in his first term. There is still time. We can still hope that he will learn and grow. Only Obama can bring us "Change We Can Believe In". We need that change now more than ever. President Obama, we are waiting.

John H. Armwood

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Breitbart: 'I am public enemy No. 1…' - Kenneth P. Vogel - POLITICO.com

Breitbart: 'I am public enemy No. 1…' - Kenneth P. Vogel - POLITICO.com:

"An unrepentant Andrew Breitbart told POLITICO on Thursday that the Obama administration and its allies have manufactured a controversy over the video he posted of Shirley Sherrod’s speech to the NAACP as part of an orchestrated effort to take him down.

“I am public enemy No. 1 or 2 to the Democratic Party, the progressive movement and the Obama administration based upon the successes my journalism has had,” Breitbart said in a telephone interview late Thursday morning as he headed to the airport for what he said was a long-planned, three-day vacation.

Breitbart asserted that liberal media outlets are shifting the focus to the misleading excerpting in the videos he posted— as well as his erroneous statement about the context of the footage to divert attention from what he asserts is a double standard on racist behavior exposed by the video, which he released Monday to push back against a recently passed NAACP resolution expressing concern about “racist elements” in the tea party movement." More...

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This response by Breitbart to his out right lies, in addition to deceptive editing, of the Sherrod video is reprehensible and should be denounced by the conservative movement. We will see how they respond.

John H. Armwood

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