Two important topics I want to talk about this morning.
The first being Health care. It seems the public option has a chance of being reinserted back into health care reform. Thanks to a letter sent from progressive House freshmen Jared Polis (D-Colo.) and Chellie Pingree (D-Maine), a new movement to put the public option back on the table is in motion. And if Democrats can get the votes and move through the chamber under majority-only rules, I’d say we, and the public option, could possibly be sitting pretty.
So what does that mean exactly? Well, we need at least 51 votes:
Because of the rules surrounding budget reconciliation, the process that would allow health care reform to move through with 51 votes, any Senator may bring up an amendment to the package. An opponent of the amendment will then likely make a point of order and argue that the amendment violates the “Byrd Rule” and is out of order. If the parliamentarian sustains the point of order, the amendment would need 60 votes to pass. But if he deems that it complies with the rules of reconciliation — that it has a substantial effect on the budget and is germane to the legislation — then the amendment passes with a majority vote.
Chris Bowers, who has been counting votes based on public responses and private correspondence, counts at least 45 votes for a public option. Democrats would need to find five more, with Vice President Joe Biden breaking the tie.
Readers: If you want to read the rest of the related article click here. This isn’t over, so don’t get excited and start thinking this is a done deal. As always we have our work cut out for us. Here’s a request from our President:
In just the last 3 days, OFA volunteers like you have pledged an incredible 4,000,000 (and counting!) hours to supportmembers of Congress and candidates who fight for real health reform.
We can prove to Congress that health reform is good policy and good politics, but we need to go as big as possible. So today we’re setting a new goal: 5 million hours pledged.
If we hit it, the country will know. We’ll be running an ad with the final tally in USA Today the nation’s largest newspaper. And to make sure your voice is heard where it matters most, we’ll run radio ads in critical states and districts, featuring local voters announcing the pledge total from their area.
Your hours will make a huge difference wherever you live, and there’s many different ways to get involved. Can you help us hit 5 million hours by pledging today?
http://my.barackobama.com/YouFight
How many hours a week will you give to help get reform passed? I pledged 2 hours per week. Can you do the same? Again, all of us just need to give a little bit of our time to make a few phone calls, write a few letters, talk to a few people, and spread the word expressing our thoughts on how important it is for health care reform to pass. We all need good health care, and the people who really need, the people whose life depends on it NOW, will be so grateful of your time and effort. Thanks!
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The second topic on my mind is the Human Rights Film Festival happing here in San Francisco. It’s free, open to the public and starts tonight. I’ve listed the films that are going to be shown today, and they look so interesting. I can’t go tonight, but I am hoping to make it this weekend. Will you join me?
2010 HUMAN RIGHTS FILM FESTIVAL AT USF
February 18, 19, 20
Presentation Theater
Free & Open to the General Public
Thursday 2/18
1:00 PM
Opening Remarks
USF Students’ Shorts
Skinny, Sexy, Synthetic, 7 min, Directors: Meghan Raab and Daniela Ricci-Tam
The film explores how unrealistic media representations affect women’s body image and self esteem. In response, About-Face, a local non-profit, teaches women and girls to understand harmful media messages and resist sexist advertisements.
Generación, 11 min., Director: Kate Elston
Thousands of children in Lima, Peru live on the streets where they are victims of violence, police brutality, sexual exploitation and trafficking. Generación is an organization that supports the kids and gets them into homes where they are free to learn, play, and work. Visit www.notforsalecampaign.org to learn more and donate.
Ugandan Days, A Video Journal, 50 min., Director: Erika Myszynski
Initially created to document USF’s Erasmus Community students’ travels to Uganda, Ugandan Days, A Video Journal became more than just an immersion, observation and social analysis of the Ugandan people. In researching child soldiery in war-torn Gulu (northern Uganda), many of us had been surprised to witness a world quite different from what we had read. Instead, we found a peaceful and progressive nation. The video reveals a people little scarred by their past struggles and Joseph Kony’s 23-year long war against order. The video journal exposes how the war victims’ underlying pains are transformed into a humbling determination to improve the current situation. A message from Ugandans to Americans: Africa is not such a dark place. It is a place filled with strength, community, resilience, and joy because of an undying hope to forgive and to survive.
2:30PM
TAPESTRIES OF HOPE, 2009, USA, 76 min. Dir. Michealene Cristini Risley
* Presented by the President’s Advisory Committee on the Status of Women
Tapestries of Hope, explores filmmaker and child rights advocate Michealene Cristini Risley’s sojourn to Zimbabwe to document the work of Betty Makoni and the Girl Child Network. The film exposes an issue that continues to be ignored: the rape and sexual abuse of thousands of young girls in Zimbabwe, by men who believe their actions will cure them of HIV/AIDS.
4:15 PM
ASK NOT, 2008, 73min. USA, Dir. Johnny Symons
* Presented by the USF LGBT Caucus
Ask Not is a rare and compelling documentary film that explores the effects of the US military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy on gay and lesbian soldiers and service members. The award-winning film exposes the tangled political battles that led to the discriminatory law and examines the societal shifts that have occurred since its passage in 1993. Current and veteran gay soldiers reveal how “don’t ask, don’t tell” affects them during their tours of duty, as they struggle to maintain a double life, uncertain of whom they can trust. The film also explores how gay veterans and youth organizers are turning to forms of personal activism to overturn the policy. From a national speaking tour of conservative universities to protests at military recruitment offices, these public events question how the U.S. military can claim to represent democracy and freedom while denying one segment of the population the right to serve.
6:00 PM
CRUDE, 2009,101 min., Ecuador/UK/USA, Dir. Joe Berlinger
* A selection from the Human Rights Watch Traveling Film Festival
** Presented by Environmental Studies
Three years in the making, this riveting new documentary from acclaimed filmmaker Joe Berlinger (Brother’s Keeper, Paradise Lost, Metallica: Some Kind of Monster) tells the epic story of one of the largest and most controversial legal cases on the planet. An inside look at the infamous $27 billion “Amazon Chernobyl” case, Crude is a real-life, high stakes legal drama involving global politics, the environmental movement, celebrity activism, human rights advocacy, multinational corporate power, and the fate of disappearing indigenous cultures. Subverting the conventions of advocacy filmmaking, this award-winning film explores a complex situation from all angles, bringing an important story of environmental peril and human suffering into focus. Film Website: http://www.crudethemovie.com
If you would like to see what films are being shown over the weekend, click here for the full list. If you don’t live in the Bay Area, this showing is part of the Human Rights Watch Traveling Film Festival, so this or something like this may be coming to your area. Check out the website for any details.
Jack: If it isn’t obvious that I am very comfortable with ‘that boy’ in the White House, then I am clearly not articulating myself well here. And I know that it not true. And yes white men did make this country what it is today and I say that not with pride. You however, have made it very clear that you are a racist only concerned with retaining and receiving the many benefits that you are privileged to receive strictly by being a white man. Your lack of tolerance is only exceeded by your lack of humility.
Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my ‘loyal’(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.
Gratefully your blog host,
michelle
Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)
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