Time to Change Congress – – again.

Change Congress? Didn’t we just change control of Congress? Well, we did change the party that controls Congress, but we haven’t yet changed the money that controls the politicians who control Congress. Barack Obama will have an uphill claim, guaranteed, because politicians are not going to judge his proposals based on their merits. There is always the money, which feeds their cravings for reelection. What if all federal politicians learned that potential donors took this pledge: “I'm pledging not to donate to any federal candidate unless they support legislation making congressional elections citizen-funded, not special-interest funded.” This link will take you to a speech by Lawrence Lessig, who explains the urgent need to “Change Congress.” As long as members of Congress keep themselves in a position where they can be influenced by large contributions of money, we shouldn’t trust them.

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The record of George W. Bush regarding AIDS

When asked what Bush accomplished during his eight years in office, many people point out that he was responsible for putting together a comprehensive AIDS program for Africa. In an article called, "An Unlikely Champion," found in the January 15, 2009 edition of Nature (available only to subscribers online), the authors discuss the good and the not so good about the Bush AIDS program. That program was called the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief ("PEPFAR"). First of all, the good. PEPFAR put more than 2 million HIV-positive people on anti-retroviral treatments since the beginning of the program (in 2003). By 2008, PEPFAR prevented infection of 240,000 babies born to HIV-infected mothers. It also provided healthcare for 9.7 million people. On the other hand, PEPFAR "has also been highly controversial because of stipulations on how its funds should be spent."

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Obama is Being Republican Lite

Lofty rhetoric aside, after the election dust has settled, President Barack Obama seems to be giving us “Republican Lite” in his proposed economic stimulus package which may go over $850 billion. The package includes some $300 billion in tax cuts and $100 billion in givebacks to big business and other large business tax breaks long sought after by the US Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers. The plan seems to be a shill to allow for more Republican support in the US Senate where President Obama apparently fears a filibuster from a weakened GOP. GOP minority leader Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-TN.) has said the bill will likely be passed by mid-February. Former Senator Obama’s legislative centrist instincts have taken over.

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Sams store manager: Barack Obama is offensive

Sam Club, which has no problem pumping out conservative books, including those written by Bill O'Reilly, has a problem with an employee who dared to wear a shirt bearing the likeness of the current President of the United States, Barack Obama. The problem was that Obama's image was potentially offensive to customers.

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