President Said to Seek Afghan Turnover Plan and Clarity

The era of endless, open-ended war, is over.

AP: Official: Obama rejects all Afghan war options

Wisconsin Among 10 Worst States Facing Budget Woes

After six years with a Democratic Governor, Wisconsin is still facing a looming budget disaster. Gov. Jim Doyle, a risk-averse, tax-averse, do-not-too-much moderate has done little to make this state better off than it was when he took office. I have a (woman) Madison friend who says, "He's not a Dem, he's a big femme." Let's hope his retirement will bring back a truly progressive and Democratic Governor, such as Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett. Thanks for....not much, Jim.

Wisconsin ranked in top 10 of most fiscally challenged states
By Tom Held of the Journal Sentinel
Posted: Nov. 11, 2009 12:33 p.m.

A new analysis of Wisconsin's budget woes puts the state among the 10 most fiscally challenged in the country, joining California in a group struggling to sustain solvency.

The rise in unemployment and steep drop in state revenue suggest a dire future for a state that struggled to fill perennial budget deficits, according to the Pew Center on the States and its report: "Beyond California: States in Fiscal Peril." According to the report, Wisconsin has lost 140,000 jobs and one-eighth of its manufacturing work force in the current recession.

Gov. Jim Doyle and the state Legislature began the 2009-'11 budget process with a $6 billion shortfall. They filled the hole with $2.1 billion in tax and fee increases, $2.2 billion in federal stimulus dollars and cuts in state agency spending and aid to local governments and schools.

The report predicts the 2011-'13 budget will start with a structural deficit of $2 billion.

Happy Veterans Day

We still have a long way to go in delivering more than fine words to our honored Vets.

Think Progress: Study: 2,200 Vets Died Last Year Because They Lacked Health Insurance

Turkish Nobel Laureate Orhan Pamuk Loves Words and the World

Nathan Gardels interviews one of our favorites, Turkish Nobel Laureate Orhan Pamuk:

At the age of 57, I am less experimental and more mature. I want most of all to convey my understanding of life. And writing novels for 35 years has taught me great humility. It has taught me to be respectful of how marvelously detailed the world is. Again, this is very close to a lover's attention to his beloved's every movement, her gestures, angers and silences. To notice everything is to care for it.There is indeed a kind of Sufi or pantheistic quality to this love for the world, as is also suggested by Buddhist mindfulness.s.

Conflicting Reports on Afghan Troop Decision

McClatchy: 34,000 more US troops
CBS: 40,000

This report, but not to our knowledge the earlier one from McClatchy on Sunday, has been denied by the White House.

If I was a betting person, I would put more stock in the McClatchy story--I'm looking for an increase of about 30,000 troops when the decision is made. This will be made to seem like a compromise after the CBS report.

Rupert Murdoch Endorses Glenn Beck's Hate Speech: Obama Hates White People

Corporate extremism, Fox News hate speech--apparently comes right from the top of the corporate hierarchy. Amazing...

Murdoch: Glenn Beck Was Right -- Obama's A Racist
Rupert Murdoch defended Glenn Beck's accusation that the president was a racist in his long interview with Sky News Australia.

Prospects for Health Care Bill in the US Senate

A difficult but not impossible path...

Reuters: Healthcare bill faces tough path in Senate

The battle now shifts to the Senate, where work on Obama's top domestic priority has been stalled for weeks as Democratic leader Harry Reid searches for an approach that can win the 60 votes he needs to overcome Republican procedural hurdles.

"Take this baton and bring this effort to the finish line," Obama urged senators on Sunday in an appearance at the White House, saying passage of healthcare reform would represent "their finest moment in public service."

Democrats have no margin for error -- they control exactly 60 seats in the 100-member Senate. Some moderate Democrats have rebelled at Reid's plan to include a new government-run insurance program, known as the "public option," in the bill.

Yahoo/AP: House health bill unacceptable to many in Senate

House Passes Historic Health Care Reform

Forget about the sausage making, millions of people will benefit from the healthy sustenance that this bill will provide. Now it's on to the Senate!

TPM: House Passes Health Care Bill 220-215

The House of Representatives has passed a bill calling for comprehensive reforms to the American health care system and universal insurance coverage, marking a major milestone in the battle for health care reform.

It's the first time in the nation's history a chamber of Congress has gotten this far as the House passed the Affordable Health Care for America Act by a vote of 220-215.

The vote came after President Obama made a last-minute appeal to his party during the House Democratic Caucus, asking them to "answer the call" of history.

Troubling Portrait of Army Psychiatrist Suspect in Fort Hood Murders

Our prayers for the many families touched by these brutal murders.

Star Trib: Troubling portrait emerges of Army psychiatrist suspected in rampage at Fort Hood, Texas

Tea Party Thugs Defy Police: Ten Arrested

These right wing nuts must be upset and disappointed by their election loss in NY #23--now they are resorting to illegal tactics.

TPMDC: Strange Scene: 10 Arrested As Tea Partiers Heckle Police

U.S. Capitol Police arrested 10 people this afternoon after the Capitol Hill Tea Party crowd stormed Congressional office buildings.

Sgt. Kimberly Schneider, public information office for the Capitol Police, told TPMDC the arrests happened in the Cannon House building as tea partiers attempted to protest Speaker Nancy Pelosi about health care.

They were charged with unlawful entry (entering a Congressional office and refusing to leave when told to do so) and/or disorderly conduct (yelling in the hallway outside an office) at Room 235 in the Cannon House Office Building.

Room 235 is Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office for district business, not where she conducts her duties as Speaker. That's handled at an office in the Capitol building.

Democrats Gain Seats in the House as GOP Wins Gov. Races

Hard to get too excited by the loss in Virginia--where the Democrat said he would try to opt out of the public option. And Gov. Corzine has been in trouble for a long while--why he ever left the Senate is beyond me. Was good there but not a great Gov. But it was also nice to see the Beck/Palin crowd get their delusions of right wing extremist grandeur go down to defeat in Upstate NY. And look out for that great new Congressman from California, Lt. Gov. John Garamendi.

Wash Post: White House tries to shrug off Democratic election losses