Finally, the discussion about health care rationing has moved from scare tactic of the those trying to derail health care reform to a rational discussion about priorities. Rationing health care based on ability to pay is not only unjust, but it also makes no medical or economic sense. If people are afraid that health care reform will bring rationing, they need to look harder into their communities. It's already here.

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-DSMV-IV) gave a recent interview to the Washington Times in which she stated her intention to ignore most of the questions on the upcoming 2010 U.S. Census when the form and subsequent volunteers. What she is attempting is patently illegal.

As someone who grew up in another country (India) awash in conspiracy theories of American involvement in local politics, I believe that the best thing for Americans can do right now to support democracy in Iran is ... nothing. Stay out of it.

MediaBistro is reporting that legendary 92-year-old newsman Walter Cronkite is gravely ill. It's hard to believe there was a time when a network news anchor was known for professionalism and compassion. When a network news division dared challenge the powers that be.

One year ago today, my husband and I got legally married on the courthouse steps of our county in Southern California. At the time, we never thought that our "progressive" state would overturn the hard-won judicial ruling that finally, finally granted us the right to marry.

It is quite interesting to me the logical relationship that conservative belief systems have with intolerance. It appears to be a directly proportional relationship where the more conservative a person is in their religion, the more intolerant they are. Now, I don't hate all religions and or anyone per se. I don't have one of my own, but I try to respect the beliefs of others. And good arguments can be made for a variety of positions. However, I do believe that no good comes from injecting narrow, religious viewpoints into any government.

The Obama Administration has an obligation to defend the Defense of Marriage Act. Just as an accused criminal gets a free lawyer from the public defender's office (and this offends many on the Right) a federal statute accused of being unconstitutional gets a free lawyer from the Justice Department. Rule of law demands it.

On April 6, 2009, the US Supreme Court refused to consider an appeal from death-row journalist and former Black Panther, Mumia Abu-Jamal, who was convicted of first-degree murder in the shooting death of white Philadelphia Police Officer, Daniel Faulkner, at a 1982 trial deemed unfair by Amnesty International, the European Parliament, the Japanese Diet, Nelson Mandela, and numerous others. Citing the Supreme Court denial and several instances of withheld evidence, Abu-Jamal's international support network is now calling for a federal civil rights investigation into Abu-Jamal's case.

A week after a white supremacist attacked the Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC, and on the day that three teenagers are being sentenced in Shenandoah, Pennsylvania, for brutally beating and killing a Mexican immigrant, it's time we confront the fact that behind violently anti-immigrant and supremacist rhetoric is a real urge and a real encouragement for actual violence.

Last week marked six months on the job for President Obama and the 111th Congress. Together, we've already accomplished a lot when it comes to health care reform. Though we've taken the first major steps to reform our broken health care system, there are still many steps left until we finish the job.

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