My series on political bargaining was intended to point out that what "health care reform" will eventually look like is effected by how you bargain for it now. Consider Ezra Klein's most recent post:

I keep recommending this Families USA brief (pdf, but worth it!) outlining the 10 most important elements of health-care reform. The public option is one of them, to be sure, and I think there's a substantial chance it will be present in the final legislation. But what about the expansion of Medicaid to 133 percent of the poverty line? That's a solid 20 million poor Americans who don't have coverage now, and will soon. What about the out-of-pocket caps, so no one goes medically bankrupt ever again? Or the assurance that no insurer can ever discriminate based on a preexisting condition? Or the subsidies for working Americans who can't quite afford coverage? Or the requirements that insurers spend more money on medical care and less money on premiums? Or the guarantee that the gruesome practice of rescission will finally end?

Even accepting Ezra's premise (and I do not), how does Ezra know all of this will be in a final bill? If today the public option can be jettisoned, what can go tomorrow? Max Baucus does not even have a bill on the table. Ezra suggests progressives bargain against themselves. Here's the ultimate question for Ezra, how does he expect all those good things to stay in the bill if progressives follow his advice and bargain against themselves?

Speaking for me only

Attorney General Eric Holder issued this statement today about his decision to conduct a review of some cases of CIA abuse of detainees as recommended in the Inspector General's report.

"I have reviewed the OPR report in depth. Moreover, I have closely examined the full, still-classified version of the 2004 CIA Inspector General’s report, as well as other relevant information available to the Department.

As a result of my analysis of all of this material, I have concluded that the information known to me warrants opening a preliminary review into whether federal laws were violated in connection with the interrogation of specific detainees at overseas locations.

[More...]

Kos polled Jim Cooper's (D-TN) district and it turns out people are not happy with his behavior regarding a public option. Cooper responded saying, he did too support a public option:

The whole premise of the poll is that I oppose a public option, and that is simply not true. I have repeatedly said that I’m FOR a public option[.]

Kos rightly notes:

We never said, "Jim Cooper opposes the public option" or anything along those lines. So if his constituents think Cooper is opposing the public option, that's his fault.

But Kos misses a point Cooper rightly makes:

The documentary Which Way Home premieres on HBO tonight at 9pm ET. The film follows unaccompanied migrant children from Latin America as they endure harrowing conditions on a freight train to come to the U.S. to be with their parents.

Exploitation by smugglers. Dehydration in the desert. The danger of being struck by trains. These are just a few of the dangers facing thousands of children from Latin America who travel great distances on top of freight trains to get to the United States. This film looks at the personal side of immigration through the eyes of several of these unaccompanied migrant children as they embark on a treacherous journey aboard a freight train they call "The Beast." Along the way, their stories of hope, courage, disappointment and sorrow are revealed as they endeavor to make it to the land of opportunity.

[More...]

A personal aside, this is worthy of a a chuckle. I have good friends who run that place, including the author of the diary and the proprietor. But I have to laugh at the "civility" problems, cuz, you know, it was all my fault once upon a time. Maybe not so much anymore.

In non me-centric news, the Yanks tooks the 3 game series in Fenway and the Gators are preseason number 1 in the AP college football poll. (Ok, that is pretty me-centric news too.) I am not angry at all right now.

This is an Open Thread.

After the Democrats were trounced in the 1994 congressional elections, the Media spun a meme declaring President Clinton irrelevant. President Clinton fought to make that meme false:

President Clinton last night declared his relevance to the political debate in Washington and called on Republicans to work with him in remarks at a news conference that offered a stark reminder of how much power has shifted from the White House to Congress.

President Clinton stood up to Newt Gingrich and his zany band of Republicans intent on gutting Medicare and other government programs and in fact regained the initiative. Which brings us to today, where supporters of President Obama, on the heels of his smashing triumph in 2008 and the most Democratic Congress since LBJ, now declare Obama irrelevant:

Three documents are scheduled to be released today by the Department of Justice on detainee abuse.

• The 2004 inspector general’s report on abuses that took place at the Central Intelligence Agency’s secret prisons. Here are some tidbits already leaked.

• "A 2007 Justice Department memo reauthorizing the C.I.A.’s “enhanced” interrogation techniques, which former Vice President Dick Cheney has said provide evidence that the interrogation methods produced valuable information about Al Qaeda"

• "Justice Department memos from 2006 concerning conditions of confinement in C.I.A. jails."

Among the leaks are that the inspector general's report will recommend the reopening of some detainee abuse cases.

Last month we reported on the Obama Administration's plan to shift interrogation of high-value detainees from the CIA.

The Washington Post reports the new plan has now been approved.

Obama signed off late last week on the unit, named the High-Value Detainee Interrogation Group, or HIG. Made up of experts from several intelligence and law enforcement agencies, the interrogation unit will be housed at the FBI but will be overseen by the National Security Council -- shifting the center of gravity away from the CIA and giving the White House direct oversight.

[More...]

He can see no reasons
There can be no reasons
What reasons do you need to be shown

...I don't like Mondays,

I want to shoot the whole day down.

How's your Monday going? This is an open thread, all topics welcomes.

The military is telling President Obama it doesn't have enough troops to fight the Taliban in Afghanistan.

The possibility that more troops will be needed in Afghanistan presents the Obama administration with another problem in dealing with a nearly eight-year war that has lost popularity at home, compounded by new questions over the credibility of the Afghan government, which has just held an as-yet inconclusive presidential election beset by complaints of fraud.

Can't we just finish the reconstruction work we promised them from our 2001 invasion and go home?

Related AP article: Obama facing tough choices in Afghanistan.

The New York Times examines the various studies on the number of U.S. residents without health insurance and examines the reasons.

After noting that none of the proposed health care initiatives would cover undocumented residents (another false myth propogated by ignorant right wing opponents), it concludes:

If nothing is done to slow current trends, the number of people in this country without insurance or with inadequate coverage will continue to spiral upward. That would be a personal tragedy for many and a moral disgrace for the nation. It is also by no means cost-free. Any nation as rich as ours ought to guarantee health coverage for all of its residents.

The final question to Miss Venezuela, 18 year old Stefania Fernandez, winner of the 2009 Miss Universe pagent:

In many parts of the world, obstacles still exist that impede women from achieving their goals in some corporations. What can women do to overcome these barriers?

Her answer (verbatim) with a big smile:

I believe that nowadays we women have overcome many obstacles and I do believe we can reach the same same level as men have. We must realize there are no longer any barriers amongst us.